RickkciR

..............is simple. Starve yourself, go run yourself to death.  Done.  Now, it's not that simple, doing it correctly,  for a thousand reasons.  Mainly, losing weight needs to be a lifestyle change.   Otherwise, once you get where you are going, you'll most likely regain what you lost.. and probably more.  Fact.   Also, if you 'starve' yourself, the body has self defense mechanisms to try and store fat.  None the less.  Trust me.   You can starve yourself into a lighter you. But what is difficult is......... 1.  Gaining Muscle.   Gaining muscle takes months .. years.. to pack it on.  Everyone wants it.  Women, if they don't , should.  I'm not talking freaky muscle.  That's borderline impossible for anyone without the utilization of pharmaceuticals.  But, pure muscle, is pure beauty. We all want it.  You want it.  You just may not realize it 2.  Losing Weight without losing muscle.  Okay.. THIS , is the bitch .  This is what is difficult.  Losing

Awesome workout today... I think I've discovered something I've been doing 'wrong' for way too many years., Back in the day, I prided myself on my form with Squats and leg presses; narrow stance and deep. I eventually had to give up squats due to my lower back, and pushed hard with leg presses. I now realize my form , though 'excellent', is wrong for me. It forces my lower back off the machine's support area, and stresses it. Feels awesome on my legs, but taboo for my lower back. So I've widened out my stance and 'stop' when I hit that point where my back is about to 'lift' up. Now, this sounds obvious, but.. I have been doing it the old way for decades!!!! If feels more like a power-lifter style leg press, but, it's working and feels good! Back in '93 I had a complete rupture of my Achilles tendon. Ten years later, had a complete rupture of the other Achilles tendon. Sucks to be me. My calves have sucked, b

Back in my HS day, end of my Freshman year, I was jumped by two Samoan Seniors.  I lived in Hawaii, and this was "Haole Day" .  Basically, these racist POSs double teamed someone 40 lbs and three years younger, than either of them.   When it was over, I had a broken jaw in two places, dropped from 155 to 135, and ... was shook to the core.  My jaw was wired up for six weeks and I was on a liquid diet.  I was past lean.  I was friggn' skinny at 6'0.   That summer, I began working out, religiously and got back to 155 and  then put on twenty pounds of additional muscle before heading back to school for my Sophomore year.  Then, after a year of Akido and Kenpo Karate, I had found my mojo, my self esteem. I was back, and better than ever.  I found the gym and I loved it.  For the next twenty years, the gym was always on my mind.  Along the way, I got into a few low level amateur bodybuilding contests and found myself consumed with it all.  Worked out six days a week, two

What an overused term today , huh?  Sort of like .. 'hero' ...  labels get placed, people use the word, and they lose their meaning..... "Respect" ....   I use it once in awhile , but I'm reserved with it... Very few people in this world have truly earned over my repsect over  the 55 years I've been on this earth.   My father is one of them.   Not for the obvious reasons that most people would state that, but for my own personal reasons.    Today, he stands before me at age 78, in great physical shape, living life to it's fullest.   He retired around age 56 allowing he and my mother to enjoy the 'Good Life', in NE Arkansas; her dream.  He stood by and cared for mom , as her health declined.   Dad has my respect. My Chiropractor has my respect.  Just yesterday, I showed him this message: " I have a confession to make ..... You're one of the few people who's opinion I respect when it comes to physical fitness..... period Over the ye

Muscle Memory.  Never ceases to amaze me how after a few weeks back in the gym, after a long layoff, the muscle size some back to near previous size.  Shoulders fill back out, arms blow up , and the chest starts to regain its shape.   Not the strength mind you, which takes months to start coming back; even longer to get back to previous levels. But, fat.... that is another story.   They approximate a pound of fat to be the equivalent of 3500 calories; give or take a few.   Anyone ever seen a pound a FAT?   We are all familiar with a pound of say .. hamburger/steak.  But, a pound of fat , which is less dense.. is much more.   Nasty stuff if you see a visual of it.  Well, fat doesn't go away quickly.  And reducing it , while maintaining muscle, is a bitch.   And .. .I'm in a bitch state right now. Girth. Had to get a bigger f*cking weight belt.  Why ? The size of my gut has friggn' expanded.  My waist size is up.  My belly sticks out.  I'm f*cking fat.   As my muscle

Finally … on to “Phase 1”.....Normal workouts...    Push/Pull.    The fun stuff.  Done with the pussy workouts.... Been working out over 40 years now.    Off and on for some of those, but picked up my first weights the summer between my freshman and Sophomore HS years.    A Lot of false startups over the last decade or so after taking breaks due to injuries.   One thing I’ve gotten VERY good at is, getting back into the gym routine without killing myself. You know, jumping in 100%, and you can’t move the next day?   Barely function for a week because you’re too sore?    Yep, unfortunately, I’ve got this down too well. Lots of practice.   But, here I am, two weeks in, and moving away from low set count, full body workout to splitting it up to a Push/Pull.   And, it feels GOOD! Realizing one thing I’ve got to stop doing moving forward: Remembering the old Poundage’s.    Last decade or so, I’ve found it frustrating when I’m not pushing the bigger weights.    So, I push myse

Working out by yourself, gives you time to think.   Remember 'back in the day'.  Analyze 'why?' .  Plan  and more planning.  Maybe I need another notepad in the gym... for ... random thoughts .. million dollar ideas.... The workout... Finally broke through my aerobic mental barrier this morning.   All week, I've been getting on the Elliptical , then off, before the time limit , and the lowest wimp setting.   Humiliating.    Breaking a sweat, huffing and puffing .. on ... Level ONE.   But, historically this is the way it goes for me.   My entire life ( teen and adult ) I've never been able to run like most.  Legs give out.. get winded.  Only three times in my life has that not been an issue. First was back around 21 years old.   During my first enlistment in the USAF, in the Security Police, was on a Missile Combat Competition Team.  For months , we ran around like SEAL wannabes', doing crazy stuff, at the firing range weekly, running daily, building a gre

Lethargic.    The final symptom that pushed me over the edge.   Apparently, Years of Snoring wasn’t enough.   Buying bigger waisted pants wasn’t enough.   Realizing my shirts fit differently … not enough.     Though, being in Mexico over NYE may have had something to do with it.   Found myself thinking….   “This is a bitch dragging my ass up this ladder” while exiting the pool.    Noticed Guys that were in fairly good shape... others, overweight messes.    I’ve always related to the first group; but....which group was I in now? Somewhere around 2006, I hit 300lbs.    But, I was still hitting the gym off and on.    Enjoying ‘life’ (i.e. partying, traveling, and working my ass off).   Comfortable fitting Polo shirt, and all was good.    I ‘ve bounced back and forth between 273 and 305 since then , depending on working out, eating right, watching my weight, etc., etc.    But, I haven’t been focused over that time.   Not really.     Keep telling myself I’m 50+ years old, just enjo