[quote=6packscaredy]middle age guide to buffness someday
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. . . the body changes very slowly. but ti will change, for better or worse. you need to push it up the hill….and make your workout more challenging each time, if you can. which ismuch easier said than done, cause most people just do the same thing over and over. it is very hard to improve, to do more, but, it must be done, or you’re not actually going anywhere. not sure that’s even enough to maintain, given the general way of things to deteriorate.[/quote]
All very good advice, scaredy. But I’m wondering about the 1-2 shots per day after your body finally gets in tip-top shape. If those 1-2 “shots” were not 100-proof spirits but instead equaled 8 oz wine or 12 oz beer, maybe… With seltzer and ice, 8 oz of wine is actually 3-4 glasses 🙂
Believe me when I tell you that I know how to stretch out a box of wine, folks :=]
scaredy, it is exactly the maintenance part that I think is the hardest. I was an amateur athlete from age 9-19 (at age 18-19, I no longer competed but primarily coached and judged). But after I left HS and went on to college, my fitness level was hard to maintain, due to my study/work schedule. By age 20, my leg muscles had significantly atrophied and I found myself having to spot reduce, which I did successfully in four months time by doing hundreds of reps per day on lightweight pulleys at a local gym. But I was young then.
For me, I found it is better not to develop significant muscle to begin with if I don’t know if I will be able to devote the time to maintain it. I would rather just get rid of as much fat as I can and develop a slight definition, if possible. I’ve seen young 20-something ladies work out at the gym with 45-lb kettleballs and they are very fit and buff, for sure. But I have to ask myself how they’re going to maintain those arms and legs 30 years from now after having sat in their worker-bee cubicle for decades while having 2-4 kids :=0
I don’t think achieving a 13.5% body-fat composition is possible for an adult female … at least not for one who isn’t a professional bodybuilder. I think 18.5% body fat is an admirable goal for Suzy Q. 6pack 🙂
I think some guys also just want to feel good and maintain a “good enough” level of fitness for their daily lives. And that’s okay. Not everyone can spend 30+ hrs per week at the gym.
You are fortunate that you have so much equipment at home, scaredy, and your kids are also interested in bodybuilding. It is nice to have company and also someone to help you with the bench press and “supervise” sometimes.
Most kids today are spread pretty thin and have zero interest in that kind of stuff.
