This photo was taken on September 15, 2016.  Exactly 28th months into my Get Fit Journey. Couldn't believe that I'm in the best shape of my life at 54!  The past 28th months has been an amazing journey!  I learn a lot about the importance of fitness and balanced diet.

Lately, I have been getting more and more fitness related questions from friends and social media. The most popular questions are the typical "What is your workout?" and "What do you eat?"  Actually, more questions on my diet than the workout and some even questioned me how am I able to stay lean and still eat normal food!

Well, I keep my 'diet plan' very simple and it works for me.  I never count calories and macro.  On weekdays, I eat as clean as possible, but on weekends, I eat normal food.  Too much food restrictions will not work because I'm a foodie :)  However, I'm also doing all the necessary training to burn the excess calories.  It is all about finding the balance and constantly reviewing and making the necessary adjustments to meet the lifestyle and fitness goals!

Looking back from the early days of my Get Fit Journey (28 months ago), I can divided it into 3 phases in terms of the diet and types of training.

1. Inception to month 18th - Performed 100% body weight exercises because I didn't go to the gym.  I workout in the park or any clean floor.  Major workouts are dips, pullups/chinups, pushups and squats.  I workout 3-4 days per week with no diet control what so ever.
2. Month 19th to 23rd - Perform 70% body weight exercises and 30% free weights.  I started to workout in the company's gym 5 times per week.  I also started to control the food I take and reduced the sugar and high sodium intakes.  I also skipped dinners few times per week.  Basically, I practiced "caloric deficit" on weekdays to lose body fat.  
3. Month 24th to 28th - Perform 60% body weight exercises, 20% free weights and 20% machines.  I workout 5 times per week with 1 optional active rest day.  Eat clean on weekdays and normal food on weekends.  I have the most muscles mass gained during this time frame because of the extra loads/weights.  At the same time, I was able to reduced more body fat due to more consistent clean diet.  The end result is more ripped physique. 

Below are the typical food I eat on weekdays:

For breakfast - 3 boiled eggs; instant oats + bran + sesame powder in hot water; 1-2 slices of bread with PB/jam/olive oil spread; coffee.


For lunch - salad with canned tuna in water OR red beans/green mung beans puree; fruits; sweet potato.  Below is my typical lunch salad with my favorite Kwepie Roasted Sesame Dressing.


For dinner - vegan mixed rice; soup; or salad.

For supper - 1-2 times per month on weekends.

* I don't take any protein and muscle enhancement supplements.

That said, what works for me may not work for you!  I'm able to burn a lot thru my type of training.   Genetics also play a huge role.  Your body may react different, and have different results.  If you want my opinion about cardio vs resistance training in terms of fat loss and toned physique.  My answer is RESISTANCE TRAINING!    

My name is Fred Kwong and I'm 54 years old.  I started my #getfitjourney a little more than two years ago and I am physically fit to perform few pushups :)   My friend had challenged me to participate in this #22kill doing #22pushupsfor22days.  I am very honored to be able to participate in this worthy campaign.  Feeling blessed!

Below are my videos:

Many individuals over 50 (maybe over 40...) abandon the idea of getting started on a fitness/muscle-building program, but at this age, strength and health are even more important!

As you get older, you may start to believe that you are 'past your prime' as far as muscle building is concerned.  The natural anabolic hormones/testosterone in the body are starting to slow down and this is just going to make it harder and harder to gain the lean mass you're looking for.

In some cases, individuals who are over 50 may abandon the thought process of getting started on a fitness/muscle-building program entirely, deciding instead to focus their efforts on something else in life where they think they will stand a better chance for success.

This is unfortunate because, despite the fact that your body is growing older, there are still plenty of things that you can do to take your physique to the next level.

Adding lean muscle mass to your frame at this point in your life could be even more beneficial than someone who is in their 20s or 30s because aesthetics aside, that muscle is going to help you maintain an active lifestyle into the latter years.

Individual over 50 do normally see a dramatic drop in lean muscle mass unless strength/resistance training workouts are being performed.  So it is vital that even if you have never weight lifted before, you now take the time to start doing so!

Trust me, treadmill running alone is not enough!

Please check out the video in Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdnO7cinJKc

When it comes to core workouts, no exercise beats the plank in terms of effectiveness and time! Plank challenges the entire body and burns more calories than a traditional crunch.  It's also much easier on the back and can help prevent injuries.

My 1st plank was about 8 months ago and I clocked less than a minute!  That was kind of discouraged isn't it?  :(  Occasionally, I tried to plank again and had noticed that I can plank longer and longer as my core strength increases.  But I never get serious about it because I don't think planking is fun :(  The longest plank I was able to do two months ago was 4 minutes and I thought that was pretty good for a guy like me :)

Close to a month ago, I noticed a fitness guy, "Matt", in IG that planked for 10 min 30 sec!  WOW!  that completed blew my mind!

Inspired by him (#30dayplanchallenge), I thought I gave it a try!  Why not?

He suggested me to start with 4 min 30 sec, plank 3 days straight, rest a day, add 30 seconds and repeat.

That was how I got started!    

The most important reason to maintain proper form during exercise is injury prevention.  In addition, proper form is the best way to get the most out of your time and your body.  When we align the body properly, we optimize its power and its strength.  Therefore, we work less and achieve more!

Few things to consider:

1. Think about what muscle or muscle groups are you targeting with each exercise?  And once you begin the exercise, do you feel those areas being workout?  If not, then adjust either your alignment or the weight you have chosen.
2. Don't compare yourself to the person next to you, compare yourself to you last week/month.  Have you achieved more?  Are you getting stronger? 
3. Using proper pace and control movement to ensure that your muscles produce force throughout the whole motion, avoid using momentum!  You will recruit more muscle fibers and get a greater benefit from each exercise. 

1. Position yourself with a bench behind you perpendicular to your body.  Grab a hold of the bench at its edge with your arms fully extended, shoulder width apart.
2. Put your legs straight out in front of you up on a bench, just resting your heels on it, and perform the exercise.
3. Keep your elbows in close to your body as you lower yourself until there is a 90 degree angle formed between the upper arm and the forearm.
4. Then push your torso back up using your triceps to bring your body back to the starting position.
5. Try to do 3-5 sets of 20 reps and your triceps will thank you :)

Fast push ups
Fast push-ups are technically easier to do than slow push-ups, though they work on other aspects of your fitness. By quickly doing push-ups in quick succession, it is closer to a cardiovascular exercise than a strength training workout. Naturally, this also burns calories and fat faster as well.
Slow push ups
Slow push-ups forces your body to slowly carry your body into a low position, and to slowly carry your body back up to your regular position.

Please do not compare me to a guy that is half my age with 16" arms :)  That is not my fitness goal!   My fitness goals are "Health" and "Lean Physique", definitely don't want to be hyooge!  99% of my workouts are using my own body weight (165lbs).  Plus I don't take protein and muscle enhancement supplements.  I eat real food :)

I don't need a fancy gym that filled with expensive equipment and weights to workout. All I need is a small clean area to get a fantastic cardio and strength training in 60-90 minutes, 4-5 times per week.

Try this Spider-Man push-ups for an added challenge to your routine.  This is one of my favorite compound exercise that works on multiple muscles groups.  Give it a try!

Working out under the sun is the best, sweating like crazy and getting free Vitamin D :)


Moved into the air condition gym to finish up my workout with ABS and core exercises.  I like to workout alone because there is no unwanted distractions and stress free :)

"DO IT BECAUSE THEY SAID YOU COULDN'T"

I never thought that I could perform Standing Ab Wheels Rollouts few months ago.  Guess what? :)


This is another great ABS and core workout that I like. Start with full plank position and move your knee to touch your elbow (same side or opposite side 'twist').  Engage your ABS and do it slowly with control speed.  Another more challenging version is <Spiderman Pushup>

This is the best spot for decline push-ups, it is higher than the typical bench height and thus increases the difficulty.  Diamond decline push-ups is more challenging than the standard decline push-ups.


During the push-ups days, I usually perform the incline push-ups at the end because they are the easiest and I do it until failure to completely worn out my chest.  Incline push-ups targets the lower portion of the pectoralis major which helps improve the function of moving the arm to and from the center of the body. 



Count how many seconds can you hold in this position :)


Don't know what is this called but it is damn difficult and your ABS will thank you!  I suppose to lean my body forward as much as possible while lifting those legs.