Just the Beginning

[calendula]

Back on after a long time and it's good to have a fresh start... time to re-earn all those badges!

Since the last time I posted on the old forum, I've moved into a smaller place with less space to exercise... but it's allowed me to upgrade my musical instrument collection and I've been having fun playing with others. The downside is that between work and music, it's a lot of sitting. Time to get active again!

Movement Streak: 1 Day

Total Body: Day 1

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Gratitude: fresh cherries, bean salad, iced tea

 

[MadamMeow]

Welcome back and hello!

 

[Fremen]

Welcome back

 

[calendula]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome backs!

I decided along with Total Body, I'm going to start a routine of doing the La Sierra High School PE warm-up each day. I have been reading a little bit about "classical PE" compared to the type of PE class I had growing up in school. The La Sierra High School PE program was renowned across America during the 1960s for being really effective. There are videos and images online of all the amazing calisthenic and gymnastic moves the students could do from their training.

Here's a video of the PE strength & endurance routine:

What I love about this routine is that it's a blend of high intensity cardio and strength (mainly push-ups), while being completely bodyweight, time constrained, and doable in a small space. I substituted knee push-ups to start given the large amount of reps. I felt like I was doing strong, until I got to the hops and especially the squat move. The pace of the agility section at the end was also too fast for me! I'm hoping by making this my daily routine, I'll start to notice some improvements.

Movement Streak: 2 Days

La Sierra High School: 1 Day
Total Body: Day 2

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Gratitude: coffee, poppies, seagulls

 

[Obsinosterous]

Welcome back to the hive.

 

[aku-chan]

Welcome back!

 

[calendula]

Thanks @Obsinosterous @aku-chan for the kind welcomes back!

Dealing with DOMS from Day 1 of Total Body still (lunges get me every time), and I think a bit from yesterday's La Sierra High School workout. I managed to push through and do that routine again, but decided just to treat it like a HIIT workout and not worry so much about getting the exact number of reps in. I figure that'll come in time. The most important thing is to keep the routine up.

Movement Streak: 3 Days

La Sierra High School: 2 Days
Total Body: Day 3

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Gratitude: electrolytes, free fitness resources online, community

 

[calendula]

Had DOMS all over my body last night but I'm starting to feel like I'm recovering this morning. It's been hot here and my sleep quality is pretty shot... still, keeping my morning movement has actually helped!

La Sierra High School "intro" course is kicking my butt. I'm doing maybe half the reps of push-ups that I should be doing, and my stride hops today were pretty weak... but I'm already noticing my reaction time in the agility section at the end is getting better! Even despite my DOMS, I was more able to keep up. Also, the movements (especially windmills) felt really good from a mobility perspective and helped me to stretch out a bit at the beginning.

Even despite the fact that Total Body today is mainly focusing on tendon strength, I still feel like I got a good few minutes of a cardio and strength workout. So, thankful for that!

I have to decide if I'm going to continue La Sierra on during the weekends. I kind of like the idea of having a work day routine and doing something different on weekends. I'll see how I feel tomorrow...


Movement Streak: 4 Days

La Sierra High School: 3 Days
Total Body: Day 4

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Gratitude: weekend, fresh basil on the windowsill, farmer's market

 

[calendula]

Got up this morning, rolled out of bed, and crushed La Sierra! I have to say that my heart rate spiked much more this morning. I'm not sure why that is - maybe something about first thing exercise?

As others have mentioned, posting in the forum was enough of a motivation to keep up my movement streak today. I'm really glad I'm back!

Weekend goals: Pick raspberries, maybe go out for some open water swimming, and prep for next week's backpacking trip. I have Monday off and I might try to get out for a hike (I'm rusty).

I've also started playing pickleball with my partner at a shady nearby park. We walk there, which is about 1 mile from our home. It's a great way to get a walk in and some light cardio. I wanted to do tennis, but maybe we'll work our way up to that. He's actually really loving it since it's somewhat competitive. I'm finding it challenging to really control where to put the ball since the courts are quite small.

Movement Streak: 5 Days

La Sierra High School: 4 Days
Total Body: Day 5

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Gratitude: ice cubes, fans, sharing popsicles last night

 

[calendula]

Considering that today, Total Body is Cardio/HIIT, I thought I'd give myself a break from La Sierra... at least that's the plan for now.

How's the weekend going? Yesterday, we picked 10 lbs of raspberries and stuck them in the freezer, and also went swimming! It was a lovely experience that felt like going to a hot stone sauna (the hot beach) and a cold plunge (the bay) all for free! We went to a cute old movie today, Bringing up Baby (1938) - I recommend it... it was really funny!

Movement Streak: 6 Days

La Sierra High School: 4 Days
Total Body: Day 6

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Gratitude: screwball comedy movies, frozen raspberries, the sound of the wind rustling the green trees in the park

 

[calendula]

This past year, I was able to arrange my work schedule to have a weekday off every few weeks - the idea was that I could get a training hike in throughout the Spring so I'd be ready for summer adventures. Well, life got busy and I didn't manage to do many training hikes, but yesterday was my day off and I managed to make it up my hike.

I'm so sore today - it's a real wake-up call that I need to start building in more intensity into my fitness routine. Nevertheless, I'm glad I went. Here's a secret spot I found halfway up the hike:



Movement Streak: 7 Days

La Sierra High School: 4 Days
Total Body: Day 6

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Gratitude: wild blueberries, cool mountain breeze, snow and cold creek water

 

[calendula]

Adding another post for today's movement. I'm definitely sore from hiking, but managed to make it through La Sierra. Doing some push-ups was a nice change of pace from using my legs. Really thankful that Total Body is a yoga day - sounds great!


Movement Streak: 8 Days

La Sierra High School: 5 Days
Total Body: Day 7

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Gratitude: delicious dinner last night (fresh salmon), one week of consistent exercise, iced tea and electrolytes

 

[Anek]

What a beautiful picture!

 

[calendula]

What a beautiful picture!

Thank you!

I had to have my photo taken for work today and it was discouraging. When I compare myself to a past work photo I took a few years ago, my body composition is very different. Lifestyle changes including my housing and full-time telework have taken their toll! But at the same time, there were a lot of factors involved, and the only thing to do is push on and build consistency! I think I'm finally in a place career-wise where I can sit back and work on balance again, so that's great.

Movement Streak: 9 Days

La Sierra High School: 6 Days
Total Body: Day 8

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Gratitude: podcasts, music, morning sun on the hill

 

[calendula]

Double digits! It took me a while to get moving this morning, but I'm feeling better for it. Calves are still sore, but my body feels like it's on the mend. Looking forward to a trip this weekend.

I'm in the process of doing a 72-hour fast. I had a great experience with a few extended fasts last year, and I'm really enjoying how I'm feeling right now (36-ish hours in). Electrolytes yesterday evening really helped. I'm doing okay on my workouts, so we'll just see how it goes!

Edit: later on in the day, around 44 hours fasted - just did La Sierra and I feel great! Maybe my body is recovering from my long hike, or maybe the fasted state just gave my body more clarity and focus. I think I'm actually starting to notice some improvements in my reaction speed, stamina, and push-up strength

Movement Streak: 10 Days

La Sierra High School: 7 Days
Total Body: Day 9

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Gratitude: double digits of consistency, basil plant, my book collection

 

[calendula]

Finally the weekend! I ended up ending my fast after 60 hours this morning, as I couldn't stop thinking about food... I broke my fast with some plain greek yogurt and macadamia nuts, and then ended up snacking on more nuts, some frozen raspberries, and a bit of a chickpea avocado salad I put together for lunch. So far, I'm feeling good and glad I ended my fast.

We have an overnight hiking trip this weekend to a beautiful backcountry location and I'm a bit worried because it's a very popular spot, but it's been on my bucket list for a long time! My calves are still sore, so I'm hoping that soreness will go away with some good food, before we start hiking Sunday. Until then, keeping up with the cardio burn on La Sierra and Total Body. Getting stronger every day!

Movement Streak: 11 Days

La Sierra High School: 8 Days
Total Body: Day 10

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Gratitude: funny meme shared to me by a friend, kind coworkers, coffee with cream, and food!

 

[LongSlowBurn]

Hey! Welcome back!

 

[calendula]

@LongSlowBurn thank you - it's great to see you and great to be back!

Weekend trip was great - it felt awesome to have an outdoor trip go relatively well rather than the craziness that I'm used to up here near home. Sure there were other people around, but given that it's the height of summer and it was a weekend, it honestly wasn't as crowded as I thought! I'm someone who has a large personal bubble, so crowded trails really aren't for me. I'm trying to manage my expectations in some areas and be more patient. Getting in shape will definitely help with that too.



Pretty flowers on the trail



Grabbed a lovely quiet campsite up high in the trees



Alpine flowers growing low to the ground - I loved this color combination. Also love being above the clouds

Movement Streak: 15 Days

La Sierra High School: 9 Days
Total Body: Day 11 + Day 12

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Gratitude: wonderful memories of the weekend, music camp coming up, warm showers and fresh coffee

 

[MadamMeow]

What a lovely place to camp. Looks very peaceful!

 

[calendula]

Thanks @MadamMeow! It was very peaceful until the through-hikers came in later on in the evening... but overall not too bad

Working on enforcing compassionate boundaries to take care of my heart when it comes to music. It's tough. Musical friendships feel so transactional sometimes. Looking forward to befriending myself more first.

Movement Streak: 16 Days

La Sierra High School: 10 Days
Total Body: Day 13

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Gratitude: being able to say no, exercise endorphins, fresh limes