Goal + Action = Reality

[PetiteSheWolf]

Ah, nice new flock! And not surprised, the way you react also emotionally kickstarts your reflexes - or slows it, lowers the immunity - or decreases it ... Resilience plays so much. Hence the importance of a disciplined mind doing some effort every day, even if it's not a full blown marathon or black belt preparation

 

[MadamMeow]

Thank you for the photos of the chickies!

 

[NancyTree]

definitely 'awww experience'!

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 5
- Upper Body Blast Day 12
- Dead Hang Day 12
- Chest press 3 x 10
- Tricep push-downs 2 x 10
- DB bicep curls 3 x 10
- OH DB tricep extensions 2 x 10
- Walk, 3km (includes some brief running intervals).

Feeling pretty tired today. Garmin nags about 'overreaching'. Perhaps I'll get to bed an hour earlier tonight...

 

[Damer]

I have such an enormous TBR non-fiction pile atm - hard to know where to start!

You and I both, we could probably start a club measuring whose pile is highest!

 

[SwimMeow]

How is your foot doing today?

Thanks for the pics, your chickens are lovely!

Totally agree with your last consideration.

 

[TopNotch]

You and I both, we could probably start a club measuring whose pile is highest!

New DAREBEE challenge?

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 6
- Upper Body Blast Day 13
- Dead Hang Day 13
- Hike, 5.13km. Did a lot of brief run episodes, mostly where it was relatively flat, but occasionally on inclines, less often on declines. Felt good. (And totally gross! Garmin's decided to give me a new metric - how much I've sweated out! Some things I do not need to know.)

- Stretching - this time I actually did an 'offical' post-run stretch. Not so different from what I generally remind myself to do but easier because I didn't have to think.

So, just for a bit of fun, I added up the non-fiction I want to read (this doesn't include those books I've already begun) and there are 34. In the "Really want to read" pile, as opposed to the "when I get around to it, I'd like to have a look at these" pile. And I started trying to work out how long it would take me to read them. Not enough data. So then I totted up the total number of books I have read this year (mostly fiction), not including those I finished this year but started last. That added up to 82 books. But it takes me longer to read non-fiction, particularly if I'm taking notes (which I do, depending on the topic and what I need it for) or trying things out or looking things up (today's concept was orographic lift), so I reckon time-wise, I read about three fiction books in the same time I'd read one non-fiction. But maths and estimates are all very well and good but I'm not giving up my fiction books to devote myself to non-fiction so how long it'll take me to read all this - well, that's anyone's guess!

 

[Lady Celerity]

Do you read each book one at a time? I'm never disciplined enough to do that. I've got five books going now...

 

[TopNotch]

Do you read each book one at a time? I'm never disciplined enough to do that. I've got five books going now...

Oh no! I may have two or three (or perhaps...five?) non-fiction books going at one time (sometimes something crops up that I simply have to know about!) and sometimes I have more than one fiction book. Not so common with that, unless the one I'm reading doesn't really grip me or I find I've read too much of this particular author recently and need a bit of a break. Of course, if any book doesn't grip me at all, I have absolutely no problem in simply tossing it away. There are way too many books to read to struggle through ones that aren't for me.

 

[CODawn]

Happy Belated Birthday!

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 7
- Upper Body Blast Day 14
- Dead Hang Day 14
- Lat pull-downs 3 x 10
- Single-arm DB rows 3 x 10
- DB shoulder presses 3 x 10
- Lateral Raises 3 x 20

Not the sort of day I had planned, but there were major stresses going on (none of my causing and I tried to stay on the side-lines and observe). Finished my last new jigsaw, and Laurence Gonzales's Deep Survival which was quite interesting and I'll have to read his Surviving Survival once I've finished Unbeatable Mind. Knocked two other books off my TBR list - started both but they were rubbish so I got rid of them. But I did add another couple to the pile so I suppose the status is quo!

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 8
- Upper Body Blast Day 15
- Dead Hang Day 15
- Chest presses 3 x 10
- OH tricep extensions 3 x 10
- Bicep curls 3 x 10es
- Hand-release push-ups 3 x 5 - squeezed them in because why not?
- Walk, 3km with a few running intervals but it's really hard to run as slow as Garmin suggests. Must take smaller steps...

Up to day 17 of the Medito 30-day challenge. It's only ten minutes but sometimes it's surprising how quickly that time goes by!

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 9
- Upper Body Blast Day 16
- Dead Hang Day 16
- Hand-release push-ups 2 x 10
- Walk, 3.35km.

I realised that I probably ought to have gone for a bike ride today but my mind had that scheduled for Wednesday but I hadn't factored in... Anyway, had to go shopping instead (I hate shopping). Eldest came with me and, as she was hungry and it was about lunchtime, she decided that she wanted hot chips for lunch, and a soft drink. Well, it was nice as it was all going down... There are some things I am glad I don't do very often - not because I don't enjoy them or I feel guilty about having done them, but simply because I seem to have reached a point where things I used to enjoy just don't sit so well with me anymore. Fortunately scoffing an entire bag of jelly snakes isn't one of them!

So many books I want to read. Sometimes I wish I could hear them while I sleep and wake up knowing all about them, but that didn't work so well in Brave New World, so perhaps I'll give it a miss and just read, read, read instead. There is a scene in Hamlet where Polonius asks Hamlet what he's reading, to which Hamlet replies, "Words, words, words." Sometimes I feel that's what I'm reading and then I know either I'm not concentrating or the book's simply not working for me (and so I'll dump it). But often I'm not reading words. I'm absorbing concepts, distilling the essence, really sucking the marrow from the bones, and when I finally re-emerge into the real world, it can seem a shock to have to make dinner or change the kitty litter. I'm so glad I learnt to read when I was a kid!

 

[Lady Celerity]

But often I'm not reading words. I'm absorbing concepts, distilling the essence, really sucking the marrow from the bones, and when I finally re-emerge into the real world, it can seem a shock to have to make dinner or change the kitty litter. I'm so glad I learnt to read when I was a kid!

Well said. I heartily agree.

 

[Damer]

To add a little scientific context to @TopNotch's words. When we read, either fiction or non-fiction but especially fiction our brain is busy running "what-if" scenarios that help it better understand the world. It's like running simulations where we play-act situations and imagine our actions in them. This, in turn, changes the synaptic connections in our brain that determine our perception of reality and guide our decision-making. Once a book is done, weeks later, we can barely recall a passage from it or a character's name (there are some exceptions with books that resonate so deeply with us that they stay with us all our life) but our brain is different. We're different as a result of having read it. Each book we read changes our neural architecture.

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 10
- Upper Body Blast Day 17
- Dead Hang Day 17
- Bike ride, 15.92km. Beautiful day. We do great autumns here! Curious, though, as to why it always seems I spend more time going up than coming down! There was a slightly unfortunate incident when I had to pass a woman who was walking her little dogs on the small narrow track (slightly wider than the width of a car tyre). I went around through the grass and hit a ditch. The horn of my bike seat hit a part of me that really didn't appreciate that! It's alright though; I've already had children.

My dodgy knee was giving me gyp after this though, reminding me that I really need to do proper rehab on it. As well as my foot. I have plans. Let's see if I can make things happen!

Realised that I was a little disinclined to do longer workouts in my training room because (shameful confession) it was not tidy! It's a large, essentially empty room (apart from all my exercise stuff...) so things tend to get dumped there. I took a good look at it last night and realised this, so today I began heaving stuff out, moving things around to give a good sweeping and dusting. This seems to be a workout in itself! The work continues...

@Damer Probably explains why I prefer action books to touchy-feely, emotional stuff! Things I can relate to. I can remember a lot of things about books I have read; I simply can't always remember which book it was or who wrote it! I just really love how books make my brain feel.

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 11
- Upper Body Blast Day 18
- Dead Hang Day 18
- Walk, 3km. Worked hard to make this a slow walk, trying to get what Gamin calls 'low aerobic'. So it took me 35 minutes. There was a bit of a chilly wind, though, reminding me that at this time of year, if I'm not working hard, I need to wear a jacket!

Spent the entire day cleaning my training room. Hit my step goal just doing that - and, of course, having a couple of pots of tea. Finally decided to get rid of my balance beam. I really don't use it anymore, other than for things like tricep dips and I can do those on my weights bench, so I posted it on Gumtree. Amazingly, just over 4 hours later, it was being driven away by a man with an ecstatic 10-year-old in the passenger seat, and I had a few more dollars to put towards a new rowing machine.
And my training room looks lovely again, just waiting for me. The two 1x1m mats are neatly held on the other side of the room but are easily accessible. If I leave them down, the cats use them as scratching mats and that's so not cool! Not quite sure exactly where that elliptical should go - right now it's a bit of a shag on a rock. Maybe it'll stay there, though, because it's not in the way of anything.


Feeling a bit flat tonight. Probably a bit tired, what with hauling all those stuff around, but now it's done and that's good. Time to relax with a cup of tea and a book.

 

[MadamMeow]

So jealous of your training room!

My little guy made me have to get rid of a mat like that in my kitchen that was for preventing fatigue while standing.

Ripped it all up. Glad you can put yours out of their way.

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 12
- Upper Body Blast Day 19
- Dead Hang Day 19
- Walk, 3km. Another gentle stroll but a little faster than yesterday.
- Side leg raises, 2 x 10es while waiting for the pasta to cook.

Last night, when I was listening to my Medito meditation (day 20!), something James said really struck me, so much so that I actually wrote it down! He said:
"consciously commit to prioritising your physical wellbeing and making choices that support an active lifestyle."
Yeah, not earth-shattering, right? But then I really thought about those words. Doing deadhangs, cycling, going hiking - all good fun and keeping me relatively fit and healthy, but there are bits of me that are not performing optimally. Ignoring those bits and continuing blithely along ultimately will do me no good. I must rein in my ego, my desire to push, and step back. I must do those really dull and boring and uninspiring rehab exercises - go all the way back to the simplest thing until I can do things with poise and without any pain. Pushing through is not, I have come to think, a choice that will support an active liefstyle, at least not for as long as I want mine to be! My foundation must be rock-solid. Now, I know I can do X, Y and Z, but perhaps I ought to step back to - well, not quite as far back as A, B and C. For example, I know how much I can shoulder press but when I do, my shoulder grates. A lighter weight doesn't cause that, so maybe it might be beneficial to use a lighter weight for a while, really building up the reps before increasing the weight again, and look at other exercises to support the joint. Who knows? Friday night thoughts. But if I truly want to prioritise my physical wellbeing and make appropriate choices, then this seems to me the way to go.
Perhaps the Rehab collection should be my starting point! Together with all the stuff from my physio...

Just watched the Video of the Week. Hmm, was @Damer talking to me?!

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 13
- Upper Body Blast Day 20
- Dead Hang Day 20
- Standing knee-to-elbow crunches x 100
- Heel touches x 100
- Chest press 3 x 20 - a lighter weight (hence greater volume) and I made sure to release the handles after each rep so that there was no rebound; every rep was like the first rep over again.
- Cable lying hamstring curls - 2 x 20es. I can do these using the lower cable of Marcy, which means I can increase the weight by a known quantity, unlike if I were using therabands which only go so far anyway (and exactly how far is that?)
- Banded lateral walk 3 x 10es
- Leg slides x 100 - these are quite dull and I don't feel anything with them. Perhaps they're just way too easy for me and I should leave them out. Just experimenting...

No walk today because

But the lad wanted me to play badminton with him in the training room. Had to move the elliptical out of the way. Sometimes we actually managed to hit that darned shuttlecock a whole four times in a row! Mostly, though, it was just once. Also known as the serve. We acknowledged rather ruefully that we're rubbish at badminton.

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 14
- Upper Body Blast Day 21
- Dead Hang Day 21
- Lat pull-downs 3 x 30. Went a lighter weight and pulled almost to fatigue. As in, I could do more than 30 but not 35 but there was no way I could stop between. Hey, we all have our quirks.
- DB bent-over rows 3 x 10es
- Single-leg leg extensions 3 x 10. Single-leg because I've noticed that I let my stronger leg take over when I do both legs together. Doing each leg separately, I struggle a little with the right but the left has absolutely no problem whatever. My right knee is the problematic one and hence my right quad is weaker.
- Weighted standing hip abduction x 10es
- Weighted standing hip adduction x 10es
- Weighted standing hip flexion x 10es. I can do these all using the lower cable of Marcy which is great. I didn't get around to doing the hip extensions - by the time I'd done these three, my hips were tired!
- Standing and kneeling banded hip traction, about 30s each.
- Walk, 3km. With running intervals again. Run between that lamp-post to the next, then walk to the next lamp-post, then run again to the next one, etc, but only about 7 times. The lad was coming back from a playdate and I caught up with him not far from home. He had his bike. I challenged him to a race up the street to home. He's not so good riding uphill.

My brother called me again tonight. Complained (again) that the only time he hears from me is when he calls. I told him that's the only time anyone ever hears from me! Promised I'd call him but I never have anything to say. He said I could say 'hello' and I thought, sure, he can take it from there.

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 15
- Upper Body Blast Day 22
- Dead Hang Day 22
- Hike, 7km. Had intended to do a 5km hike, using one of the ZR 5K races, but my mum called shortly after I'd begun and at the 2km mark, I saw that the race had stopped so I had to restart it from the beginning and go around the streets on the way home to get the full 5km of the race done, hence 7km in total. Hey, what doesn't kill you...

Had intended to do some stuff later this evening but 2nd born has a friend suddenly staying over, so there goes that.

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 16
- Upper Body Blast Day 23
- Dead Hang Day 23
- Chest press 3 x 30 - felt cranky today so belted these out. Ow.
- Single-leg leg extensions 3 x 10es
- Walk, 3km. Much slower today because of the stopping. The Lad had come with me on his bike. Well, he zoomed off ahead and we met up at the oval, then he zoomed back and we met again at the underpass. He's been having trouble with the gears on his bike (it had been left for a very long time outside in the weather and things have rusted). I managed to fiddle with things and suddenly the chain actually moved from 3rd gear down, but then we couldn't get it to go back to third gear and it hasn't been near 2nd or 1st since he's had the bike. I promised him I'd have a look at it. Yeah, I'm hoping YouTube and WD40 will help here. I am not a bike mechanic. Actually, I'm no sort of mechanic at all.

Did some push-ups too, but I can't recall how many. Oh, and had a go at an ab-roller plank. Well, that's an interesting plank variation. Really focuses on stability. I like it!

Not a very productive day due to lack of sleep. [Had a bit of a rant here, explaining why, but having got it out, don't need it anymore so deleted it. I think it's enough just to say - teenagers...]

Might have an early night tonight.

 

[PetiteSheWolf]

Courage with dealing with teens They'll grow out of, that's ... sure, LOL!

 

[TopNotch]

- Cardio and abs Day 17
- Upper Body Blast Day 24
- Dead Hang Day 24
- Cable bicep curls 3 x 10. Something different for a change. Because, yeah, I'm always doing the same things. Right?
- Banded lateral walk 3 x 10es
- Walk, about 2km.

I had things planned for today but something else stepped in so, oh well. You see, I'd looked up about the Lad's bicycle gear issue and it was so scary, so I looked at Gumtree, and there were three ads for children's bikes and one of them was just perfect. And only - time here for a dramatic drum roll! - $30! An hour's round trip and he had a new-to-him bike. It's in pretty good condition and all the gears work! And there are more gears for him to play with. Once we got home, he wanted to take it for a test ride and asked me to come with him. It's a tiny bit big for him, but once he's on it, he's fine. I showed him how to change the gears and where he should hold the handle-bar to make it easy and he was off. That was when I got my shorter-than-usual walk in. He took off for another short ride a little later. And the old bike? Well, it has done pretty well - he's the third child to use it, after all. I'd actually sold something yesterday on Gumtree for $50 so I'm still $20 up. That little bit closer to a new rowing machine.

 

[MadamMeow]

That's great you were able to find such a great deal! Your son must be beaming!

 

[Lady Celerity]

Why not go for a 2-in-1 machine?

 

[TopNotch]

@MadamMeow He certainly is, and went out twice today on his bike.
@Lady Celerity Is there an indoor option?

- Cardio and abs Day 18
- Upper Body Blast Day 25
- Dead Hang Day 25
- Indoor bike, 50 mins, 25.11km.
- Vertical battle-rope pulls, a few minutes.

The morning started slower than I had hoped because Garmin changed their app and I had to play around to find out the exact format I wanted, no, maybe if I..., hmm, what about putting this here and... Anyway, took me about half an hour to get it where I think I want it. Well, today, at any rate. Then I got on the bike because I thought I'd give the feet and ankles a bit of a rest. And I hadn't been on the exercise bike for a while. It gave me an opportunity to watch a few YouTube videos that I wouldn't otherwise have watched.
Later, I hauled the battle rope off the deck and slung it over the top of the squat bar and had some fun pulling it down, noting that if the rope landed on top of itself, it was harder to pull than if it landed next to itself. As you might expect! Anyway, that was a lot of fun and I can see myself playing more with that.

I thought I might set myself an actual bedtime, perhaps of midnight, but I note that it's already 11:51 and I haven't showered yet, so perhaps not tonight... It's school holidays, and I have the eldest and youngest with me, and when that happens, the eldest spends much of her time with me in my room, until about 10pm. This means that a lot of things that I might like to do, I don't because I'd rather spend my time with her, but I want to do those things so I do them later. (That excuse only works for this situation and doesn't explain why I normally have late nights - or rather, early mornings.) So I'll enjoy her company until next week when the holidays are over again and then I'll endeavour to establish a midnight bedtime. And use the Darebee challenge to keep me going.

Tonight I'll be listening to Day 27 of the 30-day Medito challenge. It's been interesting.

Shower-time now and then bed.