Lifting, Learning, and Hating the Gym (Sort of)
Lifting for Pensioers
Welcome to the first entry in what I hope will become a weekly series. Here, I’ll take you through my fitness journey: what I’ve done, what I’m doing, and where I’m headed. Fair warning—I’m no expert, just someone trying to get stronger while navigating the chaos of the gym.
Back to the Gym: The Beginning
I started back at the gym in September, realizing I wasn’t as strong as I thought. For the first three months, I focused entirely on strength training. My goal? To lift my body weight—73 kg (160 lbs)—for one rep across several key lifts:
• Squats
• Deadlifts
• Bench Press
• Overhead Press
• Lat Pulldowns
• Rows
When I started, I was lifting just 40 kg (88 lbs) across most of these exercises. By December, I had made significant progress, but I’ll need to check my stats to share the exact numbers with you.
The Next Phase: Progressive Overload
December marked the end of my first phase, and I jumped straight into the second. This time, I’m not chasing any specific numbers—I’m simply working on getting stronger using progressive overload (increasing weight, reps, or intensity over time).
Here’s my current workout schedule:
Monday-Wednesday and Tuesday-Thursday. Why not Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? I’ll explain that another time—it’s a mix of recovery, scheduling, and, honestly, just wanting a break.
The Diet Side of Things
Let’s talk food. Nutrition plays a huge role in any fitness journey, and I’ll go over my diet in detail in future updates. For now, I’ll just say it’s been a learning curve. I’m figuring out how to balance fueling my workouts without overcomplicating things.
Weekly Updates: The Wins and the Fails
Each week, I’ll share my progress and failures, whether it’s a new personal best in the gym or the pizza that derailed my meal plan (it happens). The goal is transparency, not perfection.
Oh, and did I mention? I hate going to the gym. But I’ve found one I like—it’s got a good vibe, and that makes all the difference. I’ll talk more about it later.
Learning as I Go
Before I wrap up, let me make one thing clear: I have no idea what I’m doing. But this is as much a learning journey as it is a fitness one.
Thanks for following along—stay tuned for next week’s update. And if you’ve got tips, tricks, or just a good gym story, drop them in the comments.
So, that’s where I’m at. If you’re over 45 and on your own fitness journey, I’d love to hear about it! What’s been your biggest challenge, and what’s been your biggest win so far? Let me know in the comments.
Video available 15:00 (GMT) 24th January.
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