D194: 12.19.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 7 mi/32 min
Driver:  Alice Cooper: Live At Hellfest 2022

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: I think I jinxed myself with the prior post, as I got a bit on the sick side shortly after that, which took me a while to bounce back from. I was exhausted mostly through this last weekend as well, though after a very rough start this morning, finally got going. It wasn't a total loss, though...I've been cleaning up the diet a bit, and there was some weight loss sprinkled in there.

I was definitely excited to get back on the bike and it's getting a lot easier now. Air was not really tested, but Legs definitely held up a lot better tonight, even at a higher spin speed. My Right Knee has been a fucker on and off, so I'm going to some joint compound for a bit. I figured I would breeze to 100 miles for this year on the Air Dyne, but now I'm going to probably have to push a bit. Should still be in good shape, though...I think.

Trek FX - 12 miles
Schwinn AirDyne - 54 miles

D193: 12.05.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 6 mi/31 min
Driver:  Random YouTube Bullshit

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: Well, well, well...getting a little rhythm going on the workouts and the mode is starting to take effect in that I'm now looking forward to them, even after today when actual work ran a bit late. Definitely was a bit tired for this one, so didn't push especially hard and I'm trying to aim now at a whole mile total, rather than any particular time, so long as it's at least 30 minutes. Diet is going to take quite a bit longer to corral as now I'm a bit late to do a shake and also have dinner, which I haven't had to this point. I did have a fairly high caloric lunch, though, so I'm not super worried about it, other than from a recovery perspective.

Trek FX - 12 miles
Schwinn AirDyne - 47 miles

D192: 12.03.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 8 mi/38 min
Driver: Motor Trend FastTV & Random YouTube Bullshit

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: I wanted to change up the schedule a bit as recovery is decidedly not great (and probably won't be until I more tune the diet, which I'm slowly working towards), so put my off days on a more appropriate schedule, in which I'm hitting both Tues/Thurs and Fri again resumes being my total off day. Yesterday, I woke up with some gnarly allergies and a headache, along with some kind of strange muscle soreness in Legs, so that day, which was maybe going in, was out. 

Today was a lot smoother as far as Legs went. I'm extending the time somewhat before they start to wear down and I'm going to gradually build time. Once I start getting close to the 60 min mark (or the end of the year, whichever comes first), I'm going to start adding in sprints and more focus on re-re-re-building cardio. Haven't done a weigh-in for a while and probably won't until next weekend. Air was not great when I woke up, but started to come around as the Zyrtec kicked in. Both Legs and Air are pretty bad at present, so I'm not overly concerned with even measuring which is outpacing the other. 

Trek FX - 12 miles
Schwinn AirDyne - 41 miles

D191: 11.29.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 6 mi/~30 min
Driver: Random YouTube Bullshit

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: Interestingly, I woke up yesterday morning and my Legs felt fine, like completely normal, and I thought, whoa, that's a pretty wicked bounceback and I should maybe go longer next time. This lasted basically until I hit the stairs. Yesterday was a lot of walking around during the course of the day, today somewhat less so, but I was kind of looking forward to the workout. It turned out to be mostly runny shit (and I'm trying not to overtax myself when I have work days the following day, so there's also that) and definitely if there is something interesting to watch, that is a lot more helpful. Still, I want to move the weekday workouts towards night, if at all possible, which the time change is kind of fucking me on, since it gets stupid dark earlier (and the stupid dark is part of the reason I moved the goddamn Air Dyne upstairs), but until I fully switch my diet over to the bodybuilding days (not this year, probably), anytime before I actually get hungry will probably work. I try to time it so that lunch isn't overly weighing on me (need to make better choices there, probably) but it's not the point where my body expects food quite yet, so work in progress. Once I resume the gym, it will go back to working out at 7 or 8 at night somewhere in there...at least that's the plan. Anyway, air was garbage, Legs were good for the first 14 - 20 minutes and then it became a struggle. I'm not choosing things that I know will push me for viewing just yet, since I'm still trying to work things out. 

Trek FX - 12 miles
Schwinn AirDyne - 33 miles

D190: 11.27.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 6.7mi/~35 min
Driver: Random YouTube Bullshit
Calories: ???

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: So, from last time, a few updates. Job thing is fine, for now. I have a decent enough handle on the schedule. I've also worked out all the boozing from my system I had a hankerin' to do and the doctor's visit went well enough. So, I'm resuming today. I was going to start a few days ago, but had some severe allergy and headache crap that cramped that. 

Air, as expected, was complete and total ass. Legs also not great, so I need to, once afuckinggain, get my dumb fat ass back accustomed to the Air Dyne so I can work on better cardio. Last weigh-in (fully clothed and bloated) was 265, so, cool, cool, definite hardcore backsliding. Again, not unexpected, but annoying. I worked out positioning for the Air Dyne as well, so we're good to go and I just need to keep climbing back on the goddamn thing regularly. I'm hopeful that by the end of the year, I'll be accustomed to it enough (workouts are going to be very low key for the rest of this year) that I can start firing cardio, with an eye to hitting the gym early next year. I have not adjusted my diet yet, which I also need to do, but I do have some components of it on the way, so that should hopefully be starting maybe next week. I'm feeling positive about stuff overall, but still kind of annoyed this is the path I wound up on.

Trek FX - 12 miles
Schwinn AirDyne - 27 miles

D189: 07.01.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Trek 7.3 FX
Duration: 6.75mi/~48 min
Driver: N/A
Calories: ???

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel:Ok, so the job issue was really starting to get to me, along with another broken tooth issue, and I suppose we could call this another depressive episode. The job thing is hopefully resolved (I'm paranoid now, but so far it's holding, though I don't start in earnest for a few more days) as is the fucking tooth, but I also came to realize that with the electrical issues in the basement, it is far too dark and I don't enjoy, like at all, attempting to exercise down there any longer. So, I need to relocate the AirDyne upstairs, which is now made easier by the upstairs tv stopping working, necessitating the downstairs going upstairs. It will also help to have things much better lit. I'm planning on doing that, probably, in the coming days, as I hope to be able to resume the gym soon, but am in absolutely no shape to attempt it right now. Getting air better will be a top priority, though I probably should really consider seeing a doctor first, for reasons which I won't specify until I know more.

Anyway, the ride today was great fun. It was in a not-safe area, traffic-wise, I'm very, very rusty and boy was my ass dragging at the end, but since it was one way (truck was in the shop and that's a whole debacle there), I figured if I had to walk it, I would. I didn't put on sunscreen, since I'm dumb, but did get to try out a new riding shirt, which I loved. New fanny pack that I had to get to accommodate the new air pump sucks, kinda, but overall, that was a really good ride and fairly smooth, considering. Air, as mentioned, was decidedly not great and Legs were struggling towards the end, but I need to kick my ass into shape so I can do more rides. I enjoyed that quite a lot.

Trek FX - 12 miles
Schwinn AirDyne - 20 miles

 

D188: 04.22.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 4.25mi/~20 min
Driver: Shotgun Messiah - Violent New Breed
Calories: ???

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: My Left Hammy started to get a bit tweaky in there, so I decided to cut it short, given that this is casual month, which might extend into next month also. Legs felt a touch sore this morning, but good enough to at least go light and I normally am trying to keep to nights, but in the before-time, I would do the big gym shit on the weekend mornings and I thought I'd just take a whack at it. Fridays see me normally walking around a fair bit, so perhaps that is contributing...but I shouldn't expect me to be back into it without some ramp-up and I don't. I'm more just taking things as they come. 

The tracking diet is helping, as it always does, and this morning was at 252, again falling a bit outside of my usual process. I have full intent on keeping to the tracking until I'm back where I was when I left off, which was, I believe without going back to actually look, somewhere in the 230s. I need to realistically get much closer to 200, but restoring the previous level is pretty high on my motivation list for starters. 

I should update the mileage thing, which I also keep forgetting. For the year so far, rounding slightly:

Trek FX - 5 miles
Schwinn AirDyne - 20 miles

D187: 04.20.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 6mi/~27 min
Driver: Shotgun Messiah - Violent New Breed
Calories: ???

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: As part of a massive WTF, I wound up getting very poor to no sleep at all on Tuesday night. I don't know if it was a bug or if my body is not loving going back to workouts closer to night after not having done that for so very long, but whatever the reason, it was not great...it didn't seem to impact recovery as much as I thought, though, and Legs were not all the way back but good enough to go today. I feel like my body, overall, is bouncing back a lot quicker to this than last time, but I really haven't started pouring in any heavy work as of yet. Air was not especially tested, as I don't think Legs are quite back enough to drive that. Cold weather is lingering on, so I imagine it will be the AirDyne for a while longer.

Me feeling embarrassed is somewhat of a good motivator for me, I see. Despite living entirely alone, I did a weigh-in on Wednesday morning, which was probably a mistake after that night, and despite not following my usual process and being slightly bloated, the scale read 261. This means I shifted 8 lbs in 6 days, which is bullshit...probably. 

In any event, I was so irritated by this result that I've decided I need to take more drastic steps with diet. While it's still cold out, I'm going to finish out the not especially healthy foods I have left, but I've decided to go back to what I always started people with back when I used to train people in college, which was in the fucking 1990s. That first step in the back to basics approach I'm doing now is to keep a food log. I'm not yet going to get into macros, at least not until I resume the gym, but I'm keeping track now, with a target daily calorie load of 2,000...ideally, this will also be spread across 4 or more meals. I've gotten really bad at not paying attention, truth be told, and often I'll have that many calories, sometimes more, in a single meal, like I did Tuesday night and which may have contributed to my sleep issue then. That shit has to stop if I'm going to be serious about getting my fat ass back into shape.

D186: 04.18.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 6.5mi/~30 min
Driver: Ministry - Sphinctour
Calories: ???

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: Legs didn't recover super-well, so I wound up taking off the entire weekend. That was a good move, ultimately, as they were a lot better today. Still working through some tendonitis issues with my right arm, though I suppose it could also be a pinched nerve. Definitely need to get diet a lot more dialed in, which will probably help with recovery...duh. I need more to get Legs acclimated, which will help to drive air better, so that is the main focus and I'm trying to ease into it with shorter workouts for now. Weather is also pretty crap, so I'm not tempted to get out on the streets. I'm not always convinced I'm in good enough physical shape to be riding around cars safely, so that's kind of the main goal...that and that trail.

D185: 04.13.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Schwinn AirDyne
Duration: 5.4mi/~31 min
Driver: Ministry - Sphinctour
Calories: ???

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: Legs are definitely not keeping up, so I wanted to go a bit light today. Very inclement weather outside, so bike was absolutely out. Air wasn't really tested, but even at a pretty light pace, Legs were struggling a bit. I wanted to hit them enough to get the blood flowing a bit and leave off there. I'm not sure how much using the handles will tweak the tendonitis, so definitely just want to take things easy, pick up a little more saddle time and get acclimated again. No idea what the weekend will be like, but definitely will be hitting one or the other at least one of those days, depending on recovery. My intention is to keep things light through April, then maybe start to open it up a bit again for May, depending on how things go.

One bit of annoyance is the weigh-in I did today, which was 253. Obviously, that long of a layoff is more or less starting back again at zero and I expected it to be not be great, which it wasn't. Definitely need to bring diet back around, which will help a lot there...also, if I wind up getting a gig finally worked out, that will as well and additionally, I really hope I can finally resume the gym, though I'm not even remotely in good enough shape to consider that at present. Definitely need Air working a lot better than it is now and dropping some of those pounds will certainly help to that end.

D184: 04.11.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Trek FX 7.3
Duration: ~3mi/~35 min
Driver: N/A
Calories: ???

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: I think I may have gotten the times a bit wrong, as this was closer to what I was anticipating...unless I also got the times wrong today...I may need to just turn on the stopwatch thing on the iPhone rather than relying on memory for start/stop times. These are casual rides and will be that way for a bit. I got thrown off a bit today, as there is a storm coming in tomorrow afternoon and I wanted to get a ride in before it, so rather than going this afternoon, as I normally would, I instead got things a bit mixed in my head and went this morning...all to the good, I suppose.

Today, I went in the opposite direction, South rather than North...there is a golf course at the end of one street I can use as a landmark and avoid construction...only a couple dangerous intersections, though this area does have a few of those as well. I haven't made it to the park, as of yet, and may not, as I generally prefer areas that have less people. I still need to get a lot more confidence on the bike, and really want to do that trail run, which is going to take a lot better cardiovascular performance than I currently have. Today, I had to stop the bike and regain air, which is...decidedly not great. A bit less hilly today, which was good as my Legs were definitely not recovered since the last ride. On the plus side, even though these are really short rides, not getting any saddle soreness particularly, so take the positives where I can...

D183: 04.09.23

Workout: Cardio
Equipment Used: Trek FX 7.3
Duration: ~1.75mi/~80 min
Driver: N/A
Calories: ???

Quality Level: N/A
Observations/Intel: Well, that was a much longer layoff than expected and I missed pretty much any and every goal I had for last year. Instead, what I did was have a lot of tooth trouble and much larger issues of hardcore depression. Everything seemed entirely exhausting and daunting (a lot of it still is)...couldn't manage to get a gig sorted out, which really didn't help (still don't have that part done), but I didn't want to keep being used to have a set routine that involved working out during late morning, which I would to change and adjust and also planned to get to a gym, which I find myself missing greatly. So, the idea was to move things to nights and so on, but the tooth fucked things and motivation became a huge issue. 

As noted, despite a lot of Air Dyne time, which helped things, my performance on the bike, once I actually got on it, was complete garbage, which was a gigantic setback to some other plans I had floating in my head. It wound up being a perfect storm of circumstances that sent me into a pretty hard spiral. I've been debating the Air Dyne on and off for a couple of months, but it's been really cold and as it gets towards night, I find myself much less interested in going to the basement where the Air Dyne is. I got stuck up my own ass good and hard and it wasn't until today, when it was excellent spring weather, and I saw some others cruising around on their bikes, that I decided to air up the bike and get in the first ride of the year. 

There's a lot of construction around, so I might need to consider putting the bike on the car and driving elsewhere, but I really want to go do a lot of that exploring I had in mind. As I'm now more content with the idea that I will necessarily have to have a much slower pace until my fat ass is more in shape, I'm going to try to start working in some longer rides as long as the weather holds out. 

Legs were, as might be expected, a bit off...but not nowhere near as bad as air, which was fucking awful. Definitely need to get back into the swing of things and do some Air Dyne work, even if the weather doesn't work out for riding. At least I seem to have my motivation back, which is a very nice and welcome return.