Wayne Gray

Thanks, Reader! I wasn't about to stop. I've not missed a workout in two months, and I'm not gonna start now!

I think I’d best remain silent … haha

I think I’ll recover, physically. The emotional scars, though … *shudder*

Kevin thought so!

Sorry your day sucked, kbois. But good job getting your workout in!

I lived. Though the reaction of my husband to my plight when I told him made me want to commit a felony. LOL

As anyone who read my last entry knows, I like to work out. It's something calming, something I control, and it is therapeutic in ways nothing else is in my life. So during today's lunchtime, I strolled out past our garden to our garage. I offhandedly noted that Kevin had been working on the garden, and caught the barest scent of the chicken manure he'd used in his raised beds. No biggie. It wasn't too bad, and I was raised on a farm - I had smelled far worse. I started my workout in our detached garage, the door open letting in the sun that had gloriously appeared. About five minutes in, I begin to sweat profusely, panting with exertion, and happy to be in command of my body - moving, and putting myself through my paces. That's when I also noticed that lovely chicken manure odor was just a bit stronger. Huh. Must be from the sun warming things up. No biggie. I keep going. Another five minutes go by, and I am truly pushing my limits. I'm in my happy place, heart thudding above 150 beats a minute, the concrete of the garage spattered with sweat. And that odor is now stronger and omnipresent. Oh, man. I hold my hand over my belly during my first break. Trying to moderate your breath so you don't gasp in lungfuls of chicken perfume while in a cardio challenge is not easy. And I alternate between gagging and gasping. Then I begin to laugh at my idiotic situation. Oh. Break over, time to start on the next set of exercises. I suffered another thirty minutes, somehow managing to avoid hurling. All the while I'm both laughing, and cursing at my husband. Anyway, I just wanted to share in the hopes you too can laugh at my expense.

You are making progress. Nice job keeping at it. I know you likely get frustrated, but just keep going and you'll get a little further along each day. But, and I have to remind myself of this one ... don't forget to rest too.

Over the last two days I've written 1,500 words and finished off chapter eight of my WIP. Feeling pretty good about the week. I hope the rest of you are getting on all right. 🙂

I like the sound of that ... paranormal cult western. Might give it a spin when it comes out.

If you've not seen it, Shitt's Creek on Netflix is awesome.

Oh, pardon me. I forgot I stood in the presence of greatness!

@kbois, you should try a cap-full of Screwball whiskey over a brownie sometime. Or vanilla ice cream. Or in coffee. Or from the bottle ...

I think you know the answer to that.

It’s good to see this, tim. I know you struggled, and I know you still do. But you’re here now. you, along with your doctor and your Husband have set you on a path - and it’s one that’s working. you had to work hard to get where you are. you had to believe you could. you had to trust even while you likely felt there was no path out. And here you are. On the path. And knowing, if you fall you’ll be lifted right back up.

I hear you. Aging does indeed suck. I'm sorry you had to quit your work and driving. I'm lucky in a way, and I know that. I now know how to manage my issues. Those particular trials are a lower back, a knee, and a shoulder that all complain at me if I either work out too hard, or if I don't work out enough (yes, really). So I have to thread that needle and find the middle ground my body will allow me to walk. It's good you walk together. Getting outside is something many of us need more of, and with the warming (maybe? It's Toronto, so who the hell knows?) weather hopefully there will be more of that. I whinged a lot. I whinged and whinged and WHINGED. Time had stolen something I used for therapy and to maintain myself. I hated that my body wouldn't allow me to move, and push, and challenge it in the ways I had loved. I had to get over that, and I fully admit that it took time. It took messing myself up. It took pain. But, dense as I am, this lesson finally trickled through. "Do something else, you idiot. Find something challenging, but stop lifting." I know it sounds like I own stock in TRX, but it really turned things around for me. It's such a simple thing, but that is doing the trick. I'm fully aware it won't always. That there will come a point where even that is too much for my joints. And it'll be time to reassess. Till then, I'm gonna revel in knowing the answer for this tiny point in time. "Do your best, one day at a time." It's good advice. 🙂

you have different priorities, that doesn't have to mean "lazy". 🙂 Yes, you are lucky. Had I been naturally slim, then I would likely not bother nearly as much as I do. As it is, my body is a miracle of fat storage - one that would likely mystify nutrition science. I'm convinced I'd survive just about any famine thanks to my freakish metabolism. I love that your doc prescribed outdoor time. There's loads of evidence to support the fact that humans need fresh air, sunshine, rain, and the ground beneath their feet. I guess we're just walking carnivorous plants. And exercise in general helps our mood - no matter where you get it. you've been more upbeat; that's certainly true. you don't have to workout like me unless you have my goals and my body type. you have neither, so do what works for you. And this is working. We are worth providing the things we need to feel happy, and you're doing that. Nice job.

Even though it's body weight the movements and dynamics feel close enough to lifting to satisfy my craving for iron. I particularly like the core-focused aspect of the straps - even if you're not working your core specifically, you're still working it when you're having to hold your middle firm while doing shoulder presses, rows for your back, etc. It just feels good and good for me. I'm glad it works for you too, kbois. I held off on calling this a "win" for a looooong time, because I'd been disappointed a lot. But ... yeah. I think I'm sticking with TRX for as long as it keeps me moving pain-free.

I think I've done it. After literally years of tinkering and trying different workouts, this week is the first time since I've turned forty that I've managed to work out five days in the same week, and not ended up with aching joints. My workout of choice had always been weightlifting. I love lifting so much. Change is dramatic, and you get out of it what you put in. There's nothing easy, and you have to push past your notions of what you can do. It's absolutely a mental challenge as well as a physical one, and I reveled in it. But I got to the point where a single upper body session meant three days to recover before I could do it again. Then four. Then a week. I was literally only able to work my upper body once a week due to all the pain in my shoulders. I turned to yoga and that helped. I faithfully did yoga for a year, and my shoulder pain evaporated to nothing. I also noticed great gains in flexibility and balance, yet I deeply missed lifting. Yoga, while good, wasn't enough. I tried sprinkling lifting back into the mix, just a day a week. As soon as I did, the day after the pain had returned, centered in the joint. So ... that's it. No more bench-press. No more shoulder press. No more upward rows. All those basic "push" and shoulder-heavy motions were non-starters. I thought about asking my doc for surgical options, but with a dismal success rate of shoulder repairs, I didn't bother. I kept looking for other solutions. I tried various bodyweight routines and some of those got close to the feeling lifting gave me. In the process of designing a bodyweight routine, I stumbled onto TRX. TRX leverages body weight to give me a workout that's core-focused, and extremely challenging. Most important? No shoulder pain. So long as I carefully stick to good form, I can actually go, and go HARD, as I had with lifting. I was still a little gun-shy after multiple injuries that each took months to heal. So I started with twice a week. After a month with no pain, I added another day. After another three months of that, I added one more. I spent half a year at four days a week, and slowly increased the session length to fifty-three minutes a session. This week I added a fifth session. Today was my fifth and last workout of the week, and I feel great. Tomorrow will tell the real story, but I think I've finally done it. TRX and Yoga. That's the answer for this 47-year-old. I've got a long way to go, but now that I know the path I'm on is sustainable, I know I'll get there. Getting older is an adjustment, and I've had to learn to be patient with my changing capacities. But I like where I'm headed now. I know I'll have to adjust again as time goes on, and as my body feels the effects of accumulating years, but I'm confident I can manage it now. Yeah. I can do this. Anybody out there who is struggling with this sort of thing, I feel for you. Almost everyone can be active in some way, shape or form. It may not take the shape of what you want or expect, but there's something that'll probably work. Start with reasonable goals. Be patient. Be consistent. And if you want help getting started, you can ask me for basic ideas/tips. I have experimented on my own body for literally decades, and I've a good idea of what to do and what will work. Good luck on your journey, wherever it may lead.

I am LOVING these guys. This song in particular really grabs me.

Glad you're taking care of your health, Chris. While high BP and cholesterol aren't exactly what a guy wants to hear, both are treatable (sometimes with diet/exercise/weight loss, sometimes with meds or a combination). I managed to get my high BP under control by losing 30 pounds. My cholesterol is a bit different. The total is still as high as ever, but exercise has forced a bigger share of the cholesterol to the "good" kind - the HDL. So long as I can keep the good:bad ratio where the doc wants, I stay off meds. It's a lot of work, but I know I'm lucky to have the choice. Good luck with your journey.

I'm glad you posted these. I like the first one, but the second ... it makes me think. That second stanza in particular sticks in my mind. Nice pieces, tim.

CHRIS! Dirty boy!

Whew!

Lol. They were hanging on the corner of the door. I’m a filthy animal, and I get sweaty as hell then hang my shorts and shirt (and jock!) on the corner so they don’t get mildewy and worse than they already do. Speaking of which, it’s laundry time for them!