Fitness

Weight 2025-04-11: 168.7
Weight change from yesterday: -1.0
Sleep time: 7h27m
Garmin sleep score (out of 100): 69
Garmin body battery (out of 100): 55

Total steps: 3970 + volleyball
Total distance: 2.0 mi

Weightlifting: None
Other physical activity: 5 games of competitive indoor volleyball

Body status: Body feels like garbage. Felt like I had no lift when jumping during volleyball. Legs are sore, upper body is sore.

Food

Breakfast: Protein shake
Lunch: Lasagna, 2 bread sticks, salad, carrot cake, ice cream, apple pie
Dinner: Happy Joe’s sausage pizza, ice cream sundae
Other: Some pretzels, oatmeal creme pie, ice cream cake
Drink: 16oz white Monster Energy, water, LMNT salt water. Bai drink
Alcohol: 1 IPA, 1 shot

Other

Not sure what has been up with my body the last couple weeks, but I have not felt springy at volleyball. It could be the resumption of weightlifting, but I think it might be a combination of things. I have also had some weird psuedo-cold this week that might be draining my energy a bit. I ate like shit on my birthday which is fine since I know I won’t continue doing it. Plus, all the desserts were really good. I am more disappointed with how my body has been performing than anything else. So I need to figure that out.

Also, my sleep was trash. There is a very clear connection between consumption of alcohol and my sleep quality. Just two drinks messed with my ability to sleep well. According to Garmin, I was awake at 12:15 a.m. for a short time, from 12:46-12:50 a.m., from 1:38-1:48 a.m., a short time at 2:18 a.m., from 2:39-2:51 a.m., and a short time at 3:16 a.m. GROSS. So I am going to keep sticking with my general avoidance of alcohol.

Fitness

Weight 2025-04-08: Forgot to weigh myself
Weight change from yesterday: N/A
Sleep time: 8h15m
Garmin sleep score (out of 100): 84
Garmin body battery (out of 100): 89

Total steps: 4973
Total distance: 2.6 mi

Weightlifting: Bench press, rows, overhead press
Other physical activity: None

Body status: Sort of feels like my cold already pretty much went away. Body feels good.

Food

Breakfast: Soy/wasabi almonds
Lunch: Deli turkey, grape tomatoes, pineapple, soy/wasabi almonds
Dinner: Sausage, green beans, Velveeta shells and cheese
Other: None
Drink: 16oz white Monster Energy, water
Alcohol: None

Other

Got some lifting in. My sleep was a little weird. I woke up a couple times during the night so I didn’t really get 8h15m of straight sleep. I think something I ate for dinner upset my stomach a bit, but when I woke up this morning, I felt better. Volleyball tonight so that will be my activity. Not feeling too bad at age 40.

Fitness

Weight 2025-04-08: 168.9
Weight change from yesterday: -0.7
Sleep time: 7h48m
Garmin sleep score (out of 100): 79
Garmin body battery (out of 100): 70

Total steps: 6480
Total distance: 3.4 mi

Weightlifting: None
Other physical activity: Soccer with kids

Body status: Mild cold. Some congestion, sneezing, body feels a bit drained

Food

Breakfast: Soy/wasabi almonds
Lunch: Two pouches of tuna, grape tomatoes, pineapple, soy/wasabi almonds
Dinner: Alfredo pasta with some garlic bread
Other: Beef stick in the afternoon
Drink: 16oz white Monster Energy, water
Alcohol: None

Other

Family obligations made my schedule pretty tight and didn’t really have time for lifting. Going to do a light upper body workout tonight. I played guitar for a while last night too. Not really fitness but probably good for my mental state? I am burnt out on work right now.

Fitness

Weight 2025-04-07: 169.6
Weight change from yesterday: +0.7
Sleep time: 7h55m
Garmin sleep score (out of 100): 83
Garmin body battery (out of 100): 86

Total steps: 5010
Total distance: 2.6 mi

Weightlifting: None
Other physical activity: Soccer with kids

Body status: Left forearm was still bothering me last night. Feels a bit better today. Body feels okay but not great today.

Food

Breakfast: Protein shake
Lunch: Deli turkey, grape tomatoes, soy/wasabi almonds, pineapple
Dinner: Some kind of asian chicken dish with rice, mandarin oranges
Other: Oatmeal cream pie, some potato chips, some Doritos
Drink: 16oz white Monster Energy, water
Alcohol: None

Other

Skipped lifting due to forearm issue. It was bad enough that I felt like my grab would be pretty compromised. However, it is feeling better today so I can get back on track tonight. Not happy with my food choices. I need to eat better “snacks” if I feel like I need to eat something. No more chips/sweets outside of meals.

Fitness

Weight 2025-04-07: 168.9
Weight change from yesterday: -0.1
Sleep time: 7h45m
Garmin sleep score (out of 100): 85
Garmin body battery (out of 100): 89

Total steps: 6120
Total distance: 3.2 mi

Weightlifting: 3×10 squats, 3×10 deadlifts
Other physical activity: Soccer with kids, basketball with kids

Body status: Overall good. Weird soreness on inside of left forearm that’s pretty noticeable. Might affect upper body lifting tonight.

Food

Breakfast: Two small bagels with cream cheese and seasoning
Lunch: Nashville hot chicken from Schwans, chips and queso, apples
Dinner: Two bacon cheddar brats, potato chips, applesauce
Other: Oatmeal cream pie, some Chex mix
Drink: 16oz white Monster Energy, water
Alcohol: None

Other

Looking at my lifting log, I saw I hadn’t lifted weights since early March. I think I mentioned it previously, but I am subscribing to a low weight / high rep plan for lifting. I’d rather push myself with high reps to tire my muscles out than try to strain on high weights. In the past, I’ve gotten minor injuries doing this. I did take 10 lbs off both my squat and DLs from last time I lifted just to ease back in.

Fitness

Weight 2025-04-06: 169.0
Weight change from yesterday: +0.9
Sleep time: 8h29m
Garmin sleep score (out of 100): 85
Garmin body battery (out of 100): 70

Total steps: 5022 + whatever I got while playing in two basketball games
Total distance: 2.6 mi

Weightlifting: None
Other physical activity: 2 basketball games, played in most of each game

Body status: Body felt good playing basketball and still feels good today. Very little soreness after three basketball games over a period of about 18 hours.

Food

Lunch: Fried chicken sandwich from Kwik Trip, some meatloaf mid-afternoon
Dinner: BBQ bacon burger, some fries, two slices of buffalo chicken flatbread pizza
Other: Had a bacon, egg, and cheese waffle sandwich from Kwik Trip for breakfast
Drink: 16oz white Monster Energy, water, Celsius, 16oz Powerade, 20oz Powerade
Alcohol: 4 Busch light bottles

Other

Body felt good playing basketball. No soreness or issues while playing. Still feeling good today. Cardio was better than expected while playing basketball. Planning to lift today.

Fitness

Weight 2025-04-03: 168.1
Weight change from yesterday: -1.5
Sleep time: 7h51m
Garmin sleep score (out of 100): 81
Garmin body battery (out of 100): 80

Total steps: 3707
Total distance: 1.9 mi

Weightlifting: None
Other physical activity: 5 games of competitive volleyball

Body status: Feeling pretty good today. Left calf was threatening to cramp during volleyball last night. Seems to be okay today.

Food

Lunch: Two tuna pouches, apple, some walnuts, almonds, and craisins, grape tomatoes
Dinner: 4 slices of Lotza Motza bacon cheeseburger pizza
Other: Had 6 “chicken fries” before volleyball and some salt and vinegar chips. Ate oatmeal cream pie before volleyball, oatmeal cookies during volleyball, and oatmeal cream pie before bed
Drink: 16oz white Monster Energy, water, LMNT orange flavored salt water
Alcohol: None

Other

Did not play or feel great playing volleyball last night. I feel like it’s a product of not lifting lately. Also the calf cramping issue was keeping me from going all out. Playing basketball tonight and tomorrow for the high school alumni basketball tournament. Cardio will be bad.

Fitness

Weight 2025-04-03: 169.6
Weight change from yesterday: Unknown
Sleep time: 8h13m
Garmin sleep score (out of 100): 95
Garmin body battery (out of 100): 99

Total steps: 9784
Total distance: 5.5 mi

Weightlifting: None
Other physical activity: 2.47 mi walk, 15:33/mi pace

Body status: Neck is feeling almost back to normal. Right wrist still feeling somewhat weak/tweaked. Otherwise feeling pretty good after a solid night of sleep.

Food

Lunch: Teriyaki salmon, rice, veggies, yum-yum sauce from Hibachi Time food truck
Dinner: Garlic parmesan chicken pasta, strawberries, grapes, blackberries
Other: Small amount of frosted mini wheats before walking
Drink: 16oz white Monster Energy, water
Alcohol: None

Other

Decided against lifting due to not doing it for a while and having a couple high-activity days coming up. 5 games of volleyball tonight and basketball games Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon. Looking to resume regular lifting on Sunday.

This is the beginning of my fitness log. I am better at accomplishing things when I keep track of what I’m doing and when I’m doing it. I’ll post an update daily recapping the previous day regardless of what takes place on that day. Depending on how that goes, I may change the format or timing for when I post the info. Really, this is just for myself, but if someone out there ends up reading it, lucky you.

I don’t plan on getting extremely granular unless I can easily quantify what I’m writing about. No counting calories, but foods eaten will be listed. Reps/weight for weightlifting might be added. Any other physical activity will be listed with data (steps, distance, etc.) if I can easily pull it from something like my Garmin watch.

All weightlifting is going to be high reps with low weight to reduce injury risk. Being able to perform athletically is more important to me than increasing strength as quickly as possible. Weightlifting will generally be comprised of only compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, and pull-ups.

Anyway, this is day 1. I didn’t weigh myself this morning so I won’t have that data until tomorrow.

Fitness

Weight 2025-04-02: Unknown
Weight change from yesterday: Unknown
Sleep time: 7h49m
Garmin sleep score (out of 100): 78
Garmin body battery (out of 100): 76

Total steps: 4043
Total distance: 2.1 mi

Weightlifting: None
Other physical activity: None

Body status: Re-aggravated the herniated disc between C6 and C7 a few weeks back, and it finally feels like it’s starting to settle down. Slight left shoulder pain when putting arms behind head. Bone spurs/hallux rigidus/arthritis in right big toe joint still manageable. Hasn’t been bothering me much lately. Feeling a little run-down overall lately, but some of that may be due to less physical activity day-to-day. Right wrist feels a little tweaked/weak.

Food

Lunch: Mexican – chicken, chorizo, melted cheese, mexican rice, refried beans
Dinner: 3 slices of meat lovers Papa John’s pizza, 1 BBQ wing, 3 mini scotcheroos, 1 chicken strip with BBQ sauce
Drink: 16oz white Monster Energy, water
Alcohol: 2 Mango Cart 12oz beers

Other

Work/social/family obligations kept me from doing physical activity. But to be realistic, I could have done something later in the evening if I wasn’t being a pile. I also ate pretty poorly overall. No snacking outside of meals, but still not good. 2 beers were good but ultimately unnecessary.