<p>I’m picking up my brother’s bench and some of his weights this weekend. Trying to decide how high I should go with the weights. I know I don’t want to bother with his heaviest ones, but I could use more for goblet squats. Right now I have a 15# and 20# kettleball, and 10 and 15# dumbells. I’m pretty sure he’s got barbells I can take too. Any suggestions for how how this 55 year old is likely to go?</p>
<p>mathmom, free metal - how nice! Personally, I like to use my 15-pounders for bicep curls etc. 10-pounders are good for t-push-ups and other exercises where bigger weights would put too much stress on the geezer bones. 
Anything larger than that would be of little use for me.</p>
<p>I’m having bench envy.</p>
<p>mathmom:</p>
<p>I would say that going up to 30 or 35 lbs in 5 pound increments would be reasonable if you aren’t having to buy them. The 30 to 35 pounders would be good for farmer’s carries, 3-pt rows, and maybe goblet squats, maybe single leg deadlifts. The heaviest I have ever used is 60 pounds, but I use a pair of 50s pretty routinely for farmer’s walks, etc.</p>
<p>I almost never use a barbell. I don’t think barbell lifts are great choices for us “middle-aged” folk. In almost all cases, the DB versions would be more appropriate. For example, DB bench press is a better and safer exercise than barbell bench press. An argument could be made for barbell deadlifts, but that is a bit of dicey exercise for the lower back.</p>
<p>So, I would carry home a heavier set of DBs than a 45 pound barbell…</p>
<p>With a nice forecast, I had planned to sneak out tomorrow for a short winter hike at a state park not too far from here. Until somebody posted a trip report from hiking in the park today with descriptions and photos of [glare</a> ice](<a href=“http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3755/11846513865_98d7ef6ecc_c.jpg]glare”>http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3755/11846513865_98d7ef6ecc_c.jpg).</p>
![http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3755/11846513865_98d7ef6ecc_c.jpg]glare](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3755/11846513865_98d7ef6ecc_c.jpg%5Dglare){kind=link}
<p>No thanks. Life is too short (and wrist bones too fragile…).</p>
<p>All I can say after seeing that photo is :eek:! You are smart to skip that one, idad.</p>
<p>Showed the photo to Mr B. his reaction, “Is this a frozen stream?” LOL</p>
<p>Idad, you could always skate
Too bad you’re there not here. My “lone wolf” trail is barely broken, let alone iced…then again, the warming trend may mess that up but the snow is so thick it should still be good for a crunchy trek!</p>
<p>On the question of DB’s, one of the dilemmas, depending on the person and the exercise, is that after 15 lbs, they usually come in only 5 lb increments. A solution (if you are not interested in buying fully plate loaded DBs that are like miniature straight bars) is to buy 2 1 and 1/4 lb end cap plates that attach to each end of the DB.</p>
<p>35 minutes on the treadmill (walking) and then weights. I’m staying with the “running every other day” thing, at least for a while. I had started doing that when I first tried to get back to running – easier on my aging knees, etc. One thing I know for sure – my muscles will be reminding me it was NOT a good idea to take this long a break from the gym … Oh well, I’ll survive.</p>
<p>I actually did go for a walk on the beach yesterday. I’m trying to do a (digital) album of weekly photos of the beach from the same spot. It was frigid, to say the least.</p>
<p>Okay – what are healthy, satisfying options when it’s cold?
I typically walk the 3 miles to & from work – but when it’s in the teens or single digits, healthy eating goes out the window – I want a burger w/ chili cheese fries.</p>
<p>I’ve been liking lentil soup a lot lately.</p>
<p>Had an exhausting day yesterday. Did my hour water aerobics class at the gym at 9AM, then met my personal trainer for an hour at 11AM, then went straight to PT! A nap was a welcome relief in the afternoon, and I even fell asleep about an hour earlier than usual last night. </p>
<p>Got some more exercises I can do from my PT, and at this point, we’re going to cut back to about once a week as long as I stay on the progress curve. Am getting very tempted at this point to cut back the Celebrex to once a day to see how the hip responds.</p>
<p>Funny story from yesterday. Since on Wednesdays I go straight from one gym to another gym where I meet with my trainer, I take a change of clothes, including my gym shoes. Forgot them when I left the house yesterday morning, so I came home (just enough time to do that) to get them in between gyms. While I was at home, I let the dog out and got distracted, and yep, forgot the gym shoes again! So when I got to where I was meeting my trainer, and got out of the car, I realized what I’d done. All I had on were my Uggs. He laughed when I told him what I’d done and said, “Well, instead of losing 15 minutes for you to go home and get them, let’s just do upper body stuff today.” And that’s what we did. But I certainly felt a little foolish being in this gym working with a trainer, in my Uggs!</p>
<p>Way to roll with it, terriwtt.</p>
<p>Trainer and swim for me. I will be sore from the trainer. The swim was a weird drill in which we swam normally for six strokes, then swam and kicked hard for six. Oy! Harder than it sounds. </p>
<p>I am free to return to spinning today after some time off. Yay!</p>
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<p>Why not just wear the same clothes to both gyms and when going between them (other than when in the pool)? Then you would have less chance of forgetting something, and spend less time changing clothes.</p>
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<p>If you are normally on a low-carb diet but eat Halloween candy and other non-low-carb stuff, you may experience several pounds of water weight gain during that time.</p>
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<p>Soup?</p>
<p>Cold weather food options:
Do the chili dog/fries in a better way. Turkey sausage or turkey italian sausage with some homemade chili on top, no bun.<br>
Toasted sandwiches on whole grain bread or rounds with meat/cheese/veggies.
Baked sweet potato warmed in microwave and topped with dried fruit, nuts and a little sweetner (honey, maple syrup)</p>
<p>^^^^ Mmmm. Comfort and health. Gotta love it. Thanks.</p>
<p>Turkey chili in the crockpot as we speak … H will turn up his nose because it’s turkey, not beef, but I’ve made it before, he’s eaten it, and we all survived! Earlier in the week I made fish chowder.</p>
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<p>It’s possible, but I don’t typically eat super low carb. I’m around 100 grams per day.</p>
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<p>Hamburger is not a bad choice for healthy eating. Even better if you can bring yourself to ditch one (or both) sides of the bun.</p>
<p>Cheese fries are pretty comprehensively unhealthy. I try to get a side salad or substitute some veggies. Or, just get a side of chili with your burger and skip the fries. Chili is pretty healthy. Worst case, I think onion rings may be better than fries.</p>
<p>^Expat, a fav of mine is a beautiful black bean soup with maple bacon. Yes, it’s not low fat…but it is pretty low calorie as a meal considering how satisfying it is…and good amount of protein.
[Black</a> Bean Soup Recipe : Dave Lieberman : Recipes : Food Network](<a href=“http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/black-bean-soup-recipe/index.html]Black”>http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/black-bean-soup-recipe/index.html)</p>