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Topless photos on a blog that tends to focus on Panama, personal finance, and life in early retirement?! Jim, what the @#$% are you thinking? You should be ashamed of yourself!
I know, I know… but it needs to be done.
You can close your eyes if you want, but it’s not going to stop it from it happening!
It’s that time of the year when many folks have made a decision, a resolution if you will, to get in shape. For the next few months, the gyms will be packed with people ready to get back on track. Some folks want to lose weight, some want to gain muscle and some a little of both.
It’s a respectable goal and I wish everyone going down that track the best of luck. Unfortunately, by springtime, a lot of those packed gyms will start to slowly work their way back to the regulars who have been there for years.
Why am I bringing this up? Because so many people struggle to keep a workout routine and tend to push it back until retirement… I know I did.
But being fit is such an important piece of life. What good is retirement if you die early from being out of shape?
I’m not some big athlete – just a regular guy trying to just get a little more fit than I’ve been. This post will either give you a little motivation or make you feel better about yourself – it all depends on how in shape you already are.
It’s time to share with you some more topless photos (of me) for you to enjoy! Not only is that probably a letdown based on what you might have been expecting in this post, but it’s also pics of me so that that may sting your eyes a little bit. Good luck to all!
The past few years…
I’m far from being an Arnold Schwarzenegger in his heyday (or even now!), but I’ve made working out a regular part of my day over the past few years. To hold myself accountable, I’ve been documenting this path over the past few years…
- The Lazy Man’s Guide to Fitness
- Early Retirement = Healthier Lifestyle
- Would You REALLY Work Out Once You’re Retired?
- My Home Workout during the Lockdown in Panama
- Here’s Why I’m Liking… The Fitbod App
- Overthinking the Cost of a Gym Membership
I started down the path with exercising every other day at our house in Ohio a few years ago with just some basics (pushups, situps, walking on the treadmill, etc.). When we sold the house and moved into an apartment temporarily, I took advantage of the small gym there and started going 5 days a week.
When we moved to Panama in the summer of 2019, I was excited to have a full gym as part of the Valle Escondido resort where we live. I was on a roll and started going there 5 days a week. Not only that, but we were hiking a lot here and walking everywhere since we don’t have a car. Awesome!
And then the pandemic hit.
That made exercising a little tougher because of the lockdown here. We literally couldn’t leave our condo for months. That was rough. I created the best routine I could with a set of resistance bands I had. I even started bench-pressing my daughter. It wasn’t the best workout but at least it was something.
Eventually, I came across the Fitbod app and that was a game-changer. Even though we were still in lockdown, the app started giving me more variety and better exercises to do. I didn’t know what I was doing (I’m still not great at it!) so being able to see what exercises to do, how to do them, and how many to do of each has been invaluable.
Today, I’m back to using the gym here in Valle Escondido and, after telling Fitbod all the available equipment, I’m back to a great workout. 5 days a week, I head to the gym and get some great variety, along with instructions on how to do the exercises properly.
I know, I know – where are the topless photos?! You’ve been patient so here you are, my friends…
Some topless photos over the years…
I decided to start taking some photos of where I stand a few years ago and I’ll continue to do this every January. This helps me to see any progress I’ve made in working out.
As a word of warning, try not to stare directly at the topless photos or you could go blind. Between my lack of a tan and physique that’s like a combination of Olive Oyl but somehow still managing a dad bod, it’s not the prettiest sight to behold. You’ve been warned.
So without further ado, here are some topless photos over the past three years…
When I first looked at the most recent photo before uploading it, I wasn’t very impressed. I thought it looked exactly the same as last year’s. But now that I’m seeing them side-by-side, I do see a slight improvement over last year. It’s not much, but it’s something.
That said, I noticed that the photos of me just standing there don’t really do a lot of justice. Believe it or not, I actually do have a little muscle tone. Here’s a bicep photo from last year and this year…
I’m no Sylvester Stallone in Rambo that’s for sure. But at least it’s no longer looking like Bugs Bunny’s bicep…
After all this time, I’m now starting to feel like I’m actually making some progress. Working out is almost like investing – it’ll be slow at first, but over the long-haul, you’ll start to notice some solid and steady results.
Now that I’m consistently back at the gym, I think the pace of growth will start to increase as well. My goal this year is to try to be a little more careful in what I eat. After all, working out is only half the battle.
So why share these topless photos with you?
I do apologize if I ruined your day by showing you these photos. I did warn you though so it’s not all my fault.
But I do think it’s important to realize a couple of points:
- Working out regularly doesn’t guarantee you’ll look like some insanely-buff guy or gal. In all actuality, to make that happen you’re going to need to go to the gym and kill yourself for hours every day – it would need to become your life. I’m showing you what an average guy in his 40’s who works out regularly looks like.
- Progress can be made. I’ve always been a scrawny guy. And even though I’m not exploding in muscles, I’m satisfied with the headway I’m making. I don’t expect to look like a major weightlifter, but it’s a little nicer to see some definition in the mirror nowadays.
- Your health is important. A lot of you have been loyal readers over the years and know how much I put financial independence on a pedestal. It took me a long time to realize that there was more to life than reaching the goal. The fact is that while money can buy you the freedom you might desire, it’s not worth much if your health is failing. Getting and staying in shape can be just as vital – if not more important – than accumulating money.
In other words, I share my progression to help hold myself accountable and to motivate others (hopefully).
I met a great couple at the gym probably around the beginning of December. Their names are John and Amy and they’re great people – l love seeing them at the gym. They’re also in so much better shape than I am and either one of them could crush me like a bug… hopefully, they never want to do that though.
John’s a big dude – he actually reminds me a little of this guy… “Stone Cold” Steve Austin!
The reason I’m telling you this is because they’re both tougher than I am (who isn’t?!). But they’ve been at this much longer and put more into their workouts every day. Before they start working out they walk up and down these amphitheater steps… over and over.
We’ve gone up or down these before and that ain’t no easy feat in general. But they’ve hit a total of 10 times before a workout… with up and then down equaling 1! That’s insane but awesome!
It goes to show you though – you get back what you put in. That’s why they’re built like they are and why I… well, you’ve seen the pictures!
The point is that everyone’s different and it’s important to just do something. I use the Fitbod app for guidance and tracking because it works extremely well for what I need. I don’t have an affiliate relationship with them – I just really like the product. You can read my review on it here: Here’s Why I’m Liking… The Fitbod App.
But let’s say you’ve made other excuses in your head like that you don’t want to spend the money on a trainer or an app like Fitbod. Or you don’t want to pay for the gym or don’t have one nearby. Maybe you just don’t have any equipment at home.
My response to that is that I’ve had several readers recommend DAREBEE. As they put it on their website:
DAREBEE is a non-profit free, ad-free and product placement free global fitness resource.
Hard to complain about that! They provide free workouts, programs, and challenges that don’t require any special exercise equipment. There are also mobile apps available to go with the workouts (Android only for now). They even have recipes and meal plans available on the site.
So even if you don’t have or want to spend the money on equipment or know-how, there are some great options available like DAREBEE offers.
The only other excuse you can make in your mind is time. I can’t help you there. We all have the same 24 hours in each day – what you do with each of those hours is up to you. Maybe you’re working and/or have kids. Both of those are very time-consuming.
But most everyone has a little breathing room in their lives. What you make a priority is up to you. You can choose Netflix or you can choose exercise. Maybe waking up a little earlier and squeezing in a small workout is an option. That ball’s in your court. Heck, the DAREBEE site even offers exercises to fit in while at work!
If you’re not in shape right now, know that it is possible to get there. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, skinny or fat, busy or lazy – it is possible. You just need to motivate yourself enough to make it happen.
I hope that next year I’ll be able to share a little more progression with you, albeit at the cost of more topless photos!
Plan well, take action, and live your best life!
Thanks for reading!!
— Jim
This is absolute clickbait! 🙂
I think having a lot of functional strength and mobility is important and it often has nothing to do with what you look like. If you’re getting stronger, getting fitter, you can feel that even if it’s not plainly visible in the mirror. In the end, that’s more important than anything else. Keep it at it buddy!
Haha, you have no idea how excited I was when I thought of this post title months ago, Jim – January couldn’t come fast enough! 🙂
You bring up a good point on the strength side of the equation. I’ll never look like a Mack truck but I can tell a huge difference in how strong I’ve become over the past few years. So when’s our arm-wrestling match scheduled for? 😉
NEVER!
😂
I’ll take that arm-wrestling challenge 🙂
(just let me know when so i can start working out beforehand!! lol)
Haha, maybe we should start an arm-wrestling tournament at some of these personal finance conferences! I’d be out in the first round but it would still be pretty fun! 🙂
We actually had a Pull-Up competition one year at FinCon! I believe I was the first one to go out indeed haha… Ramit held is weight pretty good, as did Jesse from YNAB and he might have actually won it.
That would be fun! I can hold my own with chin-ups (probably around 20-25), but pull-ups… not so much. I’d be out pretty quick! That’s awesome that Jesse won (or got close to it!). Remember the good old days of being able to hang out with big groups of people!😂
Remind me to get you some “wife beater” T-shirts before your next photo array 😀 😀
Haha, you were warned my friend… though wearing a shirt might be a nice courtesy to others! 🙂
John and Amy really? Too funny! They must be great people 🙂
Great work Jim!
Haha, I had to find people with the same names as you and John here in Panama since I miss you guys so much! Hope you guys are doing well!
Nice job Jim. You put the work in and it shows. 2020 was really tough for me. I didn’t work out because my son and wife were home. Hopefully, the school will open soon so I can get back into my routine.
I think 2020 was rough for a lot of folks on the fitness side of things. We were fortunate to already be homeschooling and not have as much change all at once like a lot of people did. Now, that most people have kind of found a decent way to manage the way things have changed though, hopefully, fitness gets put back in the equation. I saw your pull-ups you were doing in the quarantine hotel in Thailand – that’s creative! Like my friend from the gym said recently, “it’s not always how much you’re lifting in the gym, but that you’re doing something.”
My eyes! My eyes! There are some things you just can unsee! 😉
Just kidding Jim! Good job working out despite the pandemic challenges!
Haha, sorry I had to put you through that, Mr. Tako! Maybe one day I’ll get to the point where it won’t burn people’s eyes to have to see this kind of stuff! 😂