Now, as a middle-aged man, I consider myself to be in the best shape of my life. How did I do it?
Please note the disclaimer. You can perform the exercises and diets at your own risk; we are not physicians or physical therapists. You must
get the approval of a physician or physical therapist before starting
this regimen. So please, see a doctor or physical therapist and discuss these suggested exercises
and diets, BEFORE attempting anything described here.
Exercise:
Anaerobic
I have limited
equipment at home: moderate amount of weights, one barbell, one EZ-curl
bar, one solid dumbbell, one adjustable dumbbell, one of those doorway
cantilever chin up/pullup bars, handgrips and wrist roller, a couple of
30 lb. weighted vests.
Upper
body exercises, twice per week.
One is a longer (about one hour to 75 minute)
workout with more moderate reps, and one workout is
shorter (about 30 minutes) with more of an emphasis on higher weight,
lower reps (although depending on the specific exercises I may do some
higher reps on the short day and lower reps on the long day).
Long session
Things may change, but a typical long session includes: warm up with
bodyweight pushups (and for some of the exercises below, I warm up with
a lighter dumbbell), pushups (feet elevated) with two weighted vests
and extra plates tucked in, fingertip pushups (with the same weight), a
heavy low-rep set of military press, high rep shrug set, moderate rep
barbell row set, some sets of standing triceps curl with EZ curl bar,
then a heavier lower rep set or two of barbell biceps curls. Finish
with forearm work (higher reps) – wrist curls with barbell, reverse curl
with barbell or EZ curl bar, reverse dumbbell wrist curls. Also some
neck work with a 10 lb. plate.
Short session
Some pullups or reverse grip barbell rows, heavier weighted vest
pushups with lower reps (e.g., 5 x 5 set/rep scheme), triceps work
(exercises like backwards dips with weighted vest grabbing the edge of
something or something like this but
with weighted vest), and either dumbbell Zottman curls or hammer curls,
followed by heavy power wrist curls and dumbbell reverse curls.
Leg
day – once per week: Since I have naturally muscular legs (and get leg
workouts from the aerobic work), I usually do one set of 20 reps of
front squats, followed by one set of 50 reps of calf raises wearing a
weighted vest from the edge of a stair step. I may throw in a set of
Jefferson squats and some deadlifts, if I feel like it.
Every
2-3 months or so, I’ll take a week-and-a half off doing the weights on order to
recover and let any nagging aches heal up.
Aerobic
I
try to walk at least 30 minutes per day, even if it is just around the
house or work during bad weather. The 30 minutes is optimally at one
time, but can be broken up into smaller time units. I usually do more
than that per day. Brief spurts of jumping rope (80-100 jumps) several
times per week, and at work, I’ll climb 4-6 flights of stairs (the
building is that tall), often two steps at a time. If I’m home on
vacation and cannot do the stair climbing, I’ll just do more jumping
rope, which has the same essential high-intensity cardiovascular effect.
Auxiliary
These are the various elbow rehab exercises
described here previously, as well as rotator cuff exercises, abdominal
exercises, handgrip and wrist roller exercises. These are done several
times a week, usually in the morning. Flextend for the elbow is done
several times per week, typically twice a day, morning and afternoon.
Diet
Avoid:
added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, excess saturated fats, white
bread, soda, or fruit juice, etc. Eat more healthy proteins (below),
whole wheat grains or oatmeal, sweet potato, beans, plenty of fresh
fruit, vegetables, etc. Eat in moderation; do not stuff yourself,
particularly at dinner. Avoid excessive salt. For bread and pasta, eat
100% whole wheat. Use Smart Balance or olive oil instead of butter or
margarine, and do not go overboard with it.
Protein
is usually from chicken, fish, no-fat (or low-fat) dairy, peanut
butter, egg whites, sometimes whole eggs (not very often). Occasionally, I have protein powder, typically in added to "protein bars" I make myself. More protein is consumed on days when I do anaerobic exercise.
Typical work day diet (off days I can have some more for lunch):
Breakfast:
orange (the fruit, not the juice!) or half of a chewable vitamin C
tablet (one tablet is 1000 mg), and sometimes a banana. The fruit are in addition to egg whites with a whole wheat bagel (with Smart Balance
on half of the bagel), peanut butter on whole wheat bread with a bit of
cereal (like Post shredded wheat that has no added sugar) plus non-fat milk (or Lactaid, depending on your lactose tolerance), or a whole wheat bagel with a cup of non-fat Greek yogurt, and some banana, wheat germ and cinnamon added on top.
Lunch
is a small roll and a piece of cheese, some low-fat Triscuits, and an
apple. Dinner usually is fish or chicken, vegetables, fruit. I could
eat more nuts than I currently do. I also drink a lot of water
throughout the day, since I had kidney stones and that is what the
nephrologist advised.
I have several “cheat” meals in the week, most of them on Sunday. However, even these meals aren’t that unhealthy. They usually include a combination of the following: 1-2 tsp low-sugar jelly, Musselman’s apple butter, or reduced fat cream cheese on my peanut butter sandwich (my usual sandwich is peanut butter on 100% whole wheat bread, with cinnamon and/or banana slices), a small bag of pretzels, some dried fruit (these are high in sugar, but also in fiber and other nutrients), a Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich or frozen chicken sandwich, whole fat cheese, a small piece of a commercial protein bar; a Fiber One bar or cookie (not very high in sugar or fat, but high in fiber). Occasionally, I bake anchovies to add to some meal (these are high in salt, but with protein and healthy fats). So my “cheating” is really not outrageous, just not what I typically eat.
You can get used to this diet over time. When you reach the point when a Fiber One bar is a “treat”, you are on the right path. I lost 20 lbs. of fat in about a
year, lost the spare tire around my waist, and got blood pressure
routinely below 120/80 and heart rate in the low 60s to upper 50s.
Again: I’m middle-aged.
Other
And,
yes, when I’m off from work I sometimes try and take an afternoon nap,
since I do not sleep great at night, I’m a light sleeper and have a
stressful and unpleasant job.
