8/27 Whole Body Workout

Wednesday was a down day (I think I mentioned that in my last post). So I had to visit the gym on Thursday (8/27). My arms were so tight I couldn't straighten them out. It made sleeping a little difficult, but we survive don't we. Anyway, as I was saying... I went to the gym last night. I jogged over, then did 5 min on the elliptical trainer. My arms were still pretty tight, but my shoulders and legs were feeling good. I know that I need to keep working my shoulders or the pain that I endured will be for nothing.

I started with shoulder exercises. I was happy to be back at the weight where I started the first night. However, since I wanted to work more parts of my body, I kept the routine to two sets. After working shoulders I did a little bicep and tricep work to try to loosen those muscles. It worked a bit. They did tighten up last night, but they feel better today. I attribute the recovery to the work last night.

After working my shoulders and arms I moved onto legs. I have altered the leg workout that the trainer has suggested. I've gone back to the method I used when training for skiing. That is, for leg extensions and curls I work one leg at a time for two sets of 15. However, the work is done slowly, as follows: Raise the weight quickly, then lower to a count of 5. Don't let the weight get to the bottom before raising it again. Repeat 10-15 times for each leg. That's one set. The third set is done regular speed with both legs at a higher weight. This gives a nice burn. :) I finished legs with some lunges and calf raises with 10 pound weights (no wall sits today as time was getting to be a factor).

The session ended with abdominal exercises. Incline situps (no weight) and machine crunches (two sets). It's a little strange, I can really feel my abs hurting while working them, but they feel fine otherwise. Normally I am able to feel them outside of the gym as well. I'm thinking this may be attributed to the amount of work that their getting.

Summary is, I'm starting to feel good about this working out thing. However, I am still far off from it being an integral part of my daily routine. That is, I still have to talk myself into going. As opposed to just automatically thinking, "Oh, it's time to go to the gym."

Next week, chest and back. Should be interesting. :P

Hello, welcome to my new blog.
For those who don't know me, I'll explain a little about myself and hopefully while doing so explain a bit about the purpose of this blog. I'm 42 (hence the name "over 40"), not tremendously out of shape, but not in the shape that I would like to be in. I'm sure that I fit into a common category for men my age.
I was athletic as a kid as I experimented with lots of different sports. My primary sport that I settled on was wrestling which I did for 6 years. I wasn't at the top of the food chain, nor was I at the bottom. I was decent and with a little more effort and commitment I could have been very good. I have never been big, I was 5'9" 135 lb. when I graduated.
After high school I joined the Air Force where I had a physical job working on aircraft. While in the Air Force I start skiing and would work out starting in August/September to get in shape for the upcoming season. I spent one year in Iceland where I worked out pretty hard and continued to improve my skiing. When I arrived in Iceland I was still around 135 lb, but when I left I was 170. I attribute the gain in size to a solid year of gym time. After Iceland I got stationed in Holland. While in Holland I joined the base soccer team and met a fellow who got me interested in ski racing. I was never a highly competitive racer, but I enjoyed the challenge and was able to race in a downhill in the French Alps which was pretty cool. The bottom line here is that I used to be pretty fit.
I left the Air Force 12 years ago, at the age of 30, to finish graduate school. I now work as a computer software tester. This is about the farthest you can get from a physical job that there is. Combined with the lack of anything physical all day is the fact that I am now 42 and my metabolism has slowed down accordingly, just as everyone said it would. As I said at the beginning of my post, I haven't let myself go to the point where I grossly out of shape. However, I am acutely aware of how easy that can be.
Right now I am (still 5'9") wavering between 185 and 190 lb. depending on my discipline that week. However, my endurance and fitness are gone. I have recently started (sporatically) playing soccer again. It's just a friendly game, but not as much fun when my legs are shot half way through and I have been unable to motivate myself to run independently to help gain fitness/endurance. This is where this blog comes in.
I have just joined a gym with my wife. The name of the gym doesn't matter. I can (and have) work out pretty much anywhere. What does matter is if I can stay motivated and achieve results. Here's the deal. The gym is 1/2 mile from my house. My plan is to jog over as a warmup, then workout and jog/walk back as a cooldown. Along with the membership we have purchased a program to meet with a personal trainer once per week. The membership and training sessions are for one year.
OK, I know what you're thininig. "OH, a personal trainer. Well la-te-da" LOL, that's what I would be saying anyway. But hear me out. This was a good deal when broken down to a per session rate (via a promotion) and I'm hoping that meeting with a trainer once per week will keep me on track to attain my goals by the end of the year. If I can't meet my goals in one year, then all is lost (so to speak).
I don't think my situation is unique. In fact, I think this is very common amongst men of my age. So feel free to follow my exploits as I trudge through this year long experiment in fitness for men over 40 years old. Hopefully I can inspire someone along the way, or at least give you a laugh.
My first session with the trainer is Wed (August 19th). Keep posted!!