Gained half an inch on my upper arm muscle :)

[simon43]

I started a free weights+exercise machine training program about 3 months ago, (in addition to my cycling + jogging routine that I've followed for about 2 years).

 

I have a genetic low T level, and that coupled with my age (59), means that it's hard to add muscle onto my abysmally puny upper body!

 

My arm diameter was just under 11 inches when I started the weights routine program.  Happy to say that now my upper arms measure 11.5 inches. Sounds tiny, but much better than the  pipe-cleaner arms that I used to have.

 

My weight and cardio work-outs fit into my carefully-designed diet program, (lots of protein to aid muscle growth).

 

Things are going well ?

 

I'm 60 years old next June, and I will post a thread with before and after photos to show the difference in my body appearance prior to embarking on my program, and then the latest photo ?

[dotpoom]

Pleeeeeeaaaaasssse!

[Bob12345]

Congrats, the fact your arms is getting bigger should be motivation to keep on going. Its never too late to start exercising (actually it is always too late, as you should be doing it from a young age, but anyways, you get what i mean).

 

How low are your t-levels?

[sfbandung]

You're in Thailand. If you know you have low T levels then exogenous Test is easily found. If you are 59 your child rearing days are over anyway. Just watch your ticker and your prostate but the supposed negative effects from Test have been largely debunked.

 

[UnkleGoooose]

I've gained nearly 2 inches since watching redtube, but only on my right bicep though. ?

[digger70]

36 minutes ago, UnkleGoooose said:

I've gained nearly 2 inches since watching redtube, but only on my right bicep though. ?

Yea much better then weights,,,, but change hands from time to time hey,,,,, 

[joebrown]

I'm very pleased and encouraged by your post. However, don't you have a problem trying to buy shirts to fit an 11.5 inch diameter arm? The diameter of my upper arm is only 4.5 inch.

[trianglechoke]

Well done bro.

Why not think about adding 1000g of tribulus per day.... and some trt... at that age with such  a good attitude you deserve solid boners and a good shape. 

Once again. Well.done

[AgMech Cowboy]

Great. I wish I could make myself exercise.

[KonKorat]

I gained more inches on my old fellow!

[madusa]

Simon you didn't mention your height if you are 5 feet 5 to 5feet 7 a 11.5 inches arm wouldn't look skinny. I am 5 feet 7 and arm measure 13 inches(look normal not big I don't want a big arm).

I don't want to look like a bodybuilder but I do want a six pack ab. so the first thing I do when I hit the gym is doing the sit up . I forgot what you call that exercise where you pull the pulley to your belly in a curve action. This exercise may be good for me so far no result yet. At my age (late 50s) if I walk around with bulging muscles all my friends and relatives will be laughing at me. They will say the initial of my middle name is V . V for Vanity not Valentino.

I used to have a six pack when I was young and it makes you feel good, so I am trying to recapture that. So far it has been an illusion. When illusion turns to reality I will be a happy old man. ( Oh, my waist line is 33 inches I need to get it down to 31 or 31.5   I guess that would do the trick.)

[gaff]

I will follow this one, another very funny story...

 

 

[manarak]

 

?

Edited August 30, 2018 by manarak

[Jonmarleesco]

Err, thanks. I think.

[sfbandung]

18 hours ago, joebrown said:

I'm very pleased and encouraged by your post. However, don't you have a problem trying to buy shirts to fit an 11.5 inch diameter arm? The diameter of my upper arm is only 4.5 inch.

Yes, I believe circumference may have been the word our poster was looking for ?

[tropo]

On 8/30/2018 at 8:08 AM, sfbandung said:

You're in Thailand. If you know you have low T levels then exogenous Test is easily found. If you are 59 your child rearing days are over anyway. Just watch your ticker and your prostate but the supposed negative effects from Test have been largely debunked.

 

With all the running, cycling and dieting Simon does (catabolic activities) gaining muscle is going to be an uphill battle.

 

To really gain muscle you have to specialize. Many have tried before him. i.e. They want six-pack abs AND big muscles, all at the same time. You can end up with nothing. I would suggest he give up long slow cardio and do short interval training sessions for cardio about 3 times a week and then undertake a proper bodybuilding routine. Working on the arms is a big mistake. You need to work on the big muscle groups and the arms will follow.

 

For example (I'm the same age as Simon), I haven't done isolation arm exercises for about 6 months, but I'm getting stronger and growing (again), arms too. In fact, I'm getting stronger because I'm NOT doing isolation arm work (curls, tricep extensions etc). The arms remain fresh to do the heavy lifting, and the rowing and SkiErging. Rowing works the biceps hard, SkiErging works the triceps hard.

Edited September 4, 2018 by tropo

[tropo]

On 8/30/2018 at 8:04 PM, madusa said:

Simon you didn't mention your height if you are 5 feet 5 to 5feet 7 a 11.5 inches arm wouldn't look skinny. I am 5 feet 7 and arm measure 13 inches(look normal not big I don't want a big arm).

I don't want to look like a bodybuilder but I do want a six pack ab. so the first thing I do when I hit the gym is doing the sit up . I forgot what you call that exercise where you pull the pulley to your belly in a curve action. This exercise may be good for me so far no result yet. At my age (late 50s) if I walk around with bulging muscles all my friends and relatives will be laughing at me. They will say the initial of my middle name is V . V for Vanity not Valentino.

I used to have a six pack when I was young and it makes you feel good, so I am trying to recapture that. So far it has been an illusion. When illusion turns to reality I will be a happy old man. ( Oh, my waist line is 33 inches I need to get it down to 31 or 31.5   I guess that would do the trick.)

I've been hearing this for 40 years since I started bodybuilding: "I don't want to look like a bodybuilder". LOL. Do you think if you touch weights all of a sudden you're going to start looking like a bodybuilder? You won't. There's no "risk" of that happening... zero, none. Building enough muscle to look like a bodybuilder is an extremely difficult task for all but the genetically gifted... and that's when you're young. At nearly 60? Not going to happen.

 

Also, you won't build abs doing situps every day. The quickest way is to lose the subcutaneous fat around your abdomen so the abs will show through. Situps and other ab work once a week would be quite sufficient. Definitely no more than twice a week. It's one of the most useless exercises in the gym. It doesn't even raise the heart rate by much. If you have fat around the midsection you can do situps all day long - it won't build a 6-pack.

[simon43]

Thanks for all the comments, including the funny ones!

 

Of course, I mean arm circumference ?

 

My measured T level is about 350.  I recently started on a course of TRT through Maximum Fitness in Pattaya.  My plan is to continue under their 'care' for a few months and then go it alone, doing my own clinic T, estrogen and PSA tests.  I am in Myanmar and self-inject twice a week into my bum - no problem.

 

Tropo is certainly correct that building muscle at my age is very hard, (even retaining current muscle is difficult), because of my exercise activities.  I'm also not looking to have big muscles - My lower body muscles are fine due to my cycling.  I want to try to increase my upper body muscles to a level that I can retain as I cruise into my 60's.

 

As I approach 60 years old, I do have a six-pack!  I will spare you the photos (which are on another forum).  Getting a six pack at my age is an example in self-torture, such is the effort and will-power required to keep to a strict diet, to exercise daily to reduce the fat level, and to weight-train the abs muscles to increase their size.

 

But Vanity is actually my middle name, and I'm very happy to have achieved good-looking abs through rigid self-control and will-power, without any input/encouragement from a partner/gym friends etc.

 

It's an ongoing heavy effort to improve the six-pack appearance - I do not recommend it at all for anyone of my age!

Edited September 5, 2018 by simon43

[madusa]

13 hours ago, tropo said:

I've been hearing this for 40 years since I started bodybuilding: "I don't want to look like a bodybuilder". LOL. Do you think if you touch weights all of a sudden you're going to start looking like a bodybuilder? You won't. There's no "risk" of that happening... zero, none. Building enough muscle to look like a bodybuilder is an extremely difficult task for all but the genetically gifted... and that's when you're young. At nearly 60? Not going to happen.

 

Also, you won't build abs doing situps every day. The quickest way is to lose the subcutaneous fat around your abdomen so the abs will show through. Situps and other ab work once a week would be quite sufficient. Definitely no more than twice a week. It's one of the most useless exercises in the gym. It doesn't even raise the heart rate by much. If you have fat around the midsection you can do situps all day long - it won't build a 6-pack.

Tropo in my mind my weight training is viewed as corrective training. Corrective because my left arm is slightly smaller and weaker than my right arm. So i exercise the left arm more to corrective the small imbalance. See what I meant? Of course muslce will not pop out or never will like you said but does it matter. As long as I don't look  weak and skinny is good enough.

You are 100 percent right on the ab exercises. I seldom see good abs in the gym. I feel good after doing the abs exercises though, was it my imagination? or was it really some good thing happening I wonder all the time. I do expect my waist line to go down from 33 inches to 31and half. One and half inches, I am not asking too much am I? (like they say in french  "c'est ne pas demande trop , non?")

Tomorrow is another day for me to live in my imagination when I am doing the abs exercises. Wish me luck.

Ps: I suddenly realized living in my imagination has kept me alive all this while. How miserable can life be?

 

Edited September 5, 2018 by madusa
add words

[tropo]

33 minutes ago, madusa said:

Tropo in my mind my weight training is viewed as corrective training. Corrective because my left arm is slightly smaller and weaker than my right arm. So i exercise the left arm more to corrective the small imbalance. See what I meant? Of course muslce will not pop out or never will like you said but does it matter. As long as I don't look  weak and skinny is good enough.

You are 100 percent right on the ab exercises. I seldom see good abs in the gym. I feel good after doing the abs exercises though, was it my imagination? or was it really some good thing happening I wonder all the time. I do expect my waist line to go down from 33 inches to 31and half. One and half inches, I am not asking too much am I? (like they say in french  "c'est ne pas demande trop , non?"

Tomorrow is another day for me to live in my imagination when I am doing the abs exercises. Wish me luck.

Ps: I suddenly realized living in my imagination has kept me alive all this while. How miserable can life be?

 

Whether you can expect your waist to shrink a couple of inches or not will depend on two things. How much subcutaneous fat you have (a pinch test will determine this) and how much visceral fat you're holding inside your abdomen. If you do a lot of lower back work and build the size of the abdominal muscles, that could compensate for less fat. Circumference isn't everything. IMO you're far too hung up on numbers. How does it look in the mirror is more to the point?

Edited September 5, 2018 by tropo

[gaff]

14 hours ago, tropo said:

To really gain muscle you have to specialize. Many have tried before him. i.e. They want six-pack abs AND big muscles, all at the same time. You can end up with nothing. I would suggest he give up long slow cardio and do short interval training sessions for cardio about 3 times a week and then undertake a proper bodybuilding routine. Working on the arms is a big mistake. You need to work on the big muscle groups and the arms will follow.

 

14 hours ago, tropo said:

I've been hearing this for 40 years since I started bodybuilding: "I don't want to look like a bodybuilder". LOL. Do you think if you touch weights all of a sudden you're going to start looking like a bodybuilder? You won't. There's no "risk" of that happening... zero, none. Building enough muscle to look like a bodybuilder is an extremely difficult task for all but the genetically gifted... and that's when you're young. At nearly 60? Not going to happen.

 

 

I am not sure that you know well about lawyers in Thailand but I am sure that you know well about training.

 

How stupid can be people who think that they will look big without having trained for 20 years and/or without steroids, or when running for hours everyday.

 

Some others run after 60 and wonder why they get injuries, so funny that they still had no time to learn anything before reaching this age...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tropo]

8 minutes ago, gaff said:

I am not sure that you know well about lawyers in Thailand but I am sure that you know well about training.

 

 

I know quite a bit about both (go and read my latest comment), but why bring up a conversation about lawyers from an unrelated thread.

[simon43]

Some others run after 60 and wonder why they get injuries

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with running after 60, or doing weight-training or arduous cycling - so long as you build up to this slowly, and have regular medical checks.

 

2 years ago, I could never imagine running 10 Km in one hour and not feeling at all tired!

2 years ago, I could never imagine having a 28 inch waist and a reasonably decent six pack!

 

It took 2+ years of gentle training and a balanced diet to get to my current state of health and fitness,

 

It would be impossible for me to build big muscles, and I'm not trying to do that ?

[tropo]

6 hours ago, simon43 said:

Thanks for all the comments, including the funny ones!

 

Of course, I mean arm circumference ?

 

My measured T level is about 350.  I recently started on a course of TRT through Maximum Fitness in Pattaya.  My plan is to continue under their 'care' for a few months and then go it alone, doing my own clinic T, estrogen and PSA tests.  I am in Myanmar and self-inject twice a week into my bum - no problem.

 

Tropo is certainly correct that building muscle at my age is very hard, (even retaining current muscle is difficult), because of my exercise activities.  I'm also not looking to have big muscles - My lower body muscles are fine due to my cycling.  I want to try to increase my upper body muscles to a level that I can retain as I cruise into my 60's.

 

As I approach 60 years old, I do have a six-pack!  I will spare you the photos (which are on another forum).  Getting a six pack at my age is an example in self-torture, such is the effort and will-power required to keep to a strict diet, to exercise daily to reduce the fat level, and to weight-train the abs muscles to increase their size.

 

But Vanity is actually my middle name, and I'm very happy to have achieved good-looking abs through rigid self-control and will-power, without any input/encouragement from a partner/gym friends etc.

 

It's an ongoing heavy effort to improve the six-pack appearance - I do not recommend it at all for anyone of my age!

The problem is that to maintain a 6-pack (at your age) makes the other task (increasing your arm girth) virtually impossible. Now that I hear you're injecting test, I'll change that to more difficult, but not impossible. My original comments were made with the impression you have low testosterone and don't supplement. Everyone has different genetics with different fat storage patterns. When I started TRT my waist grew a lot. Not the fat covering it, but the size of it, mainly from increased muscle mass in the core. Now, even with 5mm fat pinch, the lowest I can get my waist is 35 - 36 sucked in (fully vacuumed). I don't like it at all, but it's my structure and not fat... but I can keep my chest measurement at 50, so it helps somewhat... and of course working the shoulders hard to create width on top.

[simon43]

Tropo, I started TRT just a few weeks ago after blood tests at Maximum Clinic.

 

I already knew that my T levels were low - I mentioned in other posts that this is a genetic problem in my family.  My father and brothers also had/have low T and my Thai son needs to get tested as he gets into his teen years.

 

Well, my arm size has increased a modest but noticeable amount ? I'm not looking for a massive increase, maybe just good 'tone'.  In any case, my upper body certainly looks a hell of a lot better than 2 years ago ?  

[theguyfromanotherforum]

I had a cheesecake while reading your post/

[tropo]

2 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

I had a cheesecake while reading your post/

LOL> my favourite. I had sticky rice and mango.

[JohnDyson]

Chin ups and inverted rows underhand grip work the biceps and forearms a lot whilst giving your upper back a great workout.

[tropo]

2 hours ago, JohnDyson said:

Chin ups and inverted rows underhand grip work the biceps and forearms a lot whilst giving your upper back a great workout.

Simon is a lightweight, so perhaps chin-ups are OK for him, but for most people, chin-ups are not a very good exercise choice. Few people have sufficient chin-up (or pull-up) strength to be able to perform a good, solid 10 rep set in perfect form, meaning only low rep sets can be performed, which can quickly lead to over-training and injuries.

 

For me personally, I've messed around with chin-ups and pull-ups of all types over 40 years and finally gave them up as a bad job. Due to bicep tendon overstress and injury my arm size took a hit. If you hurt your joints (elbows or shoulders) in any way, arm size will suffer, along with any other muscles attached to them.

 

Inverted rows is a fantastic exercise though. I recommend a neutral grip if you can set it up that way. I use rotating handles. Use a grip where your strength is maximized. More back strength will lead to more arm size.

Edited September 12, 2018 by tropo

[simon43]

Yes - chin-ups and pull-ups are OK for me, (60 Kg weight).  After 3 months of gym work, my trainer has adjusted my set of exercises/weight routines to build on what progress I've made so far, and to introduce specific work-outs to target certain muscle areas where little seems to be happening...

 

It's all going fine.  At the end of October I relocate back to Thailand (Mae Sot) and will join a gym to continue my training/exercise routine.  Sadly, the Thai soi dogs may put an end to my daily cycle rides....