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Mine felt like a strained... something but has been causing pain on that whole side of my body. I think it happened walking dogs.

Week 0 was largely a bust. I was sick most of the week and slept a lot. Didnt make it to the gym at all. Rode 50 miles Saturday. I did stretch several times because I also was having a lot of hip pain. So, here goes week 1. Forgot I made "biking to individual dogs" a goal and I have one tonight and at 6am so...

Ugh I swear I hit the current challenge. I do this every few months.

So during the course of this challenge, I will be packing up and moving... again. I moved less than a year ago after staying put for 8 years. All three places are within half a mile of each other. I'm hoping this new place comes with more stability in my life overall. I do feel like I'm finally on the upswing, as far as getting into a routine with the gym and riding. Hoping to keep that trend going. I'm kicking off 0 week sick and will be ending it out of town. My goals for this week are to get back into the gym 3x and to ride 3x. I also want to get into the habit of biking to any early or late (non group) dog walks. Bike Goals: 1. Bike to all single stop dogs. It's warm enough out now that I don't need to obsess over how I'm dressed when I leave. 2. Bike for fun 3x. Try to get closer to 10 miles in mountain biking after work. 3. Get into a bike maintenance routine, once a week. Let's call it Sunday even though I know I'm not doing it today (this is technically zero week, right?) Gym goals: 1. Go 3-4x per week. 2. Try to more consistently give myself 90 minutes. 3. Start a new Wendlers cycle by week 2. It has been a while and I'm not entirely sure where to start yet, hoping to get a feel for that during week 1. Food goals: as far as I can see, so far on this credit statement i have spent about my rent on takeout and beer. So the food goal is simple: groceries only. Also, try to work through items on my shelf so I dont have to move them. Mobility: I used to have this under a bedtime routine goal, but I think it is more important that I try to stretch regularly at whatever time I can do it. Stretch after every lift & ride. Reading: I have been very slowly poking through the final book in LOTR. It needs to be done so that I can start something new.

I missed an entire week somehow. week 3 update From memory, anyway... Gym, 2x Bike, 3x Meal prep, I threw away my old prep and made tacos WEEK 4 gym: 1x I think? Bike: 2x Meal prep: bought and cooked food. Did order takeout. Got really sick a few days ago and ended up working nights (in addition to early mornings and days) most of the week. Today is feeling a little better so think I'll be forcing myself to go to the gym and/ or ride tomorrow. Also the bedtime routine became impossible with night & morning dogs.

I have ridden twice, only gone to the gym once, and have spent probably $70 on delivery pizza while my takeout goes bad.

week 2: Bikes: 4x this week! gym: 3x this week! meal prep: roommate and I have co-prepped a bunch of stuff. I definitely still ordered takeout once. bedtime routine: I think I only really did this 2x. I also stretched every time I went to the gym.

I actually did it last night. I dont have any late clients for a few weeks.

Ooooof. I lost a week, I honestly thought last week was the 0 week. 1. Lifting technically I only went 2x Sunday - Saturday. I did actually go yesterday but that's being liberal with my week. 2. Meal Prep did not do, but currently have food in the crock pot and chicken thawing 3. Bikes I dont think I rode last week, but I did ride yesterday and have plans to ride more this week. 4. Bedtime routine have done none of this. I have been stretching at the gym, which has helped with my back pain. I have had a bunch of late night / early morning walks which is a big crunch on my sleep schedule, so have been hesitant to then sit down and stretch / read to cut into it further.

I should freeze stuff! Honestly if I can just eat groceries instead of takeout, I'll consider it a win...

Well, I finished the last challenge. Didnt really do wildly well, but spring is coming and with it some optimism. 1. Lifting so I have been playing with the idea of not renewing my membership. Then I stumbled on old photos of me deadlifting and decided I really like to be strong. A friend talked some sense into me, said the last year was full of a lot of transition for me and therefore a bad gauge of whether or not lifting can fit my new routine. Additionally, I have had a lot of hip pain and that was something I was working on at the gym. Goal: go 3x per week, in the morning. 2. Meal Prep a big part of this one is saving money, honestly. Meal prep at least once a week. Also keep snacks and drinks in my car. 3. Bike a) bike to all single stop appointments b) try to bike 2-3 days for commuting. This one is tough, some days I dont have time to split everyone up (one dog is going to be angry if he has to walk alone) c) bike at least once a week for fun. 2x if you cant commute 4. Bedtime routine I want to stretch and read during the hour leading up to bedtime.

Week 4 / final: meal prep: i didnt prep this week because I ended up surprise dogsitting and by the time the chicken thawed I didnt have time to cook it (uh, excuse) challenge: i meal prepped one time in 4 weeks. That's pretty dismal. bikes: I commuted Thursday. I had planned on doing this anyway but ended up having a flat on my car. Indoor bike park pass: I'm nixing this very expensive idea because I like to ride outside. But a friend of mine convinced me not to let my last year of transition be a gauge for how the gym will go, and to give one more year a try. Have to renew in the next few days. no contact: didnt reach out. Definitely checking up on his stuff too regularly.

late week 3: meal prep: chicken is thawing. Need to run to the store tonight for veggies. bikes: nope. I hiked for fun (see comment above) Indoor bike park pass: I had every intent to go last night but bailed. There is a class there on Thursday BUT I think the trails may actually be frozen so I want to try to ride outside instead. no contact: this is the only one I was successful in, although there were a few indirect things I would probably call slip ups (social media related). Have not spoken though.

I haven't. I'm contemplating joining an indoor bike park at this point. I even went away to ride, but the weather was 36 and misty (was supposed to be 45 and clear) and the main road ended up being a crazy fast highway. I did hike a bunch...

It's super fun with a steep learning curve, for sure! I dont do it enough.

I should give some background on my decision to quit the gym, hah! I dont take the decision lightly... Last year I lost my job (and consequently, my apartment). I became a dog walker. It blew up and now I walk all day. A quick look at my Garmin connect says that my average daily steps over the last week have come just shy of 19k. I also enjoy mountain biking and hiking a lot, and frequently go on trips (although may be less frequent now, but I still do those things around home). Between walking so much for work, leaving town, crashing in the woods, etc I just haven't been able to get to the gym consistently OR make any kind of progress. And the whole reason I was going was to increase my power lifts. So I've basically decided that at the end of the day / week, I want to do a hobby that I love AND can make progress in. Mountain biking has various ways to progress, and doesnt take 3-4 days a week to do so. In attempting to keep up with EVERYTHING I ultimately am falling short in everything. Ohhh and breakups are tough and this sucks, but my year started out with as many huge stressful life changing things as you can count. I should be fine! But definitely in part because people have been listening to me process things.

I have quite a few friends who have been talking to me a bunch. My ex actually sat and talked for 3 hours last Saturday, but of course that was processing different things.

week 2: gym: I think I went on Sunday, but I dont remenber. However, I've come to the conclusion that it just isnt a priority for me and wont be renewing my membership next month. >> updated goal: obtain annual pass for the indoor bike park down the street meal prep: done. I did order takeout yesterday and stopped at gas stations once or twice though. bikes: no, the weather was super dumb. Was going to today, and it started raining... at 40 degrees that just isnt for me. Hopefully the indoor bike park membership helps this. no contact: he brought my stuff over Sunday night. I affirmatively told him that I thought we could be good if we worked on communication, and that's what I want. I also said he could still call me if he finds himself overwhelmed. I got a bunch of "ok" responses which have left me pretty anxious, but I haven't reached out since.

week 1: gym: 2/3 kind of. The second day was definitely almost nothing. meal prep: nope but grocery shopping is on my to-do list today bikes: no, the weather was super dumb no contact: I texted him Friday asking if we could talk. He responded Saturday saying it was a bad idea so I called him (hah). We talked for 3 hours. It was productive but still left a lot hanging for me. He is coming tonight to drop off the rest of my stuff, I want to say my final piece (partially an apology) and then leave all future communication up to him.

Well, it was weak but gym 1/3 today. I squatted 210x1 but didnt trust the rack to go any higher. Haven't even bought groceries. Weather has been the literal worst for riding. Only communication was to get my stuff back Sunday and a weak "this fucking sucks" after he left (we did not talk). I have decided that I need to gather my thoughts and ask him to have a conversation, maybe by this weekend.

So I was on the fence about doing this because I haven't been finishing them, but my boyfriend broke things off today and I think forcing myself into some kind of structure may be important over the next few weeks. 1. Gym 3-4x per week my whole issue has been that when I stayed at his house, the gym was too far away. So... tada! 2. Meal prep again and now I wont buy groceries and then not be home for days. Boom! 3. Ride for fun He hates riding so we were just hanging out inside, mostly. So I need to get back at it! 4. No initiating contact

week 3 bike 0/3 gym 2/3 stretch 2/7 (I think) gas station stopped for breakfast I think?

Agree! Usually mid winter mountain biking is fun, but this year it has either been icy or muddy... no solid frozen awesome dirt or good powder. Over the summer I was riding pretty regularly.

I should probably explain a bit: In the last year my life fell apart and I am now a full time dog Walker. My first walks are around 5 or 6am (not every day) and then 10-4 or 5 depending on the day. Sometimes I have evening walks, but I've been giving those away. My average daily steps right now for the last 7 days is over 17k. These weeks have been odd in that I've had a high number of cancellations, and today was cold (I didnt even break 10k). Average daily steps frequently climbs above 20k. Half of the week, I drive directly from my last dog to my boyfriend's house because it's easier than driving here, then driving there. So those days are out for the gym. The other days, I sit down and just dont want to go out. It's currently -2 outside, that isnt helping. On a deeper level, I enjoy lifting but my increased activity makes it hard to make real progress, and when it's warm I will choose hiking, biking, and traveling over the gym. This pretty much means all of my lifts are stagnant and I have no idea what to do with them. If I keep up with lifting, biking, hiking, etc my body itself wont have downtime beyond sleeping at night. I've basically been wondering if I should focus on biking & hiking and just drop the gym, since logistics just dont have me consistently doing all of the things while also having a physically demanding job. Trying to get into a routine... Oh and redbull isnt because I was tired really, I like fizzy things. I do fine without it when I stock my car with seltzer.

week 4 is starting off stronger: Stretching Monday & Tuesday Gym Monday (and planning on tonight) Did a gas station breakfast today because I was afraid my car wouldnt start, it did, and I was half an hour early for my first stop. Would be ok but I definitely bought redbull.