Get Out of the Gym and Enjoy Your Life...and Still Be Buff and Fit

My husband and I at
 my son's wedding

I helped spot my husband during his workout yesterday. He did a 1,210lb leg press for 6 reps and I spotted him through the 7th rep. Then he did a 105lb dumbbell press on a fit ball for 9 reps, and 1 more with my help. With very little rest he moved on to do a cable press lunge, immediately followed by another set of dumbbell presses with 75lbs for a "burn set" as he calls it. Then he did heavy pulldowns with my help and went on to do some core exercises. All told, he spent no more than 25 minutes hitting the whole body. Moreover, he will not do another workout for at least 4 days, so he can fully recover for another hard workout. You will learn why when you read his book.

Oh, and he is 58 years old. He still lifts the same amount of weight now as he did for the last 20 years. He has not lost any strength to "ageing". 

I am so used to seeing his workouts and the intensity he puts into it that it is a bit "ho hum" for me to watch. I'll spot him when he needs it, but I am more interested in taking photos and some video clips for marketing purposes. Then I go back upstairs and get my work done. 

However, I had a very different response when I first watched him do a workout...

It was my idea to write this forward for Gregg's book. I thought I might shed some light on what I learned about the importance of Gregg's training program for both men and women, not only after the age of 40 but in our younger years as well. I will say this: I wish I would have met him sooner for many reasons, but I will focus on the fitness health aspect for this writing.

Gregg has finished his 3rd book called Buff  After 40: say no to the "dad bod' and regain your youthful vitality without spending endless hours in the gym. His first 2 books were focused on women's health; Lose the Menopot and Proven Strategies for Losing Cellulite, both on Amazon. You can visit it here. I believe he did those first because so many of his women clients saw such great results.

I met Gregg when I was 47 as a blind date from a friend, not as my personal trainer. At that time, I wasn't looking for a partner or a new exercise program. I was done with that journey on both accounts. My workouts that I came up with on my own were exhausting. I went to the gym after work some times very late, so I sacrificed sleep. I, of course, had no idea how to get the best results from weights or machines. I did not connect with any of the fitness trainers I saw in the gym. They all seemed to have some kind of smug attitude about fitness. Belittling perhaps? So I just read the directions on the machines at the gym, and I rode my bike 25 to 30 miles every other day. On the days I didn't ride, I jogged 3 to 5 miles. I did yoga, which was ok but it didn't make me feel or look strong. I just ate very little food and did the whole counting calories thing that is still in vogue even today, but not looking closely at the labels. I did not really understand what was in the food I was consuming. My results were mediocre, but I was going to be 50 soon so I increased my cardio and decided I would just shop at the health food store. Surely they would sell only healthy and un fattening food right? I was what we in the fitness industry call skinny fat, for I was skinny but had no muscle tone (and a lot of fat that was not noticeable). I still had the belly from my babies which was not going away, even though I had my babies 20 years ago! I had a weak core, and my skin was starting to sag. Anyway I was doing what the experts said and my condition did not get much better, so I assumed I was just getting older and here was not much more I could do about it.

My friend said we should meet, so Gregg called and said he could meet me between appointments. His  personal training studio Bodies by Hoffman was next to a coffee shop. Meet in between appointments? Ok, yet another trainer who is stuck on himself I thought. But I figured he should be great eye candy anyways, so I'll check him out. I got to the coffee shop first, and in comes this blonde, super buff young man. Even his legs looked solid and strong, which is unusual, even with fitness trainers. No "dad bod" on him. I'm just putting that out there because when your dating in your 40s and beyond, that's what you find. I hope that's him I thought to myself. It was! Gregg was 44 at that time. So, yea, great to look at. To keep the story short, we started dating. He of course told me about his training program. I was so inquisitive because he told me he only worked out 2 times a week. He claimed he did nothing else. No cardio, no extra sports of any kind. Only the occasional hike and playing  basketball with his kids. I thought how is your strength training program that good? Here you are, in your 40's and you have muscle and health. You claim you hardly work out and you eat a lot of food it seems. I simply didn't believe him, but as we got closer and spent more time together, I witnessed that in fact he did not do all the activities I did. He really did very little exercise.

Then one day I watched him workout. Oh boy! It was so intense that it took only 20 to 25 minutes. He didn't take breaks between sets, and each set was performed with super heavy weights and difficult to do. He did a 1,200lb leg press! Heck, I didn't know a human man could lift that.  Then he did crazy push ups on a fit ball and chest presses on a fit ball, not a bench. Yikes! I have to say, it was quite a shock to watch him workout like that. You just don't see it very often. I asked him why he only worked out 2 times a week. He said that rest and recovery was just as important as the workout. He continued,  "work hard, then get out of the gym and enjoy your life". 

 I love that. One of the things that is so important to me was to find a partner that enjoyed life as much as me, and not get too caught up with work...or excessive workouts. I guess I was over training and not resting as I should have for good results. I was thus intrigued and I wanted to try his workouts. Maybe I would see the results I wanted. Gregg said I could get my hourglass shape back, a firm core and lose my cellulite, in spite of being in my late 40's. This is very hard for women to do...and yet, this program just may work I thought to myself.

The workouts were harder then any exercise routines I have ever done. I started praying before each workout hoping I would get through it. But he was there spotting me and holding space for me to do well. That's a real trainer friends, which is very different from my experiences in other gyms. There really is an art to personal training. I certainly had no desire for running or biking after those workouts. 

Then came the nutrition piece. Just because a food item says its healthy and packed with this and fortified with that doesn't mean it is a good food item. Gregg and I went Grocery shopping together and I learned how to read labels. The difference between good fats and bad fats. Real foods and processed food. Foods that contain sugar and foods that don't. Better to eat in then out. The difference between intermittent fasting versus starving oneself in an attempt to lose fat.

I did succeed in my goals. Hystrength(sm) is truly the fountain of youth. I personally do a Hystrength(sm) workout training about once every 5 days. I rarely do out side exercise activities unless it is for  pure enjoyment. I learn more about the foods we eat and how they affect us everyday.

The journey for health still continues, but I found my passion. Fitness, working out, how to keep the human body strong, healthy and disease free are now my passion, both to live and to teach. Thus, I became a health facilitator along side him. We own Urban Pump Personal Training Studio together, and I am also a trainer as well.

I encourage you to read this book gain some insight for your self, your partner and your family. We need you beautiful men thriving in your work and play. Certainly devoting less time to working out so you can do more of the things you enjoy or want to learn. Get out of the Gym. Enjoy your life and look and feel great to boot!

Sharon Hoffman