jstanlick Does what he likes to be someone new

[jstanlick]

Well, let's give this new again 4 week challenge thing a try. In an attempt to shrink down my goals and keep things simplistic, I'm going back to what has worked for me in the past and just plugging away it rather than trying new stuff like I have for the last 12- 18 months.

 

Diet Quests

1) No regular soda. Period. For this challenge diet soda is okay. We'll work on removing that from my diet in a later challenge.

2) No food after 9 PM more than twice/week. Why? Because I never pick something healthy that late at night and I seem to do it almost daily (or nightly if you prefer). So, there's no reason to eat anything at all at that time. Since it's a daily thing, I'm just trying to cut back this challenge.

 

Training Quest(s)

1a) Interval Training 2x/week - My body can't handle running like it used to and intervals are just as good a way to burn fat. So, there you have it.

1b) Resistance Training 3x/week - More muscle = less fat. Simple as that.

1c) Running 1x/week - Given the state of my body (for some reason I keep getting older), I should scrap this altogether and replace with intervals. But, I like running. I feel free running. I can clear my mind running. So, I'm doing it at least once a week to keep my sanity.

 

Level Up Quests

1) Floss daily - I suck at this and its the only set of teeth and gums I have. So, let's not suck anymore.

2) Respawn my blog - Something I've been thinking of doing for a long time. Why not now? I'll work at least 10 minutes a day on rebuilding my blog and providing content. Instead of writing on things I used to, I think I'm going to chronicle my getting healthy odyssey. I haven't written anything in over 2 years now. As long as this is on my mind, I'll write about it and up the level of accountability.

 

I'm starting 2016 at 6' 2", 215 pounds, 25% BF and 43 years of age. My year end goal is to be 20% BF and under 205 pounds. If I could finish the year at 43 years old or less I would. But, since that can't happen, I'll settle for feeling younger.

[Terra]

Hi - How are ya doing today???  

[jstanlick]

Hey, sorry about that, Tapatalk let me down and was giving me some update issues. I've finally given up on that and returned to the laptop to update this.

 

So, everything is still on track, but maybe it shouldn't be. See, I must've tweaked my knee during some interval training on Thursday...I think. It felt fine at the time, but when I woke on Friday my knee was swollen and felt a little unstable. It felt a little better on Saturday and I wanted to run before the weather turned blistering cold so I did. But, it really hurt to bend it on Sunday. It feels better again today, but maybe I should've skipped the run on Saturday. I still don't know what I did to it. The intervals I did on Thursday felt great. I felt like I really pushed my self and did some good, but the opposite might've been the case. I'll have to see how it feels tomorrow morning when my next scheduled interval session is scheduled.

 

On the nutrition front I've done just fine with the regular soda. The after 9PM thing required a lot more will power since I used up my 2 exceptions by Wednesday night. But, I did it and I didn't die. Plus, I actually felt hungry on subsequent days, so that seems to be a good thing.

 

Flossing is slowly becoming a habit and the dentist thought my teeth looked really good today. The blog thing isn't moving forward with 10 minutes a day. I sit there staring at it trying to figure where to start and as a result have only played around with updating some header images and page layouts. There haven't been any real content changes/additions/etc. But, I have spent time working on it and I'm hoping something will come to me soon just by thinking about it on a regular basis.

[jstanlick]

Hi - How are ya doing today???  

 

BTW -  I love your creed/motto/etc. in your sig. I'm always trying to do better by my kids and set a good example for them to follow.

[jstanlick]

Bummer, I missed it!

 

I've been using the FitBit to track mileage to see how long it would take me to walk to Mordor. And then Christmas vacation happened and I wasn't paying attention. Apparently, I hit the mark on the morning of December 27th. I started on January 10th. So, about 11 1/2 months to walk from the Shire to Mordor. Oddly, on December 28th, the weather here got cold and snowy and hasn't been decent since (currently 5 degrees F with a -14 windchill). Shouldn't it be hot at Mt Doom? Ya know, with all that molten rock?

[jstanlick]

Oh, also, intervals did not happen this morning. The knee is just being wonky. Hopefully I can get back on track as the week rolls on. Oddly, bodyweight squats don't seem to bother it at all. Now, split squats and lunges are another story. I haven't tried loading any weight up on a bar and doing squats, but I'm not going to until I can wake up and take that first step out of bed without feeling like me knee is going to buckle. Sigh. Getting old sucks.

[jstanlick]

Still bad knee. Still no intervals. BOOO.

 

Bodyweight exercises still were no issues yesterday. In fact, after push-ups, planks, pullups and squats I think my knee felt better than it has all week. Until I took the dog for about a 1.5 mile walk in snow, ice and uneven ground. After that my knee hurt as bad as it has yet. Fortunately, 2 Advil seemed enough to dull the pain. It's feeling better again today, but someone else in the house is going to have to take the dog for a walk tonight.

 

Still no regular soda but I broke down last night after 9 PM and attempted to drown my sorrows in a bunch of cheese. At least it is the first exception of the week.

[jstanlick]

Finally, some good news. I sat on my ass a lot yesterday. I didn't take the dog for a walk and made the kids take her out. I didn't even use my standing desk at work. Then, as I was leaving work last night and I felt something pop in my knee. Immediately after, my knee felt more stable. Still sore but it no longer felt like it was in danger of buckling. This morning it was a little stiff and sore, but again much more stable. And now that I've been up and around more, the soreness and stiffness has abated. So, maybe next week I can get back into the routine more. 

 

Hopefully, its just a minor road bump on my way to better health. And hopefully if it happens again, maybe next time I'll know what I did to actually mess it up.

[jstanlick]

I actually got a short run in on Saturday before the weather got really cold. I wanted to wait until Sunday to run because I wanted to give the knee another day of rest, but I knew when the thermometer read -5 degrees F and the wind was blowing at 25 MPH, I wasn't going outside to run. So, I took advantage of the 13 degree heatwave on Saturday and went a shorter distance (~2.8 miles) at a moderate pace for me (~8:37 min/mile). The good news is that the knee was no worse for the wear. And, today was the first time I woke up with no pain or stiffness in the knee. Here's hoping it stays that way.

 

Yesterday was a bodyweight circuit that included many push up reps, squats and lunges. And yet, my knee felt better when I got up this morning. I guess that strength training stuff is a good idea

 

Still keeping up the no regular soda and limited late night snacking. Still flossing and I have a draft partially written for my first blog post in 3 years.

 

I'm not setting any records this challenge, but everything is moving forward and getting better each day. I'm happy with that and will call that a win.

[jstanlick]

So that partially written blog entry was finished and published. Its not going to win a Pulitzer or anything, but this is about actually doing something instead of letting it die by analysis paralysis. Hopefully as I keep this going the writing will improve and I'll get back into the swing of things.

 

More bodyweight circuit training yesterday just cuz I'm trying to force myself to go slow and not overdo like I tend to. Since this body keeps getting older and less flexible, I have to remind myself I can't just get after like 20 years ago. No more injuries for me. They sideline me for too long and then getting back into the swing of things is even harder than the last time.

[jstanlick]

Sigh. Maybe its time to go see the doctor. I haven't been running since Saturday, I haven't been doing interval workouts to try to let it heal. The knee has felt fine the last few days, but it was stiff again this morning when I got up. I was standing at my desk more than I had been lately since it had been feeling better. Plus, I had cross training shoes on instead of dress shoes. Back to the Advil I guess.

[jstanlick]

Weekend round-up: Friday night was my company's winter party. They long ago gave up on a Christmas party since everyone was always too busy. I spent the night being reminded of how much older I am than most of my co-workers. Yes, there was an open bar. No, I did not stumble out of there completely trashed. I had kids to get home to and my wife and I had busy early mornings on Saturday. We walked out with our ears ringing from the band and my wife simply said, "Wow, that's the first time in a long time I've been reminded of how old I am." Geez. Well, in truth, most of these kids were just out of diapers when I was partying at college before the internet really existed.

 

But, before going to the party I got myself some new running shoes. Not the shoes I was going to get because they were out of the Brooks I wanted in my size. But, I did find some lightweight neutral shoes they felt good on my feet and when I tried them out on their treadmill. Very weird because I never thought I would buy Nike Free's. But, they felt good and were on sale. Part of the selling point for me was, I put them on walked around the aisle, and my knee didn't hurt.

 

Saturday I spent most of the day playing traffic cop at my kids school. My son's chess team had their annual tournament and I helped people from other schools get to the room they needed to be at. In between that, there was a lot of sitting with my youngest son who wasn't feeling well and dropping my daughter off at the gym so she could watch the boy's basketball team play and her friends on the girl's team play as they played back-to-back in the same gym.

 

Sunday I took the dog for a walk and did my first interval run since week 1 of the challenge in the new shoes. Knee was fine but my lungs were not. It is so much easier to just run a pace than to walk, jog, sprint, walk, jog, sprint, walk, etc. So, as long as the knee stays okay I'm going to try to keep my of the intervals. I need more kick at the end of my runs and this seems to really push me in that category. I spent the rest of the day working on a sliding door in my house. That was enough to claim the weekend warrior step challenge title from my co-workers for the 2nd week in a row.

 

This morning was some lifting. I do like lifting in the morning because I feel like I've accomplished something before the day even gets going. I don't like lifting in the morning because I feel weaker than at night. Oh well. I'm letting the ego go and simply working on lifting in interval circuits. I'm not going to set any deadlift records, but honestly I just want to get stronger and not feel like I'm old and weak just moving stuff around the house or playing with my kids.

[jstanlick]

I'll finish this out by saying a cold derailed by sprinting this week. I did manage to get in 3 resistance sessions and 1 sprinting session, but I just didn't have the lung capacity for more with the coughing. But, I did start a groove with this challenge despite the knee and the cold. I know what I want to do and am going to continue to grind and fight until I'm where I want to be. And then I'll come up with a new goal to hit.