Footsore Rambler

Hey, so, I had a therapy session today. I am trying to get some treatment for my sleep issues. It went well. Since my last entry, I've been exercising less. Still getting in the gym time, but the other physical IWOM training items have taken a back burner to work stuff. I can now do a chinup pretty consistently. Better chinups, too; just not 2 in a row yet. And I can't get a pullup (w/ hands facing the other direction) consistently, but I am improving. I feel like I'm closer to true pistol squatting, too, but progress is slow. I still need to hold on to a strap for balance.

A potential reference: https://www.stumptuous.com/no-weights-no-problem

Maybe it's the sort of project that you could facilitate, rather than do single-handedly. I think it's a great idea, and I bet you could find a lot of people who could contribute.

'Field Scientist Fitness' should totally be a thing, if it's not already! I'm a hydrologist, and a lot of my motivation for fitness training is geared toward my work. Here are some of the things I've found to make a real difference in my practical fitness: 1. Hiking a lot. 2. Acclimating to heat before having to exert myself in it. 3. Lifting free weights. Heavy lifting, whole body movements. 4. Gaining enough strength and flexibility to hang out in a squatting position (I guess 'grok squat' is what the kids these days call it). Even more so, being able to squat with my legs wide apart. You'd be surprised how often this can come up in field scenarios, when you want to get your face or hands close to something on the ground without stepping on it. 5. Working on grip and wrist strength.

Here's what my typical weekly exercise regimen looks like these days: Strength training @ gym 1 day/ week, usually Saturday or Sunday Mobility training or swim at gym 1 day/ week, Wed or Thurs. Inline skating for about 30-60 minutes, 2 days/ week, usually Monday and Friday Swim at housing assoc. pool, 1-2 days/week, Sunday, Wed, or Thurs Stretching, Yoga, or mobility work, 4-5 evenings/week while watching TV Very occasional bike ride or running or hiking. I'd like to get to the point where I'm riding my bike more for transportation, but it's been so hot that it is not very appealling.

The IWOM training is proceeding reasonably well. I've already measureably improved in my swimming, breath-holding, skating, and language skills. My health is quite good these days. I'm as strong as I've ever been. I met all of my earlier strength goals except being able to pistol squat, and I'm very close to that one. So here are some more goals. I'm not gonna bother with the timeline this time. 1. Do 2 chinups or pullups in a row. 2. Deadlift 200# x 2 (just over 1.5 x BW for me at present) 3. Squat 135# x 5 (a little over 1 x BW) 4. Do a pistol squat on each side. 5. Do a handstand. 6. Do the splits. That should keep me occupied for a while. Diet-wise, it's been about a year since I joined the CSA, and looking back, I can see that my overall eating and cooking habits have improved. I eat less processed food, I cook more, I eat way more veggies, with more variety. I'm not following a paleo diet, but I do value the framing device of paleo -- the idea that food should not be so far removed from the source that it could be confused with something from the hardware store. I can mostly give myself a pat on the back on this front, I believe. The biggest improvement I'd like to see in my diet is cutting back on drinking alcohol. I do like a cold beer (or two) on a hot summer day, but if I could dial back, I would very likely decrease my body fat percentage and improve my sleeping habits. So I am thinking about making a challenge to go alcohol-free for 30 days. Yeah, so my sleep is a problem area. That's largely due to stress and anxiety, which is largely due to stuff that is going on with my job. I can do what I can to deal with the parts of it under my direct control, but so much of it is not. And so I'm faced with the dilemma of trying to fix it and/or wait it out, or look for another job, both of which are stressful (I'm doing both, BTW). I should look into getting EAP-provided therapy. Maybe that would be another good challenge.

Your goal sounds both ambitious and admirable. I tend to be pretty self-directed, and also quite stubborn, so I've found that I'm better off being my own coach. If I were to pay someone to help me level up, I think help with motivation and feedback would be the most useful thing to me. Basically, someone who can not only tell me I'm being awesome (when that is the case), but who is paying enough attention to tell me in great detail exactly how awesome I am. I would only believe that person if I felt like they really understood my goals and motivation, though. I'm not sure that really answers your question. I'm not sure what certification would help with the above -- it seems like maybe a therapist's job.

So lately, I have decided that I am undergoing International Woman of Mystery training. I'm brushing up on French, Spanish, and Russian, learning to hold my breath for longer periods of time, training for agility (i.e. rollerblading), continuing with my strength goals, working on my swimming technique, and getting SCUBA certification (in a few months). The breath-holding and swimming has sort of taken that place of meditation for me for the moment. It has a lot of the same components, but the end game is slightly different. However, I feel like I'm in a place where sneaking up on relaxation is likely to be more effective than trying to do it directly.

Weighted jump squats and/or power cleans. Squats and deadlifts are helpful, too, but you need something with an explosive power component.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, of course. Jane Goodall. Boudica. Alanna (the Lioness).

Guys. Guys! Guess what I just bought? A pair of inline skates!! I saw a very nice pair at the used sporting goods store for $20 in my size, and so here we are. And I have already bruised my knee even though I didn't really take them for a spin -- just put them on in my kitchen and tried to stand up. I am going to bring them to work, where I'm thinking I will skate a round campus a bit during my lunch breaks.

I'm in the same boat. Tracking works extremely well for me, but it makes me all stressed and obsessive. So what I have been doing for a while is to track for a few days if I am changing something up, and to stop once I am reasonably confident that I am on the right path. It's not quite as effective in terms of losing or gaining weight, but it works.

Here's where I'm at right now. For reference, I'm a 130#-ish woman, and recovering from medical issues: deadlift - 165# squat - 105# power clean - 60# row - 65# ohp - 45# I don't bench for shoulder reasons. I only recently started doing weighted rows and OHP, for the same reason. I was doing bodyweight stuff before. I have done a couple of different beginner programs before, and my current routine is my own synthesis, based on prior experience and medical advice.

I really enjoyed it, and have been trying to get other people I know in real life to read it. No luck so far

Good job! I have a 20 lb weight in the back of my work truck, for science reasons. It's cool to think that you've lost more than that from your body!