My problem areas are those which are especially weak, and/or cause pain.
- Shoulders, especially my left one (I hurt it years ago putting in a ceiling fan).
- Knees, especially my left knee. They both ache with sharp pains if I stop working them for long periods of time (more than a month).
- My right elbow – it gets very tight and aches if I overdo it on one-arm tricep pulldowns.
So, I have to be careful not to make things worse, and go slowly sometimes. I listen to my body very closely, and am never in a rush to push too much. And the pain is nothing like chronic, debilitating pain – just aches that come about if I over-exert myself. But walking should not be over-exerting.
Despite this, I am pleased to say that none of these things bother me now outside of the gym, and only my elbow bothers me in the gym. Working out over time has apparently strengthened my weak areas to the point that they no longer hurt. Walking up and down stairs, for instance, used to hurt my knees – now I can bound up and down them all day (or at least till I run out of breath). My shoulder no longer bothers me either. But these are just temporary wins – to keep the pain away, I need to keep exercising and moving these joints.
Since I started in 2006:
Seated heart rate – down from the mid 80′s to low 60′s.
Blood pressure – down from 150′s over 110′s to 100′s over 70′s.
Cholesterol – down from 220′s to 140′s.
Weight – up from low 170′s to high 180′s, but muscle mass is way up and fatty tissue is visibly reduced.
I still have a mildly flabby midsection, and I am not a fitness nazi over this stuff, so beer is still a food group to me (and bacon is a vitamin, hehe). My goal is health through moderation and simple honest work – not extreme lifting or bodybuilding. To an extent, I CAN have my cake and eat it. Who knows, maybe you can too…
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