Tag: Weight Loss

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How I stay in shape over 50 – “Warm Up Day”

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Working out = putting stress on your body. There is no way around this no matter what you are doing you are exposing your body to stress. Now stress by way of exercise can produce higher calorie burns, increased muscle mass and generally good health. What about when you get older? As I have said before on my blog, I lift weights, moderately heavy weights. This is important for men over 50 to maintain testosterone levels but this has the negative impact of really putting stress on joints.

Warm ups are important. If you have been in any form of an exercise program you have heard of the concept. Simply put, you are warming your body up so that it is prepared for a stress movement. You don’t warm up for a walk, but you do for squats, you get the idea. The older you get the more important it is to “warm up”. Its more than just getting your heart rate elevated to increase blood flow, that’s an important part of it.

The more important part is to target the areas in the warm up you plan to work in that training session. If your squatting today, you need to stretch your hamstrings and release your hips. If you benching pressing you need to target your shoulders for stretches. The key is being very aware of the muscle group you are working that day, and plan your warm up accordingly. Now the over 50 part. What I do at 52 and what I recommend everyone over 50 do is have one day a week as a “warm up day”

Stretch your body and your mind

What does that mean? That means you are exclusively using light exercise and stretching one day a week outside of your normal workout routines. Now maybe you aren’t here yet in your training. Maybe you go to the gym, do the treadmill leave. That’s cool you do you, this advice is really meant for people engaged in a moderate to mid-level training routine and are over 50. For those people, your recovery is more important as you do not have youth on your side. This “warm up day” is part of your recovery cycle.

What a “warm up day” looks like for me

  1. 30 min walk on the treadmill: I use the track which is flat and just do 30 min at about 3.0 speed. This loosens up my hips, gets blood moving, and helps me identify pain points. If it hurts when you are walking, you need to address it.
  2. Hamstring stretches: I put time in here, this is a pain point for me. My hamstrings are extremely tight. There are a few good stretches you can do, find one that works for you.
  3. Unlocking my hips: I sit Japanese style first, then flare out the bottom of my legs (calf area) and try and rest my butt on the floor in the gap. This will stretch your hips a lot. There are a lot of hip stretches out there, this one works for me.
  4. Snake pose & Planks: Snake pose is with two hands on the ground and push up locking your lower body on the ground. This stretches your lower back. Plank is a plank, lol they suck.
  5. I then stand and get a light bar and do trunk twists
  6. Next shoulders: I cross my right arm in front of my body and pull it at the elbow with my left, then switch sides.
  7. I then find an upright bar/machine and stretch my chest, then my back.

Now I realize I am not getting into great detail and posting pictures etc. You can find stretches online and or are doing something similar. For me this “warm up day” is about an hour (I rarely spend more than an hour in the gym per session). As I am leaving, I am aware of what “spot” has pain.

This is the benefit of the warm up day, you are hitting everything with a stretch nothing can escape. You will know if something isn’t right and or what needs to be rested going forward. Or in my case, what area needs icy hot (or for all my Gen X Friends out there, some bengay, lol). Remember to warm up before each work out with targeted stretches and start incorporating a “warm up day” into your routine, your 50+ year old self will thank you.

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How I stay in shape over 50: The most effective, simple, and sure fire way to lose weight

Posted on by Karac Avalron

This won’t be a long post. It doesn’t need to be really. The health and fitness industry has made billions of dollars on selling people weight loss programs, supplements and work out plans. I’m not here to tell you any of that is bad, a hoax etc. I’m also not here to profess I am some exercise guru who has all the answers. What I can tell you is since the pandemic hit I lost and have kept off nearly 30 pounds. Now you may or may not believe that, there is no actual proof here just my claim, believe what you want.

“The most effective, simple, and sure fire way to lose weight” is consume less calories then you expend. Yes, it’s that simple. No workout plan required, no special diet, no personal trainer. You need to count calories. If you burn 2000 a day, you need to eat LESS THAN 2000 a day to lose weight. It’s not complex, and remember, as cynical as this will sound, it is not in the fitness industries interest for you to actually lose weight and get in shape. If you did, what would they sell you?

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How I stay in shape over 50 – Upper Body (in Detail)

Posted on by Karac Avalron

So this is part two of how I stay in shape over 50. The first post, which is the most important one can be found here That post is the centerpiece of how I stay in shape. Squats are the priority for me, it gives me cardio and engages my endocrine system, its critical. That lower body (squat) routine is paramount to my success, however there is a “Workout B” and that’s upper body.

To reiterate the basis for my workouts lets recap:

What I do:

3 Months I do a basic 5×5 split. So what does that mean?

  1. 3 Months start date: Any day you want, but its 3 months so say 6/1/22 – 8/31/22.
  2. 3 workouts per week: Mon-Wed-Fri or Tues-Thurs-Sat

There are only 2 workouts. Workout A is the squat day. Warm up stretch and then get to the free weight squat rack. You start with the bar, if that is to heavy you start with a 25-pound weight. You do 5 sets of 5 reps. That’s the workout. Your next workout day (48 hours later) you do workout B, then next workout you are back to work out A.

Workout B is what we are talking about today. Now this workout has 2 exercise groupings. Meaning each workout B you are doing two movements but each workout B can be different depending on your preference. So let’s get the exercise groupings out of the way first.

  1. Bench Press & Rows
  2. Military Press & Dips

Now you pick one of these groups for the 3-month period paired with Workout A (squats). So if you pick Bench Press & Pull Up’s that’s your workout B for 3 months. The point of the 3-month cycle is to build strength in that specific range of motion, with that specific group. The first set of exercises (bench press and pull ups) will hit every major group in your upper body. You never really need to do Military press or Dips. That exercise group serves a different purpose here but the process is the same.

Men over 50 = Eat right, Lift weights, Sleep.

That process is true for all exercises. 5X5, so for workout B you are doing 10 sets. This is a heavy day, it’s not going to be easy, it’s going to be very hard but it’s not nearly the same cardio work you’ll get from workout A and squats. So you stretch warm up do all your prep and then you hit the bench press. Start with 100 pounds, that’s the bar (45 pounds) and 55 pounds on each side.

Rows are the same approach, on this you start with the bar. Here is a good resource on rows as how you position yourself is very important.   These can be substituted with pull ups if you can pull off the rows. The goal with the back exercise if to engage the back as much as possible. This will be harder because you have tired your anterior deltoid (top of shoulder) so you start with the lighter weight.

You do 5 sets, 5 reps each. No, you don’t do a 6th rep if you feel good, you hit the 25 total reps. That is always our goal with these exercises. Once you get to the 25 reps you go up 5-10 pounds, rinse repeat go for the 25 total reps.  You stick with this for the 3 months, along with your work out A squats. Now once the 3 months are over you should have a noticeable gain in strength, muscle tone and confidence. I can’t promise you weight loss but its highly likely depending on what you are consuming.

Remember that somewhere in the middle you will hit a point where you can’t get the 5 sets for 5 reps. This is when you are making your real gains. Remember the weight doesn’t increase until you get that 25 total reps, and it never decreases. This resistance training and progressive load is excellent for men over 50. Your injury risk is lower here because your starting off light allowing your body to acclimate to the movements.

Disclaimer: Please make sure you are physically and medically able to work out before trying. If you exercise regularly you are probably fine but if you don’t consult your physician.

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3 simple commitments to your health that will help you lose weight

Posted on by Karac Avalron

So my personal health journey has been a long running aside to this blog. I post on it from time to time but the blog itself isn’t specifically a health blog. Since the pandemic started I have lost and kept off roughly 30 pounds (this fluctuates believe me). Now I was never obese but as I turned 50 a few years ago I really took stock of how I was feeling. When I was in my 20’s I was actually in great shape, yes I had abs you could see.

Here I am 3 decades later and that wasn’t the case. I had a “great” dad bod. Meaning I worked out I have a good amount of muscle but I carried a spare tire. Now I am down to approx. 215 my highest weight if I recall correctly was 247 or 254 I can’t remember. For context at 23 I was 187. You can’t see my abs now, I still have fat but I feel much better. So how I have kept it off is making small commitments to my health.

Maybe instead of Coffee with cream & sugar its time for Tea?

I have found “resolutions” or huge life changes are often recipes for failure. It’s the small changes that really add up and over time help you keep weight off which is the hardest trick to pull off in the weight loss journey. So what are 3 simple commitments? Let’s take a look.

  1. Consistent Sleep schedule: Sleep is critical for so many health outcomes we can’t possibly do it justice here. The simple commitment? Go to bed at the same time every night. I don’t care if its 9PM or 1AM, its creating a consistent schedule that your body wants. Now if you can go to bed earlier great but THE SAME TIME every night is the goal here.
  2. Less sugar: Sugar is hastening your bodies demise. I can’t be any more blunt than that, and yes that includes all sweeteners. Let’s be clear here, some sugar is okay. Sugar in everything is not. Sweeteners in food are artificial most of the time and have a dramatic impact on the base components of the food and how your body processes what you have eaten. I don’t care where you find it, but in your food consumption right now there is hidden sugars, start cutting some of it out.
  3. Your face: caring for your face is critical to physical health. When you look in the mirror if you don’t like what you see you will be unhappy and food is a great place to find imagined happiness. Keep your teeth clean, use moisturizer, keep your beard trimmed, eyebrows neat, be honest about the amount of makeup you use. If you are happy with your face you will generally be happier and that leads to many positive outcomes.

Notice I didn’t mention exercise here. This is a given, you have to do it. I’m not going to preach to you about exercise at length, but I will say that if you aren’t exercising regularly the 3 tips above will not be as potent.

You have to take care of yourself. I am 52 and I am looking back at all of you 40,30 and 20 somethings and telling you it gets harder. Start your work now, it’s like planting a garden. The seeds you sow now means you will reap a harvest later.

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A simple weight loss tip – Timing.

Posted on by Karac Avalron

If you have frequented this blog you know that over the last few years, I have dropped over 30 pounds and kept it off. I was not obese, I was overweight. Like many out there I had “20 pounds to lose” and I did it during a raging pandemic. I am not super athlete, I don’t train every day, I eat normal food. In my journey I have picked up a few helpful tricks.

One of the main things I have done to keep the weight off is to be more active. Yes, that means going to the gym, but it also means taking more stairs, walking more and just generally being as active as I can. Every motion burns calories and it’s a critical part of anyone’s weight loss journey. So is food, and no matter how many diet programs you try the bottom line is if you want to lose weight you have to be in a caloric deficit.

This particular blog post isn’t about that it is just another simple weight loss tip. Basically this tip is to help trick your mind into thinking it’s getting more food than it actually is. It is simply, to eat slower. I know it’s not the magic trick you were thinking. There has to be some special diet or workout that the super fit use to be in shape always. There isn’t. There is one thing that the super fit does have that many of us don’t and that is the ability to muster self-discipline.

The faster you eat, the more you want.

So how do you slow down the pace in which you eat your food? You have to start timing yourself. Literally, when you start eating time how long it takes you from start to finish. Everything you put in your mouth and chew should be timed and recorded in a journal. Do this for a week and look at the results. Obviously the time it takes to eat a candy bar will be shorter than a 3 course meal but from here you will see patterns.

  1. What you are eating.
  2. How often you eat the same foods.
  3. How long you eat for.

You will be amazed at how fast you eat, particularly if you binge eat. Get your phone out, put on the stop watch and see how fast you consume calories. If you can slow this down, even 10% it gives your brain time to “digest” what you are consuming and signals to you when you have had enough. This isn’t full proof of course but you are going to see patterns here and you will see just how fast you eat.

It’s like getting on a scale; you can’t hide the number. You can’t hide how fast you are consuming your food either. By timing yourself you are actively changing the way you eat your food and how long it takes you. This by default will change your relationship with food and that is really the hardest part of the weight loss journey. Try it, let me know how it goes.

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A simple weight loss tip (short post)

Posted on by Karac Avalron

This blog isn’t a health and fitness blog but having lost a lot of weight myself in the last few years (30 lbs +) the hardest thing for me is keeping it off. When I eat, I often find myself thinking about the next bite not enjoying the one I currently have in my mouth. I’m not going to get into the psychology of this everyone is different. I have read online a few tricks you can use to change the way you eat, and thus change your relationship with food.

The simple weight loss tip? Eat with your non dominant hand.

I tried this and I ended up eating much slower and thinking about actually eating the food and how the hell I was going to do it. It slowed me down, I ate less and well 100 calories here, a 100 calories there it adds up on a weight loss journey. I’m not suggesting this will be the winning strategy for your weight loss but thinking outside of the box and trying new things might help.

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Squats

How I keep the weight off

Posted on by Karac Avalron

This isn’t a weight loss and nutrition blog but on my blogging journey I have lost over 30 pounds. The hardest thing I have found is keeping the weight off. I think it’s easy to focus for 60 days and lose weight but what happens 6 months later? This isn’t going to be a long post but I wanted to share with you one exercise trick I use to help me keep weight off.

Every 72 hours, so every 3rd day approximately…. I do heavy squats. This one exercise gives me cardio, strength, testosterone boost on and on. I do 5 sets of 5 reps and they are gut busting. I do a good 30 min stretch and warm up beforehand but this is a progressive loading technique that Is designed to increase strength. You should barely be getting the 5 rep of the 5 set completed and failure to complete the 5 set is the ideal.

Anytime I complete the 5 sets of 5 reps, the next session I increase the weight 5 pounds. This progressive loading is extremely taxing and let me tell you, I am drenched in sweat and exhausted after this work out. This one compound exercise has an incredible impact on your entire body. It works your core, your legs, glutes and really ramps up your endro system. I do other workouts of course but this is the most gut busting one.

If you do this, every 72 hours you will see positive effects on your body I am convinced of this. Start light, and work up from there.

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The easiest most direct way to lose weight

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Yes, I have discovered the secret. All the celebrities, the fitness gurus kept it well guarded but I found it! This secret elixir to weight loss is tested and proven. You will lose weight if you employ it and you can eat just about any kind of food you want.

“Well? What’s the secret!!!” the masses scream….

Eat less calories then you burn

I know, the dumbfounded look you have will subside shortly. It is that easy. Counting calories works. If you burn 3000 calories a day and you eat 2500 you have a caloric deficit of 500 calories. If you do this for multiple days in a row you will lose weight.

No special supplements, no complex mix of food at specific hours, no gut busting workouts. Now all of those will make the process faster yes but you literally only need to eat less calories then you burn every day and you will lose weight. I know there are umpteen excuses and reasons why this can’t be done etc. so on, I’ve made many of them and heard the rest.

Get moving and eat less, you will lose weight. You could go spend thousands on meal plans, exercise programs etc. if you want but, do this simple process for 1 month, caloric deficit, let me know how it goes.

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A very simple health tip

Posted on by Karac Avalron

If you read my blog regularly, first thank you, second you know that I have lost a lot of weight over the last year in a half. I am like millions; I was not obese I was overweight. What does that mean exactly? I had 30 pounds of extra weight. I dropped most of it. Do I have a visible 6 pack of abs? no, but I am more vascular, I have good definition now, I look normal. Not fat, not thin, not over muscled just normal.

The hardest part is keeping it off. One simple way to do that? 1000 steps a day. You have an app on your phone that should track it for you. That’s it! 1000 steps, it’s not a lot and its likely you can do more than that. However, the 1000 steps is every day, not 500 today and 1500 tomorrow. Everyday 1000 steps. You can do that.

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3 simple things I did to lose 30 pounds and keep it off

Posted on by Karac Avalron

I am no diet guru, no fitness expert this blog is mainly focused around anxiety issues. 2021 has been a year where I have decided to broaden the scope of the blog and one of my personal triumphs is something I want to chat about today. I turned 50 on 2.2.20 and weighed 238. I talk about the specifics in my blog post here:

So why am I posting about it today? Because one of the hardest things to do is lose weight, harder still is to keep it off. I have done it successfully and I’ve done it by employing 3 simple techniques below.

  1. I move: That includes scheduled trips to the gym but more importantly I do what I can to move as much as possible. Walk more, take stairs if I can, anything to be as mobile as possible. 2 calories here, 7 there you’d be surprised at how much it adds up. Doing laundry burns calories…
  2. I eat the least amount of processed foods I can: This is harder than it reads as there is processed food in the U.S. everywhere. Further I am not advocating you go out and hunt and process animals, although its fine if you do. The point here is take the time to read the ingredients of the food you eat. If there are more than 5 it’s probably time to consider something else.
  3. I weigh myself daily: Sometimes multiple times. There are several articles on the web discussing the pros and cons of weighing yourself. For me it keeps me honest and If I am ticking up I start to cut back. Couple of weeks ago I was at 216 had a weekend of good food cocktails etc. That week I focused on my discipline and got back to 213 I am not at 208-210 (fluctuates)
The Importance of Sleep
Sleep is the secret weapon to weight loss

Losing weight is hard and if you are on that journey the best advice I can give you is start with adjusting small things. Less sugar in your coffee, one extra walk a week. Its cumulatively where it can be overwhelming. This journey is a marathon not a sprint and small changes you can actually implement become victories which accumulate into a snow ball effect. 2-5 small changes usually get you on the path to 1-2 larger changes.

I will be on this journey for the rest of my life now. I am currently working on more sleep, a hard fight in of itself due to my lifestyle. If you are on a weight loss journey don’t be disheartened, just take one day at a time, be honest with yourself and rack up as many small victories as you can.

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