beachboy47’s BodyBlog

Between September and November my workouts and diet and not been good. Something about the change of season in the northeast from warm to cold weather slows me down. Now that Thanksgiving has past, I am really getting excited about new goals, rededication and a clear head towards the New Year.
My workouts have picked up again, I am more mindful of my diet and carb intake and the fire in the belly is being stoked.
All of my gains in the last year have been using light weight and body weight. After the new year, my goal is to burn off that last bit of fat by increasing  my muscle mass by 10lbs. To do this I will have to join a local gym so that I can hit the heavy weights and break down that muscle fiber. I am planning on instituting a keto diet as well to help facilitate the fat loss process while still gaining muscle.

Ok, before it gets out of control I am making changes, effective today. My diet has gotten a bit loose…time to tighten it up again and knock off the crap. Also I am changing my workout. Rather than separate body part days, I am doing full body workouts, at high reps and low weights and coupling that with HIIT cardio. That ought to shock the system!

It’s that time of year when the weather is changing and your body is saying "Hey, winter is coming soon. Food shortage. Time to pack on the body fat!" Our diets change to heavier meals, less sunlight, less motivation to work out in the dark after a hard day on the job.
I’ve already noticed subtle changes in my own eating habits. My carb intake has creeped up and I am starting to snack after my 6th meal. Weight’s up about 2 pounds and bf% up 1%. Nothing to panic about, but something to be aware of so that it doesn’t spiral out of control and I end up with the rest of America in having to make the New Year Resolution to get BACK into shape.
I love the changes in the seasons, and all that it brings with it, but I don’t want that to translate into negative changes in me.
I will take new measurements today for a baseline, and start to make the adjustments necessary to avoid any backslide this fall and winter.

It’s been 9 months since I began my life changing transformation process of eating clean and exercising regularly. During that time, my motivation has been high, but like everything, you do it enough and you get bored. That is where I am today. A crapy summer, and a lot of work distractions has me a bit off my game at the moment.
I am at that juncture where a choice gets made. Do I veer off the path and return to my old ways, or push through the boredom? I choose to push through. "This too shall pass".
I need to rededicate myself, perhaps even establish new goals to shoot for, to change things up and make my workouts fresh again. Sometimes a step backwards is necessary to take 2 steps forward.
By staying focused, I know I will get back into the groove with new vigor.

Took a week’s vacation in the Finger Lakes region of Western NY with the family. Weather was great…fishing stunk!
I wondered how I would do with my training and diet while away, knowing that I had to make allowances. Good news is that I didn’t gain any weight nor any bodyfat. I tried to eat healthy but I knew going into it I was going to indulge in some things I don’t normally consume anymore such as beer and ice-cream. No, NOT together! Of the 7 days of vacation, I was able to get 5 mile runs in for 5 of those days which helped burn any extra calories.
I can see how slippery a slope indulgences can be because I am going to miss those bowls of ice-cream after dinner! Perry’s makes a "Piece of Cake" ice-cream that is to die for!
But I am back on the horse today, eating clean and resuming my workouts. Today was abs, push-ups and 40 minutes of stair-climbing cardio. Feeling great!
Train hard, gang and enjoy life everyday!

According to myth, Achilles was the mightiest and bravest warrior of the Trojan War. When he was born, his mother, Thetis, held him by his heel and immersed the child’s body in the river Styx. The magical waters granted him invulnerability except for the only place not dipped in the water…his heel. Henceforth, a person’s weak spot is referred to as their "Achilles Heel".
This relates to all of us trying to transform our bodies because we all have weak spots. That trouble area that never seems to bend to our will. For some, it’s the inability to build mass, for others, getting the six pack for others, getting rid of "chicken legs". For me, it’s the area of fat that covers the bottom row of abs (for the 8 pack). It seems like I will never get rid of that last layer of fat and it’s frustrating as hell.
I will not give up on it, but I can at least take comfort in that everyone else is going through their own version of Achilles heel.

I’ve been wanting to change things up in my routines and came across a great web-site…http://askthetrainer.com/
where I’ve picked up some new and challenging exercises.
Today was shoulders/legs so for the shoulders I added the Arnold Shoulder Press routine. It gives the delts a full range of motion and I really liked it. A good burn!
For the legs I added squat jumps to finish out the routines. This will really help with any type of explosive power one might need and man, do you work up a sweat!

What an honor to be choosen as the over 40 transformation of the week on bodybuilding.com! 6 Months ago I set a goal for myself to bring out the 6 pack, never thinking I would get as far as I did. I planned on giving myself a year to accomplish my goals, but by using many of the training and dietary techniques I found on the website I was able to get it done in half that time.
I believe it important to constantly challenge yourself, mentally and physically. For my next physical goal, I think I will try a bulking program in the fall. Join a gym and load up on the heavy weights to try and put on 15lbs of lean muscle. Bulking has always been difficult form me, but hey…I like a challenge!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/over_40_transformation_graham_nolan.htm

I’m just about done with my 2 week lifting ban. It’s killing me, but my arm is starting to feel better. It’s not waking me up in pain which is a good thing and today I haven’t taken any Aleeve and I am pain free. When I start back  up on Monday, I think I will ice the arm down to keep any new inflamation under control.

It feels weird now that I am 4 days into by self-imposed lifting ban. I wish I could say my arm is feeling better, but it actually hurts more now! As a cartoonist/illustrator, that elbow is in constant use, bending at a right angle to hold on to my board which keeps the tendon aggravated. Hopefully by the end of week two I will be feeling a difference.
The good news it the change up in my routine and adding the greater time and intensity to my cardio has really helped me out of my plateau. My bodyfat has dropped to 6.4% and the little layer of fat on the lower abs is flattening out. My ultimate goal is to completely flatten it, which to be honest, I never thought I would be able to do, especially at age 47. Now I think it’s attainable, so I am motivated and gung-ho!