obax ~ a challenging challenge

[obax]

Took a bit of a break, and now I'm back with a slightly different focus. I actually think this is going to be a difficult challenge for me, since I'm focusing more on making and breaking habits, which is a type of goal I'm notoriously terrible at. I'm pretty settled in my routine of Crossfit 3x/week, and am doing fairly well at meeting my numbers for ETP, so, while I will likely report on these, they won't be specific goals (some of my goals will be related, though). I will have 1 workout-related goal, related to running, which is also something I'm notoriously terrible at doing (consistently).

 

I'll start all this officially on the 18th (I like my weeks to run Monday-Sunday), but for Zero Week I'll be doing my best to start sticking to these habits (it's going to be a process, so I'll need the practice). I'm debating on if I want to have a reward for being perfect, I like the idea to give me a bit of extra motivation, but I don't know what the reward would be...

 

Breaking Bad (Habits)

 

When I get home from work/the gym, it's very easy for me to eat, then laze in bed for the rest of the evening with the TV on (only sort of watching it) and messing around on the internet. I'm usually fairly exhausted, both physically and mentally, and this is the habit I've fallen into and the one that leads to me not being successful at making new ones. It's just so easy to laze then sleep, and it's not so much that I forget to do the other things I want to do, but that I'm distracted and by the time I think of it it's bed time. I always say I'll do it tomorrow but then the pattern repeats.

 

So, first new rule: the TV can be on, but only while I'm doing something productive (ie. one of the following habits). Second new rule: no internet until I've completed my habits for the day. This means I might not be updating here daily, but I'll do my best.

 

This one will be the key to success for all the others, and probably the hardest of the bunch.

 

New Habit #1 ~ Physio and Stretching/Mobility

 

This is a goal of mine almost every time I make a challenge, and I almost never fail to fail it. I've had ongoing hip issues and have not been dedicated with the physio assigned to me to help fix them, and so can't really judge if it's helping or not. And every time I feel like I'm getting in a good exercise groove, something gets tweaked and I have to take a week off to let it heal, and it's never serious, but it sets me back, more mentally than anything. Daily physio and a maintenance routine will help me keep up with other habits (like running), as it will hopefully remove any excuse to not do it (such as minor injuries and general aches and pains). And waiting until the end of the day when I work the late shift is not an option, at least for the physio aspect, I have plenty of time in the morning.

 

New Habit #2 ~ Meal Prep

 

I sometimes do ok with this, and sometimes not. I've found that I really need to meal prep 2x/week, doing it all on the weekend isn't viable (or rather, doing a whole week at one time isn't viable, things get boring and/or funky by the end of the week and it makes it easy to go off plan). The easiest days to do this are Wednesdays after the gym, and one of the weekend days (or spread it across both). Things I want to focus on are finding/creating dressings and sauces that aren't overly fatty but are very tasty, to liven up my chicken and rice (suggestions welcome), and incorporating more variety into my diet (specifically on the fruit and vegetable front).

 

I also need to get better are packing meals the night before, so I don't have to rush as much in the morning.

 

New Habit #3 ~ Logging Things

 

I have a fitness log to fill out for my police application, and it's easy for me to skip it for a few days then fill in a bunch of days at a time. As long as this is only a few days, it's not that big a deal, but it's better if I log it daily.

 

I log my food in MFP, and am doing fine with that, but it's infinitely easier if I pre-log my day. Having everything logged in ahead of time helps keeps me on track and avoid temptation, and will help with my goal of more variety, since I don't have to try to wing it and hope it fits. So I'll take some time before bed to plan out my day, and make sure I've got at least 1 fruit and/or vegetable in every meal.

 

I should probably log my habits (apart from updating here), even if just with a check mark, to help me keep on track with them. I haven't decided how I want to do that, but I might just make a chart and stick it in my OPP fitness log, which will hopefully remind me to log both things daily.

 

New Habit #4 ~ Sleepy Time

 

Another goal that's perpetually in my challenges and which I perpetually am bad at. Going to bed on time and getting up with the alarm. The former is usually ok most of the time, the later not so much. Getting up on time will be a big one seeing as I now work 3/5 days a week at 8am, and have to have enough time to get ready in the morning. I'm hoping some of the meal prep stuff will help here too, since the more I get done the night before, the less I have to do in my sleep-deprived state in the morning.

 

Workout Goal ~ Running

 

My work schedule is now amenable to doing a workout every day Monday-Friday, so I will do so as much as possible. I now have two 1-9 on-call shifts (in the past one of my on-call shifts was 10-6 which pretty much killed my entire day), so the mornings of those days will be run days (unless I need to schedule an appointment). One of those days I will do the beep test at my gym, and the other I will do a hard 2.5k (1.5mi, which is part of fitness testing at one point). I will continue to do a 'long' run on weekends, keeping it at 5k until my hip starts to behave itself better (hopefully Habit #1 will help with that), then start working up to 10k.

 

Workout Goal ~ Pushups

 

I need to increase my pushup numbers for future police-related testing, so I'm going to start a 100 Pushup program (specifically this one), which will be tentatively done on the same days as I go to crossfit, so Monday-Wednesday-Friday. I haven't decided what to do if I do pushup in that day's workout, but I'll play that by ear depending on the number I do.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome back! I'll be following along again.

[Xena]

I think the tv goal will be very helpful. It's easy to waste time away. And it seems relaxing but somehow isn't really.

[obax]

Zero Week Tuesday

 

Worked 1-9 but didn't do my physio etc before work, I only just made that plan this morning when I posted this. But I did do an abbreviated version after work, and a bit of stretching (could've been more thorough).

 

I should make my bedtime fine. Tomorrow will be an early morning so it'll be tough to get up on time, lately I've been shutting off my alarm and going immediately back to sleep before I even realize or have a chance to make a conscious decision about getting up or not.....

 

Unrelated, something in my room smells vaguely of skunk (it's possible it's actually me), so I might have a quick shower and take some laundry down. That will probably put me a bit past my bedtime, but in the case of skunk smell, I'm ok with that.

[Elastigirl]

12 hours ago, obax said:

Unrelated, something in my room smells vaguely of skunk (it's possible it's actually me), so I might have a quick shower and take some laundry down. That will probably put me a bit past my bedtime, but in the case of skunk smell, I'm ok with that.

This cracked me up. I've done that- looked around to figure out what that smell was, and then figured out it was me.

[iatetheyeti]

Following along  

 

And good luck with getting rid of that skunk smell!

[obax]

On 9/13/2017 at 10:59 AM, Elastigirl said:

This cracked me up. I've done that- looked around to figure out what that smell was, and then figured out it was me.

 

Turned out to be my uniform pants, and they keys to the truck (weirdly enough), but I showered anyway, just to be safe.

[obax]

Zero Week Thursday

 

Ran the beep test and got level 6, which surprised me. I think the space I have to do it in is a bit short of 20m, so maybe that's it, and I had some trouble keeping my phone connected to my speaker and missed a 1/2 level, but it's still good.

 

Work was stoopid busy today, I at lunch at 1ish, then didn't get dinner until 10:45pm, and I pretty much didn't stop through that whole time. But some guy called me awesome, so I guess that evens out....?

 

Was gonna skip my physio but now that I've had a chance to relax for a bit I'm realizing my knee/IT band is a bit sore, probably from my run, so I'll do at least the mobility part of my physio, and some stretching.

 

The rest of the things aren't getting done today...

[maegs]

On 9/12/2017 at 10:49 PM, obax said:

Unrelated, something in my room smells vaguely of skunk (it's possible it's actually me)

#wildlifeofficerproblems

 

Hopefully you don't run into any sasquatch!

[obax]

12 hours ago, maegs said:

#wildlifeofficerproblems

 

Hopefully you don't run into any sasquatch!

 

I do not have a sasquatch handling protocol. I'm not sure a catch pole would be sufficient, and most definitely do not have a trap big enough... But now I know who to call if in need backup!

[obax]

Zero Week (Thus Far) and Pre-Challenge Weekend Plan

 

Not going all that well, the past couple of days I've skipped my physio etc., on Thursday because I had my morning packed with appointments and then worked overtime and didn't get home until 10:30 (nor did I get dinner until 10:30), then kinda just collapsed into bed, and Friday I was just plain exhausted and fell asleep by accident (this sometimes happens and I'll wake up after a bit and do some stretching, this time I fell asleep and stayed asleep 'til morning). Add to that that I discovered Thursday morning that my cooked chicken supply had gone off, and I had no time to replenish it, I ate a fair amount of take-out over those days as well (it all met my macros, but killed me with sodium).

 

This pre-challenge weekend will involve some rest (despite 9 hours sleep last night, I woke up today feeling absolutely wrecked, probably both days will be rest days, other than my phsyio/stretching), and some cooking. Specifically I'll be looking up some dressing/sauce recipes to see about spicing up my rice and chicken, which is pretty much a staple. I also want to get or make myself a little journal type thing (in the vein of a BuJo) and get it all pre-written in so I just have to check the page for the day to see what habbits etc. I need to do for the day, then mark off what I've done as I do it. I have a journal I use to record my lifting numbers, but I think I want a separate one for this. Then I don't have to remember to do all these different habits, I just have to remember to look in my journal and do what's scheduled for the day.

 

Also, one other thing, which has been added to my challenge post: I'm going to try to start a 100 pushup program. I don't actually care about being able to do 100 pushups, but if I can, I can definitely get 37, which is what I need to score perfect for one of the police tests. The program calls for 3x/week, so I'll be doing it on the same days I go to crossfit.

[obax]

Got most things done today. My journal is set up for 1 week, if I like it I'll fill out the rest of the days, and if I want to add or adjust anything I will. Got some of my food ready for tomorrow, I don't entirely know what else I'm going to add yet to make the quinoa taste less bland... Will plan my meals in the morning as I drink my coffee, assuming I get up on time and have time in the morning to do that...

 

Missed my bedtime tonight, I was playing video games and didn't so much lose track of time as ignored my sense that it was getting close to my bedtime. I really want to keep playing but just turned it off anyway, only 1/2 hour late. Haven't done my physio yet though, will probably do some of the mobility stuff before bed and really buckle down tomorrow.

 

I think I'm somewhat set up for a week-one success. Now I just have to remember to check my journal and I'll be golden!

[starpuck]

Man I hear ya on the journals.    I really LIKE the journal process, but I am good with it for a couple days, then I miss a day, and then it's forgotten!   LOL.  I gotta get better at that.   I also, was super tired last night but really wanted to play some of my video game, so did a quest or two before shutting down about 20 minutes late.  WOOPS.

 

[obax]

Monday the First

 

All things accomplished except for getting up on time, but I only laze for 10 minutes which is good for day 1 and an early morning. And I remembered to look at my journal and mark everything off. My physio was the mobility stuff only but I did it (this can't become a habit though, the strength parts are important too).

 

I decided to skip day 1 of the pushup program, since I did 60 pushups at Crossfit tonight, and will move on to day 2 on Wednesday.

 

Very tired, going to sleep now (early, no less!)  G'night!

 

 

[Xena]

On 9/14/2017 at 11:20 PM, obax said:

Ran the beep test and got level 6, which surprised me. I think the space I have to do it in is a bit short of 20m, so maybe that's it, and I had some trouble keeping my phone connected to my speaker and missed a 1/2 level, but it's still good.

What level do you need for your police exam?

 

On 9/17/2017 at 11:31 PM, obax said:

 I don't entirely know what else I'm going to add yet to make the quinoa taste less bland..

 

One suggestion: black beans, cilantro (if you like it and have it), shredded cheese (optional but delicious) and green salsa.

[obax]

1 hour ago, Xena said:

What level do you need for your police exam?

 

I need level 7, but have to do it after the pursuit/restraint circuit, which in the past has killed my quads, so I'd like to be able to do higher than 7. My best ever is 7.5, but I've only done that once or twice. I regularly got 7 when I was training in the past, so I know it's doable.

 

1 hour ago, Xena said:

One suggestion: black beans, cilantro (if you like it and have it), shredded cheese (optional but delicious) and green salsa.

 

Those are good ideas. I made a salad type thing today and it was less bland than it could have been, but I was thinking cilantro would be good in it. I think I'll put some homemade dressing recipes into MFP and see what the marcos are like and go from there.

[obax]

Tuesday the First

 

Not as good as yesterday... Got home at 10:30pm after work, and hadn't eaten dinner yet, so there was no way I was going to fit everything in and still make my bedtime. Gonna miss my physio (had a bunch of stuff I wanted to do before work and didn't end up having time to do it then), and have to choose between packing food for tomorrow and going to bed on time (probably will pick bed). But I did fill out my fitness log, and I remembered to look at my journal to take note of all the things I wasn't going to get done!

 

Exercise-wise, I ran today, did the 1.5mi (2.5km) route (it's technically about 100m short of that, but good enough for me) in 13:32, which is 15sec faster than the last time I did it. My legs felt very tired through the whole thing but I just kept pushing, I was convinced I'd be slower because it felt so terrible, so I was pleasantly surprised with my time.

 

Stomach's feeling a tad off tonight, just kinda rumbley, not sick or anything. Not sure what's up, but maybe it's the quinoa I've been eating, I've never eaten much of it before (though when I have it was always fine). *shrug* I dunno...

[obax]

Wednesday the First

 

Even though I'm currently missing my bedtime, I crossed off everything else in my journal! I even sort of got up on time this morning (within about 5 minutes, which is a huge success for an early day).

 

Didn't want to gym today but I did anyway, and set a PR for bent-over rows (75lb for 8 reps). Also, I have decided I don't like any exercise involving a ball (actually, that's not true, I don't hate slam balls, but I do hate wall balls). 

[obax]

Thursday the First

 

Been thinking it's Friday all day........

 

Got home a bit late tonight, but not as late as some other recent on-call nights. Am choosing to skip the food prep and pre-logging today, namely because I have no food to prep or log. I should have thought about it last night when I had time to cook some stuff, but I didn't.... Otherwise it's all checked off, and I will make my bedtime.

 

Ran today, did the beep test. Got level 6 (2 beeps away from 6.5), but this time it was legit, my speaker didn't shut off 1/2 way through and then skip 1/2 a level like last time... It was hard, I probably could have gutted out a 6.5 if I'd had to, but definitely not a 7, but I was still pleased with the result.

 

I'm a bit afraid of crossfit tomorrow, the coach usually posts the workout the day before, but under 'Workout' he's just got '?????' I figure it'll either be a lot of fun, or absolutely suck balls, with no potential for something in between...

[Xena]

Great job on the PR and beep test. Keep it up!

 

The workout does sound a little scary ;-)

[obax]

Friday the First

 

The night before, I got to bed late because I remembered just as I was about to turn my light off that I forgot about the baby mouse, so I drove back to work to feed the baby mouse. That woke me up and I didn't get to sleep 'til well after midnight. Then I got a call at 2:30am, which was literally 'My cat is sick what do I do?' (Answer: call a vet, dipshit, and it took everything in my power to not phrase it that way), and, while I was still awake an hour later, a call for a stray dog, which took me until after 4 to deal with. Got back to sleep for maybe 45mins around 5:30 or so. Fitbit registered one sleep of 1:48 and one of 1:07, but I think both were overestimates.

 

Needless to say, I was fairly useless during the day. I left work a bit early, with the intention to have a nap and go to the gym, but instead I fell asleep for 3.5hr, woke up, ate some food, then went back to bed to doze through some football for a bit then fell asleep 'til morning. I did not get anything checked off, except go to bed on time...

 

Saturday the First

 

Wanted to make it to the open gym hours to at least do my deadlifts from Friday, but with all the other stuff I had going on I didn't make it. Thought briefly about going for a run in the afternoon, but apparently September is making up for all the lovely cool summer days we had by creating a heat wave, culminating in a heat warning today, so I lay in front of the fan and played with the puppy instead. I did the pushups I missed though, and had a brief dog walk once it had cooled down a bit, during which I had to wade into the river to get the black mud off the aforementioned puppy, who discovered his first muddy wetland (with glee, no less).

 

Gonna do some physio, probably just the mobility stuff and some stretching. Food prep fell apart a bit towards the end of the week, which I will hopefully be able to remedy tomorrow. Tomorrow will also be a ball game and dinner for my sister's birthday, so it may take a significant amount of willpower to get groceries and cook some things. Fortunately my chicken is still good, though I don't know how much longer it'll last, so I really only have to buy a few veggies and cook some quinoa and throw together a quick quinoa salad for Monday.

[obax]

Sunday the First

 

Jays game and dinner. A bit of food prep. To bed on time?

 

That is all.

 

Monday the Second

 

Crossfit. It's deload week, which  meant the strength part was kinda fun, but the workout was OMGWTF! We got 10 minutes to work on whatever we wanted to I used that time for my pushups. It's already getting hard, I'll have to check the FAQ to figure out what I should do if I can't do all the pushups in the schedule...

 

All other things were crossed off, I even went to bed early!

 

Tuesday the Second

 

Ran 1.5mi in 14:something, which is significantly slower than last time but it is HOT, and it was all I could do to just not stop, there was no way I was setting a PR. 

 

Got some things checked off, no time for physio before work due to an appointment, but will do it after. Found out today my physio guy is leaving for another practice, so I'll have to decide if I want to follow him or go with someone else at the practice I'm currently with. I'm in the weeds a bit with food prep, but I should have time tomorrow to sort it properly. Should get it all checked off by the end of the day, assuming no one calls me to ask what to do if their cat is sick.....................

 

Also, a gratuitous puppy pics, because I can (and I don't even care that they're huge!)

 

 

 

[starpuck]

Omg floofy floofs!  <3  So cute.

 

I know what you mean about the heat.  I feel like our bodies know the changing of seasons, or some kind of, earth is at this point of its cycle and rotation, and thus it should be time for THIS level of heat tolerance, and daylight, and... wait, what?    Seriously, I feel like I tolerated the heat in July so much better than I tolerated last weeks hot flash.  We were in mid -90s for a full week.  We didn't have those temps during summer even!    And my body (or maybe my brain) was like 'No, this is NOT appropriate, and I will NOT deal with it.'

 

If your physio is good and you really like him.  Follow him.   I did that with Moe, and I am so glad for it.  We have a rapport, she KNOWS me and how my body functions, she remembers my imbalances and looks at me as a whole picture.   That's more than I have with my primary care doc!      If he's only meh.. then keep searching.

[obax]

10 hours ago, Starpuck said:

If your physio is good and you really like him.  Follow him.   I did that with Moe, and I am so glad for it.  We have a rapport, she KNOWS me and how my body functions, she remembers my imbalances and looks at me as a whole picture.   That's more than I have with my primary care doc!      If he's only meh.. then keep searching.

 

I think it's more the latter, but change is scary. But I have been thinking lately that I'm stalling, and I find I sometimes ask him a question and he says he'll look into it and we'll talk about it next time and then he doesn't mention it again, and if I mention it it's sometimes like 'Oh yeah...' and sometimes as if it's the first time he's hearing the question. Plus he's moving to a practice that's 30 minutes away (rather than 10-15), and I really can't take that much time out of most of my days to go to a 20 minute physio appointment. So I think I'll stay where I am for now and get to know someone else, maybe their approach will be a bit different and will help me past my sticking point.

[obax]

Wednesday the Second

 

This week is taking forever, I've been thinking it's one day later than it really is since Monday....

 

Crossfit today, another fun-type workout. It's been interesting, and I know deloading is important, but I miss the lifting.

 

Decided to skip my pushups today since there was a lot of pushing and pressing in today's workout, and considering how my shoulders felt after I think that was the right choice. I'll see how I feel tomorrow and do them then, and then again on Saturday.

 

For last night, I missed my bedtime in favour of getting some food together, and also forgot to do my fitness log. I don't have the rest of the challenge written in my journal yet, so there's nothing for me to check and I'm forgetting things. I'm going to try to get my journal all filled out tomorrow evening, because I'm remembering to check it, there's just nothing in it to check.

 

For tonight, I'm going to not worry about food prep, but I should have some time in the morning, and I'm ok with some takeout. I'm pretty tired so I'm going to quickly do my physio and some stretching and then go to bed