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Friday, January 05, 2024

Gear, not Stuff


The last few years has seen me evolving my fitness routines … "significantly", to say the least.  I have settled on a few routines, and as I've gotten past the "novice" stage, my knowledge & desire for better gear has evolved quickly (and of course, expensively!).

Mainly, my workouts now consist of: 
1. Seasonally (warm), The Pool where I do my deep-end jump-squats.  I use my 35lb Thor's Hammer kettle bell from Tribe WOD
2. Seasonally (cold), weekly Crossfit visits, where I use my Battle Bottle 64oz "supertanker" and my Polar HR monitor
3. Rucking (Home), GoRuck Plate Carrier with 45lb plate
4. Rucking (Office), GoRuck Navy GR-1 XPAC with a 30lb "long" plate
5. Extras - Brute Force sandbag, currently loaded with 20lbs of sand, and an American Ruck 30lb "paincake" (hybrid ruck-plate / kettle-bell)

Each piece of gear here went through a few rounds of iteration before I landed on the items that simply "worked" for me.  Sometimes due to increasing ability (pool workouts started with a much smaller KB), sometimes due to a lack of knowledge (didn't understand the different Ruck Plate sizes, so I had to re-order a "long" RPC and the big-bitch 45lb plate from Go Ruck).  When I ordered the PainCake, I is-read the description, thinking it was a 20lb plate.  I let my 20lb plate move on - then this 30lb plate arrived - it's 20 KILOGRAMS.  The Battle Bottle is a bit excessive - but I wanted a bottle w/ a sleeve that could hold my phone, as i run my Polar HR monitor, and track my progress.  Mostly though, figuring out the GR-1 XPAC was "The One" was a royal BITCH.  I went through four other packs, and chased a number of "samurai" packs before finding this one.  I was leery of looking too "tactical", and the 5.11 packs were covered in Molle loops and had 1,000 zipper & velcro pockets, and generally were very nicely made & affordable - but just not "me". The GoRuck "Rucker 4.0" was a beast and I LOVED the orange interior, but it was too small to function as a hybrid office pack, and the lack of a front pocket pissed me off.  The XPAC version of the GR-1 has zero exterior Molle loops, no big "GO RUCK" logo, and in the Navy color w/ tan interior it "looks" very civilized.  the lighter interior color helps when digging out gear, and this bag has a few pockets - not TOO DAMN MANY like the 5.11 - just the right configuration.  the front pocket is a bit tight to pull out my BOSE headphones case, and I wish the straps had a loop or two for a sternum strap - but if i really want to load up, I'll just use the RPC.

So, I may add another interior sandbag to the Brute, I may transition to a smaller Battle Bottle, and I need to trade my 30lb long plate for a 20 … but really … what I have here is a very solid setup, and I could't be more pleased!

Wednesday, January 03, 2024

New Year / New You


 


For 2023 I'm going to be tracking five key metrics to my Health & Fitness:

1.  Sleep:  Foundational to EVERYTHING.  My Öura ring tracks it wonderfully, and i have a few goals for improvement.  Before the end of the year, I was trying Natural Calm & Melatonin gummies, which seemed to help with sleep latency (the time to fall asleep).  I am going to be setting more consistent bed times / awake times, which along with morning walks should help "set" & regulate my brain's circadian rhythm.  A new sleep mask & earplugs should help reduce the number of times I wake up, and my overall goal is to increase my Deep Sleep, and the over/under on time in bed / time asleep.  A few simple "guidelines" will remain in place, including minimizing screen time / eating / exercise within two hours of bedtime.  No coffee after 12pm, iced tea in the afternoon, and only water after 5pm.  More water = more better.  I love the metrics on this, and it'll be fun to monitor and tweak as we go.

2. Blood Sugar:  The body's fuel gauge doesn't lie!  I really want to lean-in on Marty Kendall's teachings, including the Macro & Micro Masterclasses to help manage & minimize cravings.  REALLY interesting work draws som very tight correlation between waking Blood Sugar and weight numbers, and I want to drill this shit down HARD. 

3.  PE Ratio:  The 1:1 protein to energy ration is SUPER powerful, and i want to incorporate this with a renewed focus on whole, single-ingredient foods.  Not necessarily "paleo" or low-carb, or anything … just "real food", in the proper ratio, with roughly 190g pf protein and an 1800 calorie cap each day.  This should drive satiety, AND muscle growth.

4.  Activity:  I'm loving the Rucking, missing my pool workouts, but looking to pick up a few Crossfit times a month.  I'd "like" to find another home workout or calesthenic type thing that govves with me, but I'm hitting a motivation-wall.  Need to just get over it.  I want to continue the Never Skipping Monday / hard Things on Friday routine, and the 10,000 steps a day needs to become base-level table-stakes.  Going early or even first thing seems to work best, as the days always get crazy & it becomes tough to work it into smaller & smaller schedule holes.

5.  Weight:  If the rest of this works, the weight should continue to take care of itself.  Watching it, and then tweaking things as needed to continue is kinda what I do, and while it took me a LONG time to get to this point, it feels GREAT to have figured out my matrix of success.  

Goal:  Meeting the old Marine Corps height / weight standards (190lbs for me), with the minimum PFT of 3 pull-ups, 80 sit-ups, and a 3 mile run under 30 minutes







Wednesday, July 26, 2023

A tale of four shorts

Three summers ago, we bought a house with a pool. Right away, it was a different life - lots of yard-work, shopping & errands, lunch out ... all peppered with plunges in the pool. Great, right? Until everyday I'm changing shorts & trunks 3 or 4 times! Multiple pairs of trunks & shirts hanging everywhere ... it was chaos. And so began my search for "the one short" that could rapidly go from pool to yard to store to bar. Needless to say, my venerable old Duck Head khaki shorts would NOT work in this scenario!

"Quick dry" was necessity number one, and I rapidly went down a rabbit hole of synthetic fabric. Name-brands & specific patents aside, basically you have two types - thin "swishy" nylon feeling fabric that dries very quick & looks great, or a thicker "woven" synthetic that looks & wears like cotton, but holds water like it depends on it.

My other major stumbling block was having a swim-trunk style liner. This is apparently impossible - surf style board shorts rarely have liners, and absolutely ZERO "hybrid" shorts have them. The only info I can find stares that the liners hold onto water, making them cold. So, apparently, all those surfer dudes are going commando!? Call me an old fashioned oldster, but I prefer to keep things supported & in place - and wearing underwear under the shorts while in the water os only going to hold WAY more chilly wetness - so command seems to be the only option left.

Sigh.

My other big stumbling block was the drawstring. 99% that have the drawstring have it proudly displayed right out front on the outside, swim trunk style. Nope. I want a short that actually looks like a nice pair of dress shorts, appropriate for a nice beach-side bar. The drawstring becomes mandatory when I hit the water, as my bodyfat "liquefies" with buoyancy in the water - and a simple button closure will NOT keep the shorts on. The shorts I'm going command in!

Lastly - various maddening features like velcro VS buttons VS zippers ... overly small VS overly large pockets, the ubiquitous cargo pocket conundrum, cost and durability.

Bottom line - I want to be able to throw on a polo shirt & head to the poolside bar while looking much more put together than the Dad in soggy cargo shorts with his graphic T who is dressed exactly like his toddler. Without sacrificing the in-water functionality.

So - here is my breakdown of the best four I found:

Tommy Bahama
Upsides:
These are the first ones I got, and the ones I have come back to several times. Overall a great looking hybrid short! These absolutely fit the bill for a great water-short - subtle (non-tactical looking) zippered cargo pocket keeps things like a hotel key card secure while body surfing. The ONLY short I found with an interior drawstring to keep those shorts ON while churning in the surf. Mothers of small beach-side children everywhere can rejoice! These shorts dry very quickly, and always look fantastic, very easy to wear in public while looking put together.
Downsides:
Swishy fabric! Ugh!!! We all hear these shorts from 20 yards away while some middle-aged dude (the only guys that can afford these) swish swish swish towards the bar. No thanks. They are also, by far, the most expensive ($100+), have (of course) no liner, and at 18 months they have wear-stains & are losing a seam.

Birdwell / Filson Collaboration
I was SO excited to get a pair of these, but as a limited edition collab, not "really" a contender. Horribly expensive. Somewhat swishy. 10 months old and losing a seam. BUT ... I absolutely adore both brands ... the cut is great, and I love the stretch, absolutely love the button fly. The big metal conch-straps are a great drawstring alternative, but oversized & too industrial. No back pockets os maddening.

Eddie Bauer
Upsides: cheap! These were $25-ish at the outlet mall. Nice cut. Good pocket config. No drawstring or liner. Not swishy, but hold water all damn day. Final veto - velcro rear-pocket closures. Ugh. I'm not a toddler.

Columbia
I got these "PFG" (Performance Fishing Gear) shorts at a surf shop in Florida for about $50. These are the "Grand Marlin Offshore" model. Subtle, zippered cargo pocket. Rear pockets have button closures. All pockets are sized generously (maybe too big?), and are mesh-lined. Best feature is the fabric - thin & dries quickly, yet somehow has just a bit of texture to reduce the swishy-factor. Generously cut, with a bit of stretch, they don't feel like the "skinny cut" so many otters have. No drawstring or liner - but the overall winner!

Honorable Mention

At CostCo I got ($15!!!) the BY FAR most cost-effective option. The brand is "Gerry" and I really like several features. Be careful - most of their shorts are scrunchy-expandable-waist front-tie classic athletic shorts. Yuck. These have a very nice classic cut & look, with a subtle cargo zipper pocket. No drawstring, but they have an upfront cinch strap that works WAY better than the Filson. One rear pocket zips, which is nice, and front pockets have edge gusset reinforcements that are VERY nice, especially at this price point. Only three downsides - thick non-swish fabric holds water like a camel. No liner, and the cargo pocket holds items on the back-side of the leg. I "get" they are preventing the toddler-esq overloaded look, but it's weird. Also - CostCo availability has a very narrow window, once they sell out, they're gone. Likely available elsewhere, but CostCo tends to have better prices with more features (as seen with the 32° micro-puffy vests & 2022's "Weatherproof Vintage" shorts, which nearly made the list)

So - there you have it. Three years of research. 5 of the best options from $15 to $100+. None that are perfect, although I will be leaning-in on the PFG shorts in future seasons.

Friday, January 20, 2023

Good Stuff - Crio Bru Cacao

So ... this stuff is VERY interesting!

First - the smell is pure heaven! Deep, rich chocolate, like you smell in dreams, but almost never smell in real life. So, I thought that would drive the taste? I din't want "hot chocolate" ... but damn, it smells good! It has to steep for 8 minutes, so it REALLY got me anticipating!!!

Steep for 8, stir, wait another minute, then gently press. To facilitate easy, slow sipping, I use my Ember mug to keep it warm - right at 145°.

First sip - it doesn't remotely give a "hot choc" vibe. It's good - and now I "get" the coffee substitute intention. No deep, dark, angry coffee flavor - this is light, and the choco-aroma makes it decidedly "happy", somehow. It's not 'weak', but it also won't drive my Tums consumption.

If I added milk & sugar, it might give more "hot-choc" vibe, but that's not my intention. This is definitely a treat, and interesting, and fun ... might have to try adding a scoop of good coffee grounds to the mix?

Sunday, January 15, 2023

We grow what we tend

I'm still mentally distilling my "Three for 23" goals, but one idea I'm chewing on is exactly this - what am I feeding my brain? Sure - mostly it's WORK, and that's so stressful that my downtime gets focused on "chill". That downtime is just a fragile chunk of an hour here, 30 minutes there ... but over the course of time, it adds up. Even at just an hour a day - 5 hours a week, that's 20 hours a month - damn near a whole DAY. At the end of the year it's TWO WEEKS.

What do I want from that time? Watch HGTV re-runs? Tabloid TV? No ...

How do I leverage this time to feed my soul? To work on my fitness! Work on my convertible! Read a book that lights my brain up?!?

It's an hour a day. Be careful with it. Someday you'll want that shit back! ;-)

Thursday, January 12, 2023

My Three Prong Plan has a three prong plan!

My "Three for '23" can be stated overly simplified as "Prick / Track / Sweat":

Prick: I will track my Waking, Pre-Meal, and Post-Meal blood sugar.
Goal: By reducing my overall blood sugar (the body's fuel tank), I will improve my metabolic fitness.

Track: I will track my food, my sleep, and my activity.
Goal: improve my food quality to support my blood sugar, sleep to improve health & happiness, and activity to support mental and physical wellbeing

Sweat: Monday Boxing Fitness at Title Boxing, Tue "Bootcamp Core" at Schaumburg Park Center, and Thursdays at Orange Theory. If anything gets missed, I have Fri night / Sat morning for a makeup.
Goal: This supports my mental wellbeing (hitting things on Mondays), and of course it supports my metabolic health. These three options are (relatively) cost-effective as compared to Cross-Fit, which I miss greatly, except for the time constraints & corporate programming.

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

That time of year

A few times a year I put on my "Little Mary Sunshine" act & reaffirm out loud in front of all y'all about how fortunate I am.

I am, in all areas of my life, a lucky bastard.

I may occasionally bitch about things, but my complaints illustrate my privilege - my job may be overly demanding - but I'm working! My house may take a ton of time & effort - but I have a home! I hate going to the gym & eating right (ok, not 'right', but better than I used to!), but not too long ago it wasn't certain I'd still be around. These days, I certainly have better health, and a better life than I deserve!

Complaints are universal, and with creative language, I can enjoy the snarky fun. But it's easy - mentally lazy ... too easy to point out the pebble in shoe that distracts you from the great view.

I'm certainly never going to become insufferably positive, like some door-to-door evangelist, but I sincerly believe negativity & complaining can become a mental habit.

So ... it'll become one of my "Three for '23" ... three self-improvement 'resolutions' I'll be embracing next year.

What else should I think about? Heck, what are all y'all thinking about?

Each & every damn one of you inspires me, or has skills, or attitudes, or experiences I envy.

I figure, no matter what ANY of us want to accomplish, somebody here knows how or has some advice!

So .... FB friends & family ... love you all! Let's help each other become the better versions of ourselves we all know we can achieve. Me? I'll cut back a bit on the coffee, cussing, and complaining. I'm going to re-focus on my health, fitness, and being a better version of myself.

So, if you see me at the liquor store before Noon, looking slovenly with stains on my shirt, shouting at co-workers on speakerphone ... just know that I'm a 'work in progress' ;-)