oldbutfit’s BodyBlog

Life has been good to me …..really. I was born into a loving family with great parents and siblings. I attended renowned institutions for my education and professional qualifications and subsequently worked at several places known for their academic excellence. Along the way I got married to an awesome lady and had bright and successful children. Now happily retired and looking forward to many more good years. All sounding too good to be true ,right……so what ’s my problem ?

        Looking back ,one thing I wish I had discovered earlier on in my life…..bodybuilding .I was skin and bone until well into my 40s and all the time I was quietly aware(but never showed it ) that I could do with more confidence and self-esteem. But I kept plodding on towards obtaining academic and professional recognition .Altho’ I got there in the end the process took its toll on my health…..allergies , asthma,insomnia ,stomach ulcer to name but a few …..all caused thru stress .

Eventually , at the age of 44 ,I had become a frail old man who couldn’t even lift a light suitcase ! Luckily at that point I discovered weight training which subsequently changed my life…and I never look back .From then on my body changed for the better ,I felt less and less stressed out and the quality of my work had improved no end .Best of all ,the adverse medical problems started one by one to disappear and for the first time I could proudly say I was enjoying life !

At the moment I feel ecstatic. At 67 ,I can do all the things a 20 yr old does….perhaps even better .At a bodyweight of 124 lbs I can bench nearly 200 lbs which is lb for lb equal to a 248 lb guy lifting 400 lbs .

As I get older I also find happiness thru helping others and not expecting anything in return .All that plus the endorphin fix I get from my daily workout serve to drum it in that I am so lucky…..I am in paradise

One of the first things we do on this website is to look at other member’s pics may it be for giving constructive criticism ,encouragement and support or words of admiration and not least self motivation.And we express them by making a comment(s)plus a number rating.

      However there are differing views as to how we should go about doing it (rating).Some people would reserve a 10 only for perfect physiques while others would give a 9 or 10 to displaying members with less-than-ideal,and often grossly out of shape,physiques as a way to show encouragement and support.This has created the so-called double standard which annoys voters from both camps and probably bewilders a passer-by.Those who vote on the purely physical aspects say the other camp hands out 10s like lollies….and they have a point.But the other camp argues too what would happen to their psyche if many beginners were given 1,2 or 3 in spite of their initial determination to succeed and being brave enough to post a "before" pic. 

          Until this rather underdiscussed issue of pic rating is resolved doubts will remain as to the validity of the whole system.

          WHAT DO YOU THINK ?

Up till the age of 40 I was always skinny so trying to lose weight was not one of my problems.Soon after 40,however,I noticed for the first time that altho’ I was still skinny I started to have a belly.About that time I discovered the gym and over the next 20 years or so I gradually built muscles and with the help of cardio I managed to turn the paunch into a 6 pack.However,as I aged further my "fat"friend started again to pay me a visit.Knowing that was a sign of slowing down of metabolism I increased the amount of cardio by 100 calories per day and that seemed to do the trick….for a while.The next year the same thing happened,so burning extra 150 calories seemed to keep it in check. The year after that 200 calories was the answer but it was clear to me that as the years went by I had to reduce my caloric intake as well.Some may ask why don’t I build more energy-hungry muscles to "mop up"the extra calories but this is more easily said than done.At my age,67,a lot of muscle cells have already died off and there is a limit to the size increase of the remaining ones.  So all I can do now is to eat protein and some carbs up to my limit of 1950 cal plus burning some 700 cal daily to keep my weight gain in check.

What is in store for me ? It is obvious that I will have to continue toiling with this formula of progressively reduced intake /increased burning  until such time that I can’t ,whenever that may be. Until then I am grateful that ,physically,I am still allowed the opportunity to pursue it

A few weeks ago I received an email from 2 very close overseas friends who decided to pay me a visit. Very nice ,I thought ,so was looking forward to sharing our latest news ,etc.Needless to say we were all excited when they arrived last week to stay at my house .They were surprised to see me so skinny(I always look skinny with a shirt on,due to low bf) and I was surprised at their ever-enlarging girths.OK they were happy to exchange news but otherwise they were just into sitting in front of the TV one hand holding a drink(whisky/gin and tonic/beer etc you name it we had it) and the other snacking.The all-day happy hours were only broken by the intervening meal times.And the meals ,as requested ,were hugh and full of LDL(bad)cholesterol and triglycerides and lots of wine.The conversation often targeted me e.g "Why do I still bother to work out at my age(they are roughly my age as well),what do I want muscle for,do I realise you can bring about good health by just drinking red wine ".And of course they exercised too ,and with a straight face ,they said by walking from room to room (usually from the sitting room to the bathroom to answer the call of nature) !

After 5 days of "more of the same",until they left,needless to say I had not gone to the gym ,become totally lethargic and gained 5 lbs of fat.

Looking back ,while I was happy to see close friends their visit has revealed one startling fact ….close friends ,yes,but poles apart in lifestyle and we don’t speak the same language any more.And more than ever I need to sometimes relate to the likes of you who are presently reading my blog cos we share many things in common in regard to health and lifestyles and our determination to get and keep them

I have to thank my visitors ,however ,for their parts in causing my 5 lb weight gain which I will now use as my next challenge …to get rid of it by the end of next week  

First of all you have to be clear in your own mind about what it is for.To me the idea is to give the body a chance to add the maximum amount possible of muscle in a given period of time.So you load yourself with carbs which will in turn be stored in the muscles themselves and elsewhere(mainly liver)as glycogen.Glycogen is the main fuel for strengh increase i.e you can then lift heavier and hence making your muscle cells(fibres) grow bigger.The process is called  HYPERTROPHY.

      The next thing to understand is that after a certain age(usually 35-40) muscle cells begin to die off and by the time one is ,say,60 the no of one’s muscle cells may be as low as 60%(this varies) of those of a 25 yr old.

What am I trying to say?I’m saying that at best a muscular 60 yr old man can only hope to have only approx 60-70% of the lean muscle mass of a muscular 25 yr old.

OK,now…The oldie bulks up,lifts heavy and gets bigger.So what’s the problem? Sadly he doesn’t realise that whatever he does nature will NOT let him have more than 60-70% of the muscle cells of the younger guy.So the bigger he is the more fat he will have piled on cos excess carbs(glycogen)is converted into fat and NOT the muscle that he had hoped for.

Then comes the cutting cycle. This will be VERY difficult for the oldie because of slower metabolism.At the end of the cutting cycle he will find he only has A LITTLE MORE (that’s all) lean muscle mass than he had before the bulking phase. Is it worth the blood sweats and tears ?That is up to you to choose !

My own personal view is therefore if you want to maximally increase your lean muscle mass it’s better to "bulk up" only a little,say,to 10% the body fat reading.In this scenario you will have sufficient glycogen to fuel your lifting heavy which then causes muscle cells to increase size (i.e hypertrophy) until they reach their oldie’s limit. Once that is reached you can then cut down without tears.

REMEMBER YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY INCREASE THE NUMBER OF YOUR(REDUCED)MUSCLE CELLS YOU CAN ONLY MAKE THE EXISTING ONES BIGGER.

Conclusion:- Conventional bulking / cutting creates false hopes for the oldie who finds,after just about killing himself doing it ,that he is only a little bigger in terms of lean muscle mass. IS IT WORTH IT ?

Until I was 44 I had been an unhealthy and stressed out individual who never exercised let alone lifting weights.Needless to say my chest looked like a semi-transparent pancake on a grill (ribs)and my arms were the same size as my 5-yr old girl’s.The only thing big was my belly.A skinny man with a belly-what an aweful sight!I was so weak I couldn’t lift a 20kg suitcase and had to ask my wife to do it!

So enough was enough,I had to do something.It was do or die and I was glad I chose the former and then with great reluctance and embarassment I joined a gym.Progress was extremely slow and after 2 yrs I managed to look like an average man who NEVER worked out !Never mind I was stronger than I was(which was nt difficult) so let’s soldier on.One thing I was blessed with was my discipline so year in year out you would see me in the gym 4 times a week without fail.In the quest to get big I gorged myself with anything and everything called food and my wt ballooned to 155lbs (from 124)which at the time I thought was muscle .Yes 10% the rest was fat.I wish I could show you my "fat"pic which I could nt upload.By the way please take a look at my progress pics to get an idea.

The years rolled on and I was still at it 4 times a wk .I gradually learned more and more about the finer aspects of nutrition and was able to tailor -make the diet to suit my chosen physique type i.e.fitness v bodybuilding look and also to devise the workouts accordingly.

It has taken me 23 years to accomplish what I have attained.Some of you may scornfully say "Big Deal"but to me it really is.Being and looking fit means more to me than money and is something I’m proud of cos it was my own blood sweats and tears that went into it.

Lastly I’m sure you know the story of the hare and the tortoise the latter winning the race in the end.I am the tortoise. At 67 I also feel like a plant that blooms late,in full bloom at the moment,whereas those weird and wonderful early bloomers have irretrievably wilted.  

Hi

I’ve never written a bodyblog before so it’s about time!So one of these days one will appear I promise