sirdle - 2019

[sirdle]

The five pillars of a healthy lifestyle:

1. Don't smoke
2. Severely reduce, or eliminate, alcohol
3. Eat a healthy diet
4. Maintain a healthy BMI
5. Get some exercise

I feel like I've got the first four under control. Now it's time to pay more attention to exercise.

I think this journal might get pretty boring, pretty fast, but I also think I want to keep track of everything until all the different pieces become habits... just like I used Cronometer to track food until I got my food choices under control.

I like the format that Geo used, so I'll be using that format.

6', 168 lbs, 55 y/o, BMI 22.8
Blood pressure: 100/66
Resting pulse: 46

I've been walking for the past 7 months, averaging about 5 hours per week, but I suffer from periodic, acute, lower back pain, most likely due to tight muscles and poor posture. So my plan is to add some stretching & flexibility & balance exercises along with some meditation and strength training.

Cheers,

Day 1, Wed

Food
==============================
B: oatmeal, blueberries, flaxseed
L: enchilada soup + salad
S: pineapple
D: potatoes w/ salsa, mustard, ketchup
S: green beans

Exercise
==============================
Activity - walking (30 min, intermittent)
Cardio - rowing (endurance, 2x12', r2' SR20, AHR 108)
Strength - none
Balance - Taiji stepping drills (20 min)
Flexibility - static stretching (60 min)

Rest
==============================
Sleep - 6 hr, fitful
Meditation - Qigong (10 min)
Stress - low
Reading - "Take Charge: Fitness at the Edge of Science", Clarence Bass

Notes
==============================
Walking is done at work in increments of 5-7 minutes, mostly as an excuse to get up and move about from my (mostly) desk job.

Rowing - this is my third rowing workout. The last time I tried to add rowing, I suffered a back injury. I'm not sure if it was due to the rowing, the weight training, or just general overuse. This time I intend to add meters very slowly and keep the intensity very low for at least 6 weeks.

Sleep, as usual, was interrupted by rising to use the bathroom. Last night, twice. Also, I've been suffering from shoulder pain and upper chest muscular pain. I haven't decided if the pain is due to injuries or due to a previous workout. Either way, the pain is interfering with my sleep.

Taiji stepping drills are drills to learn the basic taiji steps prior to learning any routines.

Stretching is done before rising, throughout the day, and after rowing or weight training.

Links
==============================
Death of a Friend, 09/09
Chest Pain, 09/12
Contra Dancing, 09/16
Recipe - Tortilla Soup, 09/21
Relapse, 09/24
Mad Magazine, 09/27
Elephant Seals, 09,30
Sandhill Cranes, 10/01
Reflections on Happiness, 10/02
Recipe - Lentil Stew, 10/06
Recipe - Pineapple Stir-Fry, 10/06
Monarch Butterflies, 10/06
What I Eat, 10/11
Clarence Bass: Take Charge, 10/15
Recipe - Smoky Apple Baked Beans, 10/26

[deweyswakms]

I like your pillars, good for you on the exercise program, stretching and strengthening will be a big help. Keep going.

[bunsofaluminum]

Stretching, flexibility, balance...sounds like YOGA!

[sirdle]

I like your pillars, good for you on the exercise program, stretching and strengthening will be a big help. Keep going.

Thanks for the encouragement, Marsha!

Stretching, flexibility, balance...sounds like YOGA!

It does sound like YOGA... but being the contrarian that I am, it is actually Taiji and Qigong.

Day 2

Food
==============================
B: oatmeal, blueberries, flaxseed
L: enchilada soup + salad
S: pineapple
D: potatoes w/ salsa, mustard, ketchup
S: cauliflower, steamed
S: cherries

Exercise
==============================
Activity - walking (45 min, intermittent)
Cardio - none
Strength - none
Balance - none
Flexibility - static stretching (30 min)

Rest
==============================
Sleep - 5.5 hr, fitful
Meditation - none
Stress - low/medium
Reading - "Take Charge: Fitness at the Edge of Science", Clarence Bass

Notes
==============================
Sleep -- shoulder and chest pain was a lot less last night. I still needed to take pain medication to fall asleep, but I am confident the pain is due to DOMS rather than an injury.

Work -- woke up very sleepy, but work was engaging and challenging today, so I never felt sleepy at work. After I got home and got cleaned up, however, I got a call out, so I had to get into my grubbies and go back to work. Turned out the work could easily have been done next week, but the callout was for an emergency (2 hr response time). I'm a little grumpy about that. So that raised my stress level a wee bit.

[sirdle]

Day 3

Food
==============================
B: oatmeal, blueberries, flaxseed
L: potatoes w/ salsa, mustard, ketchup + salad
S: pineapple
D: brown rice + veggie stir fry, w/ soy sauce
S: blueberries

Exercise
==============================
Activity - walking (intermittent), 11,500 steps
Cardio - none
Strength - none
Balance - none
Flexibility - static stretching (30 min)

Rest
==============================
Sleep - 8 hr, fitful
Meditation - none
Stress - high
Reading - "Take Charge: Fitness at the Edge of Science", Clarence Bass

Notes
==============================
Sleep -- woke up well-rested, 1/2 hour before my alarm, even though I got up in the middle of the night to stretch.

Work -- lots of things breaking all day long. Very stressful. I was looking forward to some rowing and Taiji, but I got another call-out, so it was another 14-hour workday, instead.

[sirdle]

Day 4, Sat

Food
==============================
B: oatmeal, blueberries, flaxseed
L: potatoes w/ salsa, mustard, ketchup + salad
S: cherries
D: brown rice + veggie stir fry, w/ spices
S: blueberries

Exercise
==============================
Activity - walking (intermittent), 5,000 steps
Cardio - rowing (30 min)
Strength - weight training (45 min)
Balance - none
Flexibility - static stretching (50 min)

Rest
==============================
Sleep - 9+1 hr, peaceful, broken up 2x
Meditation - none
Stress - very low
Reading - "Take Charge: Fitness at the Edge of Science", Clarence Bass

Notes
==============================
Rowing, this was my 4th rowing workout. Intensity was low, with an average heart rate around 119. Two 15-min sessions with 3 min rest between them. Stroke rate around 20, pace around 2:42/500m. All rowing sessions begin with a 10-min warm up and end with a 6-min cool down.

Weight Training, week7.
1 HiT set to volitional failure after 1 warm-up set. Managed to increased weight or reps on all sets.

lunges, dumbbell - (50x20)
bench press, dumbbell - (40x13)
hamstring curl, machine - (80x12)
bent-over row, single arm, dumbbell - (35x13)
shoulder press, dumbbell - (30x9)
pull ups, assisted - (70x13)
crunches, machine - (125x28)

Sleep - was in bed by 8:30, woke up at 2:30 fairly rested, but read in bed for an hour then got another 3 hours of sleep. Plus a 1-hr nap in the afternoon.

[sirdle]

Day 5, Sun

Food
==============================
B: oatmeal, blueberries, flaxseed
L: potatoes w/ salsa, mustard, ketchup + steamed veggies
S: none
D: chickpea stew + green beans
S: none

Exercise
==============================
Activity - walking (intermittent, 5500 steps); hiking (non-cardio, 60 min)
Cardio - hiking (cardio, 45 min)
Strength - none
Balance - none
Flexibility - static stretching (25 min), dynamic stretching (20 min)

Rest
==============================
Sleep - 6.5 + 1 hr, peaceful, broken up 2x
Meditation - Qigong (10 min)
Stress - very low
Reading - "Take Charge: Fitness at the Edge of Science", Clarence Bass

Notes
==============================
Hiking, almost perfect day for a hike. Clear, breezy, 65-70 degrees. All the usual suspects were there: butterflies and bees, lizards, rabbits, and quail, hawks and turkey vultures. Deer and coyote sign, but the trail was far too crowded for any mega-fauna to be lurking about. Saw some turkeys on the way home (the kind that stand on the side of the road and scratch in the dirt, not the kind that hog the whole road ).

Dynamic Stretching - I prefer the "8 Pieces of Brocade". There are many different versions, but one of my favourite videos was produced by Mimi Kuo-Deemer. She has a very soothing voice and is amazingly graceful. Sometimes I just sit and watch her perform the exercises; it's very relaxing that way. LOL.

[AnnetteW]

One of my exercise instructors throws some of the Qigong movements into our practice, and I mentioned to another friend how much I liked it. She then sent me the same youtube link you posted. I had yet to try it, so I'll keep it open on my computer to give it a go later.

Thanks for the reminder.

[sirdle]

You're welcome Annette. Thanks for stopping by. I have some other good links that I'll post later.

[sirdle]

Aaarrrrrrrgh!

So, tomorrow I need to work at a remote location. That means taking a sleeping pill early, so I can get some sleep. Then getting up at 1:30 AM so I can drive for 3-1/2 hours, eat crappy food, drink lots of coffee, and skip my exercise. I do this about 4x a year, and it takes about a week to fully recover from the caffeine and lack of sleep. Other than that, my job is the best job in the world. I'm just grumpy because I still haven't passed my apparition test.

Cheers,

[sirdle]

Day 6, Mon

Food
==============================
B: oatmeal, blueberries, flaxseed
L: chickpea stew + salad
S: blueberries
D: pasta w/ marinara sauce + butternut squash
S: pineapple
S: McDougall soup

Exercise
==============================
Activity - walking (intermittent, 4,000 steps)
Cardio - rowing (30 min)
Strength - none
Balance - Tai Chi stepping drills (5 min)
Flexibility - static stretching (50 min), dynamic stretching (5 min)

Rest
==============================
Sleep - 5.5+2 hr, sporadic, broken up 3x
Meditation - Qigong (10 min)
Stress - very high
Reading - "Take Charge: Fitness at the Edge of Science", Clarence Bass

Notes
==============================
Sleep, woke up 1/2 hr before my alarm went off, groggy and tired. Left work early and took a nap.

Work, very stressful. All kinds of things breaking that required my attention. Plus I need to visit a remote location tomorrow. Which means getting up at 1:30 AM and driving for 3-1/2 hours. Grrrr. Decided against the sleeping pill. The last couple of times I took one, it didn't help me sleep at all; it just made me feel loopy. For some bizarre reason, my client feels that I am worth the money they spend on me. I know better, but it doesn't really seem like it's my place to tell them. I would feel better if I had some idea of what I'm going to be doing, but I don't. Troubleshooting a piece of equipment when I don't know how it's supposed to work is never fun. Sigh.

And on top of all that, I found out that a dear friend just lost his long battle with cancer. Two years ago, I learned he had cancer. I dropped everything and flew across the country to see him. I met with him 4 times over the next week and recorded 7 hours of interviews covering his childhood, college days, and professional career. Me and another buddy worked hard to produce a tribute to his life. But during that intense period, I stopped McDougalling and gained back 40 lbs that I had lost. I finally decided that I couldn't continue and abandoned the project. The tapes sit on my computer, untranscribed. I feel guilty about that. Two days ago, my buddy contacted me to let me know that our friend was not doing well and that, if I wanted to, I should get in touch. I spent several hours this weekend looking at airplane fares and work schedules. But I was too late. I feel guilty about that too. It will be a long time before I can bear to listen to the tapes. It has not been a very good day.

Rowing, very gentle recovery row after yesterday's intense hike (1,350 feet of elevation gain). A 30-min session with stroke rate around 20, pace around 2:50/500m. Average heart rate around 114.

[AnnetteW]

All I can do is send you peaceful thoughts today.

Take care.

[moonlight]

I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.

Wishing you the best.

[Caroveggie]

I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your dear friend.

[bunsofaluminum]

so sorry about your friend.