36 Yr Old Dude. Serious Lifestyle Changes


Still a work in process, but I’ve been focusing on making major lifestyle changes the past 18 months. Quit pain meds, alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and changed poor eating habits. I started workout and feel like I’ve hit my stride in the last few months.

I feel like a new man in every aspect of my life. It’s interesting to see how becoming physically more healthy impacts your mental health and almost everything that surrounds you. My after picture is a bit old, I need to take an updated one. I kind of found a new motivation from within versus taking pictures on a monthly basis and doing comparisons…

I’ve been focused on building muscle the past few months and have gotten on better workout plan (also nice to discover the truth in “less is more” from a workout standpoint).


8 months later…

[quote]AliveAgain36 wrote:
8 months later…[/quote]
I don’t usually comment in Rate My Physique threads, but dude, that’s phenomenal progress.

Huge congrats!

Any details on the before/after stats - total weight loss, strength gains, etc.?

Thanks Chris!

Starting pic was Jan 2012, Update was Sept 2012
I’m about 5’8’’ (36 now, 35 at time of pics_
Before - 220lbs / After 178lbs
I don’t know by BF (which sucks I know!) - I don’t know how to reliably measure it…

I don’t remember my strength gains at this point of the picture. I can honestly say I look better now (not trying to be cocky / or a dork). I became much better educated on routines and have been focused on full-body compounds, three days a week. These are my current 1RM:

Dead: 315 (I’ve gotten 405 but cheated with straps)
Squat : 275
Bench: 245

Nothing impressive and unbalanced - I know. Still trying hard to improve.

However, I will tell you this low-point in my life… When I first got back in the gym after probably 8 years being away in Jan 2012, for my very first exercise, I laid down to do dumbbell press with 45lbs in each hand. I couldn’t do it… Not one friggin rep… Worse than that, I couldn’t barely get myself back up… Literally…

[quote]AliveAgain36 wrote:
I’m about 5’8’’ (36 now, 35 at time of pics_
Before - 220lbs / After 178lbs
I don’t know by BF (which sucks I know!) - I don’t know how to reliably measure it…[/quote]
Don’t sweat measuring bodyfat percentage. Pretty much any method has questionable accuracy and, more importantly, there’s no real-world carryover, so just focus on looking however you look.

As far as the rest of what you’re up to, it’s all about momentum. Keep this as part of a new lifestyle (which it sounds like you’ve done) and you should be pretty much set. If you have any questions in particular about maybe tweaking your diet or training, toss them up in one of the forums and people can offer input.

Again though, great work so far.

I don’t usually come to this part of the site, but I saw Chris here.

Well done! And in 8 months! That’s amazing. And making the transition from loosing, to maintaining a lifestyle so you never go back to that unhealthy place. This next year or two is key. WHOOT!

BTW, there are some very nice people in the Over 35 Forum. At 36, you barely make the cut, but I’d expect that you could get some good support there going forward. Also, check out JCMPG’s log there. I believe it’s called “Time to Man Up…” or something similar. I think you’ll find it inspiring.

Thanks Chris and Power - appreciate your advice and input.

Keep it up!!! My own demons are getting conquered and it feels amazing. Congrats!

Aloha,

As someone who is also making a huge body transformation…

AWESOME job. Keep it up.

A hui ho.

AA, that’s seriously awesome work, sir. I’m 34 and recently climbed out of a similar hole to what you described. I can absolutely appreciate how much physical work and mental fortitude it takes to do this. You’re doing a stellar job.

You had mentioned your 1RM’s and listed 245 on flat bench. Just 8 months prior you couldn’t push a combined 90 lbs press. That’s a 270%(ish) gain in 8 months. That’s a more than impressive gain.

[quote]Powerpuff wrote: Also, check out JCMPG’s log there. I believe it’s called “Time to Man Up…”! [/quote] I’m really enjoying this thread and would recommend it as well.

Thanks for the positive comments and the advice. I appreciate it. My gains were actually over about a 15-16 month period - so not as impressive! My 1RM are pretty much as of today though I haven’t maxed Dead or Squat in a few weeks. The pic is at the 8 month mark. I’m looking forward to see my progress at the end of May as I am on a pretty dedicated cut right now. Again - thanks for your positive reinforcements.

My lord. Your after pic looks like your skinny cousin or something. Great job!

great job bro, you look great!!!

happy for you dude :slight_smile:

[quote]AliveAgain36 wrote:
Thanks Chris!

Starting pic was Jan 2012, Update was Sept 2012
I’m about 5’8’’ (36 now, 35 at time of pics_
Before - 220lbs / After 178lbs
I don’t know by BF (which sucks I know!) - I don’t know how to reliably measure it…

I don’t remember my strength gains at this point of the picture. I can honestly say I look better now (not trying to be cocky / or a dork). I became much better educated on routines and have been focused on full-body compounds, three days a week. These are my current 1RM:

Dead: 315 (I’ve gotten 405 but cheated with straps)
Squat : 275
Bench: 245

Nothing impressive and unbalanced - I know. Still trying hard to improve.

However, I will tell you this low-point in my life… When I first got back in the gym after probably 8 years being away in Jan 2012, for my very first exercise, I laid down to do dumbbell press with 45lbs in each hand. I couldn’t do it… Not one friggin rep… Worse than that, I couldn’t barely get myself back up… Literally…[/quote]

Man I gotta say I’m impressed! Good for you man!!! Even though those 45s kicked you ass you stayed with it. I can only immagine how that felt but you pushed through. Props bro, keep pushing!

Holt shit thats impressive you look younger as well! keep up the good work!

Great work, and good for you for striving to achieve what you want.

Phenomenal job good sir. Your transformation is nothing short of awesome. Stay at it!

I can only imagine the reactions of your friends/family/co-workers…when did they start commenting that you looked like a new man?

good for u dude. keep up the hard work. remember: consistancy is the key

[quote]Doghouse Reilly wrote:
I can only imagine the reactions of your friends/family/co-workers…when did they start commenting that you looked like a new man?[/quote]

Yeah - pretty enjoyable part of the journey. Not to be vain, just good to have people notice you are being successful in achieving your goals. Fuck it, a little bit of vanity too I guess… I’m human.

-Took about 3-4 months for people to start saying, 'hey, you losing weight?"
-Took me a good 5-6 months to really get a handle on what I was doing (and still learning 18 months later).
-The 8 month mark is when people (especially those I hadn’t seen in a while) were like “HOLY SHIT!”

My biggest takeaway from all this is the importance of developing a goal(s), and finding/creating a plan to achieve that goal. The goal may change as time goes on, but being focused on a specific goal, for a specific amount of time, has been one of the biggest learning from this. There is so much shit on the interwebz that I was tempted to try, but once I had a goal, it helped me evaluate it much more effectively.

Thanks for the positive comments. I’m pushing myself harder than ever (training, diet, rest) than ever. Really focused on building lower body / core strength and compound lifts while trying to cut a bit of winter fat I picked up while doing my first true bulk. So far so good - I’ll throw up some updated pics soon.