Football Epilogue

Here's a fill in-able .pdf for the gym. So I'm trying to put together a workout of my own here, something I can more or less follow on most normal weeks. A normal week for me involved getting a good start on my workouts on Monday/Tuesday then tapering off later in the week on account of parenting responsibilities, etc. I'm breaking the workout into:  large muscle groups in the legs and upper body, supersetting with core strength moves, on days one and two to make sure I hit them. Supplemental lifting day (arms, shoulders, calves, etc) on Day 4. I can do this routine from home when I have the kids. Cardio on most days with days 3 and 5 being dedicated to it. I put it in the context of running/walking, but take your pick. I got through days one and two.We'll see how Wednesday goes. Day1: Lower Body Lift Weight/Reps Superset Squats 135/15, 225/12, 250/10, 315/5 Side bends with 45lbs. plate, 20 reps  Hang Cleans 135/7, 135/7, 135/7 Oblique t...

So this next week is my city's "Curbside Cleanup" for my part of town. This is where we can put large items down by the street and they will be picked up by the city for disposal. Personally, I'm getting rid of an old mattress set and am tearing apart my lower level guest bedroom, so have a bit of old carpet, ceiling tiles, etc. This is also a time when a lot of people think about getting rid of items they don't use. That's how I scored this baby, on the left.  My next door neighbor was getting rid of his in-ground basketball hoop. It was on the curb with a "Free" sign on it. It's a few years old but is in great shape. I had been contemplating a hoop, but they are actually kind of expensive. This system pushes the $1,000 mark. Needless to say I, with the help and moral support of my daughter, dragged this beast from their curb to my house. There's even a scratch in the street and my driveway outlining the journey (don't worry, my st...

Squats, deadlifts, cleans and a two mile run. Oh My! Actually, I'm not too sore from the workout and even felt a little bit of a runner's "high" creep in during the jog. I don't like that it takes 10 minutes or so of running for it to start feeling comfortable, but only training can reduce that time. My big concern with lower body lifting is the amount of weight I might gain, but really that's kind of a bogeyman. Ultimately, it will come down to diet and if I grow a little muscle in the legs, that's just more bulk to eat fat. It didn't stop me from dreaming I topped the scales at 400 lbs last night (whew, I woke up to find I"m still over 100 lbs short of that number). Next up, I have a "biometric screening" as part of my health insurance at work. That's where the weight has me a little worried. Like anything though, this thing is a journey and not a destination. "Fat Joe" will happen on occasion, followed by "s...

It's NHL playoff time here in MN. Here's my view for the MN Wild v. Dallas Stars game from last night. The Wild, down 0-2 in the series, rallied to win 5-3. It was a very fast and physical game where the Wild had to come back from an early 0-2 deficit.

Yesterday was my first day out on the driving range. I always seem to lose a little distance to start the year. I think my swing gets largely out of sequence where I lose the hip rotation/snap in the off-season. It's not something that developed when I first started playing golf so I have to be more conscientious about it. Still I hit pretty well with my 3Wood landing beyond 200 yards and minimal hooking. I'm going to take a look at slowing my backswing this season as well. I'm hoping it leads to more control League play starts in a week and a half so I'll be making a few more trips to the range and try to get at least 18 holes of golf in before it starts.  Here's the GHIN handicap card to start the season, lets see if I can make that 25.9 drop substantially this year.

This is not my yard. I'm a big fan of getting exercise in ways that deviate from the typical go to the gym, run a 5K mentality that a lot of people think they have to have to get a workout. While a gym is nicely compartmentalized and structured it's not always necessary. Take a look at this alternate workout I got in on Sunday: Leaf rake rows, 90 minutes. be sure to switch hand positions to work back and arms symmetrically Leaf/yard debris dead lifts, 60 minutes. work gloves accentuate the experience by keeping any mush of animal droppings off of your fingers. Sapling pulling 30 rows minutes. grab unwanted tree/shrub starts at the base and perform bent over row to uproot the unwanted growth. Leaf bag farmers walk. 1 - 7 minutes. carry full leaf bags to trash bin area. Repeat lift on garbage day to get bags to the street for pick up. Stretching and hydration. Workout #2 will commence on the next nice day with planting squats, dethatching rake rows, aeration plyomet...

It's been an off week. I came down with a cold last weekend. Fortunately I was able to get a substantial amount of rest on Saturday and was mostly free of symptoms by Monday. My bigger issue this during spring and in the fall is allergies. They are a real hindrance to being productive and feeling motivated. They usually manifest themselves in some sort of pulsing sinus headache, stuffy nose at night, some asthma symptoms (i.e., wheezing) and an overall tired feeling. Medication (Claritin) seems to help the symptoms, but I still often find myself with a tired or unmotivated feeling. Oddly, I also think I'm noticing that drinking alcohol, particularly before bed, seems to exacerbate the symptoms. This is yet another work in progress, but hopefully I can find some ways to improve quality of life in this respect.