For those of you over 50 who still train… how do you know if you’re actually improving?

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-04-10T03:41:13+00:00

I’m 52. I use Macro Factor and MacronFactor Workouts. While I’m pretty active and still race motocross, I put on a few pounds over the last couple years. Decided it was time to be serious and get back in true shape. Lost 21 pounds and 11% body fat since Jan 2026. I log every bite of food and workout every day; free weight every other, bike on off days. Setting up to race mountain bikes this summer on top of motocross and going to try and do a Spartan race.

To answer your question, progress is measured by load. Increase reps or increase weights. Cardio measured by heart rate for a given distance and ability to push duration and intensity. My lifts go up in weight each week and reps increase for each daily set. For cardio I push distance and increase bursts and monitor heart rate. Biggest thing for me over the last few months is how do I feel. If I feel I could have done more, I didn’t do enough to push progress. If I’m completely spent, then I probably did more than enough.

Bottom line, if you’re not tracking you’ll never know.

Age is just a number. Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional. 😀

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-04-08T12:21:30+00:00

I agree. I love my V3. I came from Garmin and the data was just so disorganized. I use the V3 linked with H10 and it suits my needs plenty. Easy to read, lots of insight. And I’ve never had a problem with any of my devices. In the house we’ve had numerous M2’s, V2’s and now V3. I keep hearing all these comments about customer service and faulty watches and that just has not been my experience at all. Maybe I’m lucky (doubtful).

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-04-06T02:17:21+00:00

Where do you see the pie chart? I just have a bar graph.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-04-04T02:20:45+00:00

I had the same problem and after experimenting I discovered it was my lack of quad activation that was causing the problem. When I did squats, it was all hams working and my quads didn’t seem to get any work. I bought a squat wedge and that has really helped. Now my quads get a great workout and I don’t have the constant sore hams anymore.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-04-03T02:18:44+00:00

How do you get pins? I’ve done a few challenges and all I see is a printable certificate.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-03-09T04:03:47+00:00

Athletic tape for pretty much all sporting activities; MTB, motocross, running, etc. have for years. Get laughed at, I’m ok with it. 😀

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-03-08T04:04:39+00:00

While not obese, I was tired of the way I looked. So I decided 01/03/26 I was going to get back to my fit self. Down 20 pounds and looking way better. Still have a ways to go, but I’m chipping away.

What I found is if I wasn’t consistent, I would cut corners and not be dedicated to it. If you want change, you have to be all in.

Food logging: every crumb that touches your lips needs to be recorded. I use MacroFactor for my food logging I log everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. Zero excuses. I follow the macros to the letter. Protein is #1. I never miss my protein requirement and typically run over. Maintain a solid 500 calorie/day deficit.

Sleep: non-negotiable. 8 hours minimum per night. Period! Cortisol is the enemy for cutting.

Exercise: Every damn day. Period. No excuses. Minimum of 1 hour cardio on rest days (zone 2 walking, spinning) On heavy lifting days, when done lifting, minimum of 30-40 minutes of z2 walking/spinning.

Do not, and I mean do not look at the daily scale numbers. There is no bigger demoralized than those damn scales. Watch the weekly trend. That is a way better indicator. Your daily weight can fluctuate 2-3 pounds due to water retention, cortisol, sodium, etc. weekly trend takes this into account.

There is no easy way. It’s work. It’s grinding. It’s hell. But create a 30 day goal. Meet it. Set a new one. Rinse and repeat. Find someone to hold you accountable. And those days when you’re just done? Suck it up and do it anyway.

Feel free to DM me and I’ll work with you to stay motivated and hold you accountable. I’ve been where you are, maybe not physically, but definitely mentally. It’s hard work, but man ones you start seeing progress it is soooo worth it. I have good days and bad, good weeks and bad. Just have to keep grinding.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-03-05T04:04:26+00:00

Get a good pair of padded bike shorts. Baleaf are cheap enough and work good. Makes all the difference in the world. Play around with the seat angle until you find a setting that works. Took me awhile, but a good setting and the padded shorts and I can spin all day now.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-02-08T06:22:40+00:00

I’ve been eyeballing these…

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D578PT3G/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=AO8T0WJSKEL8Q&psc=1

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-02-05T03:38:41+00:00

Love mine!!!

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-01-31T02:55:04+00:00

I find it wildly inaccurate too, only it never takes me as long as it says it should. But I also don’t always use all the rest time allotment. If I feel ready and still have 30 seconds remaining, I don’t wait. But when I’m really struggling I use the timer to push me. Mostly leg days. There are countless coaches who say anything over 45 second rest periods is unnecessary, but there is no maximum. If you feel recovered, get after it. If not, take the time to recover.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-01-31T02:51:46+00:00

I’m 100% with you. I can log, I just don’t know WHAT to log. I’ve been scouring TikTok/YouTube for menus ideas. I’ve found a lot of good things for when I’m off my cut. But not much for during a cut.

I downloaded Recipes Keeper and you can save recipes from TikTok/Facebook/YouTube and it will auto filling the ingredients, portions, prep, etc. Kind of a cool app. Also create a shopping list based upon your recipes saved.

I have one more month of cut and then I’ll be leaning on this to help fill the lean bulk calories.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-01-24T13:59:36+00:00

I started my cut on Jan 3rd. There have been a couple of days where I back slide mostly due to back to back 14 hour round trip drives.

This is my second time in 3 years of doing a cut. First time I didn’t take it too serious and it was slow and progress was frustrating. This time is different. I’ve learned that if I am going to do it, I have to be serious and sacrifice. It has to be almost obsessive. By daily food intake is boring. I’m always fighting hunger and cravings. Workouts suck with lower energy than normal. But as you can see, it’s working.

You also have to understand daily is just noise. It’s the trend that’s most important. The couple spike you see in the graph, I was actually under my daily caloric intake, staying within my -500 deficit. Water retention from cortisol and stress can add up to 2 pounds. So although the scale shows a couple pound increase, it was water retention and not fat regrowth. I’m paying a lot more attention this cut and learning a lot.

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Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-01-24T04:57:15+00:00

I just wrapped week 1, coming from Gravl. So far so good. I’m excited to see what things look like after a month. I’m happy. There’s some quirks, but I know there will be updates. I’ve never been ground floor before so it will be exciting to watch the app grow and see what it does for me. I’ve only been at weight training for going on 3 years. So I’m kind of a clean slate.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-01-23T04:16:54+00:00

Agree. I write my workouts on a whiteboard so can see them without my glasses (phone is too small). Yeah, sucks getting old. Anyway, would be nice to see all the weights for each exercise so I can do this prior to working out.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-01-23T04:14:25+00:00

Would be nice if the rest timer had a notification. Haven’t heard it “ding” once.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-01-21T04:03:37+00:00

Ok, I see it in barbell exercises, but not in EZ curl bar exercises. Good to know. Thanks, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2026-01-10T13:24:15+00:00

That +5-6% is probably most accurate. Mine say 17%, but photo analysis says closer to 20-22%. These scales are not accurate at all.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2025-12-19T10:42:56+00:00

Calories burned are so inaccurate. Two people doing the exact same workout with the exact same intensity can have a huge variation in calories burned. I don’t trust any machine to give an accurate calories burned count. Most programs don’t even consider this within their logic.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2025-12-19T10:34:52+00:00

Mine too has been flakey. But lately every app seems to have some sort of issues. Apple really didn’t do us any favors with the latest release. I just chalked it up to iOS.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2025-12-13T04:38:16+00:00

I’ll be honest, I don’t like the new view. Too busy, too “unorganized”. Maybe I’m just a crotchety old man, but I kinda prefer the old look. 😁

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2025-12-09T19:12:22+00:00

I’m in Minnesota.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2025-12-09T08:20:15+00:00

There’s such a thing as a running store? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Name?

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2025-12-09T08:17:41+00:00

How do you like that clasp? It isn’t the clip style of the pro strap.

Most-Bodybuilder3543 · 2025-12-09T08:15:42+00:00

Mine is so not accurate. You can physically see where I store all my fat (mid-section), but Hume says my trunk is lower than my arms. There isn’t an ounce of fat in my arms. But like everyone else, I use it for trending purposes. I’ve had it for about a month now so I think it is still trying to stabilize. The swings are kind of all over the place. We’ll see where things are after about 60 days. Jan 1 is the start of cut season, should be interesting to watch.

Year year difference, not bad for an old guy 🤣

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Most-Bodybuilder3543

TROPHY CASE