biggerboat's way tl;dr "log" - you've been warned

sry again. I get really bored at work so I get carried away writing. But finding this thread and reading other logs really has me motivated aorn.

anyways, here goes.

Stats

Age - 55
Height - 6'4"
Weight - ~200

History

I've lifted weights as long as I can remember. I used to do each bodypart twice a week. I feel like I lifted fairly heavy, or at least heavy for me. I've always been pretty consistent and I'd say my intensity has wavered from average to above average. I've never been able to gain much bulk. I've always done some kind of cardio. Played a ton of pickup basketball until my knees started bothering me. Been running the last 10 or so years - 3 times a week.

Problems

As stated before, it's super difficult for me to gain bulk. People don't say I'm thin, they say "skinny". I'm really long - long legs and long arms.

The killer is, though, I have a spare tire. It's not horrible but it's pretty much always been there. If I gain muscle bulk, the tire gets bigger, and vice versa. I hate it. I think the heaviest I've ever been was 212 but it was also the fattest I've ever been.

I have a really ****ed up back. Three degenerative discs. I used to squat a lot but haven't in a long time. I have deadlifted in the past but I really never did a lot of it because I'd screw my back up every time I started pushing it.

Oh, yeah, and I'm old. Longer recuperative time. Don't really make gains much.

Current workout

Monday - chest - I've had some shoulder issues the last few years so I've done mostly dumbells. Barbells were problematic. But thanks to some magical ART, my shoulder is much better so I've started back with barbells again. I'll document both

Flat

Dumbell - 8x35, 8x45, 8x55, 8x65, 2x5x85.
or
Barbell - 8x95, 8x135, 8x165, 4/5x195, 1x215/225, 6x185

Incline

Dumbell 8x45,8x55,2x5x70.
or
Barbell 8x135,5/6x155,1x175,5x155

decline

barbell 8x135,8x185,2x4/5x215/225

3x8x60/70 cable flys

abs - ~20 minutes of abs and lower back - crunches, machines, variety

Tuesday - run 4 1/2 miles

Wednesday - arms - I alternate every week between a "heavy" routine and a light routine

triceps

lying barbell behind the head extensions (not sure if I'm saying this right) - warmup 8x70, 5x100, 5x100 immediately followed by close grip press with that weight with no rest - to exhaustion, 5x90 immediately followed by close grip press to exhaustion
or
standing cable pushdown - straight bar 3 sets of 8x80

standing cable pushdown - straight bar, 5x90, superset 90 to exhaustion, 70 to exhaustion, 50 to exhaustion, superset 80 to exhaustion, 60 to exhaustion, 50 to exhaustion
or
not sure what to call this. It's a machine and it's sort of like dips only you sit in it and you don't dip - 3x8x130/140

biceps

standing barbell - warmup 8x65, 5x95, superset 5x95, then 75 to exhaustion then 65 to exhaustion, superset 5x85 then 65 to exhaustion then 55 to exhaustion
or
3x8x35 dumbell curls

cable curls - 5x130, superset 5x130 110 to exhaustion, 90 to exhaustion, superset 5x120 100 to exhaustion 80 to exhaustion
or
standing cable curls (with the fly equip) - 3x8x40/50

~20 minutes of core work - various planks, those things where you lie on your back and sort of ride a bicycle

thursday

run 4 1/2 miles

friday - back

wide grip lat pulldown - warmup - 6/7x190,5x205, 5x205
close grip pulldown - 2x5/6x205
seated rows - warmup 8x110, 2x6/7x160
t-bar row wide grip - 2x5x90
t-bar row close grip - 2x5x90
or
dumbell bent over row - 2x5x80

abs - ~20 minutes of abs and lower back - crunches, machines, variety

saturday

run 4 1/2 miles

sunday

rest

diet - I'm too lazy to count calories but here's normal

My work week diet is fairly consistent

breakfast - 4 hard boiled eggs
lunch - chicken breast and veggies
afternoon snack - protein power bar (or metrx bar)
dinner - varies - balanced meal (meat 2 veggies) or fajita salad or something
before bed snack - nuts and lunch meat - turkey or chicken

weekends I sometimes go a little crazy but I'm pretty good about not eating bread or being real bad. It's still sort of close to my weekday only some bigger and less lean meals mixed in.

alcohol - never drink during the week - drink moderately to too much on the weekends. Probably average 3/4 drinks friday, saturday, and sunday

goals

get rid of this gd spare tire. I hate it.
I'd like to bulk up a little but I know how hard this is so I'm not getting any unrealistic expectations
spice up my routine - seems stagnant

other stuff

I don't want to cut things like my bench out. I'm really scared if I cycle off of that and try to come back I'll never get it back. Getting old sucks.

I don't do any leg workout now. I plan on starting again (like TODAY). When I was doing it I generally did a lot of warmup on the leg press then did something like 3x5x650. Then 3 sets of leg extensions and 3 hamstring curls. Can't remember the weights but my quads are considerably stronger comparatively than my hamstrings.

I really want to give squats and maybe deadlift another shot. I'll never ever be able to push either one, but I feel like just doing the movements with really light weights is better than not doing them at all. I seriously doubt I could even hope to squat 135. I'm really gunshy when it comes to my back.

I will probably start riding my bike to work again. I used to on my mwf and will probably do again. It's about an hour ride round trip but not a difficult ride.

I work out/run after work. I've considered doing something before work as well (2 a days). I'm not sure how disciplined I will be to do this but I'd consider it.

I hate running. A lot. And my knees aren't gonna let me do it a whole lot longer. But I can't find anything that makes me feel the same. It takes at least double the time on a bike to make me feel like I've had the same workout. Maybe swimming but I suck at it. Also, running is super convenient. My gym is about 50 yards away from a really nice running trail. As stated, I run about 4 1/2 miles. I'm really spent after that. I doubt I could lift either before or after without something bad happening.

I tried a lot of supplements through the years. Only made me fatter. Not really a fan. I tried creatine and it was amazing. I really made significant gains on it. I'm considering trying again but at my age I just don't know.

where from here

Not sure. I'm fairly dedicated but I don't have a ton of time. My age is a factor. I can't bust out a 2 hour intense workout and recuperate. I get to a point where my body is just exhausted and it becomes counterproductive. I'd like to do some new things but I'm not sure what. tweaking what I'm doing is probably fine. Maybe less running? I've thought about doing shorter runs and doing some light weights on run days. Maybe do 2 days for each bodypart instead of one, but make it super light on my run days. I dunno.

All suggestions will be appreciated.