"Can You Help an Old Man"

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"Can You Help an Old Man"

by Brian McAllister
(Fort Smith,Arkansas)

"Hi and good new year to you. My name is Brian and I have 2 concerns. 1) Several years ago, I had lower reconstructive back surgery. How can I work my abs safely and get rid of this "Pot-Belly"? I have started to get that middle age spread. 2) I was on an unmentioned program in the past, eating small meals 5 times a day and working out on the only things I have available to me, a Bowflex and 2 Dumb Bells, but yet can not get back ANY form or strength in the way of muscle building or fat loss. Any advice will be very gratefully used. I haven't done this since I was in the Army 25 years ago."

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"Can You Help an Old Man"

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Ab Myths and More...
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

Hey Brian! Nice to hear from you.

I would be more than glad to help you out. Thanks for posting a picture too... it really helps me know who I am talking to. My parents and my brother love riding. My Dad and Mom both have their own Harley. I never thought my Mom would ride a motorcycle. She asked my Dad to stop a long time ago after they started having kids. But she LOVES it! It's her favorite thing to do by far.

So let me get to your question.

Now, we have a lot to go over if you are ready. I actually have a free online course that you can sign up for that gives you the 21 BIGGEST Mistakes people make when starting back into exercise. You just fill out a form and then you get access to that special section of the website.

21 Biggest Fitness Mistakes

I'm telling you about the course because you should learn about a few of the biggest myths. One of them is about the abs...

Believe it or not... Ab exercises will not get rid of the fat around your belly or midsection. In fact, ab exercises don't do much of anything except work to build the ab muscles which will make your belly stick out more if you build them up without losing any fat.

What you want to do is focus on fat loss... not weight loss, but fat loss. You want to keep your muscle mass and burn the body fat. Most people focus on weight loss and follow some of those popular programs that are simply TERRIBLE. All they do is cause people to lose weight which ends up being muscle mass. They get smaller by losing muscle but they get that 'skinny fat' look because all the fat is still there.

I will definitely get you started in the right direction. Here's a few of the strategies I use to get people the body they want:

- Always lift weights to build muscle and strength. No calorie burning routines or fat loss weight training workouts. Lift weights to build muscle... meaning you lift heavier weight every workout.

Continued on next comment...

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WLC Program Strategy
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

Brian... make sure you read the first comment below. It puts the newest comment first so the one below is the first one.

This is continued from the comment below...

- Use the right type and right intensity of cardiovascular exercise to burn body fat directly from your body. You can burn about 2 cups of body fat per week. So imagine 2 cupfuls of fat leaving your body each week.

- Eat more food overall so the starvation response is not triggered in your body. Use cardio to burn the fat away while weight lifting helps you build muscle. You will never lose muscle mass with the tactics I use.

- Eat the right types of food and the right combinations at the right times during the day so you are building muscle and burning fat 24 hours per day.

- Use Full Body Workouts to get 3 times the muscle building stimulus than most workout programs.

- Increase weight every workout with the best muscle building exercises by decreasing the number of reps over the course of a weight lifting cycle.

- Use a COMPLETE Program that combines weight lifting, diet and nutrition, cardiovascular exercise, and several other components so you get the body you want in the shortest possible time.

For now, sign up for that free course... go through the course, download your free bonuses, print them out, and I'll be waiting here for you.

We'll get you everything you need to get started on the right track.

What type of dumbbells you have? An adjustable set of dumbbells or just one fixed weight pair like 30 pounders?

Thanks again... looking forward to hearing back from you.

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" Mistake # 12 "
by: Brian

O.K. Josh, I am gonna trust you on this. I have been living with Mistake # 12 all of my life and am wondering if and how this is gonna be ANY different. I'm not a rich man and can not afford to lose any more finances. What I have left IS going to my grand-babies. I get so much snail and E mail each and every day saying try this, buy that and to no avail.
Like I said, I am gonna trust you on this "Free Help".

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Someone You Can Trust
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

Brian,

Mistake #12: Not having someone you can go to or trust for information.

If you stick with me, you'll never make that mistake again. I will never lead you down the wrong path. Take my advice, put it into motion, and watch the results you achieve.

Let's start with something you can begin to change right now...

Let's talk about diet and nutrition. Can you tell me a little bit about what a typical day looks like in terms of what you eat?

Did you see the free bonus that came with the course? If you go to the bonuses page, download the "The Foods You Should Be Eating" and print that out. It's only one page and you can keep it in your kitchen or take with you anywhere you need.

Also, make sure to print out several copies of the printable grocery list... use that for grocery shopping and you can't go wrong when combined with the 'Best Food Sources' sheet.

Also, download this too:

Fat Loss Meal Plan

I don't believe in small meals like you said you were doing before. I don't believe in snacks in between meals. I believe in full and balanced meals as you'll find within that plan above.

The strategy I employ with everyone involves eating more food overall compared to other 'weight loss programs' and burning the fat through exercise. You will never be starving on this program.

You can start implementing some of these things immediately.

Let me know what you think and what a typical day of eating looks like for you. We'll get you started on that track first. Then, we'll get you going with Weight Training and Cardiovascular Exercise.

Once you get those things implemented and under control, we can start adding the other things that will make a huge difference too. A little at a time is how we'll implement this for you.

How does that sound? The food you eat makes a HUGE difference, and I'd like to get that squared away first.

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"Weights"
by: Brian

Josh, I have a set of 20# dumb bells and a basic Boflex to work with for now, and where I work, we have finished rolls of paper that I use that weigh @ 40 - 50# to do curls and behind the neck presses. I try to do this 3 times a week.

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"Food"
by: Brian

Hmmm. A typical day for me and food?? Well, ever since I was in the Army, one "meal" a day and it's pretty big and it's mostly at the end of the day, sadly, right before I go to bed. I work from 3 - 11 p.m. which makes it even harder. Other than that, around 2p.m. 2 egg rolls, 5p.m. 2 granola bars, and around 8p.m. 2 packs of peanut butter crackers. And on Sunday is my "cheat" day with Momma and the family usually at a buffet with a salad and some sort of Steak or Chicken based meal with plenty of milk. Oh, and at work I drink lots and lots of water.

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Weight Lifting with the Bowflex
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

I always recommend free weights over machines, but you really have no other options... the dumbbells and the other weights (rolls) you were talking about aren't really options because they are a fixed amount of weight.

All you need for right now is something that can provide an increased amount of resistance over a few month period. The Bowflex will work fine for that.

Now, you need to workout with the Bowflex 3 times per week for 30 to 45 minutes each workout.

A good schedule is Monday, Wednesday, Friday or anything similar to that like Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.

Each workout will be a full body workout:

1) Squats
2) Bench Press
3) Romanian Deadlift
4) Rows
5) Overhead Press
6) Wide Grip Pulldowns
7) Standing Calf Raise
8) Tricep Pushdowns
9) Curls
10) Reverse Curls

Now, do you know how to do all of those exercises on your Bowflex?

Workout 1 Workout 2 Workout 3
Week Sets Reps Sets Reps Sets Reps
1 1 8 1 12 1 15
2 2 15 2 15 2 15
3 3 15 3 15 3 15
4 1 12 1 12 1 12
5 2 12 2 12 2 12
6 3 12 3 12 3 12
7 1 8 1 8 1 8
8 2 8 2 8 2 8
9 3 8 3 8 3 8
10 1 5 1 5 1 5
11 2 5 2 5 2 5
12 3 5 3 5 3 5

There are the number of sets and reps to do with each exercise.

Here's the catch... start out light and easy. Don't start out with as much as you can possibly do. You want to increase the resistance or do better each and every workout in some way.

Your goal is to simply lift heavier every single workout.

Did you get the fat loss meal plan and the food sources sheet? If you follow those, your results will be AMAZING according to how you have been eating...

If you need help with the food part, let me know.

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Printable Bowflex Workout Routine
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

Brian,

Below, you can download the printable Bowflex Workout Routine that I personally designed.

The key is to start with low resistance and concentrate on the muscle groups.

Your goal is to increase the resistance each and every workout on each exercise. By the end of the workout cycle, you will be lifting very heavy weights -- probably even max out the Bowflex machine.

Download it here:

Printable Bowflex Workout Routine

Right click on the link above and 'save target as' to any location on your computer. Then open it and print it out. Keep a log of each workout in a notebook so you know what you did the previous workout. Then you'll know to lift heavier the next workout.

Any questions on anything?

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"Huh?"
by: Brian

Sorry Josh I am a very simple minded man. Can you explain this??

Workout 1 Workout 2 Workout 3
Week Sets Reps Sets Reps Sets Reps
1 1 8 1 12 1 15
2 2 15 2 15 2 15
3 3 15 3 15 3 15
4 1 12 1 12 1 12
5 2 12 2 12 2 12
6 3 12 3 12 3 12
7 1 8 1 8 1 8
8 2 8 2 8 2 8
9 3 8 3 8 3 8
10 1 5 1 5 1 5
11 2 5 2 5 2 5
12 3 5 3 5 3 5

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"Food"
by: Brian

And, before "old age" sets in and I forget, what is the grocery list that I am to use? Sorry, I hafta know, I am the cook in my family and need to know what ingredients to use...

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Brian, Here You Go:
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

Brian,

I am going to put the links to the documents you need. Just right click on the documents below, save them to your computer, and print them out.

And the previous comment about the group of numbers is explained in the document below also. It's just the number of sets and reps to complete at each workout.

Here you go:

Bowflex Workout Program

Fat Loss Meal Plan

Printable Grcoery List

Best Food Sources

Let me know if you have trouble donwloading them and if you need further explanantion of what each document will do for you.

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"Simpleton"
by: Brian

Sorry Josh that I keep bothering you with such simple and dumb questions. But, I just have to know all of this so I can be around, GOD willing, just a little while longer to stay and play with my grand-babies.
So, with all of this new information, what would you suggest for an approach for my daily routine: wake up @ 7-7:30 maybe 8a.m. at the latest, leave for work @ 2:oop.m., work from 3:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. and then finally get to bed @ 1:oo - 1:30 a.m.
What do you suggest, 'cause I really would like to start this on this coming Monday and really hit this hard.....

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Daily Schedules
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

Ah, no problem Brian... that's what I'm here for. I'll help you with anything you need. I want you to be here for your grand babies too. And you will be. You're going in the right direction.

Before we get into each daily schedule, what days do you usually work during the week? Is it the same each week? Monday thru Friday?

And do you have Microsoft Excel on your computer? If so, I will make you up a daily schedule on a spreadhseet that you can look at... and print out and keep with you. After a few weeks, it will become second nature to you and you won't need it any more.

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"Thank - You"
by: Brian

Thank - You, Oh So Very, Very Much. You have no idea just how thankful I am. Thank-You, Josh, Thank-You. I have Open Office to do all of my spreadsheets. My son suggested it to me 'cause it was "free". See, even he knows how frugil I am.
I work, Monday - Friday, 2:30 - 11:00 p.m. Saturday if I can, is for me to riding, fishing, hunting, or whatever else keeps me out of trouble. Sunday is for Momma, our kiddos, and Grandkiddos. Lots of play time!! I am up usually @ 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. And in a nutshell, that's pretty much my routine. Except for the eating, which is, 2:00 p.m. 2 egg rolls or a chicken sandwhich and a green tea, 5 ish 2 granola bars, and 6 or 7, 2 packs of peanut butter crackers, and around 11:30 ish, a hamburger, no pickles.
Again, Josh, Thank-You so very much for helping out an old man....

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Your Daily Schedule
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

Hey Brian... you are very welcome. No problem.

Yes, I always recommend Open Office... I actually like it much better than Microsoft products. I still use Excel on certain computers, though.

You can download the zip file below to your computer, unzip it, and open it with Open Office. It is an Excel file, but Open Office handles it just fine.

Take a look at it... and if you know how to change things around, you can adjust it to your needs. Based on what you have told me, that is the schedule I would use. I would even try to get to bed a little earlier. You'll see what I recommend including meals, workouts, etc.

Here it is: Daily Weight Lifting Schedule

Let me know if you need help adjusting anything. I will be glad to help you.

Use your meal plan sheet from the posts below to help you plan the meals shown on the schedule. And let me know if you need help with anything.

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"Thank-You"
by: Brian

Super! Great!!
Thank-You Josh!!! Now, I do have the weekly workout schedule that you gave me. Mon, Wed, Friday are the workout days, How, where, and what weight do I start with?? Sorry, I said I was a "Simpleton" and Old....

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"Workout"
by: Brian

Do I incorporate all of the exercises, all 10 of them with each workout day??

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Try This...
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

Yes, all 10 exercises should be done each workout.

The best way to approach the resistance to use for each exercise is to just start out light for each exercise... you will start out with different weights for many exercises.

Just start out easy... you have plenty of workouts to increase the weight... always try to increase each workout. You don't want to start out heavy and then have trouble increasing the weight. The important thing is that you increase the resistance over the course of the next several weeks.

I wish I were there, and I could tell you by watching how hard each resistance is for you... but this one you will have to do by trial and error. Start out light and you can't go wrong... you can always increase at the next workout if it was too light.

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"Update"
by: Anonymous

L R
Quads 24 1/2 24
Calves 15 1/2 16
Forearms 12 1/4 12 1/2
Arms 12 1/2 12 1/2
Arms (flexed) 14 1/4 14 1/4
Shoulders 50 1/2
Chest 42.5
Waist 38
Weight 209.8
Height 6.0
Body Fat % 27.7
Age 46

O.K. Josh. Here we go. These are the latest mesurements as of this morning. I hope that this gives you some idea of how this old lab rat looks right now. I have always had a high metabolism and in fairly good shape. Building my legs was always easy. Spent many years running cross country track and martial arts plus the Army. Upper body, HA! Not so easy. I Am Hoping you can change all of that, PLUS, get rid of this ugly "pot belly"...

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"P.S."
by: Brian

And Yes, I DO WISH YOU WERE HERE TO HELP ME....

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You Will Definitely Get Rid of the Belly
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

Brian,

You will definitely get rid of the belly... no worries there. It will soon begin to disappear.

Great job on the measurements... Those will be your baseline measurements.

Each week, weigh yourself on the same day at the same time as soon as you wake up. Sunday morning each week would work well. And the waist measurement is a good indicator of losing body fat. If your waist measurement is going down, you are losing body fat... even if it's by a small amount.

If you keep me updated here, I will help you make decisions that will continue to help you make progress. Just let me know whenever you have questions... I will be more than glad to help. Would love to hear how your workouts are going too.

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"Hopeful"
by: Brian

Again, Thanks Josh. Other than here, I know we don't know each other and I am still thinking about #12. Hopeful, yet skitish. Willing, yet worried. Trying, yet wondering. And, IF this does work, and I could afford it, I just dont' know how I could ever repay you for all of this.
Please, keep me in your prayers on this. I am gonna need all of the help I can get....

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No Matter What You Do...
by: Josh -- Author WLC Program

Just continue to try to make progress each day. Here are some things you can try to improve on each day, each workout, each meal, etc:

- Cut out all other drinks except for water

- Drink plenty of water... about 1 gallon per day.

- Lift heavier weight or do more reps every single workout.

- Burn more calories or go further or go harder during every cardio workout.

- Eat higher quality of foods each meal.

- Only eat the best sources of food each meal.

- Get 8 hours of sleep each night.

- Always set new goals for yourself. Reach them, reward yourself, and then set new ones. Shoot for the stars with every goal that you set.

The strength will come, the muscle will come, and the fat will go away. All you have to do is try your hardest each day to get better in everything that you do. And it's perfectly fine to mess up every once in a while... just strive to get better after that.

That's all. And you will turn everything around.

And I'll be here to help you along the way. And I need no repayment... that's what I'm here for. I enjoy helping others... that's my reward. This stuff will work... you can trust me on that.

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Just Checking On You...
by: Josh -- Author WLC System

Hey Brian,

Just wanted to check on you and see how you're doing...

Is everything going okay?

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"So far, So good"
by: Anonymous

Hey Josh. How are You and Yours??
Sorry that I haven't been here in a while. Work calls constantly.
Well, for now, I have gotten down to a weight of @ 180. Give or take. I now have a basic #110 free weight set. Not really seeing much progress in size, but I am seeing some improvement in strength. I would love to see some gains in mass someday. (HOPEFULLY.) Any suggestions? Would love to look good when I ride my new motorcycle out to California in June for my son's wedding....

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Weight Training Program
by: Josh -- Author WLC System

What have you been doing for your weight training program? Exercises, sets, reps, schedule?

Do you have any other equipment that you've added besides the 110# weight set?

How about your diet now? How has it been going?

To gain some size while losing more body fat, your weight training program needs to include a good plan for progression. Your diet needs to include a lot of healthy foods so your body always has what it needs to build muscle. And then you need to burn some extra body fat with cardio.

So...

I recommend 3 weight lifting workouts per week. Full body, lower rep workout program. A 3x5 program works very well but you need the right equipment... hence the question about the equipment you now have.

I'll set you up with a new weight training program once I hear about your equipment.

As far as healthy foods. I would eat once every 3 hours throughout the day. You need to be eating a calorie surplus so you can build muscle but not a HUGE calorie surplus. Strive for about a pound of weight gain each week along with progression in weight lifted during your workouts.

The cardio will help you burn body fat while gaining muscle. I would start with 3 cardio workouts in week 1... preferably first thing in the morning on off days from weight training. Then, add more cardio sessions as needed to increase fat loss. If results are great, leave everything the same for the next week. Go week by week. If everything is going good, make no changes... unless it's an addition of good food to continue muscle gain.

I will help you along the way if you post your results each week and keep me updated on what you are doing with respect to weight training, diet, and cardio.

Always remember for gaining size: the most important thing you can do is increase the amount of weight you are lifting every workout. In order to do so, you start out with light weights and stop short of failure. Then, you can continue adding weight to the bar and gaining strength each week. You will be able to continue adding weight to the bar AND you will build muscle as you eat enough healthy foods to gain about 1 pound per week. That's all there is to it.

If you aren't eating enough, you won't build any muscle. Simply eat more while you are making progress in the gym and the gains will come.

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