Dec 25-31

 

I'm doing this post at about 9pm. What a piece of work ... I'm gladly wearing shorts and a T-shirt to be cozy at home on NYE. Man, what a lame New Year's Eve party. 

But not really. 

Significantly less chance of stupid whizzing straight into my forehead and knocking me out. 

This week was another odd one - finished four of the rings and the other three days were non-starters. Yeah, I wanted to finish off 2023 with a bang, but I'm just chilling man. 

There have been some tender spots in my shoulders, but at least cardio is doing well at the moment. I enjoyed the days off, as it allowed a bit of healing in there. I do need to start to get some help with my training - help with recovery and with expanding my sessions. I know I need to get this done, but January is the stupid time of the year for reaching out to people in the fitness industry. This is their unreal season and I just don't want that. 

I will get some help with recovery without any difficulty I'm sure. We can start there. 

I did notice that my usual spots of grinding pain have turned themselves down to a 2 this week. Very grateful for that - seems using bands and swimming as cardio agrees with my joints. I just know that I have to crank up the cardio and the recovery work in the next few months. 

That and diet. Oh, man do I need to watch what I stuff into my mouth. 

Swim sessions are looking like this:

100 m breaststroke

400 m freestyle

50 m kickboard

400 m freestyle

50 m breaststroke

Dec 18-25

 Yeah, that was a weird week ... but I was glad to see the end of it, quite frankly. I keep using the phrase I stole from Lincoln "the last full measure" when thinking about this time of the year; it isn't far off from how I feel. Just too much crap too much coming my way on the professional and personal fronts. Then ... it's like a post-apocalyptic week of grey nuclear winter afterwards. 

I got through the end of the week and got into the holidays. I am alive and got my workouts mostly done. I got the rings closed four times this week - the rest of the days I missed the red ring - the one for activity. I was usually busy being a dad, but sometimes I was just being tired.  This was a long grinding few months and it is over. January is an easier month for me professionally, but usually not personally. 

Morning routines held on for the most part, but not always done by 7 am. I've been able to sleep in and then go to bed early a few nights. This nagging cough is fighting my serenity. 

Man, I love the swimming workouts - quiet and late enough that usually, no one else is there to mess with my serenity. 

Ew. Earlier on in the day - which is why I go much later

Dec 11- 17

 

The Exit sign is just for show

I'm doing this post early on Sunday afternoon as I have other stuff to get done. I guess I'll start off with the fact that I was reading a book this week and I just ... I just didn't want to finish it so I took some self-care advice and moved on to another book. 

Shrug. I'm still reading, just not something I didn't want to read. 

Not a bad swim, just long

The Apple Watch fitness rings got done every day but Wednesday this week. I was being a dad and had to go and pick someone up instead of doing my evening workout. It happens. I did a record-breaking swim on Saturday, after skipping my morning routine and having to sit the exam for ASL 102, then work online. Something ridiculous like a 45-minute swim. It was nice to have the fitness to do that, but I'd rather have done a morning and evening session instead.

I did say I was going to re-evaluate my fitness routine in December after I'd finished the ASL course. I have a few options and a few thoughts which are not appropriate for here. I'm hoping to get January to June just as productive and helpful towards my next career, but am going to be limited by money and time, as always. 

Meh, at least I know what time I have available for the next 30 Tuesday evenings. I love having a schedule like that. I can do so much with an ocean of time like that. 

Morning routines are getting more kettlebell in them:

30 two-handed swings

10 db snatches each side

I get this done for three rounds before finishing the morning routine. Got my HR up to 140 the other day, too. A nice sprint session to start the day. 

 

Dec 4 to 10

 

Here... look and listen here

A challenging week. Closed my rings on my Apple Watch only twice, thanks to this stupid cough I got somewhere. 

<<cough cough>> homelife, work with children who don't wash their hands <<cough cough>>

So yeah, I had to drop the swims in the evenings to take some Advil and get to bed early.

Like ridiculously early. 

In any case, all mornings I finished the morning routine by 7am and got on with the day. I found out I did not do so well on an ASL quiz just after I got my final project in for marking.  Meh, I think I will do okay in this course, but I will point out I will prefer in-person ASL classes to these online ones. 

While I write this on Sunday afternoon, I'm hopeful things can go back to a bit quicker. Not a fan of this slowing down. Too much time to brood and intrusive thoughts just wreck my vibe.

I am going to start a list of stuff to do on my winter break. Going away somewhere is a thing now. 

I did get to the beach this weekend, but it was cloudy and chilly. Meh, I got there and saw this

Nov 27-Dec 3

 

This was a cool week - I finished the Apple Fitness app November challenge and got on to the December monthly challenge ... but I took Tuesday and Thursday off. My shoulders and body needed a rest. That being said Sunday was hilarious.

I slept in until noon, so no "morning" routine. I got that done that afternoon. I then did some stuff for the week and got a HIIT done in my garage for 30 minutes. I showered, played some StarCraft and then went for a 20-minute swim session. Crazy.

At least I'm working a little on the backstroke and the butterfly during my swim sessions of late.

But Monday morning my shoulders felt a wee stressed, yaknowwhatimsaying? 

Morning sessions were like this:

90/90 hip stretches, baby pose to downward dog, to plank to cobra pose. Just getting things moving and the heart pumping. Mobility and just some movement.

Side-lying leg lifts, ab work to follow on the weighted ball and the 65 cm stability ball. Crunches, dead bugs, leg lifts, swimming kicks, ab holds, ab rollouts. Lots of focus on the abs. Abs, abs, abs.

Then the last ten or so minutes are usually two or three circuits, starting with 50 kb swings, using a 20 lb dumbbell. 10 dumbbell lateral raises, then banded lat pulls and the banded bicep curls. I finished with banded overhead presses. 

Honestly, it's a nice piece of work and I'm getting it done every day. Just, you know ... some days it is done before 6:30 am, and other days after 2 pm. It's all about balance.