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Take a little time to muscle-up

Have you ever wanted a he-man body?

Wouldn't it be great to muscle-up to the point where your shirts start ripping like The Incredible Hulk?

Well it seems that millions of people, predominantly male, are chasing the perfect body and as a result, the "fitness industry" is booming with supplements, exercise programmes, gyms, YouTube videos and more.

However, as someone who has muscled-up quite significantly over the past few years I have to say that much of that "fitness industry" is a sham and I see so many people wasting so much money that it makes me cringe.

Today I'll share some of what I've discovered on my journey to becoming stronger and more "robust" -- hopefully so that you'll consider doing the same and also so that you can avoid throwing your money down the toilet if you do.

First let's look at the common misconceptions regarding exercising to gain strength and size.

Most people are told that you'll need a gym membership and that you'll have to get used to spending three or four days a week in that gym, with each session lasting at least an hour or so -- if you want to see any real changes.

You'll also be told that you need to spend a king's ransom on expensive protein powders, pre-workout drinks, post-workout drinks and fancy supplements.

I call BS on that.

Since I started my efforts to toughen up and fight off the effects of sarcopenia (muscle loss with age) and Parkinson's, I've simply been exercising three times a week for just a few short minutes a day.

Has this worked?

Hell yes it has.

When I started I weight about 90 Kg and my upper arm measured around 14 inches (sorry about the old-school units, I only have a very old tape-measure). Today my upper arms measure in at 15.5 inches (almost 16 if I'm "pumped" from exercising) and I'm more than 10Kg lighter than I was.

I've gone from barely being able to do a push-up to being able to pump out 35 repititions without a break and, on a good day, up to 50 reps with good form (no cheating).

There's no need for me to go to a gym because about 25 years ago I bought a set of dumbells that sat in a corner for over 20 of those years. Now I use them three times a week to perform resistance training whilst saving that gym membership. My only other "equipment" is a cheap frame bought from Mighty Ape for $150 that lets me do pull-ups and dips.

When I started I could barely manage a couple of bodyweight dips and couldn't do a single pull-up. Now I do 15 dips with an additional 20Kg loaded into a backpack and I'm starting to add weight to my pull-ups to make them more challenging too.

The downside of all this exercise is that after a while, none of my shirts were fitting. Even my pyjamas were tight around the shoulders and arms -- to the extent that they were ripping.

Let's be quite clear, I'm no Mr Universe and there are plenty of folk bigger, stronger and fitter than myself -- but most of them are at least 20 years younger.

It is kind of cool to know that when I fall (as I increasingly do thanks to Parkinson's), I'm more likely to "bounce" than to break. On numerous occasions the muscles that now pad my shoulders have absorbed the impact of such a fall and although I end up bruised, I'm not injured and no bones are broken.

How did I get all these "gains", as they're called within the fitness industry?

Well I just picked up some weights and moved them about at regular intervals.

It's really not rocket surgery.

If you go down the rabbit hole that is the fitness influencer on YouTube however, you'll think that it's an incredibly complex process to improve your strength. Every second word is "hypertrophy" and all these Adonis-like figures will tell you to buy their supplements or spend money on their unique training programmes. Every other video claims to have some kind of "secret" or "hack" to turn you into a muscle-monster -- but it's all BS.

Just pick up some weights, do some of the standard exercises such as curls and raises, throw in some body-weight exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups and dips -- and you're done. As you get stronger, increase the amount of weight you use. Ideally you should end each session of exercise by exerting yourself to the point where you can no longer lift the weight.

The body only responds to challenges that are greater than those it normally experiences. By lifting weights you are challenging your muscles and they respond by growing stronger. As that strength increases you have to also increase the challenge -- until you reach the point where you're happy. From that point forward you can simply "maintain" your strength by regularly challenging yourself to the same level -- and that may be as infrequently as once a week.

Unless you are actually looking to compete in some world-class body-building competition you don't need all the crap that the industry tries to sell you. All you need is a willingness to put plenty of effort in for a few minutes, up to three times a week. In fact, once a week will still be enough to provide significant benefit.

I take only one supplement and that's creatine monohydrate (normally just called creatine). I take this as much for its neurological benefits as I do for its help in exercising. It's something the body uses to create ATP which then fuels both your muscles and your brain. It's one of the cheapest supplements around and I found its effects to be quite marked.

If you, like myself, are getting older, I really do recommend spending the tiny amount of time it takes to improve your strength. The effects on every-day life are impressive.

I have far more energy than I used to have, I feel more confident and am happy that I can now do things that could otherwise be too physically challenging for a 70-year-old and it's also great to get the occasional compliment when I'm wearing a short-sleeved teeshirt in the summer months.

The very best thing of all, and something they don't tell you, is that the more out-of-shape you are when you start doing even modest exercise, the faster you'll see results and the more dramatic will be the changes. That, in and of itself, provides huge incentive to continue such exercising on a regular basis and is its own reward.

I invite anyone reading this to set themselves a challenge and give it a go. Even if it's something as simple as being able to do 10 or 20 push-ups by Christmas. You may suprise yourself and impress those around you. I promise you'll feel so much better if you do.

But stay away from YouTubers promising to give or sell you the secrets -- there are none. Don't waste money on senseless supplements, training programmes or gym memberships they're not needed, especially when you're just starting out.

Just put as much effort as you can into a few minutes of resistance training (moving weight -- even if it's just your own body) three times a week and you'll see some changes pretty quickly.

Carpe Diem folks!

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