Don's Healthy Community

[dangerousdon]

I've been trying to get back into lifting, but have been sick for the past month, and it's killing my energy. I need to restart my 5X5 program.

By the way, we could use your wisdom and motivation in the Weight loss threads. Patricipation has been waning.

I'll try to stop by. Going to say that I haven't really been losing weight. I'm not gaining either...but it's all part of the plan. Right now I am advocating more on the lines of eat more protein and adjust the other macros accordingly. Just my view for what I am doing currently.

 

[dangerousdon]

Today wasn't a lift day. It normally is, but Memorial day threw this week out of wack. Normally I lift M-W-Fri. but this week it is more like Tues-Fri. During a regular week...I take my Tues - Thurs and go for a ruck. Today was about 3.25 miles with a 30 pound pack. It was hot...and I sweated profusely. But damn does it feel good to be moving. I don't run...that stuff hurts my knees too much. I don't like the hard impact of the foot hitting the concrete. But rucking...man I can go on for hours doing that without ever thinking it is a chore.

My motto in life right now is two fold...

1) Be there for my daughter even if I get old.

2) Be hard to kill.

So...I lift heavy weights and I carry weight on my back and go as far.

If you want to live a long life that you can move with ease...I suggest you do something similar...or at the least...just do something. Sitting around won't make you healthier.

 

[dangerousdon]

Yesterday was another 3.25 mile ruck day. Walked on the levee of the Mississippi since it is literally just across the street from where I work. Today will be a lift day though. Plan on tackling my Squat @355, my overhead press at 120 (still in a de-load phase), and 305 for my Dead Lift. With the exception of my Press...these are the heaviest lifts I have ever done. Hoping to accomplish great things today!

On a more Mental note. I was peaking with a health professional that I see from time to time. We were talking about my memory retention in a way. I mentioned that I started listening to some non-fiction books on my to and fro work travels. I mentioned that I was actually retaining a lot more than I really expected just from listening. Mind you, these are not the easiest books in the world to retain knowledge. I started noticing this as well with some of the podcasts I listen to. Anyway, we, or rather I, are trying a little experiment. It may be that I am activating certain parts of my brain with the advent of having some small concentration on a task at hand...while taking in another topic. This isn't really a new concept. There are studies that have shown that if you do one familiar thing while doing something, new, hard, or whatever, it s possible to activate neural pathways for all sorts of reasons. So the experiment is...have some music playing in the background while working. The music needs to be something I am not actively listening to but I am aware that it is playing. So for the past couple of days, I have been playing some classical music while I work. I chose classical because there is so much of it and (sadly) I am less likely to come across a song that I am familiar enough with to sing along. Anyway...it's something that I am trying out. Just over the two days, ,it does seem that my attention is more focused on work and I seem to be a bit more productive.

Hope everyone has a great Friday and get ready for that weekend!

 

[dangerousdon]

So Friday's lift session didn't happen. Had a work call then a home thing. But I got on it today. Nothing was easy...but I accomplished all of it. 3x5 at 355 squats. 3x5 at 120 overhead press. and 1x5 at 305 deadlifts. I am very happy!

 

[dangerousdon]

Last night I went back to one of my Marine Corps League (MCL) meetings. Haven't been to one in a while and that was mostly because of life being chaotic with Danger Baby running devilish circles around Danger Mama and Danger Dad. But things are getting easier (a little) around the Danger Household that I felt it was a good time to get back in the swing of things.

You might ask why I am talking about going to a civic group in "Don's Healthy Community." Well, it's the community part of it. I subscribe to the notion that there are Four Pillars of Health: Food, Movement, Sleep, and Community. The community aspect is very much multifaceted as it deals with not just getting together with other humans. But deals with Mental Health, compassion, debate, and so many other things. It's hard to be healthy on your own. Fellowship is an integral NEED to human existence. And to be quite honest...I have kind of sucked at community lately. So...I am back into the swing of things.

At the youthful age of 50, I was the second youngest Marine in attendance at my MCL meeting . Most of those in attendance are Vietnam Marines. A couple served in Korea. At least of those in attendance...I think I am the only Veteran of Afghanistan there...though my time in the 'Ghan, I was in the Army. But it was nice to be around men and women that served, love, and still serve my beloved Corps. It made me feel proud to be part of something that is bigger than myself...to be part of something that endures.

So last night my mental health took a pretty big boost, being proud of my brothers and sisters, and being humbled that there are those who are two or three decades older than myself and are still serving the Corps and still serving our local community.

 

[dangerousdon]

Just read a full version of this study. TLDR: Walking just 30 minutes 4x a week improved cognitive abilities of people in their 70s with Alzheimer’s.

This is one of the reasons I advocate for walking. Just plain old walking. You may not be able to run or lift weights or other forms of strenuous exercise, but most people can walk. Even if it is just short distances. Start small if you have to. But get out and start walking. I know I do it. Even though I ruck…I still get some time most days to just get a walk in some sunshine.

Walking is powerful. Walking is medicine!

Large-Scale Network Connectivity and Cognitive Function Changes After Exercise Training in Older Adults with Intact Cognition and Mild Cognitive Impairment - PubMed

Increased within- and between-network connectivity following ET may subserve improvements in memory performance in older individuals with intact cognition and with MCI due to Alzheimer's disease.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[dangerousdon]

Another lift session yesterday. 360 on the squat and an even 200 on the bench press. Those two lifts are progressing very nicely.

Tried out the power clean again and I am just not getting the hang of it. Tried it out with just the bar a few times and then a couple sets with 10 pounds on each side of the bar for a total or 65 pounds. It's just such a technical lift that it's hard for me to get everything down at once. But I'll get it down soon.

Vanity took me over yesterday during my lift session. After I was done with everything, I was like...there is no harm wanting bigger biceps. So I did three sets of 10 reps of the barbell for bicep curls. Oh, the horror! Next thing you know, I'll want six pack abs!

 

[dangerousdon]

So...I had to leave town unexpectedly because the wife had a death in her family. Couple that with the fact that I caught a cold as well...I have been out of the gym for about a week and a half now. It's a minor setback. But come Monday, I am back on the program again. I'll probably have to drop some of the weight, but I should be able to get back to things pretty quickly.

I have also decided to modify my strength program a little. After careful consideration and a little research, I am abandoning the Power Clean for the moment and replacing it with the chin-up. Power clean was just a very technical lift that I wasn't quite getting the hang of it. Chin-ups work a lot of the same muscles (and more) and are a tad more practical. Of course I run into the issue of whether or not I can actually do a chin-up. So on my "B" day workout I will attempt max chin-ups (Until I can start doing sets of them), then a set of negative chin-ups, ,followed by a couple sets of reverse lat pull downs. It's an undertaking...I know.

Additionally, I have decided that I have been the weight I am long enough. Waist too large and I am heavier than I want. So for the next couple of months I am going to try my hand at some calorie restriction. I still need to do my strength program. But I also need to make sure I up my "cardio" a bit. Nothing to strenuous, just more low level activity and maybe one day of max cardio intervals. My hopes with the calorie restriction and the additional cardio that I can drop 15 pounds or so in the next two months. It's a bit ambitious...but I am going to give it a go. Of course, if my waist drops a few inches, I am not sure I really care about the weight.

So my workouts are going to look a bit like this...

M - F: Morning 30-45 minute walk (probably light weighted)
MWF: Strength Training
Tu and Th: Ruck (30-40 pound pack) 45 minutes
Friday: (After strength) 20 - 30 minutes of 30 second max cardio intervals (probably rowing machine, but maybe sprints as well)

Like I said...it's a bit ambitious...but Ii think I can make this work.

Hope you all have a great week ahead. Get out and do something!