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.