Oct 20 to Nov 2

 

What was back on the screen this week

Whoa, sorry regular readers of this blog - forgot a week. In my defence, the week before and after the 24th was a bit of a nutter. Just dumb.

Anyway, I did close the rings twice during this time, which is a far cry from what it was a year ago. I would like to get back to that daily evening workout, but that exhaustion and fatigue at the end of the day is somewhat insurmountable to this time. 

Morning routine continue in the garage gym. Or I should say back in the garage gym. The basement is now dry, just I'm rethinking what the basement is for and training there was a bit of a drag. I'm doing stuff in my garage and the workouts are actually a bit more fun with the iMac playing movies. 

I did alter the morning routine:

10 minutes of mobility - baby pose, cat and cow pose, reverse arms, and all kinds of leg and upper body mobility stretches.

1o minutes of ab and core work - leg lifts, crunches, v-sits and the like. BJJ leg pummelling and general stretches for the abs and lower back.

10 minutes of bicep curls, presses and kettlebell swings. 

I'd like to get snatches into this last bit, but I need to put an Apple Watch cover back in the garage to make sure it's protected. I have one; I just need to pull it into the garage. 

Any case... life is good. Grateful the basement is dry. 

Oct 8 to 19

 

I got this classic running on the iMac in the garage gym

I was just filling out my weekly check-in with myself and noted that I am still trying to get the things I took on my RV trip last week to where they need to be. I have the coffee maker back at work, clothes, and food in my home. It is just weird that it is taking this long. 

I did feel something weird go on in my left foot again this week—I'm treating that. When I woke up last week, I had several ankle strains. I couldn't put weight on my left ankle one day, so I spent the day stretching it out until I finally got it pain-free. However, the right ankle was so painful the very next day. Odd that.

Sleeping injuries. 

Morning sessions are going well, except when nature has its way. The basement has some water in it, and when I was out in the RV, I had no space inside to do a morning routine. Still, I did get a cardio session done while in my garage gym on Saturday. 

There is so much crap from my FIL's house in there that needs to be tucked away or thrown out. I won't rant here, but so much stuff. 

TLDR - morning sessions continue if I'm at home and in a routine. Anything happens and then nothing. Got a cardio session in the garage gym done.

Oct 1 to Oct 7

Yeah, not a great week for training, but a good week for being a dad.

It's about trade-offs and I had to make those this week. I'll have to do the same next week as well. At least the morning routines are going well - I keep playing with different yoga poses for the morning session. 

I wick with helping the shoulders at the end, the abs in the middle and the hips at the start - but I add things like Table Top pose Variation 3 here:

The morning is going well - the evenings are just not going to plan. At all.

 

Sept 23 to 30

 Yeah, this hasn't been a good week for training. 

At all.

Morning sessions are mostly on - I got lazy on Sunday and didn't get it done, but I did get six out of seven days with the morning session done. Hips and back are a little stiff this evening as I write this.

Got lots of reading and work done for my career this week - it's taking a lot out of me, but I've gotten the garage gym readier than it was for winter training and the gym gets extended hours for winter this week as well.

Kettlebell swings in the morning have been cool as well. 

Sept 1 to 22

 

Aye, caramba - the time, she flies!

Sorry to my loyal readers - September is always busy around here and this year seems particularly silly. Overall, the standing and exercise rings have been closed daily. The morning routine - described below - has been hit every day. It's just the Move ring has not been closed to my level of satisfaction so far.

The morning routine was this:

10 minutes of hip mobility, downward dogs, hip work and gastroc and hamstring stretching along with hip extension muscles are all gently stretched.

10 minutes of ab work - flutter legs, one-legged and two-legged, knee tucks, and hollow holds. Some ball work - rolling down hips to ankles, and airplanes and delt flies.

10 minutes of arms and chest - kettlebell swings, overhead presses, bicep curls, lat pulls. 

A nice session, just not a lot of cardio. It's a good session, but it isn't going to get me back to that endless cardio that I'd like for myself. 

With the weather changing, the garage gym needs to be set up for the winter. I have a plan and need to get on it. Put the kayak away, get the floor clear and get myself back to the basics. 

Aug 18 to 31

...and a nice purchase of a used kayak to boot ... 

So I closed all of the rings five times in these fourteen days. I closed two of the three rings almost every day during this same period. 

It's the writing stuff down that is helping me - but it was also having so many things on my mind and keeping me away from the pool or from actually training that killed me. With the turning into a new phase of the year next week, I'm hoping to get walks and be alive in my daily schedule and life.

I did have a few nice swimming sessions these days, but I'm most impressed with the daily focus on mobility and strength in the mornings. That habit is a great one. I really need to make sure that I keep up that habit. 

Morning routine is looking like this these days

10 minutes of mobility - cat-cow stretch, standing warrior, 90/90 stretch, hamstring stretches of various poses and qualities, standing on tiptoe and reaching up.

10 minutes of ab work - ball stretches, ball table pose, ball squats - right down to butt touching heels!. Ball shoulder flies and flat presses along with ball rollouts. 

10 minutes of dumbbell shoulder raises, bicep curls and shoulder presses with bands. Also, rows and face pulls with bands for the back and shoulders. Body weight squats to finish. Usually, three rounds of this take ten minutes. 

Some nice results for my shoulders using this routine daily. As always, I'm a guy so I always want bigger arms and shoulders. I'm also of the opinion I should be able to move and walk without a limp so I keep working on that on the daily. 

I do have a working version of my schedule until the end of January and it looks positive and if I can take advantage of the opportunities it allows, I'll get further along in the fitness journey than I am at present!

Aug 6 to Aug 17

 

Artist's rendition

It has been a minute - I've been enjoying my time to myself. Most of it anyway. Dealing with people who are under the weather at my house these days is a drag - I'd rather be out touring the countryside but I gotta be a nurse.

Shrug. It's part of the wedding vows I made a few years ago, so it gets done. 

I bought a second-hand kayak but have yet to be in it, thanks to a series of rain and thunderstorms. I'm hoping today will be the day I get out there on it. 

I hit every morning session - usually about a half hour of stretching and mobility. It's really been helpful and I really do want to learn a lot more about it. I've been missing swims in the evening, thanks to some new ink I got. Meh, again I think today is the day I go back to swimming. At least any rotator cuff problems have been able to recover. 

...and hiking. I've done a few hiking trips. I'm starting out low distance, but getting about a 25-30 minute session done before the heat or the bugs drive me into the adventure van.