Recent pic

[FortyPlus]

Hey folks,

In my forties here, posting on this site for first time.

Trying to build size, stay strong, develop better eating habits for the second half of my life expectancy so I can be around for my wife and kids.

I'm 5' 10.5" and weigh 194. Started lifting in October for a month and a half. Got briefly to a 16" cold flexed right arm, then had to lay off for 3 1/2 weeks.
Got back into the weight room this week and plan to keep at it. Right arm now almost 15 3/4. Legs are 23 1/2 to 24. Have mid section to lose.

Cheers

[Dalton5]

You need to work on your posing.

[mamias20918756]

welcome, u need a lot of work, there are lots of threads here on loosing weight or gaining muscle.
Surf the site....also dalton5 is right, work on ur posing

[flyguy7]

From what I can tell from that pic focus on cutting down first, not bicep inches. Welcome to the site, some people here are friggin genius', listen to their advice (not mine) and good luck.

[Lil' Hulk]

Screw the bicep size, mate. Get a body analysis done to see where you'r'e at. Get on a nutritional plan, start cardio, hit the gym for full body workouts for two months to start, 2-3 days a week.
Get someone or even use a tripod to take some really embarrassing picts (believe me, most of us have them).
40+, so what, it's a state of mind mate. I'm 49 and will go with/against any mofo in the gym.
Now for the good news. At your height and weight, you are not past hope. Just kidding! I think full body workouts and a nutritional plan and you'd be amazed in 3-4 months.
Cheers mate and here's looking at ya!

[the hulkster]

First off I would like to congratulate you in your decision to commit to fitness., I know many people around that age who would rather do nothing and drink and smoke everynight when they get home from work. the biggest problem for you is that it will be hard to stay self motivated. You have been w/o the gym for so many years and now it will be hard to change that, You are also already showing signs that you care strictly about the beach muscles, so I tell you what, when you are thinking that you just want to lift to look good then don't do your legs if you really are not looking to blow up, although I would like to see you do them. As far as diet, just eat you three square meals a day untill you really hit the point to when you really want to go to the next level, then seek other help and modify your goals. BABY STEPS man start seeing results and it could either satisfy you and make you want to quit b/c you think you have accomplished something(which I have seen so many times) or It could jolt you into a new level of fanaticism. Good luck bro.

[smokethedays]

where is the pic?!

[Tyrone_Biggums]

Good see people over 40 hitting the gym....good luck bro.

[*Alex*]

yes ............ good luck to you !

[FortyPlus]

Thanks everyone for your input.

flyguy7, Lil' Hulk, the hulkster, Tyrone_Biggums & alex7674: Thank you for the encouragement.

flyguy7, Lil' Hulk & the hulkster: Thank you also for the advice. I'm going to follow what you said about not focusing on the measurements and turn my focus to consistency in workout and diet.

hulkster, I love leg work on the squat and press machines. I have no visible separation but decent mass and shape.

My mid range goal is to lose 18 pounds to get down to 175 by the end of April. For cardio I like treadmill and elliptical. I'll post updates along the way. I want to set a better example for my kids so that they will know that fitness matters as they grow up.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and any other holiday you might be celebrating!

[Lil' Hulk]

Drive on FP. Establish your goals and keep pushing. I had my 16 yr old son at Gold's with me today. He's not really into it. If I could train him for a few years he'd be bad boy. He does like to see his "old man" pushing or pulling 300-400lbs though. LOL
Keep knocking down one small goal at a time and you will be there soon. For some encoaragement, kids like it when their old man is a big boy.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Why don't you post your workout routine and schedule. Please put some pictures up too for more help.

[FortyPlus]

Thanks Lil' Hulk,

I'm sure your son will soon be lifting too.

Here are a couple more pics.

As for routine, pretty basic right now - 1 X per week for 1 hour, 15 min. Plan to add 45 mins. cardio and another day of lifting in January.

Bench: 4-6 sets of whatever I can manage: Highest bench is 210-3X
Dumbbell curl: 4 sets
Reverse Flye: 3 sets
Squat Machine: 3-4 sets
Leg Press: 3-4 sets
Cable Rowing: 3-4 sets
Cable tricep pulldown: 4-5 sets

I agree with what you said: we all need to create the big picture by setting and reaching smaller goals all the time.

[Lil' Hulk]

Hey FP,
Ya fooled us with that first pict dude. Sure ya need work, heck, us old farts just gotta work smarter. You're not that heavy to start with. I'd put less emphasis on losing weight and more on putting on some muscle. Your biceps show you know something, not bad at all. If your legs are fairly good like you said, you need to hit overall chest mass and definitely alot of lat work, also delts.

I think you'll see good gains after a month or two (you know what they say about Rome not built in a day). Only hit each bodypart one time a week (the hardest for me to re-learn). Keep your volume down per exercise. Instead of 4-6 sets of benches, do bench for 4 and incline for 4, and throw in machine flyes for 4 sets. All done at 10-12 reps after warmup. That could be your chest for the week.

Personally, I hit the gym M/T/TH/F, I love to split it like this. But I have the time to do that.

Before I get writers cramp, remember to split body into two workouts for the week. Protein...try to eat ~1.5-2g per lb of lean body mass. You said you eat clean....dude that's over half the battle.

Hope that helps a little without me sounding like I know anything LOL.

Merry Christmas again and email me if ya want.

[FortyPlus]

Thanks for the feedback Lil' Hulk and the recommendations. I'll keep you posted.

[Anabolios]

Thanks for the feedback Lil' Hulk and the recommendations. I'll keep you posted.

at least you are not scrawny and you have something to work off of..best of luck to you and keep us posted

[FortyPlus]

at least you are not scrawny and you have something to work off of..best of luck to you and keep us posted

Thanks A,

will do

[little-one]

hey being able to bench 210 for 3 reps is really damn good for just starting out.
I was at the gym the other day and this guy, probably in his mid to late forties, (who looked like it was his first day in the gym) went to bench 135. He got it off the rack and it came crashing down on him and some dude rushed to help him.
So your max is probably around 215-220 which is great for just starting out

[FortyPlus]

Thanks little-one. Looking forward to 300.

[Skinsfan]

Good advice Hulkster; very inspirational!!