workin’ the goals

Started a new (actually old, just set aside awhile) workout last night.

I made a copy of the Stealth Core trainer, and I use the free version of their app to ‘play’ games using that little wobble board. And let me tell you, three minutes on this thing and my abs and upper arms are noodles: absolute sillyputty. I push as hard as I can for as long as I can in the full plank position, then when the belly starts to spasm, I drop to the knee and keep pushing to the three minute mark. I WILL get back to the full plank to three, then I will start pushing for longer times again. Three minutes doesnt soundnlike much, until you’ve tried it. Trust me, three minutes is rough when you’ve not done it before.

ITs been over a year since I was last doing this on the regular. (2020 to be a bit more specific). Don’t want to push myself into physical issues.
And I am still doing the thirty minutes on the Erg. Thinking I may move the Erg session into the morning, as a warm up, stretch my stiff ass out, routine, but keep to that thirty minutes. It is improving my time in seat on water as I found out Sunday. No where near as tippy, and I drop right into proper form without thinking about it. (proper form is using the core muscle group over the arms. The arms are held in ‘the box’ and only really control how the paddle is placed, not powered. And it looks kind of goofy, but the effect is NOT subtle: it REALLY moves the boat.)

jeez,,, 3 minutes, and my upper arms are worthless right now. I feel them squirming around while I try to type this out. not sure what I mean? do a series of pushups then try to write a paragraph: you’ll feel what I am talking about.

And this is not all about racing kayaks,,,, Thats one motivation, but not the only one. The other is quite simply, SELF IMAGE. I am trying to get the body to match whats in my head, cuz right now, its a bit more rounded than I would like to admit to the mirror and myself. Not the legs or arms, just that middle section. Funny how I could eat a horse in my twenties and thirties and LOSE WEIGHT, but once I hit the forties,,, and now the fifties,,,, Fu,,,,,,, I eat like a bird and gain pounds. I eat a lot and put on inches.

And I am pushing myself to stick to the Paleo diet again. That really does help.

I may be a little more beat up, achy at times even, but dammit, I ain’t ded yet, and,,,,

If I had known I was gonna last this long, I’d have taken better care of this vehicle,,, How many of y’all have said that to yourselves?

(or the “Ain’t gettin old: GOT!!!”)

*sigh*

Sent a selfie to my Sis in Colorado on New Years Day, one where I was in the kayak, drytop and my PFD, and man,,,,

Old injuries from a car accident are more prominent now than they were after the accident. Looks like my left eye droops from where I smashed my cheekbone on the steering wheel of a 1967 Mercury Comet. Made before they had collapsing steering columns or padded wheels or seatbelts. (and why I am near sighted in my right, but far sighted in my left which works great for rifle shooting, irons or glass.). You can even see where the bridge of my nose is still ‘kinked’ from a break.

And it seems like only a couple years back, my beard would grow in reddish, but now,, LOL. WHITE,,, TOTALLY WHITE.

These goals aren’t going to wait for me, I have to grab them NOW before I fall into the trap my mother did and even walking to the mailbox was a torture for her. I have blown knees but that doesn’t stop me, it just means I have more to contend with and longer recovery times. Shoulder blown out from 6 dislocations while in the Marines (they happen easier each time, but they still hurt like hell,,) and why I prefer a Greenland paddle over the Euroblades, but that shoulder won’t stop me from paddling.

One thing I learned in the Marines that I carry with me still, You don’t need a bunch of equipment to stay in shape, your body alone can do wonders for ‘resistance’. The tools I do use (the ERG, the copycatted Stealth board,,) have purposes but aren’t essential. The ERG is so I can paddle without needing water. The Wobble board for ‘interest’; I play video games to keep me interested in doing the workout, because the Plank, a very effective exercize, is also about the most BORING and torturous one there is.

At least I am still ‘he of narrow ass’ and can fit in Lizzy’s 16×22 cockpit without a shoehorn or lube,,,, just gotta work on the belly n lovehandles