azspdoguy’s BodyBlog

I’ve finished the 3rd month of my program and can’t say I see a big difference from when I started. There have been changes though. I think my obliques are stronger and more defined, my biceps might be a tad bigger, my abs are tighter especially the lower abs, and my shoulders and chest may be a tad bigger. Due to my running, the fat in my thighs and calves is now muscle. I’m disappointed in my abs and I still have an inch or two of fat around my middle despite that I’ve been working them for years. I did start improving after I started wogging (walking/jogging) and doing ab exercises 6 days a week. My lower abs are getting there, but I’m having trouble with the upper abs (i.e. no six pack). I think I’m starting to finally be hitting the upper abs, but I probably won’t know for a month or two.

Although I haven’t see the progress I would have liked, I still plan to keep going with my current program. I am feeling more fit and made enough progress to keep going. I’ll be doubling dumbbell weights from (don’t laugh ) 5 pounds each to 10, partly to see if it helps and partly because the current weights are getting too easy. If I still continue to see little progress, I might consider joining a gym and/or consulting a trainer.

I have made some changes this month. I started a regular aerobics routine of wunning (walk/running as opposed to Ralking run/walking) 5 days a week. I also added some bench exercises and some pull ups. I also found an excellent article on posing at http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mark9.htm to help me make some consistent poses to compare my progress. I also shaved my beard off. My chin is now exposed to sunlight for the first time in 20 years and much longer for my upper lip.
I see a slight improvement, a little indication of shoulder and bicep muscles, when not flexed and I appear to have lost a little of the fat around my waste. While flexing my biceps appear slightly bigger. My progress seems slower than I expected, but I am making progress. I will continue with this plan for 1 more month and then reevaluate the plan.

After the first month of my workout plan I noticed 2 changes when I was swimming. First I noticed how much faster I could swim with the new strength in my arms and second I noticed a tightness in my lower abs that I never felt before. Other than that, I don’t see any noticeable difference in my body relaxed or flexed.

Once I retired I had more time on my hands and decided to expand the routine I was doing on Saturdays in the summers to 3 days a week all year, except the swimming now that it’s getting too cold. Three days a week (Mo/We/Fr) I continue to do my calisthenics and three days a week (Tu/Th/Sa) I do my expanded routine. I have also started power walking 5 days a week.

I continued with that routine, exercising 3 days a week, for many years. I found that exercising more often made it difficult to maintain and I got what I needed from exercising 3 days a week. As the years went on I added new exercises and/or improved the ones I was already doing. About 3 years ago, on Saturdays during the summer, I started increasing the reps for my ab exercises and started lifting dumbbells, followed by swimming laps in my pool. I still maintained the regular routine on Mon/Web/Fri. I saw some encouraging results, but only during the summer of course.

In 2002 I developed severe muscle spasms in my neck and upper back. I saw a chiropractor and that helped, but I kept having to go back. I also saw a physical therapist and that helped as well, but again the relief was not permanent. They did give me a pamphlet on some exercises I could do, so I started exercising. It made sense to me that my spine had no support and that building muscle would help that. I did mostly stretching and calisthenics including sit ups and push ups. My family doctor also sent me to a Osteopath who specialized in sports medicine who told me there was nothing I could do, because I could not afford the required treatment and that the exercises I was doing would cause more harm then good. I ignored his advice and have hardly had any pain in my neck and upper back since.

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