Well hey... ain't workin' out about HEALTH? ...Originally Posted by Gunny
@High_Plains_Drifter I've been looking for this thread because I remember you responded in it. Leave it to you to put it in Science and Health
I wouldn't recommend drinking and lifting to anyone. I was certainly setting no personal records at the time. I definitely wasn't lifting near my max. Thing is, I had to limit my lifting so I had "A workout". It was a Jack of All Trades, Master of none workout. In the early 80s I got too big for my uniforms. Twice. Expensive. Then I went on independent duty where I had to where charlies every day so my uniform had to fit every day. Plus, I had to be able to run 3 miles in 28 or less (28 is minimum to graze in with a pass). Then there's the time itself to work out.
My workout for years was tailored to fit me in my uniforms. When I retired, it was more about the time because suddenly I wasn't working out on the Corps' dime, and I was getting a Hell of a workout just being an electrician.
SO ... I could go through the motions, drinking or not. The difference between then and now is I have to actually concentrate and apply effort now.
Something else you've mentioned a couple of times I've really not commented on. I don't have an ab workout. I do different crap whenever the mood strikes for my abs. The abdominal wall is a muscle. It grows just like an other muscle with exercise. I used to do 400 situps every day before work (way back when) and wonder why I wasn't getting abs like Rambo (First Blood was new back then and suddenly put the demand on all of us to sport six packs).
Mostly, I'll do hanging leg raises from my pullup bar and it keeps my abs strong, which is my primary goal in working them.
For the past month or so I've kinda slowed to working out every other day, sometimes 3 or 4 days in a row, and I've gained a lot of strength. I notice the benefits of lifting a lot with things I do, like running my chain saw. Last year before the gym I noticed that it felt heavier than usual, but when I recently got it out to start getting rid of an old pile of wood from trees cut down, it felt a hellova lot lighter. I enjoy more reps with less weight usually, like three sets of 20 for each exercise. My problem is the damn right triceps. I do believe I've made the tiny little bit that works, a LITTLE bit stronger, but I haven't woken up anything significant. I think those nerves and muscles are just dead for the rest of my life, and that does hold me back. I'd like to do some benches with some heavy weight, but that just isn't happening. I have to settle for doing lots of reps with less weight.
I haven't paid much attention to abs work outs. I notice that I'm usually always flexing my core all the time doing other stuff anyway. But for the most part, I have been sticking with it. I do enjoy it. Kinda turns into a habit. I knew if I put the gym in the house right under my nose, I'd use it. This Fall will be a year since I bought it. I think there's a big difference is my build already. Not so much bulk, some, but getting good definition. It'll be interesting so see the difference a year has made. I bet if I was 30 years younger and hadn't crushed nerves in my neck, I'd have packed on quite a bit of bulk already. But I'll tell ya something else, I notice that I'm in a hellova lot better shape than most guys I know my age, and in a lot better shape than a hellova lot of young people I see. So many FAT people, lard asses, just look like a friggin' bowl of jello.
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