The true, wandering, improvised story of one man's quiet journey from unfit and unhealthy to something better. The chronically slothful author seeks to feed two birds with one seed, breaking out of his cycle of neither exercising nor publishing by s...
I finally have a week where I hit all four of my weekly goals -- and the week isn't over yet. I've done yoga for at least 15 minutes every morning. I played racquetball twice. I've checked the "apple-a-day" box every day, with an apple and/or a green smoothie. And I'm already past my pull-ups goal for the week.
My momentum is reflected in my mid-month check-in, too!
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My weight is down almost ten pounds from its high-point, thanks to the "Tax Season cleanse" diet that I've been on with my wife. (More on that soon.) My push-ups and sit-ups are up significantly. The number I'm most excited about: where my previous best with pull-ups was six in three minutes, I'm up to nine this time! It feels great. I also nudged my jumping-jacks count past my previous high.
In terms of how I feel, I'm also seeing major progress. Looking back at my qualitative measures from Day 4, it's good to see how many sources of anxiety I've downsized or knocked out entirely. I certainly don't have any concern about being red-faced and winded while playing racquetball; my cardio endurance has definitely improved. My knees are doing way better, although I hope to see more improvement here as I do more quad-strengthening exercises. I'm far less ashamed of my body when I'm naked, although I'm still very conscious of the flab and belly fat.
The biggest qualitative improvement? I feel way more clear-headed. I'm wasting less time, I'm making smarter decisions, and I don't feel as lethargic. All this work continues to pay off, and it feels great.
Next week, Orbital Velocity goes to Mexico. My wife has a Tax Season tradition of going somewhere sunny for a week or two, staying somewhere cheap, and benefiting from the mood-enhancement of working outdoors while powering through twelve-to-sixteen-hour days. The current state of her scoliosis-related health issues is bad enough that she doesn't feel safe making the trip alone, so I'll be going with her. It'll be my first test of how well I can stick with this while away from home. And I won't have a scale or a pull-up bar, so my next check-in won't happen until we return in early April.
