What I did to prepare for log home construction in middle age

[Ellsworth]

Before going back to the physical work, here is what I accomplished first.

1) Lost over 100 lbs in less than 1 year.
2) Re-learned how lift weights.
My PR: After consistently working out for two years... 1 month = 10 lb muscle gain and 4 lb fat
The weight on the bar is not the PR, rather the PR is defined by the process.

Disclaimers: muscle/fat gain determined via before/after Dexa scans.
100% natural lifter, before and during.
After that period I did try SARMs for a short while (something I would discourage if only because of high risk of contaminated/mislabeled products).

Building your own log home involves hard manual labor.
I'd suggest building your muscles and calluses before you start building your log home.
That way if you never start your build, then you're still miles ahead of where you were.

Edited to add:
That said, we've had members start building at age 70+ (person A).
We've had members keep building at age 80 ish (person B, unrelated to person A).
We've had disabled members successfully build.
Doesn't mean it's easy. It means it's doable by all sorts of folks.

Please share what you did to get in shape before your build started.

[Shark]

Work smart.
Know your limits.
If you need to rent or buy a machine, do it.
If you are feeling tired, stop for the day before you hurt yourself or someone else.

It's harder to pay off a 30 year mortgage than it is to build your own log home.

If you can do it when you are in your twenties, then you can do it when you are in your forties as well, out just takes a little longer and more Advil.

jandjloghome.blogspot.com

[BoFuller]

I started building at 65. I was in pretty good shape. Had several young (twenty something) locals that quit because they couldn’t keep up with the “old man”.
75 now and currently working on back deck/mudroom.
In 2007, at 58, I decided to get in shape and started eating healthy, several years before the log home dream materialized.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[rckclmbr428]

So wheres pics of the build Ellsworth?

[Ellsworth]

So wheres pics of the build Ellsworth?

The current class videos.

[Ellsworth]

My PR: After consistently working out for two years... 1 month = 10 lb muscle gain and 4 lb fat
The weight on the bar is not the PR, rather the PR is defined by the process.

The ONLY reason I succeeded at that perfect month of peak performance, I cheated!

It was the same month Starbucks sold their free-refill drink cup, which was part of my plan.
Buy the cup and get one free drink in the cup per day, all month long.

On day one the Barista said "Oh we don't care about the number, come on in any time and get a free refill."
She didn't even add "Shhhh," it was more like "tell all your friends."

So I ran my program that included one 2% latte every day of the month.

I added an unexpected, unplanned post-work out 2% latte, on most workout days.
(Sorry to Starbucks for that tasty dozen)
It's hilarious to say, "I'm here for a second drink because I was told it didn't matter."
"I'm here for a second refill because I was told it was ok the day I bought my cup."
"I'm here for a second refill because I was told the quantity didn't matter."
I tried a lot of variations.

190 calories per day above the plan for each day I added that second drink.
Around 2000 'extra' calories for the month above what the plan called for.

[1 pound of muscle is 800 calories. 1 pound of fat is 3500 calories]

[Ellsworth]

I'll share how weak I was.


Hard gainer (metaphor for life).
Never broke 200 on bench.
Never broke 200 on front squat.
Did not back squat.
Did not dead lift.
Age: early 40s.


The first year of lifting was at a crappy chain/franchise box gym, lots of progress with cardio, lots of moving weights (I hit 75 lb dumbbell press, 2 working sets of 8-10, I never got above 45 lb after that) lots of mistakes with elbows and shoulders (approx 3 months or personal training with the wrong trainer, a soccer player iirc).
Year two at the real gym, during the first week I got 2 workout days worth of advice from a former professional lifter (A/B from the gym owner).
After a few months, another former professional weightlifter gave me 1 workout worth of bench technique tips. It cleared up all the minor form issues.
My push for the perfect month occured at the starting of year three of lifting weights, but most would consider the first year to be enthusiastically misguided.

In the crappy box gym, exactly one time... 2 huge guys walked in with a big leather duffel bag that they carried with them to each piece of equipment.
It screamed steroid dealers. They never came back.

In the real gym, there were professional weight lifters and some hard core enthusiasts + average gym goers.
No one talked about steroids, but occasionally you'd hear someone mention testosterone replacement therapy.
No illusions, some people there were on steroids but it wasn't the core to the place.

What's the difference between a real gym and chain/franchise gym?
A lot of weight! Jokes aside, it's worth considering.

I did not get huge muscles from those 3 years.
I could not lift a car by the end.
I focused on triceps not biceps, for the function (that's a representational concept).
Biggest visual growth were quads.


Progressive overload.
Time under tension.
Perfect form.
Prioritize (optimize) food/rest.
The intangibles: motivation / focus.


The process made the physical work involved in building a log home pretty easy.