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Second Week of My New Morning Workout Routine: Day 14 Sunday

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This morning was a little weird. I ended up waking up at 4am and I couldn’t go back to sleep until about 6:30am. I didn’t get up and start my routine at that time because I hadn’t gone to sleep until midnight. I know 4 hours of sleep is not enough. I could feel it.

Listened to a couple of chapters of an audiobook that I just started. Usually that helps me relax and get back to sleep. But this book did the opposite. It’s really good. It had me riveted and I kept wanting to hear more. I wanted to find out what was going to happen next.

[Side note: The book is called Redeeming Justice: From Defendant to Defender, My Fight For Equity On Both Sides Of A Broken System. It’s by Jarrett Adams. It’s his autobiographical account of being falsely accused of rape, being charged as an adult at age 17, having completely ineffective assistance of counsel, getting wrongfully convicted, going to prison for 10 years, getting in touch with the Wisconsin Innocence Project, getting exonerated, and coming out of prison. But that’s just where the story starts! He decides to go back to school. First junior college. Then to get his BA. Then he applies, gets into law school, and graduates. His goal? To fight for other wrongfully convicted people and to get them out of prison. Today he is an attorney. The book opens with the story of his current clients, convicted of killing a police officer, and his fight to get them justice so they can get back home to their loved ones. Very powerful and inspiring story! Here’s a link to his webpage: https://jarrettadamslaw.com/redeeming-justice ]

After two hours, I realized that listening to this book was not going to let me fall asleep. Decided to put on some meditation music. Listened for a little while and I was asleep in no time. Woke up around 830am.

Ran through my routine. Water. Electric kettle. Coffee. Restroom. Washed my face. Put on workout clothes, minus shoes and socks today. Drank my coffee. Instead of going for a run, hitting the gym, or even going on a walk, I’ve decided to do a yoga routine. I haven’t been doing yoga since I started my early morning routine.

But when I was running 5 to 10+ miles per day before COVID, I had a whole yoga workout routine that I would go through after each run. It was amazing. I got it from a physical therapist who helped me rehab some pain with my IT band and plantar fascia. Got rid of all my issues pretty quickly. Yoga for runners, that’s what she called it. She said it was one of the best things I could do to prevent getting injured as I ran faster, farther, and longer.

Well since I’ve gotten back into the habit of running and lifting on a daily basis and blogging about it, a few yoga bloggers have liked my posts, so that reminded me that I need to start incorporating yoga back into my training schedule. So shout out to the yoga bloggers who’ve been supportive.

Then I was talking with my good friend from the East Coast, who’s also a runner, and he mentioned that he’s been doing a really good routine. I asked him to send it to me and he did. After going through it, I’ll let you know if I recommend it. So that’s what I’m about to do!!

Photo by Prasanth Inturi on Pexels.com

Also, if anyone has any other suggestions of good yoga-for-runners routines, please feel free to pass them along. Thanks! Have a great day!

Second Week of My New Morning Workout Routine: Day 13 Saturday

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Had a great evening last night and an amazing morning earlier today. Last night got to socialize with a friend who I hadn’t seen since before COVID. She’s in town for a conference. She joined me at a local bar where I had gone with a few friends from work for happy hour.

After that, we went to dinner at a Brazilian churrascaria. If you’ve never had Brazilian churrasco, make it a point to try it ASAP! It’s all-you-can-eat meat cooked on spits over an open fire.

This place had 15 different cuts of meat available, plus chicken, linguica, and also lobster. On top of that, there was an endless buffet of side dishes. Shrimp, Caprese salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, fruits, and veggies. So many great choices.

The place we went to was really nice. Upscale, but chill. They had live music playing the whole time. The pianist was extremely talented and had an expansive repertoire that he performed.

After dinner, we walked to get some ice cream for dessert. We talked the whole night. It was great catching up. Great night.

This morning I slept in until 8am. The plan for today is to meet my brother and his family at 10:30am to take my nephew and niece to the Spider-Man exhibit at the ComicCon Museum

Ran through my routine, except instead of going to the gym, I went to my office. I had to pick up some stuff that I had left in my office and needed for today. I then went to the gym. Started working out.

But about 15 minutes into my routine my brother called me. They had just gotten into town. So I walked back to my place. Changed and walked to the museum. It was only about a 30-minute walk. But it was uphill. And even though it was only 10am, it was already about 80 degrees. I got there right as they were about to go in, so it was perfect timing.

What a great exhibit! Starting with the first issue of the Amazing Spider-Man to the newest iterations and mediums, the exhibit covered it all. They also had all the alternate universe iterations. Here are a few examples of the great art work…

First ever Spider-Man Comic!

I highly recommend the exhibit to everyone! We had a great time.

After the museum, I walked back home (another 30-minute walk) and they went to their hotel. I took a nap for about an hour. Then got up. Cleaned my place up a little. Took a shower. Shaved. Got some work done for a few hours.

Met up with them again for dinner. Enjoyed another really great evening. Probably ate more than I should have yesterday and today. Definitely more than I’ve eaten in the last two weeks. But I guess that’s why during the week, I stay disciplined, so I can enjoy these times without worrying about it.

It just means that I need to be focused, disciplined, and get some great workouts in this week.

Second Week of My New Morning Workout Routine: Day 12

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Up at 4:59am. Alarm goes off and I’m up. Not too sleepy. Had a good night of sleep and went to sleep early.

Ran through my morning routine. Poured cold water in a glass added a teaspoon of vinegar. Turned on the electric kettle. Put decaf coffee into a filter. Drank the water. Went to the restroom, washed my face. Back to the kitchen. Poured the hot water over the coffee.

Put on my workout clothes. Drank my coffee. Out the door around 5:20. Got to the gym just a little after 5:30. Not bad. Definitely better this week. Most days I was at the gym by 5:30am.

Today is a weight lifting day. Chest, lats, shoulders. But I start by doing my sit ups. I left the mat down because no one else is in the gym. I love Friday workouts. Usually no one else is in the gym this early. I have the whole gym to myself. That means I can do some circuit training, quickly cycling through different sets of different exercises: chest, shoulders, lats. I sneak in some bicep curls just because.

Hector of Troy

When I need a rest, I do side bends and more sit ups. Sets of 10 at a time. I ended up doing about 6 or 7 sets today. I like that routine. I ended up doing way more of them by splitting them up like that, rather than trying to do them all at once. I think I’m going to keep doing that between sets.

After about an hour it was time for some cardio. So I did the elliptical at level 10 for 20 minutes. Not too hard and not to easy. Moderate. Got a nice light sweat going. Not drenched like yesterday.

Okay, time to head out. But first checked my weight. Not bad, 205. Not where I wanted it to be. But still moving in the right direction. Plus, I noticed recently that my clothes are starting to fit differently so I know I’m making progress.

Second week done and I got momentum. Feeling good.

Second Week of My New Morning Workout Routine: Day 11

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Another tough workout. Actually the workout itself wasn’t the hard part. The hard part was waking up at 4:45am. Even though I went to sleep early (around 9:30pm), I woke up at about 1am and couldn’t go back to sleep until after 2pm. It’s been really hot.

When my alarm went off I automatically and instinctively shut it off because I was in such a deep sleep. A little while later I started dreaming and woke up directly from my dream. It was already 5:10am so I ran through my routine. Still tired and groggy. Water. Coffee. Wash my face. Put on gym clothes. No sit ups because I was running late. grabbed my stuff and headed out the door.

Got to the gym at 5:40am. Today was a cardio day. But I started by doing my sit ups. Then rehab work on my shoulder and hip. Then a half hour of treadmill. The first 20 minutes I started off at about 4.5mph pace and gradually increased until I was pushing about 5.3 mph. I was trying to get more than 1.65 miles in 20 minutes to beat my best so far. But I moved my phone and accidentally hit the “cool down” button. For a second I was upset because I was going to beat it, but I didn’t. And I had no way of proving that I would have.

Then I thought to myself… this just gives me the opportunity to chase something else. I can run 1 mile in under 10 minutes, haven’t been able to do that yet since I started training again. And that’s something I used to do on a regular basis before I stopped training a few years back.

So I visualized that I was in a race and had fallen (pressing the button) and now I had to get back up and chase down the person that passed me. In this case that “person” was going to run the next mile in 10 minutes. So to beat this “person” I had to run at a clip that would allow me to finish a mile in under 10 minutes.

I started off at a pace that was about 10-20 seconds slower than what I needed. So I kept ramping up the speed! The most challenging thing was that I wanted to do this all while keeping my breathing under control and not exhaling through my mouth. Worked for a while as I cut the distance. I got it down to being only about 5 seconds off the pace to win. Pushed it harder. Got it to a point where I was 10 seconds ahead! But after that I was breathing hard and had to exhale through my mouth. I was able to relax and keep that pace up for the last four minutes.

I ended up finishing 1 mile in 9 minutes and 47 seconds!

I did it. Proud of myself. It was hard but I pushed through. Then 15 minutes on the elliptical. Weighed myself, 205lbs. Looks like I’m not dropping the weight as fast this week. It’s all good. I just got to keep moving in the right direction. Keep my routine going and keep building my habits.

Walked back home. Drank water. Had green eggs and no ham. Green eggs are just sauteed spinach in scrambled eggs. Decaf. Shave. Shower. Get dressed. Write. Out the door. See ya!

Second Week of My New Morning Workout Routine: Day 10

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Workout done! That was hard slogging. I guess that means I should celebrate it more! Because it means that even though it was tough and I was (still am) feeling pretty exhausted, I handled business.

Woke up at 4:45am. That was rough. Almost went back to sleep. But I keep telling myself the same thing… run through your routine and if after that you want to go back to bed, you can. So, I got up. Drank a cold glass of water (with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar). Put water in the electric kettle and turned it on. Put coffee in the filter. Restroom, washed my face. Came back and poured hot water over coffee. Put on workout clothes. Did two sets of sit ups. Drank coffee (always decaf).

Today, I still wanted to go back to sleep. So I laid down and did a 3 minute meditation / breathing exercise to get some energy. After that I was out the door. Got to the gym by 5:30am. It was still dark outside.

Still dark outside. About to start my workout.

Did cardio first. 15 minutes on elliptical. 10 minutes on bike. 15 minutes on treadmill. Then weights. Upper body. Then sit ups. I’m out. That was a good workout. Tough.

Walk back home. It’s about 7am.

Time to get ready for work. I’m still pretty exhausted. Might have to break down and drink regular coffee today. But it was worth it. Feeling proud that I got it done despite how tough it was.

Have a great day!

Second Week of My New Morning Workout Routine: Day 9

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4:59am. That’s what time I woke up. I had set my alarm at 5am. But it didn’t even have the chance to go off. I was up. A little tired and that evil little voice was telling me to lay back down. Go back to sleep. Just close your eyes for a few seconds. I was about to give in, when another little voice said “just run through your routine and if after that you still want to go back to bed you can.”

So I turned on the light. Walked to the kitchen. Poured a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar into a glass of cold water. Put on the electric kettle. Drank the water. It’s supposed to be good for you. [Side note: I don’t know, but I do remember that when I was wrestling, had to cut weight, and wasn’t eating – drinking a teaspoon of vinegar would stop the hunger pains. Must help suppress appetite or something.] Poured coffee in the filter.

Went to the restroom. Washed my face with cold water. Only problem is that the water at my place is never icy cold. At least it doesn’t feel that cold. Went back to the kitchen. Poured the boiling water over the coffee. Put on my workout clothes.

It was 5:13. I still wanted to get back in bed. But I thought to myself, “If I want to be in the gym by 5:30am I can’t lay down right now. If I do, I won’t make it.” Instead, I decided to do sit ups while my coffee cooled. 3 sets, done. Drank my coffee and I’m out the door. Made it to the gym exactly at 5:30am. Yes!!!

Today is a cardio day. But first I have to do my rehab work. Resistance band training for my hips and shoulders. Also, snuck in a few sets of decline bench press and preacher curls. A set of lunges and 3 sets of calf raises.

Treadmill running for lower impact.

Then 20 minutes on the elliptical machine at level 10. And finished off with a 20 minute treadmill run. Tempo run today. Started off at 5 mph for the first few minutes. Then gradually increasing throughout the run. Finished off at about 6.3 mph for the last 3 minutes. It was slightly tough the whole way through. Meaning I was uncomfortable the whole time. But just constantly reminding myself to relax and settle into the run. Never huffing and puffing. Never breathing through my mouth. Breathing always under control and relaxed. To me that’s been the key to improving my running.

Weighed myself. Not bad. 205 lbs. I’m hoping to get under 200 lbs by the end of the week. That means that the next few days I’ll have to ramp up the intensity of my sessions. Not too much, just a little. I’ve been losing a little less than a pound a day. Probably closer to a pound every 2 days. Still it’s been pretty good progress.

Walked back home. Did 3 more sets of sit ups. A few push ups. Made my lunch ( arugula salad with cashews, cranberries, feta cheese, hard boiled egg, and tuna salad. Balsamic vinegar and a little bit of olive oil). Wrote this up and now its time to get ready for work.

Shave. Shower. Get dressed. Walk to work. Fight for our clients. You know the drill.

Second Week of My New Morning Workout Routine: Day 8

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That was tough!

There were a couple of points in that workout that I just wanted to quit. That weak little voice was starting to get the edge and in the past I probably would’ve cut my workout short. But then all of a sudden I remembered that all I had to do to have a successful workout is finish it.

It doesn’t matter if it sucks. It doesn’t matter if it feels great. It doesn’t matter if I do less weight or less reps. As long as I finish my routine, it’s a win because all I’m doing is building the habit. And the only way to build the habit is by repetition. Doing it over and over and over again.

Once I remembered that, the workout actually got easier. It took the pressure off of having to feel good, or being a “great” workout based on how I feel. What I feel is irrelevant. The important part is to get the work in. Get the job done.

Mission accomplished. It was a lift day with a little bit of cardio. I worked chest, shoulders, lats, arms, and legs. Calf raises, squats, and lunges. Then finished off with cardio. Ten minutes of elliptical at level 10. Then treadmill. I ran 1 mile in 11:29. That’s my fastest in a long time. So ended strong!

Starting A New Morning Workout Routine: Day 7 Sunday

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Okay, so my first full week is done!

Today was nice. I actually slept in until 8am. No alarm. Woke up totally refreshed. Ran through part of my routine. Water. Boil hot water. Coffee in filter. Wash my face. Meditate for 10 minutes. Use the restroom. Drink coffee. Sit ups. Shower. Shave. Worked on a project that I have pending. Then I got a text from a friend. Telling me if I wanted to go to a pool party? I said I had a few errands to run but yeah, I’m down.

So I walk to my car. I parked it kinda far away. Ran to Trader Joe’s. Get my supplies for the week. Lots of arugula (love it!), baby spinach and baby kale. Smoked salmon. Lean, grass fed beef. Tortellini with spinach and cheese. Peaches, plums, nectarines, and blueberries. I still have lots of salmon and chicken breasts, so no need for more of that. Oh yeah, I always get dark chocolate. Love dark chocolate. Dark chocolate with almonds, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm… delicious!. Can’t forget to grab a bottle of wine for the host of our pool party! And lastly, I got some humus and baby carrots to snack on. That’s it. That should get me through the week, probably more.

Drove back to the house and walked back with the groceries. I always park far away so that I get extra steps walking back with grocery bags. It’s like a little extra workout for free.

Back at the house, got ready to go. It’s about 12 noon. She’s coming by to get me at 1:15pm. That gives me time to put on swim trunks, jersey, and pack my clothes and towel. Put on sunscreen. Oh wait. I haven’t eaten anything all day. Ok, ate a peach, half an apple, and a handful of blueberries. Drank a big glass of water so I don’t get dehydrated.

Meditate for ten minutes. Then did 25 push ups and 3 sets of sit ups. Drank a little bit of coffee.

Friend texting me that she’s here. OK, I grab my stuff quick and I’m out the door.

We drive over to our boy’s house. His place is in a downtown high rise with a pool on the roof. Beautiful view…

Had a great time! Talking and vibing with my PD fam. Listened to a great playlist, a mix of old and new music. Ate some chicken and ribs. Jumped in the hot tub and pool. Then sat back, relaxed and chilled. Got a nice tan.

All of us work our tails off for our clients, but it’s important to take time for self-care. I’m glad I came out because tomorrow it’s back to the grind. Feeling rejuvenated and ready to fight for justice for our clients!

And now the hardest part of my routine… time to go to sleep early (it’s 9:45pm), so I can be up at 5am ready to get a great workout in tomorrow, and every single day this week. Starting the week off right!

Starting A New Morning Workout Routine: Day 6 Saturday

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So I do things differently on the weekends. No waking up super early, hard workout sessions, meticulous morning routine or strict food regimen. At least that was my plan. But it didn’t exactly go as I had envisioned. In my plan, Friday night to Sunday afternoon are supposed to be my rest, recharge, and relax days.

I told myself that if I stuck to my workout routine everyday during the week, Friday night I get to treat myself. I get to indulge in the decadent meal of my choice. [Side note: I’ve been really disciplined about what I eat all week as well. Next week I’ll include some descriptions of that as well because exercise is only half the battle to getting healthy.]

Last night I ordered a pizza from a local pizzeria. They make amazing thin crust, wood-fired oven pies. But I did two things that I traditionally wouldn’t have done, which made it a tiny bit healthier.

First, instead of ordering a pie with all the meat toppings that most of us love, I chose to go plain cheese. Why? To cut a significant amount of unnecessary calories and artery clogging cholesterol. Yeah, it would have tasted amazing. But the pizza was just as delicious without it. In fact, it was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. The flavor kinda reminded me of Blondie’s on Market & Powell, by the Cable Car turn-around, back in the day. If you know, you know!

Second, I walked to pick it up instead of getting it delivered. It was only a half mile away. A good 10 minute walk each way. Can you guess why? Two things. One, I saved money. Always a good thing. And two, I got in extra steps. Another mile for the day. Great way to burn at least a few extra calories (maybe 100?) before eating a TON of calories.

To say it a different way, I used the pizza as my incentive to go for an extra walk. I think it kinda tricked my brain because all I could think about was the delicious reward that awaited, especially after I picked up the pizza. The smell was mouth-watering, cheesy and with the char of a crust baked to perfection! I almost ran back home, lol. It was definitely worth it and I’ll probably do that again. You should try it next time you order pizza.

Anyway, back to this morning…

I swore I was going to sleep in and take it easy because I went to sleep at about 11:30pm or midnight. I was exhausted by 9:30pm, but I let myself get sucked into the YouTube vortex. That kept me awake for an extra two hours. Watching garbage. Definitely not a habit I recommend if you want to wake up early on a regular basis. In fact, this is one of the habits that I cut out completely during my evening routine this week. Actually, I’d say it’s the number 1 unhealthy habit that I cut out: binging on any kind of social media for entertainment. I’m actually trying to listen to a lot more audio books. A little more on that below…

Anyway, I never set an alarm on the weekends (that didn’t change with my new routine). My theory is that I can replenish whatever sleep deficit I have by waking up when my mind-body tell me it’s time to wake up.

Guess what time I woke up?

5am! No alarm. Just awake. Still a little tired, but not at all sleepy. The upside… I guess my routine is really working, lol. So what did I do? Did I go back to sleep? Nope.

I didn’t plan to do this, but I basically ran through most of my morning ritual (other than going to the gym). Ten minute meditation. Drank water. Put the hot water kettle to boil. Coffee in the pour-over filter. Restroom. Wash my face. Make my coffee. Did 2 sets of sit ups. Drank coffee. Listened to final chapter of an audio book, The Compound Effect. [Side note: Got to give credit to this book and Atomic Habits for sparking me to design this new routine.] Took a shower. No shaving today, yay! Re-arranged my bedroom. Looks like habits are starting to stick.

After that things went a little different than my normal routine.

Talked to my brother. He let me know that we might be able to watch our niece’s wrestling match live. She’s 13yo trying out for the under-15 U.S. National Team for the Panamerican Games in Colombia this year (in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling). She’s carrying on the family tradition and already doing way better than any of my generation ever did at her age. Super proud of her!!! Unfortunately, no luck. But I’ll watch it on delay later. Rest of my family are all still asleep. It’s only 8:15am. Can’t believe I’ve already been up for more than 3 hours.

But it works out because my original plan was to sleep until about this time and go for a walk before it gets too hot. Alright, I’m out the door. I’ll be back after my walk…

Okay, I’m back from my walk.

It’s about 10:15am. That’s pretty good. A 2 hour walk. But actually I laid down and sunbathed for about 10-20 minutes, so not a full 2-hour walk. Still it was a few miles each way, with elevation. I’d estimate about 300 feet of elevation change. Good hill. Nothing huge. But a great view.

Very pleasant weather. It wasn’t hot or cold. But with the uphill walk, I had a light sweat going. Also, got a sun tan to even out the farmer tan I’ve been developing, lol.

Now that my walk is done, the rest of Saturday is mine to do whatever I want. A nap sounds divine right now. We’ll see.

Hope you have a great Saturday!

Starting A New Morning Workout Routine: Day 5

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Walking back from the gym.

First week of my new routine is in the books! Today I woke up at 4:30am. I didn’t mean to wake up that early, I just did. Drank water. Used the restroom and tried to go back to sleep. No luck. So I decided to meditate, which I find is almost as restful as sleeping. So by 5:10am I decided to get up. My alarm was set for 5:15am. It didn’t even have the chance to go off. I guess I should be proud, I beat my alarm.

Then I ran through my usual ritual. Drank water. Boiled water. Put coffee in the filter. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, when I say coffee… it’s actually decaf. Ever since getting covid I’ve been trying to drink less caffeine. Washed my face. Put on my workout clothes. Did a couple sets of sit ups. Grabbed my keys, phone, and badge. Walked to the gym. Got to the gym by 5:55am.

Today was a weight day. But I decided to start by doing some light cardio. Elliptical for 15 minutes at level 9. Then treadmill for 15 minutes. Ran 1.13 miles. Nice and slow pace. But I’m getting the steps in. And I’m feeling stronger, faster, and definitely getting lighter.

So a quick note about my motivation to start this new routine. First, I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I always feel better when I’m in great shape or making progress toward getting into good shape. It helps with mental health and definitely relieves stress. Absolutely recommend it for anyone dealing with either of those two things.

Second, the last few years that hasn’t been the case though because of Covid and so I started getting all these pains and aches in my body. My wrist. My shoulder. My hip and low back all started acting up. So working out first started by rehabbing each of those injuries. Had to start super slow. Very light weight and not pushing myself too much. Just focused on getting a tiny bit better everyday. Then it became maintenance. Make sure that the injuries and pains were really gone. Now I’m in the process of improvement. Building strength and getting leaner. Pain free. Just sore a lot, lol.

Third, I made a goal to lose weight. I love the way it looks when I can see my abs. Well technically to change my body composition. Reduce fat and increase muscle. Weight is just a proxy for being lean and healthy. I gained about 30-40 pounds during covid. So I wasn’t feeling very good. Low energy. At my heaviest I was up to 230lbs. This week that I started my new routine I’m already down to about 210 lbs. But my goal is to get back to about 170 lbs. At that weight I’ll be very lean and ready to run a half or full marathon, which I would really like to do.

Lastly, the dark side of my motivation. As you’ll see above most of the motivation is positive. But some of it is a way of channelling all the negativity that is thrown at me into something positive. All the haters, all the envy, all the people that wish me ill, and all the people that talk shit, don’t believe in me, want to see me fail, or believe all kinds of evil shit about me. I take that hate and turn it into fuel for my success. So when I’m tired or in pain from running or lifting, I remember the haters and I use that as my fuel to get stronger, keep going, and accomplish more.

Anyway, back to the routine. Finished lifting (shoulders, chest, arms, squats, and calf raises). Weighed myself. Without shoes I weighed 206. Not bad 4 pounds down in 1 week. But I bet a bunch of that is water weight. Walked back home. Did my 3 sets of sit ups. Drank water. Talked to my honey. Talked to my daughter. Shaved. Showered. Got dressed. Wrote this. Now just got to grab my things and I’m off to work.

Ready for a great day! If you’re reading this I hope you have a great and blessed day too.