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.

July 5 to Aug 5

 

A throwback to a long time ago

Sorry to my loyal readers - this has been a rather odd month. I finished my side hustle gig the last week of July. It was kind of cool to be able to work full-time from the back of an RV. I did have some recommendations for 2025, but I left them in the journal I finished and they are not handy at this time to share.

Suffice it to say I did not train very much, which disappointed me. Just too many bugs and a forgotten tent that might have worked had I had it present. We got back to civilization on or about the 15th of the month and I was able to get back into the yoga in the mornings, teach, eat a decent meal /get out of the house, mark, teach, nap then swim before working/prepping and then bed on time routine. 

Honestly, getting to bed early and taking up early saved July for me, as it got me to focus on the work at hand. Keeping a journal helped me keep ideas from overwhelming my mind and served as a place to brain dump constantly. 

I am setting goals for 2024-25 at the moment as it is very close to my new years eve. AMong those goals is an increase of basic fitness, mobility and living pain free as much as possible. Swimming is helping as is Yoga - I'd like to think about ASL and getting some sort of Lifeguarding certification as well. We will see what I can get done about that. 

As for fitness, it was the usual:

Morning sessions were about a half hour of

Mobility for the hips and spine opening stretches

Abdominal and hip work including leg kicks, ab crunches, v-sits and the like. Ab wheel rollouts and prone shoulder lifts finish this section off

Then shoulder and upper body band work - bicep curls, shoulder presses with bands, banded lat pulls and shoulder pulls are all here. I even get some bodyweight squats done. 

A nice half-hour of mobility and a bit of strength training. 

The evening is 30-minute swims, lengths of front crawl and breaststroke. In the middle is enough walking ... or should I say sometimes enough walking to get to about 4 kilometres of steps in. 

I really do want to get back to running/jogging/getting onto an elliptical trainer this winter.  And Wrestling. I miss that. And rugby ... sigh. 

June 18 to July 4

 

The view from the yoga mat the other day

I'm sorry loyal readers - the past few weeks have gotten away from me. I'm working with a few people around blogging and realized I hadn't updated this wonderful space for a little while. As always, I will try and do better.

On the whole, these weeks were decent. I've been doing a bit of exhaustion sleeping and having to go to end-of-year events. Both are just participated in and I'm happy to report I got to the end. 

I did set up and have been following a Daily Routine. Up early with the Morning Routine/Yoga being done. 

Yoga was made to have a coffee with, man. These two things go well together. Yoga and coffee, peas and carrots. 

Some swimming, some hiking, some laziness, some travel have made this time period not quite what I needed to get back to limitless cardio. However, these are the things that I need to overcome and keep going.

Morning sessions have been great on the whole. Lots of mobility with some band work. Alll good in the hood. 

I did check my blood pressure and there was a slight rise. Need to get on that, get back in our groove and get it back to the optimal now.

June 3 to June 17

 

Yeah, a flash of completed rings and a few days of nothing. Mah, I'm just tired and it is the end of June ... both of those things mean it is hot and weary and just lazy.

A few swims and a few bike rides and a kayak ride or two. The morning routine was also done most days - except for Father's Day.

As I'm writing this I'm looking at Saturday's are light on getting stuff done. Interesting. 

In any case... summer is just this close.

May 27 to June 2

 

I keep closing the exercise and standing rings, but not the Move ring these days. Ah well, my hip isn't bugging me and I'm making progress in other parts of my life. 

I did open up the garage gym and added more mat space for BJJ with Chuck the Grappling Dummy. I did do some work with him but then put him on the airbike and he's been training on that since then.

I did get my morning routine done each day and got out on the kayak at least once during this time. I also got more than a bit of work done on the wilderness that is my backyard.

That is not a clever metaphor, I cleaned up my yard and got a pretty good sweat going before needing a pint. Or two. 

I dunno, no swimming for me these days and I'm still not sure why. At least now I have the option for some BJJ/Grappling at my house. ...except right now I have two inflatable kayaks out flat and drying on them right now. 

So ... you at least know what I'm going to be doing after I write this line. 

May 15 to 26

 

Sorry loyal readers I let May get away from me a little. 

I'm tired. I mean, I did not make finishing off the rings a priority for May - and I am finished with that mindset. I just have to get back to the endless cardio I had when I was younger.

I know just how much easier life is with it rather than lacking it. 

And it is all on me.

I did get out for two sessions with my kayak during this time. One was on glass flat water and the second session was a lot more ... active. Yeah, that's the word I will use. "Active". Both sessions were fun and made me want to get out there a lot more. I had to vacuum out the van today, the sand in there was becoming sentient. 

The funny thing about the morning routine - I've kept it up every day during this time - is that every IG influencer is telling me what I am doing is perfect. I do wonder why my hip keeps meeting with my serenity though. Shrug. I'll just keep going. 

I do have a plan for outdoor fitness in the summer, as well as a plan for the home gym moving into the future. Watch this space for further details. Hint - The home gym gets to be a more of a BJJ space and I'll be doing more training at my gym outside. 

Made it to watch a bit of rugby this weekend and that was interesting. The score was 6-0 for the people I did not want to talk to vs the people I did want to talk to 15 minutes into the experience there. I wonder why there are so many people I don't want to talk to, but that is a matter for my paper and ink journal, not here. Kinda cool to see the club doing so well, just want the guys to work on their set piece. 

Meh, I'mma just shut my mouth and keep working on my hip. I'm sure I'mma live somewhere else when I hit 70 or so. 

May 6 to May 14

 

Not a bad view from the RV. 

Not a lot of workouts during this time - I mean I'm tired from coaching rugby - it finished for me on the 7th. Just bone tired. Time of year, too. I'm looking forward to getting out for a few hikes and a few episodes with the RV and a few episodes with my kayak.

The hiking and kayak are going to be relatively boring repeats of years gone by, but that is okay. Not looking for anything but just seeing a part of Canada. The RV trip was rainy and I had to keep myside hustle going - I do have regular contract with them and I just want to finish this and be done with it. Surely I've got like six weeks or so left.

Swims occurred during this time and I usually closed two out of the three rings. I did keep up my stretching until the rain while away in the RV. To be fair, I didn't plan that RV experience very well. Shrug ... I will get another chance in a few weeks. 

April 22 to May 5

 

A lot of indifference here, to be frank. I finished my rings 7 of 14 days in these days. I got a few things done - I'm getting back to the daily swims. I'm looking at the garage and getting stuff to get it ready for the summer training. The lake is calling out for my kayaks. I also have a few RV trips to get ready for soon.

Lots of trips out to the RV - those have become a nice chance to connect and chat with my wife. We've had a lot of thoughts shared about retirement and fitness and things we want to do. All good, all good. 

Workouts these days were generally stretching in the mornings, walks during the days and/or rugby coaching ... don't laugh, lots of walking in these sessions ... and then some swims in the evenings. 

and the side hustle ... which brought me some crappy news from the CRA this year. Yeah, we is done with that side hustle man. 

Lots more time for me to do cool stuff. 

April 8 - 21

 

Yeah yeah ... I know

What's that line ... what's that line about habits eating everything ... yeah, I know now: "Habits eat everything."

Yeah, I got into some "lazy" habits these days - that's in air quotes because they are not really lazy, they are just habits that are not helping me out. 

Habits and injury have killed this resurgence I've been trying to foster for the last six or so months. Yeah, I was getting happier and the such. Shrug. 

I kept up my morning routine with stretching for the most part. I was still getting my walks done on my lunches. Still running an after-work session for others. But no evening workouts for me. No swimming, no HIIT workouts. I did take my wife for a swim Saturday night. Had a few date nights, too. Nice and boring husband stuff. 

I'm doing a lot of movement, just not making much progress. I'm not getting those confused, but I need to get my injuries healed and my mind back on track.

Dude, we'll begin again.

April 1-7

 

This is what is going down April 8

It was made readily apparent this week that "my habits eat everything". Don't credit me for coming up with that pearl of wisdom, dear reader ... I totally stole it from somewhere, probably Charles Duhigg. 

I got the circles all completed four times this week - and that was with myself dragging my own rear end over the finishing line, one centimetre at a time. Man, just ... ugh.

Most days looked like this:

Morning routine - mobility with some strength training before the day starts

Mid-morning walk to get some steps in and move the legs a bit

Later in evening swim in order to end the day and get some cardio done.

On Tuesday I did actually make a BJJ session. It is a tiny club near my house, but it has a committed instructor and mats. What else do you need?

March 24 to 31

 

Yeah, this was just bad. A real struggle - and I closed the standing rings, but not much else this week. 

Made some decisions about training, if not consciously, at least with my actions. I did get some rugby training done, but between having to work full time and be a dad, not much went well here. 

Shrug. I'll get back to it. 

March 4 to 23

Got this streaming in the garage this week. 

This was a weird time. Like life is just generally weird as I have to deal with people, but this was a weird time.

First of all, I had two teeth removed in the middle of this. Ugh, 2/10 do not recommend. Recovery was generally ok, but the memories of it will be something that will annoy my mind for a while. 

Just to add - during the setup, the dentist took my BP and it was not good. Higher than I had it taken at the doctor's office a few weeks ago. Yes, I was being put under some stress, but it shouldn't have been that high. I think the equipment was more reliable at the doctor's office, but I'll have to get that checked. 

Secondly, it was my spring week off and my ability to sleep and help myself feel like absolute doggy dirt is incredible. I lay in my bed and didn't do much the week I was off. No cool adventures, no trips to the pool or art galleries ... nothing. My spouse was dealing with the death of her father and so I was left to myself to take care of two teenagers. This is hard at the best of times, but during sad times it is that much harder. 

The week after the tooth removal was a lot better for my health. Slept well probably with the help of the anti-inflammatory meds as well as the antibiotics. Whatever, the days after the event, sleep was good and deep. Getting myself up to stretch was easy and getting back into the pattern of daily life was easy. 

Stretch in the morning, some sort of session in the evening. Once or twice I had to do a ten-minute yoga session later on in the day to finish off the circles. I also had afternoon rugby sessions which got my step count up, as well as my heart rate going. Friday was a swim which could have ended after ten minutes, but I stretched it out to be a decent workout. 

Saturday was a HIIT workout and a swim. At least rugby was added during this time, but I need something else, something fun. I'm thinking since the evening will be more sunlight, hiking in the local provincial park should be in order. That'll be awesome.

 

Feb 25 to March 3

 

This might have been unmotivating

Meh, the struggle to find discipline continues. Just all over the place and exhaustion is real at the moment. Swimming, when it happens is going well. Not much soreness in the shoulder. Had a massage this week and learned a few new stretches for the legs and shoulders. 

I really do need to get the limitless cardio from running started.  I did a HIIT session this week but did not close the rings three times. Meh, I am over 50 percent for the week, but just barely. Morning sessions did get done every day this week, so there is a silver lining here. 

I have been thinking about plans for a return to combat sports, but then money becomes the key issue. I think about expanding the side hustle, and then time becomes the key issue. Diet is also a thing to factor in these days as well. 

I am grateful that February is over and that the warmer weather means I can return to hiking and being out on the water. I look forward to that for sure. 

Feb 13 to 24

 

Thing of beauty

Whoa, this wasn't the best month for me. I'm just looking into the numbers and seeing them together to write this post, I'm just seeing that. Hmmm. Interesting.

I missed five of the ten days to be discussed in this post. I did a rugby session and went on a hike, along with a pool shutdown and a flare-up of my hip that was memorable. I also had a five-day weekend and enough free coffee to sink a ship. 

For several of the days I missed, I just didn't want to get my morning routine done. Period. I woke up and lay there with TikTok running through my brain. It was sad. I did do a nice 45-minute HIIT session a few times, but man, that wasn't enough for the circles.  

On Tuesday the 20th, I finally had enough and got back to stretching in the morning and getting my hips to move every day. On Wednesday and every day since I've been able to get back to an evening swim. 

Burn out, quitting and recovering all in one month. How exciting. 

I did get out on a hike this morning, out to the beach near my house. The rest of my family was sleeping and I got to see some very cold waves. 

Jan 28 to Feb 12

 

What was on the screen this week.

Whoa, let this get away from me for a second. To my loyal readers of this blog, I do humbly apologize. Life gets in the way sometimes and sometimes I just am overwhelmed by the stuff coming at me. 

I had a few days - especially the weekends, where I just got too busy or pissed off at the stuff going on around me that I basically abandoned training for the day. As a result, missed five days of sixteen. Still above a passing grade, but not really a great mark. 

The morning routine has gone in and out of favour, but this morning I did this:

10 minutes of stretching and leg/hip mobility

10 minutes of ab work and back/shoulder mobility

10 minutes of shoulder raises, meels, banded standing rows, curls and overhead presses

After that, I get on with the day, with sort of a glowing feeling until I have to get into my office. Shrug, at least it lasts that long. 

Monday I did a 30-minute swim and Tuesday I did a 30-minute HIIT session. 

It's all about balance. 

Just remember that the future is not set ... 

Jan 22- 27

 

Just the first one, the rest kind of blows. Until the last one. 

This week started off pretty well but ended stupidly.

Let me explain. I finished my rings four times Monday to Friday - Wednesday was the "I have to be a dad and husband" day, so I did not finish them that day. I did however stay married and stay in the lives of my children. Also important. 

I earned the January Challenge on the Apple Watch by doing 19 swimming workouts in a month. Neat, but not really why I'm doing these sessions. I also had a Dr. appointment on Tuesday after school. Blood Pressure was 120/80, HR was 81. That's why I'm doing these sessions. 

I did get the first three a day done on Friday, expecting to do the same for the rest of the weekend. Nope. The RV smashed me in the head Saturday at noon and I ended up having to get checked out by another medical professional. Nothing jarred loose, nothing too deeply cut, but it was a skull injury so it bled like stupid. 

May or may not have been me

Mah, whatever. I did get my morning routine done ahead of time and I took it easy the rest of the day. It is clotted up quite nicely at the moment and is good. I'll get a thing that goes on the head and get a swim done after some work Sunday.

I did also get some HIIT workouts done this week, as promised. They were a bit of fun - the DVDs are cheap from Value Village at the moment and are really helping with getting in there to get the work done. 

Friday's workout was for almost 40 minutes ... four rounds of

3 - 5 min Airdyne bike

2 min kettlebell swings - single and double-handed

90 seconds battle ropes - so cool when the car isn't home and I can use the space

20 step-ups on the 20 cm step. 

Jan 15-21

 

The Last Samurai was on the screen this week.

This is a day late, but not without good news. I mean ... I didn't finish off the rings every day. Friday, for example, I missed the standing ring by six minutes.

Eye roll. Yeah, I trained that day for 105 minutes and got 1500+ on the Move circle, but Standing I missed. Yeah, whatever.

In any case, the good news is that I had three days of three workouts a day during this time - Friday, Saturday and Sunday I had a morning routine, an afternoon HIIT workout and then ended the day with a swim. Good days for the heart and for the family - my wife came with me on Sunday night to bear witness to the greyness in the hot tub. Sadly, it was pretty gross. We got our swim done and got ourselves home. 

The HIIT workouts in the garage were a nice addition to the week. About 30 minutes long and they looked like this:

Rounds to get to 30 minutes:

3-5 minutes air bike

90 seconds 12-kilo kettlebell swings

20 step-ups on 12-inch step

80 seconds battle ropes

Not a bad workout, to be frank. Nothing exciting, but real steps towards the limitless cardio I crave for a return to rugby. 

Jan 8 - 14

 

I'll be honest - not a good week. I got through it and had a few things go seriously just wrong, but I didn't react as I should have until much later.

 Monday and Tuesday were wonderfully perfect: morning routine and evening in the pools. Then the pool called and told me that it would be closed for a few days.

What should I have done? Gone to the gym and done HIIT workouts. I should have gone into my own gym and done HIIT workouts. What DID I do? Took a zero-day. Then another. Friday at least I got two out of my three rings closed, but not the Move ring. Meh, whatever. At least Saturday I got things back in gear and got a HIIT done and THEN a swim. 

Sunday is going well so far - I'm doing this post early so there is a lot of time I can mess things up. 

Jan 1-7

 

Got it on the first try.

Woot! Welcome to 2024

...and so we start off this year with a bit of a bang - closed the rings ... almost all of the rings, every day this week. I missed one day of standing. Standing. Shrug. I wasn't annoyed until I saw the "Ring in the New Year" challenge on my Fitness app. 

Seven days in a row with all three rings completed. Need to have stood up for twelve minutes on Friday. 

Shrug

I'll get that done. It was chilling at home, getting to the pool at the end of the day kind of week. Pleasantly boring. I did a couple of HIIT workouts - and my body just bounced right back the next day.

Drove the eldest back to school in Ottawa today - back and forth ... about a twelve-hour drive there and back. I still have today's rings closed. Machine.

Here was tonight's swim:

100 m Breaststroke

300 m Freestyle

100 m kickboard

250 m freestyle - I miscounted... sadly. 

50 m breaststroke.

950 m in 32 minutes. Sniffle. At least I got the rings closed.