Monday, August 20, 2018

August, week 3

Last week was pretty much a bust since I managed to miss 3 of the seven days of workouts. Travel, some unexpected schedule changes, and pure laziness all played a role.
It's said that the best exercise is the one that you will actually do -- for me that is generally going to be walking.
I haven't given up on the P90X3 thing and I'll be back at it this morning, but I really need to figure out some sort of a more regular schedule for exercise. You'd think that being retired would make exercising a breeze, but there is always something else to do. The first step is in making exercise a priority. I don't really think I'm there yet.
I also managed a few indulgences on the diet. I was mostly pretty good on foods and not so good on portions.

It's a new week.
Time to get after it.

John

Monday, August 13, 2018

August, week 2

Last week was a bit of a bust. With my workout accountability partner on vacation and me being a lazy guy with poor workout habits, I skipped a few days.
I'm going to reset and call today Week 2, Day 1 of the P90X3 program.

Unfortunately, I have a full day of driving ahead of me so I'm going to have to get the workout in early. I've never been that guy that gets up and works out. I've been the guy that gets up and thinks about working out while I enjoy my coffee and let the morning slowly slip away.

Have a good week.
Be healthy.

John

Monday, August 6, 2018

August -- week 1

The first (partial) week of August comes to an end and here is my update.
I missed my early morning weigh-in today and have already begun my Monday morning consumption of coffee and breakfast so I'll have to remember that for tomorrow.

I took the last two days off on the P90X3 due to the minor injury, but will back on schedule today with whatever modifications are necessary to promote healing and prevent further injury. A couple of days off has really helped and my arm feels much better, although the bicep is still tender near the forearm.

I did keep up with the daily step goal of 10,000 steps and am back on a 7 day streak.
I missed a day on the 100 daily squats, but will make those up for my monthly 3000 squat goal.
I missed three days of push-ups and will need to recalculate what I need for 1000 push-ups.
I also missed going out for a day of stand-up paddle boarding.

I realize that all of this is very little for people that are really fit or for people that make fitness their way of life. It's plenty for an old, fat guy trying to get a little better at the healthy living thing.

Be well,
John

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Ugh! Minor injury

After 5 days of P90X3 I'm beginning to think that the arm soreness from Day 4's Challenge is more than your ordinary muscle soreness. It (left arm bicep) felt a little better after yesterday's cardiovascular workout but soon stiffened again and by evening I was beginning to think it may be more than just overuse of an unused muscle kind of soreness. I woke in the middle of the night, unable to straighten it without considerable discomfort. It appears to be injured near the tendon connection at the elbow. The pain occurs more when trying to straighten my arm rather than bending it; when stretching the muscle vs contracting it.
Ugh!

So...
Since the P90X workouts are pretty much total body workouts, I'm going to have to shelve them for a little while. I'll reassess after a week. Even if I restart at that point with the repetitive motion, it will be without any added resistance for a little while. I'll take a look at tomorrow's workout and may still do the agility workout.
In the mean time, I'll increase the daily walking (I restarted my daily 10K steps streak) and keep up with the daily squats (100). I may even add some cycling, yoga, or some ab/core stuff -- something that won't tax the arms too much.

I've been eating well and focusing on healthy foods in healthy portions. While better health is the goal, a better weight is one of the indicators and I'd really like to get the BMI out of the obese range. Since the weight loss was in the 1.5 - 2 pounds per week range before starting the P90X stuff, and since I'm still a subscriber to the "eat for weight management, exercise for good health" way of thinking, I expect the weight to continue to drop at a steady rate as my lifestyle becomes one of a more health minded individual.

I'll be back with the Monday weigh-in.
Enjoy the weekend.

Be well,
John