Oct 5 to 11

 

I'm writing this while the Jays are losing the first game in the 2025 ALCS 2-1 to the Mariners. I'm hoping by the end of this post, the Jays will be winning. Sigh, I have high hopes.

This week was a pleasant enough slide into the holiday weekend here in Canada. Work was work and all morning sessions were covered. I had to be a dad or a family member of some sort. Morning sessions always done, evening sessions are things that I continue to struggle with getting done. 

Morning sessions this week:

10-12 minutes of mobility with some hip work. Baby pose, push ups, downward dog, cobra pose, WGS, 90/90 stretches and thread the needle. 

10-12 minutes of ab work. Swimming kicks, BJJ leg pummelling, putting on socks stretches and rotations, scorpion stretch, dead bugs, hydrant stretches, hollow ab holds, clamshell and reverse clamshell stretches and push ups

15-20 minutes of DB wrist flexion, cobra bicep curls, lateral DB raises, banded bicep curls, banded overhead presses, KB swings, standing hip CARS with the newly named PVC pipe. 

I did the Christmas season prep today - getting the calendar up and ready for the next 80 days. Work is going to drag itself out. It is the toughest part of the year and I'll need hope. We will also need better fitness for this time as well - I go in for a hip surgery consult shortly and I want the BP to be just int he right place. 

Jays are losing 3-1 at the moment. Top of the 8th, one out. Man, I don't like the Jays chances here. 

Sept 29 to Oct 4

Not the Pierre we need, but the Pierre we deserve

Not a bad week, not a great week either. Somewhere in the middle, the "Lucky Pierre" if you will.  In any case, got out of my office in the evenings at least three this week to swim and close rings. I did end up closing all rings those days and came within 90 whatevers for the red ring on a fourth day.

The other days I was a dad or a husband - days needed to keep the peace and harmony. Less lazy and more trying to be a good dad and husband.

I want to focus on the positive - morning sessions were done every day:

10-12 minutes of hip and overall mobility. baby pose, push ups, WGS, 90/90 stretch, downward dog to cobra, basic hip and shoulder stretching. 

10-12 minutes of ab work - clamshell stretches, reverse clamshell stretch, swimming kicks, BJJ leg pummelling, dead bugs, hydrant stretches, hollow ab holds, rotating putting on socks stretch, seated knee tucks....

10-15 minutes of wrist flexion, cobra bicep curls, lateral DB raises, banded bicep curls, banded overhead presses, KB swings, standing hip CARS with the supercool ABS pipe. 

Swims were the usual "I don't want to stress out anything as I am returning to swimming" type of structure;

100m breaststroke as warm up

400m freestyle, nice and easy, alternating arms only  

100 m breaststroke - a little faster than warmup

200m- 400m freestyle for "cardio" - with flippers, some times paddles ... I just get some swimming done here in order to stress my heart and lungs at this time. Endless cardio comes later.

Saturday I did a 1000m swim in 35 minutes. My running self from 15 years ago would have had a 5k run done in that time. Sigh. Swimming. 

I'm learning though: when running I would crank the running tunes on the iPod to max levels so I could just go and not think. While swimming, I am enjoying the silence and just thinking about retirement. Progress.

Sept 22 to 28

 

Another week of mobility and not very much fitness. Morning sessions are going well at least. And that Rugby World Cup final was excellent. Not the outcome I wanted, but ya know ... second in the world is pretty good. 

Having the Blue Jays win the AL East the next day was pretty awesome too. 

Anyway, morning sessions were like this:

10 minutes of mobility - baby pose, downward dog, dog leg stretches, 90/90 stretches, frog pose. Push ups. Large ball mobility on the hips

10 minutes of ab work - swimming leg kicks, BJJ pummelling, clam hip opening stretch, WGS, runners stretches, piriformis stretch, QL stretches as well. Lying chest press, chest flies.

10-15 minutes of Hip CARS, push ups BW squats, dumb bell burls, cobra curls, overhead presses, delt raises, cool stuff like that. Kettlebell swings to raise the HR.

It's just been in the evenings I get home and just need to stop. I understand this is getting in the way of my goals and that I need to get myself moving. I know it, I just ... don't. At least I didn't this week.

I did get back to voracious reading, finishing a book in a day on Saturday. And ... got all of the things done that help me keep my job done as well. So ... good on me there. 

Sept 14 to 21

 

The workout in the mornings and collapse in the evenings routine continued this week. I did stretch out (See what I did there) the morning sessions a bit this week, knowing that would happen. 

The weekend is another thing altogether collapsing. But - in my defence, Canada made it to the Rugby World Cup finals, so we all good. 

Morning sessions looked like this:

8-10 minutes WGS, hip extensions, push ups, 90/90 stretches - I'm trying to get the ankle off of the mat with these now as well. Downward dog to cobra pose.

8-10 minutes ab work - swimmers kicks, seated ab tucks, push ups, planks, clamshell and side to side ab tucks, BJJ leg pummelling. Supine dumb bell flies and presses

10-15 minutes dumb bell curls, cobra curls, overhead presses. Standing hip CARS with my supercool big piece of ABS pipe. Kettlebell swings or fan bike. 

I do recall that my children naming all of my piece of equipment a long time ago. For example, the punching bag was named Roger. I didn't tell them why until much later, after they had read Lord of the Flies. I wonder if they would be so kind as to name the super cool ABS pipe. Or ... or ... hear me out, I offer the youngest the opportunity to name said super cool thingy as he wasn't old enough to participate in the earlier days.

Sept 7 to 14

Can YOU tell the difference? Maybe it's Maybelline!

There were some positives -mostly work related - to this week, and some real slap in the forehead, thumb in the eye kind of things going on this week. I did it to myself, but it happened. <<le sigh>>

At least the morning sessions continued - I added some light cardio to the last fifteen minutes this week:

8-10 minutes hip and chest mobility - WGS, push ups, 90/90 stretch, downward dog to cobra, baby pose, basic hip and back and shoulder stretching

8-10 minutes abs, push ups, swimming kicks, lying knee rotations, dead bugs, hydrant stretches, clam shell stretches, BJJ leg pummelling, supine ground db flies

10-15 minutes, starting with 2-3 minutes on the air bike or kettle bell swings, then lateral DB raises, "cobra" db curls, overhead presses, hip opening stuff with a PVC pipe that I will now call "pole stretching". I'm doing this last part as AMRAP. I find this part rather helpful and sweaty.

After this, of course I get in the house and make coffee, breakfasts and lunches. The lunches are as always apples, carrots and hummus, prunes, some cheese. 

Breakfasts are tending towards ham and eggs. I'm trying to get protein in and make sure the caffeine levels are rising before driving to work. 

It is the evenings that are the issue - this week I was trying to get everyone out for a swim, but decided to be an idiot. When I am an idiot, everything stops until I can apologize and then this week, not even then. I did hear back about the x-ray to the knee and it wasn't a happy message. The ultra sounds might be just worse, but we will find out this week. 

Sept 1 to 6

 

A week of transition, of trying to find my rhythm has been ...meh, oddly frustrating at times. With a return to a much regulated schedule, just "working out whenever" has gone by the wayside. So this week was fitting workouts into someone else's ideas for me - which lead to me showing up to a public pool and finding it closed early. I'm not sure who does that, but man, that was a drag.

Morning sessions were done every day this week. See if you can spot something added:

8-10 minutes 90/90 stretches, baby and frog pose, WGS, hip opening stuff form YT University and physiotherapists. Push ups, downward dog to cobra pose.

8-10 ab work - swimmers kicks, BJJ leg pummelling, prone 90/90 stretches, push ups

10-15 minutes shoulder work - lateral DB raises, DB meels, bicep curls, overhead presses, 3 minutes on the spin bike, hip CARS with PVC pipe, push ups. Wrist rolling, depending on time

It got a little longer, with plans on just a little longer getting close to the end of September. Just need a little sweat going at the start of the day. 

I swum three times this week, and lo, the rings were closed three times thins week. I think the Venn diagram is a circle there, Sir. 

Aug 24 to Aug 31

preventing this is what got in the way of training this week

A little bragging before I post this week - I've kept this blog alive for fifteen years as of this week. Check it out for yourself here.  

I may have to write about what this blog has brought to my life along with journalling, but that is for another time. 

Well this has been the week of two efforts, to be frank.

Week started off well - morning routine every day this week, but the evening sessions in the second half of the week, not so much. First three days, closed all rings, last three days, closed two every day.

Swimming in an outdoor pool was interesting, but not nearly as much fun as indoor swimming with the lack of idiots in the pool. It was weird. People are weird.  

Morning sessions these days are the usual, except for the last fifteen minutes. I've started to end the sessions with 12 kilo KB swings, Dumb bell/banded work for shoulders and chest along with standing hip work from the physio and various other health care professionals. All good.

What happened in the evenings in the second half of the week? I had to be a control rod for my family - keeping things calm is key this time of year. Absorb energy so that the whole thing doesn't Chernobyl, ya know what I mean?