Month: March 2023

Today was one of those days where things were still working, and working well, so long as you knew how to adjust your plans.

Morning workout was Circuit Day, with a new exercise that really gets the core working, the Kettle Bell Keg Lift.  This one was a little hard because you are supposed to be on your knees, and I have bad knees, but I was able to double up my foam pad at the gym and get through it!

With my reading, it has been interesting getting through a large portion of the book, Blink.  I’ve been reading examples of how people have used thin slicing in various scenarios, proving how snap judgements have been discovered to be the most accurate at times because they are able to cut out extraneous information as well!  Where doctors were considering so many factors with heart patients, when one doctor took the time to boil all the information down into a database, he found that there really were only 4 main factors to look at.  If you answered these 4 questions you could diagnose heart attacks with 85 percent accuracy!  They found however that after this discovery, most doctors couldn’t trust the system developed for a long time.  They just “knew” that there had to be more to it.  Then one hospital used it, and was able to accurately diagnose thousands of cardiac patients because of it.  Some crazy stuff!  The hospital now has a framed copy of the methodology on it’s wall.  The cardiac health industry has adjusted and moved on from their initial fear.

Afternoon cardio didn’t originally happen as the park that I use had pouring down rain, and with my cough that I’ve had going out and walking in the cold and rain for an hour would not have been a healthy choice for me, so had to put it on hold.  Got all of my other errands and tasks completed and got a bunch of my reading caught up, then headed home.  Once I got my part of dinner set up, I was able to run off and put in an hour at the gym, or was I?  I had to wait 15 minutes when I first got there because every treadmill in the gym was being used.  Once a good machine opened up and started my 60 minutes Ruck with a 30 lb. pack on.  Again, I was able to Adjust and Move On!

Today was just plain easier!  No less busy, mind you, but easier!  It started off nicely with a regular Shoulder Day routine with a slight increase in weight requested.  I didn’t have to stop and look up new exercises, work on new form, or anything!

Cardio went well enough at the park today too, getting 2.43 miles in 51 minutes (of 45 requested).  I still haven’t quite figured out the best path around the park for a 45 minute walk, but I’m narrowing it down as I go.  Was easy though, just sayin’!

My wife was kind enough to upgrade my laptop memory while I was gone, which was a nice little spoiling, let me tell you!  She also handled everything we needed for our move as far as car insurance, registrations for the vehicles, titles, and driver’s licenses, so we were able to get all that finished up after my errands for the day!  That was a load off our minds, as we found that we were both stressing a little over needing to get it done.

The Master Class videos have been a little interesting this week talking about culture in a team/office setting and how things sometimes DON’T work out like you want.  The honestly of this group to be able to say that straight forward is refreshing, because so many programs want you to believe that everything will be unicorns and rainbows once you get through it.  Deliberate Discomfort is talking about the hard stuff, way to go!  Giving an example where an Special Forces Officer had to make a hard choice between morals and the military’s request to ignore behavior of a foreign operative they were working with.  He went with his morals, and confronted the guy to correct the problem.  It was addressed, however he was removed from the military because of it.  He said if he ever found himself in that same situation he would do it the same way again, because what was going on just wasn’t OK and didn’t sit well with him.  He wasn’t going to be able to live with himself for ignoring the situation completely, and knowingly chose to take the chance of getting booted for it.  Tough call to make…not everyone can make that kind of call!

My book this week is Blink, which is subtitled The Art Of Thinking Without Thinking.  It’s been interesting thus far learning about the split second judgements that people make in the first second or two of encountering people or situations, and how accurate they can be when observed in various studies.  The only struggle that I’m having with this book thus far is that the science seems to have proceeded without the concept of the Holy Spirit being able to guide you through situations and giving you that “gut feeling.”  Outside of that I’m keeping an open mind and going to read the rest of the book to see what lessons are involved.  See what else I can glean from it that may be useful in changing my negative behaviors.  I’ll let you know how that goes later in the week!

As you can see…it was Just A Good, Good Day!

Today was outright hard!  It’s after 9 pm, and I’ve still got a few things to do to finish the challenge.  We had some work deadlines that pushed me out some out of necessity, as they all needed to ship today.  Morning workout was on time, with Legs Day!  Had a number of new exercises again today that I had to look up and figure out last minute, so that took me a little extra time.  Also, my new Least Favorite Exercise is the  Bulgarian Split Squats…hard on my knees so I’m going to have to watch that.  Once done, I went straight to work until the work was done! 

From there I went straight to my cardio workout (7 hours later).  The cardio workout kicked my butt a little…ended up with 14.37 miles on the bike.  After the warm-up, they had reduced level runs, starting with 2 rounds at 800 meters, followed by 4 rounds of 400 meters, 5 rounds of 200 meters, 6 rounds of 100 meters, and a 400 meter cool down walk.  With my triple the distance calculations, I was at 2 rounds of 1.4 miles each, followed by 4 rounds of 0.7 miles, 5 rounds of 0.4 miles, 6 rounds of 0.2 miles, and a 0.7 mile cool down.  All told it took me 52 minutes to get through it all with all the scheduled breaks in between rounds.  Was quite tired by the time I was done, soaked in sweat all down my back and half way down my chest.  Honestly felt really good to do it, and to know I can do that much!

Didn’t get as much reading in as I would have liked today, but everything else will get done tonight and I’ll just have to get caught up tomorrow! 

One bonus, talked to the gym owner today and they are setting up a flat bench in the near future in the upstairs areas which will make some things considerably easier for me!  Loved to hear that!  They also say they are opening another room upstairs and will be putting some other equipment in there as well as it’s getting a little crowded in the afternoons in the weight room downstairs.  Loving the sounds of this, and can’t wait to see it open up!  I just love the Extra Bonuses From Kind People!

A little time to reflect on how we are doing?  With today nearly over, we are officially half way through the Challenge.  When I first signed up for Deliberate Discomfort a couple of years ago, I enjoyed the idea of how much the Challenge could change me.  There are so many aspects that this challenge tackles, the 6-prong model they use, that it’s bound to change something right?  There Mental, Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, Professional, and Social.  Where has it changed me really?

I think it has changed me already, and it is only getting started.  I’ve found myself being more resourceful in getting things done and taken care of, whether for the challenge or not.  I still have days and moments where I’m not getting enough done in my mind, but I’m working towards fixing those things as well.  I’ve found that listening to audio books is better than music some days, and have found that I have quite enjoyed some of the classics in literature over the last few weeks (Mental).  I’ve found that I have a LOT to be thankful for when writing in my Gratitude Journal (Emotional).  I’m feeling stronger, healthier from eating well, losing weight and the cardio has gotten considerably easier as well as the weight and bodyweight workouts (Physical).  These three domains are the three that I feel the most amount of change in, and I’m ready for more as well.

I’ve found that some mornings I’m challenged with getting the workout done because I have to look up all the new exercises lately, and they’ve started getting a little more challenging as well.  Part of my challenge is the modifications to the exercises because I’m unable to do any high impact exercises like running and jumping due to my bad knees, but thankfully I’m pretty fluent in search engines and can usually find a suitable replacement relatively quickly.

All in all, I’ve really enjoyed the challenge.  If there were any places that I’d like to see it improved, it would be the Mindfulness (Spiritual) domain, but I may have a biased opinion on this one.  I’ve done deeper and more intense versions of this before, so Deliberate Discomfort’s version seems a little basic to me and in some cases boring.  Everything else in the program is great though!

I’m really looking forward to seeing what the second half of the Challenge brings my way!  I’ve seen some of the results that previous graduates have achieved through the program and I feel like I’m definitely headed in that direction too.  We’ll have to see what they bring my way after the initial 60 days to see what sort of maintenance I’ll need to do, and I know there are some that have gone through it multiple times.  I don’t know if that will be me, but it’s something to think about…that’s for sure.

At least it’s comforting to know that We’re Half Way There!

You know those days where everything works out OK, even if it isn’t in it’s usual way?  There’s this other perfect rhythm going on that is out of your hands, working and flowing around you to get everything done on your list.  You are in a state of flow with it, making sure you get all your checkmarks, making sure your tasks are complete.  You know those days?  Today was one of them. 

I’ve long had the opinion that God is the most amazing conductor, with how he orchestrates everything in perfect timing, over, around, and through each other, in ways that we humans can’t even begin to comprehend how He does it.  It’s way too complex to understand how it all worked out that the light bulbs you were looking for were out at the store you went to, however they happen to be in a store just down the street from where your wife is (50 miles away).  Things like this don’t make sense to us, because it’s God’s work, orchestrating our lives. 

We had a pastor back in Nevada describe God’s work as being like time.  We can look at a grandfather clock and see how time works by watching the hands go round and round, by winding the clock we can even help in that process.  We can start to orchestrate little things based on that time.  But do we know how time REALLY works, like behind the clock face where all the gears and pulleys are working together in some amazing system that seems like if it got knocked out of the clock we’d be lost forever trying to pick it all up?  That’s God’s side of time, He is the clock maker.  He made time, he manages time, and he orchestrates everything in every one of our lives in His time.

Today was one of those days.  Everything worked out well, everything got done.  I got my walk in for cardio, completing 2.4 miles in 54 minutes (was upped to 45 minutes instead of 35).  My Chest Workout was done this morning, with an increase in weight amounts, which felt good.  Had a wonderful talk with a friend and found that we have a LOT in common in one certain area, and we may have to compare notes on occasion!  Everything just worked out today!  I think that’s because God Is A Great Conductor!

Today was another hard day in some ways, but it ended well!  Things just went sideways in the morning.  You ever have that happen to you?  Well, today was my day!  Didn’t get my morning workout done in time before church, so it got pushed off until later in the day. 

We did step forward at church today to join, so that was exciting!  It’s a new church in our new community after moving, and we are fitting in well with the other adults, kids are all blending well in their Youth and Kids groups, and it’s a church that just preaches out of the Bible, so what’s not to like, right?  What we didn’t know is that when that happens we are put out in the Narthex and get to stand there and shake everyone’s hands from the whole congregation on their way out.  That took us by surprise, but in a good way!  It made us feel very welcome!

Once we got home and got lunch handled, I was able to just take laps of our property for an hour and get my cardio in.  Completed 2.5 miles of walking in 61 minutes, which was pretty good, especially while talking to my eldest daughter the whole time.

From there we had to get ready for evening church for the kids and our Bible study group.  Once we got kids dropped off, got our Bible study group done, it was off to the gym for me to get my weights workout completed.  Another Circuit Day, with exercises for the back and glutes in there…including one of my least favorite exercises…Hamstring Hell.  Got it done though, so I can get home, get my other Challenge tasks done, and get to bed!

Two highlights of this week were the Master Class videos, which focused on the Physical, Sanitation, and Nutrition Base Layers.  These are three very important aspects of your “self” that everyone needs to learn.  You need to take care of yourself physically by exercising, getting cardio in regularly, making sure that you are in good health in a general sense so that you can complete your dreams, follow your heart and be there for your loved ones in the future.  You need to take care of yourself in the Sanitation department, because no one wants to be the stinky guy/gal and it is part of how you present yourself, where people don’t take you seriously if this isn’t taken care of. And you need to take care of yourself with Nutrition, by eating well, healthy foods, taking any needed medications, vitamins/minerals, or supplements to ensure you are in optimal health.  This will help you reach optimal results with everything you do!  Put these three together and you will accomplish great things if you put your mind to it, because people will remember you, be impressed by your first impression, listen up, etc.

Second is the book I’ve been reading last few days, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  This is an amazing book, and I actually recommend it for any reader, which already Christian or not!  It is a logical analysis and presentation of Christianity from someone who used to be an Atheist, but isn’t one any longer.  He’s got some amazing quotes in this book that get blunt, to the point, and sometimes even a little in your face.  He presents everything very matter-of-factly in every way.  All I can say is What A Great Book!

Honestly, today was a good day!  Morning workout was Circuit Training again, and again it was my least favorite, 100 Mr. Spectaculars, but even though I do a modified version of the exercise, I had an easier time getting through it.  Time was 31:42, which cut a couple minutes off of last week.  But on the overall the only thing that has been preventing me from getting my morning workout done in under an hour has been my allergies.  If it weren’t for that I would be coming in at about an hour most mornings.

Afternoon workout was a 60 minute Ruck with a 25 lb. pack.  Got 2.13 miles in on the nature trails of the park I go to.  Pack started to feel heavy this time around, but I actually did well on that too!  Had a great time seeing sides of the Nature Preserve park that I don’t usually get to see, so that was fun!

My Social domain went very well, catching up with an old friend for an hour on the phone today, making sure we handled prayer requests and got updated on all the latest happenings on both sides!  Good call!  Everything else for the challenge got done quickly and easily today.  Haven’t finished my current book, but should finish it over the weekend for sure!

Rest of my errands went well and took most of the day, but paperwork got done, people got taken care of, lots of progress on lots of tasks, that’s for sure.  Only frustration of late has been the road closures.  For the last couple of days the exit I use on the highway was closed.  This morning, pleasantly, I found that it was open, but then further along on my route found another sign, Road Closed!  Are you kidding me?  No detour on this one either…so my Google Maps took me on the scenic route through a neighborhood to get to my destination.  I did make it, and still on time, but man is it frustrating!  Hopefully tomorrow I don’t find another sign that says, “Road Closed!”

Morning workout was Shoulders Day, so lots of dumbbell work and barbell work after the warm up.  Is going pretty well so I had to up the weight a little for this to make sure the “Hard But Doable” portions are just that.

All of my errands and tasks today went off well without a hitch, which is a welcome change to how the last couple of days have gone.  I’ve been surprised at my reading level lately, which I think I mentioned briefly once already this week, but I started my third book this morning and have decided to read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  This is a fascinating book thus far, lots of scientific style observations and logic-style thought through some of the most base level aspects of Christianity and why you should have a hard time believing anything else.  A very interesting and unique perspective!  I haven’t finished it yet, so look forward to continuing it tomorrow!

Master Class was also interesting as they get into the hormones and physical aspects of stress from a scientific perspective and how sometimes just changing your thoughts and attitudes about certain things could change the chemicals released by your body, which may reduce stress if done well, or exacerbate stress if not, or make it harder to make right decisions.

I don’t know if we have, but we may have mentioned in other places on the blog that we recently moved across the country last year.  We were in Nevada and now we are on the Eastern Seaboard.  One of the biggest differences between the two areas, obviously is the plant life.  In Nevada most of the family was allergic to sage brush, so allergies were everywhere in our house.  Thankfully that is not as much the case.  Our littlest one, and I, seem to have it the worst!  Congestion, chest congestion, and lots and lots of coughing, all the time, trying to just get it all out of our bodies so we can breathe.  It’s rough!  The pollen in this area is second to none right now.  While at the park for my cardio workout, I stopped at the Events Center they have to look at the special events memos they put up in the window, and could only see the cloud of pollen in the air that I just stood in.  Had to exit quickly…could feel that I was breathing it in completely.  That visible, that bad!  Keep your meds handy, it was Sooo Much Pollen! 

Today was not what I expected.  First half of the day was just hard.  I won’t go into details, but after my morning workout everything kind of went to pot.  Most of it is my fault, but that’s as far as I’ll go here.  Because of that the rest of the day didn’t work out the way I was originally planning.  Had to cancel some errands altogether because of it, and just sort through it all for our sanity’s sake.

Afternoon workout had some major successes at least.  Not only did I go further on my Sprints at 9.69 miles in 35 minutes, but I was also able to keep my sprints at over 100 rpm on the bike, which is a HUGE first.  Most of the time my sprints may start out there, but by I get to sprint 10 I’m only doing 85-90 rpm or so, let alone when I have 15 of them.  By the end I am definitely closer to the 85 range in the past, but NOT TODAY!  Today they were all consistently over 100 rpm, all 15 sprints (10 at 0.4 miles each and 5 at 0.2 miles each) with 1 minute breaks in between!  Pretty hot and sweaty afterwards, but feel pretty good with that going so well!

Rest of my tasks are also done.  I finished my book for this week yesterday, and started another, The Art of War by Sun Tzu.  Lucky for me, I finished The Art of War today too!  I don’t know what I’m going to read tomorrow?  I’m thinking of starting next weeks book (The Art of War wasn’t even on my list originally).  I think I had the book Blink by Malcom Gladwell scheduled for next week, and with it not having audio available like some books (at least not without paying for it), starting the actual reading might be good to get ahead of it for next week. 

All my other tasks have been completed and I’m already writing this at 5 pm, a new record for me.  I don’t think this will happen often, as we don’t usually need to cancel errands completely like this.  Either way it Wasn’t What I Was Expecting.  Hope you have a better day!