Idealistinfire continues to Climb the Cliffs of Insanity

[idealistinfire]

As I mentioned in my first Cliffs of Insanity post, I'm currently working on establishing new routines, part of which is a mini-workout everyday (15 minutes or less, switching between yoga and body weight training).    Hoping that by the time the new Challenge starts Jan. 6th, these routines will be solid.

 

Morning Routine (1.5 - 2 hour completion time)

- Walk Bree the Dog 10 - 30 minutes

- Play with Bree the dog 5 minutes

- Workout 15 minutes in Room of Kick-Ass and Relaxation

- Shower/eat breakfast/prep lunch (workday) or shower/eat breakfast (non work day)

- read/meditate in Room of Kick-Ass and Relaxation

 

Evening Routine (starts with 30 minutes of finishing dinner - 30 minute completion time):

- train Bree the Dog 5 - 15 minutes (include end Play Session)

- Spend 15 minutes cleaning

 

IF I complete 75% of the days on-track for my routines between 12/23 and 1/3, then I'll consider my Climb the Cliffs Challenge completed.  Otherwise, I'll have to continue it to the next Challenge.

 

 

[Eboncat]

You can do it.  Keep up the good work!

[idealistinfire]

Day 1 (12/23)

Morning - 100% - took a bit longer than planned but it's a day off so totally allowable Yoga day - so very stiff!

Evening - 100% - subbed the training for a trip to the dog park.  I don't think Bree minded the change in schedule.

[Raxie]

Had to pop in because I love the name of your mini challenge  The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies.

 

Good luck over the holidays!

[Everstorm]

I'm so glad you mentioned the mini-challenge in your other thread.  Climb those cliffs!

[idealistinfire]

Day 2:

Morning - 100% - strength training day - two things I'm proud of this morning - 1) I did my workout even with an injured shoulder (squats, lunges, plank and reverse crunches!) and 2) I did not let the fact that the cats puked in the middle and sides of my Room of Kickass and Relaxation stop me from working out.  Those are two things that, historically, have stopped me from working out consistently.  Take that Saboteur!   (yes, that is a t-rex roaring its triumph).

 

Evening - 100%.  Took Bree to the dog park instead of training her though.  She liked it a lot.

 

Also, I'm adding back my loot jar initiative, so for every 5 days I follow my routine, I earn loot!  Huzzah! 

 

Merry Christmas Eve everyone

[Eboncat]

Ugh. Cat puke.  Oh so fun to wake up to.  Awesome job getting your workout done in spite of it, and with the shoulder injury (what happened?).  Love it.

 

Merry Christmas!

[idealistinfire]

Merry Christmas to you too EC!  About the shoulder, I just retweaked it while stretch (as a I woke up, no less) - last time I went to the doctor, she said I have costocondritis in my should/chest joint.  Just one of those things I get to deal with from time to time. So I'll give it a week off of strength training, and see how it feels after that.

 

Day 3

Morning Routine - 50% - took the dog out for her walk and made breakfast, but that's it.

Evening Routine - 100% - cleaned up and training completed! 

[alienjenn]

you got this!!

[idealistinfire]

Thanks Jenn!

 

Day 4

Morning - 100%    Still sore from my strength training two days ago (who knew 10 minutes of strength training could be so effective? Oh wait...)  ALSO, my bf got me my NF sweat shirt and stickers!!! :) Huzzah!

Evening - 100% - almost skipped the dog training part, but turned on my Theme Songs soundtrack and went through with it...only to have a dog who really wasn't into training tonight (just weird).  We played hide-and-seek with her new favorite toy and then had a solid 15 minutes of playing instead, so I'm calling it good.  I suppose dogs can have off days too, right?

[alienjenn]

Woot!

(sent by the phone. .. all mistakes are the phones fault)

[Eboncat]

Sweet!

[idealistinfire]

Day 5

Morning: 100% - had to modify my exercises since my neck is all super tight.

Evening - 100% - a bit tougher 'cause depression is an a**hole, but that's alright.  I completed the routine and even did a bit of extra cleaning.

[Everstorm]

Uh oh.  What happened?

[idealistinfire]

Not really sure, although I suspect sleeping on the couch and/or moving bookshelves didn't help.  Best guess is it's a complication from my shoulder injury - it seems like there is a nasty knot on that collarbone that's just pulling my neck out of alignment rather than a bruised/injured vertebrae as I originally thought.  It's definitely only tight on that one side.  A hot shower helps for a bit, and ibuprofen took some pain away, but the muscle relaxer I took didn't seem to help.  Of course, I passed out for the night an hour after I took that, so who knows?

[Eboncat]

Do you have someone who could massage it?  Or a heating pad? Great job doing your workouts (adjusting instead of skipping = awesome).  I know how hard it is to get up and go when you're feeling down too.  You're doing great!

 

Also - if the ibuprofen doesn't seem to be cutting it or lasting long enough, try some naproxen(Aleve) instead.  It works the same, but it lasts about 10 hours instead of only 6 so you don't have to remember to take it as often.

 

I guess I'm full of unsolicited advice today.

[idealistinfire]

No worries EC - I give unsolicited advice all the time   I haven't found Aleve to help me as much as Ibuprofen, but I'll give it a try since it's been a few years since I took it.  And the massage is a good idea - I've been doing my own, but it's a bit awkward so having someone else do it would work better.

 

Day 6:

Morning - 50%.  I didn't give myself enough time before work, so Bree got her walk and play session and I made breakfast, but missed my workout and meditation.  I think if I get those in before dinner (6pm-ish), I'll give myself another 25% completion rate on this one.  I want to give myself credit for doing "make-ups" but I don't want to get in the habit of procrastination, so giving myself half-credit for it seems like a good compromise.  Any thoughts/suggestions on that?

Evening - 100%

[alienjenn]

I think half credit is good

You are meeting your objective (which is to get the routine done) but not in the time you want it done... so maybe give yourself half credit for a week with the idea that you aren't going to give half credit later.... that way you don't fault yourself for getting stuff done with the objective of getting it done on time eventually.... make sense?

(sent by the phone. .. all mistakes are the phones fault)

[idealistinfire]

yep, that makes perfect sense.  And since I'm using this time between challenges to perfect my routine before the new challenge of the new year, I'll let myself get half-credit so long as it's not done on purpose - i.e., this morning was a lack of planning and since I'm in learning phase, 1/2 credit is okay.  BUT after this challenge I miss the routine marks or if during this challenge I think to myself "I'll skip this because I know I can get 1/2 credit later", then no credit for me.

 

Although, it's kind of a moot point since I forgot about the workout until just now and I wanted to get it done before 6pm/dinner for the credit.  So even though I did get my meditation in (by accident truthfully - I was avoiding the large group of people at my house), I'm still giving myself 50% for the morning. Blargh.  Oh well, there's still tonight's routine and tomorrow is a new (non-work) kind of day, so it's all good.

[alienjenn]

it takes a while to do a new routine...

 

I like to introduce a new routine with no more than three parts...and then add one part evey week or so until I am up to the number of parts I need...

 

 

or... I have a sticky note on a wall/bookshelf/mirror/all of the above to remind me of the routine

[idealistinfire]

Having it posted is definitely helpful - my routine is posted above my stove in the kitchen.  The main issue this morning was thinking I could cram an hour-and-a-half routine into an hour.  At least now I know, right?

[idealistinfire]

Day 7

Morning - 100%.  Did it backwards (church, then breakfast, then dog walk then workout) and it took twice as long, but it's a rest day so I'm okay with that. 

Evening - 100%. 

[Everstorm]

As long as it gets done, right?

[Eboncat]

You're doing fine, and your half-credit idea is a good one.   Keep up the good work.

[Raxie]

Looks like you're doing awesome sticking with it between the challenges   Hope you have a happy new year!