cubsfan

Happy New Year gents! Here is to making $$ and staying healthy! Set some worthwhile goals that are hard - the harder, the better - even if you're an old man: EA7EA09A-4C78-434D-9E8F-0C4B99C475A8_2_0_a.mov

^^^ Hey , it's the same here in America - and getting worse by the day.

Shit - worse than that - the leaches in the government get full pay and work from home for doing nothing basically. These local county & city officials were hardly available by phone. What a scam, they wanted to keep it all going - like a 2 year paid vacation.

^ What's your take on what BAC is doing? Haven't been following the banks much and certainly was disappointed how it took WFC forever to clean themselves up - if they ever did..

This is why you need to stop them.

Nobody wants war. We just don't want to see genocide. And we'd all be a lot safer with Putin in a nice box with his wings clipped. Europe should have led the way - now you got Scandinavia, the Baltic states, etc having to face the reality of an out of control despot. As a group, Europe should have taken deterrence a lot more seriously. Now they have a serious problem. Leaders fail to learn from history once again.

Wow - what happened to the Outdoor Grill business? Competition? Weber used to be king..

^^ Makes total sense.

^^^ Well that is exactly how I see the situation -but not with huge conviction. I just don't understand enough about Russian/Sino relationships. The real downside I see to the ramped up of spending against Russia by the US/Europe is the threat of nuclear war. I don't think anyone can knows what Putin will do - but that will be hanging over our heads forever with Russia as a future aggressor against the world. Might as well put a stop to it now. It ain't going away on it's own.

^^^ Well, you may indeed have a point. How about we destroy most of the Russian military so they don't pose a threat to Europe? Intelligent minds can disagree on how much & how far. In the end, Russia will still poses all it's nukes, which serves as a significant protection against their enemies. I figure we'd both like to see their expansionary aggression capabilities clipped once and for all. We can certainly outspend them, just as Reagan did in the '80's. That's my point.

^^If the US can spend $400B to forgive student loans, they could easily help bury the Russians by flooding Ukraine with weapons. The annual budget for Russian's armed forces is around $65B. The US budget is almost $800B. Together with the Europeans - the US doesn't need to risk lives - is $100B in weapons enough to stop an obsolete military?? Should be. The whole world is best served by destroying the Russian military. Putin will still have his nukes, but we'll still have ours.

^^ Yeah, and if they didn't go into finance, they went into software sales. I know the type.

Russia should be declared a terrorist nation on par with North Korea & Iran. God knows they've earned it with the intentional killing of babies, women & children, the elderly and the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure. Perhaps with Sweden & Finland joining NATO - the Ukraine will eventually make it - and we will be closer to dealing with these terrorists in a fight they can not win. It's good to watch the Ukrainians whip their asses every day of the week.

Old Fogies (and liberals) - check out the 10 sec clip:

I think this sentiment is incredibly important and overlooked. Whether you are in business for yourself or retired. The best thing that I did not expect - was - I don't have to deal with assholes. By and large, having the freedom to deal with only people like or respect is a wonderful thing. When you're young, it might help to plan for such a life eventually.

^^ Hey Dealraker - like I said - there is no special ability I possess at 68 - and unlike Lazarus, I can't and never could dunk a basketball. And I do actually agree with Lazarus - that yoga, stretching and pilates are terrific. Other than that - good sleep & not eating like a moron will do the trick. But @james22 pretty much nailed it with his clip.

^^^ Bingo James!

^^^ Hey man. Believe what you like - seriously. This thread is about ideas & suggestions. And it's not about drinking the kool-aid...I'm doing the program. I'm 2.5 yrs into SS - and it's quite amazing in terms of results. There is nothing exceptional about me - I can tell you that. The process works quite well and the time commitment is very reasonable. The key is to learn to do the lifts properly. It's well set up for older demographics who are properly instructed. It's very easy to measure progress. Of all the training stuff I've done as I have aged (above 40, lets say) - this one has been far and away the most valuable. My experience of doing 30 different gym machines, that don't make you strong - was better than nothing - but never got the job done. Crossfit was really fun too, but your strength peaks very quickly. But here - if you take the time to learn 4 lifts - you use your time efficiently and get much stronger very quickly for a long time. I figure I have 2 more years before I peak.

This is especially for you young guys. Skinny & weak young man, 135Lbs, 5' 10".... 5 months later 180LBs and strong. This shit works.

This notion expressed by @boilermaker75 is so important. Aging can be held off for a long, long time with weight training and a reasonable diet. Everything gets easier. 7 years ago or so, I was a physical POS - and was having trouble with stairs. I couldn't believe it. Loss of muscle mass was the cause. Today, everything is different. I even contracted COVID in February and did not even realize it. About 2 months later, I noticed my sense of smell was gone (still is). Muscle mass definitely helps you deal with illness - as you have significant reserves to draw upon.

Here's your new home gym set-up with the 1 exercise that does it all:

@Gregmal - just for you buddy. Keep it real simple. Here is what I did during COVID when the gyms were closed. I bought a 45 lb bar (Ohio Power Bar), but they are all pretty standard. I picked up weights here and there on FB market place. Got 300-400lbs of weight plates. Bought some horse stall mats for my garage floor (protect the concrete from heavy weights). Bought a couple yoga mats to stretch. Keep it simple & just Deadlift. Why? The deadlift is the easiest compound exercise to learn and you can build MASSIVE strength with it. If you learn to deadlift - you can forget about 12 exercises on the machines in Planet Fitness. All with one exercise. Done. Just do this 1 exercise for 3 months. Period. The deadlift uses ALL your body's muscles except your neck and your head. So gluts, quads, hamstrings, calfs, abdomen, shoulders, arms, chest, and the entire back. The deadlift will trash you completely. It will correct bad posture by building a large strong back. It will build massive strength in your abs (much more than sit-ups). It will tighten your gluts where your pants fit better. If you have any back pain - expect it to disappear in about 3 weeks. Gone. Poof. Here would be a suggested starting point: Start with 65 lbs - 45lb bar & 2 10 lb weights. Do a set of 5. If it's easy, add 5 lbs and go to 75. Do a set of 5. Easy? Add another 5 lbs. Keep repeating. Most dudes will get to 85 or 95 first time. Now when it seems "heavy" - great! That is your "Workout Weight". Your starting point. Say it's 95 lbs - do a 1 or 2 sets of 5 Reps - every other day. Keep going up 5lbs a workout if you can. Don't miss workouts. If you do, then don't add weight. The core of each workout is 5 or 10 Reps at your "working weight" - the rest are warmup lifts to get to the working set. I started at 65 lbs about 4 years ago. This process works. Focus totally on PERFECT form as @Blugolds11 suggested. That will insure you avoid injuries and you'll keep moving up. This is a 30 minute workout - 3X per week. Always stretch & warm up slowly up to your working weight. Your goal is to add 5lbs per workout. At some time, you'll move to 5lbs per week. Eventually, it might be 5lbs per month. This process can go on for a couple years. In 60 to 90 days (if you don't miss workouts) - you will be amazed at the strength gains. In 6 months, you will feel like a new man. Guaranteed.

^ Good to see all the worthwhile comments. This stuff is SO important to mental health and enjoying life. Take it from old dudes like boilermaker75 and me - ANYONE can do this. In careers like investing - proper sleep, increased energy and stress reduction are critical for happiness/productivity. You can do yoga, biking, aerobics - done them all - but real strength training is a game changer (IMO of course) - having done them all for years. LC's comments from his folks is right on the mark - "health is wealth". And don't believe the notion that this is for younger guys. It's actually has the MOST impact and is designed for males & females over 40 (see below). Those are the lives it really changes. However, the biases in our society teach people over 50 that you're finished with muscle building. Nothing could be further from the truth. At this age, when you are strong - everything is easier. One thing that was pointed out by Blugolds - yes - learn how to do the lifts PERFECTLY. 4 lifts ( deadlift, squats, press & bench press) That's it. And you can use the Starting Strength instructional videos to start. It's best to use a coach for 6 months. Big dividends. I did much of it on my own - but attending a 3 day seminar to learn the lifts properly. Life changing stuff. It's like anything else - if you want to learn how to serve in tennis - take some lessons first. 54 year old lady: 71 year old: 91 year old:

I agree with much of the above - family & travel. I do think, however, once the kids are grown up and you've made enough money, then you need to prepare for the 2nd half of your life. And that should be better than the first half. It will require staying strong and staying healthy. In that pursuit, I spent lots of time doing stuff like cardio & CrossFit. Hands down however - the best thing I discovered is weight training via a program called "Starting Strength". The motto might be - If you want to stay out of the nursing home - stay strong. Today at 68 years old - I'm stronger than I've ever been in my life. And I feel 25 years younger. Some of you might want to check it out: Starting Strength I'll plug it by saying - it can change your life. 3X a week @ 90 minutes per workout will do it. Here's a couple of videos.

Yeah, he eats like shit, but never drinks or smokes. Exercises every day and is a fanatic calorie counter. Can't have everything!