Natural bodybuilding is a type of fitness competition and training philosophy that emphasizes the use of proper nutrition, resistance training, and body-friendly practices to build a lean and aesthetically pleasing physique. Unlike traditional bodybuilding, which often relies on performance-enhancing drugs and synthetic supplements, natural bodybuilding prioritizes the use of whole, nutrient-dense foods, as well as safe and effective training techniques to achieve results.
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Air squats are my go-to for cardio since I injured my heel, I have not been able to run. We do one hundred air squats during our 2.5-mile walk. We stopped at the lake on the way back and after walking about 2 miles. After the air squats we continue our walk, which is about a half a mile.
1000 Air squats at home
The video below is me doing air squats at home. I was supposed to work out my legs with my dumbbells, but I was tired, so I decided to make it a light day and do cardio at the same time. I got this idea for doing air squats a long time ago from a UFC fighter named Ken Shamrock. He was one of my favorites back in the early days of UFC. Shamrock stated that for cardio he did 500 air squats a day. I was in shape back in those days so when I tried to do the 500 air squats, I was able to do them after one week. The video below is me doing me air squatting at home as a substitute for leg day and to get cardio in. I did 1000 air squats below in my bedroom filming it with my Samsung S21 Ultra. I apologize for the background noise and any interruptions.
1000 air squats at home
2012 I did heavy weights, but my form was wrong. My legs are not big but certain exercises I can go heavy.
It’s been 2 weeks since I got serious about my working out. I did my at home workout at least 12 times so far. I started on January 26th, 2022 and took a video of my first workout. Please excuse the amateur video, background sound and interruptions. I will get better at these videos. These videos are for my tracking and to see my progress. I will be mixing up different exercises and using a pill up bar with dumbbells for my workout.
First video of my workout done on 2/26/2022
Second video of my workout done on 2/28/2022
Walking a few times, a week for fat loss
Walking is my go-to exercise to burn additional calories. I walk with my wife at the back of where I live. The walk is a little over 2 1/2 miles and on the way back we stop by the lake and do at least 100 air squats.
Air squats by the lake during our walk.
Workout progress
It has been 14 days since I started this training and I dropped from 196lbs to 185lbs. I lost both some body fat and muscle. I realize lifting heavier weights increases muscle, but I am working out at home and my 35lb dumbbells are all I have. The pull up bar does help, and I did incorporate the bar, but I have not taken a video of those workouts yet.
What is the best way to stay in shape after 50? The answer for me is the path of least resistance. The exercises, lifestyle and eating habits that give you the most progress with the least effort. We all need to be careful after 50 to avoid injuries while training our body. I have injured myself many time doing things that I should not have done correctly or just plain stupidity.
Curtis Matthews at 204lbs and 54 years old.
The picture above was taken a few months ago when I heard about a new trend that started with guys like Will Smith. He is working on transforming his dad’s body at 50 plus. I cheated in the picture above as I did a few pushups and dumbbell presses to pump myself up. This was the best picture of the set, all the others pictures I took I look old and out of gas, a fat 50-year-old in denial.
I am a stepdad so I thought I could jump on the band wagon and learn something on my journey that I would be able to share. I do not have a gym membership anymore. My wife and I stopped going at the beginning of the Covid19 thing. That would be around February 2020 we canceled our membership at Anytime Fitness.
My exercise regime will mostly consist of walking and some home equipment. I have 25lb dumbbells and acquired a pair of 35lb dumbbells on Offer Up for $30. I also got a pull up bar from Walmart for $25, push up stands $10 and $10 floor mats.
My home workout is a variation of the workout below which is sort of a PHA/ HITT workout. HIIT workouts generally combine short bursts of intense exercise with periods of rest or lower-intensity exercise. PHA training or peripheral heart action training
A Extended PHA workout below is done with four round of each group done with rest the going straight to the other group and doing four rounds. That’s 16 sets per group and 64 sets after doing all 4 groups. This is done without rest and a minimum of 10 reps per set.
Group 1Leg press, seated dumbbell press, crunches, pull downs Group 2Curls, leg lifts, press downs, seated calf presses Group 3Leg extensions, cable rows, leg curls, peck dec Group 4Incline dumbbell presses, calf raises, dumbbell shrugs, hyper extensions
I do a form of these exercises above with my dumbbells since I do not have access to most of the equipment above so below is my dumbbell version of the workout.
Group 1 Goblet squats, bent over dumbbell rows, Standing dumbbell presses , Sit-ups Group 2 Dumbbell Curls, Sit-ups, Dumbbell Presses on the ground, standing calf raises with the Dumbbells in my hands Group 3 Dumbbell deadlifts, Bent-over dumbbell side rows, Straight leg deadlifts, Dumbbell fly’s on the ground Group 4 Pushups or lying dumbbell presses, dumbbell shrugs, standing calf raises, sit-ups
I do a minimum of ten reps per exercise and twenty for the light ones like standing calf raises, shoulder shrugs and sit-ups. The whole workout takes me close to an hour to complete all sixty-four sets.
Walking is part of my routine.
My wife and I try to walk at least three times per week. The trail behind where we live is about 2.4 miles round trip. It is great to get the fresh air and to be in nature outdoors.
These are the 2 Anytime Fitness locations we have been using and checking in at 9602 W Linebaugh Ave, Tampa, FL 33626 and 2522 McMullen Booth Rd, Clearwater, FL 33761
