Merry Christmas Eve everyone. At nearly 7 months of consistent training, I hit my second PR - deadlift at a modest 355lbs. It has taken a long time to see the results I was looking for when I started, but now that they are coming, it is getting quite addictive. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season and make sure to stick to that New Years Resolution if you make one.

Workout Day 4 for Christmas Eve ~

https://youtu.be/gAOjvXB4ieI?si=1cUQ0hEGjuCbGizn

A-Jay

Workout Day 1 ~

Living life at my own pace, collecting moments, not comparisons.

#borninfiftynine

https://youtu.be/G0qDSvl3hhU?si=8aqm6YLsfRpRubAe

A-Jay

Workout Day 2 ~

I am less than 4 years away from 70.

The man I will be then is being built by what I do today.

Not what I plan.

Not what I intend.

What I actually do.

My future self is watching.

So I am making choices now that I can thank myself for later.

#borninfiftynine

https://youtu.be/Lc40iZX5Vdk?si=z8s5ChrJK_KZjTff

A-Jay

Well my gym experience just got a huge boost of fun.  Both my grandsons are my workout partners.  Ian is 13 and Des will be 13 in March.  We’ve settled into routines that fulfill our collective goals.  I’m proud of the boys. Spending quality time regardless of what we are doing is important.  The life lessons that come out of training are endless.  

And I'm putting a wrap & a bow on my 2025 training year. 

Finished this one off with 160 training days.

Perhaps more importantly, hardly any setbacks.

The few I did have were minor and resolved themselves

in a satisfactory manner.

I took the New Year's Eve training day off

after some major snow removal operations. 

But I'll be back at it a bit later today.

Looking to start the new year off in a positive direction.

#borninfiftynine

A-Jay

Started off the new year with Workout Day 3.

The mindset for 2026 is to move on from what's gone,

be thankful for what remains,

and stay hopeful for what's to come.

#borninfiftynine

https://youtu.be/D676YZ7w_BA?si=pBBmksKeveBSJfKI

A-Jay

Workout Day 4 ~

Once I understood that each day isn't one more day but one less,

it helped me to focus on the things that truly matter. 

This is one of them.

#borninfiftynine

https://youtu.be/KlR6FiOtUFY?si=C2EmOjG9x0tnUDM1

A-Jay

 

Workout Day 1 ~

There was a time when I was concerned with the price of going for it.

But then I realized the cost of staying exactly where I was.

#borninfiftynine

https://youtu.be/0uqFgDyeyDc?si=hS6O64CQE63UvlSq

A-Jay

Workout Day 2 ~

Over the years, it's been beneficial for me when I mix up the intensity of these workouts.

Going all out and training to failure week after week will eventually lead to overtraining.

Like many bad things in life, prevention is better—and easier—than treatment. 

#borninfiftynine

A-Jay

 

22 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Workout Day 2 ~

Over the years, it's been beneficial for me when I mix up the intensity of these workouts.

Going all out and training to failure week after week will eventually lead to overtraining.

Like many bad things in life, prevention is better—and easier—than treatment. 

#borninfiftynine

https://youtu.be/UPUPQVcpGo4?si=3HcJCrtwK3VONP9u

A-Jay

 

Yes sir. I like to surprise my muscles. Some days it's heavy weight low reps and some days light weight and crazy reps. A little Shock & Oww.

Workout Day 3 ~

Somewhere between my pre-workout meal and when I do my first warm-up set,

the noise in my head slowly fades away.

The home gym doesn't rush me or ask me to explain myself.

It just lets me breathe and be present.

That's the part of resistance training I never forget.

#borninfiftynine

A-Jay

Workout Day 4 ~ Retaining muscle as I age requires consistent strength training, paired with adequate protein intake to combat age-related loss (sarcopenia),

which is crucial for maintaining mobility, independence, and preventing falls. Focusing on compound exercises helps build strength,

while regular activity beyond just workouts also supports

overall muscle health and vitality.

#borninfiftynine

A-Jay

Workout Day 1 ~

Completed 3 working sets of the 5 movements scheduled.

Felt pretty good.

Clarity.

Commitment.

Action.

#borninfiftynine

A-Jay

Workout Day 2.

The thought for today comes courtesy of Led Zeppelin.

"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run,

there's still time to change the road you're on"

#borninfiftynine

A-Jay

Workout Day 3.

I've been slowly increasing my daily protein intake a little bit since the first of the year.

It's still too early to realize if there's any benefit to it just yet.

Time will tell.

#borninfiftynine

A-Jay

5 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Workout Day 3.

I've been slowly increasing my daily protein intake a little bit since the first of the year.

It's still too early to realize if there's any benefit to it just yet.

Time will tell.

#borninfiftynine

A-Jay

You've probably shared your diet etc. at several points in this thread. I'm wondering what you're currently doing and what an increase looks like. Idk if that's best described as a grams per weight or actual food eaten in a day.

I had watched an interview with Mark Walberg a couple/few years and he described what he ate in a day. There's no way I could afford to eat even a third of that on a daily basis.

I know need to build some muscle and I know I need to eat more protein. Just not sure of the best way to go about it.

9 hours ago, Kev-mo said:

You've probably shared your diet etc. at several points in this thread.

Sure have - go back one page ~

 My version of nutrition goes like this . . .

I look at ALL of it like a mathematical equation. 

The more things that are in it and that belong there, the better chance I have at coming out with an answer that's close to what I'm looking for.  Conversely, the more 'wrong' things I add and/or the more 'right' things I omit, the lower the chances I have of ending up with anything close to what I was looking for. So nutrition is huge, but so are rest & recovery (sleep) & hydration.

 

To gain something, I must give something; discomfort is the price for progress.

First, here's what I don't do—which, IMO, is as important as what does happen.

On a routine basis I do not eat white flour or sugar.  So no bread and no dessert-type deals.

No alcohol. Quit many years back, and it has been a huge benefit.

Can't emphasize that one enough. Totally toxic to every cell in the body. Including the brain.

No processed food, no dairy, and nothing fried.  

I do not count calories but instead exercise portion control.

I do not snack.

 

What I do find has worked for me for a long time.

Keep it simple.

Three small, well-balanced meals spaced evenly throughout the day, plus a post-workout protein drink on training days. I used to eat up to 5 meals a day, but as I've aged, everything has slowed, including my ability to digest large amounts of food. So getting the most out of what I eat is important.  Need to get the most bag for the buck.  Protein for me comes in the form of whole eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, and some red meat, but not a ton.  Fats come mostly from olive oil and avocado oil.

The little carbs I do eat, and I do believe they are needed, come from oatmeal, brown & basmati rice, sweet potatoes, and whole wheat pasta, as well as fresh fruit & vegetables.

I drink my body weight in ounces of water every day (I’m at 165 lbs). 

Yes, I keep track and pee a lot. I prepare all my meals in advance (except breakfast). For me, meal prep is the easiest and most efficient way to keep on track.  My meal timing is critical to my success. 

 I’ll whip up a few pounds of protein and a bucket of carbs and have fruits & veggies on hand ready to go when needed.

I eat, drink, train, and sleep on a mostly regimented schedule.  If I’m not at home for a meal (like when fishing or on the road), I bring my chow with me—always. Protein bars help here.

Don’t like skipping meals and do not believe fasting has any benefits, at least not for me.

 

Finally, anyone can do this—but if it were easy, everyone would.  But do they?  Look around. 

I'm just some old guy who works out and puts up sappy videos of himself doing it.  

I realize that my pasty, untanned image is mostly unappealing and doesn't look anything like the popular YT workout gods seen elsewhere—but who does?  That's my point—we don't have to be or do anything special to get unbelievable benefits from all this.  The improvement in self-confidence & self-image alone is worth it.

Good Luck

A-Jay

Thank you, appreciate you taking the time. I'm already with you on some of the don'ts. I need to work on the do's.

After a scheduled off day and a much-needed snow removal day, I was back in the home gym. Hammered out Workout Day 4. I felt pretty good. I realize I say that quite a bit here, but if I didn't feel this way, you'd hear about that as well. So far, besides the crazy snow & cold, this new year is treating me right. #borninfiftynine

A-Jay

Workout Day 1.

Really had to grind this one out.

Sucked a little, but I still got it done.

Sometimes it just goes that way.

#borninfiftynine

A-Jay

I rarely take my shirt off in public lol even at the pool. My wife got me at a weak moment at a dinner party recently and I instantly regretted it.. but the intermittent fasting and years of weight training haven’t hurt me...

13 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

I rarely take my shirt off in public lol even at the pool. My wife got me at a weak moment at a dinner party recently and I instantly regretted it.. but the intermittent fasting and years of weight training haven’t hurt me...

What was for dinner ?

A-Jay

d**n….. you fellas make me want to lift more. I’ve been doing something right lately. Back in October I was looking at some pictures from the summer and I looked terrible. I’d lost 30 lbs since March going down to 151 at my lowest and I looked sick. I’ve put on 12 lbs since and kept my body fat percentage at 12% and my BMI at 22. I do need to lift more but I dislike it so much. I ride my bike a couple hours a day in the summer and love it.

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

What was for dinner ?

A-Jay

The usual Tator Tot casserole ;)