Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Halloween 2017!

Ended up missing HIIT yesterday.

What I lifted today

Incline Bench Press - 115 pounds for three sets of 5 and one for 7
Assisted Pull-Ups -35 pounds for four sets of 5
Overhead Press 50 pounds for one set of 6, two of 5, and one for 9 (accident on first set)
Curls 50 pounds for three sets of 5, and one set of 6
Deadlifts 175 pounds for four sets of 5
Squats for 145 pounds for four sets of 5

A couple of the elders in the gym gave me some props for getting stronger. One guy asked my age and then said, "I thought you were younger." Then he told me he was 73. I thought he looked around 60. Hope I get some of that "fountain of youth."

Keep Grinding!

Sunday, October 29, 2017

10/29/17 Weekend Check In

This week was crazy at work. Luckily it was "deload" week so it didn't mess with working out.

I did the High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on the bike without adding resistance. I noticed that I was winded after the sprints yet so far from last December when I started. It was impressive to me. I think I will take the cardio test in the next couple of weeks.

My weight has been going up and down, still under 155. I think I will do some extra clearing out with a little longer fasting during November until my birthday. I plan on trying a "birthday year" again this year. Last year the diabetes diagnosis had me focusing more on diet and gym time.

For the week I lifted 3 times and did the same lifts each time. 4 sets of 5 for each exercise.

Incline Bench Press 100 pounds
Assisted Pullup -50 pounds
Overhead Press 15 pound dumbbells
Curls 15 pound dumbbells
Squats 130 pounds
Deadlifts 150 pounds


My goals for next week are:

Incline Bench Press - 115 pounds
Assisted Pull-Ups -35 pounds
Overhead Press 50 pound bar
Curls 50 pound bar
Deadlifts 175 pounds
Squats for 145 pounds


ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting

The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

10/21/17 Weekend Check In

OK, NOW it will be deload week next week. (Overview of blog is below.) It was good to say bye to my friend Judy. I'm glad we were able to go to her memorial. I'm hopeful to continue to be healthy and hope some of this is helpful to friends, family, and even "strangers."

I was able to get to 20 on resistance (max) for the sprints on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) routine. I did get a couple of times where the machine paused. Next week will be no resistance for deload (a week of recuperation). Then I think every month I'll do 18, 19, and 20 on resistance until it feels like I should increase sprint time or reduce rest time. I'm doing HIIT because of some research on this exercise style and insulin sensitivity.

I have seen various studies saying that resistance training is good for diabetics. It is also good for aging as well, this study is on women yet likely things are the same for men as well.

So here are my lifts for the week.

Thursday:
Incline Bench Press - 110 pounds, 3 sets of 5, one set of 12.

Assisted Pull-Ups with -40 pounds, 3 sets of 5, one set of 12.

Overhead Press with 45 pound bar, 3 sets of 5, one set of 12.

Curls with 45 pound bar, 3 sets of 5, one set of 12.

Deadlifts for 190 pounds, 3 sets of 5, and one set of 7.

Squats for 140 pounds, 3 sets of 5 and one set of 8.

Today/Saturday:
Incline Bench Press - 110 pounds, 2 sets of 5, two sets of 12.

Assisted Pull-Ups with -40 pounds, 2 sets of 5, one set of 10, and one set of 12.

Overhead Press with 45 pound bar, 2 sets of 5, two sets of 12.

Curls with 45 pound bar, 2 sets of 5, one set of 8, and one set of 12.

Deadlifts for 190 pounds, 3 sets of 5, and one set of 8.

Squats for 140 pounds, 3 sets of 5 and one set of 9.


ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting

The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.



Tuesday, October 17, 2017

10/17/17

Yesterday did the High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on the bike. I did get the resistance up to 20 and only stalled out on the bike for the last one. Seems like 45 rpms is the speed the bike needs to keep going.

I guess I'll keep doing 18, 19, 20 on the resistance for a few more months. One for each week and then zero resistance for the deload week.

What I lifted today:

Incline Bench Press for 110 pounds 4 sets of 5.
Assisted Pull-Ups with -40 pounds 4 sets of 5.
Overhead Press with 45 pound bar 3 sets of 5, and one set of 8.
Curls with 45 pound bar 3 sets of 5, and one set of 6.
Deadlifts for 190 pounds 4 sets of 5.
Squats for 140 pounds 3 sets of 5, and one set of 6.


I was supposed to do 170 on the deadlifts and was not doing math well in my head this morning. So I did 190. After the first set I was like, wth? Then I re-did the math and figured out I had added 20 pounds! So I'll that for this week and can re-adjust after deload week.

Got to talk to friends about staying fit as we age, and another friend said he's entering a powerlifting meet due to my posting deadlifts! It is cool to inspire people. It humbles me and also inspires me in return. Today I go to a friend's memorial and keep trying to stay healthy.

Have a great day!

Sunday, October 15, 2017

10/15/17

One of my friends shared a really cool quote about what we doing being more than just a goal. It was about what's the dream, the vision, behind the goal. His was a flat stomach and I think it's cool he's willing to own that. I definitely want to live a long time, knowing there are lots of things that can take you out at any time, because I want to see my great-grandchildren grow up. I also want to be able to move around as long as possible. Having developed back issues 10 years ago and having limited mobility for a good period of time I really appreciate being able to move.

I also want to be strong as hell. So the powerlifting part is important. To be honest to have one picture with a "six pack" would be cool too. Not sure this is as strong as the others.

Beating diabetes is a big part of this. With my A1C (a measure of sugar in the blood system over 3 months) going from 9.3 (very diabetic) to 5.0 ("normal") then down to 4.9 (better) I feel like I'm in a good place. One goal is to see if I can get 4.5. I think it's doable without meds and I know if I hit that I might lose my  motivation (good to know myself this way). Having weightlifting goals will help keep me moving. Before my back issues started I had a goal of benching 250, I got to 245. So, it's a goal again.

Keep dreaming, keep your vision alive, stay motivated and healthy!

One more week before deload so the goals for next week are:

Incline Bench Press for 110 pounds
Assisted Pull-Ups with -40 pounds
Overhead Press with 45 pound bar
Curls with 45 pound bar
Deadlifts for 170 pounds
Squats for 140 pounds
For those who are new I'm doing sets of 5, 5, 5, and 5+. On the last set if I can get more than 5 I go for it.

And MWF High Intensity Interval Training on bike with resistance on 20 for the sprints.

Saturday, October 14, 2017

10/14/17

Checked the Fat Calculator and I'm ranging between 19-22% depending on which measurement I use. I tend to use with my gut at widest and expanded and then try to do "relaxed." This gives me a FFMI of 20.7 which is a little higher than last check which was 20.1.

Next week is Deload week! (EDIT: One more week before deload!)

Here's what I lifted today:

Incline Bench Press - 105 pounds, 2 sets of 5, one set of 8, and one of 12.

Assisted Pull-Ups with -45 pounds, 3 sets of 5, one set of 12.

Overhead Press with 20 pound dumbbells, 2 sets of 5, two sets of 12.

Curls with 20 pound dumbbells, 3 sets of 5, one set of 9.

Deadlifts for 165 pounds, 3 sets of 5, and one set of 8.

Squats for 135 pounds, 3 sets of 5 and one set of 10.

ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting

The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.

My lifting approach was to gain muscle to help with insulin sensitivity so I focused on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, bench, squat, overhead press) with some other things to round out lat pulldowns, rows, and side lateral raises. I'm currently still doing full body for some muscle development and more focused on strength for a few months. That's why I'm doing 4 sets of 5 instead of 3 sets of 8 or more.

Friday, October 13, 2017

10/13/17

I did my High Intensity Interval Training on the bike with 19 resistance for the sprints. Was able to make it through each sprint without stalling out the bike. Next week I go for 20! I also go up next week then go back to the first week of the month's weight for "deload" week. Deloading is a way to recuperate to prevent burning out and overtraining.

Here's what I lifted Thursday:

Incline Bench Press - 105 pounds, 3 sets of 5, one set of 12.

Assisted Pull-Ups with -45 pounds, 3 sets of 5, one set of 7.

Overhead Press with 20 pound dumbbells, 3 sets of 5, one set of 12.

Curls with 20 pound dumbbells, 3 sets of 5, one set of 8.

Deadlifts for 165 pounds, 3 sets of 5, and one set of 7.

Squats for 135 pounds, 3 sets of 5 and one set of 7.


So Saturday my attempt will be:

Incline Bench Press - 105 pounds
Assisted Pull-Ups with -45 pounds
Overhead Press with 20 pound dumbbells
Curls with 20 pound dumbbells
Deadlifts for 165 pounds
Squats for 135 pounds

Going to try at get AMRAP ("as many sets as possible") for the last set. Looks like I'll increase 5 pounds across the board next week. I could go up 10 pounds on Deads and Squats. I think it will be better to go slow and steady.

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

10/10/17

It is World Mental Health Day. The rest of my workouts this week will be dedicated to people struggling with bipolar, depression, schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, and other issues.

Still wondering what happened with my friend. We hadn't talked much the last few months. Guess her health issues just reduced communication. My health progress has also made me a little less communicative with people. Makes me think of my Tia who passed a week after my 5.0 A1C reading. I had chosen to keep quiet about my progress until I had that test done. Don't know if this helps or would help anyone else. I have friends who have started intermittent fasting, or started going to the gym because of my progress. Or at least it has inspired and encouraged some. I know I caught my friend Judy's attention but don't know if I'll ever know exactly what she was interested in.


Here's what I lifted today:

Incline Bench Press - 105 pounds, 3 sets of 5, one set of 10.

Assisted Pull-Ups with -45 pounds, 4 sets of 5.

Overhead Press with 20 pound dumbbells, 5 sets of 5.

Curls with 20 pound dumbbells, 5 sets of 5.

Deadlifts for 165pounds, 4 sets of 5.

Squats for 135 pounds, 4 sets of 5.


So Thursday my attempt will be:

Incline Bench Press - 105 pounds
Assisted Pull-Ups with -45 pounds
Overhead Press with 20 pound dumbbells
Curls with 20 pound dumbbells
Deadlifts for 165 pounds
Squats for 135 pounds

All will be on the 5, 5, 5, 5+ scheme so I'll see what I can get to then. 

ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting

The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.

My lifting approach was to gain muscle to help with insulin sensitivity so I focused on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, bench, squat, overhead press) with some other things to round out lat pulldowns, rows, and side lateral raises. I'm currently still doing full body for some muscle development and more focused on strength for a few months. That's why I'm doing 4 sets of 5 instead of 3 sets of 8 or more. 

* * *

Thanks to people who read this and tell me they are inspired or appreciate what I share. That also helps to keep me going.

I've been thinking of "bucket lists" and whether they should be public. One thing I think of possibly doing is to enter a powerlifting competition at some point. There are other things I might go for yet not ready to make public. 

Saturday, October 07, 2017

10/7/17 For Judy

Like I said yesterday today was dedicated to my dear friend Judy Palier. 

Here's what I lifted today:

Incline Bench Press - 100 pounds, 3 sets of 5, one set of 12.

Assisted Pull-Ups with -50 pounds, 3 sets of 5, one set of 12! I had wanted to start at -30. I think I will be OK on this one once my body catches up with this change.

Overhead Press with 15 pound dumbbells, 4 sets of 12. I will go up to 20 on Tuesday and drop to the 5, 5, 5, 5+ scheme.

Curls with 15 pound dumbbells, 4 sets of 12. I will go up to 20 on Tuesday and drop to the 5, 5, 5, 5+ scheme.

Deadlifts for 160 pounds, 3 sets of 5, and one set of 10.

Squats for 130 pounds, 3 sets of 5 and one set of 12.

Very excited for this and know that I pushed harder for my buddy's memory. Also had lots of people in the way of my exercises to spent more time than usual waiting for lifts. I think she would have gotten a laugh out of that! :)


So Tuesday my attempt will be:

Incline Bench Press - 105 pounds
Assisted Pull-Ups with -45 pounds
Overhead Press with 20 pound dumbbells
Curls with 20 pound dumbbells
Deadlifts for 165 pounds
Squats for 135 pounds

I don't know how long I can add 5 pounds a week. Deloading should help with all of that. My last FB conversation with Judy was that she wanted to have a conversation with me about health stuff. We didn't get to that conversation. 

ABOUT THE BLOG: This blog started years ago to talk about self-care and weightlifting. It stopped for a few years. It was been restarted when I was told that I was diabetic. I had an A1C of 9.3. A1C is an estimate of your blood sugar level over the last 3 months and 6.5 is pre-diabetic, and usually over 7 is considered diabetic. In March I was re-tested and my A1C was 5.0! That's below pre-diabetic (so, essentially non-diabetic). It was nice to have my doctor say, "you used to be diabetic." I'm still working on improving my insulin sensitivity and not thinking I'm out of the woods yet. My September retest came back with and A1C of 4.9. It is exciting

The results were from diet and exercise. Here is a quick summary of how I responded to being diagnosed as diabetic. I'm going to post this review every so often. Mostly when I post the blog to Twitter or Facebook.

My lifting approach was to gain muscle to help with insulin sensitivity so I focused on compound exercises mostly (deadlift, bench, squat, overhead press) with some other things to round out lat pulldowns, rows, and side lateral raises. I'm currently still doing full body for some muscle development and more focused on strength for a few months. That's why I'm doing 4 sets of 5 instead of 3 sets of 8 or more. 

Thanks to people who read this and tell me they are inspired or appreciate what I share. That also helps to keep me going. 


Friday, October 06, 2017

10/6/17

This post and tomorrow's workout is dedicated to my friend Judy Palier.

Today I did HIIT and got the bike up to 18 resistance for the sprint. My stomach was a little funky this morning so it was scary to even try to do this workout. Made it ok with the bike pausing on me on the third sprint at about 15 seconds in. I think it does that when my speed gets round 40 rpms.

My lifting yesterday went well. Again doing 3 sets of 5 and one set of 5 or more, except where noted. I'm trying to get my stuff in before the next workout since there will be a lot of fluidity in this. I have had more people talking with me about my workouts, diet, and all of that good stuff.

Yesterday's Lifts:

Incline Bench Press - 100 pounds 3 sets of 5, one set of 10.

Assisted Pull-Ups with -50 pounds for 5, 5, 5, then 6.

Overhead Press with 12 pound dumbbells for 4 sets of 12.

Curls with 12 pound dumbbells 4 for sets of 12. Minor soreness today.

Deadlifts for 160 pounds 3 sets of 5 and one set of 6.

Squats for 130 pounds for 3 sets of 5 and one set of 7. Still leaving me sore.


So Saturday my attempts will be:

Incline Bench Press - 100 pounds
Assisted Pull-Ups with -50 pounds
Overhead Press with 15 pound dumbbells
Curls with 15 pound dumbbells
Deadlifts for 160 pounds




Tuesday, October 03, 2017

Day 1 of New Routine

Did HIIT yesterday with resistance at 18 on the bike for the sprints.

Here's what I lifted today:

Incline Bench Press - 100 pounds 3 sets of 5, one set of 8

Assisted Pull-Ups with -35 pounds for 5 (someone left the 5 pounder on), -40 for 5, and two sets at -50. This is lower than I guessed yet hopefully it will be OK.

Overhead Press with 10 pound dumbbells set of 8 because it was light and I forgot to stop at 5. Then one set of 10 and two sets of 12. I'll go up to 12 pounds on Thursday.

Curls with 10 pound dumbbells 3 sets of 5 and one set of 12. I'll try 12 pounds on Thursday.

Deadlifts for 160 pounds 4 sets of 5.

Squats for 130 pounds for 4 sets of 5. I focused on my form and went very deep. Might feel these actually which would be interesting.


So Thursday my attempt will be:

Incline Bench Press - 100 pounds
Assisted Pull-Ups with -50 pounds
Overhead Press with 12 pound dumbbells
Curls with 12 pound dumbbells
Deadlifts for 160 pounds
Squats for 130 pounds


Sunday, October 01, 2017

The New Workout Outlined

So my new workout is based on pulling together things from a variety of sources, so it may not work at all.

I'll be doing 4 sets of each. 3 sets of 5 and 1 set of 5+ or "AMRAP" (as many reps as possible). Same workout 3 days a week. No splits, all full-body.

I'll do mostly 3 weeks of increasing with one deload week (a week with low weights for recuperation). November is the only month with 4 weeks and one deload. I'll continue to do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and might shorten the rest period. I'm still going to try to get to 20 on the resistance on the bike before changing things up.

For this first week:

Incline Bench Press - 100 pounds
Assisted Pull-Ups with -30 pounds
Overhead Press with 10 pound dumbbells
Curls with 10 pound dumbbells
Deadlifts for 160 pounds
Squats for 130 pounds

I was flat benching 150, deadlifting 225, and squatting 175 so those are going down. The others may seem light yet my goals for February are to pull-up with 45 pounds added, and shoulder press and curl 105. That's ambitious and I'll live if I don't get there.

I'm guessing in March I'll do a more traditional 5/3/1 program.

Some of the research that helped me get here. There's more and I don't always save the link.
Old guys!
Hypertrophy

Prepping for New Routine

I'm guessing that my weight is still 150 lbs and height 5' 2". With a 36" waist and 16" neck that gives me 22% bodyfat and 33 lbs of fat mass and 117 for lean mass.

My arbitrary goal is to get below 20% before Thanksgiving. My adjusted FFMI is still 20.1, the arbitrary goal is 21.

I'm going to do full-body workouts for the next 5 months. 4 sets of 5 with last one being 5+ (as many reps as I can get). My goal will be to go up 5 pounds a week. Working out with the same weight and reps 3 times a week will help that be easy at the beginning and I'll hit plateaus at different times with different lifts.

I'll do Incline Bench, Pull-ups, Overhead Press, Curls, Deadlifts, and Squats. My deads and squats are going really low, I'm keeping them in for maintenance more than anything else.

It's nice having an in person and online conversation with a friend on all of this. If he lets me I'll link his BodySpace here. I don't have one just because I have too many social media outlets I interact with. (At least for now)

Long-term I may enter a powerlifting meet and bodybuilding meet (in a few years) for a "bucket list" type of thing.

Here's a serious senior powerlifter!







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