Fitness Journey, Day #371
On November 1, 2021, I sought out to embark on another fitness journey, with the hopes to tone my body a bit more and perhaps shed a couple of pounds in the process. It is now just over a year since the start of that journey, and I’m ashamed to say that the road to better fitness has taken a severe detour.
In retrospect, trying to start a fitness regimen in November was not likely the wisest decision. Knowing that there would be a two to three week stretch in December that would yield no exercise at all due to holiday travel was reason enough to wait until the new year. Alas, I did not do that.
I was very much in a groove when I began in November, however, all the way until the second week of December, when it was time for holiday travel. While Lisa and I were in Maryland, we suspect that we both contracted COVID-19 from her dad and brought it home with us. Due to this fact, I was pretty much out of commission for the majority of January.
Once I was fully recovered, I was able to slowly get back on track again. I was able to truck along through all of February and halfway through March. It was at this time, however, that I began to have a number of setbacks.
At some point, while working in my shop, I hurt my lower back again. This was a similar injury to one I’ve experienced before, so I knew there was nothing to do was alleviate the pain but to simply rest. I was still able to walk without issue, but it was actually painful to sit down, depending on the type of chair.
On top of the back problem, I hurt my right wrist in some fashion. It was an injury that just lingered for a good two months or more. Only within the last month or two has it gotten back to normal. Having a wonky wrist does not make for a safe and effective workout session. Couple that with my occasional back issues, and my ever recurring left elbow problem (which crops up every now and then without warning), and I was down for the workout count.
In May, I had a more than 2-week stretch where I did ZERO exercise as I was partaking in my long cross-country road trip. I did some walking during my days hanging with my best friend Jill, but nothing with a high level of exertion. Most of my time was spent with my ass in the driver’s seat of the rental SUV or in bed at a hotel.
Once June came around, all exercise activities other than walking were going to be put on the back burner anyways as I was trying to prepare myself for a 12-mile walk for MS Walk London in September in support of my friend Eliza. I wasn’t going to be traveling to London to take part in person, but simply walking around my neighborhood like I normally did, albeit for a much greater time and distance.
The actual walk wound up being postponed a month due to the untimely passing of Queen Elizabeth. Nevertheless, I proceeded to take part on the original date and, I’m happy to say, I was able to complete the 12 miles in 3:16:54. The last couple of miles were a real struggle, as my calves were really barking at me. After completing a lengthy bout of stretching, I could not flex my left calf as it would start to cramp up. I wound up taking a full week off to recover from that 12-mile jaunt. I’m happy to report that Eliza was able to complete her 12-mile walk in October in a little over four hours…YOU GO GIRL!!!
This brings us up to the present in November 2022. There was many a day where I did not go for my scheduled walk due to a severe lack of sleep. If I simply don’t have the energy to go in my workshop, I certainly can’t go for a two-to-three mile walk.
Given the upcoming holidays, and the fact that I’m trying to get Christmas presents made before mid-December, I will not be making any further attempts at lifting for the remainder of this year. I will start my fitness journey anew in January 2023. I will have no “deadlines” on woodworking projects and I can focus more time on working out.
During the first couple of months of lifting, I was constantly tinkering with my routine and the types of exercises I was performing, so it was hard to get into a good rhythm anyway. That was finally just about ironed out when I started having injury problems. I plan on picking up where I left off once I start back up in January 2023, albeit with lower weights than where I stopped.
I am not going to provide any updated body pictures for this post, as there is little to no change since last year. Perhaps, after six months of a more constant lifting routine, I’ll try to take some progress pics and post them here and on Instagram. Until then, I will continue to go for my walks when I can and stick to my other routines.
I’m still in a very good place mentally, and after my physical in October (which was more of the status quo), I’m in great shape. I want to keep it this way.
