It wasn’t one of those on top of the world I feel great kinda days. I was sluggish this morning, but my morning routine gave me a decent launch. I typically run first thing, but only walked today due to the calf muscle that needs to heal up. To get the warm-up I’m after I added a set of squats at every street light, the 5:00 darkness failed to hide me since I was under a street light for every set. A few people peered at me through fogged windshield with tailpipes steaming as they backed down their driveways. Funny, there are a lot of houses in my neighborhood, yet, very rarely see anyone out exercising like me. My neighbors need to catch the 365 bug!
Upon arriving back home I did my inverter back stretches. I do these every day. Hanging by my ankles at about a 65 degree angle from level, I put a basketball under my back and hold a 25lb weight in my outstretched arms. I feel the stretch in all my major joints and my lower abdomen, hip flexors, and chest. Then (sans basketball) I put a hard plastic water bottle under my neck to encourage the curve, and treat my neck to some rolling and crunching . Always feels good to get off that inverter and stand tall.
Then I did my pushups, and added one for a total of 67. I do push-ups every three days, so if I add one every three days I should be in the 180 range by the end of the year. They are inverted with my feet up on a bench. It’s just how I like to do them. I figure flat pushups only increase the man-boob look, while inverted adds more muscle to the upper chest and shoulders. Anyway, doing 67 pushups sucked, but upon checking my records I saw that I had incrementally improved because it took me fewer sets to get there. I do a 3 day rotation, pushups one day, then pull-ups the next, legs and abs the next. I wind up doing each twice a week with a stretching/yoga “rest” day on Sunday, just instituted this past Sunday. I do add an afternoon workout to augment when I can. Today, I hit the gym at work, doing 1.5 miles on a stationary bike, 3 sets of assisted dips, some military press with 40lb dumbbells, some upright rows with about 80lbs., and finished the 30 min workout with triceps work on the cable machine. Gave my body something to recover from I think.
But,I am getting ahead of myself. Back to my a.m. routine. After the pushups, I do a 20 minute guided mediation. I am hooked on this and enjoy focusing my mind on kindness, care , appreciation, gratitude, thankfulness. I always get a great physical sensation during this meditation. When I emerge from it I feel calm and centered as cliche as that sounds. Then I jump into the shower, turn the water on hot and soap up with Dr, Bronners peppermint hemp oil soap, and rinse with increased heat until I’m feeling overheated. Water off, I do some Wim Hof style breathing (see youtube) as I apply coconut oil to the open pores followed by COLD water shower where I focus on the arteries under the arms and lymph areas of the neck. I am getting more and more comfortable with this cold shock routine and look forward to it daily. It always leaves me feeling invigorated and clear of mind. I always put socks on before leaving the bathroom, keeps my feet clean until shoe time.
Yes I realize this is a boring boring blog post 🙂 Welcome to my world!
Fast forward, after dressing I settle onto my 365 list and then pray. I need all the help I can get. Grab some coffee and after dropping off the high-schoolers arrive at work. Now remember, I woke up sluggish. But, my morning habits had me ready to tackle some big tasks, which started on slowly but diligently. I built momentum throughout the day, with a couple short walks to get some sun in my eyes (good for the endocrine system) and on my skin, and the aforementioned 30 min workout. Somehow the momentum of my good habits helped me overcome a bout of anxiety about work (embrace the suck!), and by the end of the work day I had a real head of steam going and pushed through to get to some key milestones. Basking in the feeling of accomplishment I headed home at about 6:30 after everyone else had left, except Grace. She stays even later than me!
I’ll spare you further detail. The point of today’s blog is this; I think (in fact I know) my day was significantly better than it otherwise would have been due to the good start and the feeling of momentum my morning routine and 365 mindset provided. And, I’m one day closer to 365 days in a row! Now, I’ll revisit my list and enjoy a well earned sleep.
Ben Wagner (21)
Member 365 Commitment
