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Post by phillydude on Feb 25, 2020 23:04:54 GMT
Well well well... it's Fat Tuesday (finally... a holiday for the rest of us) and I just got back from (another) two day bender in Atlantic City. Booze, cigars, weed, gambling, and women. To be honest, I am really feeling my age (55) these days. Even things I could instantly recover from just a year ago (like a two day bender as noted above) take me a day or two now. And that's why I wanted to jump on here... I need your HONEST advice, as I'm really feeling "lost" right now. I hate that I'm feeling "old," but at the same time, why should I fight it? I mean... why should I change? I'm old enough that anything I do isn't going to DRASTICALLY change my life expectancy. At best, my life is half over. At worst... well it's been a good ride. I'm in good shape compared to MOST (I'm guessing 90%) of the men my age. My weight is in the target range for my height and age and I am still mobile and active and healthy. The only medical condition I have is diabetes (which will kill me eventually no matter what I do, so I'm not obsessed with "controlling" it)... and a daily dose of Metformin is my only script. I could go out and run a sub-30 5k with a little training, I don't hesitate to lift heavy-ish objects, I can put my fists on the ground (without bending my knees), and I can still get it up. At the same time, I'm smoking 3-9 cigars a week, I'm drinking (moderately) 5-6 days a week, and I've been smoking pot every day for about six months (after YEARS of not smoking it at all). I have no problem getting 6-9 hours of sleep nightly, I have a stable job I love, my relationship with my wife is better than it has been in years, and both of my kids are comfortable in college. There are several projects/hobbies in progress (completing the restoration of my house being the priority, which is about 80% finished... plus random cars and boats that need tinkering). (insert humblebrag) And not a week goes by that someone of the opposite sex doesn't pay me a compliment about my physical appearance, even when prefaced with "For a man your age." I guess I'm trying to justify some kind of desire to improve my fitness and nutrition... mainly because reading back on what I've written so far, I noticed I haven't used the word "happy." We all know that the "lifestyle" is hard to maintain... I look at peers like Seltzer and Shamie and MacDiver, and while I admire their dedication, I sometimes wonder "What's the point?" Back in the day, I was motivated by the challenge of it all. It went from being able to run a 5k to finishing ultra-marathons, or from riding a bike to cycling for hundreds of miles a week. I took my interest in fitness from casually "working out" to becoming a trainer and managing a nationally known gym, and followed that by operating my own facilities in two different states. And of course, there was JSF... where I (hopefully) helped to educate and inspire people who I never even met, but also developed real-world friendships that I still take pride in to this day. Many of those people are here on this forum now... but many more are gone, having moved on from their desire to improve their health and well being to other (equally important) endeavors. I think about those people who were once active members of JSF who have now focused on other things, and are probably no worse for the decision to move on and live a different life. And it makes me wonder... have I also moved past it? Would getting back to it even be worth it? Would the time and effort invested provide enough of a return to make it worthwhile? After all, it's not like I'm in a bad place in the second half of my life (see above). And I truly believe that the work I put in over the past 25 years has set me up to be in that place today. Fuck (can we curse on this forum?)... I started my fitness journey when I turned 30... it's really been 25 years now? Talk about feeling old... I think I met M@ when HE was like 25 years old. Anyway... I came here to ask for advices, and I hope I was able to give you an idea of both sides of the situation as it stands... because frankly, I can't come up with an answer to the "why." Sure... I COULD trade the bad lifestyle choices for good ones... but would that make me any "happier?" Would an extra five years make that much of a difference at the end? Discuss...
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Post by phillydude on Feb 25, 2020 23:45:55 GMT
Well... I just read each and every journal on this forum... took me about twenty minutes LOL. Hopefully I can keep up daily and still contribute nothing of value.
One thing I noticed that that most of the avatars are of people's pets. I endorse this trend and as soon as I am on a computer with access to photos I will do the same.
I also caught wind of the discussion about my "frugality" which was always a topic of amusement (for myself and others) over on JSF... good to see that some things haven't changed.
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Post by M@ on Feb 26, 2020 15:58:00 GMT
I came here to ask for advices, and I hope I was able to give you an idea of both sides of the situation as it stands... because frankly, I can't come up with an answer to the "why." Sure... I COULD trade the bad lifestyle choices for good ones... but would that make me any "happier?" Would an extra five years make that much of a difference at the end? Discuss... I'm in kind of the same mental quandary. I have a lot of crystal clear goals and it's no effort at all to throw myself into them. Finishing both of my postgraduate degrees with a 4.0 was important to me so I took the time, did the extra work, threw my teammates on my back when needed, etc. and there wasn't any question in my mind as to whether or not I was going to do those things. I want to get my golf handicap down to 0 (currently 12.9) and I watch videos, take lessons, take days off to go play, and practice almost every day and it's far from a challenge: I actually resent it when I don't get to practice, even if practice is frustrating or the weather is shit. I set a goal for myself to get intimately familiar with the DSLR camera I bought four years ago and never learned to use. The goal involved taking 10,000 photographs this year. I'm already at 4,657 and I have hundreds of gorgeous photos of my family from Christmas onward. I don't have a clear fitness goal. Even if I did, I know that what I enjoy about training (drawing a big circle around weight lifting, cardio, general physical activity, and nutrition) is the process of getting to that goal and not the goal itself. I want to be able to keep up with and play with my kids, but that's too nebulous and doesn't drive me. I want to set a good example for them and that doesn't do it either. Right now I'm finding a lot more attraction to the ideas that: - I could look and feel younger.
- I could get truly big and ripped for the first time ever.
- I'm losing my hair and bald looks better if you're muscular
All that said, I'm way further down the road towards being physically unhealthy than you are. I'm obese, my gout attacks are frequent, I'm arthritic and inflamed, I need a CPAP to sleep properly, etc. I am not at all content with the status quo. ...and beyond all of that, I want something to strive for and be excited about.
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Post by seltzer on Feb 26, 2020 16:29:54 GMT
Phil, a very thought provoking post.
The point of exercise for me is that I really enjoy it, but it's a moving target. I've always been fond of iron and there were many years that I was dedicated to endurance events, both cycling and running, but not lately for the latter two. Do I think any of this is going to increase my longevity? Possibly, but I do think that whatever years I'm granted on this earth will be more enjoyable because of decisions I've made. Ten years from now I still want to be able to do activities with my kids as an example, but even that is not my primary driver; it's what I wrote in my first sentence: I enjoy it. Knowing me as well as you do, you know that I have habits that are in contrast to being in top physical condition and I'm fine with that. I'm almost 62, my Olympic aspirations (truthfully there never were any, but the younger me had delusions of being a MLB player) are behind me and I just want to be happy. And I am. Balance!
Once I further contemplate what you wrote I'll probably write some more, but I wanted to get a response out there even if it was incomplete.
Lastly, it's nice to read that you and the family are doing well.
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Post by phillydude on Feb 26, 2020 16:32:22 GMT
M@, I am 100% confident that you are still young enough to take action now which will improve your quality of life (and possibly extend it) for the long haul.
But even so, the ideas you are presenting as attractive to inspire change are still nebulous. Define "look and feel younger" or "big and ripped"... what's the tangible goal?
As I mentioned, my "why" was always the challenge of it all. If I can run 3, can I run 5? 10? 25? 50? Once I got to that last number, I realized that the "what's next" was gone.
If I decided to get into something like powerlifting, there would be tangible goals... I read about Merk and Graham trying to hit specific numbers and can see the motivation.
But to just get back into the game with the idea of "looking and feeling younger" or "getting big and ripped" don't have that kind of attraction for me anymore.
I know "big and ripped" isn't realistic at my age, and I actually feel pretty young (and receive enough positive reinforcement that my looks are still good that I believe it).
It just seems like every time I sit down and look at a twelve week program to get "back in shape" I just can't find the motivation to actually move forward and do it.
(edit) Maybe I am missing something here... maybe the goal is to complete the challenge as stated, no matter the result. Just do the damn thing for twelve weeks.
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Post by phillydude on Feb 26, 2020 16:54:42 GMT
Paul, thanks for your thoughts... as the "senior" member of the group, your input is important to me, and I look forward to any continuation of the discussion you can offer.
I often recall a segment in the movie Bigger Faster Stronger where they show (using action figures) how the perception of an ideal physique for men has changed in recent years.
The speaker said something like "Our fathers weren't obsessed with having visible abs, and most never stepped foot in a gym after they left their twenties behind."
So what's reason behind our somewhat recent infatuation with fitness? Aside from the idea of "looking and feeling better" and maybe extending our longevity for a few extra years?
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Post by M@ on Feb 27, 2020 2:26:20 GMT
Define "look and feel younger" or "big and ripped"... what's the tangible goal? I don't have a clear fitness goal. That's kind of the point. If you were to have a goal for a 560 lb deadlift and you hit it...what then? What happens after the marathon? What happens after the 6% body fat and paper-thin skin followed by the beach vacation? The worst thing in the world for my long-term fitness has been hitting goals (with the exception of quitting smoking). The work; the process; the effort are what I like about the fitness thing. The goal is just a reason to do it all. At this point, I'm wondering if it's even necessary. I could just do the work and see what happens. Amor fati.
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Post by macdiver on Feb 27, 2020 12:18:07 GMT
For me it isn't a choice between fitness and the other things you enjoy. Except for the gambling, my life isn't much different. I drink way too often and way too much. My weekends are often late nights and early mornings. Weeknights I tend to go to bed earlier. I have reversed my insulin sensitivity and pre-diabetes by following a keto diet for most meals but is the amount of fat I eat really healthy? The difference I see is that I like to run and do yoga. Both give me a way to deal with the stress of my life. Traveling 50% or more is not easy and my job is very deadline driven.
I don't do this to extend my life. So far my mom and sister died at 72 and my Dad died at 68. My blood Aunt and Uncles all died around the same age. Diabetes is prevalent on both sides so that is why I have decided to try and control it with an extreme diet. That said, I don't really expect to make it past my early 70's. I'm 54 now so at best 20 years. My goal though is to be healthy enough for the next 20 years to be able to enjoy them.
What does that mean? For me, lots of cheap, bad wine on a regular basis especially when I'm traveling and some really good wines from my cellar when I'm home. I have cut out all the candy and crap like that on a daily basis. Now though, when I choose to eat sweets, I try to have something really good and not the stuff in the candy jar at work. I tend to eat well because I really like food. We cook at home mostly using a minimum of pre-processed stuff. We do not cook everything from scratch and use things like pre made stocks in the boxes. Our regular meals are normally a protein (steak, pork chop, chicken thighs), potatoes (mashed cauliflower for me), and a frozen or canned vegetable. Simple and relatively healthy compared to fast food.
Traveling for work sucks and is a big stressor in my life but I really enjoy traveling for fun and hope to be fit enough to do that until the end. Currently my wife and I are trying to figure out an "early retirement" to allow us more time for traveling. My official retirement age is 68 1/2 or so. My goal is 62 if not sooner. Sooner would require working somewhere but maybe not full time.
All that rambling to make the point that for me I have found a nice balance between fitness and my life. I have found some exercises that I do enjoy (running, yoga) and some I do that I don't enjoy as much but it helps with the other two like strength training. I use keto to control my family and personal history with diabetes but I am not excessive with it. I probable have 2 -3 non keto meals or snacks out of the 28 to 35 weekly meals and snacks and I don't worry about it. I don't track calories or quantities of what I eat or drink. I just live.
On a personal note, please continue posting here regardless if you continue exercising. I enjoy reading about your adventures whether it is the Goofy challenge at Disney or a 48 hour bender in Vegas.
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Post by Merk on Feb 27, 2020 14:13:22 GMT
I'm glad to see you made it over here and decided to post. I've been eagerly awaiting since I saw you joined. What you posted is very thought-provoking and really....what is the point? Damn. I suppose, if anything, just enjoy your life as you see fit. If you want to go for a run because you feel it, do it. If you want to smoke some weed, do that too. Hell, do them at the same time and see what happens! It's whatever you want, what you consider life balance and what brings you happiness and joy. Again, it's good to see you here. I hope you stick around.
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Post by M@ on Feb 27, 2020 17:10:59 GMT
On a personal note, please continue posting here regardless if you continue exercising. I enjoy reading about your adventures whether it is the Goofy challenge at Disney or a 48 hour bender in Vegas. Seconded
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Post by seltzer on Feb 27, 2020 17:55:31 GMT
On a personal note, please continue posting here regardless if you continue exercising. I enjoy reading about your adventures whether it is the Goofy challenge at Disney or a 48 hour bender in Vegas. Seconded Thirded! :-)
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Post by phillydude on Feb 27, 2020 21:47:10 GMT
Thanks for all your replies. I wrote out a plan for the next twelve weeks, which would start on Monday and finish on Memorial Day.
Week 1 & 2: lift M (upper body) - W (lower body) - F (upper body), Walk T (3mi) - Th (3mi) - Sa (3mi) - Su (5mi) Week 3 & 4: lift M (push) - T (pull) - Th (push) - F (pull), Walk W (5mi) - Sa (5mi) - Su (5mi) Week 5 & 6: lift M (upper body) - W (lower body) - F (upper body), Walk T (3mi) - Th (3mi) - Sa (5mi) - Su (5mi) Week 7 & 8: lift M (push) - T (pull) - Th (push) - F (pull), Walk W (5mi) - Sa (5mi) - Su (5mi) Week 9 & 10: lift M (upper body) - W (lower body) - F (upper body), Walk T (5mi) - Th (5mi) - Su (5mi) Week 11 & 12: lift M (push) - T (pull) - Th (push) - F (pull), Walk W (5mi) - Sa (5mi) - Su (5mi)
That would give me an average of 15 miles of walking per week (180 miles in 90 days?), and 60 weight training sessions with the goal being to bulk up a little bit (10-20 lbs?) before the summer.
I am still playing around with what exercises I can do with my limited equipment (basically dumbbells up to 50lbs and a curl bar with about 150lbs of plates).
Nutritionally, I think I will aim for 3000 calories a day, with 2g carbs per pound of body weight, 1g protein per pound, and .5g fat per pound.
In addition, some kind of push-up and/or pull-up routine will be part of the plan... I like the idea of MacDiver's system of doing X reps every mile during my walking days.
So... I'd appreciate input on this plan... I'll probably work on the specific exercises for the lifting days tonight, and will post what I come up with for feedback.
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Post by phillydude on Feb 27, 2020 23:01:15 GMT
Just wanted to follow up with some details about the nutrition plan. I tried to make it as simple as possible... nice round numbers and something I can eat six days a week.
I got all these nutritional values from the LoseIt app... I'm not sure how accurate they are, but I'm sure they are pretty close. All weights and measures are uncooked.
M1: 6 whole eggs, 1 cup instant oats, vitamins and supplements (included in calculations) M2 (PWO): 2 cups whole milk, 2 scoops protein (I'm using the cheap Walmart / Body Fortress protein) M3: 8oz 80% ground beef, 2 cups instant mashed potatoes, 2 cups spinach M4: 2 slices wheat bread, 2 tbsp peanut butter M5: 8oz chicken breast, 2 cups brown rice, 2 cups broccoli
This should be around 3250 calories, 275g protein, 275g carbs, and 125g fat. or a 33%p/33%c/34%f ratio. I know it's not what I outlined above, but it seems like it would work for me.
I would be deleting the PWO shake on non-lifting days (which is about 700 calories), bringing me down to 2750cal, 200g pro, 250g carb, 100g fat, 30%p/35%c/35%f on those days.
In addition, I think I will try to get back to drinking a gallon of green tea (with ginseng) each day. And as a treat, I'm going to go back to making sugar-free popsicles.
Thoughts and feedback?
(edit) I'm gonna add a tablespoon of jam to the peanut butter sandwich, because PB&J. . I may end up substituting that whole meal for a tuna on whole wheat sandwich if I'm in the mood.
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Post by phillydude on Feb 28, 2020 13:37:11 GMT
A non-fitness update... I mentioned in Merk's journal that I will be facing a financial shortfall in the next few months (my employers cancelled a planned vacation, which will deny me the overtime pay I normally receive when they travel)... so I just cancelled MY planned overnight trip to Atlantic City on Wednesday.
I can hear you thinking "Wait... weren't you just in Atlantic City last weekend?" Yes... yes I was. When I get the opportunity to take a day off in the winter, I usually head there. It's a cheap and easy getaway (room and food is comped), and as I pointed out in my initial post, it combines many of my favorite things to do to relax.
I'm probably still going to go, however... I'll just take the bus and make it a day trip (I'm going up to Philly anyway for some dental work) instead of staying over.
In other news, I haven't smoked any pot since I was down there on Sunday, and I haven't had a drink since then either. The former I plan to abstain from for an extended period... the latter I'm not so sure about. I guess I could "give it up for Lent" but in reality I will probably have a few this weekend, and if I do go to AC, I'm positive I will.
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Post by phillydude on Feb 28, 2020 16:46:10 GMT
Saw a handy list of substitutions on FB this morning I thought I would share...
Noodles = Zucchini Rice = Cauliflower Milk = Almond Milk Butter = Sadness Cheese = Nope Coffee = Fuck this shit
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