I just saw a lower number on the scale than I’ve seen in 20 years, and I’m neither dehydrated nor nude. I rock! My cheat food this week was vanilla Chobani — I love its creamy, custardy, tartness plus it’s zero fat.  Yogurt gives me hot flashes like a motherbear but only if I eat too much at one sitting.  I’ve changed my eating habits drastically since my previous carcass eating lifetime of  processed and fast food.  I tied cause to effect and, one by one, stopped eating the foods that my body couldn’t handle — for me, that was fats and processed foods. Now, each year since 2005,  I find myself being led to more healthful food and lifestyle choices, and working out a little more each year.  I’m younger and healthier now than I was 10 years ago.   I feel my diet has sent me back 20 years. 

At the advice of noted fitness trainer Cindy Cox-Ruccolo, I just added  some fish oil supplements to my regime, as well as Glucosamine Chondroitin & MSM for the joints.  I’d posted on FB that I hear a crunching sound in my right elbow area as I do a triceps kickback even without weight, but had no pain, no discomfort.  Cindy had commented “Sounds like Crepitus.  Crepitus is a symptom characterized by a crackling, crunching, grating feeling/sound under the skin, in the joints. In soft tissues, crepitus can be air or gas that has abnormally penetrated and infiltrated an area, in the soft tissue. In a joint, crepitus can indicate cartilage wear in the joint space.  We are not Dr.’s.  If there is pain, you should see a Dr. asap.”

Cindy is the sister of a longtime friend, and she’s a professional bodybuilder as well as a licensed and certified personal trainer.   Cindy is an old school trainer, it’s resistance training using no machines, no weights, just your own body.  She’s 48 with the body of a 25 year old.  I did her sequence last night of lunges, jumping squats and weightless deadlifts – it got my heart pumping and got me out of breath in short order. I did sets off and on all evening so I can increase my endurance.  My muscles are barking today.  That means it’s effectively working out muscles I need to work out.  I will definitely do this sequence on a regular basis.  It really works the major muscles.

And I can do this at home, alone, no weights, no machines?  Bring it!  Now on days I can’t get out to the gym, I have the perfect at home routine.  All I need is 30 minutes and 6 feet of floor space.   I wonder what my body will be like this time next year? My thought is I’ll be a clean, lean, healthy fuel burning machine.

Glad I dressed for the gym because it got me there
The home fitness room expands
Working out as soon as I wake up works best for me
I join Planet Fitness the day before Thanksgiving
Hereinafter “Ab Day” will be Core Strengthening Day instead