[sylph]

First post may contain lots of ruminating and nonsense that may or may not have any actual relevance to the rest of the challenge. Consider yourself warned.

 

These were last challenge's goals.

 

On 2/6/2024 at 3:42 PM, sylph said:

Goals Post

 

• Lift weights 2x/week. It's only as far as the garage. Just go out there and lift something. 
  • SBS 2x/week hypertrophy template, FTW. Bonus Knowledge Level UP the half-formed 2x/week program I'd had in my head is almost exactly what the SBS guys designed. Go me.
  • Saturday mornings and Monday mornings will likely work well for this.
• Run 2x/week. Right now, that's about all my knees can handle. Doing this in conjunction with trips to the post office should make it simpler.
  • Buy 6 mo sub to ZombiesRun! to facilitate this
  • Do in conjunction with post office trips as much as possible.
• No alcohol on weeknights. It's a lazy habit and there's no need. Drink water instead (thank you @Sepherina) when the urge to have an evening drink strikes. I need more water anyway.
• Snack less. I do it because I'm bored. I know this is the reason. Swap food snacks for exercise snacks instead. If I actually am  hungry, something healthier and/or higher protein than Oreos. Baby carrots or a serving of cottage cheese or something. Also, cut out the mindless snacking in the evenings while watching TV with hubs. Will likely need some mindless fidget to replace this…

 

Lifting went no where.

Running got shifted to walking after joint pain shenanigans and was also impacted by the area creeper creeping around.

Alcohol reduction was very successful.

Snack reduction was also quite successful, though not due to replacement with exercise snacks for the most part.

 

 

Saturday and Monday mornings are still generally open, so would be a good time to lift. Why don't I lift? I don't know. I've been thinking about it off and on for a long time and fairly regularly for the entirety of last challenge. I don't enjoy my level of base strength; I like feeling strong and capable; and I appreciate the way my body feels when I'm lifting regularly. And yet I'm still not making time for it. One of life's mysteries, currently.

 

I would like to still walk on the regular. The Walk from Zombies Run seems to be pretty well done and interesting, so I can put that subscription I bought (sigh) to good use. It's getting on toward summer here which means it'll be very warm very soon. So, walking before work, keeping it strictly to the neighborhood (double sigh) is likely on the docket.

 

I like the way I feel when I don't drink. Bolded since I can't seem to remember this. I sleep better, my mood is better, my body feels better. I'm going to keep this one. No drinking on weeknights.

 

Snacks under control most of the time. I'm being more mindful about when I put non-meal-associated-food in my mouth. I'm going to keep this one, too.

 

 

Other things--sewing projects abound. I have quite a few things to do on my project list. Additionally, I've recently got a bee in my bonnet that I should find myself an all-metal, super-durable vintage machine. This is a Whole Can of Worms, friends. My current machine does just fine for what I'm currently using it for, but I have fantasies of getting into heavy duty gear making (super tough canvas, leather, etc.) and I know my little domestic starter machine is not up for that. Also the throat/harp space is pretty limited for any sizable project. I've joined a subreddit and FB group or two to help educate myself and have started haunting Marketplace to see what's available around me and for what cost.

 

Other, other things--I probably have some hormonal fuckery happening. I won't go TMI here, but it's annoying and (at times) infuriating. My annual appt is at the end of May so hopefully I can get some things sorted out. Or begin to address them at any rate.

 

Other, other, other things--I have some work travel during the course of this challenge and a bunch of vacation to use up before the end of our fiscal year (end of June). We don't get to rollover year to year, so I want to ensure that I use all my days. I may or may not be successful in using it all up by then given some of my other commitments, but I'm sure going to give it the ol' college try.

 

 

Lots of rambling here. Next post will be concisely summarized goals.

[sylph]

Goals Post

 

Lift. 2x week. It didn't work last time, let's try it again, eh? Monday & Saturday mornings. It doesn't even have to be the program, FFS. Just move something heavy-ish up and down a few times.

Walk. 2x week. Before work, when possible to avoid the heat.

Alcohol. None on weeknights.

Snacks. Think about when/why. This is often due to boredom. Fix the boredom with something other than food.

[Artemis Prime]

1 hour ago, sylph said:

So, walking before work, keeping it strictly to the neighborhood (double sigh) is likely on the docket.

Sorry creeper dude is still creeping. Are there any nice walking spots around you can drive to on days you have time to mix it up a little?

[sylph]

35 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

Sorry creeper dude is still creeping. Are there any nice walking spots around you can drive to on days you have time to mix it up a little?

Probably, but I don't know that my motivation would survive the increased barrier to entry  My neighborhood isn't bad, just boring to do 0.5 mile laps around over and over again.

[Sepherina]

19 hours ago, sylph said:

My neighborhood isn't bad, just boring to do 0.5 mile laps around over and over again.

I can relate here. Maybe jazz it up with a good book or music?  Or sometimes I like to do a walking meditation or just observe how things look (usually steal ideas around how to make our yard look nicer). 
 

Following!

[Artemis Prime]

19 hours ago, sylph said:

Probably, but I don't know that my motivation would survive the increased barrier to entry  My neighborhood isn't bad, just boring to do 0.5 mile laps around over and over again.

Fair enough. Do you have any good podcasts you like to listen to while you walk? (asking to help you think through how to battle boredom laps, but also because I am always on the hunt for a good podcast.)

[sylph]

2 minutes ago, Sepherina said:

I can relate here. Maybe jazz it up with a good book or music?  Or sometimes I like to do a walking meditation or just observe how things look (usually steal ideas around how to make our yard look nicer). 
 

Following!

Hi and welcome!

 

I always have a podcast, at least, and as I unlock segments from The Walk I listen to those, too. But, there really is only so much you can do when you're lapping the same 0.5 miles 5-6 times.  At least my neighbors know my face (or at least my hair) really well by now.

[sylph]

1 minute ago, Artemis Prime said:

Fair enough. Do you have any good podcasts you like to listen to while you walk? (asking to help you think through how to battle boredom laps, but also because I am always on the hunt for a good podcast.)

Right now I am working my way through the entirety of the Knights of the Night  actual play podcast. They started in, like 2010 or something and I am currently up to early 2023. It has taken AWHILE to get this far. They play a variety of systems: WoD, Dresden, DnD, Blades in the Dark, etc. and while the quality was rough in the beginning, they grew a lot over time and seem like a really good group of people so it's fun to listen to them play. It's also VERY tightly edited, so a lot of the ummms, pauses, people eating, or tapping the table or ruffling papers or whatever have been eliminated, which is not always the case.

[sylph]

Lift. 2x week. It didn't work last time, let's try it again, eh? Monday & Saturday mornings. It doesn't even have to be the program, FFS. Just move something heavy-ish up and down a few times.

Walk. 2x week. Before work, when possible to avoid the heat.

Alcohol. None on weeknights.

Snacks. Think about when/why. This is often due to boredom. Fix the boredom with something other than food.

 

 

------

 

Thursday

Lift. No

Walk. No

Alcohol. None

Snacks. Mostly good. Getting into mindless evening snacking a little bit, so I need to get a handle on that.

 

Yesterday sort of dissolved into nothingness. Worked in the morning, got a few pics of the finished sewing project with hubs's help (that always takes much longer than you think), puttered around watching some sewing tutorials on the YubTubs, tried out a new technique on some scrap fabric and then made dinner.

 

 

 

Today I woke up planning to get a walk in before work and it's been pouring down rain all morning. Sigh. Best laid plans and all that.

After work, I'm planning to do some post-project clean up and organizing in the sewing room. I did some modifications to my drafted pattern for the last project and I need to capture those before I forget them ll, otherwise the next version of this thing is going to be very painful.

Then I need to do some cutting for the next batch of bags for the shop, and then we will see what time it is.

Hubs is due for a haircut, I think, so perhaps we can get that taken care of today as well.

 

 

 

Tomorrow I will make an attempt to get up, have coffee/eat breakfast and then go lift something, FFS. If I don't, please be disappointed in me.

[Mad Hatter]

Thanks for the reminder to finish my bag (the one that I started two months ago and got stuck at the 95% mark). 😛 

 

On 3/21/2024 at 3:46 PM, sylph said:

I don't enjoy my level of base strength; I like feeling strong and capable; and I appreciate the way my body feels when I'm lifting regularly. And yet I'm still not making time for it. One of life's mysteries, currently.

My theory for myself is that it's because the gap between what was and what is is uncomfortable. I'm weaker and less confident in my movement and it makes it less fun when I have to second-guess or modify. I feel there's a lesson about acceptance here... But the struggle is real!

[WhiteGhost]

On 3/21/2024 at 10:49 PM, sylph said:

This is often due to boredom. Fix the boredom with something other than food.

I should write this down because it would solve a lot of problems for me.  Maybe tattoo it on my arm because I can never seem to learn

[sylph]

7 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Thanks for the reminder to finish my bag (the one that I started two months ago and got stuck at the 95% mark). 😛 

 

My theory for myself is that it's because the gap between what was and what is is uncomfortable. I'm weaker and less confident in my movement and it makes it less fun when I have to second-guess or modify. I feel there's a lesson about acceptance here... But the struggle is real!

I've found recently that I'm developing an aversion to finishing things. It's very odd. I can always just start something else so why not finish the thing? I've not been like this in the past.

 

 

Comparing myself to my past self is a trap I have fallen into before, for sure.  My goals and philosophy around training are shifting, so that's likely a big part of it. The gap between "I'm training to preserve basic functionality" and "I'm training for (mostly) vanity" is  large. Thanks for this. It's given me something new to think about.

 

 

2 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

I should write this down because it would solve a lot of problems for me.  Maybe tattoo it on my arm because I can never seem to learn

Yep.  Same. See also my earlier comments re: alcohol.

[sylph]

Lift. 2x week. It didn't work last time, let's try it again, eh? Monday & Saturday mornings. It doesn't even have to be the program, FFS. Just move something heavy-ish up and down a few times.

Walk. 2x week. Before work, when possible to avoid the heat.

Alcohol. None on weeknights.

Snacks. Think about when/why. This is often due to boredom. Fix the boredom with something other than food.

 

 

------

 

Yesterday was not a lifting day.

Yesterday I did not walk.

Yesterday was not a weeknight so I had a couple drinks in the evening...and correspondingly felt like garbage this morning. Sigh.

Yesterday's snacks were mostly fine. This is starting to slip, though.

 

 

 

------

 

However, friends, you do NOT have to be disappointed in me this morning. Post-coffee and breakfast, I made myself walk out to the gym (I put workout-appropriate clothes on first thing after getting up).

 

In the spirit of Anything Is Better Than Nothing I did a couple circuits, which only took about 20 minutes.

 

4 sets of 8 of:

Goblet Squats

DB Bench Press

Cable Rows

 

followed by 3 sets of 8 of:

Hanging Knee Raises

DB OHP

BW Calf Raises

 

Minimal to no rest and as mentioned, I blew through it in 20.

 

After that I walked around my neighborhood for about 50 minutes, just under 3 miles. Not breaking any land speed records but again, Anything Is Better Than Nothing.

[Artemis Prime]

37 minutes ago, sylph said:

After that I walked around my neighborhood for about 50 minutes, just under 3 miles. Not breaking any land speed records but again, Anything Is Better Than Nothing.

You are preserving our heritage as persistence hunters. Which - as your fun little random factoid for the day - may have contributed to our domestication of wolves as they practice a similar hunting style. Perhaps on your next neighborhood walk you can entertain yourself by keeping an eye out for a tasty elk that looks easy to separate from the herd?

[Mad Hatter]

1 hour ago, sylph said:

I've found recently that I'm developing an aversion to finishing things. It's very odd. I can always just start something else so why not finish the thing? I've not been like this in the past.

Alas I've never been one for finishing things. Unless I have a deadline. 😛

 

1 hour ago, sylph said:

The gap between "I'm training to preserve basic functionality" and "I'm training for (mostly) vanity" is  large.

Yeah! And I bet it's much harder to get truly motivated by something that you won't even notice, but possibly will get to appreciate in a few decades. Compared to the vanity goal which can give you visible results in only a few weeks/months. It might be more important, but brains are bad at thinking that far ahead.

[Mad Hatter]

1 hour ago, sylph said:

However, friends, you do NOT have to be disappointed in me this morning

Woohoo! 

[Jarric]

2 hours ago, sylph said:

Just move something heavy-ish up and down a few times.

 

 

2 hours ago, sylph said:

However, friends, you do NOT have to be disappointed in me this morning. Post-coffee and breakfast, I made myself walk out to the gym (I put workout-appropriate clothes on first thing after getting up).

 

Awesome job! As a thought, can you put your workout clothes in the way of you leaving the bedroom? Much easier to put them on first thing if you have to step over them.

[Sepherina]

On 3/23/2024 at 11:40 AM, sylph said:

However, friends, you do NOT have to be disappointed in me this morning. Post-coffee and breakfast, I made myself walk out to the gym (I put workout-appropriate clothes on first thing after getting up).

 

In the spirit of Anything Is Better Than Nothing I did a couple circuits, which only took about 20 minutes.

 

4 sets of 8 of:

Goblet Squats

DB Bench Press

Cable Rows

 

followed by 3 sets of 8 of:

Hanging Knee Raises

DB OHP

BW Calf Raises

 

Minimal to no rest and as mentioned, I blew through it in 20.

 

After that I walked around my neighborhood for about 50 minutes, just under 3 miles. Not breaking any land speed records but again, Anything Is Better Than Nothing.

This is awesome!  So proud of you!

[sylph]

On 3/23/2024 at 12:20 PM, Artemis Prime said:

You are preserving our heritage as persistence hunters. Which - as your fun little random factoid for the day - may have contributed to our domestication of wolves as they practice a similar hunting style. Perhaps on your next neighborhood walk you can entertain yourself by keeping an eye out for a tasty elk that looks easy to separate from the herd?

Not too much by way of elk, but I did see what I am pretty sure was a rat snake this morning, if that counts?

 

 

On 3/23/2024 at 1:27 PM, Mad Hatter said:

Yeah! And I bet it's much harder to get truly motivated by something that you won't even notice, but possibly will get to appreciate in a few decades. Compared to the vanity goal which can give you visible results in only a few weeks/months. It might be more important, but brains are bad at thinking that far ahead.

Yesss... Especially since mine can hardly remember that alcohol makes me feel gross the next day...

 

On 3/23/2024 at 1:28 PM, Mad Hatter said:

Woohoo! 

Indeed.

 

On 3/23/2024 at 1:57 PM, Jarric said:

 

 

 

Awesome job! As a thought, can you put your workout clothes in the way of you leaving the bedroom? Much easier to put them on first thing if you have to step over them.

If I remember at any point, I do set them aside (and have a set in my home office so I can change without going 'all the way' back into the bedroom).  There are definitely times when I've looked at them and simply noped out, though. Because brains do that kind of thing some times.

 

5 hours ago, Sepherina said:

This is awesome!  So proud of you!

Thank you! I'm glad I did the thing.

[sylph]

Lift. 2x week. It didn't work last time, let's try it again, eh? Monday & Saturday mornings. It doesn't even have to be the program, FFS. Just move something heavy-ish up and down a few times.

Walk. 2x week. Before work, when possible to avoid the heat.

Alcohol. None on weeknights.

Snacks. Think about when/why. This is often due to boredom. Fix the boredom with something other than food.

 

----

Yesterday was not a lifting day.

Yesterday I 'walked' in the fact that I spent a zillion hours (okay, like 5-6) raking the bajillion (I counted) leaves from our yard and dumping them back in the woods.  I didn't even do as thorough of a job as I could, but I figured that much activity was plenty and called it sufficient. I got the bulk of them sorted out and the rest, hubs can run over with the mower next time he cuts the grass. Our house at least kind of looks like someone lives here, anyway.

No alcohol. Hubs made himself a drink as we watched Masters of the Air on AppleTV, but I refrained. Aside from a quick pang, it wasn't even that hard.

Snacks minimal. Having a little something sweet (a couple of chocolate chips or a marshmallow, for example) seems to help 'cap off' my meals and keep me from wanting to randomly snack during the day. Evening snacks are a little trickier, since I have gotten into the habit of snacking during evening TV.

----

 

This morning, being Monday, I put on some workout-appropriate clothes and after breakfast/coffee wandered out into the garage for some lifting.

 

Barbell Squats

DB Flyes

Barbell Good Mornings

3 sets of each with 8 reps of each. Nothing terribly strenuous or exhausting, but after the marathon of leaves yesterday my shoulder is a little cranky so I didn't want to go too nuts.

Just over 20 minutes this time. I'm keeping rest periods minimal, given the non-maximal effort of the lifts themselves.

 

Afterward I did a few laps around my neighborhood while listening to a podcast. However, I got no credit for it in The Walk since apparently my subscription doesn't want to synch. I've put an email out to support so hopefully that'll be a short-lived problem.

 

 

 

[RES]

6 hours ago, sylph said:

Evening snacks are a little trickier, since I have gotten into the habit of snacking during evening TV.

I'm late but I'm here! This is a tough one to tackle, we do the same thing.

[WhiteGhost]

15 hours ago, sylph said:

it wasn't even that hard.

Win!

[sylph]

12 hours ago, RES said:

I'm late but I'm here! This is a tough one to tackle, we do the same thing.

I blame my husband. I was never an evening snacker, but he always has been. The habit has rubbed off over the... uh... many years we have been together.

 

3 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Win!

I thought so too!

[sylph]

Lift. 2x week. It didn't work last time, let's try it again, eh? Monday & Saturday mornings. It doesn't even have to be the program, FFS. Just move something heavy-ish up and down a few times.

Walk. 2x week. Before work, when possible to avoid the heat.

Alcohol. None on weeknights.

Snacks. Think about when/why. This is often due to boredom. Fix the boredom with something other than food.

 

----

 

Lifted yesterday, as per above.

Walked, ditto.

No alcohol.

Snacked a bit during the day, but since it was baby carrots with a bit of dressing, I'm not super fussed about it. Gotta get a handle on those evening snacks, though.

[RES]

10 hours ago, sylph said:

Snacked a bit during the day, but since it was baby carrots with a bit of dressing, I'm not super fussed about it.

I need to snack on things like this...

 

11 hours ago, sylph said:

many years we have been together.

same with my wife, 13 years this year, it rubs off I tell ya!