I re-started lifting in 2021 after over 20 years.
I first started lifting sophomore year of college, when I was 6ft tall and 145lbs. Was around 180lbs when I graduated. For 4 years after college, I worked out regularly at Gold's in Reseda & then Powerhouse in Chatsworth. My max bench reached 225lbs around this time.
Then, in the late 90s, I moved to Vegas, started partying & went to the gym less and less. In 2004, I moved back to Los Angeles, and got into yoga through a girlfriend, and did some running. But no strength training. In 2006, my now-wife got pregnant and we now have 2 kids. The only exercise I got after that was the normal exercise of being a dad and homeowner. Also, my diet sucked, lots of fast food & beer & sweets & gas station junk food. I slowly but steadily put on 50+ pounds of fat, weighed about 250lbs in 2020.
In 2020, I got cancer, went through chemo / radiation, lost about 60lbs in under 3 months. Was just under 190lbs when it went in remission. None of my clothes fit. In May 2021, I noticed some of my clothes starting to fit again. That was a wake up call. I got serious about fitness.
First thing I did was watch a bunch of videos on fasting. I wound up trying intermittent fasting for a week, liked it, and jumped into two whole day (36 hr) fasts per week for the next 3 weeks. I was also doing 35 min cardio &/or a 20 min yoga routine most days. Lost about 10 lbs. Then, in early June, I decided to start strength training.
I had bought stuff for a home gym (power rack, dumbbells, plates, etc.) about two years earlier, but had never started using it. I set it up in the garage and began lifting each morning, trying to do all muscle groups 2x/week. I did not want to fast while lifting, so I stopped fasting.
Since then, I've lifted nearly every day. My weight has stayed fairly constant, just below 200lbs. I've changed up my work outs from watching Youtube videos and adapting to what I have in my garage gym (no cables, for example). I've added bands and a dip station to my garage gym. My bench max is about 175. My goal, of course, is to get it back to 225 and then pick a new goal.