Cory’s Health Program & Photos

DEAR READER: I am not only a pianist, teacher, and scholar, but I have had a life-long fascination with health, nutrition and fitness since running cross country in HS, which blossomed into full 26-mile marathons back in my college days. I also earned a green belt in Shotokan Karate in my 20s, went through a heavy weight training phase in my 30s (when I first got big and bulky and a little too fat along the way), and did some serious yoga for several years in my 40s (got thinner and more flexible). I also experimented with veganism and raw food veganism in my early 40s (which caused me to become emaciated at 150 pounds!) Then in my 50s it all went downhill healthwise with my top weight reaching 245 pounds!

Since I turned 60 in March 2023, I decided it was time to do something SERIOUS to improve my health rather than yo-yo dieting forever. Early in 2023 I embarked on a serious diet program, which was mainly a very low-carb keto/carnivore style diet. I did this because I needed a kind of diet that would eliminate my addiction to sugar and bad carbs. I had previously been skeptical of the keto diet, but I discovered by actually trying it that it really does work and help jump-start some serious fat loss. I officially began this diet program on February 5. My weight at that time was 195 pounds, which for me was “light” since my normal weight around this time was usually a little over 200 pounds. I ate extremely low carb for about 6 months, then began eating carbs again but using them strategically with control. I currently eat a normal, omnivorous diet consisting of whole foods. My current exercise plan is “minimalist”, which is basically the opposite of high-volume training done by traditional body builders.

After getting my diet plan in place and working, beginning in April 2023 I officially began my training program, which includes pretty much everything from weights in the gym, bodyweight exercises, calisthenics, jogging, sprinting, stretching, lots of light dumbbell exercises, karate exercises, and high-volume shadow boxing and sparring. I exercise always at least once and usually two times a day. These are usually full-body workouts with lots of variety. I do these workouts all from home. I always exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach around 7:00 a.m. and my first meal is usually around 9:00 a.m.

Starting in late September or early October, I began incorporating gymnastic rings into my training. I kept hearing about how great rings are for physique development, and so I ordered some rings from Amazon, which I hang from my pull-up bar. As of December as I write this, I am totally hooked on ring training. I think rings are the single best piece of equipment you can have. Rings do so much that traditional weights and static push and pull exercises do not do. For example, rings allow you to achieve various angles and hand positions whereas weights cannot do this. Since the beginning of October, 90% of my training has been rings. I love the way ring training makes me look and feel. I hate to cause a controversy, but I believe rings are better than traditional weight lifting if you had to compare the two. Rings are vastly superior to weights in many ways. Also, I believe ring training if done properly is safer and more effective than weights for older folks of 60+. This is because you can tailor exercises based on difficulty. One of the most popular pieces of gym equipment is TRX, which is very popular among older folks. Gymnastic rings are basically TRX before TRX! All TRX is a patented and trademarked apparatus (similar to rings) by a former Navy Seal that allows for “suspension training”. But suspension training already existed in the form of gymnastic rings. Rings can do all TRX does but is much better and more effective, and is not patentable. Also, rings are more difficult than TRX. This is why I believe everyone should train with rings!

**90% of my training from March 26 through August 8 consisted exclusively of 10 pound dumbbells, flexing exercises, karate and boxing punching exercises, and not once did I step foot in a gym or lift heavier weights. Since early October, 90% of my training has been gymnastic rings.

Around in mid-June I started tracking my daily food intake with Cronometer so that I could start optimizing my macros (protein, carbs, fat) with an emphasis on protein. Since doing this, I have increased my protein intake considerably to at least one gram from every pound of ideal bodyweight (about 175). This, along with controlling my calories with Cronometer, has definitely helped improve body composition even more. Lately, since tracking in mid-June, I have tended to gravitate towards something close to a 30% protein, 40% carb, 30% fat (30/40/30) macro plan. I estimate my protein intake prior to tracking was only around 15-20% which is too low for serious muscle maintenance and growth.

Along with this diet and exercise program, I started taking weekly photos to track my progress. Unfortunately, I did not start taking photos back when I started the diet program at 195 pounds, so simply take the first photo at 182.5 pounds and imagine what I looked like with 12 extra pounds of fat! Since I live in Florida, I try to keep a healthy tan for as much of the year as possible. Simply look at the first photo from March 26 and compare it to the most recent photo! By the way, I weigh myself every day and have all this data in a spreadsheet. With my experiments and with lots of useful information from reputable sources, I am learning so much about the science of health optimization with diet and exercise!

If you are interested in learning new and exciting forms of exercise, please visit my second YouTube channel, “Health & Fitness After 50”