Fitness Over 40Something - 145lb Squats!

145 lb squats, butt to the grass!!! Wow that felt amazing. When I first attempted the squat I wanted to warm up with 115. After completing a full set and feeling like it was easy I realized it was actually 125 lbs. Going back to my last posts it proves it was my mind that actually controlled what I could accomplish. A low self esteem mindset equals a low production workout. After realizing this I loaded the plates to 145 lbs. I completed five full reps butt to the grass. Then for the third set my mind started to feel that I couldn't again so I wanted to see what would happen and yes I was right. I had trouble with one. I stopped right there and took a rest. I told myself I could do this, I was stronger then I could ever imagine and hit it again. 5 full reps, butt to the grass, 145 lbs. Then I loaded to 155 and again 3 full reps, butt to the grass!!! I had heard so many times over and over again that your mind has more control over your ability if you let it. Meaning, if you think you can't you won't but if you think you can you will. I thought I could and I did. After this workout and realization I think I like weightlifting more then cardio. It is teaching me more and giving me more and that is what I need now in my life. Not to mention how cool it is becoming to see my body transform into something strong and powerful, something I cannot deny because the results are right in front of my face every time I look in the mirror. I can't wait to see where this takes me not only in my workouts but in life itself.

Fitness Over 40Something - I can!

Great morning at the gym. Well maybe not great but really good. Looking back on all I have written so far there seems to be one thing in common that has gotten in the way of becoming fit at forty something. My mindset. Whether it was me thinking how long I should workout, how much I should workout and/or can I workout. It's funny how a person can talk themselves into not doing something. A friend of mine told me don't let anyone tell you you can't. I see that same phrase in commercials, TV shows and in magazines. For me, I don't have anyone telling me I can't. I have always had a great support system telling me only that I can. So where does this "can't" come from? It comes from me. I guess I am my own worst enemy. So, how did it start and most of all how do I or anyone else like me fix it? Can a mindset be changed? I know this morning when I got up early to workout I said "I can". And I did. I said I can lift weights and I did. I said I can realize that time does not matter and that if I only go today that's cool too. There were a bunch of "i cans" and a bunch of "i did's". Feels pretty neat. I know it won't be this simple everyday but it is a start. A start of finding out what is wrong and fixing it. It's funny but  I don't know if I would have noticed this if I did not write this blog. I hope somehow in some way this blog helps other forty, fifty, sixty,seventy, eighty, ninety somethings and higher to get fit and healthy.  All I know today is that I can, we can be gym goers, weightlifters, cardio doers, and class attenders just like the young ones. Now is when we need it the most and now is the time to try to get rid of the "cant's" and replace them with the "cans" and "did's".

Fitness Over 40Something - 20Something

It has been four months since I wrote. I am hoping that writing about my experience will keep me motivated because I sure do need it now. In the past four months I am now down to 30 assist on the pull up bar! I started a few different schedules until I found the one that worked best for me. I tried six days on and one day off, three days on and one day off, then the winner...five days on two days off. So why do I need to be motivated? Have I gone every day in the past for months? I will be honest and the answer is no. Especially lately it has gotten tough. I do not know if it is because the days are shorter, cold and dreary or am I on the verge of quitting again? I do know that the days are shorter, cold and dreary here in the winter and I also know I do not want to quit. I have to try harder to force the idea of quitting out of my head. That seems just as hard as working out itself but to bad that is not all it takes. I need to think of ways to keep going. One way I was thinking would work is writing in this blog and the other I think is kids. When I say kids I mean the twenty somethings that make the treadmill look like playground, the stair climber look like stairs to Heaven, and the weights look like feathers floating away in the light, free air. Meanwhile the treadmill to me is work, the stair climber is stairs to hell and the weights are like those same feathers dipped in concrete. I wish my body had that same strength and hunger to move as it did when I was younger. This thought makes me sit back and think. Maybe its how I view it. When I was twenty something the treadmill, stair climber and weights were good to me. In age, is it my body or my mind that tells us it's too hard and I can't? I know when I lift weights my body responds the same. I can do the same weight if not more and it feels great. So that tells me it has to be the mind that changes. My thinking is what makes it so hard to lift. If I view it as feathers dipped in concrete then it shall be. So why don't I try to view not only my own body as strong and young but also the workout as fun and easy? That's right, a twenty something mind in a forty something body can only be good right? I want the playground, the stairway to Heaven, and the feathers floating in the light, free air. All I know is Monday nights blog will be pretty interesting!

Fitness Over 40Something - I'm Back!

And it feels so good to be back. The road that I drove onto the past eight months was scary, stress full and tiring. I left my gym bag at the exit for any additional weight was too much to bear. But, after finding a new, better job, fixing finances and becoming again I realized I was not feeling alive again. Something was missing. So I took back to the road and backtracked every mile, searching for that gym bag left so suddenly in the road. When I found it, I dusted it off and dove right up to the gym door. Inside it looked different, the people were different, but the sound and the feeling were still the same. I made up my mind of which exercises were on for that day and began to work out. It felt real, my body felt real and I knew later on that night it would feel thankful.  And then I walked by the pull-up bar. I stood there for a moment feeling so sad. It was my goal to be able to do just one pull-up, just one and now, since I had not tried one pull-up in so long I would need a lot of help. I remembered that I had used the assist at 80 lbs so I set the weight to 100. I felt intimidated as I stared at it, small and weak. But then something inside me grabbed the top of the bars and began to pull as hard as I could. I nearly flew to to the top. Okay, let me try 80 assist. Again, intimidation followed by shock as I easily pulled myself  up. I remember thinking no way, why not try 60? And there it was, I pulled myself up to that bar using only 60 pounds of assisted wight. It felt exhilarating, it felt strong. And as I left the gym that night I realized I never did give up on pull-ups. I was doing them all along.  I lost my job and fell right to the floor. It was scary, stressful and the future was dark. But somehow I made it back here. I made it back to were I am working, my finances are straightening out, I just worked out and I am back writing in this blog. I pulled my self up. I smiled the rest of that night thinking those bodybuilders were on to something, steps in life can be learned by working out. Important steps. Maybe, just maybe I will workout more.........

Fitness Over 40Something - Medicine

I can't lie to myself, it was hard to get to the gym this morning. My new mindset is great but days like these are tough. Days like these, when I have so much on my mind make it very difficult to focus on working out. My township gave me a hard time about my dog's rabies shot expiring in August and September. They needed it to expire in November. So what did this mean? I had to call the vet and ask to get an appointment for two dogs quick. I also went through the worry of overlapping the rabies vaccination. The township clerk was not at all sympathetic to my worry and pretty much told me to "find a way or incur the late fees". I had already sent in the form the first week of January and had it returned twice so even in my struggles I will be incurring a late fee. My vet assured me that the overlap will not hurt my dogs and we packed them up and got the shot. And so here I am tired, annoyed and unable to focus. But I went to the gym. I went and while working realized what a better choice this was. I got my sympathy from the gym, go figure. I got the feeling of strength and accomplishment. Best of all it was the gym that calmed me down and made me focused so I could continue the rest of my day. Not a bad "medicine" if you ask me.

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!

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!