40-ish.com

Putting the ish in 40-ish!

You are here: Home / Archives for 40ish

Low Testosterone?

by Leave a Comment

Time for a few minutes of no BS info on being 40-ish… If you are 20-ish, this article probably isn’t for you.

Just read a great article about Low Testosterone in Time Magazine!

For anyone attempting to turn back father times effect on your body, you should take the 10 minutes to read it.

I know you’ve seen or heard the ads for Low-T or low testosterone for guys or hormone replacement for women. If they are pumping that much money into ads, you know it is a big industry.

One tip though – don’t try to read it while you’re walking on a treadmill…. either exercise or read – not both. Especially if I am waiting on your treadmill and you are at level 1.3! That is for another post so that’s all about that for now!

Taking the ‘Test’ – Pass or Fail

Very interesting change that is taking place among our 40-ish population. There are so many 40-ish and 50-ish men and women who [Read more…]

Manscaping, Landscaping, and Pie

by Leave a Comment

Forgive me, but I am “That Guy”. In case you think you know what this article is about based on the title, you are probably right. If you are easily offended or don’t like reality and a little “R” rating then this post, and probably this site, isn’t for you. If so, then carry on…

Yard of the MonthDriving home through our beautiful neighborhood and I pass a sign that reads “Yard of the Month”.

No doubt the person earned it! Endless hours spent in the yard pulling weeds, watering, mulching, planting and all of that crap… Or they paid someone very well to do it for them, but let’s assume they did the work since I’ve seen them out there… a lot!

I guess some people see yard work as relaxing or a form of exercise. I don’t. To me, it is a necessary weekly chore. I’ll get my exercise in the gym or running down the street. The yard work is just a few extra calories burned for me – bonus calories…

Landscaping the business

This got me thinking about what if that person (yes, I’ve seen them out there and they do need it) spent more time working on physical goals.

Then, just as quickly, my brain took a sharp right turn and I thought of a funny scene from American Pie where Jim’s father is teaching him about female anatomy. I still laugh when [Read more…]

Healthy Pancakes?

by Leave a Comment

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Pancakes with BlueberriesI walked in the kitchen this morning and found my better (and fitter) half whipping these up.

My son had a friend over so I thought she was making them breakfast since I know SHE doesn’t eat pancakes or even much flour – have you seen her abs?

Luckily for me, she has been looking around for great, healthy recipes… and she definitely found one!

A Healthy Breakfast?

One word… Awesome!

Although it is a distant second [Read more…]

Excitement, Workout Motivation, and… What do You Bench?

by 1 Comment

If you have worked out for any length of time you have asked, and been asked, the most common question in lifting… “So… How much do you bench?” You almost expect to hear it in the gym. Maybe even on the street like this funny video where Men’s Fitness asked guys what they could bench and then suprised them with a bench to prove it.

Everybody loves the most common exercise in the gym – flat bench with a barbell. THE bench press. Nobody walks into the gym the first time and looks for a decline bench or pec deck.

Why? Probably because it is so common almost everyone including non-lifters have heard of it and seen it. There are entire contests devoted to it. Even the NFL combine uses it as a measure for all positions.

Simple, fun little test… Walk up to the biggest guy in the gym and say [Read more…]

Are you too old for that?

by Leave a Comment

Heading into the weekend and nearing the end of the school summer break we thought we’d try something new and motivating! With college and pro football fast approaching you’d think it might have something to do with that and you’re right AND wrong!

Today we are highlighting a 40-ish mother of two who you may have seen on the news recently.

She suffers from an incurable kidney disease… That is not why she was on the news.

Cheerleaders

Kriste Lewis shows the world that chasing a dream at any age – especially 40-ish – is worth all of the hard work and it certainly took a courageous step!

Kriste Lewis 40 year old Cheerleader for New Orleans SaintsKriste will be joining the New Orleans Saints as a 40 year old Cheerleader this year!

Following a motto of “Have Focus and Fun” has led her to the Saints sidelines and she will certainly be an inspiration to many this year. You can find a few more details on this People article.

Focus & Fun

Her motto is simple… Focus & Fun.

A good reminder to us all when it comes to our individual fitness [Read more…]

Calves… Tour de France or World Cup?

by Leave a Comment

So we all have body parts that we struggle to control, grow, or define. Right? No, just me? Ok, stop reading here.

For those of you who do, I can relate. I have two body parts I really struggle improving – abs and calves.

Abs I’ve discussed before… So, what brought the calves up?

Cristiano Ronaldo legs, calves, absI watched some of the World Cup and some of the Tour de France recently and my oldest daughter walked in during both with roughly the same comment. Those guys are lean and they have great legs! Dad, you need to run / cycle!

Lance Armstrong CalvesOUCH! On two accounts. One, freaking me out a bit with her commenting on the guy’s legs. Two, I know what she meant.

I naturally have smaller calves. I know it and I work on them pretty hard. Not hard enough evidently.

Would I swap my chest and arms for their legs? Uh, [Read more…]

Eating well on the road

by Leave a Comment

I am going on another 4 day weekend trip – now before you get all Jeally (that’s cool Dad speak for Jealous using the kid’s lingo) it is just to Knoxville, TN for my youngest daughter’s Southeastern swimming championships at the University of Tennessee’s aquatics center.

Southeastern Swimming4 days of sitting for a few minutes of swimming…

And, TOTALLY worth it! Seriously, I love watching my daughters grow into fit, strong, competitive young women.

The countless hours of practice, early mornings, late nights and tired bodies are easy to justify when you see them get up on the starting blocks for an explosive swimming start or make an approach to attack a volleyball.

Wait, that still sounds like fun other than having to see all that Tennessee Volunteer orange. And it is.
Tennessee Swimming and Diving
However, I am starting a new program for nutrition and [Read more…]

Staying fit on the 4th

by Leave a Comment

4th of July Fitness goals4th of July. That can mean only one thing…

Summertime is officially here!!!

It’s time to kick back and have fun celebrating our nations birthday with fireworks, parades, picnics, grills and BBQ.

And let’s don’t forget the tasty beverages. You can try to resist, but Frank the Tank needs to get out of his cage every now and again.

Once it hit’s your lips….it’s so good!

Here are some tips on how I plan to survive the BBQ without regret:

  1. Get active early and stay active all day.
  2. Throw some lean meat and veggies on the grill
  3. Skip the chips, crackers and bread
  4. Keep the dessert to a minimum
  5. Think before you drink… stay away from the sugary drinks and stick with wine or beer.
  6. Drink plenty of water

3 steps to control your appetite

If you are around a pool, lake or beach this holiday weekend, try this three step approach to control your mind generated cravings:

Step 1 – Remove shirt (this applies to both 40-ish men and women…assume women will be wearing a bikini top)
Step 2 – Look at abs, or lack of abs.
Step 3 – Now look back at the bag of chips and see if they are still appealing
Bonus Step 3a – if those chips do look appealing and you decide to indulge, use the bonus step – Check to see if anyone of the opposite sex looked when you took off your shirt. Note level of interest or utter disgust and level of eye burn they exhibit. Now think again fat boy.

See you at the pool!

Image is Everything!

by Leave a Comment

I don’t know why this has been a recurring theme today, but the “Image is everything” is everywhere I look… If you don’t know that phrase you probably aren’t 40-ish.

Background just in case, and for some nostalgia, of a fun time for athletes of the day… In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Andre Agassi and Cannon Cameras teamed up on a very successful advertising campaign featuring Andre with some wicked hair and a new Canon EOS Rebel.

Do a quick image search for Andre and you’ll know that the camera line lasted a lot longer than his hair. Irrelevant, but funny.

Workouts, shoes, and Workout Partners

It started bright and early this morning at the pre-dawn workout… My workout training partner and I were doing some pulldowns and a very large human who works out at [Read more…]

40ish Men vs Women

by Leave a Comment

Women with 6 pack absI would venture to guess that most 40-ish men fit the common core of America… married with children and long hours in the office.

During our off time we spend time with our children and wives and have very little “me time” – I hate that phrase BTW. Straggle into any gym at 5am and you’ll find the 40-ish man sacrificing sleep to squeeze in some “me time”.

We all know 40-ish women have it easy… right? They are typically not the breadwinners in this generation and have all day to sleep in, do their nails, eat BonBons, drink red wine, and watch Ellen and workout at their leisure.

40-ish women have it easy!

JK! Nothing could be further from the truth!

From my perspective (That Guy), the 40-ish male may have the stresses of providing for a family financially(maybe half, maybe more or less now), and most likely die earlier due to that, but the 40-ish female has that and the additional stress of everything else… not to mention having to deal with the 40-ish male!

I saw this interesting video on male vs female perspective…caution it is PG-13 or maybe R rated.

Thankfully, I am one of the few lucky ones and married the most beautiful, kind, and understanding female on the planet… not to mention the most fit 40-ish female I have ever seen. I wish I had her abs!

Interesting what I find with the two sexes perspectives:

Let’s not forget that if it were up to men, there would be no more children. To put it into perspective, I can’t think of any man who would ever volunteer to pass a grapefruit! I’ll trade all my stress over childbirth any day of the week.

So guys….put your violins up, suck it up and remember how good you have it! And remind your fitty better half of that fact!

40-ish wives… remember we are not that complex beings….food, shelter, sex….that is it!

Here’s to all of us 40-ish humans getting/staying fit. Now let’s see if I can get to my wife’s ab level before the beach in a couple weeks!

Leave a comment below and let me know how right/wrong I am :)