Starting over (again)

[A_Aldag]

So here i am, starting a log of my fitness journey, after many years of on-again/off-again workouts/diets/etc. This isn’t something I’ve ever done before but after reading through some of these other posts and comments I figured it wouldn’t hurt anything and maybe it’ll help in the long run.

I’ve always wanted to be seen as fit. I played soccer when I was much younger than I am now. When I joined the US Navy, lo those many (many) moons ago, I got into really good shape. After I got out, things went south since I became a dad and had a job where I sat a lot. Now, many years later, I’ve decided it was time to get into a shape other than round.

This is the journey that I’ve started.

 

[A_Aldag]

So I use an app called 7 that gives me a wide range of workouts and challenges. I’ve always like Darebee since it gives me much more than just workouts.

That being said, I’ll be using both 7 and Darebee in my fitness journey.

 

[Fremen]

Welcome

 

[A_Aldag]

So today I used my 7 app for 4 different workouts and then came here and did the exercise of the day and the workout of the day at level 3 with extra credit.

Still trying to determine the mix of workouts I want to do. I’ve already set aside two days a week for weightlifting.

 

[aku-chan]

 

[TopNotch]

Hello, and welcome to the Hive!

 

[GentleOx]

Hello! Look forward to reading more of your updates

 

[A_Aldag]

Today was fairly light in terms of workouts. A couple of warmups from 7, the daily exercise and routine from Darebee as well as 50 pushups (just because, and then 20 minutes of weightlifting with Apple Fitness+. Just to round things out a little bit, I did about 20 minutes of Beat Saber on the PS4 a little later in the afternoon.

I have to say, though, my nutrition this weekend has been terrible. Coffee and a banana for breakfast, toast with avocado and turkey breast, and frozen pizza for dinner. Yesterday I at least had food from the Chinese buffet, not that that is any better.

 

[A_Aldag]

So, it’s been two days since my last confession….

Oh wait, wrong blog

Yesterday and today, the morning started like most weekday mornings (except the cat getting sick). Get up, have some water, have a cup of coffee, read a little news and then start a workout.

So, the premise of the 7 app is that they have a set of exercises that you do for a total of about 7 minutes, adding in a 10 second rest between each exercise. I’ve included a screenshot of one from today. Currently, in their everyday 7-month challenge, I’m sitting at 6 months and 14 days. That tracks pretty well with my Apple fitness app so that’s good.

In Darebee, since the old community had to go, I decided I would just start over with challenges and programs. There’s a few more than the last time I checked. I could probably just mark off some of the easy ones but that kind of negates the point of a challenge. Given that, I decided I would start with wall push-ups, planks, and three other non-physical ones. Just to get my head wrapped around it.

I still need to determine what program to start with though. I completed Foundation previously so I guess I could start there.

I feel like I’m in a much better place than the last time I did this. I’m in better shape physically and mentally. I’m at the age my father was where I can clearly remember him letting himself go.

Time to acknowledge the commitment to change

 

[TopNotch]

The Challenges have badges now too!

 

[A_Aldag]

I wasn’t able to get on here last night but I did get to bed on time so that’s a check on the Get to Bed On-time challenge.

Yesterday was kind of an off-day. I did three exercises from 7 then did the EotD and the WotD (extra credit). I didn’t get my standard 2 mile walk in but I was walking all day (visitors to the building at work). Then I had curling league last night. Each game goes 2 hours so it went a late. Needless to say, I’m a little sore in the knees and back this morning.

Today I did 4 workouts from seven. A couple of warmups, a live workout, and then another. Then I came here and just did a couple of challenges, 1-minute plank and wall push-ups.

 

[A_Aldag]

This morning I had a pretty good workout though it definitely felt like a leg day.

Using 7, I did a couple warmups but then I did what they call Superhero. A series that has planks and push-ups but also wall sit and squats. Then I did one called Tone up which has squats, jumps, wall sits and planks.

Then I come to to Darebee and I do my wall push-ups (EC) and 1-minute plank. Then I see calf raises (pretty easy) but then The Extra Mile. Of course, I did that at Level III (EC) since yesterday I didn’t really do much on the Darebee side.

Currently I’m planning on a two mile walk at lunch time (a daily occurrence) and some stretching at the end of the day.

 

[A_Aldag]

So I didn’t do my stretches like I had planned but I did do my walk on Friday. I had a good pace for inside as well, 15:07, 14:55, and 14:57 for the last 1/4 mile. Much better than Thursday.

Yesterday I did my standard two warm-up routines, a live group exercise, and another workout. Then I did the EotD and WotD lvl III and EC.

Today was the two warm-ups and a live group exercise. The I switched to Darebee and did the EotD and the WotD Lvl III EEC (30 sec rest).

And after all that, I decided to do the fitness test. I kind of impressed myself. I couldn’t match my Navy days but I got close. I did 67 push-ups, 41 sit-ups but only 20 basic burpees. I used to do 70 push-ups and 100 sit-ups but that was in a 2 minute time frame, not 1-minute. There also Used was a 2-mile run after that but that’s still a little ways off for me right now.

 

[Tileenah]

That's an impressive fitness test!!! Congrats!!!

 

[A_Aldag]

Today I decided that I would add in a couple more challenges to my workouts. In 7, they have an Arena which is a group activity challenge. Basically you do the workout everyday for 30 days and you win the arena. This time we started out with 698 people but the first one I did had over 700. At the end of it we had less than 350 people still active in the arena.
This is my third time doing it so I'll see how that goes.

The other thing I started was to start on Foundation again. I figured that since I'm starting over with the Darebee community, I would actually start over. I actually did do 50 push-ups in one set since I started this so I figured I would mark that.

The only other thing that I marked on this profile was to mark that I've been working out for over 100 days. As a matter of fact, I'm sitting at 6 months and 20 days of workouts. I don't think that I did that even in the Navy, even underway.

So, today, I did my standard 2 warm-ups in 7, my plan in 7 which gave me a legs and core workout, a live workout which was a good mix of exercises, and then started the Arena with a Full Body workout. Then I moved on to Darebee where I did the 1-minute plank challenge (day 8), the wall push-up challenge (day 8), and then day 1 of Foundation with no rest times (so super extra credit?). And since I was running out of time, I didn't do the EotD or the WotD. I guess that means tomorrow I have to start my workout a little earlier.

I also got my 2 mile walk in today with 15:38 and 15:36 for my pace. The last .35 mile was slower (18:41) but I had to pause to fix somethings I saw in the building.

I was able to do some stretching as well before getting ready for bed.

 

[A_Aldag]

Today was pretty good even with a sore back.

So, it seems I’ve gotten into the habit of doing a couple of warmup workouts. Things like arm circles, cats and cows, good mornings, windmills, etc. it’s enough to start to loosen things up and get the blood pumping. It takes a little bit for my lower back to allow me to bend over to touch my toes.

To continue, I did my plan workout which is what they called Back and Front. Basically do an exercise the works the front then the back of a muscle group. Then I did a group exercise called No Jumps. It’s nice if you’re having some issues with your knees. The last was the Arena workout and it was called Down to Earth. All the exercises were down on the floor, so not too bad.

Then came Darebee. My core had already had a pretty good workout and there was leg lifts for the first workout. Which I did straight through for that extra credit. Then I did my wall push-ups challenge with extra extra credit. Then came Foundation day 2 with extra credit. The last thing I did was a 1-minute plank. I had already actually done a plank with leg lifts but I figured I should do just a plank for a minute.

My shoulders were feeling it, I have to say. Especially after the shoulder work involved in day 2 and wall push-ups.

And, of course, I can’t complete my day without a 2-mile walk after lunch. I had a really good pace today, 15:24, 15:06, and 15:57 for the last .15 mile.

I should stretch again but I probably won’t.

 

[A_Aldag]

Today was pretty good even with a sore back.

So, it seems I’ve gotten into the habit of doing a couple of warmup workouts. Things like arm circles, cats and cows, good mornings, windmills, etc. it’s enough to start to loosen things up and get the blood pumping. It takes a little bit for my lower back to allow me to bend over to touch my toes.

To continue, I did my plan workout which is what they called Back and Front. Basically do an exercise the works the front then the back of a muscle group. Then I did a group exercise called No Jumps. It’s nice if you’re having some issues with your knees. The last was the Arena workout and it was called Down to Earth. All the exercises were down on the floor, so not too bad.

Then came Darebee. My core had already had a pretty good workout and there was leg lifts for the first workout. Which I did straight through for that extra credit. Then I did my wall push-ups challenge with extra extra credit. Then came Foundation day 2 with extra credit. The last thing I did was a 1-minute plank. I had already actually done a plank with leg lifts but I figured I should do just a plank for a minute.

My shoulders were feeling it, I have to say. Especially after the shoulder work involved in day 2 and wall push-ups.

And, of course, I can’t complete my day without a 2-mile walk after lunch. I had a really good pace today, 15:24, 15:06, and 15:57 for the last 0.15 mile.

p.s.: This was supposed to have posted last night but I guess I forgot to hit the post button.

 

[Tileenah]

That's weird I'm pretty sure i already read (and liked) your post earlier today...?

 

[A_Aldag]

That's weird I'm pretty sure i already read (and liked) your post earlier today...?

That is weird. I think that the Chrome app on my phone didn't actually update to reflect what happened on my laptop. Of course, two different OS's (iPhone and Dell) might have something to do with it.

 

[Tileenah]

That's a guess above my tech knowledge, but probably? Anyway, congrats on all the workout it's pretty impressive!

 

[A_Aldag]

So last night it was too late for me to write up the day. It had been along day for me and today looks like another.

Yesterday started out pretty good. I did my standard two warm-up routines to get the blood flowing. I did a group exercise they called Pilates which was okay. I did my Arena workout which wasn't too bad. Switched to Darebee which was the 1-minute plank challenge, the wall push-up challenge (push-up hold), whatever the EotD and WotD were (EC) and then Foundation D3 also EC.

I did my 2-mile walk at lunch with a good pace (15:17, 15:18 and 14:49 for last .25 mile). The hard part came at the end of the day. On Wednesdays I have curling league. Some nights the game is 5:30 and some nights (last night) the game is at 8:00. The thing is, it's a 2 hour game which means I didn't leave the club until about 10:30. Which means that bedtime last night wasn't until 11:00. Add in the fact that my day starts at 5 AM, it makes for two long days in a row.

So, I roll out of bed today at 5. My back is still sore but I still start my routine at 5:30. Kind of defeats the purpose of saying that "Consistency is the key" if I'm not consistent.

Again, two warm-up routines, a group exercise to work the hamstrings, another one to work the butt, and the Arena workout which seemed to be a mix of the two. Ah well, sometimes it happens that way. The I looked at Darebee and saw Foundation D4. Another glute workout?! So I started with my 1-minute plank challenge, the wall push-up challenge (EC), the EotD, then Foundation D4. I looked at the WotD today (Becoming Legendary) and decided that I didn't want to become legendary today. I was wore out.

I still have my two mile walk at lunch time and I think that I'm going to have to do some wind down and stretching exercises tonight before bed.

I think I'm going to look at how some other people do their logs. Some of them seem to read a little better. I kind of like this style though since I see enough bullet point slides (and make them) to keep me from doing it on a personal level.

P.S.: My 2-mile walk at lunch wasn't at the best pace I've had but it was okay, 17:19, 15:15, 16:13 for last 1/4 mile).

Definitely some brain fog going on today since I'm having issues with PLC code. I know I have all the pieces to the problem but I can't seem to fit them together no matter how much I look at it.

 

[Tileenah]

What is PLC code? Some kind of programmation language?
I hope you find your solution soon, maybe resting would help if you're feeling brain foggy? (And you probably already know that and maybe can't for some reason so I apologize if I'm giving unwanted and unsollicited advice here. I myself have trouble allowing myself to just take a break when my work is not done so that's why I said that )

 

[A_Aldag]

What is PLC code? Some kind of programmation language?
I hope you find your solution soon, maybe resting would help if you're feeling brain foggy? (And you probably already know that and maybe can't for some reason so I apologize if I'm giving unwanted and unsollicited advice here. I myself have trouble allowing myself to just take a break when my work is not done so that's why I said that )

PLC stands for Programmable Logic Controller. These are used to control conveyors, doors, robots, etc. Pretty much anytime you see a video of a factory floor with things moving around, there are PLCs running things. So I create the programs that are used to control robots that move things around a warehouse floor.

I also have problems sometimes of just taking a break from something to come back later. I get really irritated when I’m in the groove and get pulled away. It takes forever for me to get back to the same thought process I had before the interruption.

 

[Tileenah]

Thanks for the explanation!
I get you for the problems with taking breaks... The more I'm tired the more difficult I find it to pull away even if I'm not being productive. Plus I hate having the mental load of not having finished something and knowing I have to get back to it at some point

 

[A_Aldag]

I realize that it's been almost three weeks since I last logged anything. It's not that I'm not actually exercising or trying to make myself better. I guess I'm just not consistent in terms of logging into a journal type of thing every day, or even once a week. I suppose since I've been able to be consistent in my exercise/workouts I should be able to get consistent logging in here.

So, as far as exercise and workouts go, I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself. I've completed the 1-minute plank and wall push-up challenges. I don't really consider First thing water a challenge since I've been doing that for a long time. Water filtered through coffee grounds is still water, right?

Seriously, I've been drinking a glass of water before coffee for over a year now. I've closed my rings on Apple Fitness+ 187 days in a row. I've been working out pretty consistently since the beginning of August, missing just one day. So why does it feel like I'm not really getting anywhere? I've lost weight but not really any inches and my stamina still isn't where I'd like it to be. Maybe I'm asking too much of this old body.

I've been doing an Arena challenge in the 7 app as well as doing Foundation on here. Currently done through day 24 so less than a week to go. I've been getting in four or 5 other workouts in 7 and I added in the March challenge from here. I was a bit late starting it so tomorrow I have to do two days worth. Not the first time I've had to do that. With the other two challenges done, it won't take up too much time. Once I'm done with Foundation, then I'll see what I want to do for routines. I want to be able to run a 5K so I want to figure out how to add in a daily run/jog.

Work has been getting..... interesting, I guess. My role has changed recently but I'm not sure if I'm the right person for it. I don't have an issue with writing code or inputting data into a spreadsheet. Just not sure on the analysis side of things. It's especially a pain in the butt when someone else leaves and you get their work dumped on you. You have no idea what they were thinking when they were looking at the information to begin with. So now I get to figure out what they were doing, how they were putting results into a spreadsheet, and how they were figuring out what the data was telling them. Oh, and having my manager and a senior VP waiting on the information, just to give my stress an added jolt.

 

[TopNotch]

So why does it feel like I'm not really getting anywhere? I've lost weight but not really any inches and my stamina still isn't where I'd like it to be. Maybe I'm asking too much of this old body.

The question is: where do you want to get to? Another question might be: is what you're doing likely to get you to where you want to be? Stamina won't improve if you're not doing anything that improves stamina. And so long as that "old body" is still moving, you're not asking too much. Perhaps this feeling of getting nowhere is your body's way of saying you're not challenging it enough!
Totally hear you re trying to work out where someone else's mind was when looking at half-finished work. I always found it SO much easier just to trash the whole thing and write it myself. Way quicker too.
Congrats on the challenges!

 

[Tileenah]

Congrats on 1 minute plank and wall push-up challenge ! And also on working out every day since august !
You shouldn't blame yourself for not logging in regularly, especially if you don't need it to workout regularly
for work... What you describe (being dumped with the workload of others and having the manager wanting results +++) has been a route to burn-out for many people I know so take care of yourself (and maybe set some timing boundaries for work if it's not the case yet...)

 

[A_Aldag]

So I finished both Foundation and my arena challenge from 7 on the same day (almost like it was planned). I’m still working through the Warrior Arms and Toe Touch challenges though I’ve fallen a day behind.

I had to shovel snow earlier this week and I tweaked my back a little. Not enough to stop me from doing workouts. Just enough to slow me down and limit some movements.

I guess it’s become enough of a habit that I feel uncomfortable not doing some sort of workout(s) of some sort in the morning. The need to close my exercise ring (30 minutes) every morning has me looking at different routines to do it. There are much worse habits to have, I guess.

So now I have to choose my next program to do. I’m thinking another general fitness one might work. I probably won’t do another arena on 7 but maybe another self-paced 30 day challenge to go with a Darebee program. Kind of give me a good challenge before I can go outside again.

Work isn’t getting better but I suppose it’s not getting worse either. At least I get to go to an industry show in Chicago next week. The only bad part with that is I have to report on new technologies and potential suppliers/solutions when I get back. Still, it’s nice to be able to get out of the office and get paid to eat out for a few days.

 

[Tileenah]

Congrats on completing the fondation and the arena challenge !

 

[Fremen]

Congrats