Thread: Help this 40yr old get back in shape...

Dang son, why don't you just pull out a gun and get it over? LOL

Seriously, I'm 51 and within the last 4 years I have had 2 bone breaking, blood gushing, life threatening motorcycle wrecks.

I'm 6'2" and 185 with BF at 10-11 percent. The other day I benched 265 pounds 3 times. Twelve months ago I couldn't bench a broom stick from a shattered left arm suffered in my last wreck.

Trust me... there's hope for you.

Damn, you are a mess. Motorcycle wrecks are not very forgiving are they? U R an inspiration man. Thats damn good weight you're pushing there. The last time I benched that much I was a sophmore in college. Then I got Diabetes in my senior year and then 5 years later cancer. I lifted weights all through my chemo therapy I guess I was in full fight mode.

I just need to back my shit back together.

your questions are pretty simple, go looking around, there are some pretty recent threads with what your looking for

Miami: Listen here my man- Workout everyday, and eat right just do it. First thing-- decide on a workout program and a diet to go along with it and report back to us.

MAN LOOK how come nobody here ever answers a question with stuff besides BS? go look around, get out a gun, theres hope for you. people cmon on now!!!!

Chris, go look around. Get a gun....there's hope for you, too.

Originally posted by miamiguns
I turned 40 more than 3 months ago and I've never been in worse shape i feel and look like shit.

I have been rehabing from torn ligs on both knees and ankles on top of that a bad rotator cuff. I did it all natural through P.T. exercise and I've been taking triple strength joint care supplements to help build up my joints during this down time. Rotator cuff and ankle are 100% and knees are about 80%.

I weigh in at 235lbs dry and my body fat is up in the stratosphere at about 25%.

I have been trying to cut down on carbs and decrease the sugar intake. Working out takes more out of me and it takes longer to recover from a good old upper and lower workout. Is this an age factor or something else?

Need suggestions for an aerobic/strength routine. I could care less how I look just want to feel better for now.

I PT alot of clients around "our" age and I suggest that you train over 5 days (1 x bodypart per day ie: Mon - back Tues- chest Wed- legs etc etc....) these w/outs should be shorter and less intense aiding in better recovery etc etc..p.s choose exercises that are kinder to your joints , good luck.xx

Miamiguns,

Yep. that asphalt is hard. :-)

The biggest step you can take is the first one. Get back in the gym and toss some iron around. Slant your diet towards lean protein. Avoid the white flower foods and sugar. Before you know it you'll be feeling 30 again.

Miamiguns, at this time about 9 months ago, I was 240 lbs @ approximately 30% BF. Although I was weight training, I obviously neglected my diet. Too much beer, too many junk foods, too much saturated fat.

The first order of business is to get your diet in order. I tried a ultra low carb diet for the first 2-3 weeks which seemed to work well to 'jump start' the diet. I lost around 14 lbs in that time, which was mostly water weight, but psychologically it was a real boost. I then went with a more moderate diet. 30% carbs/40% protein/30% fat has worked very well. I consume most of the carbs in the morning, and just after my workout. The main thing is to cut out things like white bread, pretzels, chips, soda, candy, cookies, cake, anything with the words 'hydrogenated oils' on the label, and foods high in saturated fat. I routinely eat baked chicken breast, turkey, salmon, tuna, eye of round steak, 96% lean ground beef (may be hard to find), oatmeal, eggbeaters w/one or two whole eggs, brown rice, black beans, 100% whole wheat bread, apples, bananas, natural peanut butter, whole olives, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, skim milk, olive oil, whey protein powder, fish oil supplements, etc. I think you get the idea. Your total caloric intake should be 10-13 calories per pound of current bodyweight. See Jodi's excellent sticky "Guide to Cutting, Bulking & Maintenance" Guide to Cutting, Bulking & Maintenance

In the weight room, I prefer a three day split, but with generally lower volume and high intensity. I only do 6-8 sets per bodypart, except for back which I do 10-12 sets.

Day 1: Chest/Legs
Day 2: Shoulders/Back
Day 3: Triceps/Biceps
Day 4: Off

Check out plans like GoPro's Power/Rep Range/Shock http://www.ironmagazine.com/article65.html. I do something similar to this except I only do two movements, three at the most, per body part.

After 6 months of following above I'm 212 lbs @ 15% BF (goal is 10%), and recently benched 310 lbs (up from 255). I'm 48, and I haven't been in this good of shape in a long, long time, so yes there is hope Miami. Good luck to you!

I'm 41 and sure don't feel it. Took up snowboarding last year and went 7 days so far this year. Take the advice given here and you'll be a new man in no time

First off, Miamiguns Welcome to our forum!

Ok, I believe Jersey Devil had some great advice, so read up good on that and check out his links. Jodi is quite good at all information pertaining to nutrition, especially cutting fat and leaning up. GoPro's workouts are also excellent programs, but allow me to give a few pointers of my own.


As Jersey said, Diet is going to be everything from now on. You are going to have to learn to love to eat healthy . I know it sounds tough, but its a lot more enjoyable than it sounds, especiallay when you start seeing results.

The guidelines will differ from doctor to doctor, but 40/30/30 would be ok, although personally I like 50/30/20 myself. (Protein/Carbs/Fats). Go to any bookstore and buy a calorie counter book of some kind. It should have all the foods basically you could ever see, and their nutritional values. Next time you go shopping, start looking at things like tuna, fruits, veggies (especially fiberous ones), lean meats, yogurt, skim milk,oatmeal, whole grain breads, and yams. These are just a few of the low fat, energy filled foods that are great to help you lose weight OR gain muslce depending on your goals. My suggestion would be to buy a book with all the foods, and pick the ones you like the most.

A man of your stature, trying to lose weight, here is a basic estimate from a nutrtional calculator from the website :
www.ast-ss.com

Here is your daily macro-nutrient breakdown for building lean muscle mass without adding unwanted body fat.

Calories - 2956
With an endomorph body type at a body weight of 235 pounds and a "Slightly Active" activity level, your total daily caloric intake should be 2956 calories.

Protein: 374.67 grams
Of these 2956 calories 1498.69 should come strictly from protein. That equals 374.67 grams of protein per day.

Carbohydrates: 268.26 grams
The calories derived strictly from carbohydrates each day should total 1073.03 calories. This means your total carbohydrate intake per day in grams should be 268.26.

Fat: 42.7 grams
Fat intake should always be kept to a minimum. Out of the 2956 calories you consume a day only 384.28 or less should come from fat. That's a total of 42.7 or less grams of fat per day.

Try taking these numbers and reducing them by 200 the first week and see how it works. This is a good round estimate of what your body needs, and how to gain lean mass and lose fat healthily.

For workouts, there are TONS on this board. I am personally doing the HST workout found on :
www.hypertrophy-specific.com

Check it out and feel free to ask questions.

Always stay motivated and its NEVER to late to start gettin in shape.

Many thanks people. Pretty good common sense nutritional information. I just cut out aspartame from my diet today and will never touch it again. Although I need artificial sweetners because I'm type I diabetic I'll have to find an alternative.

Today I started with a workout in home. I have a pretty good cage I bought from Costco 2 years back. I have an incline/decline bench, lat bar, lower pully, 3 sets of adjustable dumbells and about 275 lbs in plates.

I did back and chest today. 6 sets per muscle 3 movements per muscle total of 12 sets/15-20 reps with 35lb dumbells and cable. No girly jokes LOL. I just want to burn in and toughen up my connectors.

Tomorrow I'm gonna walk a couple miles for aerobics and do my physical therapy knee excercises.

On Friday its arms and abs.

Back on track!!! Thanks

Originally posted by miamiguns
Back on track!!! Thanks