Oct 4 to 12

 

A week of on and off. I had four days of work, and everything went smoothly. I had four days off, and I am currently trying to get back to the smooth operation of my life at the moment. Morning sessions were done, just not always in the morning. Adventure was up, but basic fitness suffered. 

I did have a two-lake day this week- the first one ever, to my memory. Got to step into Lake Ontario early in the morning and then later on in the afternoon, stepped into Lake Erie. I'm cool. And I have proof. 

I got the Christmas Break journal set up, but really didn't get the RV shut down as well as I would have liked to. In the end, we rushed home instead of taking our time to make sure everything was perfect. Shrug ...we will probably pay for that rush job later. 

Anyway, morning walks first thing in the morning, then stretching / yoga sessions as usual. 

PM walks with the dog are in the 25-30 minute range, and then I'm getting home, stretching a bit, then getting into the plunge tub. I'm noticing a lot less knee and hip pain. My mom even saved a TorStar article for me on this exact topic. Seems I'm cool or something along those lines. 

I did get a chance ot chat with my dad and made him chuckle about our career. Everything seemed cool. 

Sept 28 to Oct 3

 

Richard III on the wall, evil in my heart

Not a great week, not a horrible week. I was focused on making my EDC lighter for work - getting rid of things I don't need in my backpack. Make life a little easier by bringing only the bare essentials. I did find the tiny projector and also found a super cool bag for it. See the pic above for the setup while working on my Shakespeare Project. 

The rest of the week was plain and ordinary. Morning sessions got done after a walk; evening sessions were cardio with the dog most nights. I missed a hike with the dog one night for date night and another night or two due to sleeping/laziness. Work is trying to kill me, but at the moment I can confirm I am still alive. Consistent but not perfect.

Cold plunges were twice this week - I got the ozone bubbler in there once and plan on it again on Sunday before bed. I left the thing on for 30 minutes and opened the door to the garage. That works for now; I'm not sure what I can do when snow comes. 

Morning sessions looked like this:

8-10 minutes baby pose, 90/90 stretches, thread the needle, WGS, runner's stretch, downward dog to cobra. Push ups

8-10 minutes clamshells, single-side lying leg lift, putting-on-socks stretch with rotation, superman holds, hollow holds, swimmer's kicks, BJJ leg pummeling. Push-ups. Sandbag presses and rows.

4-5 minutes hip CARs, BW squats, leg swings, warrior poses

Sept 20 to 27

 

Man, this was a decent week - and it went by quickly. All morning sessions done in the morning. I did get like five or six evening 30 min+ walks in with the dog. I know the dog likes them; I at least get a tail-wagging greeting.

Most mornings I'm off with the dog for a short walk by 6:15am. It's after that we do the stretching/lifting/mobility stuff. I got to work this week my usual M-F and home by 4 pm most days. It's a boring life, but a one that I've lived for six years. The pandemic, man ... I gave up a lot of stuff that was so stressful in the middle of that apocalypse. I also sat for those years, so I'm still kind of trying to get my mobility and fitness back from the pandemic as well.

Anyway, I also got the cold plunge back in working order this week as well - the ozone treatment device arrived. I'm going to try it out Monday, so officially next week my cold plunge stays clean.

Right, the morning sessions vary a bit more this week, as I started to involve more equipment, as you'll see.

8-10 minutes baby pace, 90/90 stretches, WGS, runner's stretch, BW squats. Push-ups. Downward dog to cobra pose. 

8-10 minutes hip, ab and low back work - clamshell stretch, leg raises. Putting on socks stretch with rotations. Swimmer's kicks, BJJ leg pummeling. Sandbag pressing and sandbag rows.

4-5 minutes of standing warrior pose, leg swings and hip CARS with the big PVC pipe. 

In the evenings, the walks were almost every night. I missed one for date night and one for pure laziness. 

As mentioned, I did get the cold plunge filled on Friday - it would have been filled a lot quicker had I shut the release valve before starting to fill it. .... le sigh.... I did do a decent job of washing my driveway. I got in and enjoyed the better feelings in my hips, knees and ankles.  

Sept 13 to 19

 

Not a bad week, not a great week ... just a week.

I got my morning sessions done every day and got the dog out for a walk for 35 minutes or more two or three times this week. Nice and easy, cool and breezy. That is in addition to an early morning walk with the dog by 6:30 am. That one is chilly and gross and not always fun. More skunks sighted on the evening walks, but chillier in the morning. 

Closed the rings or got really close three times this week; Thursday was tough and didn't get close at all. "Just a week". I did also get the post done for my Company of Characters blog, though, so I'm taking that as a win for this week as well. 

Morning sessions tended to be:

8-10 minutes Dog/cat stretches, WGS, runner's stretch, thread the needle and DJJ.

8-10 minutes putting-on-socks stretch, clamshells, straight leg lifts side lying, swimmers and BJJ leg pummeling. Superman extensions. 

5 minutes of standing stretches - leg swings, hip CARS and BW squats.

The evenings tended to be walks at the local provincial park. I must tell you, seeing deer was not on my scorecard for 2026, but there you are.

Aug 23 to Sept 12

 

Whoa, I am so sorry, faithful readers of this blog. This time of year is always just so stressful and jam-packed with stuff that I forget to update this ongoing discussion. Rest assured, I kept up my habits of fitness and even got better ones coming along. Let me explain.

Morning workouts continue basically every day. Weekends and holidays are always a challenge, as my time becomes communal. I get to do more with family members, and I get to do more for family members, but that is the cost of being a family member and father. 

When I get my time back, I try to get back into my good routines and habits. When I see opportunity in the wild, so to speak, I’m able to take advantage of it too. 

For example, my adventure van is now a “take the dog for hikes in the nearest provincial park” van. The dog loves the room; I love the 30-40 minute walks we are doing, and my fitness is loving them as well. I saw the supercool plunge tub above in the local thrift store for 10 bucks. And today I had a nice yoga session, then a plunge afterwards. I had my Apple Watch on and saw my HR go from over 100 to under 60 in just a few minutes of being in the chilly water. 

I was worried about cost, but I do have an ozone generator on the way, paid for with Amazon gift cards. Just everything came together to add a recovery system to my garage gym. So far, so good. I’m touching wood as I write this, though.

Morning sessions:

8-10 minutes of overall mobility: downward dog to cobra pose. Push-ups, thread the needle, WGS and DJJ. 50 lb sandbag bench press.  

8-10 minutes of ab work, hip mobility: clamshells, side leg raises, 90/90 stretches, bicycle kicks ot BJJ leg pummeling for 30 seconds or so. DJJ at times as well. I might also use the air bike I have in the garage for 10 minutes at this point; sometimes it is 50 lb sandbag deadlifts.

4-10 minutes of standing yoga poses - warrior one and two, hip CARS and the like. It has been all good.

So this past week, the morning sessions were all done before work, and the evening sessions were 30-40 minute walks with the dog on three or four evenings in the week. Solid cardio efforts there. No swimming, though, which I regret. 

Aug 10 -22

 

The dog is seeing things for the first time

Well, I'll start with the bad: I missed two mornings this week. These days are harder to get up for as I have no outside motivation to help me along, but whatever. I know I need to get these done for the 80-year-old inside my head. He'll appreciate my workouts these days.

I did get some bad news in the last few days about my working conditions for September onwards. Things are not looking nearly as smooth as they have in the past few years, and I'm wondering why I got this bag of donut burgers. Shrug. We will do, and we will do. 

What is it that you do?

A deed without a name.

The good news is ... well, My Shakespeare Project is going along nicely. I did get a couple of really nice hikes in the local provincial park with the dog as well. With the change in my working conditions, I get to revamp the van for work and for hikes/picnics ... so I'm finding silver linings here. 

Anyway, got this done in the mornings:

8-10 minutes downward dogs, to plank, push-ups. WGS, hip opening stuff from physios and other random influencers

8-10 minute abs - DJJ, BJJ leg pummelling, swimmers kick, 90/90 stretches. 

4-8 minutes of standing stretches, hip opening stuff, leg swings and warrior poses. 

Aug 1-9

 

The Office. Soundsticks are awesome

Yeah, I've been both lazy and active in the last little bit. I'm tired, and I'm using some physical fitness to keep me in the loop. But then, the next day I'll collapse and have what my kids used to call a "No Bones Day". Not sure if that reference is up to the standards of 2026, but I digress.

Morning sessions continue - just not always in the morning. Two of the three rings are closed on the regular, lots of walks with the dog, lots of DJJ, lots of stretching/mobility with some swimming. 

Swims are still in the 20-25 minute range. 

Morning sessions are also in that same range. 

I'll need to prep the garage for the winter/fall shortly.

In any case, in August, we are enjoying the brief respite and peace ... while planning and setting goals for 26-27.

Morning sessions

8-10 minutes for shoulders and hips: baby pose, cat/cow stretch, plank to downward dog, then 90/90 stretch. Hip thrusts and push-ups.

8-10 minutes ab work - putting on socks stretch, palms of the feet together/groin stretch, clamshell and single-side leg lifts, sideways ab crunches, BJJ leg twirling, swimming kicks as well. Push-ups. 

4-8 minutes of standing leg stretches, swings, hip CARS, warrior poses.