Three exercise circuit

Bent over batwing row — kettlebell push up — elevated single leg bridge

Notes to Self

Maintain, Progress, Maintain, Progress

Sometimes you just have to maintain before you can advance. Sometimes finding ways to maintain is just as important as making progress. Not allowing yourself to fall too far behind, or to fall too far off the wagon, is just as important as improving. You want the gap to be as small as possible for when you’re ready to move forward.

Being annoyed

When I’m annoyed by something or someone, I try to ask myself why am I annoyed. Instead of jut accepting my annoyance, I try to figure out what it is that’s actually annoying me. And then from there I can work on addressing the root cause of my annoyance and therefore not being annoyed.

A lot of times it just comes down to accepting the situation, which requires a shift in mindset. Shifting from “I should be annoyed,” “I’m entitled to being annoyed,” to “what would happen if I accept this and move on?”

There are so many thing that can conjure up the feeling of being annoyed or not wanting to do something (i.e. go to the DMV) immediately upon thinking about them. Simply reframing these things from the “annoyed” bucket, to the “no big deal” bucket, has had a tremendous impact on my mental wellbeing.

Health advice

Most health advice starts with the assumption that you’re sedentary for most of the day. If you can be moderately active for most of the day, then you can eliminate mot of the diet and exercise advice you hear. If you can also eat only real foods, then you almost don’t even need to think about your health. Eliminate drinking and drugs, get adequate sleep, and you’ll be on your way to achieving your goals.

Listening to intuition

Why do I always questions what I want to do? I think it’s weird that instead of being confident in what my intuition tell me, I push the advice aside and seek alternative answers. Your brain wants what’s best for you. You just need to learn how to listen to it.

I hate Amazon

Does it piss anyone else off that any time they click a link to buy a product from a website (say from a DIY blog) that it always goes to Amazon.com? People link products like “hey, this is where I got this.” Like, “no shit, you bought it on Amazon. Strong search skills.” It’s akin to the LMGTFY phenomenon. People are so lazy.

Kale Veggie Soup

Made two batches of homemade broth from veggy scraps and now making soup. Carrot, celery, onion, garlic, tomato, zucchini, kale, lentils, kidney beans, and barley…

Workout Journal

Today was one of the hardest days I’ve ever procrastinated working out. Starting from this morning, but really yesterday, I did not want to workout. So I spent the day finding every excuse and every activity possible that would prevent me from working out.

I spent my morning weeding, from 8:30 - 9:30 am. Then I made three bowls of berries, cocoa, nuts, and cinnamon. I watched some Tour de France. Once the tour ended, I actually watched a UFC fight, something I never normally do during the day. Then I started working on building a shoe rack while I waited for an electrician to come give me an estimate for some work I need done.

He never showed, so at noon I needed to figure out what else I could do. I returned my neighbors ladder and loppers, and chatted him up for a little bit. When I got back, I watered the garden beds and flower beds, and did some minor cleaning and weeding in the backyard. I still didn’t want to workout, so I made lunch.

Then I took my dog for a short walk (it was 100 degrees outside) and then drove to the store to pick up a poster we had framed and then grocery shop.

When I got home, I still didn’t want to workout, so I started working on the shoe rack again. But when it didn’t come together I grew frustrated and threw my hands up in the air and decided it was need to wait for another day. By this time it was close to 4 pm, still no workout and my girlfriend would be coming home soon.

I finally forced myself into the garage (my gym) to start. But instead of starting, I spent the first 10 minutes of my workout typing this up.

The silly part is I know that if I just did my workout first thing in the morning, the first time I told myself I didn’t want to do it, that I’d be done by now, and my day would’ve went a lot smoother. Instead of thinking of things to do to procrastinate my workout, I could’ve focused on doing things I wanted. But my brain was clouded with procastination.

The other silly part though is that although 10 hours later I can say I saw this coming, this morning I thought I’d be able to navigate it. Despite having this same experience numerous times in my life.

But, what can we do? Move on and try to improve. Which means, finally starting my workout. Cheers.

Notes to self

Offended

Some people are always offended. Some people are never offended. Some people see why you might be offended but don’t understand why you’re offended.

You have to be selfish

Selfish doesn’t mean greedy. It doesn’t mean not helping other people. It doesn’t mean you don’t want to help other people. It simply means doing all the things you need to do to be your best self. As your best self you’ll be in a position to help more people and be more helpful than if you didn’t take care of yourself first. 

If you actually did the work you’d realize it’s not that much to take care of yourself first. You’d realize it actually takes very little to get to your best self. That it doesn’t take much and it leaves plenty of room throughout the day to be selfless.

I liken to the advice given on a plane for when the oxygen masks drop. Put on your oxygen mask first before assisting other people. Including children and the elderly. Why? Because if you pass out, you can’t help anyone. 

Thinking

Thinking is the most underrated and underused skill that every single person is born with. I don’t mean it in the way of those people who wear shirts that read “Think, it’s not illegal yet.” I mean thinking for yourself. Thinking to find out what you like and what you don’t like. What you want to do and what you don’t want to do. Who you want to be around and who you don’t want to be around. Thinking about what to do next. 

But since our world is so full of distractions, thinking requires effort. It requires ignoring your phone. Ignoring your email. Ignoring your social media. Ignoring your television. Even ignoring a book. It requires having restraint when it comes to the food you eat. It requires effort to obtain like any skill does, but it is for sure obtainable for every single human being. And it’s one of the most powerful skills you can obtain. The ability to think amidst the allure of distraction. 

Getting off course and consistency

Your goal should not be to never get off course. Your goal should be to get back on course as quickly as possible. Because you will get off course. That’s a guarantee. But positive change. What makes some people better than others. Better performers. Is their ability to course correct faster than everyone else. They spend very little time off course. They identify quickly that they’ve gone off course and they get back on as quickly as possible. That’s real consistency. 

Don’t Fall Asleep

So many people get lulled to sleep. They get lulled into thinking “this is life” and accepting it. So few people go the opposite direction and ask “what else is possible,” “what am I missing?”

Dinner: Jasmine Rice, Wild Cod, and Brussels

Jasmine rice, wild cod, brussels sprouts with sautéed red onion, tofu, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, raw red onion, and raw chopped garlic.

Finished with olive oil, red wine vinegars, fig balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and sea salt.

Try this move

Surge goblet lateral lunge

Notes to self

What is possible

A lot of life is learning that you can do that. Learning what is possible. Once you learn something is possible, you understand that it is possible for you.

Spending vs Wasting

People confuse spending with wasting. You can spend money without wasting it. But I think most people waste more money than they realize.

I was talking to the guy running new internet fiber through my property. He grew up in Williamsburg during the crack days and the killing days (as he told it). Late 70s, early 80s. He said that he got out. Moved to Colorado 25 years ago and made a family. He goes back to visit and still sees the same guys running the streets. The same guys he grew up with. Those who aren’t dead or in jail. He said there’s no excuse for not getting out.

Later in the conversation he revealed, unknowingly, how he was able to get out.

His dad steered him away from drugs and violence. He pushed him towards more upstanding ways of making money. Running odd jobs in the neighborhood. He taught him to always look people in the eyes and say yes sir. To look away was disrespect. He said that once crack hit in 79’ a lot of peoples dads went from gainfully employed, to unemployed and addicted to crack. Or worse, a lot of them ended up dead.

The path to better yourself is not an easy or straight forward one. There needs to be some level of guidance. You need to know that there are options. You need to know what is possible.

For many people, what they know is all they know, and there’s no shame in that. For many of us, if we didn’t receive the guidance we have throughout our life, we might not be any better off. People need help. They need to be made to understand that a different existence is possible. And shown through example.

To just think everyone should be able to figure it out reflects a lack of awareness, understanding, and compassion. It also reflects a certain level of ignorance and arrogance. Examples to the contrary might exist, but they are the exception and not the rule.

Sleep

Sleep is the most important thing. Everything you do throughout the day should be done with a good night’s sleep in mind.

Too much

I think that most people take on too much, too soon, and too often, and end up spending their life playing catch up. This is part of the programming we’re all subjected to throughout our lives. Do more. Have more. Is the direction we’re pushed in.

Dinner: Wild Cod and Veggie Soup

Pan fried wild cod marinated with onion powder, salt, chili powder, and soy sauce

Kidney bean veggie soup with bone broth

Boiled broccoli

Slow cooker beets

Sautéed baby bella mushrooms, finished with salt, chopped raw garlic and red wine vinegar in a mixing bowl

Chopped walnuts

Pumpkin seeds

Chopped raw garlic clove

Finished with olive oil, fig balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar

Kill The Meal Kit Delivery Companies

Before they kill the planet

Jen and I, along with ~10 other volunteers, spent two hours unpacking 2 pallets worth of prepackaged meals, donated by Hello Fresh. These companies should be illegal.

Hello Fresh donated the pallets of food to a local food recovery organization because they would’ve otherwise thrown them into the garbage. Ending up in landfills to rot and pollute the ozone.

Not only is the amount of food that these companies waste beyond comprehension, the amount of packaging that they require is disgusting. Brown paper bags stuffed with “meal kits,” containing individually wrapped spices, sauces, cheese, fruit, vegetables, and bread.

Picture this. Half a bell pepper wrapped in a plastic bag. One serving of cilantro pesto sauce in a to go style plastic package. Two slices of bread, wrapped in plastic. One serving of feta cheese, in a plastic bag. On and on and on.

Even if these two pallets actually went to paying customers, instead of being shipped to the landfill (before being intercepted for food recovery), it should still ring the alarm. The amount of plastic being used will make you sick

These companies have no morals. They have no awareness or respect for the environment and have no shame when it comes to trying to make a profit.

I’m sick of companies like these. And I’m sick of the fact that they are even allowed to exist. The federal government passed a huge spending bill last year, made up in large part of spending on “renewable energy.” Yet companies like Hello Fresh that devastate the earth with their incompetent business models are allowed to exist.

Jen and I have been tying to find a place to compost our food scraps and yard waste for the last month. I finally found a small company that accepts drop offs or does pickups for a small monthly fee (if you’re in or around Denver check out: Compost Colorado). Denver has apparently been working on rolling out a compost program for a couple of years now. We live 20 minutes from downtown and our region still hasn’t made the rollout.

If governments actually cared, if they were actually competent, the very least they would do is mandate a nation wide composting program in all municipalities. But they don’t. So, everyday people that actually do care fight an uphill battle. Trying to negate the ill effects of a shitty and incompetent government that allows companies to shit all over our country with zero repercussions. It’s a maddening situation.

Try this move

Suitcase deadlift with weighted vest

Notes to self

Don’t make things easier for yourself

The easier you make your life, the easier it will be. But change doesn’t happen when things are easy. Wash the dishes. Clean your own house. Cook. Stop ordering takeout. Small changes for a big impact.

Thoughts on being frugal

My frugalness comes off as cheap. Although I’m not sure theres a difference sometimes. I prefer to look at my frugalness as awareness. Awareness of what I need vs what I want. Awareness for when something is not worth the money. An awareness for if I will even use the thing I’m thinking about buying.

I also enjoy the challenge of being frugal. I like the little bit of work it requires. It’s just enough to feel satisfied you did your job, and it’s just enough to learn something new, or meat someone you would’ve never met.

Short term is hard when playing for long term

When you go against conventional wisdom, you have to be willing to wait it out. No one will ever understand it in the short term, and you yourself will even doubt it from time to time. But you have to stay focused on the conviction that in the long term, your strategy will pay off. You have to rely on the other times in your life when it DID actually pan out as you planned it. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating in the interim. Dealing with doubters, and haters is not fun, but it’s part of the territory if you want to stay true to your convictions.

The stock market

A good day for me I realize is when it’s been over 2 hours since the stock market opened and I haven’t checked my portfolio or overall market performance and news. There’s so little you can do to influence your portfolio on a daily basis, which is why days when I’m so immersed in something that I forget about it, always turn out better.

Cadence and technique

Everything has it’s own cadence and technique. Knowing that is fundamental to trying to learn what they are. But there are a few things that transcend across any discipline and you can take with you to use as a starting point. Breath, pacing, and core engagement are the bedrock of anything physical you’re going to do. Being aware of breath, pace, and core will immediately set you ahead.

Moments

Every moment, every second, is an opportunity to get back on the right track. It doesn’t mean you will, or that you have to, but literally every second is a chance to begin to turn things around. And when you do start taking advantages of all those moments, they start to add up, and that’s when change happens. More moments, more change. On and on.

Think

If it doesn’t make you think, ignore it.

Habits

I get into bad habits all of the time. The key is to first know you’re getting into a bad habit, and then to recognize that at some point soon, before it becomes habitual, you’ll need to cut it off.

Lessons

Everybody learns a lesson, but not every lesson sticks.

Big ways technology has influenced society

When you had a home phone, it was an unknown for the caller who was going to answer it when it rang. Likewise, it was an unknown for the answerer who the caller might be. That random occurrence connected people who otherwise wouldn’t have spoken, even if it was for just a moment, . With cell phones, we now circumvent conversations with anyone other than the exact person we’re trying to reach. Those small, but important conversations have vanished.

When you had a question about how to fix the garage door, or the best way to build something, or you needed a good recipe, you called your friends and family. Your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle, your grandfather, your grandmother, your best friend. Now, you login to YouTube, or open Google, and your questions are answered. Those connections to friends and family, connections to our past, are gone.

Whether it’s hot out, or cold out, people drive with their windows up and AC or heat on. Every day millions of people drive from place to place, enclosed in their transport capsule, alone.

Accessibility

Accessibility shapes your life. What you have access to, and what you lack access to, greatly determines your path. Increase your accessibility to things you want, and decrease accessibility to things you do not want. Including people.

Dinner: Lentils, Cod, Brussels, and Avocado

I’ve been getting really into making broths and soups. This week I made my first ever vegetable stock using the leftover vegetable scraps from all my cooking (a recipe I’ll share).

I originally was going to use the stock to make soup but I decided instead to cook my lentils with it. And it came out so effing good.

This dish is those lentils with some extra stock, wild cod I had cooked a few days before (old fish as my girlfriend would say), brussels, and avocado.

I finished the dish with red onion, white onion, and raw garlic, and cut the acidity of all of them with red wine vinegar and fig balsamic vinegar. And of course a few pinches of sea salt.

Such a delicious and tasty dish.

Wasted Time

I think what you realize is that time is actually running out. To be 37 or 45 it feels like you have all the time in the world. And the younger you are the more confident you are that it’s true.

The reality is that the clock is always counting down from the moment you’re born. But that only becomes apparent when you face a life threatening diagnosis. Or someone you love does. Or perhaps it happens naturally with age. I’m only 37 so I don’t know but I assume I’ll find out eventually.

The clock is always counting down is not a morbid view, its motivation to make the most of the time you’re alive. It’s the reason to never waste a minute questioning your wants, dreams, and desires, and instead to just act on them. It’s the reason to love and accept the people in your life unconditionally.

One of the first letters I ever wrote Jen came after one of our first fights (perhaps unsurprisingly). I had been so mad at her and jut a few days later had to leave her to fly home for Christmas. During my flight I wrote her the letter.

I couldn’t believe how much I missed her after being separated for just a few hours. And I couldn’t get over how I had wasted the time before I left being mad. I told her in my letter that I never wanted to waste another minute of our lives being mad at her.

I wish I could say that I kept that promise, but I didn’t. In fact over the last few months there have been a number of times when my anger has gotten the better of me. But reminding myself of that promise, has helped me get over my sore feelings way sooner than I otherwise would have.

In Goodfellas Sonny tells C that the saddest thing in life is wasted talent. I’d have to disagree. The saddest thing in life is wasted time.

Workout journal 6/20/24

I mailed it in today. I have been doing a lot of manual labor, so I've been tired going into my workouts. Today I did a lot of manual labor, and I was dreading my workout.

But I knew I wanted to do it, even though it would be a struggle, and that it would make me feel better. So, I started thinking about how I could make it more beneficial and less dreadful.

I decided that I would really back off the weight from last week, and I would keep the whole thing to under 30 mins. It was already 6 pm, and I still needed to cook dinner.

So, that's what I did. I dropped the weight, and shortened my rest period. I put my phone on silent and just got through it.

It sucks to end Phase II having to modify the workout, but I know that in the long run, lightening the load and getting the workout done will be more beneficial.

Cheers to the end of Phase II. I'll circulate Phase III next weekend. Enjoy the week off. I know of at least one person who said they are looking forward to it. I am too.

Notes to self

Right or wrong

It’s not important whether you’re right or wrong. What’s important if recognizing when you’re wrong and correcting it as quick as possible. I think people put so much emphasis on trying to be right all of the time, but allow themselves to languish in doing the wrong thing.

Big things, and little things

I think what people miss the most is how important it is to do the little things right because they have implications into how you’re going to handle the bigger things. If you’re careless with the little things, then you’ll be careless with the big things. If you’re crass with the little things, then you’ll be crass with the big things. If you’re scared of the little things, then you’ll be scared of the big things. Use the little things to improve the big things.

I think that most people do a lot of different things, but very few continue to do them over and over again. A lot of people exercise, or start a new fitness plan, but very few continue with it past a few weeks or after they hit their goal. A lot of people cook, or make the time to prepare their food, but eventually it fizzles out and ordering delivery or eating out is just easier.

Everyone is not fine

Everyone is just pretending like their fine. We saw Bill Burr the other night. He had a joke about how guys are only allowed to be happy or fine (I forget the joke). But it’s not just guys. It’s everyone. We went to the movies tonight and the girl at the counter was reading This is where I leave you. A great book, that was made into a movie, that I read. I commented on the book to her and how much I enjoyed it. She ended up telling me that it’s been really good for her and really relatable because her father passed away a few years ago, and it’s been good to read and help her with her grieving process.

When she finished telling me her story, I told her I was sorry to hear about her father. She said thanks, but not to worry, she was fine.

I’m not a psychologist, but I could tell from our brief conversation that she was not fine. She couldn’t have been more than 20, and it was clear that the loss of her father at such a young age had impacted her. As it should. I don’t think there’s any age where it wouldn’t impact you, let alone while you’re still a kid. But for some reason she thinks she has to be fine. It’s a real problem in our society. It’s one that I’m guilty of as well.

Which is why I really try to tell the truth now as much as possible, and let out whatever it is I’m feeling that’s making me not fine. Fine is such a vanilla way to characterize how you’re feeling. No one who says they are fine is fine. It’s a cop out answer and it’s not a real feeling.

Cooking and eating

Part of the process of eating is preparing the food. So, if you are not preparing your meals, you are eating processed food. Even if someone makes it for you. You miss out on the benefits that come with being part of the preparation process. I don’t know what it is, but there is power in your body getting prepared to eat while you prepare the food.

On a deeper level, if the majority of your meals are not prepared from scratch by you. If you’re not perusing the aisles deciding what to buy. If you’re not scanning your refrigerator to decide what to prepare, then you never truly satisfy your needs. Because only when you control the meal, can you truly follow your intuition, and feed what you’re body needs.

Cancer and weeds

Cancer is like weeds. Or weeds are like cancer. You don’t need to knock it all out in one shot. But you do need to keep beating it back, and never let them take over the yard. You also don’t need to blitz them with chemicals. You just need to maintain and stay ahead. Cancerous cells are in all of us. Our body is fighting a constant battle, and we need to help it.

It’s true sometimes an infestation or a non-native species invades, but that’s the exception, not the rule.

Meal Idea: Crock Pot Chicken, Broccoli and Zucchini

I got back from a morning of skiing and I was hungry. I ate a small bowl of chili on the mountain, a coffee and a RXBar. I was looking for some heavy nourishment. This is the bowl I went with.

• 1 handful of crock pot chicken

• 1 handful of boiled broccoli

• 1 handful of zucchini sautéed with garlic and onion

• 1/4 sliced avocado

• Finish with:

• salad dressing from Jen’s parents and red wine vinegar on the chicken

• Ume plum vinegar on the broccoli

• Chopped raw red onion, salt and onion powder and a few cracks of black pepper across the whole dish

Enjoy.

Meal Idea: Add Chicken and Avocado to Vegetable Soup

I’ve been making a lot of soup recently. Once I found out how easy it was, I’ve basically been making it ever since. This week we made a version with kidney beans instead of lentils, and added mushrooms.

I’ve also been continuing to make a whole chicken in the slow cooker.

Today for lunch I finished off the soup, added chicken, sliced avocado and raw red onion. I finished it with a drizzle of fig balsamic vinegar, a drizzle of red wine vinegar, sea salt and onion powder.

It really is delicious.

Sardine and Egg Scramble

This one is sure to be a hit.

I opened a pack of sardines the other day and they were smoked and not skinless or boneless. If you’ve eaten sardines you know this makes it tough. So I didn’t eat them and instead put them in the refrigerator for later use.

Tonight I decided to put them into a 2 egg scramble with avocado, rice, onion and garlic. I tried to further hide the taste with sweet baby rays hot sauce and primal buffalo sauce. Mission accomplished

I accompanied the dish with brussels sprouts and asparagus. It turned out really nice.

Full Body Home Workout

Here’s another low intensity bodyweight workout for you.

Perform each exercise back to back to back. No breaks until after jumping jacks (the last exercise). Then take as long as you need and then do it again. I ran through it three times with 60-90 seconds in between rounds. Three rounds should take 30 - 40 minutes.

If you’ve been hitting the weights hard then this will be a nice change of pace and feel almost therapeutic. If you’re looking for something efficient and effective to do without leaving your house, then this is a good routine to try. Running through one round can also be an efficient and effective warm up.

Enjoy

Exercise - Rep/Time

Single leg push up 20

Side plank thread the needle 10 each

Kickstand D/L 10 each

Bird dog isometric 30 sec each

Kneeling resistance band row 20

Bicycle crunch 30

Side plank resisted clams 15 each

Flutter kicks 40

Underswitch 10 each