Month: January 2024

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Approach Your Fitness Like Beating a Video Game

I was talking to a friend the other day who is an avid gamer and also happens to work in the video game industry. When I talk to him about his gaming and leveling up, or acquiring new items in a game he just lights up. He was in San Francisco for a work trip and I was telling him all the cool places he should go while visiting. He said he would have to walk like five miles to see all the things I had on my list.

In my head I am thinking that’s a pretty cool 5 mile route. In his head he is not sure he could make it.

That got me thinking how being fit gives you access to places and experiences that others don’t have. The fitter you are the more ground you can cover in a given period of time and the more you get to see and do. Much like a video game, the better you are the more in the game you get to experience.

As people’s fitness improves as does their confidence to explore and try new things. This opens up all new worlds of life enriching experiences IRL- in real life.

Just start, you never know what you will discover even in your own neighborhood.

Crissy Field

New Year’s Day Hike at Crissy Field and Fort Point
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Apple Rings for Motivation

Apple does a great job of creating a series of motivational awards and badges to help people stay on track. Personally I like the monthly challenge. Last year I made it 10 of 12 times.

Monthly Challenge

In the past I haven’t been 100% focused on this, but this year I’m going to hit it.

Yeah Jan Achieved

Some months are easier than others, this one I had to pay attention to. My challenge for you is to also see if you can collect all 12 too. There is still time in January, check your Ring app on your phone to see how you are doing. #fitness #motivation #health #fit

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Winter Cycle Workout

One of my favorite things to do is to create new workouts that are challenging (hard) but still fun. On a recent rainy Saturday morning, the day I usually do my long bike ride outside, I was relegated to the Stages stationary bike in the garage. It’s a great, I would just rather ride outside. 

This cycle workout was inspired by two friends Jarod Cogswell and Yancy Culp, who together created the DEKA Competition under the house of Spartan Racing. I linked it so you can check out their format which is very creative and cool. I knew I wanted to ride at least 2.5 hours and I wanted to shake it up with some additional conditioning. So here is the imagery. I did a 30 minute warm up, get things flowing ride before I got into it. Then I used most of the DEKA stations and adapted the best I could. The idea is you do a DEKA station off the bike, then jump on the bike and ride 3 miles to the next station. 

I like to do distance as an interval rather than time because it rewards hard work. Each of the 3 mile bike segments also became its own unique mini challenge. Below I outlined each of the strength stations and each of the bike sections.

End of the ride I had 41 miles, 2.5 hours, and a really good overall, whole body workout. Don’t be afraid to mix things up. It makes for fun workouts where the time flies by and you get a little butt kicking along the way.

#DEKA #MyZone #Cycle #Stages @MyZone

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2023 Year End Numbers -Celebrate Health

2023 was a big year for me celebrating my 60th year on the planet. I’m particularly proud of last year’s numbers because I took measures to stay healthy and it paid off big time.

I focused on stretching, rolling, and vibration therapy on the recovery side. For strength I really emphasized core and ab work and some basic whole body strength training.

My Strava Year End

Run Miles- 1,221

Bike Miles – 5,022

Not everything I did was captured on Strava. There were quite a few walks, a few hikes, and none of my strength workouts. That’s ok, you get the gist. Let’s keep working hard on our health and fitness, there is no better ROI out there.