[spezzy]

Hello and happy new year, Nerds! 

 

 

I'm going to keep this challenge to ONE thing, because if I can get this ONE thing in order, other things will start to fall in place easier.  I also really need to take my Lyme recovery seriously, and additional goals just feel like they'd be too much right now. I've learned my lesson my last few challenges trying to do too much! So - instead of aiming to do decent at a few goals, I'm going to laser focus in on one thing:

 

Spezzy needs to lift. 

 

So lift I shall. 

 

 

---

THE GOAL:

6x a week training - at least 4x/week must be strength

The other sessions can be rowing, hiking, yoga, etc. 

I will keep up my morning walks, but they don't count towards this. 

 

The garage gym isn't complete, but it's set up enough where I can use it, so no excuses here. We even got some temporary propane heating that's working great in this super cold weather so I can't complain about it being too cold. Hoping to get the squat rack and platform built tomorrow but if I don't, front squats are a good alternative. 

 

And that's it!

---

P.S.

 

I heard that visualizing your goals is helpful, so:

BEFORE CHALLENGE:

 

AFTER CHALLENGE

 

 

okay byeeeeeeee

 

 

[Rurik Harrgath]

1 minute ago, spezzy said:

We even got some temporary propane heating that's working great in this super cold weather so I can't complain about it being too cold.

 

accurate portrayal of the walk to our garage lately lol

 

But when we’re finally done and turn the heater off:

 

[spezzy]

This week so far (I'm starting right now 😀  )

 

Sunday - 

 

Tuesday - 

500m row warmup

Deadliftmas - 50 Deadlifts at bodyweight - 5 sets of 10 at 155lb

 

 

[spezzy]

3 minutes ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

 

accurate portrayal of the walk to our garage lately lol

 

But when we’re finally done and turn the heater off:

 

 

us to the cold:

[Everstorm]

I am glad your gym is now set up (and warm).  Mine has been like a walk-in refrigerator.   I need a bigger space heater 😂

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Congrats on getting the gym workable.

LIFTING IS AWESOME!

It's gonna be deadlift day soon!

[KB Girl]

My gym probably isn't quite as cold but teaching classes I still go absolutely frozen. On the coldest days I had to wear two pants, three shirts, two thermo vests and two pairs of socks to get through... 

 

Great challenge! Simple is good, lifting things is even better

 

[Jarric]

 

My gym doesn't have heating, and it's just a bit metal shed, but it rarely gets below 0°C here so it's never enough to stop me going.

[Mistr]

My sympathy on the cold and snow. I am also in the snowy north.

 

My exercise area is in a chilly part of the house. I find it makes a big difference if I put my kettlebells on the heater to warm up before I use them. Picking up a cold piece of iron first thing in the morning is more than I can face. If they are warm, it feels much easier to do, even though the rest of the room is cold.

 

I don't know if you face the same problem, but if you do, you might be able to strategically locate a heater so your bar is warm.

[Rurik Harrgath]

2 hours ago, Mistr said:

My sympathy on the cold and snow. I am also in the snowy north.

 

My exercise area is in a chilly part of the house. I find it makes a big difference if I put my kettlebells on the heater to warm up before I use them. Picking up a cold piece of iron first thing in the morning is more than I can face. If they are warm, it feels much easier to do, even though the rest of the room is cold.

 

I don't know if you face the same problem, but if you do, you might be able to strategically locate a heater so your bar is warm.

 

Now I like to pit myself against the elements a bit more than the average bloke, and I mean really really throw myself against the cold sometimes, but when the barbell or kettlebell handle actually sticks to the flesh of your hand... even I draw the line there.  

 

So I'm using the propane heater now too 😆

[spezzy]

On 12/27/2022 at 10:13 PM, Everstorm said:

I am glad your gym is now set up (and warm).  Mine has been like a walk-in refrigerator.   I need a bigger space heater 😂

 

 

Yeah, the tiny little ceramic space heater was doing absolutely nothing at ALL. We tried plugging in a second one but it just blew the breaker, soooo really glad this propane one is working out. 

 

On 12/27/2022 at 10:51 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Congrats on getting the gym workable.

LIFTING IS AWESOME!

It's gonna be deadlift day soon!

 

 

On 12/28/2022 at 8:35 AM, KB Girl said:

My gym probably isn't quite as cold but teaching classes I still go absolutely frozen. On the coldest days I had to wear two pants, three shirts, two thermo vests and two pairs of socks to get through... 

 

Great challenge! Simple is good, lifting things is even better

 

 

hahah that sounds like my average morning in Canada before I bought the stuff I needed to actually spend time outdoors 😂  I remember rating days "is this a 3 pants day or a 4 pants day?"

 

I know if I lift, I'll NEED to be doing things like mobility consistently, or I'm gonna be in a world of pain, soo......

 

 

On 12/28/2022 at 9:34 AM, Jarric said:

 

My gym doesn't have heating, and it's just a bit metal shed, but it rarely gets below 0°C here so it's never enough to stop me going.

 

Rarely below freezing is nice! Here the weather is quite erratic, it was -15 last week but it looks like it's gearing up to be a fairly warm January with high's in the teens this next week, so plenty warm to work out even without the heater. 

 

Looks like it might drop after that, but still not a ton of days drastically below zero, so that's encouraging to see! Though this freezing to not freezing to freezing to not freezing is the pits. 

 

23 hours ago, Mistr said:

My sympathy on the cold and snow. I am also in the snowy north.

 

My exercise area is in a chilly part of the house. I find it makes a big difference if I put my kettlebells on the heater to warm up before I use them. Picking up a cold piece of iron first thing in the morning is more than I can face. If they are warm, it feels much easier to do, even though the rest of the room is cold.

 

I don't know if you face the same problem, but if you do, you might be able to strategically locate a heater so your bar is warm.

 

Definitely a problem! Rurik had the bars right in front of the heater last week because they were so cold.  There's a lot I can mentally push through, but my hands can't physically handle it (I have raynauds).  I'm considering trying the hair dryer next time!

 

 

20 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

 

Now I like to pit myself against the elements a bit more than the average bloke, and I mean really really throw myself against the cold sometimes, but when the barbell or kettlebell handle actually sticks to the flesh of your hand... even I draw the line there.  

 

So I'm using the propane heater now too 😆

 

Moving Rurik to the United States. 

Expected:

 

Reality:

 

[RES]

1 hour ago, spezzy said:

fairly warm January with high's in the teens this next week

I hate to tell you this but that is no where near 'fairly' or 'warm'.

[Rurik Harrgath]

2 hours ago, spezzy said:

Moving Rurik to the United States. 

Expected:

 

Damnit, now we need a blizzard so I can right this grave injustice!

[Jarric]

4 hours ago, spezzy said:

it looks like it's gearing up to be a fairly warm January with high's in the teens this next week

 

2 hours ago, RES said:

I hate to tell you this but that is no where near 'fairly' or 'warm'.

/cdn-cgi/mirage/2bf562a5e4a87487774fcca08f0650dd0ec43d08c297dc0a9b09938143f7974a/1280/cdn-cgi/mirage/2bf562a5e4a87487774fcca08f0650dd0ec43d08c297dc0a9b09938143f7974a/1280/https://media1.giphy.com/media/AUGqun7QALo0o/200.gif

 

Hang on, teens in Celsius or Fahrenheit? Because is C, teens is downright summery.

[spezzy]

3 hours ago, RES said:

I hate to tell you this but that is no where near 'fairly' or 'warm'.

/cdn-cgi/mirage/77b41ff0f263db9d48dd9b500a843d019d6ddb7379c8b5bea85e6ff6183281ce/1280/cdn-cgi/mirage/77b41ff0f263db9d48dd9b500a843d019d6ddb7379c8b5bea85e6ff6183281ce/1280/https://media1.giphy.com/media/AUGqun7QALo0o/200.gif

 

28 minutes ago, Jarric said:

 

 

Hang on, teens in Celsius or Fahrenheit? Because is C, teens is downright summery.

c and f!

 

Quite warm, especially for January!

[spezzy]

2 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

 

Damnit, now we need a blizzard so I can right this grave injustice!

don't worry, it's not even january yet, so we have at least 5 more months for a proper noreaster. 

[spezzy]

I did the thing!

 

Since I did Squatmas and Deadliftmas already this week, I decided to do Benchmas and Curlmas.

 

Benchmas I did 50% of bodyweight with dumbbells,  5x10

Curlmas I just did 15-17.5lb for 5x10

 

And then I rowed 500m.

 

That's 3 workouts this week so far already! 🎉 

 

Will work on my actual programming in the next day or two

[Rurik Harrgath]

21 hours ago, spezzy said:

don't worry, it's not even january yet, so we have at least 5 more months for a proper noreaster. 

 

 

21 hours ago, spezzy said:

I did the thing!

 

[RES]

On 12/29/2022 at 6:11 PM, spezzy said:

 

Quite warm, especially for January!

 

 

[spezzy]

Happy New Years, nerds!

 

It's been a busy last few days, all with good things.

 

Instead of going out for New Years Eve, Rurik and I decided to sit down with our notebooks and figure out the next year

 

So I looked at each attribute and where I'd like to be this time NEXT year with each and I came up with:

 

STR + DEX:

--> Compete in powerlifting (any athletic event would count)

--> Hike 10 mountains

--> 500k in rowing

 

CON:

--> Rebuild Health Post Lyme

--> Grow 25% of own food on our land

 

INT:

--> Complete the continuing education courses required to maintain my current certifications

--> 3 additional courses 

 

WIS:

--> Finances organized and automated as much as we can (this is a huge task considering all of the moving countries we've been doing the last few years)

--> Make at least $1k from a side gig

 

CHA:

--> Get back to where I was pre-covid socially

 

And then I broke those down into what I need to do over the next quarter to get there.

 

My goals here for this challenge won't change - but now I have a list of things I need to do and work on over the next few months (like finding an accountant, mapping out our land, etc) that I can be working on as little mini quests.

 

Goals wise, today I did the work out. 

 

FRONT SQUAT - 5x5

REVERSE LUNGE - 5x8 PER LEG - superset with

BEHIND THE NECK SNATCH GRIP PRESS - 5x 10

PLANKS

and then some scapular depression and hip flexor work

 

so really all in all, a graet start to the year!

 

 

 

 

[KB Girl]

A great way to spend New Years eve together

 

19 minutes ago, spezzy said:

--> Grow 25% of own food on our land

I know you're familiar with animal husbandry (is that an actual English way to say it or did I read too many old books?), have you also grown food before? 

[RES]

52 minutes ago, spezzy said:

like finding an accountant

I may know one, depending on what your needs are  

[spezzy]

1 hour ago, RES said:

I may know one, depending on what your needs are  

 

oooo - good to know, we may pick your brain at a later date! it's all been very overwhelming so far.

 

1 hour ago, KB Girl said:

A great way to spend New Years eve together

 

I know you're familiar with animal husbandry (is that an actual English way to say it or did I read too many old books?), have you also grown food before? 

 

That's the right way to say it And I have! When I was a kid we had rabbits and chickens and gardens, but not quite like what we're looking to do here where we're planting a bit more strategically. 

 

I have a few concerns on if it's even possible with this plot of land, but we're gonna try

[Rurik Harrgath]

14 hours ago, spezzy said:

When I was a kid we had rabbits and chickens and gardens, but not quite like what we're looking to do here where we're planting a bit more strategically. 

 

I have a few concerns on if it's even possible with this plot of land, but we're gonna try

 

And I grew up hunting/fishing and around, if not entirely on, farms, so at least we aren't a couple of in-the-dark hipsters when it comes to this path.

 

Plus I won't be working for the next year-ish, giving me plenty of time to devote to our homesteading efforts, alongside finishing up home renovations.

 

Hey, I just realized that makes me a husband-engaging-in-husbandry!  😆

[sarakingdom]

14 hours ago, spezzy said:

not quite like what we're looking to do here where we're planting a bit more strategically. 

 

I have a few concerns on if it's even possible with this plot of land, but we're gonna try

 

A 25% goal is likely doable, if you're cool with eating totally random things the garden spits out - having something is not too hard, but having a specific thing is. 25% by volume is much easier than by calorie, because leafy greens are pretty prolific and nutritious. My preference is to avoid dealing with major storage issues as much as possible, and look for things that can overwinter in the ground, using the garden itself as winter storage, and be pulled on demand. (Second best is things you can just sort of let sit around. I am not into "we now have 60lbs of perishable cabbage all ripening now that need to be preserved for winter". I will take the cut and come again variety over the bulk harvest variety any day, because I want small amounts of food every week, not a year's worth of food in two weeks.)

 

Alliums are super hardy and a good bulk ingredient. I'd get some garlic, onions, and perennial bunching onions in early in the spring. Getting a year of onions into storage, not easy, but getting something alliumish available all year, pretty easy. (Might be a lot of perennial green onion. Once it's established, it's super prolific, and cut and come again.) I don't have experience with leeks, but they might be as or more useful than bulb onions in your climate. I think they overwinter in the ground and handle very cold temps well. I also think they're technically perennial, so anything you don't harvest on schedule is fine, just like garlic, which I don't think is true of bulb onions. (Some leeks will, I believe, multiply if you leave them, so starting a leek bed this year may pay off in future years.) In terms of conserving labor for other things, making a switch to perennial alliums for cooking could be really useful.

 

Chard grows like crazy under basically all conditions, generally for 12-18 months. Fewer pests than brassicas. Won't grow in winter, but it is frost-proof, so you can harvest off the existing plants in the ground all winter and it'll resume in the spring. Might not even need frost/snow protection to prevent leaf burn, I think it's good. (That's said to be true of kale and spinach, too. Lettuce tends to need frost protection, but there are some very cold tolerant lettuces.) Chard is nearly the same as beets; they'll likely do well, too.

 

Those are my two faves for year-round food under any conditions. For calories, I'd check out winter squash. (I mean, sure, potatoes and sweet potatoes, but squash is crazy prolific.) I'm aware of one variety of squash that is good as both a summer and winter squash, so if you can only fit one into your space, you can cover multiple seasons with that one. But otherwise, no reason not to have multiple varieties - diversifying can only help.

 

If you think the soil isn't good, then broad beans might be a good option. These are more popular in the UK than here, but are a really good and easily stored calorie source, and will do their own nitrogen fixing. (Leave the roots in when you cut them down, you might get some benefits from nitrogen fixation if you leave the root nodules in.) Peas aren't quite as big, but they handle cold well and grow pretty well, so also worth a go.

 

I'd also consider amaranth, if homesteading for calories. I suppose corn is the more traditional accompaniment to squash and beans, but it seems pretty finicky, and the storage variety is a lot of work to turn into cornmeal. I'm generally not a huge fan of growing grains on a small scale (because WTF, we are not grist mills or threshing facilities or down for plowing acres for six teaspoons of grain), but amaranth has some good qualities: huge grain heads that release the grain pretty easily when dried (and I think don't need any further processing to cook, which is a big dealbreaker in terms of labor), and also the leaves are harvestable in summer as a cooking green, when almost nothing else is. Sort of an experiment, I guess. It's sort of quinoa-ish. It's annual, but I think it drops seed like crazy, so, uh... I can't promise it'll be easy to get rid of if you don't like it. On the other hand, if you have small animals, it might be great to grow near them, and reseeding itself might not be a problem. If it's not good people food, it'll likely be good animal food.

 

BTW, summer greens is why I'd go for sweet potatoes over potatoes, if you're gonna do a potato: you get a secondary crop of edible greens during a season when those are tough. The length of your growing season might be tight.

 

I'd keep my eye on Northern/Eastern European heirloom varieties for anything you want to do well in fall, winter, and spring, and anything where you worry about a short summer growing season. I'd look at Mediterranean heirlooms for hardy things that do okay with bad soil, and also things where you want to chance a cool weather crop further into the summer season (greens, mostly). New England tends to have Northern European winters and Southern European summers (with more humidity). There will also be a lot of local New England heirlooms for certain things - butternut squash for sure.

 

In the longer term, with some established perennials and trees, 25% becomes easier. Year one, I'd try to hit it with a core of alliums, chard and beets, summer and winter squash, beans and peas, and maybe some amaranth or sweet potatoes. (Other stuff, too, like kale and tomatoes and whatever, but this is the stuff I'd be betting on for year-round staples.) And I'd really overplant anything that stores well.

 

Signed, someone who lived off her community garden plot for nearly all produce for about a year, and was saved more than once by an early chard plant, garlic, and thyme.