Nov 30 to Dec 12

 

Lots of later night workouts these days - it is the only time I can give myself the time and energy to get it done. The world isn't working well these days. Nothing is smooth and the counts of Covid are going back up. 

Put your pointy finger and thumb near each other for me ... I'm that far away from a two week holiday and then a short time away from finishing this semester's work. It is a short step, a short time standing on my head to use that old metaphor ... and then we are on a break. And then the world shifts one more degree towards being normal again.

A threat of an unpaid time off will keep me at home and just exhaustion will keep me resting after this week. I'll see the beach, the forrest but not much else. 

The walks for mobility continue and some clarity regarding what should and might come next is coming with the time spent going back and forth in a pool. The side hustle will also continue and will be directed towards debt reduction in the new year. 

In these twelve or so days I hit ten days of them. My hips and knees are liking it. My ears, not so much. At least I'm keeping myself away from making things worse. My diet isn't seeing the improvements yet, but at least the activity level is on the rise. 

Next steps are being planned and the Break is going to give me the time to make them happen, too. 

Nov 22 to 29

The pool mobility continues. A lot of unrest and reassembly inside my garage gym this week. I put the Grand caravan away and got the Vibe out on the snow and ice this week, for example. 

I hit 6 out of 7 days in the pool and one HITT session this week - I'd be angry but at least I'm moving and working at the problem. 

The other problem is the internet access at work these days. I know I'm not supposed to, but I've been using my own data to move the sticks forward. 

In the end I did get the equipment for a few more workout possibilities out and available - I can box and use the Indo Board in my garage gym now. I'm hoping that paddle boarding in May will be that much easier as a result. 

Nov 15 to 21

 

Most of this week was mobility and just getting into the habit of getting workouts in. Most days this week I got some mobility done. I did get to the pool on Saturday afternoon, but backed away slowly when I got  there are there was so many ankle biters I couldn't stay.

But there is always the next day and the next day. And so, I kept going day after day. 

My hips are feeling better, my sleep is getting batter and ...well, everything seems to be going in the right direction. 

I even got some cool 35 lb dumb bells on Saturday for a decent price used on Fb marketplace. I mean, yeah man, it's been moving in the right direction. 

Nov 3 to 14

 

I've been getting out to the pool almost every day. Glad the world is opening up again - I don't think we are quite done, but I think we can start thinking about a nice summer at least. 

Pool visits for the time being are about 30 minutes just walking and mobility in the water. Getting the hips into full ranges of motion and getting the hip extensor muscle to stretch and stop aching. It was the aching that was causing so much difficulty in the past. It never left, I just didn't stress it out with all the sitting I was doing.

But, lots of mobility and lots of just walking are good for the things that hurt, including my brain. I also find that I'm a lot happier and I have a bit more energy to do the average day's chores without having to nap half way through.

I'm gaining clarity with each session in the pool - it's quiet alone time and I get to be mindless as I traverse the pool./ I like that about cardio - I get to think and plan out what's coming. It's as if the time I'm taking for myself instead of playing video games is going to benefit me.

I've also been starting HIIT sessions twice a week. Well, maybe not HITT ... perhaps MITT sessions. I'm not really letting my heart rate get to 160+ as I've done in the past. Highest I've gotten this week was 140. That's good enough for the time being.

5 minutes elliptical trainer

2 minutes kb lifts - cleans, cleans and presses, presses.

2 minutes elliptical trainer

and so on.

I'm only doing like 20 - 25 minutes of that right now. I'll get that up a few minutes at a time. I know that will help me get back to where I'd like to be as quickly as I can. 

Oh! I also got an Indo Board - a balance trainer off of Fb marketplace for a few bucks. I've used it a few
times already ... it's hard to keep myself up there, man.

 

Oct 14 to Nov 2

 I am doing this post at the front of my students as proof that doing this is not a difficult thing to do. Man, the last few weeks have been a real relief to me and to my family as the restrictions are finally coming off. 

I might get in trouble for stating an opinion, but if I get in trouble for saying how much more fun life is without living under a quarantine, then ... I guess you can get me in trouble. 

For most of the last twenty months I've been holed up in my house, working. Of course I've been sitting while doing that and the last few months I've been trying to get up out of the chair and just been more active. The kayak will be the coolest thing to come to me during all of this. Well the corner has been turned finally and I've been able to hit the pool and get my hips to start moving again.

To be sure, my hips would much prefer that I stay in a chair and not move ever again. Yeah, can't do that. I need to get myself moving again. And so I've been doing mobility stuff in the pool. Last night was the first training session in a very long while:

HIIT session went as follows 

Not my longest or my hardest workout ever, but this is after two yers of basically nothing.

Sept 1-Oct 14

Man, I've left this for a while. I've made a few records on my Apple Watch for daily fitness.

Not a lot of workouts ... at least workouts that I would have considered workouts in the past. Twenty minute sessions that keep my heart rate up. Introduction ... or reintroduction to fitness. 

Whatever.

I keep telling myself and writing to myself that I need to get fitter. I have recurring dreams in which I'm back playing sports and have oodles of fitness to get around the pitch and running free. 

And then I wake up lying in bed and my hip has poked me awake. 

Ugh.

At least my bike got a tune up and my kayak is ready to go. I just need the stress of 2021 to let up just a smidgen.

Aug 18 to 31

 Some improvements in training and injuries over this period of time. 

More and longer walks, some sessions in the water and lots and lots of good sleep. And stretching. Lots and lots of stretching. 

Working towards getting ready for the return to work, too. This morning had to get a bunch of stuff ... heavy stuff out of the house and on to the curb for the bulk pick up later this week. The couch was a heavy piece of work, and I've asked my wife to consider never buying something that heavy again. It was a doozy. I called the City last week to warn them, but the 311 lady responded with "Get it to the curb and we will get rid of it". I'm going to wish them well with that heavy thingy.

Found three remotes in that thing, too. Whatever.

In happier news, I did a bike ride this week too - the first bike rise for fun in at least thirty years. Some work needs to be done on it; it basically needs a tune up for it to be really ready to go. But it was so much fun getting out onto the road and moving again. So nice.

I'm going to be doing a fair amount of reflection over the next few weeks, before crashing headlong into the future. It's going to be cool, then awesome. 

"On lusty gentlemen!" (Romeo and Juliet Act One, Scene 4)