So that "do at least something" was trickier than I expected. I'm on the way back up from a particularly nasty strain of RSV; at one point I tried doing a 10 second thread-the-needle and was completely out of breath from it, so needless to say there was a point where I went "look, clearly I'm not meant to be doing this right now".

Got my physio done when I could. Feeling 75% better now so it's only gonna get easier from here!

***** FITNESS LOG - Monday 20/07/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s half-depth wall sits
    • 2 x 12 single leg glute bridges
    • 2 x 12 lumbar rotations
  • Rotator Cuffs:
    • 4 x 10 internal rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 10 external rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 10 external rotation 90° abduction (with resistance band)
Workout
  • Unbound Program (Day 8/30)
  • 2 Minute Abs Program (Day 4/30)
  • 1 min arm raises (against wall with tennis ball on lateral shoulder)
  • 1 min foam roller on upper left side of body
  • 1 min box lat stretch
  • 2 chin-ups
Other
  • 8.8 km bike ride
Shoulder has gone very wonky recently so I'm gonna try and strengthen my left trap before continuing with the upper body challenges. Good news is that it feels like it's right in place already after one session of (somewhat) following the instructions in this video.
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Tuesday 21/07/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s half-depth wall sits
    • 2 x 12 single leg glute bridges
    • 2 x 12 lumbar rotations
  • Rotator Cuffs:
    • 4 x 8 internal rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 8 external rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 8 external rotation 90° abduction (with resistance band)
Workout
  • Unbound Program (Day 9/30)
  • Epic Core Challenge (Day 4/30)
  • 1 min arm raises (against wall with tennis ball on lateral shoulder)
  • 1 min foam roller on upper left side of body
  • 1 min box lat stretch
  • 60 s dead hang (with scapular pulls at 20 s intervals)
Yoga
  • 10 mins viparita karani
Other
  • 10 mins meditation
Swapped out 2 Minute Abs for Epic Core to avoid doing the crunches. Will come back to that later, once I'm fighting fit and less likely to get neck pain from them.

My wife made a ramen for dinner tonight, it was great! Managed to finish a bowl before leaving for work.
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Wednesday 22/07/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s half-depth wall sits
    • 2 x 12 single leg glute bridges
    • 2 x 12 lumbar rotations
  • Rotator Cuffs:
    • 4 x 6 internal rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 6 external rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 6 external rotation 90° abduction (with resistance band)
Workout
  • Unbound Program (Day 10/30)
  • Epic Core Challenge (Day 5/30)
  • 1 min arm raises (against wall with tennis ball on lateral shoulder)
  • 1 min foam roller on upper left side of body
  • 1 min box lat stretch
  • 5 negative chin-ups
Yoga
  • 10 mins viparita karani
Other
  • 10 mins meditation
  • 4.9 km bike ride
Went for another bike ride with bugalugs; managed to get home before the rain started. Left for work shortly after it got dark outside. Had my meal break at a location with a gym again today so did pretty much the same stuff as yesterday.

I think this lat stuff is working!!! I can feel my lats being used on my left side now and the muscle on the left of my neck/left shoulder isn't having to compensate as much anymore. Don't want to get my hopes too high but if this fixes my neck issues after almost ten years of seeing various professionals and just managing the pain I'll be over the moon.

Going to try return to the more demanding knee physio exercises tomorrow and alternate between them and the easier ones I did today; hopefully that will avoid a repeat of the sharp pain.
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Thursday 23/07/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s wall sits
    • 1.5 x 10 half-depth single leg squat
    • 2 x 10 foam rolls on quads
    • 2 x 10 foam rolls on hamstrings
Workout
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Friday 24/07/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s half-depth wall sits
    • 2 x 12 single leg glute bridges
    • 2 x 12 lumbar rotations
Workout
Yoga
  • 10 mins viparita karani
Other
  • 10 mins meditation
Day off work today - fairly full on with visiting family and looking after my son and niblings - got all this done after my wife and son went to sleep.

Off to see a Distant Worlds concert tomorrow - Melbourne Symphony Orchestra playing some pieces from the Final Fantasy series, with a focus on FFX. I've seen the MSO play before (a Ravel concerto I love and some other pieces) and there are some really great pieces sprinkled throughout the FF soundtracks, so I'm very excited.
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Thursday 30/07/2026 *****

Physio

  • Rotator Cuffs:
    • 4 x 8 internal rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 8 external rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 8 external rotation 90° abduction (with resistance band)
Workout
  • 1 min arm raises (against wall with tennis ball on lateral shoulder)
  • 1 min foam roller on upper left side of body
  • 1 min box lat stretch
  • 5 negative chin-ups
Very little time to workout at work (short meal break) and had too many things to do at home. In bed now. It's been a very busy week.
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Tuesday 04/08/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 5 neck retractions (standing with a resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s half-depth wall sits
    • 2 x 12 single leg glute bridges
    • 2 x 12 lumbar rotations
Workout
Other
Started tracking the water challenge as an easy one to tick off - that way I might still be able to complete 24 challenges by the end of this year. The number's arbitrary and not really important, but if I have a chance of reaching it thanks to easy water challenges it might serve as a little kick in the arse for getting other challenges finished. Who knows. I think I've had a glass of water every morning for a few years now so I'll probably pull a @TopNotch and disappear it after day 29.
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Wednesday 05/08/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with a resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s half-depth wall sits
    • 2 x 12 single leg glute bridges
    • 2 x 12 lumbar rotations
Workout
Other
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Thursday 06/08/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s wall sits
    • 2 x 10 half-depth single leg squat
    • 2 x 10 foam rolls on quads
    • 2 x 10 foam rolls on hamstrings
Workout
Other
So I got some blood test results back today and they came with a (presumably) gimmicky "biological age" estimate. Turns out I have the nutrition of a 24 year old! What a nice little surprise that was. (If only I wasn't as injury prone as a 70 year old :tears: )
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Friday 07/08/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
Workout
Other
Son broke a glass window while I was at work today. Luckily he is completely unharmed, wife reckons it's a miracle he didn't cut the back of his knees (he went butt first). Crazy how a broken window and the cost and time to organise repairs during a stressful week doesn't even faze you when you're relieved your kid is safe.

Aside from that today was alright.
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Saturday 15/08/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
Workout
Other
Forgot all about the First Thing Water Challenge. I've been doing it every day between updates and before Darebee, I'm effectively on day... like 1500 or something? Whatever, Day 5 it is.
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Thursday 20/08/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
Workout
Other

***** FITNESS LOG - Friday 21/08/2026 *****

Physio

  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
Workout
Other
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Monday 24/08/2026 *****

Warm Up

Physio
  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s half-depth wall sits
    • 2 x 12 single leg glute bridges
    • 2 x 12 lumbar rotations
Workout
Other
Slowly getting better; I feel like I barely got over the last virus before getting slammed with another one last week. Hopefully this is it for the next few months (wishful thinking!).
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Tuesday 25/08/2026 *****

Warm Up

  • Old Darebee Quick Warm-up*
Physio
  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s wall sits
    • 2 x 10 half-depth single leg squat
    • 2 x 10 foam rolls on quads
    • 2 x 10 foam rolls on hamstrings
  • Rotator Cuffs:
    • 4 x 10 internal rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 10 external rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 10 external rotation 90° abduction (with resistance band)
Workout
Static Stretches
  • 4 x 20 s calf stretch
  • 2 x 20 s glute stretch
  • 2 x 20 s adductor stretch
  • 2 x 20 s pecs and rotator cuff stretch
  • 2 x 20 s pecs stretch
  • 2 x 20 s lats stretch
  • 2 x 20 s triceps stretch
Other
*I think the Darebee Quick Warmup has changed and I didn't realise - I've been doing it from memory but I looked at the link in my posts today out of curiousity and it's totally different (half the exercises are missing - now it's really quick!). Tomorrow I'll take a look through the rest of the warm-ups to try find the one closest to what I've been doing all this time.
 
*I think the Darebee Quick Warmup has changed and I didn't realise - I've been doing it from memory but I looked at the link in my posts today out of curiousity and it's totally different (half the exercises are missing - now it's really quick!). Tomorrow I'll take a look through the rest of the warm-ups to try find the one closest to what I've been doing all this time.
Yes indeed, lots of warmups have changed!
 
@Dyneti thank you! Serves me right for not reading all the updates (to be fair there were a lot of them)!

***** FITNESS LOG - Wednesday 26/08/2026 *****

Workout

Other
Had an excellent banh mi for lunch today! I'm never working early enough in the day to get there before the place closes, so I took the opportunity when it presented itself. Vegan pork crackling and a delicious sauce (plus all the normal banh mi fillings), absolutely amazing.
 
***** FITNESS LOG - Thursday 27/08/2026 *****

Warm Up

Physio
  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s wall sits
    • 2 x 10 half-depth single leg squat
    • 2 x 10 foam rolls on quads
    • 2 x 10 foam rolls on hamstrings
  • Rotator Cuffs:
    • 4 x 8 internal rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 8 external rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 8 external rotation 90° abduction (with resistance band)
Workout
Other
I've opted for the Classic Warmup - because I usually use my meal break at work to exercise, the amount of time I have is highly variable, and I usually decide what I'm doing as I'm doing it (I'll have a few challenges and programs going at once and pick from those). Classic Warmup seems to be a decent one to default to. Might give the Universal Warmup a shot at some point.
 
Had a few busy days, got all the Exercise of the Days done, and on a couple of the days got my physio in too.

***** FITNESS LOG - Monday 31/08/2026 *****

Warm Up

Physio
  • Neck:
    • 5 x 10 s neck retractions (standing with resistance band)
    • 10 wall angels
    • 6 x 10 s thread-the-needles
    • 3 x 20 s cat-camels
  • Knees:
    • 4 x 20 s wall sits
    • 2 x 10 half-depth single leg squat
    • 2 x 10 foam rolls on quads
    • 2 x 10 foam rolls on hamstrings
  • Rotator Cuffs:
    • 4 x 10 internal rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 10 external rotations (with resistance band)
    • 4 x 10 external rotation 90° abduction (with resistance band)
Workout
Other
Cbf doing Epic Core today. Made it through the 2 Minute Abs planks, just. Planked out for now I reckon.

Took bugalugs for a ride this morning before work.