Pierini Fitness baker's dozen what has worked for me

I recently commented to a question posted on an internet fitness discussion forum.  The question was, “What has actually worked for you?”  Obviously, this was a question in the context of fitness.

The person asking the question shared that the Ketogenic diet, high repetition pushups, and Creatine supplementation is what worked for him.
  

Interesting was his following comment that he wondered why it is when we find something that seems to work that we ever abandon it.  I couldn’t quite tell if this suggested he had abandoned what had worked for him, lost his results and was now contemplating getting back on the plan.
  

Always willing to jump in on the action and contribute to a legitimate fitness question, I thought about it for a while and then shared what has worked for me.  The following is what I shared, edited somewhat and in a slightly different order from my posted comment:

#1

Eat less as a lifestyle, yesterday, today, tomorrow and for the rest of my life.  Don’t quit once I’ve achieved my weight loss or body appearance goal.

#2

Jump on the scale each morning and weigh.  Keep detailed training journals.

#3

Use a tape measure to measure my girth periodically.  Take pictures to keep my bathroom mirror and perception honest.

#4

Take videos of me in fitness action to evaluate my form and detect my fitness lameness so I can work of eradicating it.

#5

Change and manage my thoughts, feelings and behaviors so that food is fuel for my body and not my crank cocaine drug of choice.

#6

Follow an intuitive fitness training approach rather than one that’s structured, depending on what my body is telling me.  Always obey my body.

#7

Do not dodge intensity during my workouts.

#8

Chase athleticism rather than bodybuilding.

#9

Have seasonal fitness goals that are SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timetable to achieve.  Periodically test these goals to see how I’m doing.

#10

Have desire, discipline, patience and perseverance when chasing, achieving and maintaining all my fitness, health and wellness goals.

#11

Don't let anyone sabotage my goals, especially ME!

#12

Realize that if I achieve my goals, it won’t make me a better person. If I’m a jerk and turd before, I’ll be one after, even if sporting a bad ass body and having upper-percentile fitness for an amateur athlete.

#13

Know my age.

This is my Pierini Fitness baker’s dozen what has worked for me.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum.

Little by little becomes a lot

Summer 2019 fitness has come and gone for Pierini Fitness as he begins the first week of his Fall 2019 fitness training.  How time flies when we’re having fun.

You may recall that earlier this year, I shared my Summer 2019 fitness goals so now it’s time for an executive briefing giving an accountability report to my Pierini Fitness sports fans.  Today, I’m having a body fat measurement test because that was one of my goals.  Then, I’ll give that executive briefing, hopefully on Friday in a couple days.

I’m also finalizing my Fall 2019 fitness goals and will also share them at the same time.

None of these goals are spectacular in the worldwide fitness community but they are little, meaningful and challenging to me, and that’s the way it should be.  SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timetable) fitness goals that help guide me in my perpetual middle-aged man fitness, health and wellness journey.

Because, with consistent fitness training while trying to live a good and wholesome life, little by little becomes a lot.

  

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

Challening fitness training pony

Go Pierini Fitness, go!

When in my late 40’s to early 50’s, I was at the gym 6:00 a.m. sharp every Monday through Friday and had daily “beastly” workouts that always concluded with some hardcore treadmill running.  I loved it and these early-morning tough-as-nails workouts set my pace for the rest of the day.

Fast forward to now at age 64 years.  I’m still a morning person but not with my workouts.  I now crawl out of bed more slowly and often gimp walk like an old rodeo cowboy who has been bucked off the rodeo bull one time too many.

My middle-aged man body now requires more time to wake up and get ready for the rigors of a challenging workout.  Now, I seem to do best working out around noonish.  Since I currently prefer to train in a fasted state, workouts in this training time zone work is ideal for me.

I’m sure I could adjust to early morning workouts again but, honestly, don’t have the “ganas” to do so.

Wondering what it’ll be like in my 70’s if, God willing, I’m still riding the challenging fitness training pony.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

Comparison is the thief of joy

Thanks to YouTube and other social media places, it’s now possible to read and view what other people are doing in their fitness journeys.  Often, what gets shared and posted are workouts performed by younger people, many who are bigger, faster, stronger and everything more than an average middle-aged man like Pierini Fitness.

It’s only natural to make comparisons of what they’re doing to what I’m capable of doing. Additionally, with an archival treasure of past training journals, I’m also able to compare what I’ve done in the past to what I’m currently doing. 

To compare how much I lifted in this lift or that lift, how long it took me to complete 100 burpees, or run a certain distance, such as 3 miles.  Or, how many pull-ups I was able to perform in a single set to failure.

These comparisons could go on and on because of how extensive my past training journals are.

If I had a chip on my shoulder and low middle-aged man self-esteem, I would be depressed because the fitness prowess showcased in so many of these YouTube videos and my past training journals is fitness superiority compared to my present abilities. 

It’s not likely that I’ll run a mile in six minutes flat or press a 175-lbs. barbell overhead for a single repetition.  Oh, I suppose both would be possible if I trained smartly to resurrect such feats but, dare I say this middle-aged man may not have the “ganas” to tackle such training.  

Pierini Fitness is more content nowadays to just show up to his workout venue, wherever it happens to be, and make a decent effort at maintaining, and maybe slightly improving, what he currently has in the fitness department however it’s measured – cardiovascular conditioning, speed, strength, etc. etc.

I’m OK with such a realization because at this point in my middle-aged man life journey, while these fitness attributes are important, it doesn’t take much for me to excel among my peers, thanks to the sedentary and relatively unfit lifestyles so many of my peers live.

And, I’m reminded to be grateful for what I have and to put it all in perspective best expressed by the late and great President Theodore Roosevelt that “comparison is the thief of joy.”

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum