Hi Pauline.
Great to see a new face in here and read about your exercise habits.
Yes, it’s great to keep in shape but the diet is just as important. I tend to fall apart there at the weekends, so increase my exercise to off-set it.
Keep posting, the more the merrier in here 
Hi, Pauline!
What a very solid program you have, and I am thrilled you have found these threads.
You sound like you are enjoying the benefits of that hard work. How often do your do your home gym work?
It’s lovely to have you here. I am soon off for a run myself and will check in later.
Thank you Floyd,supermom,for the welcome,
Is that you’re picture on profile page Floyd?..you look as if you have built a lot of muscle,are you on a special diet?Looking at your apparatus topic,most of those machines are muscle building, am i right?..how long do you work out for?..what hve the benefits been for you?..my personal trainer friend,her husband is a body builder,no matter what,he has to work out 5x week,…i know this sounds a daft question, but what would happen if he stopped body building?
Hi supermom,i work out 5x week,i just like to keep fit,i spend 20mins on the twist and shape,the 5 minute pro shaper,i haven’t had long,I’m lucky if i can do a minute,lol,first time i used it,i was in agony,after a couple of day’s, when everything healed,i use it every day,i love my exercise, i couldn’t live without it,every opportunity i get,i jog,i love jogging, …how about you supermom,tell me all about your routine? …i coukd talk exercise all day,lol.
Hi Pauline.
A lovely reply, thanks for your interest
Yes that is me on my profile page, er, of course 
Same with all the pics in my photo album on here. With the exception of the black and white photo, which was taken about ten years ago when I was past my peak in bulking terms but I still had a fair bit of muscle, the others are from the past couple of years. I must get some more to keep the page updated! But I’m 53 now so I’m quite pleased that I’m still in half decent shape I guess!
The photos of the exercise apparatus are not bodybuilding machines as such, they can be used by anybody. In fact, I’d say most bodybuilders/strongmen use free weights to build muscle in a serious way, with the machines being used by all and sundry as supplementary exercises - for high repetitions, lighter programmes etc.
I don’t ‘bodybuild’ as such anymore but I do still use most of the exercises a bodybuilder would employ, albeit in a lighter, more sensible manner as befits my age. This keeps me relatively toned as as fit as I can be due to time and energy levels. I’ve been focusing more on high reps than strength although you will see that my ‘weekend’ workout session still is geared towards keeping my strength and muscle form in check, though I’m lifting about half of what I would be doing say, 15-20 years ago. There’s no point still trying to get stronger as we lose muscle mass so you’re defeating the object there when fitness is the plan. Having said that, I put in a personal best ever lift simply using my arms on a curl bar last weekend, so that temptation to better myself is still present, however foolish I may push myself sometimes! 
Oh, and my diet is pretty normal these days, though I watch the fat and sugar content a lot more, which is a belly-conscious thing!
So back to your post, I train for roughly an hour twice a week, with a near-two hour session at the end of the week, plus a legs workout on a Sunday usually.
Your PT friend’s husband being a bodybuilder and training 5+ days per week I’m suspecting he’s a much younger man than myself, or has plenty of time. I like your question “What would happen if he stopped bodybuilding?”. Well, nothing really untoward unless he stopped keeping himself in shape and stopped watching his diet, which if he’s into his training this much he sounds pretty much the same as myself…he’ll lose a little muscle mass over the years but keep training till he drops I guess!
Great to see a new face in here, Pauline. I’, sure the regulars here will be keeping an eye on your exercise exploits with interest as you certainly are still very into it all.
This was a terrible, abysmal session at the gym. I had no energy, I felt nauseous and I had to cut short many of my exercises and some were cancelled completely.
After that rather positive introduction (!) I must deduct that my lack of gumption was due to my looking after my granddaughter and pigging out yesterday firstly at McDonald’s, then a very large bar of Galaxy and three bottles of beer in front of the TV last night, followed by another meal – a meal-for-two Indian (for just myself!) at 10pm, swiftly followed by bed on a full, mixed up stomach
Hence, this morning I was just a mess. Another thing which doesn’t help was my body clock being out of synch and not getting my regular two hours of sleep at 6pm!
The 7-year-old has been sick this morning too, so I’m not alone in feeling utterly deflated today. 
But I was determined to get to the gym and after a lie in until 9.30am this morning, I dragged myself shuffling to the gym feeling not at all ready for anything. But train I did, ditching my proposed “strength session” in favour of some lighter high reps – all those quick bursts of “power” not being too effective whatsoever. Lethargic was not the word, I was positively dying in there…
Saturday, 19 May 18: High reps.
(All weights in kgs)
DB press:
20x18, 12x20
Chest press:
30x30, 25x40
Pec dec:
25x30, 25x35
Single DB press:
30x40, 25x48
Fly dec:
30x50, 30x65
Tricep extensions:
50x30, 20x40
Barbell curl, standing:
25x25, 10x30
E-Z preacher curl, c/g:
25x23, 15x28
E-Z preacher curl, w/g:
17x18, 10x23
Ab crunch:
30x30
Sled press:
50x100
50mins.
It looks okay on paper but compared to my normal session on a weekend, or even a standard quick reps routine, this was dreadful.
A quick coffee now and I’m out for a quick pint. I don’t want to be anywhere near that bloody wedding!
Thanks for reading. Hopefully tomorrow I can catch up with this and perform rather better!
Thanks for the info Floyd,
Oh dear regarding what you ate,no wonder you didn’t work out,a McDonald’s, tut tut,…only joking, same here,i do pig out very occasionally on chocolate, eating the whole bar,but when it’s in my system,i feel like crap,so lethargic, horrible feeling,crisps are another down fall of mine,…but i have done my routine this morning, been out jogging, so feeling quite invigorated, …sometimes it is so hard to exercise, so easy to say,oh can’t be bothered, …but I find it is a mind set,and to be honest,if i dont exercise for a couple of days,…my body tells me to exercise, if you get my meaning.
I have just bought a hula hoop,takes me back to my childhood, …apparently very good for the waist line.
Good morning, Pauline and well done on your run this morning! Do you track your pace and distance, or just go! We seem to be like minded; I typically run six days a week and likewise do step aerobics with three to five pound weights. I do a little surfing and paddle boarding too, but consider those to be more fun than fitness activities - though there are times in which my muscles say otherwise the next day. Your purchase of a hula hoop tickles me no end! I have a few in the garage that the kids used to use for a game called “Castle”. Maybe it’s a good time to break one out again for my lateral muscles…
No worries, I will spare the forum any video of any said hula hoop attempts 
.
Aww, Floydy, your poor little granddaughter. I hope this finds her feeling better. I had to look up “Galaxy Bars” as they aren’t sold here, but that was some kind of assault to your body. Sorry you were both so nauseated; my father used to coarsely joke with us when were sick “What goes down, must come up!” I recall my mother wanting to throttle him over it.
You still managed to get some kind of workout in, which is great. Your body will recognize that you are back on track, and stop sending all the signals to behave yourself :-D.
You have me thinking. What is going on physiologically when we have a bad day? After all, we have the same muscles, same physique as we did just the day or two prior in which our workouts seem so easy. If we are physically “tired” what is that? Some days I think I could literally run into the sunset, while others I feel like a human sack of potatoes. Strange isn’t it?
Well, back to the topic on hand. I hope you and that sweet girl of your have another chance to have a Granddad’s Night. You do know that this is the kind of thing she will remember the rest of her life, and that Floydy, is as good as it gets.
Good morning surfermum, i can see by your profile pic,that you keep yourself fit,you look tiny,
to be honest,when i jog,i just get up and go,i take the same route,which is around two miles,there is a very steep hill on this run,good for the leg muscle,iused to jog every day,but my personal trainer advised me not too,as jogging on the pavement, is not good on the shock absorbers, lol,…i walk to the shops a lot, but instead of walk,i jog most times,all exercise, which obviously is beneficial, …as for that hula hoop i bought,i can’t keep it up for long,what am i doing wrong?..maybe thinking I’m still 14!..haaaa,i wish,…seriously i think i need to wear a crop top,and place the hoop under the breastbone,
and "no"iwont be wearing that crop top outside with mehula hoop,only in the privacy of my own home,lol.
Thanks both
Well I recovered well enough to have a few drinks with a friend yesterday afternoon (more tut tuts from you both I expect). My social time is extremely important in a week of nights and boring work tasks. So be it.
Interesting points on our bodies and how much rest we need there.
It is strange how sometimes we wake up feeling raring to go at our weights or running, whatever but when we get started we seem to fall apart. I know I get this at the gym - yesterday was an exception and was self-inflicted!) and I give up and go home feeling deflated and annoyed with myself. Other times we’re full of beans and energy and put in a fantastic session (or run) (or surf). It’s our bodies telling us to take it easy that’s all and we should really comply to a certain extent, but not so much that we slob our on the sofa in a sea of gluttony. Not we would do that often, it’s in our minds and bodies to keep fit. We are compelled to do so forever, pending health issues.
It’s lovely spending time with my granddaughter, yes, but I have strict orders not to spoil her rotten next time! Poor little thing, she missed her ballet class yesterday, but she did enjoy herself the other night, which was nice.
I’ll be back later after the gym and my legs session, which is only a half hour workout.
Have a lovely Sunday all…Bob, you managed to get out running again yet mate? How’s the physio going on?
After a short nap late this morning (I need to sleep in advance sometimes on a Sunday as I’m back at work on the night!) I knocked back a pint of orange squash down in one and devoured a small Kit Kat and packed my gym bag.
A beautiful day, with the windows down in my car it took me exactly the length of time it took Boston’s ‘More Than A Feeling’ to play right through (4:40) I was at the House of Iron feeling in a great mood to blast and smash some weights.
With only 11 days to go until I fly away to Tenerife, I have put the weekend ‘strength’ exercise routine on hold until I return to focus fully on highly energetic high reps in order to get myself as fit and flab-free as possible. Two sets, the second performed to failure in most cases and that will keep the muscles hard and pumped for my hols. We’ve got to have a little vanity in our lives lol.
As I mentioned briefly in my last post, Sunday is usually solely a legs session, but I will now be adding another 16 sets (8 exercises) from my weekly programme to ensure extra gainzzz.
Sunday, 20 May 18: High reps.
(All weights in kgs)
Legs
Incline press:
50x150, 25x200
Sled press:
100x100, 40x120
*Nothing better than two exercises with a combined 215 reps to get the legs pumping away. Exhausting, yes but it gets one in the mood to want more and 100 non-stop reps at 100kgs is some going I guess with the end result of the quads looking like they would burst!:shock:
Seated ham curls:
30x40, 25x50
Abductor:
30x60, 20x60
Adductor:
30x60, 20x60
Upper body
DB press:
20x18, 16x20
E-Z preacher curl, close grip:
25x23, 20x28
E-Z preacher curl, wide grip:
25x18, 10x23
Tricep extensions:
50x30, 20x40
Bicep pumps (curl bar):
50x10, 20x15
Tricep pumps (curl bar):
75x12.5, 30x15
*Very light weights but doing 75 reps feels like you’re pushing a ton by the end of this exercises. With the bicep pumps beforehand, my arms looked like they’d doubled in width after that little lot, biceps peaking like cricket balls!:cool2: Sadly, they don’t stay like that for long!
Machine curls:
25x25, 15x30
Ab crunch:
50x30, 30x35
55mins.
I absolutely loved all of that and it’s just great to feel energised after yesterday’s slaughterous session. Went home and washed the car followed by some time outside soaking up the rays. Back at the gym tomorrow.
Thanks all
Floydy, haven’t you heard? Parental edicts don’t apply to grandparents, as they have executive privilege! You two go right on enjoying that rare and special time together.
Now as for a little social time, it’s central to health and the good life. I would be the last to to have anything negative about your getting together with your friends! As it happens a few friends stopped by for tapas and wine last night. Before I knew it, two of my neighbors had joined us and were chatting until the wee hours. It’s all about balance - though I can’t say my staying up until two (jarring my usual sleep cycle), was probably good for my overall fitness .
Thirty degrees here at eleven and climbing, so I missed the opportunity for an early run. I don’t mind running in the heat, but my body’s air conditioning system is not a fan. Sunset it is!
Great job on that workout and with your reps…but I became totally distracted with your mention of Tenerife. How nice for you and your wife! I know you’ve been needing and looking forward to this trip, so I hope it affords you plenty of relaxation and diversion. Teide is one of the best spots in the world for astronomy, and it has the world’s largest solar telescope program. Oooh, now I’ve let my mind wander and made myself envious 
Enough of bending this topic too hard to the right. There is just a little surf, so I’m off to paddle out for a few waves, spend a little time on more mundane things and try to get to the horizon before the sun does.
Let’s hear some reports around the forum fitness world
Have a find day, everyone. ;-).
Hi Suzie 
Yes it’s always nice to spend time with my granddaughter. She is the product of my stepdaughter (one of them), so without ever having any children of my own it’s been great watching the little one grow up. Her mother is in her early thirties now and I only saw her from when she was about 11, so it’s really good seeing and spending time with someone from birth. I love it.
Tenerife is our destination yet again, just the two of us this time, but the whole family are going again in September so that will be nice once more. But that will be the fourth time in less than three years, so I think I’ll be all Tenerife’d out by then and needing to go elsewhere next year. Mount Teide looks spectacular but I had a dizzy spell a few years ago on the Greek island of Kos when we went very high up in a cable car and I had problems with altitude, so I can’t risk it happening again. Still, there are many other things to do there
A time with friends for you then last night, it’s always great to enjoy some social time isn’t it? Enjoy the surf today In that roasting heat (!), it’s time for my pre-shift sleep - if at all possible!
Ok so I got some trainers, just had to make do with tk max and found a pair that felt very supportive and cushioned. When I checked them out online they are actually designed for road running so they will do
Went out there this evening, two miles, fast ( for me ) pace - 25 mins
Knees are suffering 
I know my back and legs will be sore tomorrow but I intend to do the same again, and its not flat, Northern Ireland doesn’t do flat
Hopefully won’t take me too long to manage to do that distance without feeling so puffed and I can up the distance. I have a five mile circuit marked out and hope to be able to do that easily before I do it for the charity event on the 30th June
Hi, Missy! I’m so excited that you found some shoes and made a good go of it. I had to laugh at your observations about the Northing Irelandmterrain. Around here, I have to drive to find any sort of hill, and it’s so flat that many of us run over bridges to get any kind of hill training. Now I know where I need to visit .
That was a very long outing for your first time out! You really don’t have to go so far in the beginning, but wow! Even a mile is impressive for a beginning walker. If you are continuing to have knee trouble, you might pull back just a little and give your legs some time to adapt. If you started at one and added a tenth of a mile every day or every other day, you’ll be fine.
Excited for you! Well done! 
In the meantime, since you are conditioning, you might want to make sure that you are putting your feet up in the evenings and even applying a little ice just to retard any swelling or inflammation until your body adapts.
It’s been a surfing extravaganza around here the last few days with light winds and emerald green water that deepens into cobalt towards the horizon. Perfect weather and surf conditions fell on Sunday, which is always locals day at the beach, bringing surfers out by the dozens. We had plenty of fun, took our turn in the lineup, and have no bruise or bumps from bad falls.
My username here is derived from the kids in the lineup, who are usually competing for waves, frequently yielding one my way in deference to the old lady in the lineup as they shout, “This one is yours, Surfermom!” And do I ever concentrate on surfing those just right; after all I am representing the OFFers.
Today is a repeat of yesterday, but responsibilities called making me a landlubber all morning. Never fear, I’ve done enough editing, cleaning, calculations, tutoring, and dog walking to free up a solid hour and some for a nice run before the sun sets. I have to admit to struggling right now as the humidity levels are climbing faster than my ability to adapt to them, but this too shall pass. I’ll check in later…
We have great surf here as well as hills So come on over anytime
Whilst I am a couch potato, sport is very much part of life here. I work with a 70 year old who thinks nothing of doing 50 mile cycles. Indeed our roads are either full of tractors or on Sundays, full of cyclists.
Haha! Thank you, Missy I’ll start paddling your way!
From the photos, I can see why you are living in an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise! I imagine the scenery alone is reason enough to get out there and test those trainers.
OGF,if you are reading this, I am hoping that your pirifomris has settled down a little now that you are done with the kitchen. I would think that you’ve been testing a whole new set of muscles.
Floydy I hope this finds you counting down the days until your break and squeezing in a few workouts.
The first thing I do in the morning is check the surf. While the gulf is typical like something out of Goldilocks, either too big or too small, I gasped opening the curtains to find perfect (for me) surf.
Waves were coming in in long glassy Coke bottle green waves, about the height of my shoulder.
Next, checking a phone app for water temps, I all but let out a cheer as finally warm enough to trade the stiff neoprene wetsuit for a bikinis and rash guards until October. Yay! 
On the beach with the sun shining for hundreds of yards in either direction, I had the surf and the beach to myself. No time to waste, I rubbed on a good layer of tropical (soft) wax on my favorite surfboard and wrapped the end of the velcro leash that attaches me to it around my ankle and all but leapt into the gulf. In no time I was in position just as a perfect peeling wave presented itself and with all my might I paddled, hopped up and took off on the first of what would be dozens.
Three sessions through the day left me happy as a kid at Christmas, but starving! Paddling in and running across the dunes to my little place for a snack, I realized that after all that surfing, I didn’t ache or hurt - anywhere. Not even the slightest twinges of early arthritis were bothering me.
Why?
My theory, is that full body movement and cool water are the recipe for knocking down at least some of the inflammation of arthritis and muscle discomfort.
After three happy session of fun waves peppered with a few lovely wipeouts:roll:, I put in a short 5K.
Now, the only thing to do to round out a perfect day is a little dessert ;-).
Sorry folks, for my untimely delay in here. I’ll explain in a minute…
Missy - Great to see you’re enjoying going out running now - that makes three of you in here now I think. Those new trainers must be especially bouncy, although I’m struggling to comprehend how you managed to find anything in that jumble sale they call TK Maxx. Enjoy it though!
Suzie - You sound like you’re enjoying the best of the surfing season over there right now. It seems like you don’t want to go home and get back into the daily grind again, but that’s what pays the bills I guess!
I’m suffering some problems with my ears right now. I have ear canals which do not form the usual ‘tunnel’ entry into my ears, but instead they go in a ‘conical’ shape, which means for the past 30+ years I’ve had to have ear syringes every 8-9 months or so to keep the wax at bar.
Coupled with my tinnitus, this makes them inwardly itch like mad for a few days and so I end up trying to ‘scratch’ my earlobes to get some relief from the unbearable itching. That then inflames my eardrums to the point where they become extremely painful and all I hear is a crashing in my ears, which also causes almost complete deafness for a few days. It also makes me feel off balance too, so I have to be very careful driving and so on.
I have a second appointment with the doctor next Thursday, so I’m thinking this time he should refer me to a specialist.
Because of this I have not been training because it just isn’t safe to lift weights lying on a bench etc. So that’s why I’ve been absent.
But it’s easing a little now so I should be back at the gym Thursday all being well. We’ll see. With just eight days until my holidays I need to get myself back into some serious final high repping!
Talk soon
Floydy! I went back and read your prior post and I just have to say that your work on the sled press is PHENOMENAL. No one will ever accuse you of skipping leg day!
This is the first I have heard of your ear problems, and I am so sorry you are having this continual fight. Surfers are constantly dealing with ear issues because of the falls we take, our inclination to form protective wax, and the issues of inflammation - so I hear (bad pun) about it all the time . It sounds like you have done a good job of getting your problem diagnosed and treated, but that itching…that would drive me mad!
I am not sure that we have ever had surfing conditions better than today, but because my daughter needed help with her coursework, I stayed close and painted while she worked. I can’t complain; watching storms forming off the horizon related to an oncoming tropical depress over beautiful emerald surf was framed beautifully through the windows. Once she was done, I put in a solid five miles and as I was stretching afterwards, I had this sense of gratitude (to whom or what I am unsure), for being part of a system, this Earth. There will be waves tomorrow…or the next day.