Francesco,

I cannot tell you how many times in the past 10 weeks I have said to myself, "This is working."

I was a trainer and Nautilus facility manager in the mid-'80's which was a great education on form and discipline. My education ended there and it stood me in good stead for all these years. But I am now 45 years old. Metabolism has slowed and I am facing the years when muscle mass declines with testosterone levels. At the same time I disdain the steroid and supplement culture because it's unnatural. And I am frustrated with the workout-of-the-month mentality of the current men's magazines -- too many contortions and not enough results.

So I went looking for a non-steroid program with a rational basis and found yours. In fact it was my birthday present to myself last November.

I am in week 5 of my second series of six week progressions of your program. I have missed just a handful of workouts. I have not been strict about diet except to improve balance of protein and carbs and to make sure not to miss any meals. My post workout meal is nothing more than a Carnation Instant Breakfast (an improvement over my favorite breakfast -- peanut butter crackers and a Coke!).

I weigh in every Sunday morning and find that a pattern has developed. Fat gain has stopped cold -- in fact, I've lost a pound and a half of fat. More important, I've gained a half pound of lean mass EVERY WEEK since we began. That's five and a half pounds of lean mass, so far. I am proud of this steady and noticeable improvement. My shirts feel a little tighter around the sleeves, my torso muscles cast shadows that I've never seen and my leg muscles begin to show "bellies" not seen for years. I'm not massive nor headed for competition. But I notice the difference and like it. And at an age when most of my counterparts expand around the middle, get shorter of breath and lose lean mass, I can finally bench my weight, I'm confident of my fitness and I'm growing bigger where I want to.

All of that to say, thanks.