I'm in my 30s now and naturally I have a bigger upper body frame and more body fat, I'm never going to look as lean and ripped as I was in my late 20s, especially with still having a bit too much sugar in my diet. But having said that, my upper body has built more size and power and I think that's the look I'm happy with going for now - gone are the days of shredded abs and now the stockier look.
My legs are in great condition and having that one year rest from competitive running and the full marathon distance has helped my legs recharge. They were feeling drained and now I feel that they are rejuvenated, I'm feeling good in the gym and my lower legs (calfs etc) are looking in great condition again, only time will tell though if how I feel is true when I run my first race for a year - the Leeds Half Marathon on 13th May.
There's no doubt I feel I have lost a lot of that explosive speed and energy that I had in my legs, particularly in the last two years I have lost something special in my legs, I would maybe go as far as saying 'I have lost my pace' or 'my legs are declining', but despite that I still have that natural ability in my legs and I feel I am able to show that in glimpses still but not consistently.
The last 6 months to a year, I've realised that when playing football I only seem to produce these moments of explosive speed and my dribbling ability in glimpses, where as at my peak I was producing these moments to a much higher level, against a much higher level, consistently and at will. I do think a lot of my drop in my physical performance and appearance is because I am not as dedicated to training, playing competitive football and running as I was a few years ago but if I am honest, I've been there, done it and worn the t-shirt and I'm not sure I have that same desire in my life at this stage to dedicate myself to achieve certain things in sports and fitness.
My core strength is something that has always been naturally strong in my body. I'm still working on my core strength and stability a lot and my core is naturally very good but I'm working on building more muscle and power up top now, rather than overworking my already strong core area.
I'm not going overboard with upper body weight training though, I like to feel my body is in balance which is why I am also working and keeping up with my core strength. Even when I became unfit over Christmas and winter, I have still maintained the strong abs underneath the body fat on my stomach - which all that sugar and chocolate has caused. I just need to get out running again, which I need to do pretty quick as I have Leeds Half Marathon in May (which I still need to enter) and then my most recent news I am running the 10k in the Corporate Games 2017 for Vodafone in July with my fellow runner work mate Cookie.
I have one general workout which I tend to try and mix it up. As I go to the gym generally 2 to 3 times a week, I feel this works for me at the moment... I could probably do with a better routine of scheduling when I train, but due to work it is hard to go on set days, as although my shift pattern is the same during the week, every week my shift pattern changes, but I work with what I've can...
Routine:
Bicep curls - 3 sets of 20
Hammer curls - 3 sets of 20
Pull ups
Shrugs - 3 sets of 20
Back workout on bench - 3 sets of 10
Lat pull down - 3 sets of 10
Chest Press - 3 sets of 10
Incline Chest Press - 3 sets of 10
Russian Twists - 50
Mountain Climbs - 50
Plank - 60 seconds
Abs session - 50
Extras I add on to different workouts:
Boxing heavy punch bag
Rowing machine
Running machine
Bike
Virtual Classes:
Insanity (cardio, shredded and core)
P90X (core strength, upper body & power)
Thank you for reading & feel free to share my sports blog...
Richard Kennedy-Joyce.
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