A few weeks ago, I noticed that some of my pants were getting a little snug around the waist. Not all of them, and not even most, but enough to draw my attention. I'll admit it. I having been exercising as much over the winter as I should have been. I also haven't been watching what I eat as closely as I should, either. For comparison's sake, let me detail just one exercise. As recently as two years ago, I was able to do a unilateral floor press with a 120 lb. dumbbell for four-to-six reps, minimum. Yes, I used my non-working hand to self support, but this still put my 1RM for the bench press in the 250 lb. range. Very respectful. I used similar, comparative weights for other exercises and body parts. However, I haven't used that weight in a fairly long time. It all started during last year's lockdown. I was planning on adding extra lifting sessions to help fill my otherwise empty schedule. My plan was "working out" (sorry, bad pun, but worth it), until the Easter power outage. After that week, I just started to lose interest and energy to exercise that much. By last fall, I rarely used anything heavier than thirty pounds for any exercise. In fact, over the winter, I usually used five or ten pounds for any lift. I was having trouble sleeping, leaving me too tired to do much more than a minimum, token work-out most days. Consequently, I guess I put on a little weight. At least all the worrying and pacing I did helped out. (Pacing is just walking, and walking is exercise, right?) Anyway, I started to progress back to my max lifting weights again. As of this week, I am back up to ninety pounds for my floor presses, for ten reps. I am using about the same amount for other large muscle groups, and about half those weights for smaller one. Most of my training still is comprised of light weights though. I train thoroughly, but safely, since I'm working out at home and not a gym. My pants have already started to get looser. However, I been noticing bigger changes with some of my shirts. Some of them are refusing to stay tucked in my pants. More so, many are getting loose across my stomach and tighter elsewhere. Namely my chest and shoulders. Yes, my chest in sticking out more than my tummy. Not all the time, but it is happening more frequently. Sure, sometimes it is only for a short time a day after a great session. but it is still a great feeling. Any time a man my age has a bigger chest than stomach is a great day. And I have something else to admit. I flex my pecs sometimes for pictures, or just to look more impressive. They're not that big, yet, although I strongly suspect that I would have the right body type for great development, if I just ate clean and worked out all but non-stop, but every little detail such as that can build confidence.
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