Writing is my artistic expression. My keyboard is my brush. Words are my medium. My blog is my canvas. And committing to writing daily makes me feel like an artist.
Itās fascinating how much of weight training is mental. Iām simultaneously an athlete who can push my body to a level that surprises me, and the loafer who canāt eke out one more rep despite still having gas left in my gas tank. One minute Iām forcing myself to get one more weighted pull-up done, straining with everything Iāve got to get my head above the bar. A few minutes later Iām quitting on weighted step-ups, because mentally, rather than physically, Iām done.
What Iāve mastered is showing up. What Iām working on now is maximizing my gains. That doesnāt mean being stupid, lifting too heavy, and hurting myself. What it does mean is making my sets count. Making my reps count. Making my workouts efficient and effective.
How does this look when Iāve mentally quit on a set too soon? Maybe it means a 4th set. Maybe it means a lighter weight and more reps. Maybe it means giving myself permission to let that one set go and come back stronger the next setā¦ or if need be the next workout. Awareness is the first step. The next step is being intentional about what I do next.
If Iām going to see the gains I plan to have in the next year, Iāve got to push a little harder than I have been. Pushing in a smart way is going to get me to my goalsā¦ injury free.
It started January 1st, 2019. I was almost 30 pounds overweight and I decided that Iād had enough of working out, getting busy and lazy and not working out, and yo-yo-ing between these two statesā¦ while progressively getting further out of shape.
In my 1 year video reflection, back in late December 2019, I was able to share that Iād basically lost the 30 pounds and was back on track for staying healthy. Now, years later, Iāve put back on about 12 pounds, but a completely healthy 12 pounds. Iāve added almost an inch to my biceps, I have great definition on my (still skinny) legs, and my shoulders/traps are probably where I see my biggest gains.
Here are my key stats this year:
Workouts – defined as a minimum of 20 minutes cardio and some weights (unless itās a Coquitlam Crunch day when I donāt usually go weights).
Meditation – At least 10 minutes, usually 15 or 20 minutes guided meditation on the Balance App.
Daily-Ink – Daily writing on this blog.
Writing/Creating – Intended to be for writing beyond my blog regularly but mostly just tracking conversations with my uncle.
Workouts: 326 days or 89%
Meditation: 313 days or 85%
Daily-Ink: 366 days or 100%
Writing/Creating: 53 days or 14.5%
Reflections:
Workouts: Iām actually setting a goal to work out less in 2025. Iāve made some good gains and think they can be better if I gave myself more rest. This is especially true for my legs. I think working out cardio 10-12+ days in a row is limiting my leg recovery time needed to see them grow a bit more. Lack of rest might be why my legs are a lot stronger but still skinny. For upper body, many of my workouts are just a single muscle focus, and so I usually get enough rest between hard sets for specific muscle groups.
Meditation: These could have been qualitatively better this year. Itās not an issue of volume but definitely one fit quality. In 2024 I found that writing was taking me a bit longer in the morning, and so a lot of times I ended up doing a walking meditation on the treadmill to make up the time. That said Iām not convinced that those meditations were necessarily moving me towards my meditation goals as much as dedicated time would.
Daily-Ink: Iāll keep my blog going another year. And while Iāve basically maintained daily writing for 5 and a half years, I still want to track it.
Writing/Creativity: The largest area for growth is in being creative. Iām going to do a couple things to improve this. First, I wonāt be counting conversations with my uncle, even when we are recording them. What I will count is video editing of the videos he and I record, as well as writing not related to by blog. A goal related to this is less social media time… Reducing distractions and focusing on creativity. My writing/creativity goal will be a minimum of two days per week, 104 days a year, or basically doubling last yearās total while not counting the vast majority of days I would have tracked last year. I wonāt meet my uncle less often, I just wonāt be counting these Zoom visits as part of my creativity goal.
Ultimately I want to see two outcomes this year that will result from my tracking above:
Gain 7-8 pounds of muscle. This is a big jump for me. In my 30ās and 40ās I had a hard time maintaining a weight of about 153 pounds. If I worked out consistently for several months Iād get my weight to 155 but struggled to put good weight on beyond that. When I stopped working out Iād drop a few pounds and sit closer to 150. By December 2018, at age 51, Iād (unintentionally and without awareness) let myself go and weighed just under 185 pounds, with all of that extra weight being unhealthy. After year one of my healthy living goals (reflection shared again here) I was back down to around 155. Now I fluctuate around 167-169 pounds and would like to bring that to 175 pounds. Basically, it took me about 5 years to gain 12 pounds of muscle and I want to add 8 more this year. Increased protein and more dedicated weight training will get me there if I maintain my positive habits and get a bit more rest between (harder/smarter) workouts.
More creativity. I think 2 days a week of doing something creative is realistic and attainable. Reducing social media distractions will be key. Iām going to automate my blog going into social media, and add time limits to all socials for Monday to Friday as a starting point. Iāll see how that works and re-evaluate my success after a month.
Finally, one more goal unrelated to my tracking will be a reading goal. Watching that December 2018 reflection video again I was shocked that I listened to 26 books that year. I think this yearās count was 6, with 3 partial reads to finish, although I did listen to a lot more podcasts. I want to improve my book count. I think this will also help with my creativity.
One final reflection: Overall Iām pretty damn proud of my 2024 stats above. Yes I have some ambitious goals ahead of me, and Iām always pushing to improveā¦ but that doesnāt take away from the fact that Iāve been on a 6 year journey from an overweight and unhealthy 51 year old to a 57 year old who hasnāt been this healthy and strong since I was an athlete in my 20ās.
My ultimate goal is a great healthspan to go with my lifespan. I want to be able to do things in 20 years that most 77 year olds canāt imagine doing. I want to be hiking, traveling, and living a vibrant, healthy life well into my senior years. I think Iām on the right path.
Iāve had adjustable weights for over 15 years and I have been using them extremely consistently for the past 6. Those weights can adjust from 5 to 50 lbs, in 5 lb increments, with the twist of the handle. Yesterday I got my new updated weights. These require twisting a dial on each side of the dumbbell, but they can adjust from 10 to 90 lbs, in 5 lb increments.
The reality is that Iām not going to be using the full 90lbs much, but Iām excited to be able to extend my home workouts beyond a 50 lb limit. To be able to have access to such a variety of weights in my tiny home gym is amazing. I know that Iām going to see some positive gains.
The one challenge is not getting too excited about the new weight possibilities, and pushing myself too hard. I donāt have anything to prove to anyone, and I think Iāve matured in my thinking enough not to try something stupid and hurt myself. Now I just need to prove this rather than just saying it.
When I walk on a treadmill I usually go at 4 to 4.2 MPH, (I donāt bother clicking to km, miles is the default on my treadmill). For the past couple months Iāve been walking at 3.8 with a 34lb weight vest, and increasing the incline. But every time I increase to 7.5 or higher, I end up holding the handrails for most of the time Iām on those increased inclines.
Today I forgot to increase my speed from my 2 minute warmup at 3.6 and was able to do most of my walk at a 7.5Ā° incline. I also did 4 minutes at 12.5Ā°, but did hold the handrails then (actually the front rail so Iām not pushing down as much as levelling myself). Still the increase in my ability to maintain the 7.5 incline, for most of the 30 minute workout, and mostly without assistance, was impressive after feeling stuck trying to do this for so long.
Iāll do this a few more times then try at 3.7, then shortly after back to 3.8 MPH. But thatās still to come. For right now I am just surprised that this little adjustment made such a difference. Itās so important to mix things up a bit when you want to see gains in workouts.
Iāve been on a really positive tear recently in the gym. Both my cardio and weight training has seen positive gains.
And today I rest.
This has been an amazing year for consistency of workouts. Most weeks have been 6 or 7 days of working out at some levelā¦ 20-30 minutes of cardio, 5 minutes stretching, and then working a single muscle to fatigue. Or the 50+ minute Coquitlam Crunch walk, or a workout with my buddy at his gym.
Sometimes this year Iāve had weeks where I really didnāt take a break. Thatās not hard to do when Iām only working one muscle strenuously besides doing my cardio. I can give my muscles a full rest before pushing them again, without having to take a day off. But my cardio always involves legs and when they get tight, my back gets tight.
This morning my body is telling me to take a break. Iām about to meditate and do a longer than usual stretch, and thatās it. Itās weird, I know how important rest is, but I usually plan my rest days before I get up in the morning and I canāt help but feel a little guilty skipping my workout today.
Itās a mental game I play with myself. Itās a fear of developing a bad pattern, of breaking the habit. So rather than just feeling good about my rest day, I sit with slightly guilty pangs. This is silly, of course, since what Iām doing is listening to my body. But part of me fears that an unplanned rest day like this is an excuse to have another one soon.
I should see my rest metaphorically as the space between musical notes, as the gaps that make the music. But instead I see my rest as a sign that Iām slipping, that my age is showing, that Iām getting soft. Iām not sure why I do this to myself? Itās a head game of rationalizations, rather than just letting go and enjoying the break. But maybe itās also that I truly enjoy the way working out makes me feel, the sense of accomplishment before I even leave the house.
Still, I need to listen to my body, take the rest dayā¦ and feel good about it!
My Grandfather liked using the saying, āKill a snake when itās small.ā Heād walk into your house and notice a loose tile, or drawer that didnāt fully close, or some other minor issue, and the next day heād arrive with his tools and it would be fixed.
Deal with it while itās a small issue. This is a great strategy, but one thatās often ignored in the world of health and fitness. Maybe āignoredā is too harsh of a word, itās more like not taken seriously enoughā¦ the small snakes are not payed attention to until they get quite a bit bigger.
Sore shoulder? It doesnāt hurt too much, Iāll just keep doing what Iām doing and stop later if it really hurts.
Hernia pain is back? I donāt need to go to the doctor, Iāll just monitor it for a bit and see if it goes away.
10 pounds overweight? Iāll watch my diet for a week before I go back to my normal routine.
Too busy to work out? Iāll just work out more when things calm down.
We ignore pain until itās too painful to ignore. We watch our weight when itās already a big problem. We give ourselves a pass on taking care of ourselves when we are busy, only to be busy more and more frequently. We ignore the small snakes, and wait for them to be bigger than we ever hoped theyād get.
In the last 8-10 months Iāve seen some really positive results with my overall fitness. If I think about what Iām doing differently to see these results, there isnāt a lot thatās new. Rather it has been tiny shifts that Iāve made after years of building positive habits.
The journey started in January 2019. If I want to think about the positive results Iāve been seeing lately it stems from that long ago. People tend to want to see really fast results, and then one of two things happen: Either the unrealistic goals go unrealized (itās probably unlikely youāll drop 25 pounds in 2 months). Or the target is hit the first time then when the results are not repeated, it becomes disappointing, (you hit the 25 pound target but in another 2 months you only drop 5 more pounds and get discouraged).
Build good habits and consistent results are a natural byproduct. Then small tweaks really make a positive difference. I added 10 minutes to my cardio routine, and started doing the Norwegian Protocol once a week. This has improved my cardio (which I can see in my effort output increasing when I do the protocol). I also added a weighted vest to my incline walks on the treadmill, which Iām sure has helped improve my cardiovascular stamina.
I have also focused more on pushing myself to fatigue when I do weights, because I am trying to be more efficient in the morning since I have 10 less minutes to workout because of my added cardio. So, Iām not adding gym time, Iām just being more effective. Doing cardio, stretching, and training one muscle group really hard still only takes about 45-50 minutes, but that time is focused.
I couldnāt do this with a 2 month goal. If I was worried about instant results, if I had unrealistic ambitions when I started this journey more than 5 years ago, I probably wouldnāt still be doing what Iām doing. Now Iām not saying having goals and targets isnāt good. I know weight or muscle size targets can be fantastic motivators. What I am saying is that being willing to develop good habits shifts those goals to more long term ambitions.
I want to be as healthy as I am now in 20 years. To do that I need to keep improving, knowing full well that my body will not be able to sustain itself in the same way in 2 decadesā¦ into my late 70ās. So Iāll keep the small, positive changes going, with a focus on being consistent, and injury free.
Increasing my healthspan, not just my lifespan is my goal. And while improvements will be slow, the slow road is far more likely to get me to the results I desire, rather than creating big targets that are hard to accomplish and then taking psychological hits when I donāt hit my goals. I think too often we seek changes in our bodies that are either too great or too hard to sustain. A long term goal of a positive healthspan keeps me going at a pace and effort that I know I can maintain for a very long time.
My buddy Dave does the Grouse Grind once every year, close to his birthday. I did it with him a couple years ago, and back then we did it in just over an hour.
According to the website, āThe Grouse GrindĀ® is a 2.5-kilometre trail up the face of Grouse Mountain, commonly referred to as āMother Natureās Stairmaster”.ā
Well, thanks to Dave pushing me, I just broke the 1 hour mark this year.
Dave did a bit faster than me. We took a 3 minute water break for my sake at the 1/2 way point and I had to slow down at the 3/4 mark. When I saw at this point that we were at 45 minutes in, I told Dave not to wait for me because I didnāt want to be the reason he didnāt break an hour.
So I finished at 59:52 and Dave made it to the top in 58:00. This climb is almost the same distance as our Coquitlam Crunch we do weekly but itās 3 times the elevation, and takes us more than twice as long to the peak.
Iām not going to lie, nothing about this hour climb is fun. Itās gruelling from the time your heart rate spikes near the bottom and it is a push all the way to the top. But it feels great to know that we can still push ourselves to this level, and to actually do it faster than last time is an accomplishment.
That said, Iām happy to put off doing it again for another year. Weāll squeeze in another 40 Crunch climbs in before then.
Thanks for the push Dave, I expect the same next year.
I work out at home. Getting up and just having to go to my basement with no commute time to and from the gym is great. There is minimal resistance, I have no excuse, and I Iāve averaged working out more than 6 days a week over this year. If I had to travel to a gym, I wouldnāt keep that average up.
That said, itās awesome to do a workout with a buddy. There are added motivations to really push when: you have someone next to you working hard; you know that they will spot you if you are struggling; and, admittedly itās just easier to push yourself when youāve got an audience.
I am doing a week long trail at my buddyās gym and went for a workout this morning. We did a chest workout. It was fast, and yet it was more comprehensive than what I do at home, and I worked harder than I usually do at home. Realizing this is making me rethink my workout schedule. I donāt want to pay monthly fees for a gym I rarely use, I also donāt want to disrupt my morning routine or wake up even earlier to add 30 minutes commute time to my routine.
Not sure I can get the best of both worlds, but for at least a couple more times in the next week, I hope I get to work out with a buddy!
I started doing Max VO2 training almost every Sunday a few months ago. I say āalmostā because my vacations this summer included a few misses, but as I head into the school year this will become the norm. However Iām struggling a bit with motivation right now because the Norwegian 4X4 Protocol Iāve been doing is really hard.
I always feel great having finished it, but dang itās just not fun to start. 4-minutes at about 85-95% heart rate max, followed by 3-minutes recovery, four times. The total protocol is 28 minutes, but I canāt just get on a treadmill and go at 85-95% without getting winded and having to stop or slow down, so I add a 4-minute warmup which puts this workout at 32 minutes.
You might wonder, if it sucks so much why do it? Why do I bother? Because increasing Max VO2, (your maximum oxygen intake during exercise), is one of the absolute best things you can do to increase healthspan and lifespan.
Cardiorespiratory fitness (measured by VO2 max) is one of the best indicators of improved healthspan and lifespan.
One of the best protocols for improving VO2 max is the Norwegian 4×4 protocol – a 4-minute interval at the maximum intensity you can maintain the entire intervalā¦ https://t.co/25WIyi54dt
Writing this is my last bit of procrastination before getting on the treadmillā¦ Iāve got to figure out a habit routine that makes getting this workout started easier!
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PS. Iām keenly aware that Iāve written about this a couple times already (here and here), but itās whatās on my mind and itās something I hope I can inspire others to do!
