Feb 16 to 22

 

The grey days continue - I don't think I got a snow day this week, but we did get through a few "busses cancelled days, so hardly any of the kids came. Shrug. No sweat off my nose, all good. 

I did wake up this morning and wonder what day it was - I did in fact check my phone to make sure that it was Sunday. I did also just finish watching the men's Hockey Olympic final. Sad that one. That one is ...whatever, Sir. 

The evenings are real strugglers for me these days - too many things on my plate and I can't get myself into the pool or into my garage gym to train. To be fair, my garage gym was taken over my crap this winter and I'm slowly purging it. I am getting every morning done, which is basically just the stretching mat and a bit of space. All of the equipment and ... well, everything else is covered with stuff removed from the cars and the rest of the house to make the house safe fo the new dog. Even the new snowblower ends up on my stretching mat every once in a while. 

No ranting about the dog - it is helping me increase the number of steps taken per day, hours awake per day and reducing the amount of bad choices with alcohol and stress. The dog is an overall positive in my life. Just not for the garage. I'm ...dealing with that as I can.

Morning sessions done every day, looked like this:

8-10 minutes basic mobility - baby pose, downward dog to cobra, push ups. 90/90 stretches, World's Greatest Stretch. Thread the needle, more push ups. 

8-10 minutes ab work - swimmers legs, BJJ leg pummelling, putting on socks stretch, groin stretches of all sorts, hamstring stretches too. 

I ended sessions this week with a few rounds of banded bicep curls and presses, bodyweight squats and hip CARS.  

Feb 9 to 15

 

IYKYK

I'm not exactly sure what day it is anymore - the grey and the long holiday weekend has warped any meaning from existence. I did present to a group of teachers in the last  ... week or so. On their PD day. Yeah, that was interesting. 

I run into the fog and am still inside the prison of the Zany. A nice literary reference to this blog post. 

In chatting with an AI agent, it seems I can get the fish back working on my blogger blogs. I missed them I will try to get them up and swimming this week. That is the bext news!

Anyway, I did actually purge two bags of crap from my garage gym. The basement papers are going this week. Then purge again from the garage the week after that.

The morning sessions continue, as do the three dog walking sessions on the daily. I did miss one morning session for the first time in a while on Sunday. In my defence I had a lot of hockey to watch and a lot of poop to clean up. Morning sessions done every day, looked like this:

8-10 minutes basic mobility - baby pose, downward dog to cobra, push ups. 90/90 stretches, World's Greatest Stretch. Thread the needle, more push ups. 

8-10 minutes ab work - swimmers legs, BJJ leg pummelling, putting on socks stretch, groin stretches of all sorts, hamstring stretches too. 

I ended sessions this week with a few rounds of banded bicep curls and presses, bodyweight squats and hip CARS.  

Feb 2 to Feb 8

 

Everything is constantly moving in the same orbits around me. The same day, over and over, but with just just enough of a difference that I can tell them apart. The grey snow, the cold, the constant walking and dealing with poop, both human and canine. It is constant, it is an eternal grey light umbra of existence. 

That is where we are, just grinding out the winter days of February. One foot in front of the other, a constant memory and dream of May. May, green and blue and warm. I dream of May. I live in February.

Work is work these days. I'm moving forward, trying to always improve. moving forwards. 

Training is being affected by living arrangements, as is the garage gym. I had to dump a bunch of stuff into my cramped gym and have just the mat area to work with these days. It is too darn cold to move anything, but at least I am still stretching and getting my hips and shoulders to move and be strong. 

Morning sessions done every day, looked like this:

8-10 minutes basic mobility - baby pose, downward dog to cobra, push ups. 90/90 stretches, World's Greatest Stretch. Thread the needle, more push ups. 

8-10 minutes ab work - swimmers legs, BJJ leg pummelling, putting on socks stretch, groin stretches of all sorts, hamstring stretches too. 

I ended sessions this week with a few rounds of banded bicep curls and presses, bodyweight squats and hip CARS.  

I did manage to drop something on my left toe this week, the bruise is working it's way under the toenail. I also managed to trip on a box and smash a finger. Too much stuff in the garage gym - time for a purge.  

Jan 27 to Feb1

 

Three times a day I'm out in my hood looking like this

So I'm doing this one a little early on the first, but that is ok. The steps continue to rise - I hit nearly 7800 steps without a workout the other day, just from taking the silly dog out for silly walks. 

Yes, I went there.

Anyway, no evening training sessions at all during this time, as fate and work and the dog all conspired against me. That is the version I'm going with at this time. Truth be told I was in bed most days by 10pm and if not, I was getting my reporting done.

Morning sessions done every day, looked like this:

8-10 minutes basic mobility - baby pose, downward dog to cobra, push ups. 90/90 stretches, World's Greatest Stretch. Thread the needle, more push ups. 

8-10 minutes ab work - swimmers legs, BJJ leg pummelling, putting on socks stretch, groin stretches of all sorts, hamstring stretches too. 

It is usually at this point I am interrupted, so not a lot of work done specifically for arms and back this week. <<Le sigh>>

At least I have plans to get swims done in this week upcoming. And hope that this weather changes ... my province was the coldest place on Earth this past week. Not a joke, that is something y'all can google. 

It is days like these that make July heatwaves just that much more bearable.

Jan 19 to 26

 

My house is in there somewhere

Ok this started off chewy and got to snowy this week. I did a morning routine everyday, just not always in the mornings. I did get lots of steps, until the almost meter of snow that came off the local lake dumped itself onto my lawn and sidewalk. The snowbanks are starting to resemble the Death Star trench ... if you know, you know.

My toe started to ache and the Advil and water helped this time. I'm wondering about what's next to improve my diet - alcohol is not my friend and hangovers now take like three days to disappear. When doing my regular routine, my meals are pretty standard - fruit, vegetables, coffee, some meat, some greens with lots of water too. perhaps a bit too much salt. But when I'm off a regular schedule, all of that goes out the window. 

Speaking of out the window, not a lot of swimming during this time thanks to the same dog and blanket of snow. Went to bed early - and I mean EArLY ... at like 9:30 pm one night, rather than train or go for a swim. 

I've also lost most of the garage gym again for the time being. I can stretch, but DOOM plies are on top of my training equipment, along with snow removal ephemera. 

I'm working on that.

Morning routine was this:

10 minutes mobility - baby pose, plank to cobra pose, WGS and other hip opening stretches. Push ups.

10 minutes on the abs and hips - leg swimming, BJJ leg pummelling, put on your socks stretch, hip thrusts, push ups.

10 minutes CARS with PVC pipe ... until it got piled deeper into the mess that my garage has become. Sigh. Push ups. 

Jan 12 to 18

Not MY Duchess of Teeth, but A Duchess of Teeth

This week was a bit more of a drag than others - a major snow storm and other rather odd events keep shoving themselves into the foreground, preventing evening workouts. 

Even the morning sessions are being shoved around like sausages on a vegan's plate. Sigh.
Puppy Yoga turned bitey and even that had to be curtailed until the young'un can teethe a bit more. Lots of steps for walkies and poop sessions, my bedroom remains poop free and things are generally content on that part of the life. Working, as always, is stressful this time of year. That shows up with minor cuts that take a while to heal, hip pains that just won't be managed and annoyances that turn into calamities in 10 seconds or less. I could complain, but no one would listen, so I will merely mark the time.

Sigh

Morning sessions as follows:
8-10 minutes of mobility - cat/cow, baby pose, push ups, downward dog to cobra, butterfly legs, WGS and 90/90 stretches. More push ups.
10-12 minutes of ab work - swimming kicks, BJJ leg pummelling, putting on socks stretches and rotations, scorpion stretch, clamshell stretch ... and push ups. 

For the most part, thanks to one of those irritants, namely a new washer being installed at some point,  had to cut most of my morning sessions off there this week. My garage gym was taken over and I had to avoid the teeth of a knarly little duchess of teeth. Swimming was twice this week. I still am missing the cardio and fun of BJJ and puppy BJJ. 

Dec 28 to Jan11

 

Kinda like this, but more teeth on my ankles and licking of my toes

I guess I let a week get away from me there - not hard to believe, as the days are even more blurring into each other now/ On the 3rd or 4th of January I got a dog - A Cane Corso as a matter of rumour. It was a rescue that my wife really wanted and so, we went as a family and picked it up from the centre. 

I am liking the dog's silence and energy so far - I think it was Friday I got pretty close to 9000 steps from just walking the dog to pee. As a result, got close or finished my rings six times in the last 13 days. The other days, got two of the three rings closed. In any case, it does not bark or react to things, but really does like chasing rustling leaves. We are crate training it, as I like my bedroom feces free. 

I have to admit, having some days as "free puppy yoga" days are pretty cool. She is a wonderfully affectionate puppy and is hilarious when trying to help me into some poses. Can't wait for puppy BJJ.

Morning sessions as follows:

8-10 minutes of mobility - cat/cow, baby pose, push ups, downward dog to cobra, butterfly legs, WGS and 90/90 stretches. More push ups.

10-12 minutes of ab work - swimming kicks, BJJ leg pummelling, putting on socks stretches and rotations, scorpion stretch, clamshell stretch ... and push ups. 

10-12 minutes of 35 lb floor db presses, banded bicep curls,, banded overhead presses, standing hip CARS, bodyweight squats ... and push ups. 

Rather tediously, the evening sessions were swims in the afternoon or evenings, usually in the 35-40 minute range. Good cardio, good for my shoulders and other joints, not very exciting.