How About A Little 2025 Fitness?

[RodeoSchro]

I'm in!

2024 was a very good fitness year - I hit an all-time high of 250 pounds on the incline bench and also was able to put up 306 on the bench. I leg-pressed 415 pounds - 14 reps! - and I was able to curl and tricep press my weight. At age 65! That age looks old when I type it but I do not feel old in any way, shape or form. By the way, I weigh 200 pounds on most days, but go down to 196 sometimes. I have no idea why.

I started drinking a protein shake either before or after a workout and I added creatine along the way. I am sure that helped in the strength department. But - I also developed a little paunch, which apparently is normal with the protein/creatine shake. Well, I don't want a paunch!

So this year's fitness goals are:

1. 150 crunches every day. Actually, I always throw in one more rep to grow on, so it'll be 151 a day and if I do them every day, I'll do 55,115 crunches. At the gym I do 151 on the chair - the one where you stand up against the backrest and then bring your knees up. At home, I do them on my back, while laying on the bed. I'm guessing this will take care of the paunch but I suspect it will take awhile - a couple months maybe? We'll see. I don't plan on changing my diet much except to not eat dessert or candy if I can help it.

2. Put up 306 on the bench. I remember when I did it after my 60th birthday. I thought that if I died the next day, I wanted my obituary to start with "He could bench press 300 pounds at age 60!" Yeah, I'm goofy that way. But I didn't die so in order for my potential obituary to be as cool as possible, my goal each year was to still be able to put up 306. I did it at 61, 62, 63, 64 and 65. No reason to stop trying now! I hit 66 in early February, so that's when the next attempt will be.

3. I also did a lot of leg stuff in 2024 and for the first time in my life, I don't have to describe my legs as chicken legs. Success begats success so I'm going to keep on keepin' on with the legs. No real goal in mind, I just want to maintain or grow what I've got now.

That's it for me, now blow me away with YOUR accomplishments and goals! Here's a great scene from "Rocky III" to get you motivated!

 

[RodeoSchro]

I forgot something I wanted to add that's REALLY helped me.

About six months ago I started grading my workouts. I grade each muscle group and also give the overall workout a grade. You know what?

When you self-grade, you tend to tell yourself, "No way am I getting out of here with anything less than an A!" At least, I do. There have been many times where I didn't feel that great or was lazy or whatever but about halfway through the workout, I told myself, "Self, I am going to give you a C+ based on what you've done so far. Do you want that? DO YOU?"

And then I tell myself, "No, self - I do not! Let's keep going!"

You've got to be honest, though. Give yourself whatever grade you really earned but I'll bet you this -within a couple workouts, you'll never be satisfied with anything but a duly-earned A!

 

[mdiver]

I'm so glad 2025 is here.

In feb 2024 i picked an injury up that i hoped would heal. 4 years ago i tore a meniscus in my right knee- it healed with rest and non impact work.
In Feb i felt my left one go. I tried to fix it the same way and long story short it didnt work.
Had an mri in Early Dec to find that my left medial meniscus had torn so badly that it was in half and some of it was flapping around, there was another tear further up and a tear in my lateral meniscus as well.

My surgeon said it needed surgery.

I had it done 10th Dec

I hit the peloton on the 1st Jan for my first workout and ran 8 miles this Sunday- my surgeon said i would run in 6 weeks, i made it in 3.5- Im going steady and building slowly but i plan on being marathon ready by April and then prepping for the Umstead 100 in 2026 (April) - my goal is sub 22 hrs

This is before

This is after

 

[uPtoWnNY]

Still trying to get where I was before pneumonia hit me last year. Nearly there, but the days of 300+ bench press & 375+ squats are long gone. Even now on leg press I can only do 6 or 7 45lb plates on each side.

Sometimes my lower back will flare up, so I have careful (and smart) about max lifting (especially dead lifts).

 

[RodeoSchro]

Confession time - about ten days ago, something happened that's not uncommon but not something you want.

I dropped the bar on myself.

Meaning, I was benching and doing a very heavy weight with no spotter (215 pounds). Didn't think I needed one; I'd done two unassisted reps at the same weight two days before. I was feeling good and thought, "OK - we did two reps two days ago; I'm sure I can rip off four reps today".

Almost!

The first three reps were no problem but as I brought the bar down to start the fourth rep, well....it just kept coming down until it stopped on my chest!

I was stuck. There was a buddy working out 10 feet away and I knew he didn't have earbuds in, so I said, "Hey Glenn, a little help!" He came over, looked at the weight currently crushing me, and said, "There's no way I can lift that off you!" He didn't HAVE to lift it off, he just needed to help me get it up onto the hooks but he went and got another guy and between the three of us, I was freed.

After a little ribbing and a not-needed lecture, all was well. But the next two workouts, my confidence was shot. What if I got stuck again? I worked out but with a much lighter weight than I knew I could do. Yuck!

Saturday, I was feeling great. So I got one of the interns to come spot me and I put 225 on the bar. Go big or go home, right?

I told the young guy, "Here's how it usually goes: I might need a little help getting the first rep up but starting at rep two I should be good on my own. I have no idea how many I can do so just listen for me to say 'one more' and help out on it if needed".

After a couple big breaths, I lifted to bar off the hooks...and did the first seven unassisted! Not only did I not need help on the first rep but SEVEN reps on my own was a new record at 225!

That's cool but the best thing was that my confidence came back. Upward and onward, the Big Six-Six is three weeks away!

 

[barnswallow]

Confession time - about ten days ago, something happened that's not uncommon but not something you want.

I dropped the bar on myself.

Meaning, I was benching and doing a very heavy weight with no spotter (215 pounds). Didn't think I needed one; I'd done two unassisted reps at the same weight two days before. I was feeling good and thought, "OK - we did two reps two days ago; I'm sure I can rip off four reps today".

Almost!

The first three reps were no problem but as I brought the bar down to start the fourth rep, well....it just kept coming down until it stopped on my chest!

I was stuck. There was a buddy working out 10 feet away and I knew he didn't have earbuds in, so I said, "Hey Glenn, a little help!" He came over, looked at the weight currently crushing me, and said, "There's no way I can lift that off you!" He didn't HAVE to lift it off, he just needed to help me get it up onto the hooks but he went and got another guy and between the three of us, I was freed.

After a little ribbing and a not-needed lecture, all was well. But the next two workouts, my confidence was shot. What if I got stuck again? I worked out but with a much lighter weight than I knew I could do. Yuck!

Saturday, I was feeling great. So I got one of the interns to come spot me and I put 225 on the bar. Go big or go home, right?

I told the young guy, "Here's how it usually goes: I might need a little help getting the first rep up but starting at rep two I should be good on my own. I have no idea how many I can do so just listen for me to say 'one more' and help out on it if needed".

After a couple big breaths, I lifted to bar off the hooks...and did the first seven unassisted! Not only did I not need help on the first rep but SEVEN reps on my own was a new record at 225!

That's cool but the best thing was that my confidence came back. Upward and onward, the Big Six-Six is three weeks away!

What was the ‘much lighter weight’? Did you do more reps with it than you would have if using heavier weights? I wonder if that lower weight and presumed higher # of reps helped with doing the 7 reps at 225. What do you think?

Yikes! Getting pinned by the bar sounds scary.

 

[barnswallow]

I’ve mostly just been walking in the woods and on trails with a few pretty steep hills that take maybe 10-15 minutes to walk up. There are a few inches of snow. The only upper body stuff is carrying wood around for the wood stove. Might try to sprinkle in some push-ups and planks!

 

[RodeoSchro]

What was the ‘much lighter weight’? Did you do more reps with it than you would have if using heavier weights? I wonder if that lower weight and presumed higher # of reps helped with doing the 7 reps at 225. What do you think?

Yikes! Getting pinned by the bar sounds scary.

The lighter weight was 185. I do both kinds of lifting - light and heavy. I do heavy because I want to see if I can do more, or at least do as much as I've ever done. Don't forget how fixated I am on my eventual obituary! So far, so good!

Lighter-weight sets are for definition and getting the blood flowing into the muscles, which is what makes them grow. That helps a little with lifting heavy weights but the reality is that the only way to get stronger is to lift as much weight as you can, as many times as you can.

Generally, I work out three times a week - two workouts will include heavy weights, and one is mostly lighter weights/more reps.

Getting pinned IS scary. It's happened to me twice. The first time was about eight years ago, and it was in the middle of the afternoon. There were only a couple ladies in the gym, plus me. The bar went down to my chest and I tried to roll it down, off my body. But it got stuck on the buckle of my belt. I couldn't get past it! Everyone had earbuds - no one could hear me yelling, "Hey, a little help!" Finally the manager heard me and she came over and helped.

Remembering that, the second time I got pinned I didn't try to roll it down. I knew the guy 10 feet away wasn't wearing earbuds (he never does) so I knew at least ONE person would hear my wails!

 

[barnswallow]

The lighter weight was 185. I do both kinds of lifting - light and heavy. I do heavy because I want to see if I can do more, or at least do as much as I've ever done. Don't forget how fixated I am on my eventual obituary! So far, so good!

Lighter-weight sets are for definition and getting the blood flowing into the muscles, which is what makes them grow. That helps a little with lifting heavy weights but the reality is that the only way to get stronger is to lift as much weight as you can, as many times as you can.

Generally, I work out three times a week - two workouts will include heavy weights, and one is mostly lighter weights/more reps.

Getting pinned IS scary. It's happened to me twice. The first time was about eight years ago, and it was in the middle of the afternoon. There were only a couple ladies in the gym, plus me. The bar went down to my chest and I tried to roll it down, off my body. But it got stuck on the buckle of my belt. I couldn't get past it! Everyone had earbuds - no one could hear me yelling, "Hey, a little help!" Finally the manager heard me and she came over and helped.

Remembering that, the second time I got pinned I didn't try to roll it down. I knew the guy 10 feet away wasn't wearing earbuds (he never does) so I knew at least ONE person would hear my wails!

Calling 185 light. Now that's funny!
I wonder what I could do . . .

 

[RodeoSchro]

Calling 185 light. Now that's funny!
I wonder what I could do . . .

Haha - I said "lightER"! It was 30 pounds lighter!

 

[RodeoSchro]

Time for a fitness update!

The all-knowing all-powerful YouTube algorithm has been flooding my feed with reels from a bodybuilder named Mike Mentzer. He was very successful in the '70's and developed some revolutionary training techniques.

The one I'm using right now is a system where you break each movement into three parts, and take 5 seconds per part per rep. For instance, on the bench press you would: (1) take 5 seconds to full lower the bar; (2) hold the bar down by your chest for 5 seconds; and then (3) take 5 seconds to push the bar back to the top. That is one rep. You do 3 - 5 sets like that.

It's hard! I can only do 2 - 4 reps per exercise but that's actually the point. Mentzer's strategy is to push your muscles to failure each set, and do that in just a few reps. Your muscle is under constant stress; the pump seems to be really good so far.

This is the second full work out I've had using these techniques and I'm going to stick with it for a couple months. Let's see how it goes!