March 28 to April 5

 

Can you hear it calling to you? I hear it calling to me.

A lot of the two steps forward, one step back going on these days. Making mistakes is just par for the course and you just have to keep playing after making the mediocre decisions.  In any event, during this time, close the rings three or so times, some swimming, but a lot of interference from work and family life. Morning routines done every day. Speaking of which ... 

Morning routine this week looked like this:

10-15  minutes of hip and mobility work. baby pose, downward dog, cat cow stretches, 90/90 hip movements, seated groins stretch, World's greatest stretch, downward dog to cobra, planks, hip opening stuff from the physio. Push ups.

10-15 minutes of ab work - BJJ leg pummelling, hollow holds, swimmer's kicks, alternating heel touches, hamstring bridges, push ups, Standing hip and leg mobility exercises from the physio

I was feeling rather unimpressed with the tugs inside my shoulders while swimming during this time, so I started doing this for swimming:

100 m breast stroke, nice and easy for warm up and for getting ready

400 m front crawl, arms only. Slow, moving up to medium pace. Just to get some cardio started here.

100 m breast stroke to clear the lactic acid away

200 m kick board one way, sprint front crawl back. Paddles and flippers used. (25 x 8)

50 m breast stroke as warm down, nice and slow and easy

then into the hot tub if there was time. 

I am starting to see temperatures into the double digits these days, so the kayak has been dusted off and plans have been thought of for that. I'mma get my bike out today as well and see if the legs recall what to do there. I'm going to have to put off buying the park pass for a week or so, but hiking is also on the table for April and May. 

Mar 17 to March 27

I'd say this was me, but I don't do this with shoes

Yeah, man ... I'm getting through these days, but with nothing but a lot of just plain endurance. I'm just "out enduring" these weeks. Like November, but man, just not quite as long or grey. Just happy that next week is April. Anyway, progress continues but with a slow gradual walk forward.

Physio has been helping - I think I got the bad idea to use my kettlebell to strip a hip adductor muscle from them and actually ended up doing some damage to myself. No, they didn't give me the idea, I just recalled the idea when I was there stretching. Going hard with a piece of metal into your muscles is a good thing, right?  

Well, actually, no. It took me a few days to recover from that grinding of my hip muscle into the bell. Duly noted.

Morning routine continues each day - usually in the mornings, but once or twice during this time I got a chance to sleep in and it got done later in the day. 

10 minutes of hip and mobility work. baby pose, downward dog, cat cow stretches, 90/90 hip movements, seated groins stretch, World's greatest stretch, planks, hip opening stuff from the physio. Push ups.

Yeah, this is me in Warrior II pose.

10 minutes of ab work - BJJ leg pummelling, hollow holds, swimmer's kicks, alternating heel touches, hamstring bridges, push ups,

10 minutes of standing stuff - dumb bell curls, dumb bell curls to press. Dumb bell dead lifts, some TRX squats/ squats to face pulls. Standing hip and leg mobility exercises from the physio. Warrior II pose. 

During this time I also got to the pool three times a week. Not always the same nights, but I got it done three times a week. The goopy ears/sinuses are drying up and I can breathe while sleeping, which is nice. No update on the BP check, but I'll get that done this weekend. 

I understand I should be doing one or two HIIT workouts, but they aren't yet being done. I'll get there.

March 1-16

 

Whoa, sorry regular readers. Man, a rather long break from writing on this blog. Meh, there have been longer breaks with a lot worse news. Shrug, life is a balance and I'm a bit off kilter at the moment. 

Anyway, morning routine continues, I got some help with some Physio pointing out some modifications and stretches that I am already doing.

The morning routine is still:

10 minutes of hip and shoulder mobility - baby pose to start, then to downward dog, to plank, to cobra pose. 90/90 hip movements, seated groin stretch, push ups, world's greatest stretch, hip opening stuff I got from the Physio. Push ups.

10 minutes of ab work -  seated knee tucks, swimmer's kicks, hollow abdominal poses, push ups, planks, side shrimp, alternating heel touches, hamstring bridges. Push ups.

10 minutes of arms, shoulders and standing hamstring/hip work. Dumb bell lateral raises. Banded arm curls, banded overhead presses, push ups, standing exercises from the Physio. Banded dead lifts. Some TRX squats and double arm face pulls and bodyweight rows. Push ups.

During this time, I went back to the pool, getting 25-30 minute swimming sessions done twice a week. My sinuses can't stand all the water in there these days, but gross q-tips are the cost of fitness I guess. I do have a "check BP" on my to Do list this week and I will update. 

Feb 17 to 28

 

Starting soon

Where does the time actually go? I dunno everyone, but I guess I missed another week or so there. All good. A rather spectacularly boring section where I got up, got on my program and got through the days in a pleasant enough pattern.

It was nice to have a day off here and there - work was a bit off, as I had a few special days here and there. We got through them with as much grace as we could. I ran into a few old friends at one event for work and it was merely okay.

Morning sessions were done everyday - I mean some were later in the day, but the sessions were still done. I did add "Side Shrimp" for in the ab section of the workout. I'll keep working on getting better at that one. 

10 minutes of hip and shoulder mobility - baby pose to start, then to downward dog, to plank, to cobra pose. 90/90 hip movements, seated groin stretch, push ups, world's greatest stretch, hip opening stuff I see on Youtube. Push ups.

10 minutes of ab work -  seated knee tucks, swimmer's kicks, hollow abdominal poses, push ups, planks, side planks, side shrimp, frog crunches, hamstring bridges. Push ups.

10 minutes of arms, shoulders and standing hamstring work. Dumb bell lateral raises. Banded arm curls, banded overhead presses, push ups, standing hamstring stretches. Banded dead lifts. Some TRX squats and double arm face pulls and bodyweight rows. Push ups.

Feb 9 to 16

 

This was on my phone while I stretched

Ah, my steadfast and loyal readers - it is a holiday Monday in the part of the world where I live these days. So, technically this isn't late. I mean technically it is, but we must abide the times.

Got all my morning sessions done this week - although one or two were actually done later in the day, but they at least got done. I keep seeing social media posts with baseballs for biceps on 80 year olds, so I'm just going to keep myself steady and moving forward.

Morning sessions are still:

SHoveLWOD strong, comrade!

10 minutes of hip and shoulder mobility - baby pose to start, then to downward dog, to plank, to cobra pose. 90/90 hip movements, seated groin stretch, push ups, world's greatest stretch, hip opening stuff I see on Youtube. Push ups.

10 minutes of ab work -  seated knee tucks, swimmer's kicks, hollow abdominal poses, push ups, planks, side planks, alternating heel touches, frog crunches, hamstring bridges. Push ups.

10 minutes of arms, shoulders and standing hamstring work. Banded arm curls, banded overhead presses, push ups, standing hamstring stretches. Some TRX squats and double arm face pulls and bodyweight rows. Push ups.

The cardio sessions were SHoveLWODs. (I'm going to trademark that spelling of it, by the way ... we got like 30 cm of snow on us over the last five days. Great for reading, squishing Zerg and yoga. Also a much coveted snow day as well. But the Apple Watch was slapping me on the back for everything I did this week while covered in snow.  

Feb 2 to 8

 

This could be a pic of me, but I don't do hollow ab poses with socks

A pleasantly boring week for my fitness journey this week. Lots of two a day sessions working on mobility and strength on the mat in my garage gym. I did have to get out on Thursday and replace an iPhone charging cord and came across one item on my wish list - a massage gun recommended by another rugby playing kettlebell enthusiast. It was on sale for forty bucks and so I grabbed it and took it home.

A revelation in recovery help. Oh my goodness, I had it on my hip/quads for  ... let's say ten minutes ... and it was such a benefit to release and recovery. Honestly, just wow. 

I wish I could tell you that I woke up Saturday morning and all was well, but somehow my right ankle got twisted into a pretzel while I slept and I woke up with it inflamed. Had to get stuff done before a major snowfall came, so I soldiered on. But so annoying to have my hip not hurt and something else get in the way of enjoying an average busy Saturday.

Morning sessions are still:

Alternating heel touches for the win

10 minutes of hip and shoulder mobility - downward dog, to plank, to cobra pose. 90/90 hip movements, seated groin stretch, push ups, world's greatest stretch, hip opening stuff I see on Youtube.

10 minutes of ab work -  seated knee tucks, swimmer's kicks, hollow abdominal poses, push ups, planks, side planks, alternating heel touches, frog crunches, hamstring bridges

10 minutes of arms, shoulders and standing hamstring work. Banded arm curls,, banded overhead presses, push ups, standing hamstring stretches of various yoga poses and things that I recall from Wrestling and Rugby sessions in the past. 

Evening sessions tend to be just the first two 10 minute blocks, sometimes intertwined but no arm/shoulder work in the evenings. Just don't need that stress. 

Jan 19 to Feb 1

 

Don't laugh, it was harder than it looks

To my loyal readers - sorry man, this is never a good time of the year, kind of stressful at work and lazy moments on the weekends. Whatever, things will be the way things will be.

All morning sessions done, all exercise circles closed, all standing circles closed. I just didn't want to get out into the cold and go for a swim - edit what a lame excuse. 

I did do some thinking on this topic and will be switching things up. I did a retirement planning workshop and I need to get back to my Vision Board - which I literally just reworked- and focus on making those things come to reality. 

To that end, I'm doing better on my Fitness, not necessarily my desire for limitless cardio but at least my mobility is much better than last year. Certainly my shoulders like the yoga and stretching and the not swimming. Rotator cuffs are grinning to each other as I type this. I will continue my careful exploration on "Adventure" as well. Various RV and Outdoor Shows are this month and next - I plan on attending and learning just a bit more than I already know. Come April and I'd like to be out on Lake Ontario in a kayak and my protective gear. Hypothermia is not my kink.

I had to change "Side Hustle" to "Side Hustle and Retirement" - as there were so many things I got flicked in the head with while sitting in a workshop to that end. Finding important papers and certificates is the easy part and sending copies to where they need to be. Planning the who's and wheres and the whats is the stuff I should be thinking about next. I'm honoured that I even get to consider ending my career with my current employer and move on to way better stuff. 

I also had to alter "Culinary Arts" to "Nutrition and Culinary Arts" as I need to get a hold of what I stick in my mouth. I always knew the adage that you can't out train a bad diet, but I never really lived it. Well, I should really start looking at living more intentionally and with a focus on my heart health. No scares yet, <<knocks on wood>>  but I know the days of eating like a teenager are going to come home to roost. 

These help my hips: BJJ leg pummelling

The last two are staying the same: "ASL"  and "Writing and Blogging". I should carve out some time for the first one as hearing loss is catching up to me. I do make time for writing every day and I have to blog for work - I just need to keep developing increasingly sophisticated skills for the future. 

In any case, morning sessions are looking like this:

10 minutes basic mobility - 90/90s, baby pose, push ups, one leg out hip stretches, classic groin
stretches, warrior one poses, starting to work on hand stand pose as well.

10 minutes ab work - seated knee tucks, flutter kick, BJJ leg pummelling, side lying leg lifts, back lying wipers and more push ups

10 minutes arms and shoulders - banded curls and overhead presses, TRX aided squats and face pulls, TRX curl ups and more push ups. 

Jan 12 to 18

Shoulder mobility is important

Something weird just happened to my keyboard. Odd that. Anyway, got a pair of push up handles this week and started using them - they are nice - helpful with all kids of bodyweight poses and presses. I also got a yoga pillow in the garage gym as well - helpful for mobility in the mornings.

Which brings up doing mobility in the evenings, too. I did get at least one swim in this week in the evenings, but stayed at home and did an evening session in the garage gym of mobility/bodyweight training instead of HIIT or swimming. Not sure I'm able to connect attaining the "boundless cardio" goal I have with mobility training, but I slept just as well and moved a little better.

I also heard back from the lab coat about the x-ray. Seems my hip hurts. "Marked joint space narrowing" and "marginal osteophytes" ... seems I have to go for swims, start to doing some mobility training, recover from chronic injury and overuse as well as aging and wear. 

When people say "You are doing everything right." ... I seriously want to rattle their ancestors. 

So ... just to mention it, I did do mobility training every day this week and went for a swim once. 

"You are doing everything right."

Jan 5 to 11

Yup, had this on the screen for the HIIT sessions

Not a bad week over all. Closed the rings three times so far and got back to HIIT sessions as well as getting in to the pool this week. A bit of snow and really cold kept me from hikes - and my hip ain't being nice these days either. 

HIIT sessions were pretty ordinary with getting rounds of these done until I got to 30 or 35 minutes:

3 minutes air bike

2 minutes kettlebell swings/cleans/snatches with the 12 kilo bell.

Nothing daring there, but basic cardio. Gloves on the kettlebell were a necessity for these old hands.

I did the morning sessions barefoot in a rather chilly garage gym this week - I did wear a hoodie and shorts so I looked like a teenager, I guess. Ah well, whatever. 

I do like the quiet for the AM sessions but need a movie on in the evening sessions. Shrug, I can handle that. 

Dec 30 to Jan4

 

A bit hazy, but it is correct

Holidays / vacation / recovery time continued this week. It was nice to be able to sit at home and listen to the rest of the family hack up their lungs. Quite pleasant. I did get a chance to hike a few times in the local provincial park, get in the pool twice and hit my morning sessions every day. I even did the correct date on January first, 2025. 

I even squeezed in some work time here and there. Had a lovely family NYE celebration and generally tried to recover from stress and prepare for what is next. I did get two RV weekends booked, and made myself a promise that I would get a kayak out onto water for at least one of those weekends. 

On a sad note, my Apple Watch fell off and the screen smashed enough while getting a couch to the curb this week. I thought it would be fine and wore it into the pool the following day, but ... the water just got in and that was enough. I got on to Fb Marketplace and will be off this afternoon to pick up another new-to-me replacement. 

Morning sessions went like this:

10 minutes hip mobility, general mobility, push ups. Did three rounds of each. 

10 minutes ab work- hollow holds, swimmers kicking, seated knee tucks. Dead bugs as well. 

10 minutes TRX squats to face pulls, banded curls and overhead presses, banded lateral raises.