Goal + Action = Reality

TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
Power Hold Challenge - Day 22
Daily Kicks Challenge - Day 19
De-stress Challenge - Day 19
Powerbuilder - Day 21. Started off doing step-ups instead of lunge step-ups, but after two sets, the foot started getting very hot and the physio impressed on me that I do not want that because that's inflammation happening which is what I do not need right now. And I really want this to heal as soon and as well as possible so I shall actually listen to my experts! So I did weighted leg extensions instead, no calf raises and no lunges. The lunge curls were just straight curls. I did the deadlifts and front raises, though. :LOL: Then I finished off with lat pull-downs but I had to drop a plate for the final set because last time my form sucked for the last set and I didn't want to repeat that. It was a nice way to finish, anyway.
Unbound - Day 11

At 2 o'clock this morning (about 90 minutes after lights-out), something woke me and I had to get up briefly. Three minutes later, I was asleep again. At 3:30, second-born came down, lighting the way with her phone torch, and stood in my doorway. She claims the light was pointing down to the floor, I maintain it was directly on my closed eyes. Either way, I was immediately awake. I'm a light sleeper. Surprised her, rather. She had a spider issue but I'm not hunting spiders at 3:30am. I told her to go to the currently empty bed. Three minutes later, I was asleep again. Until 5:15 when the cats knocked something metal down onto the tiled floor of the kitchen at the other end of the hall. Immediately awake again and investigating. Three minutes later (probably), I was asleep again until I woke at my usual time. Feeling a bit gritty already now, though and it's only 10:20pm. But got Good Stuff done today anyway.
 

MadamMeow

Well-known member
Fae from Central NJ
Posts: 1,306
"I see my vision burn, I feel my memories fade with time, but Im too young to worry..."
Glad you were able to get what you wanted to done today in spite of that overnight!

International Cat Day Cats GIF by MOODMAN
 

TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
Well hello. Long time no see.
Been going through some ... things. Didn't want any bad vibes to spill over into here.
Anyway...
What's been going on with TN recently?
Well, I ended up in a Boot. Could be quite a pleasant thing in winter. In summer, not so. That really hampered my getting out and walking, hiking, riding, and as a result, no stress relief. And I really needed some! Hence cutting away from here to prevent toxicity leaking in. Good news was that my fracture actually seemed to heal! Yay! About two weeks after the boot came off, I went for a walk with a few brief (30 second) running intervals. That hurt. The next day, I tried again, running for slightly longer (60 second) intervals. That hurt more. The next day I had my physio appointment and told him what happened. He laughed and said he was expecting me to say that, given it hurt on the first day, on the second day I had taken it easy. Hah, surely he knows me by now! He told me it was too soon for me to do any running yet. I am to stick to walking. And cycling.
Two weekends ago was the Canberra 2-day walk. My mum came down for it, determined to walk 12km each day. I felt I could do that too. But she was so slow. The first day wasn't bad, my foot seemed to hold up quite well. The second day she had great difficulty, nearly didn't make it, but by leaning heavily on my arm and counting her steps (as I advised) she got there. It was a lovely day, though,
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But my foot/ankle swelled up like a balloon and stayed that way for the next couple of days. So we rested until Wednesday when I took us off to Tidbinbilla. Very short and gentle walks for mum which she found difficult enough. But we saw a little brown bandicoot and a few koalas.
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And it was another magnificent day:
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Told mum that we could take a train to Sydney in the morning, mooch around for five or so hours and get a train back all in one day. The train trip would be just over 4 hours. So we did that on Saturday, leaving at the ungodly hour of 6:55am. On a Saturday! Mum wasn't up to doing much so I left her resting while I popped into the museum and art gallery and we both went up to St Mary's Cathedral:
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And then headed off to Mrs Macquarie's chair - which wasn't a chair at all, but it was by the water and gave us a nice view. So I took an iconic photo - as one simply has to!
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Mum couldn't make it back to the train station so I hailed us a taxi and then we waited for over an hour at the station and got home just after 10pm. A long day but I quite enjoyed it. Yeah, my foot swelled a little but... Mum went back home yesterday.

Apart from all this (and my physio exercises), I have been doing some weights training, doing a set of something several times throughout the day and making sure to give those muscles the next day off and work on others. It's been going quite well and I've actually noticed improvement in other things which is gratifying. My CV fitness has probably tanked, though. I have been walking (3km a day before the weekend walks) and been getting a good pace - about 6km/hour - so I'm optimistic that I'll soon be back to other things. If I can just stop this foot from swelling...

Chickens are growing nicely. I suppose I'd better post some pictures of them next time!

Been reading a lot. Not quite as much non-fiction as I said I would, but recently read Coyle's The Talent Code and am halfway through Dutton's The Wisdom of Psychopaths.
DuoLingo streak has been maintained, and I've even started listening to the Medito app again.

So that's me. I've not read anyone's thread for ages so I reckon it'll take me a while to get up to speed. Actually, I'll just read your most recent entries and go from there. :cool:
 

Damer

Administrator
DAREBEE Team
Warrior Monk from Terra
Pronouns: He/Him
Posts: 741
@TopNotch we always battle our self it would appear! :LOL: Swelling and pain are natural given the amount of de-strengthening your ankle and foot have undergone. Be patient, be persistent and be kind to yourself. On the cardiovascular fitness front I can actually help you out seeing how I was once, due to a stupid injury, laid up for two weeks in the middle of a competition season. Sit cross-legged and take a really deep breath, forcefully, as deep as possible, body straight so you can feel the bottom part of your lungs open up (it aches a little) - hold it for a slow count of ten, exhale slowly. Repeat about five-six times every day. I found that when I went back to full training my cardiovascular fitness was on point. I hope this helps.
 

TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
Right. So then:
- Upper Body Blast Day 3. Yesterday I got over-enthusiastic and did 5 sets instead of 3. Hey, what doesn't kill us...
- Dead Hang Day 3. Like doing some grip work.
- DB Shoulder Press 3 x 10
- DB Side Raises 3 x 20

Physio exercises:
- Step-downs with raised heel 2 x 8es
- Serratus Anterior punches with rotation 3 x 8es - I actually love these. What they are: lying on my back with one arm holding db straight up, same side knee bent. I 'punch' (or push) my shoulder upward, pushing the weight to the ceiling, then I rotate to the other side, still keeping that arm straight up. Then I rotate back and lower shoulder back to the mat. First time I did these - well, actually it was a couple of days later that DOMS kicked in. My forearms were weak as water. Stabilising that weight and never putting it down meant the forearm was constantly under tension. I reckon this is a GREAT forearm strengthener. Keeping this one in my data-base! Plus it makes my arms feel great.
- SL calf raise with peroneal bias x 25es. I use a heavy resistance band for these.

- Evening walk 3.05km.
 
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TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
Getting chilly now. Supposed to be an absolute deluge the next couple of days. Rainy day and a new jigsaw puzzle - perfect combination!

- Upper Body Blast Day 4
- Dead Hang Day 4
- Lat pull-downs 3 x 10
- Leg extensions 3 x 20

Physio exercises:
- knee/quad

Saw the physio this morning. I like that I can always seem to make my physio laugh. It might be despairingly, but I'll take what I can get. :LOL: He's changed my exercises, wants the focus to be on strengthening the soft tissues. If there hadn't been swelling, he might have let me start running again, but now he says again, wait. But the exercises he's having me do are working on unsteady surfaces (such as on a stability cushion), so I reckon that clears me for hiking up my Hill again - which I did this evening.

- Hike 5km (ZR said 5.06km, Garmin said 4.99km, so I'll split the difference.) Took it fairly easy though so I was out for almost an hour.

- Medito app 4 consecutive days. I'm listening to the Getting Active 30-day Challenge. It's interesting.
 
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TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
The deluge hasn't come yet. Perhaps tomorrow...?

- Upper Body Blast Day 5
- Dead Hang Day 5
- Preacher curls 3 x 10, then 20 reps with lower weight
- OH tricep extension 3 x 10, then 20 with lower weight

Physio exercises:
- knee/quad

It's drizzling a little and I wonder about my poor missing cat. Someone (who'd deny it anyway) left the back door open two Tuesdays ago and she must have wandered out, probably chasing birds. I saw the door open but I don't know how much time had passed and it was a bit after that that I realised I'd not seen one particular cat for a while. Every time I've gone for a walk since, I've looked for her but she could be anywhere now, and I've been checking lost cat websites. I just hope on this rainy night she's somewhere warm and dry.
 

TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
The rain started just before I got to bed and I woke to a dull grey morning and stayed in bed for a while listening to the rain. It was lovely. Overnight and today we must have had over 60mm! I didn't go for a walk.

- Upper Body Blast Day 6
- Dead Hang Day 6
- Chest press 3 x 10
- DB shoulder press 3 x 10
- DB single-arm bent-over row 3 x 10es
- Pallof press with rotation 2 x 10es. Used a resistance band for these. Never done them before - quite fun. Really worked those obliques.
- standing knee-to-elbow crunches 2 x 100. I find with these I tend to lift my legs too high and make it more of a hip flexor exercise so really have to focus on crunching down. Got that technique pegged by the second 100.

Physio exercises:
- knee/quad

The Lad was playing around my squat bar and decided that he wanted to have a go at bench presses, so I set it up for him and he slid 1kg weights onto the lighter and shorter bar, and I talked him through it, showing him where the bar should go, and I told him quite sternly that he shouldn't do this without a spotter. Not strictly necessary as there are moveable bars on either side of the rack that would catch the barbell before it came near to touching him but I wanted him to get the idea inculcated. So later this afternoon, as I'm kicking back with tea and a book, I hear "I need a spotter!" so I spotted his three presses. My tea went cold.
 

TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
- Upper Body Blast Day 7
- Dead Hang Day 7
- Heel touches x 100

A lazy day today. Finished another jigsaw. Realised that I have done two 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles since Tuesday...

The Lad was being taken to the Carousel today and he invited me to go with him. Just after I'd poured myself a nice hot cup of tea and all. But there's always tea, right? So I laced on my shoes and went. On paying, we were told we could have two rides. Oh, great...

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This noble steed (named Great Art) carried me through the first series of revolutions. Then the Lad decided he'd had enough of horses and wanted to ride on the elephant (she was called Queenie). Which was a bit more boring because it didn't go up and down. Unlike a real elephant. Which also go side to side. And are a lot taller...
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I suppose that sort of horse-riding doesn't really count as exercise. :LOL:
My tea had gone cold again.

Finished reading The Wisdom of Psychopaths. I have such an enormous TBR non-fiction pile atm - hard to know where to start!
 

TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
Aw, guys, how sweet! I forget - does this mean I also have to do 20 jumping jacks, 40 calf raises and 40 side kicks? At my age?! :LOL:
Tired Cricket Green GIF by Disney Channel


- Cardio and abs Day 1 - need the cardio, like the abs.
- Upper Body Blast Day 8
- Dead Hang Day 8
- Lat pull-downs 4 x 10
- One-arm DB rows 4 x 10es
- OH DB shoulder press 4 x 10
- Lateral raise 4 x 20

- Walk. The usual paved route which is a shade over 3km. Dropped in a couple of one-minute gentle runs, and near home, sprinted up the hill (it's about 50m and rises 5m).

- physio knee/quad exercise. I really ought to look up what this one is called but it's really easy and I lie on the bed reading a book while doing it and I get a couple of hundred reps done each day. Hope it's working.

I wanted to trot out to the bakery and pick up something sweet and gooey for my birthday but then I decided not to; decided that I ought to begin this next year of my life how I want it to continue.

No sign of cat. :(
 
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TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
Oh my Goodness! Winter suddenly kicked in and I am so not ready for this yet! Much of the day seemed to be around 8 degrees but it rained and it was windy so the temperature felt much less. And it's only early April! Fortunately the rest of the week is going to be in the low 20s again but today - brrr.
Shaking Winter Solstice GIF by funk


- Cardio and abs Day 2
- Upper Body Blast Day 9
- Dead Hang Day 9
- Chest press 3 x 10
- preacher curls 2 x 10es
- hammer curls 1 x 10es (just for something different)
- OH tricep extensions 3 x 10es
- tricep kick-backs 3 x 10es
- seated hamstring curls 2 x 10es
- push-ups 3 x 10
- single-leg leg extensions 3 x 10es
Been focusing on not using momentum with the weights, but rather having that very brief pause at the top and bottom of a lift.

Up to Day 11 of Medito meditation.

Finished Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins. Hmm... Some interesting thoughts there. He could probably have done better and with fewer injuries with just a little bit of planning. Then I read the short book (85 pages) Make Your Bed by Admiral William McRaven. More interesting thoughts. Jotted down a few quotes. Started Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales, but then told myself I could go read a fiction if I wanted as I'd just read three non-fiction books in a row and had started on a fourth, so I returned to the Mark Greaney I was up to. I'm going now to find out how Violator survived being kicked out of a train travelling at 100kph...
 

TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
Getting old, you know, so I figure it wouldn't hurt to give the muscles an extra day to recover, so I'll have a more cardio-based day between two weights days. At least, that's this week's intention!

- Cardio and abs Day 3
- Upper Body Blast Day 10
- Dead Hang Day 10
- Bike ride 18.7km. Nice sunny day today and just a little breezy. The temperature when I was out was between 14 and 15 degrees C, but it felt between 9 and 11. Not to me, though. Except when riding in the shade - then it got a bit chilly.
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I know it's not really heavy-duty, but sometimes I wish we did do flat here... Especially on the way home!

And for those who are curious, apparently he was wearing an alpine airbag vest! Didn't even know those things existed.
 

TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,854
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
- Cardio and abs Day 4
- Upper Body Blast Day 11
- Dead Hang Day 11
- Lat pull-downs 4 x 10
- Single-arm DB rows 4 x 10es
- DB shoulder press 4 x 10
- Lateral raise 4 x 10
- Walk, 3km - with a few brief jogging episodes. The foot isn't swelling so I'm pushing it a bit more.

Got my stability cushion today and have been doing the ankle exercises from the physio.

Last night, the Lad asked if I'd hoist him up in a fireman's lift. So I did. Then he wanted me to throw him over just one shoulder. So I did. Then he wanted me to hold him by his ankles and carry him upside down through the hall. So I did. His socks were uncomfortably close to my nose. He's 9 - probably average height for a 9-year-old, and average weight at 29kg, but it's certainly not something I'd be wanting to do on any sort of regular basis.
Or ever again, really. Hey, I'm old!

And here, was reminded today that I had to post chicken photos. The first is from when they were babies, about 2 weeks old (just so some of you can get that aww experience!). The second is today, 2 1/2 months old, except for the grey one who is about a fortnight younger. I think it might be a male but the others are females. And at the back is my sole adult chook and 'mum'.
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That white chook in the font and two of the blacks are very friendly toward me and seem to like when I stroke them, the brown/white and the grey and the other black are all timid. Very odd because they've been treated exactly the same. Nature, not nuture! So that's my new flock.

Been reading really fascinating stuff. Currently reading about 'victim' and 'survivor' when two people are in the same dangerous situation - what determines who lives and who dies? Not always luck or preparation or experience, but often simply your mental state.
 
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