Our Physical Fitness

I am 56 years old. I do not have an exercise regimen. But for decades I've worked in IT, and the most recent jobs (before my current one) I had to do a lot of walking -- the place I am currently working, the data center is 500 steps from the office, so if I had to connect a cable, at the very least I'm getting 1000 steps in.

I have diabetes. My numbers aren't great, but I've known people who have worse numbers. I take several medications for it. Recently, my doctor was concerned with some swinginess in my numbers sometimes, and is trying to get me off of one of the medications in particular. To do that, she prescribed me Ozempic, which is also used for weight loss.

Since I started taking it, without trying, I've dropped weight. Like, a lot. I'm down 30 pounds since I started. I'm 6'0" and weighed between 220 and 230 pounds most of my adult life. And I've tried to keep eating to keep up my weight, because I've been getting increasingly concerned.

A few years ago, my data center job was made redundant, but I was immediately hired by another department in the same company to be a systems administrator. This is a sedentary job. I will sometimes be sitting at my desk for the full eight hours a day.

I've become very concerned that all of the weight I lost is muscle. I've never been particularly muscled, but working with heavy computers, moving them around, walking all day -- I felt these things were keeping me at least fit. Now...

I have a two-year-old at home. She is super-active; I'm convinced she's going to be into some physical hobby, like dance or gymnastics or martial arts. I'm considering doing some simple stuff with her to keep myself in some shape beyond pear...

Tuesday Push
Tuesday, July 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM

Overhead Press (Smith Machine)
Set 1: 115 lb × 12
Set 2: 125 lb × 12

Incline Bench Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 135 lb × 10
Set 2: 135 lb × 12

Triceps Dip Machine
Set 1: 205 lb × 15
Set 2: 205 lb × 15

Lateral Raise (Machine)
Set 1: 85 lb × 13
Set 2: 85 lb × 15

Chest Fly (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 45 lb × 14

More of the same with slight bumps in reps and weight. Drop sets and alternating lyes, etc. I’m working out at the university gym, and it’s already picking up despite the beginning of the school year being 3 weeks away still. I think it’s going to be hard to do consistent exercises in a consistent order here.

FrogReaver said:

Current update I’m now at 187 lbs. Though, the last week or 2 I’m definitely seeing much slower progress.

Just as a reminder, started at 240 back near the start of February.

Click to expand...

New update. At 183.2 lbs.

Also my A1C dropped from 11.9 to 5.5 (back in normal range) over the last 6 months. No medication, just diet and exercise.

RealAlHazred said:

I am 56 years old. I do not have an exercise regimen. But for decades I've worked in IT, and the most recent jobs (before my current one) I had to do a lot of walking -- the place I am currently working, the data center is 500 steps from the office, so if I had to connect a cable, at the very least I'm getting 1000 steps in.

I have diabetes. My numbers aren't great, but I've known people who have worse numbers. I take several medications for it. Recently, my doctor was concerned with some swinginess in my numbers sometimes, and is trying to get me off of one of the medications in particular. To do that, she prescribed me Ozempic, which is also used for weight loss.

Since I started taking it, without trying, I've dropped weight. Like, a lot. I'm down 30 pounds since I started. I'm 6'0" and weighed between 220 and 230 pounds most of my adult life. And I've tried to keep eating to keep up my weight, because I've been getting increasingly concerned.

A few years ago, my data center job was made redundant, but I was immediately hired by another department in the same company to be a systems administrator. This is a sedentary job. I will sometimes be sitting at my desk for the full eight hours a day.

I've become very concerned that all of the weight I lost is muscle. I've never been particularly muscled, but working with heavy computers, moving them around, walking all day -- I felt these things were keeping me at least fit. Now...

I have a two-year-old at home. She is super-active; I'm convinced she's going to be into some physical hobby, like dance or gymnastics or martial arts. I'm considering doing some simple stuff with her to keep myself in some shape beyond pear...

Click to expand...

You can get a ton of steps in if you go for a walk on your breaks and whatever time you have left after lunch. Even if it’s just inside the building. 30 mins of walking even at a slower pace is probably like 2000+ additional steps every day. It adds up fast.

Mannahnin said:

I've been pondering a bit and I'm thinking of adding an overhead press to my main exercises to get a bit more focused shoulder work. Might try that out tonight.

Click to expand...

Monday night I did get in. Dumbbell benches were all taken so I grabbed an incline press machine next to an overhead shoulder press machine (the latter was occupied), did three sets of inclined chest press, three sets of machine overhead press, and three sets (plus drop sets) of lat pulldowns.

Also being disciplined about my morning exercises. Though doing them sucks sometimes, It does seem like my lower back and hips feel better throughout the day.

The weather has also been a nice temp to have breakfast on the porch the last couple of mornings, so I've gotten that little bit of extra fresh air and morning sun recently. Last summer around this time I was getting up 20-30 minutes earlier pretty often and walking in the park. Might try to bring that back.

RealAlHazred said:

I've become very concerned that all of the weight I lost is muscle. I've never been particularly muscled, but working with heavy computers, moving them around, walking all day -- I felt these things were keeping me at least fit. Now...

I have a two-year-old at home. She is super-active; I'm convinced she's going to be into some physical hobby, like dance or gymnastics or martial arts. I'm considering doing some simple stuff with her to keep myself in some shape beyond pear...

Click to expand...

I think that's a great idea. There are a number of good options, and at this stage in life you're absolutely going to see a great return on your investment of time and effort in terms of overall health and feeling good if you can make some sort of exercise a consistent habit.

Just taking some weight off like you've already been doing should help with your sleep, joint health, blood pressure, and overall longevity, so that's a significant win to celebrate right there.

More walking like you've mentioned could definitely be good. What I would suggest is adding some form of resistance training, whether that be some mild calisthenics or light dumbbell exercises at home, or joining a gym and using some free weights or machines. Any muscle you build at this age will have noticeable quality of life benefits, and it'll be easier to add now than it will be later in life.

I'm 7 years younger, and while I did some casual athletic activities in my teens and 20s and a little bit of calisthenics, I never really worked out until I was 45. I had the good fortune to have an old friend who was getting back to the gym recruit me to do it, and he was my accountability buddy and my coach on proper form and techniques (though I've since just used YouTube vids a ton for those). We started with just a half hour, three times a week (Tue and Thurs after work, and a quick session Sunday mornings), which meant the commitment and time/effort investment were low. Consistency is huge for seeing results, and for me the first key to consistency was making the barrier to entry as low as possible. Small effort. Quick sessions. Make it easy, so you can make it a habit.

This video resonated a lot with me, and I wound up sharing it with my dad and others. The second section is about what to expect and what benefits you can get if you start lifting between the ages of 40-60, but I found the whole thing pretty motivating and inspiring, even if it's a bit "bro-ey".

RealAlHazred said:

I am 56 years old. I do not have an exercise regimen. But for decades I've worked in IT, and the most recent jobs (before my current one) I had to do a lot of walking -- the place I am currently working, the data center is 500 steps from the office, so if I had to connect a cable, at the very least I'm getting 1000 steps in.

I have diabetes. My numbers aren't great, but I've known people who have worse numbers. I take several medications for it. Recently, my doctor was concerned with some swinginess in my numbers sometimes, and is trying to get me off of one of the medications in particular. To do that, she prescribed me Ozempic, which is also used for weight loss.

Since I started taking it, without trying, I've dropped weight. Like, a lot. I'm down 30 pounds since I started. I'm 6'0" and weighed between 220 and 230 pounds most of my adult life. And I've tried to keep eating to keep up my weight, because I've been getting increasingly concerned.

A few years ago, my data center job was made redundant, but I was immediately hired by another department in the same company to be a systems administrator. This is a sedentary job. I will sometimes be sitting at my desk for the full eight hours a day.

I've become very concerned that all of the weight I lost is muscle. I've never been particularly muscled, but working with heavy computers, moving them around, walking all day -- I felt these things were keeping me at least fit. Now...

I have a two-year-old at home. She is super-active; I'm convinced she's going to be into some physical hobby, like dance or gymnastics or martial arts. I'm considering doing some simple stuff with her to keep myself in some shape beyond pear...

Click to expand...

My thought is review that concern with your doctor because it’s likely the case that you are losing a good deal of muscle just due to the caloric restriction caused by the medicine. I don’t know how many calories you are taking in now, but shifting more of the calories you take in to protein may help, and yeah, doing sort of weight training will also help.

Mannahnin said:

Consistency is huge for seeing results, and for me the first key to consistency was making the barrier to entry as low as possible. Small effort. Quick sessions. Make it easy, so you can make it a habit.

Click to expand...

I'll just echo this. I know people who dive into fitness stuff head first and try to do everything "right." It doesn't take long to crash out. Making one or two small changes and being consistent with them turns them into habits, and habits are by far the most effective approach.

Look for low hanging fruit. Do that thing for a few weeks, find the next fruit.

@RealAlHazred, if you want programs, diets, etc., there are a lot of smart and kind folks in this thread who would be dreadfully excited to share.

Mannahnin said:

The second section is about what to expect and what benefits you can get if you start lifting between the ages of 40-60

Click to expand...

I've been out at a family reunion this week. One of my uncles is low 60s, has trained hard for 20+ years and looks incredible.

He is on a lot of pain killers to keep the train going but I mean he literally could out work his kids, me, my kid, and probably all in the same day.

I've been swimming, playing tennis, hikes, but no gym.

Wednesday night I got in and did four sets of overhead shoulder press (machine), and two sets each of dumbbell bench and dumbbell seated inclined curls (the latter with drop sets, as usual). Had to cut it short to make a friend's birthday dinner, but felt good about getting in a bit of work.