Workout Journal

Some people decide they can’t before even trying. They decide they don’t like it without even trying. Are you one of those people? Have you ever thought you couldn’t and wouldn’t and then tried and found out you could and did? Remember that the next time you think you can’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t, or don’t like something you know nothing about and have never tried. I bet you’ll surprise yourself. - A thought from the assault bike

I've been on a 4 day per week strength program (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri). On Wednesdays and Saturdays I work cardio which lately has been a combination of trail running and cardio equipment in my home gym. Today I did a 40 minutes circuit that included my water water, assault bike, and jump rope.

Water rower

20 mins steady state

4,800 meters

1:49 per 500 meter average

Assault bike

15 minutes of intervals

5 x 30 sec on / 30 sec off

5 x 60 sec on / 60 sec off

4.2 miles

Jump rope

5 mins steady state

Lunch Option: Hearty Salad

Mixed greens. Chopped sweet pepper. Red onion. Raw broccoli. Walnuts. Pecans. Brazil nuts. Date. Spicy olives. Baked chicken thigh. Broccoli sprouts for topping. Side of kimchi.

Dressing: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, nutzo keto nut butter, Dijon mustard, salt.

Meat and Taters

Sometimes you just need something hardy. That stick to your ribs meals. We’d been eating super clean. Strict fish and veggies for about two weeks. We broke it with this banger of a meal.

Homemade blue cheese burger patties

Thin sliced roasted potatoes with garlic, onion, and walnuts

Bacon from our local rancher

Man was that good.

Notes and Reminders

Everything in life is a skill. And every skill can be improved through repetition.

This is a concept that has been growing on me the more I try new things around the house. Gardening. Landscaping. Building things. Things I’ve never had the opportunity to do in my life before and therefore have been relegated in my mind as “things I’m not good at.” True, I’m not great at them, but it’s not for lack of ability, but rather for lack of experience. The more I do them, the better I find I become.

Do what you want. But don’t complain about it.

I hear a lot of people complain about their situations. You are in control of your situation. Even if it doesn’t seem like it. Or even if it is hard. You are in control. You determine your world. So do what you want, but don’t complain about it.

Some of the most important changes you’ll make in your life are the ones that no one will notice.

We like to think that change happen in one big sweeping move. But it rarely does. Change happens slowly over time, and it therefore is usually happening when no one is noticing. I’ve realized there are a lot of little things I do differently now. My approach to projects, conversations, relationships, have all changed in recent years. Small things like doing just an hour a day on a project until it’s completed and being satisfied with that, rather than stressing myself to accomplishing it all in one day. Listening more and saving what I want to say for the right time rather than blurting it out because I think it’s important. Accepting other people’s quirks and tendencies instead of trying to advise them how to do things differently. These are just some examples of things that go unnoticed but have had a profound impact on my life.

Breakfast: A mixed bag of food

My girlfriend always says I make whacky dishes. She’s probably right, but to me there’s nothing whacky about them. My goals are flavor and sustenance, and none of my bowls are ever lacking in either department.

Oatmeal, walnuts, almonds, peanut butter, blueberries, eggs, sardines, hot sauce, and salt.

Don’t knock it until you try it.

Forget cereal, it’s trash

My girlfriend sent me this picture this morning of her co-workers breakfast. It’s a bowl of Fruit Loops. Also known as cereal.

I understand the hunkering for cereal, or a big bowl of sugar. I too have those cravings. In fact, I coincidentally (or not) had one of those cravings this morning. I woke up at 6 am and almost imeddiately got to doing yard work. With very minimal breaks to refill my coffee, go to the bathroom, and book a hotel, I worked straight through to 10:30 am and worked up an appetite in the process.

That, in additition to a big dinner of meat and veggies had me craving something fruity and sweet this morning.

So, this is what I ate. A big bowl of sugar, only, my sugar was made up of fruits, which means I also got fiber, and healthy fats from yogurt, walnuts, and chia. Starting your day with a bowl of blueberries, banana, dates, and homemade dried apricrots, is probably not what most nutritionists or dietitians would recommend, BUT, sometimes that’s what my body calls for and its WAY BETTER than Fruit Loops or anything else akin to it.

If you’re craving something sweet grab a nice big bowl of fruit to quench that craving. Cereal, granola, and similar ultra-processed foods are not food and will result in unwanted weight gain and poor health. Maybe not right away, but for sure down the road.

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.