Thursday, January 29, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Job for health

Excellent past two days! The snow had been bad enough on Tuesday but I was good to go on Wednesday. One of the things that got me through those twenty two years I worked out was a mindset I want to keep. I compared my job to the gym. All of my life I have worked jobs that may or may not have been fun. I went to these jobs because I needed to support myself. I had bills to pay and shoes to buy! The gym, in my mind, is a job. It is a necessary function for a purpose just like a job. Just like I have to work to support myself, I have to workout to support my health. That is why I implemented the Cardio Bank, which is just like Comp time. That is why I give myself sick days, vacation days, and personal days. I keep it Monday through Friday with weekends off. No makeup times for any days taken, just like a job. I can't imagine telling my boss that I can't make it Wednesday but I will be in Saturday! I do this not to give myself reasons to not go to the gym but to allow myself a break so I keep going to the gym. Just like labor laws protect me, I created gym laws to help me. In doing this I have found that I not only keep going but I enjoy it as well. I work out before or after work as a continuation of my job and also take the days off that I take off from my job. This way I do not feel overwhelmed, and I do not feel pressured. So far so good!

Monday, January 26, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Tricks

Got in a workout before the snow! I won't be able to workout tomorrow but I have 21 mins in my Cardio Bank. I knew that would come in handy. I like working out in the morning best. Sometimes it is hard but I love the feeling.  I am in my fourth week now. I am so happy for the mindset changes I have made. I found out another little trick because sometimes I get to where I have so many errands I have to do or just don't want to go because I am already on my third cup of coffee and don't want to get moving. I get dressed in my gym clothes. If I know I have to get numerous things at the grocery store, I wear my gym clothes. My gym is in the same shopping center so I feel , "hey I am dressed why not?". Once I am in the gym the happy feeling of being there comes over me and I workout. Or I realize my new plan is only one body part and any amount of cardio. I then usually workout harder. If I decide to workout after work I change into my gym clothes at work. It is amazing how much this works! When I do it this way it feels like I am just popping in like getting that cup of coffee at a convenience store.
I have decided not to go tomorrow because a serious snow storm is coming overnight. Best to be safe!

Friday, January 23, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Before and After


It's Friday! I changed my profile picture. That is a picture of when I worked out, not now. I often wonder how people have "before" pictures. I have had many "befores" but never any pictures. I don't like taking pictures when I don't feel good about the way I look. It's kind of sad when I look at the past two years that me an my fiancé have been together. Pictures of the dogs, the cats. Pictures of him at places we went. Pictures of him with the dogs and the cats. Come to think of it I look more like a creepy stalker then his fiancé. I put that picture up to remind me. Remind me that it is not age that matters but health. I was more healthy then and I am on my way now!
Worked on Biceps today. I was able to do 70lbs assist on pull-ups! Just one and not quite to my chin but I am getting there. The mindset changes I have made are working very well. I noticed the only time I note the time is on cardio. I have to make sure I stick to my miles and not time. Time can hurt me. I am the type of person who puts emphasis on what I am told is the magic time. Instead of quality I become fixated on quantity.  Minutes cannot define my workout, that is a prison I must not lock myself into again. I do, however, note the time for my Cardio Bank. Since I am clearing 2 miles in 30 mins, anything after that goes into the bank. With my mindset changes, my love for the gym is returning and a bonus that comes with that is feeling great. Feeling great? No, I meant feeling awesome!

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Cardio Bank

Worked out legs today. My leg workout is the absolute most important workout for me. Many women who ask me about it say that they don't want to workout their legs because they are afraid they will get bulky. I have found the results the opposite. Born with "junk in the trunk" and "thunder thighs" bodybuilding makes my legs sculpted and appear thinner. I noticed in my two year break from lifting that inevitable sound of "swish, swish" as I walked. In just three weeks that sound is gone. I was worried for awhile that I would start a fire which would only come handy if I was lost in the woods. I also started what I call a "Cardio Bank". Any time over 30mins on cardio I store in this bank for days that I am sick, days I have to cancel the gym, or simply a day when I want to just get home and relax. I figure if I do just 5 mins extra each day that is 25 extra minutes a week! Today I went for 7. My fiancé will laugh when he reads this because I have some fascination with the number 7 when it comes to amounts of things I want. I like to go to a local famous pizza place and order "just 7" of their garlic dipping sauces. I always get a curious look and a comment of "just 7?" or "exactly 7?" The cashier yells it to the back and usually the person back there comes up to the front and asks, "exactly 7?" To me its more then the normal 5 and who knows when I will be back, it's all I can eat there anyway. So today I have 7 minutes stored in my "Cardio Bank". I worked even harder in this seven minutes so I remember when I take a day off  it was stored returning higher interest. And if I never use the Cardio Bank? Well then its an extra bonus on the way to a healthier heart.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Old School

Excellent workout today! I worked on chest. The incline bench is my challenger and I was able to up the weight by 5lbs. I read somewhere that on the second set to attempt an increase of 5lbs even with lower reps. All of my exercises right now are 3 sets of 8 with an increase of 5lbs on the second set. I went from the incline to the bench and then fly's. I ended the workout with pushups. I believe strongly in the old way of lifting. Before there were machines people did pushups, pull-ups, sit-ups, etc. I try to incorporate as many "old school" exercises as possible just to satisfy my own personal feelings.  I kept the treadmill at a low pace again today. I felt like a racehorse trapped in the gate and ready to fly. I needed to make sure I was fully recovered though so I am really looking forward to tomorrow. As I was leaving the gym I realized that I am in the third week. It's possible that this is still just a surge of that January madness but it feels familiar somehow. For the twenty two years I worked out it never occurred to me to "get to the gym", I just did. It was a part of my life as necessary as eating. This morning, leaving the gym, I noticed I felt that way. It felt similar to taking that morning shower or walking the dogs. A thing I simply just do because it needs to be done. That feeling this morning made me hopeful that my relationship with the gym is here to stay.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Taking it Easy

The more I change my mindset, the more I consciously think about what my body really needs, the more I want to workout. As I think about it I realize it is the opposite of what I had done in the past. Sure, what I did in the past lasted for 22 years, but I am living longer then 22 years. Not only am I living longer then 22 years but the want and the need to be fit is now and as I get older. In the past, I would have forced myself to get to the gym when sick, forced myself when tired and pushed beyond limits that were not healthy. And then? And then I would hate working out. I would have to force myself on happy healthy days filled with time. Now? Now that I am forcing myself to rest when sick, when I took a day off when it was snowing, I not only long to workout but I would have to force myself to stay home. I find this opposite reaction intriguing. Is this what I should have read in the magazines? Is this what the posters at the gym really mean to say? I would hope so because this is different. It is strong, powerful and doable. Todays workout was back. I chose back because it is the most relaxing for me. Sounds weird since it is bodybuilding, but when done on low scale weight it feels like a massage. When I got on the treadmill I walked a nice slow pace. The purpose of today's workout was to satisfy both the mind and body. After being ill for three days I took it easy keeping in mind that my body needed energy to fight and heal and my mind needed understand that. Maybe I am getting wiser as I am getting older. Maybe parents are right when they don't let you have that expensive porcelain doll when you are young for fear you wont appreciate it enough to take good care of it. Hmmm , makes me wish I was given my body when I was old enough to appreciate it and take good care of it. At least I realized this now and I am fully grateful for that.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Day Off

I did not go to the gym today. I have a cold. Back in the day I would have forced myself. This was not a hard decision for me as one might think and the reason is due to experience. In all of those hit the gym, hard push days, I went only three times with a cold. They say the smartest dog learns in five try's and the smartest one by the first. It took me three times. I was told by many that when you work out a cold will spread. It made sense. The blood pushes harder, turning the virus's mode of transportation from an old Chevy to a Amtrak at rush hour. But, of course, I did not listen the first time. The first time I lifted for 45 minutes and then finished with one hour of cardio. A cold that would have taken a day or two turned into a week. Same with the second time. The third time, the charm, turned into Bells Palsy. I was unaware I had Mono and my lovely "healthy, look at me" workout turned that Mono into Bells Palsy. Great. I learned though. I learned that it is not tough, not strong, and not smart to push when I knew I had a cold. That one day or three days that I forced my body, caused my body to shut down for weeks. I remembered, my body is separate from my mind and it tried to warn me it could not do it. I should have listened then but I am listening now. Hopefully I will be back tomorrow.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Not Good for My Age..., Great for My Age!

It's Friday!!! Typically this would have been my biggest motivation day. My sister and I would go out on a Friday and Saturday night each, taking turns as a designated driver. I loved working out but towards the end of the week that Monday high would become a Thursday low. (The graph would look like a bowling ball rolling down a hill). But then on Friday my motivation would come bursting out so I looked good in those new jeans I just bought. But now, I am 40something, living with the person I love, and all I love to do on a Friday night is watch some cool show on TV. So what motivated me this Friday? Looking in the mirror and saying I look good for 43. I never wanted to look good "for" any age. I wanted to look great period. I had used this positive attitude for the past two years but it never made me feel good. It has been my understanding to accept the things I cannot change. But, my body can change and therefore I don't have to accept it.  I don't want to look "good for 43" . I never said when I was 18, "I look good for 18". What I do want is to be unable to tell I am 43. I don't want to run like I am 43, I want to run like " a bat outta hell". I also don't want to breathe like I am 43, I want to breathe like my lungs are newborn. That was my motivation for my Friday. To the gym I went.
I did triceps today. Love triceps . Easy to build and no granny arms! Granny arms are one of the things that made me go back to fitness. I was pointing down the hall to someone at work and saw my underarm jiggle . That was not a sign of age. It was a sign of a passion I let go . I feel that passion coming back. I missed it, I really did. Only knew how much I loved it till I let go. Makes me realize that things do happen for a reason.

In the middle of dips I was up to three, wanting to do just one more. I thought I needed a spurt of energy.....I must have something to be mad about and all at once with no label it came and I did two more reps!!! Neat trick:)
PS. My body was right yesterday because it gave me all it had today.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Listen to the Body

Learned something new again today! Listen to my body. It scares me when I think about it. My body is completely seperate from my mind. The organs, the cells, they all do their own thing. I can't point my finger and and say " stop that, behave" or " I don't like that, so don't do it". They do their own thing. But instead of scaring me why don't I just listen to them? They know what to do. They know how to fix themselves and what to do with the nutrients I give them and the workouts I do. So today at the gym I did just that. I felt body tired. Not mind tired. My mind wanted to lift more, walk more, run more but my body said please no. I tried to ignore it's pleads and let my mind say things like it's not enough, keep going. Stupid old mindset comes out like extra bread at a diner. Constant and nagging. So, I thought that since I am trying new things why not try listening to my body? Ignore all of the articles that say push it, take it to the limit, come on just do it! I promised my body we would do just what we can today. I was working on back and stayed at the weight I did last week. No more, no,less. I almost got caught up in 5 more minutes on the treadmill but I asked my body and it's response? "You promised!" I got off the treadmill. Funny thing happened. I did not feel bad, I felt good. I actually felt great. Before I would have pushed and pushed and you know where that got me? Quitting. You see it was not my mind telling me to stop it was my body. And for thousands of years this human makeup learned what is good and bad, not someone's article that sounds like pummeling myself to near death. I am working with myself and not against myself. Best part is, I am looking forward to going back tomorrow.
P.S. Thank you to those who are reading my blog. You inspire me!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Don't Stop

As I am getting used to feeling good again it is getting harder to go to the gym. How is that? Seems like a terrible trick my mind wants to play on me. Stop when you feel good. My mind said "you worked out enough this week!" Seems weird my mind would say that when it never says "you ate enough of that cake!" I want working out and being fit to be the same as drinking a beer or sipping that fifth cup of coffee. I want it to be "chasing the high" instead of  "enjoy the low". I dragged myself to the gym. Sat in the car and waited. For what I don't know. I was working on biceps today. My goal of five years had been to do just one pull-up. Okay, I went in for that. Again, opening the door and walking in changed me. I wonder what that is. Feels like security. Maybe this place has become my serenity. Maybe it always meant things could change, things could get better, I could get better. My life hasn't exactly been what I expected. Many ups and downs, many things I think were failures. But here, here I must feel some accomplishment. That is a drug I might want to chase. I start with hammer curls. 15lbs. Then I went for the 20's. 8 reps!!!! Then to the preacher curl. Since I had only three exercises I decided to look on the web to see if I have actually been doing this right for the past 20 or so years. Nope. A bit off. Form is extremely important because I could wind up using all of the muscles except for the bicep. Hmmm, maybe that is why they never looked as defined as I wanted. Once I finished doing that correctly I went to the pull-up assist. I started at 90 pounds assist at 5 reps and then went to 80 for 3. Then I thought if I can do 3 at 80 why not try 1 at 70? I did it! I never would have done that with my old mindset. My old mindset would have told me if I can't do 5 reps then don't bother. I don't want to bother with the old mindset.  When I finished it was time for the treadmill. I ran yesterday for a minute so today I wanted to try these "spurts" I was reading about in a magazine. I did 10 minutes of waking and then ran for 1. Then every 5 minutes I ran for 1. Then, to my surprise it felt good. It felt really good. I tried 5 and 2 and then I did 5 and 3. I actually ran on the treadmill for 3 whole minutes! Could it be true? Could giving myself a break and celebrating the things that are accomplishments to just me actually make me feel good? I mean my mountain could be someone else's molehill but it sure looks and feel great up here! When I left and sat down in the car it amazed me how different I felt from when I was last sitting here. I felt like I accomplished something, I felt good, I felt healthier, and I also felt I hope I get addicted to this.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Learning Something New

I felt really drained this morning. In the news saw a cat that had been hurt badly by some one with a firecracker. Drains me. I wanted to resort to having a beer and drown the thought away. You see animals are my thing. Actually anything vulnerable is my thing. I told myself it's my choice. I got in the car and went to the gym. I had no energy, no desire. All I kept thinking is "just walk in the door". And so I did. I decided on legs today. It's one of the good things about my new plan of one target area a day. I can change it up without being restricted to "today has to be this, tomorrow must be that". And it is easy to accomplish without feeling I will be there for hours while I am in this funk. So I did my squats. Still feeling drained I went to the text from my buddy last week showing me a better way to do squats. To my surprise it was the lift I needed. Learning something new made me feel not only entertained but fueled my desire like a car nearly out of gas. I watched the video he sent me and with headphones in, learned the technique. It felt awesome! After that I completed two other exercises with increasing weight and hopped onto the treadmill. 3.5 miles again but who cares if it was not my goal of 4 miles yet! I did two good things today. Two beneficial things today. I signed a petition to help that cat and gave myself health.

Fitness Over 40Something - I'm Still Here!

I am still here! Friday was too risky with the snow. I felt bad about it and wondered why. I realized again I set myself up for failure every time I do not give myself some kind of a break. From now on a snow day is a day off. Holidays are days off and most of all the weekends are days off. What I established as a weekend are two days in a row just like a job. I mean, just like a job, working out is something that is important and necessary. So, like a job, I get breaks and days off. Just like my excuses that tell me not to work out need to be redefined, so do the excuses to work out too much need to be redefined. 
So! It is Monday and I was back and revived. My chest workout was today and it was amazing. Incline bench, push-ups, fly's, and bench press. I paid closer attention to my form. It hurt my ego to lower the weight but what was the sense of high weight and bad form? Then I walked on the treadmill. I actually broke into a jog! I was never able to do that. I was always too scared of falling. Nice feeling, it really was. And... I walked 3.5 miles. New thing I learned today? Miles are so much better then time. I mean what feels better as a goal? 4 miles or over an hour? 4 is a little number with bigger excitement. I also noticed how I stopped at 3.5 miles. I was tired at that point and my body had enough. Now 4 miles is something to look forward to instead of something I am constantly trying to match. Good day.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Drum Beat

Third day! Not only was I able to concentrate on biceps only but I actually made cardio fun. I mean if I am going to walk and listen to music why not try to step to the drumbeat of my favorite songs? I began to notice that the more I made the treadmill and music one, the more enthusiastic I became. One song was a 3.2 another 3.1 and then the faster ones at 3.5. I walked an hour. Wow an hour. Back to biceps. Preacher curls, hammer curls and pull-ups. Pull-ups have been my goal for years. Just one pull-up the old fashioned way. Please just one. All of this time though I was in a rush so concentering on a pull-up came last. Now I am going to work harder at it. Now I can work harder at it. I used the assist and have to say, I needed a lot of assistance. Before, I would have felt defeated, now, it's a nice thing to work for. Will I ever do it? I don't know. Is my body able? I don't know. Was this fun to try and something to look forward to? I knew the answer to that one and it was yes. I decided to feel good about the things I know and not the things I don't.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Snowing

And so it is snowing today. I don't drive in the snow. At least I did not drive in the snow until now which scares me. Is this new start to fitness just another short surge like a blizzard? Will it melt just as snow does when its fury has ended? I am not sure. My new mindset is telling me it does not matter, just go. Before I even get to the gym I decided on triceps today. How great it felt to just work on those, I was able to make sure my form was correct. I was able to try heavier weight on the second set. I do three sets of eight, with the middle set being the heaviest weight. Before I would rush through it. I also would go too heavy on this set. My form would be compromised and it would not matter as long as I completed the workout. This is what happens when too much emphasis is put on what I read or heard. It never occurred to me that the workouts I learned over the years could have been best for that person but not for me. Now, with doing just one body part a day, once a week,  I slow it down and concentrate only on that. Of course it worries me that results won't be the same but how do I know that yet? I complete this workout and start my walk on the treadmill. Nice.  I did more then negative again today.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Time

Okay so it is a new day and happens to be the day I planned on going back to the gym. What had become an overwhelming thought seemed a bit better now since I had a new idea. Instead of the forty-five minute body building split routine, why not make it more simple. How about one exercise for one body part all at one time? And then, instead thirty minutes of cardio, how about a nice slow walk on the treadmill, I mean, after all, the biggest challenge I had now was going back at all. This sounded right, it sounded good and it sounded, more than anything, doable. I messaged my buddy of over twenty years about which exercise would be best for legs. As I waited for his response I drove to the gym. I sat in the car and thought numerous things. Am I going to look like one of those people with a New Year's resolution? Should I wait? I have other things I have to do so this is going to take too much time. For a few minutes I thought of excuses until I made my mind sick and then robotically got out of the car and walked to the door, slid my gym key, and walked in. I had missed this place was my very first thought. I planed ahead not to look at the time. That was very hard to do. I walked over to the Smith machine and did my first squat. Funny thing happened, I liked it. After I finished three sets I thought what about just legs today but only three exercises? I did dead lifts and dumbbell sit-and-stands. It felt good, fun. I paid no real attention to the weight, only how it felt. After that my old mindset kicked in and of course, I started to feel like I did not do that much, that it as not good enough. So what did I do? Walked over to the treadmill and got on just like I had planned. I started waking and noticed I automatically started looking at calories, distance and since I was  equipped with my pedometer app, its default goal of 10,000 steps. More pressure, no fun. I did not get off though. I walked. At my own slow pace and worked on my mindset. I purposely stopped at 2miles. I had to try to teach myself it was okay. I left he gym and got in the car. Once I got home I realized how amazing I felt. I took a shower and felt that soreness that meant I did good. You mean I did not have to be there for over an hour? I did not have to complete a pedometer' default goal? I did not have to lift extreme to feel I did something?  I learned something today. Time can't matter, length can't matter, and excuses can't stop me. I also learned that once I get in that door the hardest part is over. Let's see how far this new mindset takes me. Maybe you can teach and old dog new tricks.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Fitness Over 40Something - Getting Younger

This blog is simply a diary of some sort written by a person who is facing the once thought inevitable fact that I am getting old. Even the term diary might be aging myself since right now I am on a laptop doing something younger crowds call blogging instead of using a pen to write in a small book that had a little lock and key on the side that I never locked for fear of locking myself out of it. Not to mention the robe and slippers and getting really tired at nine o'clock pm. I am not a certified personal trainer, just a normal girl who worked out heavy for twenty-two years and then just quit. Yep, just quit.
My love of fitness began at the age of twenty with a fitness machine me and my brother had just bought and that first rush after a workout. I was hooked, and worked hard after work, five days a week for twenty-two years. Weightlifting was my favorite and cardio was a must. I would be angry at myself for missing a workout, and push harder with unattainable goals. What I had thought was relentless willpower actually turned out to be a perfectionist mess. After I had bought my own home at forty-one my commute became an hour longer and not one gym was in a radius of forty-five minutes. I kept going to my gym twenty minutes out of the way from my job and then the hour and twenty minutes back to my new home. This was that straw I always heard people talking about that broke some camels back. It brought me to the end.  At first I thought I would jog down the street and use my free weights at home like I had done at thirty when I could not afford a gym for awhile. That lasted a few weeks and then I started feeling excuses becoming more powerful. That had always been there but nothing stopped me from moving forward. That must have been one strong camel or one strong straw that broke his back. It finally came to the point for the first time in twenty-one years I quit working out. At first I was upset. It was not the quitting that bothered me as much as the love of no constant pressure. Sure I had gone a week once or twice and one time even a month but this was different. I felt different. I felt relieved.  After work I could go right home, I could make dinner, I could watch TV! Hey, I am forty something anyway so who cares? I began to love this and this love continued until I started noticing the effects. I was moving a pumpkin from the front yard to the back and felt badly winded. I was taking longer to move from a squatting position to standing upright. My fortysomething year old body began to surface to my sight. It is not that at forty you suddenly wake up and whops! what happened??? It is, however, what happens when you have been bodybuilding since forever and then just stop. Sad as this was I enjoying my excuses or the first time in my life. I accepted how I looked and yes I looked good and knew people would accept me for was especially my boyfriend. But in that I never realized about what did I really think about my new body? It made me sad. I began to miss the way my clothes fit. I don't mean weight I mean the lean way I had looked. I missed the feeling of earning my body the same way a person feels about a job. I missed the ability to move a hundred pumpkins to the backyard. This log is about my journey back to fitness. At that moment I knew it was something I wanted back but did not know that after a two year break and loads of defeating mind sets how hard it would be.
My first realization of how bad my defeating mindset was when a gym opened three miles down the road from my house. I was so excited! I joined during the preopening and hit the cardio and weights just like always. This first week was good but then I started picking on myself. I did not lift long enough. I did not use the elliptical long enough. Time became my enemy. I was not lifting hard enough. My biceps should be much more defined. Goals became my enemy. I was not going often enough. Quantity became my enemy. Slowly excuses made me feel better then working out. I tried for so long to keep up with such unattainable goals that again I quit. Plus, at forty something my drive was much lower then it was at twenty something so I enveloped myself in my age like a blanket on a snowy cold day. And then after awhile my sadness came back. I had to figure this out. So here I am attempting again with a new camel and hopefully a new mindset.