Goals 15/16 - August Update

Progress on my goals:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	4	17	23.53%
Pullups	1095	5000	21.90%
Reduce Debt	$25,536.19	$25,882.11	$345.92
Keep the Fiance	2	12	16.67%
Volunteerism (h)	3.5	24	14.58%
Meditation (m)	71	1440	4.93%

I actually have more debt this month than i do last month, so while i'm still in "less debt than i was last year" i haven't improved in this area.  That's the beauty of tracking.  You can see exactly where you've been and where you're at and figure out what you need to do to progress.

I also didn't volunteer this month so shame on me for that.

Anyways...fuck it!  Onward.

Goals 15/16 - July 2015 Update

As i mentioned in this post, my focus this year (June 19 - June 18) is on longer-term goals.

Here is the status as of 7/31/15:

Area	Current	Goal	Progress
Books	3	17	17.65%
Pullups	672	5000	13.44%
Reduce Debt	$25,339.14	$25,882.11	$542.97
Keep the Fiance	1	12	8.33%
Volunteerism (h)	3.5	24	14.58%
Meditation (m)	8	1440	0.56%

So far, everything is on track except for meditation.  Also, "not getting further into debt" might not be lofty enough of a goal.  Pretty much all of that progress is forced in the form of bills.  However, it's nice to see that I'm a tiny bit closer to getting out of the hole.

Goals 15/16 - Introduction: Current State of Affairs

As i mentioned in an earlier post during the Introspective Journaling 21-day challenge, i've given myself the following goals for my 31st year of existence:

• Read/watch 17 books or documentaries
• to do 5000 pullups
• to not go further into debt
• to "not fuck up my relationship" with my fiance
• dedicate 24 hours to service/volunteerism
• meditate for 24 hours

My challenges in the upcoming months will be dedicated to the completion of these goals.  As i pretty much live by Google Sheets, i've created a spreadsheet to track my progress.  The spreadsheet, appropriately titled "15/16" can be viewed (and commented on) by clicking on that link.

I'm looking forward to completing these 6 goals and becoming a better person because of it.  Follow my progress! 

Introspective Journaling - Day 2: What would be the most beneficial tasks for my highest self?

What would be the most beneficial tasks for my highest self?

Loosely, highest self can be defined as the best self, the most perfect representation of my being.

I will break these down along the lines of MBARKS. (Mind, body, assets, relationships, karma, soul)

These are the 6 areas of my life that i've deemed most important to my highest self.

For mind, the best things i can do is to continually acquire knowledge while keeping a beginner's mind.  Knowledge acquisition includes, but is not limited to, reading, writing, and watching documentaries.  Hands-on learning is also included here but i haven't given much focus to this aspect.

For body, it's diet and exercise.  In regard to diet, the most beneficial thing i can do is to prep meals ahead of time.  For exercise, i've begun incorporating pullups and pushups during my breaks at work.  

For assets, it's about conscious spending and earned income.  I'm not doing very well on either of these fronts.  I've acquired $15k in consumer debt and my earnings are the lowest they've been in years.  

For relationships, it's about cultivating and maintaining healthy relationships with those around me.  I have a good group of core friends and i feel like i'm doing pretty well in this area.  There's room to improve, though, and i can definitely do a better job of getting out and hanging with people.

For karma, it's about doing the right thing and actively seeking ways to be of assistance.  I'm pretty good here, too.  I look for ways to help.  For example, if i see somebody carrying heavy boxes toward a door, i'm going to do everything i can to get to that door first so that i can hold it open.

For soul, it's about maintaining present moment awareness and meditation.  I'm getting better regarding present-moment awareness but the meditation thing still hasn't stuck.

As usual, i know what i should be doing but actually doing it is another story.  Fodder for a future post?

Exploring the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway - May 16, 2015

I wanted to do some cardio so I decided to check out the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway.  It's a 17-mile long trail that stretches from Lakewood on the westside to Euclid on the eastside.

I started my journey from my house toward the eastern-most point at the intersection of Lakeshore and E185th St.  This section of the trail has a lot of vehicle traffic so i found myself riding mostly on the sidewalk.

Shortly thereafter, the off-road trail begins.  As i sat down to take a short break, i was approached by an elderly couple and their dog.  The older gentlemen was mentioning how they'd just seen a group of 9 deer when 3 more approached us.  His wife was feeding them bread.  I carefully pulled out the phone and snapped this pic.  It was crazy how close they got!

After this encounter, i continued on my path through Euclid Beach Park and eventually through the town of Bratenahl.  This little suburb of Cleveland is filled with expensive homes lining the shores of Lake Erie.  Maybe someday, i thought to myself.

Upon riding through the streets of Bratenahl, i made my way back toward the off-road path that parallels the lake.  Here i decided to take another break and take a few more pictures.

I could've continued on to the more attractive parts of the trail, which includes riding near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but i decided that this was far enough for my first time out. After all, i still had to ride back home.

On the return trip, i stopped once more at the Cleveland Lakefront State Park near E156th St and took this pic.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway.  Although the route includes a bit too much road biking to be considered safe, I'd do it again. (You either run the risk of riding on bumpy sidewalks dodging pedestrians and cars backing out of driveways, or you ride on the street and risk getting blasted by a vehicle -- a lose-lose situation)

I'm looking forward to completing the whole 34-mile roundtrip someday.  Today wasn't the day though.  By the time i got home, i thought my legs were going to fall off.  According to MapMyRide, the length of my journey was 25 miles, as it's about a 4.5 mile ride just to get to the beginning of the trail from my house.  To complete the entire thing from the house and back, the length of the ride would be nearly 45 miles.  

It'll happen eventually.  Something to build toward!

Morning Routine: Conclusion

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you're aware of my recent failure at my attempt to introduce meditation into my morning routine.  (If you're not, you can read about it here.)  What i failed to mention in that post was that failing in meditation also derailed the whole thing.

It's not as bad as it sounds -- i still wake up early and tend to get more accomplished before i leave for work.  Also, instead of exercising twice a week i've been doing pullups in the gym at my workplace and plenty of laborious work around the house.  It's not perfect but it's something.

I also mentioned in that post about how the lack of success in the meditation challenge brought up thoughts of failure, motivation, dedication, and delayed gratification, among other things.

Why was i not successful implementing a morning routine?  Was it because i simply didn't want it that bad?  Was it a lack of dedication / motivation?  I'm sure all of that played a role.  It also made me want to explore further the reason that i'm unable to delay gratification.  I've recently purchased The Marshmellow Test: Mastering Self Control but i'm putting off reading it even though i know that it's what's best for me. (see what i did there?)  In all seriousness, i'm a couple chapters deep.

This challenge has not gone as planned since i have yet to develop a morning routine.  I can choose to sulk or i can take what i've learned and continue to get better every day.  The obvious choice is the latter.

I will begin a new 21-day challenge in June.

Morning Routine: Diet/Exercise - Conclusion

The diet and exercise portion of the morning routine was an important one.  I find that exercise, particularly, is a habit that begins a windfall of other healthy activities.  Charles Duhigg, in his book The Power of Habit, describes these types of habits as keystone habits.

I naturally begin to focus on what i'm putting into my body.  I get better sleep.  I simply live a healthier lifestyle.

In addition to the morning strength training sessions twice a week, i also used my 15 minute breaks at work to go to the company gym and do pullups and situps.  Over the 21 days, i did 238 pullups -- probably more pullups than i've done in the past 3+ years combined.

In regard to overall health and wellness though, diet is the most important aspect.  This is why meal prep is so important.  I don't have the desire to come home after work and begin a meal from scratch.  Cooking large batches twice per week and creatively using leftovers has been very helpful.  So has keeping hard-boiled eggs around.  I like to eat them plain, with a touch of salt, or blended into an egg salad.  

Although, i've only lost 5 pounds in the last three weeks, this is just the beginning.  Scale weight isn't the best statistic to measure, anyways.  I should've used a tape measure or at least taken photos.  I don't necessarily need the motivation though.  This is something that is going to stick with me for the long haul.  No excuses.

Morning Routine: Diet/Exercise - Days 17 thru 21

Day 17 - Meal prep.  Chili in the slow cooker for dinner on day one and lunch on day two.  Mixed in some spaghetti sauce and threw it on some noodles for dinner on day two.  Also boiled some eggs.

Day 18 - Strength training.  Workout "B".  2 rounds of: 1-leg romanian deadlift, chinups (4 seconds on the lowering part), hamstring curls, and good mornings.  Removed the planks and instead did situps on an exercise ball at work while doing pullups.

Day 19 - Mobility.  Spent 15 minutes rolling around on the lacrosse ball and stretching.  Good way to start the morning. 

Day 20 - Cardio. skipped the workout.  I have an excuse, but it's just that.  An excuse.

Day 21 - Meal prep. Pork tenderloin in the slow cooker equals dinner on day one and lunch on day two. Leftover tenderloin was re-purposed for dinner on day two.  Also boiled a dozen eggs to have on hand to eat.
Cardio, since i didn't do it the day before.  Ran a shorter distance but at a much quicker pace.  

Morning Routine: Diet/Exercise - Days 12 thru 16

The "diet and exercise" portion of the morning routine challenge continues.  Here's what's happened over the last 5 days:

Day 12 - Mobiliity work.  Stretching and lacrosse ball.

Day 13 - Cardio.  Ran 1.25 miles around my neighborhood.  I know that it was 1.25 miles because i tracked it via MapMyRun.  

Day 14 - Meal Prep.  I made a big batch of beef stew and boiled a dozen eggs for the next couple of days. 

Day 15 -  Workout "A". 2 rounds of: Dumbbell front squats to overhead press, 1-arm 1-leg dumbbell row, walking lunges w/ sprinter knee raise, wide-grip pushups, kettlebell swings.             

Day 16 - Lacrosse ball treatment.  Worked on sore spots, mostly my back -- sore from the pullups (see below) and kettlebell swings.

I'm beginning to find my routine.  I'm focusing more on my health and using [some of] my breaks at work to do pullups and ab exercises.  The weight hasn't fallen off as quickly as i'd like but i'm just being impatient.  The focus is on the long-term.  

Morning Routine: Diet/Exercise - Days 8 thru 11

The journey continues.  Here's an update of the last few days.

Day 8 - Strength training. Or -- should've been.  As mentioned in the previous post, i overdid myself last week and was forced to take a day off.  I used the time to do some extra mobility work.

Day 9 - Mobility.  The typical "roll around on a lacrosse ball" stuff i've been talking about.

Day 10 - Meal prep.  Made an entire chicken in the crock pot.  Used the breasts with rice for dinner and lunch the following day.  The rest of the meat will be shredded and turned into chicken noodle soup using the stock from the bones.

Day 11 - Strength training. Workout "B". 2 rounds of: 1-leg romanian deadlift, chinups (4 seconds on the lowering part), hamstring curls, planks, and good mornings.

Chicken and a Slow Cooker

Buying a whole chicken is not only budget-friendly, but it allows the whole bird to be utilized.  Here's what i do when i buy a whole chicken:

Cook the chicken in the slow cooker.  Don't have one?  Buy one.  They're worth their weight in gold.  I have two and have used them both simultaneously on more than one occasion. Sloppy joes in one and buffalo chicken dip in the other, for example.

1. Preheat the broiler setting on the oven. 
2. On a greased baking pan, rub the chicken with extra virgin olive oil, then special herbs/spices. Yeah, I did that on purpose.  Choose what you like.  Experiment; be present in the cooking process. Oh shit! I just used a semicolon. 
3. Put the chicken in the preheated oven for 4-5 minutes so the skin gets a tan.
4. While the chicken is in the oven, add enough water or broth to cover the bottom of the slow cooker.
5. When the oven-time is up, carefully remove the chicken from the oven and put it in the crockpot.
6. Since i had to go to work, i put the slow cooker on low and let it cook from 8 until 6.  Longer than i'd like.  Generally i'd cook it on high for 4 or 5 hours.
7. Remove from slow cooker and separate the meat from the bones.  

In this instance, i took the breasts and ate them over rice with freshly squeezed lemon.  Refrigerate leftover meat.

Use the bones to make chicken stock (broth).  I googled the difference and apparently stock is just bones and water.  Broth contains seasoning.  Stock + Seasoning = Broth.  Math y'all!  Disclaimer: if you're on a gameshow and that's the question and you get it wrong it's not my fault.  If you get it right, a 10% donation of the winnings is appreciated.

1. Put the leftover bones back in the slow cooker with the juices.
2. Cook overnight or for 8 -12 hours
3. Pass stock through a strainer or sieve to remove bones

Upon putting the bones into the crockpot, i proceeded to cut up assorted veggies for the next day's soup.  Again, choose what you like.  Do you.

Make chicken noodle soup. (with a soda on the side)

1. Place cut up veggies in the slow cooker.  
2. Add additional broth or water if needed.
3. Cook on low all day. (8 - 10 hours)
4. 30 minutes prior to eating, add the leftover chicken to the crock pot.  Boil water for the noodles.
5. Cook noodles according to package instructions.
6. When noodles are done, stir into soup and enjoy.

There you have it!  Multiple meals from just one motherclucker!  See what i did there?

Morning Routine: Diet/Exercise - Days 4 thru 7

Here's how the last four days of the diet/exercise challenge have gone:

Day 4 - Strength training.  All exercises were performed for 2 sets and 10 reps.  Planks were 30 seconds (to failure) and chin-ups were to failure.
    Single-leg romanian deadlift - 15 lbs 
    Chin ups (4-sec negatives) - bodyweight
    Hamstring curls - 25 lbs
    Plank - bodyweight
    Good mornings - 45 lbs

Day 5 - Mobilility.  I focused on the sore spots from training the day prior.  Just rolled around on the lacrosse ball.

Day 6 - Cardio.  The weather was nice for the first time all year.  Perfect time for an outdoor run.  Probably only ran a mile but it was enough. (more than enough)

Day 7 - Meal prep.  Made this meatloaf that was dinner, lunch the following day, and dinner again that night.  I change it up so i don't get bored.  It was meatloaf and potatoes for dinner/lunch and i mixed the leftover meatloaf with some rice for the next dinner.

My shins are in tons of pain from running and i threw my back out standing up too quickly.  That type of shit happens when we try to do too much too soon.  Now i'll be forced to miss at least one workout.  I should've been smarter.   

Aging is difficult.

Morning Routine: Diet/Exercise - Days 1 thru 3

Diet/Exercise challenge is a go.  I lifted weights on Monday, did mobility work and stretching on Tuesday, and prepped meals on Wednesday.  Here're the details:

Monday - Strength Training
I plan to loosely follow a workout outlined in Tim Ferriss' The Four Hour Body called Critical (M)Ass: The Kiwi’s Complete A/B Workout.  I say loosely because i haven't yet figured out how i'll accomplish all of these exercises in my home gym, particularly, the swiss ball exercise and the reverse hypers in the "B" portion of the workout.

Anyways, i started slow.  All exercises were performed in order, not resting until the circuit was complete.  I did 2 sets and 10 reps of everything except the kettlebell swings, of which i performed 20 reps.

Dumbbell (DB) front squat to overhead press - 15# dumbbells (limited by left shoulder)
1-arm 1-leg DB row - 10#
Walking lunges with sprinter knee raise - bodyweight
Wide-grip pushups - bodyweight
Kettlebell swings - 35#

Tuesday - Mobility
Took time to stretch and work on my sore areas with a lacrosse ball.  Basically, i roll over areas of my body until i find a sore spot.  When i do, i relax and let the ball penetrate deep into the muscle tissues.  The goal is to get the muscle to fully release itself.  I'm not a doctor, but it works.

Wednesday - Meal Prep
I woke up to find that i hadn't set the dishwasher to run overnight so the crockpot was dirty.  I whined, sulked, and went back to bed and watched the news on tv.  Talk about self-sabotage.  Anyways, i ended up baking the chicken thighs instead of using the slow cooker.  Threw it on some rice.  

Morning Routine: Diet/Exercise - Introduction

If you've been following this blog or know me IRL then you know that my health and fitness is always in a state of flux.  After high school (where i was a 2 sport athlete) i went to college and gained 40 pounds (where i was a 0 sport athlete).  I eventually lost all the weight, only to put it back on again.  I lose it, i put it back on.  I lose it, i put it back on.

I want to get off the roller coaster and make a healthy lifestyle an everyday, all-the-time thing.  Therefore, I'm making a part of my morning routine to ensure that being healthy is a regular part of normal day.

After waking early, drinking an organic hemp protein shake in water, and "creating," i will dedicate time to my body.  I will prep meals on Sundays and Wednesdays.  I will strength train on Mondays and Thursdays.  I will do mobility work on Tuesdays and Fridays. Cardio comes on Saturday.

The idea of cooking only twice a week is something that interests me.  I rarely want to come home after work and begin preparing a meal from scratch so this will allow me to get around that.  Large batches of crock pot meals and "freezer friendly" foods will make up the majority of my dinners and lunches.  Repurposed leftovers are integral as i don't want to simply eat the same meals over and over again. 

I currently weigh around 180.  My ultimate goal weight is between 155 - 165 pounds, unless my body fat is super low -- then the sky is the limit.  I'd walk around at 220 if i was under 12%.

Morning Routine: 2015

Happy New Year!

For the first half of the year i will develop a solid morning routine.  The morning routine  encompasses three areas of my life that i consider vital.  In completing these three things early in the morning, everything that i accomplish for the rest of the day is just a bonus.

When i previously tried to implement a routine, i tried to do it all at once.  The result was that it was never established.  This time i will go step by step, completing 21-day challenges along the way.  The end result is the new routine.

In creating the routine, i first asked myself the question, "what are the 3 most important things i could do each day to improve myself?"  Naturally, Mind Body and Soul came to mind.  These are the "internal" aspects of my six areas of focus.

For mind, i'll create.  Whether it be a blog post, 750words, an involved breakfast, or something else, i'll spend time creating each morning.

For body, i'll either exercise or prep meals.  The plan is to prep meals on Sundays and Wednesdays, strength train on Mondays and Thursdays, focus on mobility Tuesdays and Fridays, and do cardio on Saturdays.

For soul, i'll meditate.  I've yet to make meditation a habit so making it a part of a routine will help.

To come up with the actual routine, i started at the end and worked backwards.  In this case, it's 8:30am when i have to leave for work.  I then plugged in all the essential activities, including things like breakfast and getting ready for work.  It looks like this:
8:30 - leave for work
8:15 - work prep
7:55 - breakfast
7:45 - shower
7:00 - exercise or meal prep
6:25 - create
6:15 - meditate
6:10 - wake up

This routine is designed to work on the weekends too.  I plan to wake up at 6:10 and go about my day just like any other.  It's not until 8:15 that i will divert from the workday routine.

With that said, my first challenge is to wake up at 6:10 each morning.  I'll do one challenge per month.  The caveat is that unlike my previous challenges, these won't end after 21 days.  They'll build upon one another.  By May, the full routine will be in place.  

The 6:10 alarm clock first rings on Monday.  Stay tuned.

Sleep Tracking - Conclusion

The sleep tracking challenge has come to an end and i wanted to share some takeaways.  Over the 21 days:

• i averaged just under 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep each night
• most nights i woke up at least once
• i drank caffeine throughout the 21 days, most were consumed at least 5 hours prior to sleep
• although i planned to take ZMA, i only used it once because my stomach was rarely empty before bed

I'm pretty surprised as just how much i slept.  It was 193.2 hours total.  I'm curious as to how certain aspects of my life, namely diet, are affecting my sleep.  I hypothesize that if i eat cleaner my body will need less recovery time.  Although i don't plan to keep tracking my sleep, i will be more aware of the quality and quantity of my sleep.

Sleep Tracking - Days 14 thru 21

Here is the completed spreadsheet from my sleep tracking challenge.  (Again, the times are represented as decimals for mathematics sake and the asterisks mean that i used an alarm to wake up.) 

Night of	Bedtime	Wake	Sleep Time	Naps?	Total	Wake During Night?	Caffeine?	ZMA?	What did i do before bed?
10/1/2014	1.5	10.25	8.75	No	8.75	Many times	2p and 5p	No	Beer, book, tv
10/2/2014	2.25	11	8.75	No	8.75	Many times	2p and 5p	No	Beer and tv
10/3/2014	0	10	10	No	10	Few	12, 430 and 10p	No	tv
10/4/2014	11.5	7.5	8	No	8	3 times	?	No	movie
10/5/2014	11	10	11	No	11	Once	830a and 4p	No	beer and ps4
10/6/2014	2	10.5	8.5	No	8.5	Once	No	No	beer and ps4
10/7/2014	2	6.75*	4.75	3 hours	7.75	No	12p and 10p	Yes	read
10/8/2014	2	11	9	No	9	Once with cramps	5	No	read, beer, food
10/9/2014	2	11.5	9.5	No	9.5	Twice	2p and 10p	No	beer, read
10/10/2014	1	9	8	3 hours	11	No	430p and 10p	No	TV, food, beer
10/11/2014	2.5	11	8.5	No	8.5	Once	Yes	No	TV
10/12/2014	3.25	1.25*	10	No	10	Once	Yes	No	beer and PS4
10/13/2014	2.75	12	9.25	No	9.25	Once	Yes	No	Liquor and tv
10/14/2014	2	11.75	9.75	No	9.75	Twice	Yes	No	Wine and book
10/15/2014	2	11.25	9.25	No	9.25	Many times	Yes	No	Wine and tv
10/16/2014	3	10.75	7.75	No	7.75	Once	Yes	No	Food and ps4
10/17/2014	2	10.75	8.75		8.75
10/18/2014	2	12.25*	10.25		10.25
10/19/2014	1	11.25	10.25	No	10.25	Twice	Yes	No	Tv
10/20/2014	1.25	10*	8.75	No	8.75	Twice	Yes	No	Book, food and wine
10/21/2014	1.25	6.75*	5.5	3 hours	8.5	No	Yes	No	book and wine

Sleep Tracking - Days 6 thru 13

Here are my sleeping stats for the past week.  The asterisk (*) represents that i used an alarm to wake up.

Night of	Bedtime	Wake	Sleep Time	Naps?	Wake During Night?	Caffeine?	ZMA?	What did i do before bed?	Wellbeing (1 - 5)
10/1/2014	1.5	10.25	8.75	No	Many times	2p and 5p	No	Beer, book, tv	3
10/2/2014	2.25	11	8.75	No	Many times	2p and 5p	No	Beer and tv	2
10/3/2014	0	10	10	No	Few	12, 430 and 10p	No	tv	3
10/4/2014	11.5	7.5	8	No	3 times	?	No	movie	3
10/5/2014	11	10	11	No	Once	830a and 4p	No	beer and ps4	3
10/6/2014	2	10.5	8.5	No	Once	No	No	beer and ps4	2
10/7/2014	2	6.75*	4.75	3 hours	No	12p and 10p	Yes	read	3
10/8/2014	2	11	9	No	Once with cramps	5	No	read, beer, food	2
10/9/2014	2	11.5	9.5	No	Twice	2p and 10p	No	beer, read	3
10/10/2014	1	9	8	3 hours	No	430p and 10p	No	TV, food, beer	3
10/11/2014	2.5	11	8.5	No	Once	Yes	No	TV	3
10/12/2014	3.25	1.25*	10	No	Once	Yes	No	beer and PS4	3
10/13/2014	2.75	12	9.25	No	Once	Yes	No	Liquor and tv	3

The bed and wake times are represented in decimals.  For example, 2.25 is 2:15 and 6.75 is 6:45.  Over the first two weeks, i'm averaging 9 hours and fifteen minutes per sleep each night.