Another Lurker Emerges

HunkyExec · #1 August 19th, 2004, 11:23 PM

OK, I've been lurking long enough on this site. Time to speak up.

I used to work out religiously but for 5+ years have been lazy and got quite overweight. My lame excuse was always the fact that I had injured myself pretty seriously more than once in ways that made it painful to lift weights, and since I didn't care to lift, I didn't bother to do any other form of exercise either. One injury (7 years ago now) was a repetitive stress wrist thing that took ages to recover from; the other was a dislocated shoulder from a ski accident (5 years ago). So the fear was not necessarily irrational.

Last month I turned 40 and realized I'm not getting any younger, so it's time to shed the weight and get back to the gym. I had the opportunity to spend about 5 weeks in NYC earlier this summer for an educational program, and decided to use that chunk of time to join an expensive bodybuilder's gym and hire a trainer, with the hope that I'd keep my routine going after returning to San Francisco. The 19th St. Gym is an experience unto itself, for anyone out there who knows it.

Well, the training experience was nothing short of astonishing. Suffice to say I completely regained my confidence about lifting, and found to my surprise and delight that I had not only completely recovered from my old injuries (it was about damn time!), but was able to shed a lot of weight just from 30 minutes of cardio a day and cutting out about half the starch from my diet. Actually I had started the dieting a few months before, but the training just sped up the whole process of losing weight.

So, last December I weighed 205, and now I'm down to 175! It feels f***ing GREAT. I went down 2 sizes in waste, from a 34 to a 32, and literally had to buy all new clothes (medium shirts instead of large ones, etc.) It is such an amazing thing to have clothes FIT and look GOOD on me again! I was getting tired of wearing dark colors and bulky sweaters, etc.

But the best part is that I've been able to add a lot of muscle back too in a short period of time. All I"m doing is training reasonably hard 4x/week and having 2 protein shakes with creatine a day on workout days. My biceps and triceps are not huge yet, but they're firmed up, and at 15" they are once again filling out my short sleeve shirts, and getting noticed. Pecs are building too but not as noticeable yet --for some reason I find it easier to build muscle on my arms (not sure how that happened -- I know it's the opposite for most guys). But I'm happiest about these shoulders -- after dislocating my shoulder I thought I'd never work out these muscles again. But thanks to my really excellent trainer (expensive as hell, but worth every penny!), I've learned how to work around the danger zones to isolate the muscle in a way that won't hurt. Anyway, now that I'm wearing medium shirts again, I feel my shoulder muscles bulging out and it feels incredible!

I am getting lots of compliments on a daily basis, on both the weight loss and the muscle gain, and am motivated to keep this going. Who says 40 is over the hill!! I'm particularly gratified that so many of the guys in bars (OK, I admit it, I go out to gay bars) who are giving me the hungry looks are guys who are so much more built than I am, who wouldn't have given me the time of day just a few months ago. Yeah, it feels great!

No pics now -- I'll wait a couple months till the results are even more noticeable and show you guys the results. Just thought I'd share.....

jcnutt · #2 August 19th, 2004, 11:28 PM

Congrats on your progress and renewed drive to be fit. I started back recently also, and have found a trainer that really makes a big difference in what I thought was right, and what really works. Its so fun to see progress both no your own, and to have it noticed by othes (especially the guys in the bars...ehehe) perhaps I will have to keep my eyes open for you out there....

claygrant · #3 August 20th, 2004, 01:20 AM

exec, thanks for introducing yourself! Glad to see another Bay Area resident no less!

powerdude · #4 August 20th, 2004, 09:17 AM

I recently read an article comparing muscle growth in young men and older men. The article stated that there was no difference.

I have found that I have made my greatest muscle gains in my 40s and 50s. Forget about all that getting old crap. Get ready for the greatest muslce gains in your life........

I would suggest that you keep your old shirts. You may have trouble getting your arms in your sleeves in abouit 6 months

PAmusclemonkey · #5 August 20th, 2004, 05:43 PM

What an inspiring story! Many congratulations on your progress. It's so wonderful to hear so many guys on this board in their 40s and 50s confirm what the fitness magazines have been telling us for years: that there's really no such thing as "over the hill" when you're dedicated to your health; we just keep on getting better every year.

Here's to your continued success--can't wait to hear more of it. Thanks so much for sharing.

ottomun6 · #6 August 20th, 2004, 05:59 PM

Welcome on board, Hunky Exec!
We hope you end up needing those large size shirts again, but because of muscle!!

HunkyExec · #7 August 20th, 2004, 10:40 PM

Thanks guys, for all the encouragement!

Ciao for niao,
H.E.

brent · #8 August 20th, 2004, 11:45 PM

Sorry I haven't responded yet, HunkyExec, but I've been busy for the last couple of days. It sounds like you have made quite a transformation, and I hope you have been taking some pictures. You don't have to share them (although hopefully you will make so much progress that you soon will want to) but I suggest taking them for your own sake. When you start getting bigger, you will want to reference back. I think it is great that you are back at getting the body you desire, as I always say that life is too short for us to be unhappy with our bodies! On that same note, keep some of your old shirts. Not to wear later (your arms will be too big for you to look good in them), but for you to feel how awesome it is to fill-out the sleeves of a shirt you used to wear!

I do disagree with people that say that there is not difference between lifting in your 50's, and lifting in your twenties. In my experience the older you get, the more mature you are, and I think that makes people less, "flighty". You have to stick with exercise to see the results, and younger guys generally don't have the patience.

At any rate, welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your current results, as well as your future gains.

vlad · #9 August 22nd, 2004, 03:02 AM

good for you, it's nice to a hear a true success story every once in a while, and I'm sure people on here will find it inspiring.

HunkyExec · #10 August 27th, 2004, 10:54 PM

Okay, guys, this just made my night.

I've been working out like a maniac this week and yesterday blasted these biceps, which I must say are looking darn good. Tonight I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in 6 months, who went ape shit when he saw me. I was wearing a tight muscle T, but he did the whole "Oh my god, you're f***in HUGE!!" routine on me, causing other passersby to stop and turn their heads. I acted embarrassed, but was secretly thrilled.....

claygrant · #11 August 27th, 2004, 11:39 PM

exec, that's perfect!! It's good to be reminded of how different we look every day despite the freakishly slow growth process. Wish I had been one of those passersby!

ottomun6 · #12 August 30th, 2004, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by claygrant

...Wish I had been one of those passersby!

Ditto!

But Hunkyexec, I think you can get a little more mileage out of it by playing dumb. Like "Huh?, What? Where?"

CelticMuscle · #13 August 30th, 2004, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HunkyExec

Okay, guys, this just made my night.

I've been working out like a maniac this week and yesterday blasted these biceps, which I must say are looking darn good. Tonight I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in 6 months, who went ape shit when he saw me. I was wearing a tight muscle T, but he did the whole "Oh my god, you're f***in HUGE!!" routine on me, causing other passersby to stop and turn their heads. I acted embarrassed, but was secretly thrilled.....

What should have happened was this:

Friend: Oh my god, you're f***in HUGE!!
You: Sorry?
Friend: Man, your guns, come on flex them?
You: Oh, you mean my biceps. Well, thanks for the compliment, but they're just a little bigger than normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Now, July 2005, then I'll have a set of biceps to flex!

(And that should send him either ranting like a madman or into a catontic state)

HunkyExec · #14 September 14th, 2004, 10:37 PM

On my way home from the gym tonight, while wearing a tight white ribbed T, I ran into two former co-workers. Got the same "oh my god, you've become a muscleman!" routine as in my last post. He almost wouldn't let go of my biceps, which are really starting to look good. Once again, made my night!

brent · #15 September 15th, 2004, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HunkyExec

...He almost wouldn't let go of my biceps, which are really starting to look good...

Are they really? I think you should let us judge that, and post some pictures! OK, that's just a cheap ploy to see what those famous biceps look like. I bet that felt great to have the old friends ogle over your body! Whenever something like that occurs, remember that a lot of people are intimidated to ask if they can feel your biceps. Usually, they really want to, so you should offer it. I also use my growing muscles to help encourage people that either don't currently workout, or don't workout regularly. Most people (I think) want muscular bodies, but they are afraid of going to the gym, or they don't have the follow-through.

Congratulations, Brent.