Wednesday, May 03, 2006

No Superman here, lol!

Wednesday; it's 3PM again. Same schedule as Monday.

When I read Stallone's book "Sly Moves" I was shocked to read that for each year we're past 30 we lose 1/2 pound of muscle a year! Meaning that since I had done nothing to maintain what I started with (which wasn't much, I was never a jock) let alone gain, even though I wasn't eating that much more volumewise than I had since my 20's (though probably much better than the hamburger and mac and cheese days), I kept gaining and gaining, like the snowball rolling downhill.

When I went through therapy for my back, after I did my stretches and all, they let me hang around and started teaching me a bit about using their weight machines. I found that when I used their rowing machine, lat pulldowns and chest flyes, the nagging ache in the middle of my back I had thought was arthritis suddenly quit!

When I went back to work I starting going to the company gym. It has cardio, weight machines and free weights. I started doing cardio and some of the weight machines. It took 6 months before I dared try moving to the freeweights. When I started with them I couldn't bench 100 pounds, and only knew what I was reading about other lifts. Today I broke 150 for the first time.

Now I'm trying to work a 3 day "split": chest and back one day, legs another, and shoulders and arms the 3rd day. If I have any extra time I try to get at least a 1/2 hour of cardio.

I've still been slacking on the other 4 days; ideally I should be doing at least a 1/2 hour of cardio each day, plus my stretches and stuff from therapy. Instead, when my back aches a bit, I do the therapy stuff and if I get a chance to ride my bike, jump rope or something else I try to work that in, but it's hard to do all the things I should and have a life!

Speaking of life, it's 3:15 and time to shower, eat, pack my cooler and run out the door again! Storms tonight so I'm shutting down my "magic box" even though I have a battery backup that is supposed to shut it down if the lights blink; Lori ("Thoughts of Laurel") lost her computer to an electrical storm a few weeks ago. Usually I leave mine running SETI packets 24/7 when I'm not using it...

Hopefully I'll get some time to blog-hop tonight and catch up with all of you!

alan

* 2:24am- I left out a line because I was writing so fast earlier! That 1/2 pound of muscle burns calories no matter what you are or aren't doing; awake, asleep, lying on the couch...at 50 that meant I had lost 10 pounds of muscle. Somewhere there's an equation that will relate that into calories, but I don't have time to dig for it right now!

Sorry about leaving out that line!

alan

10 comments:

Heidi said...

"each year we're past 30 we lose 1/2 pound of muscle a year!"

Luvlyyyy..ugh!

My problem is , I do too much cardio then get tired and not as much strength training. Eveyone's keeps telling me, warm up 10 min then start weights etc..When done go back for 20 mins of cardio.

Usually it's 40 mins of cardio and I like to get it out of the way. I know I have to switch my program around to see some changes. I'm too stubborn and set in my ways. Not good :X

puhpaul said...

I don't get it. If I have lost 1/2 a pound of weight every year since I was 20, how come my weight has increased by 1/4 in the last 20 years? I left university at 175 and topped out at 220 last year. Happily I'm down to 200 and am still dropping, but it just doesn't seem fair.

JLee said...

I am inspired now...I'm hittin' the gym tomorrow..thanks!

alan said...

I'm going back to add in the line I forgot because I was writing so fast; that muscle burns calories no matter what you are doing, awake, asleep, lying on the couch...the loss of a 1/2 pound a year really takes a toll!

alan

jumpinginpuddles said...

:O you mean all that cutting and chopping of wood wont remake us the aussies next arnie swartineiger, even as a woman :P Now youre depressing me ;)LOl not really ;)

b o o said...

good on u. i wished i'd exercise.

robin andrea said...

What a great work-out routine you have. I don't do anything organized like that, but I probably should. We go out for a good long walk everyday and hope that it's enough.

Mystical Me said...

WOW, Losing 1/2 lb of muscle as we get older, UGH!! Now I m depressed!! Man that sucks, I hate getting old.

WOW,Sounds like your working out pretty hard right now. I bet you look HOT right now.

I hope all is well sweetheart!! Do take care of yourself & dont over do it sweety! Love always, MM XOXO

Dr. Deb said...

I can definitely see and feel the difference in muscle mass and strength every year that goes by. And that I'm not that fit to begin with....well, that ain't good!

dragonflyfilly said...

thanks for reminding me! - i have my 1 lb weights on my coffee table so that when i am watching t.v. i can see them...have to do mild lifts for my arms and shoulders...it is difficult for me to lie flat on my back...and i am quite limited when it comes to lifting weights, but i do know i have to do it to get my bone density back up to normal...in October i will have another scan, and hopefully i will see some improvement...my cardio is suffering as it is difficult for me to do the vigourous exercise that i was used to doing.

the "veil work" we do at belly-dancing KILLS me (shoulders and arms) but i force myself to grind through the pain because i know the next day i will feel loser...

you are in inspiration...and yeah, i'm just going to try to be equonomous with regard to the unfairness of taxes, thanks!

cheers for now,
pj