Day 83 of 365 - Full Body Kettlebells

Foam roller and mobility work with 12k kettlebell

KB Clean and Press super set with - 8/8 x 16k, 20k; 5/5 x 24k, 24k
Lunges - 8/8 x BW, 12k overhead; 5/5 x 16k overhead, 16k overhead

KB Snatch super set with - 8/8 x 16k, 20k; 3/3 x 24k, 24k
Renegade Rows - 5/5 x 16k, 20k, 20k, NA

There, I did some exercise. That was my only goal for today.

Day 81 of 365 - Full Body Kettlebells

Foam roller and mobility work with 12k kettlebell
KB Clean and Press followed by Lunges with 12k kettlebell - 4 sets
Single Leg Deadlifts follwed by Renegade Rows - 2 sets

I have not been lifting. I am distracted and tired. This morning I enough to prevent losing ground. I will need more of these over the next month.

Day 76 of 365 - Upper

Warm Up - 12 minutes on elliptical
Foam roller, stretching, and mobility with 12k kettlebell
KB Press - 8 x 16k's, 5 x 20k's, 20k's, 20k's, 20k's
Renegade Rows - 5/5 x 16k, 20k, 20k, 20k
KB Snatch - 10/10 x 16k, 16k, 16k
Grippers - 5/5 x T, #1; 3/3 x BBSA

I have been extremely tired. This morning I opted to lift anyway, but I am dragging. I was up past 1am on Friday night for a production release that went wrong, and it seems to have really thrown my sleep off.

Day 72 of 365 - Lower

Warm Up - Elliptical 12 minutes
Foam roller, stretching and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Box Squats - 10 x BW, 16k, 16k's; 3 x 20k's, 20k's, 20k's, 20k's, 20k's
DO Axle Deads - 10 x 33k; 5 x 73k, 3 x 83k, 83k, 83k
Lunges - 8/8 x BW, 5/5 x 12k racked, 12k overhead, 12k overhead

I was tired this evening, so I opted to keep the weights a little lighter and focus on adding volume. I think it's time to build my warm up to 15 minutes on the elliptical. I am not making time for cardio. A little longer warm up will help to compensate for that.

Day 70 of 365 - Upper

Warm Up - Walk a mile with 20lb back pack
Farmers walk with 16k's
Stretch and mobility work with 16k
Overhead Press - 6 x 16k's, 16k's; 4 x 16k's, 16k's
Renegade Rows - 6/6 x 16k, 16k, 16k, 16k
One Arm Snatch - 8/8 x 16k, 16k, 16k
Half Getup to Sitting - 6/6 x 16k, 16k
Farmers walk with 16k's

Tired tonight and sat a lot today, so I went with light weights and more volume.

Day 69 of 365 - Lower 2

Warm Up - Do the dishes
Foam roller and mobility work with 12k kettlebell
DO Axle Deadlifts - 5 x 73lbs, 161lbs, 161lbs, 161lbs, 161lbs, 161lbs

This is the nice part about lifting at home. After work I went into my gym to finish this morning's abandoned workout. Given how I felt earlier, I opted to keep the weight light and just get some reps done.

Today I used the cast iron skillet and the pizza stone. It's fun having new toys.

Day 69 of 365 - Lower

Warm Up - Elliptical 10 minutes
Foam roller and mobility work with 12k kettlebell
Squat to Box - 10 x BW, 8 x 12k, 5 x 16k, 3 x 24k's, 24k's

I have not been sleeping or eating well. My lifting is suffering as a result. Given my impaired state, I did not think it was a good idea to add deadlifts on top of this workout early in the morning.

Day 66 of 365 - Healthy Living is Expensive

Meal	Description	Reference Foods	Calories	Protein	Cost
Meal 1	Breakfast with nutritional supplements	Weekday - Oatmeal with Flax, Nuts, Tea, Vitamin Weekend - Pancakes with Fake Meat, Tea, Vitamin	650	13	0.99
Meal 2	Bean based meal	Chili with Brown Rice and Frozen Vegetables Dal Makhani with Brown Rice and Frozen Vegetables Tostadas with Salad and Dressing Soft Tacos with Guacamole Hummus Plate with Fresh Vegs, Fruit and Nuts Frozen Burrito with Salad and Dressing	700	28	1.57
Meal 3	Grain based meal	Whole Wheat Pasta with Broccoli and Cheese Teriyaki Stir Fry - Brown Rice with Broccoli and Tofu Homemade Vegetable Pizza Cheese Plate with Fresh Vegs, Fruit and Nuts	700	27	1.54
Snack 1	High protein dairy with active cultures	Cottage Cheese and Whole Wheat Crackers Greek Yogurt	170	17	1.09
Snack 2	Fruit	Apple Orange Pear 1/3lb pineapple 1/4lb strawberries 1/4lb grapes	80	0	0.5
Snack 3	Junk food (optional)	1/4 cup popcorn kernels, popped in oil Ramen Noodles 3oz Chips 2 Homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies Homemade brownie 3 Aldi little schoolboy cookies	375	7	0.2
TOTAL			2675	92	5.89

This morning I did a more intensive analysis of my $4 a day food goal. It is achievable, if I am willing to cut all snacks and live on 2000 calories a day, with only 68 grams of protein. Of course, when I want to lose weight (1-2lbs a week), I eat 2000 calories a day. 68 grams of protein a day is plenty, for a sedentary 120lb woman...

My affinity for weight training, coupled with a vegetarian diet, requires I eat a little more. The table above is more realistic (though still pretty low in protein) and reflects the cost cutting measures I have made over the last year. I think there is room to cut a few % here and there, maybe 15% at the high end. $5 a day might be attainable without nutritional compromise. $4 a day? No way.

In my defense, it seems like every time I go to the store, food prices have gone up. The references I was using to establish this goal certainly did not account for the food inflation we have seen over the past few years. I also doubt the diets were as nutritionally sound as what I am eating. I believe the long term health benefits of eating this way are substantial.

I am going to continue working on that 15%, but I am no longer chasing $4 a day. Health comes first.

Day 65 of 365 - Upper

Warm Up - Foam Roller and Mobility with 12k Kettlebell
KB Press - 5 x 16k's, 20k's; 2 x 24k's, 24k's, 24k's
KB Snatch - 10/10 x 16k; 5/5 x 24k, 24k; 10/10 x 16k; 8/8 x 20k;

Tired today, so I cut this one short.

Day 64 of 365 - Lower

Warm Up - Foam roller and mobility work with 12k kettlebell
Box Squat - 10 x BW, 6 x 16k, 16k's, 3 x 24k's, 2 x 24ks; 6 x 20k's
Wide Grip Deadlift w/ Band on Knee - 8 x 20k; 5 x 60k, 80k; 6 x 90k; 1 x 218lbs

My strength is getting pretty close to my prior peak. I need to start building volume up around it - cardio and accessory work. I will back off on adding weight for a little why to support this.

Day 63 of 365 - October in Review

October started off poorly but ended with a few high spots. I am positioned to make real progress against my goals during November.
 
1. Lifting - My strength and conditioning is coming back from when I was sick. I estimate I will be pushing into new territory by the end of the month. I did well fitting my workouts in even when extremely busy.

2. Eat on $4 a day - During October I gained a more accurate picture of what it means to eat on $4 a day. Based on my analysis of my typical meals, hitting this while getting enough protein and produce is going to be very hard.

I did make more foundational progress. Flax oil is part of my standard morning breakfast, as is a vitamin when I remember. Sesame oil is going great in my stir fry. The pizza stone and cast iron skillet were both total wins.

My attempt at deep dish pizza was a total fail. My initial reaction was to put the deep dish on hold, but I have trouble with accepting failure. I ordered a 6.5" skillet so I can practice with less than a third of the ingredients I wasted on the 12" pizza. One other set back was Aldi discontinuing their guacamole.

This goal has received a lot of attention in the last two months. I'll probably get the deep dish pizza dialed in and put a little more into my analysis, but I do not expect any serious progress during November.
 
3. Become competitive at pool - This goal will remain on hold for November. The unexpected demand on my time that appeared in September is still present. It is more predictable now, but something has to be replaced by it, and pool is the victim.

4. Maintain my home - Not a good month here. The refinance fell through. Before I could get my rate locked, rates went up. I am watching for them to cycle back down. My heat broke. After a repair visit and $133, I learned where my circuit breaker is... I did not make time for any other repair efforts.

It is possible we will get the fireplace setup in November. If rates come back down, we will lock in for the refinance. The house is due for another housekeeper visit. The deck's going to be waiting until next year.

5. Excel as a quality engineer - I made a substantial time investment in training this month. It will take some time for the results to show, but I consider October a strong win here.

We have another developer coming on staff during November, so adapting to the additional load will be a big part of my focus this month. I also expect to get started going through books on agile testing and lean software development.

Overall
October was a rewarding month. I am mostly over being sick and positioned well for progress against my goals during November.

Day 62 of 365 - Upper

Warm Up - Walk around neighborhood
Foam roller and mobility work with 12k kettlebell
KB Press - 5 x 16k's, 20k's, 20k's; 1 x 24k's, 24k's
KB Snatch - 8/8 x 16k; 5/5 x 20k; 4/4 x 24k, 24k; 1/1 x 28k
Renegade Rows - 5/5 x 16k, 20k, 20k
Half Getup to step before Kneeling - 3/3 x 16k; 1/1 x 24k
Grippers - 5/5 x T, #1; 3/3 x BBSA; F/F x BBM

My strength continues to return. This one felt good.