Muscle Loss and Age

[Jibralta]

Yes, I recently read somewhere that you can still build muscle effectively even into your 60s. I was very glad to see that. But I still think the rate of muscle loss is faster now that I am 40. I've had my body all of these years; I can tell. Fortunately for me, I build strength and muscle very quickly. And now that my schedule is less burdened by other things, I can concentrate more on exercise.

[Jibralta]

Yesterday, we lived it up in preparation of our impending diets. Fully gorged ourselves with Indian food at my friend's co-ed baby shower. Then ordered pizza and housed a pint of ice cream each. Yeah, nothing like gaining five pounds the night before starting your diet!

 

Anyway, diet is in full swing today and so far, so good. Took a half hour to exercise.

 

I have some tightness in my right calf. The tightness always seems to be in the right side of my body. The pain in my butt and inner thigh has subsided somewhat, but I did feel a slight twinge in my inner thigh during the Pilates Leg Pulls (facing down)

 

Quick Sweat Cardio Workout - 8 minutes

Delayed Pendulum Hops - No issue once I got the order down

2 Hooks, 2 Upper Cuts, and 2 Jacks - need to work on coordination. I keep messing up the order.

Lateral Cross Lunges - No muscle burn but may have robbed me of my wind

4 Jack Steps and 2 Crossover Jumps - Had to catch my breath on this one. May have been due to lateral cross lunges previous.

Lateral Burpees - Didn't have room for the lateral portion. Just did burpees. Maybe I'll do three jumps in between next time. Or something.

Running Man Kicks - Too easy, really

2 Hop Squats - No issues. No muscle burn, though.

Side Lunges and 2 Jacks - Nice exercise.

 

 

10 Min Abs Workout - 10 minutes

Scissor Kicks - slow, range of motion limited at first but increased at end

Reaching Oblique Crunch - no issues, can probably increase speed.

Pilates Side Hip Raises - 20 - 23 each side, slow. not sure if I have the full range of motion.

Russian Twists - Slow, should probably increase speed even if it means coming up a little

Toe Touch Crunches - no issues, can probably increase speed.

Pilates Leg Pulls (facing down) - a good challenge especially across the front. TWINGE in inner thigh.

Pilates Leg Pulls (facing up) - holy sh*t I can't do these!It's all I can do to maintain the plank position. When I attempt to raise a leg, I collapse.

Pilates Toe Taps - a nice challenge

Knee Tuck Crunches - No issues

 

10 Minute No Equipment Upper Body Workout - 10 Minutes

Walkdown & Shoulder Slaps - No issues. Nice exercise.

Backbow Pulls - No issues. Not very challenging. Seems kind of pointless.

Biceps Curls Pulses - Not very challenging, but good preparation for weight lifting.

Travelling Rows - Not very challenging, but good preparation for weight lifting.

Push up and Reach - My push ups are modified. Can just start to get leg off ground, but barely.

Triceps Dip Kicks - These are very challenging for me. I can get my leg off the ground, but not my hand. They hurt my wrists, so it's going to be difficult to practice. I'l have to figure out how to modify this because I do want to accomplish the movement.

Arm Circles - nice burn at the end.

Overhead Press - Not very challenging, but good preparation for weight lifting.

Bent Over Row and Extension - Not very challenging, but good preparation for weight lifting.

Palm Presses - Not sure what the point is, really.

[dias]

Yesterday, we lived it up in preparation of our impending diets. Fully gorged ourselves with Indian food at my friend's co-ed baby shower. Then ordered pizza and housed a pint of ice cream each. Yeah, nothing like gaining five pounds the night before starting your diet!

.

Nice word. Useful to know it

 

It is strange that before the start of a diet we gorge ourselves, isn't it? Maybe it's because we think "ok if I am going to suffer the next period let's indulge myself first" !

[Jibralta]

Maybe it's because we think "ok if I am going to suffer the next period let's indulge myself first" !

 

That's exactly what it is!

[Krankor]

I just turned 40 a couple of months ago. My strength and power and muscle mass (it's said those things are the last to go) have held out really well but my speed, agility, and stamina definitely aren't quite what they used to be. Both of my achilles tendons are garbage now (I already tore the left one and had surgery to repair it; it's only a matter of time before the other goes) and that fact isn't helping. But my arms and quads are actually bigger and stronger than they were in my 20s. ]

[Krankor]

I've been working out and eating a very healthy starch-based, whole foods diet with no meat, dairy, or oil. I think I'm slowly getting my stamina back but I used to feel really agile, spry, and sure-footed. I don't think I'll ever get that back, at least not to what it once was.

[Jibralta]

I just turned 40 a couple of months ago. My strength and power and muscle mass (it's said those things are the last to go) have held out really well but my speed, agility, and stamina definitely aren't quite what they used to be. Both of my achilles tendons are garbage now (I already tore the left one and had surgery to repair it; it's only a matter of time before the other goes) and that fact isn't helping. But my arms and quads are actually bigger and stronger than they were in my 20s.

 

I find that I am stiffer than I used to be and need to warm up before exercising. Of course, you're always supposed to warm up before exercising, but 10 years ago it was easier to get away without warming up.

 

I've always had issues with my achilles tendons. Fortunately, no ruptures. But I do have to be careful to do high-impact exercise (like running) in moderation.

 

Your arm looks very familiar to me. Do I know you?

 

Just kidding.

 

I've been working out and eating a very healthy starch-based, whole foods diet with no meat, dairy, or oil. I think I'm slowly getting my stamina back but I used to feel really agile, spry, and sure-footed. I don't think I'll ever get that back, at least not to what it once was.

 

I also benefit from a lot of carbohydrates. But I do eat fats and oil. Right now, I am not eating meat. But I will slowly start to add that back once I feel like my metabolism is back on track. It's crazy how eating garbage food -- even a little of it -- can knock you off course and stir up cravings and bad habits.

[Jibralta]

The front of my right thigh was painful this morning, as was (for some reason) my left elbow. That elbow actually hurt a few days ago during some plank walk-downs, but I hadn't heard from it since.

 

Today I did a mile and a half walk interspersed with 880 yards of sprints. When I got home, I took a couple of minutes to practice some exercises that I have trouble with:

 

Pilates Leg Pulls (facing up) - I can now lift each leg, but it does compromise my plank. I spent some time just concentrating on keeping the plank straight.

Triceps Dip Kicks - Wrist still hurts, can still get each leg off the ground, but hands are still nailed down. I'm going to try with a chair, next time.

 

I cooked my whole week's worth of food yesterday, as I am wont to do when dieting. Day 2 was a little harder. I'm already sick of onions. Why in the world did I use so many onions? My whole apartment smells like an onion. I smell like an onion. My boyfriend smells like an onion. This morning, he came back from the gym early because he smelled like onion and started to feel self-conscious about it. LOL. I'm lucky I work on a construction site!

[Jibralta]

On Tuesday night, I fell asleep very early. Slept nine hours. Didn't exercise.

 

Could be the diet making me so tired. Weird thing is I haven't cut any calories yet. I miscalculated for the week, so I was still eating 2200 calories per day! So maybe it's the transition to different foods. Who knows? It's temporary, so I'm not terribly worried about it.

 

I fell asleep pretty deeply last night, too. Slept about 7 hours but felt great this morning. I fixed that part of my diet that I screwed up.We'll see how that goes today.

[dias]

On Tuesday night, I fell asleep very early. Slept nine hours. Didn't exercise.

 

Could be the diet making me so tired. Weird thing is I haven't cut any calories yet. I miscalculated for the week, so I was still eating 2200 calories per day! So maybe it's the transition to different foods. Who knows? It's temporary, so I'm not terribly worried about it.

 

I fell asleep pretty deeply last night, too. Slept about 7 hours but felt great this morning. I fixed that part of my diet that I screwed up.We'll see how that goes today.

 

These two relate from my experience. When I eat more than I need even if it's a surplus of 200 calories(per day) I feel extremely tired and I tend to sleep more. I feel sleepy even during the day and I feel "heavy" even if I am at 9% body fat going to 10/11%. I don't know why extra calories have this effect(on me).

 

When I cut or stay at the same caloric intake I have more energy despite sleeping less. Again, I don't know why.

[Jibralta]

These two relate from my experience. When I eat more than I need even if it's a surplus of 200 calories(per day) I feel extremely tired and I tend to sleep more. I feel sleepy even during the day and I feel "heavy" even if I am at 9% body fat going to 10/11%. I don't know why extra calories have this effect(on me).

 

When I cut or stay at the same caloric intake I have more energy despite sleeping less. Again, I don't know why.

 

Yes, very counterintuitive.

 

But I've experienced tiredness when cutting calories, too.

 

It's a mystery.

[Jibralta]

Today, I did:

 

Abs Workout for People who get Bored Easily - 30 min

Leg Drop Toe Touch - Pretty straightforward

Plank + Knee - Also straightforward

Switchfoot Burpee - I think I need to slow this down. I'm already slow, but I need to go slower. I'm all over the place.

Toe Taps - Another straightforward one

Walkdown Backbows - New one for me. Not bad.

Flutterkick - I suck at this. Not only was I slow, but my range of motion was pathetic. Towards the end, my range of motion did increase. But I will have to work on these. I feel like this was something that I was once able to do.

3 Way Crunch - Kinda easy

Plank Jack + Leg Raise - Surprisingly not horrible

3 Butt Kicker Drops - Another one that I should slow down. I don't know if this is a challenging exercise...

Pilates Saw - Ok. Nice stretch.

Bird Dog - Straightforward

Plank - Completed 45 seconds. It sucked.

Water Break - Totally rocked this.

Bridge + Toe Touch - This was cool. I think I liked it.

Plank Up Downs - Tough. I had to go slow on this.

Jumping Lunges - I think I had to pause in the middle of these, or switch to the easy version. I definitely had to tone it down (I worked out this morning, so my memory fails me)

Leg Pull - Nice stretch, if nothing else.

Swimmers - I didn't find these very difficult, but I don't think I was going as fast as she was.

Russian Twist - I need to increase the difficulty level here, but I am afraid.

Single Leg Jack Knife - Nice exercise

Supine Plank + Raises - This is another name for my nemesis, Pilates Leg Pulls (facing up). I am still not good at it. But I did manage to lift each leg twice. Then I just concentrated on maintaining a straight line for the rest of the duration.

Lateral Jump Squat - Straightforward. Squats are generally pretty easy for me. Well, squats without weight.

Chasing Toe Taps - A good challenge!

Backbow Crossover - Not sure what this did, really.

 

No major aches and pains today, though I do think I may have strained something in my belly doing the last exercise. There may have still been a stitch in my side when I got to work, but all that pain is now gone. As always, it was on my right side. I notice that some exercises are hard and I like them. Other exercises are hard and I dislike them. I think part of my goal will be to start liking the exercises that I don't like.

Getting up and down between the exercises is a challenge in and of itself.

 

There was a super long meeting today at work. It was supposed to be three hours, but then they extended it to almost five hours. I put some snacks in a bag to bring with me to the meeting, but I forgot them. I didn't dare go back to my trailer during the meeting, and there were no breaks, so I just sat there and starved. But I didn't go crazy when I got back to the trailer. And now that I am home, I am still perfectly well behaved. I really don't have many cravings on this diet. Although yesterday, they had pizza in the office while I was there. I love pizza. Especially pepperoni pizza. But I resisted!

[Jibralta]

Today I walked a half mile, jogged a mile, then walked another half mile. My original intention was to jog two quarter miles. But I felt like that was so boring. I want to go slow, but that seemed too slow. So I did the full mile at a slow pace. Paid attention for nagging aches and pains, but there were none. Just some transient pangs that worked their way through and disappeared. The thing about jogging is that even when it's slow, it forces your muscles to contract at every step. So even a slow pace pays dividends. I'll be feeling good all day because of this.

[Jibralta]

It was slow-going this morning. I felt reluctant to exercise at all. But I'm glad I did, because there will likely be no time tomorrow and it would make me feel bad not to have exercised.

 

Today I did:

 

Fast HIIT Cardio Workout to Boost Metabolism - 5 min, 15 min total

They say to do this 4 - 6 times per day, 3-4 times per week. Maybe one day that will happen for me, but for now I plan to do it 3 times per day on Saturdays (or Sunday). It's only two exercises, but it's quite intense. Plus, it goes very fast and can easily be broken up throughout the day.

 

I think the best way to measure these exercises is through range of motion and speed. I can track speed as reps, and then compare those reps to the instructor's reps. Eventually, I will count my reps and track my pulse. But for now, I'm just trying to get the movements down.

 

Lizard Hops - For me, this is the toughest of the two exercises. If I go fast, I can't get my hips down as far as I'm supposed to. If I get my hips down far enough, I must then go quite slow. But this is ok, because it still gets my heart rate going, and at the end of the third set, my upper thighs started to whisper of failure. Plus, by going slow I am going through the correct range of motion with the proper form. In other words, I am hitting all the marks and it doesn't matter that I lumber like a rhinoceros while the instructor leaps like a lizard. Something to be careful of is straining my groin muscles with all of the leg switches.

 

Burpee Jacks - Not horrible, though I am surely going half the speed of the instructor. One thing that I need to concentrate on is keeping my arms directly below my shoulders with elbows slightly bent. I tend to have them slightly splayed out in front of me.

 

After each five minute interval, I took time to cool down completely and get a little rest. It probably took over an hour for me to complete all 15 minutes of exercises.

 

I measured my pulse during the third iteration, once during the break (168 bpm) and again at completion (174 bpm). My max heart rate should supposedly be somewhere between 126 and 153, so I guess I can tone it down a bit. I think my movements slowed down quite a lot between the first half and the second, but apparently my level of exertion increased.

 

Fitness Blender Cool Down Workout - 13.5 min

Toe Touch Stretch

Inside Thigh Stretch

Wide Toe Touch

Quads Stretch

Hip Flexor Stretch + Arm Cross Pull

Triceps Stretch

Downward Dog

Downward Dog with Leg Lifts/ Hip Openers - One side seems much less flexible than the other. This is probably from a fall I took from a horse 13 years ago.

Plank Calf Stretch - I pretty much cheated on the plank

Modified Pigeon

Cobra Pose

Child's Pose

Deep Glute Stretch

Torso Twist

Full Body Stretch - Bizarrely, I started to have muscle spasms in my mid-back

 

I wasn't going to list the exercises on the cool down, but some were challenging so now it's a thing.

After completing all of my exercises I become suddenly ravenous and needed to eat immediately, which I did.

 

I'm in the midst of preparing my meals for next week. I spent WAAAAAAY less money this week, and my menu will thankfully be a lot less complicated.

 

All week, I've been losing weight, which is not unusual. I typically gain a little from my weekend binges then lose it during the course of the week. However, since I literally gained five pounds last weekend, I was kind of hoping to lose beyond five pounds with this being a diet and all. Fortunately, the diet has not been awful (possibly because I've been eating too much). During the last few days, and especially today, I've noticed a drop in my appetite. So maybe in the coming days I will start to lose a little real weight.

[Jibralta]

Someone is cooking hot dogs. I WANT A HOT DOG!!!

 

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

[Jeetsun]

Today, I did:

 

Abs Workout for People who get Bored Easily - 30 min

Leg Drop Toe Touch - Pretty straightforward

Plank + Knee - Also straightforward

Switchfoot Burpee - I think I need to slow this down. I'm already slow, but I need to go slower. I'm all over the place.

Toe Taps - Another straightforward one

Walkdown Backbows - New one for me. Not bad.

Flutterkick - I suck at this. Not only was I slow, but my range of motion was pathetic. Towards the end, my range of motion did increase. But I will have to work on these. I feel like this was something that I was once able to do.

3 Way Crunch - Kinda easy

Plank Jack + Leg Raise - Surprisingly not horrible

3 Butt Kicker Drops - Another one that I should slow down. I don't know if this is a challenging exercise...

Pilates Saw - Ok. Nice stretch.

Bird Dog - Straightforward

Plank - Completed 45 seconds. It sucked.

Water Break - Totally rocked this.

Bridge + Toe Touch - This was cool. I think I liked it.

Plank Up Downs - Tough. I had to go slow on this.

Jumping Lunges - I think I had to pause in the middle of these, or switch to the easy version. I definitely had to tone it down (I worked out this morning, so my memory fails me)

Leg Pull - Nice stretch, if nothing else.

Swimmers - I didn't find these very difficult, but I don't think I was going as fast as she was.

Russian Twist - I need to increase the difficulty level here, but I am afraid.

Single Leg Jack Knife - Nice exercise

Supine Plank + Raises - This is another name for my nemesis, Pilates Leg Pulls (facing up). I am still not good at it. But I did manage to lift each leg twice. Then I just concentrated on maintaining a straight line for the rest of the duration.

Lateral Jump Squat - Straightforward. Squats are generally pretty easy for me. Well, squats without weight.

Chasing Toe Taps - A good challenge!

Backbow Crossover - Not sure what this did, really.

 

No major aches and pains today, though I do think I may have strained something in my belly doing the last exercise. There may have still been a stitch in my side when I got to work, but all that pain is now gone. As always, it was on my right side. I notice that some exercises are hard and I like them. Other exercises are hard and I dislike them. I think part of my goal will be to start liking the exercises that I don't like.

Getting up and down between the exercises is a challenge in and of itself.

 

There was a super long meeting today at work. It was supposed to be three hours, but then they extended it to almost five hours. I put some snacks in a bag to bring with me to the meeting, but I forgot them. I didn't dare go back to my trailer during the meeting, and there were no breaks, so I just sat there and starved. But I didn't go crazy when I got back to the trailer. And now that I am home, I am still perfectly well behaved. I really don't have many cravings on this diet. Although yesterday, they had pizza in the office while I was there. I love pizza. Especially pepperoni pizza. But I resisted!

 

Holy hell! I hate working abs and that put me in a tail spin just looking at that. Abs and cardio I despise with a passion, but enjoy beating the log book on lifts each week hitting it heavy.

[dias]

Lizard Hops

Burpee Jacks

Downward Dog

U]Modified Pigeon[/u]

Cobra Pose

 

I don't know these exercises but I like the names!

[thealchemist]

You sounds like you don't even need a trainer. I was licensed for awhile and half the trainers I come across are less competent than you sound.

 

If you are worried about metabolism drop replace some cardio with lower weight resistance training. That along with HIIT workouts and you will boost it a lot.

 

40 is not old at all. I'm currently training 64 yo dad. He has gone from 270 to 230 in 6 months. With HIIT and low weight kettlebells.

[Jibralta]

Holy hell! I hate working abs and that put me in a tail spin just looking at that. Abs and cardio I despise with a passion, but enjoy beating the log book on lifts each week hitting it heavy.

 

They're only 45 seconds each with no repeats. Abs are awful. But I have to admit I do like cardio. Mainly for that high it gives you afterwards.

One day I would like to start lifting weights again, but I fell like I need to condition my body more. If that makes sense.

 

I don't know these exercises but I like the names!

 

All but the first two are yoga moves.

[Jibralta]

You sounds like you don't even need a trainer. I was licensed for awhile and half the trainers I come across are less competent than you sound.

 

Aw shucks. Thanks

 

If you are worried about metabolism drop replace some cardio with lower weight resistance training. That along with HIIT workouts and you will boost it a lot.

 

Ok, I will try that soon.

[Jibralta]

When I woke up this morning, I was exhausted. So, I slept in and didn't exercise.

 

Not sure why I was so tired. Could be the diet. Could be the fact that I moved a bunch of stuff out of my mom's basement yesterday (though I didn't feel like that was a huge effort).

 

The diet is not terribly challenging. After the first week of cleansing, my cravings for food have disappeared and I sometimes even forget about eating. I have missed meals as a result, which could be why I sometimes feel tired in the morning.

 

When I got home today, I took a couple of minutes to go through some of the exercises that I am bad at:

 

10 Min Abs Workout

Pilates Leg Pulls (supine) - This time I did more of a bridge than a plank. One thing that bugs me out about this exercise is that lifting one leg puts pressure on my other knee when I'm in the supine plank position. So this time, I bent my knees and extended my legs from that position. It was much easier to keep pace with the instructor this way, but I am not sure if I'm really doing the exercise. I just re-tried it now and noticed that if I rest more of my lower leg on the ground (not just my heel) it relieves pressure from my knee. Next time, I will try this way.

 

10 Minute No Equipment Upper Body Workout

Triceps Dip Kicks - Once again, I found that I could raise my legs, but not my arms. So after the first couple of reps, I concentrated on raising my arms only, which I found was possible when I wasn't thinking about raising my legs at the same time.

[Jeetsun]

They're only 45 seconds each with no repeats. Abs are awful. But I have to admit I do like cardio. Mainly for that high it gives you afterwards.

One day I would like to start lifting weights again, but I fell like I need to condition my body more. If that makes sense.

 

 

 

All but the first two are yoga moves.

 

That makes sense. You can't show a muscled body without proper conditioning. To boot, there's many benefits to doing cardio, increased metabolism, increased endurance, etc.

[thealchemist]

Well listen to your body. If you want to just stay cardio then do that. I bring up the resistance because with weight loss cardio is great but it is a double edged sword. As you do cardio your body adjusts and becomes extremely efficient. You use much less calories to do the same workout. So more time needs to be invested if you want the same amount of caloric burn.

 

Also cardio shifts your metabolism to mostly glycogen reserves. When this happens you get a burst of energy but you will have a much larger hunger spike because of this depletion.

 

Weights with walking keeps your body using a much higher percent of metabolic energy from your fat reserves. You won't feel the need to eat as much food. Also muscle gained from resistance as opposed to lean cardio muscle is much less efficient. So it burns more calories for some amount of work.

 

A mix is the best though. Your HIIT serves a similar purpose to resistance isn't a must especially if you just feel like heavy cardio. I always preach "listen to your body".

[Jibralta]

I do intend to lift weights. And when I do, I'll definitely try combining it with HIIT. But first I'm going to take my time getting into shape. I'm not sure how long it will take. I just have to feel the right stability first. If that makes sense. I'm actually doing some strength training now. I'm just using body weight instead of free weights.

[Jibralta]

I slept in again yesterday and skipped my workout. So I felt like a guilty piece of poo all day.

 

I didn't exercise all day, but towards the end of the evening I spontaneously attempted the Triceps Dip-Kicks and managed to get both my hands and feet off the ground! My boyfriend was impressed and tried it himself. He got it the first time, but admitted it was hard.

 

I always feel mildly disgruntled when boys beat me at something. When anyone beats me, actually. I am competitive. But I am also a good sport and ultimately find it motivating, even if I never, ever prevail.

 

Today I walked a half mile, jogged a mile, then walked another half mile. My original intention was to jog two quarter miles. But I felt like that was so boring. I want to go slow, but that seemed too slow. So I did the full mile at a slow pace. Paid attention for nagging aches and pains, but there were none. Just some transient pangs that worked their way through and disappeared. The thing about jogging is that even when it's slow, it forces your muscles to contract at every step. So even a slow pace pays dividends. I'll be feeling good all day because of this.

 

Today I repeated the walk/jog sequence. Slow pace, again. I figure about 12-13 minutes. I dusted off my fitbit (literally) and wore it, but it didn't properly identify the exercise. That's annoying. Fortunately, I checked the times myself. I didn't have too many aches or pains, despite not exercising these last few days. I wasn't terrible stiff, but I don't have the best range of motion. I focused on elongating my strides. When my heart rate starts to decrease at that pace, I'll think about raising my knees as I jog.

 

Last night two little girls were jumping around and running outside, under my window. When I was that age, I never understood how grown ups didn't have energy. It's more like a feeling of heaviness than anything else. On the track today, I remembered the girls. I imagined being lighter, and that actually helped. My horseback riding instructor had a trick like that for sitting the trot. She said, "imagine there's a string attached to the top of your head, lifting you straight up."

 

I feel a nice warmth in my joints. That's me getting stronger. I just need to be patient.