Month: August 2024

Fitness Leg Day – Wednesday

Today was tough again. Very hot and humid. I was able to get through it. Most of my workouts are about an hour in length, including today.

My leg day starts out on the ground with bands. I have these bands that are similar to what they us in physical therapy. I lay on the ground and tie them just above my knees. I then do 100 reps of spreading my knees apart against the resistance. Next, I will put a small yoga ball between my knees and squeeze for 100 reps.

I then sit on the seat of my bike in reverse. I tie the bands around my ankles and place the ball between my knees. I then perform 100 reps pulling my ankles apart against the resistance. Next I will switch to another band wrapped around the leg of a built in table in my garage. I place my left leg and swing my leg from inside out against the resistance for 100 reps. I repeat on the right leg. I then do 100 reps pushing each leg against the resistance front to back.

Next I have a difference band that has Velcro to wrap around my ankles and I step side to side for 98 total reps. Next, I move to squats. Today I worked up to 275 pounds and try to go as deep as possible. I was not satisfied today as to how deep I was able to go. I’ll keep working at.

Once that is completed I then did a 20 minute AMRAP. This included a 400M run with 10 Romanian deadlifts, 24 walking lunges, and 45 calf raises with 80 pounds. I was only able to complete 3 rounds today. Last week I got closer to 4 rounds so my performance was a little worse this week. I’ll try to build off of this for next week. Anyway, I am traveling today so my workouts over the next couple of days will be different than normal based on what is available in the hotel gym. Until next time, have a great day!

Tuesday Run

Today was a struggle. Tuesday’s are my run days and I normally run 3.5 – 5 miles. Today was brutal. My legs felt very heavy, it was everything to get out there and do it. I only ran 2.5 miles today and it was tough getting through it.

Every workout or run is different, some days I feel good and others I do not. Today was one of the bad days. On the positive side I was able to push through and get it done which its better than doing nothing. But it definitely was not my best. The humidity was exceptionally high and it was hot already at 5 am so that contributed. I like to run the best when it is in the 40’s.

After my run I always complete a series of stretching exercises which I did this morning. I also completed triceps’s press with dumbbells with low weight. this is 15 pounds only on each dumbbell for 100 reps. I have been getting stronger here so will probably go to two sets of 100 coming up. I also did 60 hammer curls with the same weight and will also probably go to two sets in a week or two. I also do max sit ups for two minutes with an ab mat. Today I was able to get 75 reps. I am working my way to 100 in two minutes. Just a couple of months ago I was only able to do 40 – 50.

Overall, I got it done but it was a struggle. I’ll keep at it. Until next time, good luck and have a great day.

Monday Fitness

Today was a decent workout. While I have trouble getting going any day, Monday’s are usually the worst. Coming off the weekend it is really tough to get out of bed at 4:30 am and get going. The alarm on my watch went off and I mustered up the mental toughness to get out of bed. Big win right there.

I fed our lab and let her out. While she was out I took pre-workout which takes 15 – 30 minutes to kick in. By the time I let her in I am ready to get my shoes on and hit the gym.

Monday is push day so primarily push exercises. I typically start with a 500M row or a 400M run to get warmed up. This morning I started with a 400M run. Just a slow steady pace to get the blood flowing. Once I returned from the run, I did some stretching with bands primarily focused on check and shoulders.

First exercise is bench press. I worked up by hitting 10 reps at 135, 6 reps at 185, 3 reps at 225, 1 rep at 245, and 1 rep at 255. I take 2 – 3 minutes rest in between sets. I am continuing to work on getting stronger. After bench press I did standing shoulder press with the bar. First set of 10 at 65 pounds then I did three sets at 95 pounds and a final set at 65 pounds.

Next was skull crushers. This is where I do 12-10-8-6-24routine. 12 reps at 55, 10 reps at 65, 8 reps at 75, 6 reps at 85, and finally 24 reps at 45 pounds. For this exercise I don’t take much rest in between. Basically as fast as I can switch the weights and get set I am going.

Normally I would do additional exercises like dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell kickback, incline press, etc. However , lately I have been doing a 20 minute AMRAP HiiT routine which means as many rounds as possible High Intensity Interval Training. This morning my round was 400M run, 15 pushups with perfect pushup, 10 dips on my dip station, and 50 cable crunch using a heavy band on my rack. I was able to complete 4 rounds almost. I did complete 4 but took almost 21 minutes. The HiiT workout. really adds intensity.

I use a Garmin Fenix watch which tracks all of my workouts and today I hit 75 intensity minutes which is pretty good. Last Monday I think it was in the 50’s so better intensity today. My sleep score last night was 83 so I think that contributed to a better workout. Anyway, now I am ready for the day with a big win under my belt. Until next time, have a great day.

Fitness – My Home Gym

I took the day off yesterday. My daughter and her family was here. I must say that my nutrition was lacking terribly yesterday. I am so disciplined when it comes to working out and even in my profession of data architecture, I have always struggled to be disciplined with my nutrition.

I have a sweet tooth. I was eating cookies and overeating food even though I was not hungry. Sometimes I eat just because the food sounds good and I want it. I have got to focus on being disciplined with this. I will keep working on it.

Whenever my daughter, son in law, and grand daughter come over, my son in law works out in my home gym. I am really proud of him because when I first met him years ago he wasn’t into fitness. He has mentioned to me that I have inspired him and he always admired our family because of the emphasis we put on fitness in our family.

Since then he has really taken to working out, mainly strength training. I have seen him get much stronger and more fit. He says that he feels much better. He has really grown to make fitness a routine and is very disciplined with it. He comes over and uses my garage gym every day he is here.

Yesterday he was telling me how much he likes my garage gym compared to the gym in his apartment complex. Also, he has been to other gyms and says he likes mine better. He is similar to me and really likes to work out on his own with his headphones in and no distractions. This inspired me to write about my garage gym to let you know what I have and why it is useful.

First, I don’t have the most expensive equipment. I have thought about upgrading certain aspects but do not really need to. The main thing I have is a half rack that I purchased from Dicks Sporting Goods many years ago. It absolutely is not the best or most heavy duty but it does get the job done. And if taken care of, will last a very long time.

I have a bar that I purchased from Dicks Sporting Goods also with about 400 pounds of weights with 4 45 pound weights, 2 35’s, 2 35’s, 2 10’s, 4, 5’s and 2 2.5 pound weights. This gets the job done. Since it is in the garage I wipe them down with 3 and 1 oil about once a month and that keeps them very nice with no rust accumulation. I also wipe my rack down with oil.

Underneath my rack and spread out a ways are sic horse stall mats that I purchased from Tractor Supply many years ago for about $35 each. This is very nice for laying on and protecting the garage floor. I also have a couple of yoga mats for extra cushion for floor work. I have a couple of Powerblock adjustable dumbbells that go to 50 pounds each which is plenty for me.

I have an assortment of bands for stretching and various exercises along with some other bands and a yoga ball for some of my hip and leg work. I have power pushup bars for pushups and a pullup and dip station. There is an ab mat I use for sit ups. The ab mat sis under my lower back for stability. I do also have weight belt for back stability when I do heavy squats.

I have a treadmill, a Rower, and a bike. I use the rower quite a lit for warmups, keeping hot in between sets, and extra work. I also have a 20pound weight vest that I will use for walking and when extra weight is needed for dips and other exercises. I do have a step but I also have some steps in my garage that I can use for steps up with weights.

As I write more about my workout routines I will explain how I use this equipment and you will see that I use every last bit of all of that equipment. Until next time, have a great day!

Music – First Blog Post

This is my first blog post regarding music. Just a little background. I have always loved music. Primarily heavy metal. Every since I was young. I grew up with Metallica, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Motley Crue, etc.

I also like Country music. When I was younger I really liked Merle Haggard, Hank Williams Jr., and many other country artists. There have been times in my like when I leaned more toward country than metal.

I do like many of today’s artists. I seek out and find metal artists, many from other countries around the world and I will talk about them and what they mean to me and metal in general. I also like a lot of the newer country. Especially the cross over stuff. Many of them are mixing metal and country and really like that. I will talk about some of those as well.

For my workouts, I listed to primarily heavy music. It gets me fired up and going. I do the same when I run. It is hard to explain what music does to me when I am working out or running. There have been songs that came on during a run, for example, that literally gave me chills. Something about getting into another state of mind fully immersed in the music while getting after it.

Heavy music while exercising helps me get aggression out. I, like many others, have demons. Mistakes I’ve made, regrets, and also daily struggles today that I need to work through. When I couple music with exercise, it helps me fight off those demons. It keeps me grounded in the work of the day. The daily grind. All of this sets me up for a great day.

I will write more and more about my music, the feelings I get, the various artists and what I hear in their music. I can hear and feel many of their own demons and aggressions in the music. I can only imagine what many of them have been through and are going through. We all have our own ways of dealing with pain, anger, frustration. I am writing about the ways in which I conquer the world every day. More to come. Until next time, keep working and fighting.

Fitness 8/23/2024

I was initially considering not working out today. I have a medical appointment this morning and had to go to the store prior to that. However, I was able to get a 48 minute workout in. Today was pull day. I wasn’t able to take pre-workout and eat or drink anything because of my medical appointment.

I have grown to require myself to workout every day. I do take a rest day on the weekend typically. Fitness is part of my life and has been for a long time. Not sure if I am addicted to it but at the same time I don’t feel as good without doing it.

Each week I do 3 strength training workouts and 3 cardio based workouts. Monday is push day, Tuesday is run, Wednesday is Leg day, Thursday is run, Friday is Pull day, and Saturday is a run. In upcoming blog posts I will describe my workouts in detail and also variations where I alter my routine in various ways.

Fitness has been a staple for me and continues to help both my mental and physical fitness. I don’t do it to impress anyone or compete with anyone. I do it for health. I will continue to exercise on in my 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s if I am fortunate enough to live that long. Until next time, have a great day everyone!

Fitness 8/22/2024

My legs are really sore today. Yesterday was leg day and I have been working on getting deeper in my squats. I have always struggled with flexibility and for a long time worked on getting my butt down to the bench. For the past month or so I have removed the bench and have been focusing on getting deeper. AAfter a series of hip work with bands, I do some warm ups without weights focusing on getting deep in the squat. 

A few weeks ago when I started this I did 95 lbs and max 135 lbs deep. Today I did a progression of 135, 185, 225. I did 3 sets at 225 of 3 reps each trying to go as deep as possible. I noticed that my hamstrings are very sore and I think this is a big reason. That is very good.

I ran today and it was a struggle with sore legs. I only did a little over 2 miles and then some stretching. Of course I ended with 100 dumbbell tricep presses with 15 lbs on each dumbbell, 60 hammer curls with 15 pounds each dumbbell, and 77 sit ups over 2 minutes. My goal is to get 100 sit ups in 2 minutes. I am getting there. 

Overall not too bad today but I need to keep going after it. This is for my mental health as much as physical health. I have to try and stay positive on the day, especially when interacting with other people. Focus and let’s go!

Fitness 8/21/2024

I have been exercising consistently for many years. I am former military and completed almost 21 years of Naval Service about 20 years ago. I am 60 years old now. I have been fairly consistent in exercising my entire adult life. There have been times where I didn’t exercise as consistently but still managed to get a workout in here or there. There have been times when I have been injured or sick for short periods but still managed to do something.

I could not imagine my life without fitness. For me, it is as much about mental therapy as it is physical fitness. Ever since I was young I have struggled with anxiety. I didn’t really know that at the time but as I have grown to know more about myself and I have learned much more about it since then. Fitness is one of the main ways I keep my mental fitness in check.

Getting up early and “getting after it” is something I need to do. Very often I do not want to. I have to get in the right state of mind, wake up, take some pre-workout, psych myself up and really encourage myself mentally to go out to the gym and get started. It’s one of the reasons I put a gym in my garage. It makes it easy for me. At periods in my life I have gone to a gym on base or even in town like the YMCA, I also attended a Crossfit box for about a year. I have learned that having a gym at home for me is what is needed. 

I don’t really need or even want to workout in a community setting. That’s what I learned about going to Crossfit. Some people need that and want that. It’s not for me. Perhaps it’s because I am an introvert. Perhaps it’s because in the morning I absolutely do not feel like interacting with other people. I need to go and get my aggression out, work through it by myself, and accomplish something from an internal place in my soul. I do not want or need external motivation. I know that for a lot of people, this is what they need to stay with it. I am the exact opposite.

Anyway, I will continue to write about my fitness journey, share some of the routines I do and how it works for me. Maybe someone else will find it useful, maybe not. I do know that each person must find what works for them for both their mental and physical health. Until next time, have a happy day.