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Greg's "Old Balls" Journal... or... Take that young people!

Gregger

Gregger

MuscleHead
Dec 16, 2012
1,583
375
Thought I would start up a journal here, I hope you find it informative and somewhat entertaining...
Please feel free to jump in with comments, critiques, etc. I am still fairly new at this and I am old enough and smart enough to know I don't know it all!

Some basics... I turned 52 last month over Thanksgiving weekend. I have 3 kids who in turn have given me 6 of the best damn Grand Kids a guy could have! I started lifting again about 3yrs ago after not touching weights for 30yrs (since High School!).
2010 and 2011 were good years for me, I was able to turn my health around from heading downhill...
I think it may help if I just tell my story in my 1st installment here... So here it is...

I was diagnosed with high blood pressure in my early 30’s; in my early 40’s I started the medications for my blood sugars which worsened slightly before I was able to reverse the downward trend… My family history includes Hypertension issues, Diabetes and related issues.
My Father passed earlier this summer from complications from his Type 1 Diabetes. He also had a quintuple bypass some years ago as well. I realized how real the phrase “high risk for heart attack or stroke” was… Not for my Dad, but for me! This changed my perspective. I realized I was headed down a similar path as my Dad and that scared the hell out of me.
With the addition of grand kids it only added to the feeling of something needing to happen, a change was needed. I wanted to be around a while longer for my family! I started exercising in Aug of 2008… I changed jobs and joined my first gym. I did a lot of cardio, I struggled for a little over a year I did get fitter but I did not see any improvement in my blood sugars from it.
In Nov. 2009 I joined a local "club" gym, got away from the big box type because this gym offered a 3x's per week good old school lifting class!
When I started lifting again at IThinkFit it had been 30yrs since I had lifted weights, I was on 4 medications total 2 of which were the Actos and Metphormin. I was getting blood work done every 10-12 weeks and checking my own sugars. I started lifting weights the first week of November 2009 and my next appointment to see the Doctor was mid January 2010…
In those 10 weeks I saw my strength start to come back as well as my athletic shape. I was excited to see the doctor and get my labs back to see how much I had improved. I was told that whatever I was doing it looked like it was working very well and to stay on that course… The lab work came back a day or two later and the results were so good my medications for my blood sugars were halved and I was told I didn’t need to come back until August!
Everything we had tested for had come back in “optimal” range!
By just altering my diet and beginning weight training I had started to turn it around! And now I had six months until my next visit instead of three…

I continued to train hard in the gym, adding lean muscle and dropping body fat slowly. I was still working out my nutrition as well but staying with the 5-6 meals per day but I knew I was improving, the mirror didn’t lie.
August came and I looked forward to my appointment! When the doctor came in he noticed right away how hard I had worked and we discussed my routine and my nutrition and then told me that he didn’t even need to see the results this time and told me he would be taking me off those meds altogether! Oh we still did the tests, just to be sure… A day or two later it was confirmed, I was done with Actos and Met…

Who does that? I do that’s who!
I never want to go back so the training continues, the diet continues.
From August 2010 to December 2010 I stay on course, I’ve achieved the goals I had set forth at the beginning… I look better, feel younger and I reduced (eliminated) the meds I was taking… Now what?

I was curious how far I could take this? I asked IThinkFit Gym owner and trainer Sean Harley if he would take me on as a client for some “one on one” training to help me focus my energies on stepping up my game. So in December 2010 we started…

6-8 weeks later in January 2011 Sean handed me a flyer for the “Heartland Classic” BB competition that was to be held in June 2011.
“You’re doing this” I was told. Not likely I thought, but we’ll see.
Well I did do that show, and I had a great experience! It felt great to show off my progress after all of my hard work. I added another show in November 2011 the “Bluffs Classic”.

2012 I did not do any shows, but I did stick with my new lifestyle... In addition I had been asked by several online sites to publish
my "transformation" story, I consider myself a very lucky man to be able to share this. I'll spare you the links to the individual sites, but if you are wanting to read them just PM me and I'll be happy to post those...

2013 I need to focus back on my training... 2012 was awesome because of the attention, but was also filled with a wedding, my Dad's passing, Grand Kid #6 needing open heart surgery just days after coming into the world, way too much stress to concentrate on any shows...

I'm not the most muscled, I'm not the most cut and chiseled, but I'll throw up my dedication and motivation against anybody's.
I love being in the gym, I love being able to hang with dudes half my age...

Greg
 
Gregger

Gregger

MuscleHead
Dec 16, 2012
1,583
375
Here's how I get it done... Sunday is normally "Back" day but my Grands were over making cookies... So...
Monday is Back Day this week:

Cable Lat Pull Downs - 2x10 + 2x8
Close Neut Grip Pull Downs - 3x8
Machine Front Pull Down - 3x8
Wide Grip Seated Row - 3x8
T-Bar Rows - 2x10 +1x8 (last set w/5 wheels)
One Arm DB Rows - 3x8 (2 sets @ 100lb, 3rd set @ 110lb)
Straight Arm Push Down - 3x10
 
Gregger

Gregger

MuscleHead
Dec 16, 2012
1,583
375
Tuesday is Chest this week...

DB Incline Press - 4sets x 10
BB Decline Press - 3sets x 10 + 1set x 8
DB Incline Fly - 4sets x 10
Seated Cable Fly - 4sets x 10

Short and sweet this AM...
 
Halo

Halo

MuscleHead
Jul 5, 2011
3,666
487
Great job Greg! Looking forward to watching your progress
 
kbordner

kbordner

VIP Pops
Dec 18, 2012
623
172
Nice work Greg....55 myself......My motto is " We ain't dead yet Motherfuckers!"
 
Gregger

Gregger

MuscleHead
Dec 16, 2012
1,583
375
Nice work Greg....55 myself......My motto is " We ain't dead yet Motherfuckers!"

So true! I love that attitude...
I know there's more of us out there that are looking to change, I get asked a lot about how I got started.
I'm not giving up and buying bigger pants...
 
kbordner

kbordner

VIP Pops
Dec 18, 2012
623
172
So true! I love that attitude...
I know there's more of us out there that are looking to change, I get asked a lot about how I got started.
I'm not giving up and buying bigger pants...

BTW excellent job on getting off all those meds.....I don't take anything except fish oil and my beloved hormones. I also have 6 Grandchildren and lost my Father less than 2 years ago. The gym is my church. I wish nyou well my friend...Ken
 
Gregger

Gregger

MuscleHead
Dec 16, 2012
1,583
375
Thanks Ken... it means a lot bud...
 
Gregger

Gregger

MuscleHead
Dec 16, 2012
1,583
375
Wednesday = Big Bad Shoulder work!

Seated DB shoulder press - 4sets x 10
DB Lat Raise - 9sets x 10 (3 weights, 3x's through...)
Front Plate Raise - 3sets x 10
super set - DB one arm front raises 3sets x 10
DB Bent Over Rear Delt - 4sets x 10
DB One Arm Upright Row - 4sets x 8
super set - BB upright rows 3sets x 10

Shoulders are on of my favorite sessions...
 
marx

marx

MuscleHead
Sep 29, 2010
4,671
626
Great to see, bro.

One wonderful grandkid, here.

Training is The Way.
 
IronCore

IronCore

Bigger Than MAYO - VIP
Sep 9, 2010
4,321
1,538
greg that is an awesome story... I tell SO MANY people all the time "with a little exercise you can drop those med's"

All it takes is dedication and hard work... and i agree with you... you may not be the biggest most chiseled guy on the bolck... but your dedication is second to none!

GREAT WORK!

--IC
 
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