23rd of February – Breathing harder than a priest at a wiggles concert
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KH5TgZRoVQ
📅 23rd of February – Breathing Harder Than a Priest at a Wiggles Concert
🌅 Early Morning Leg Day
⏰ Time Check: 5:04 AM – On my way to work after a leg day workout. Despite waking up 5 minutes earlier than usual, I still felt slow to get started. I didn’t begin my working sets until about 4:00 AM because I took my time warming up.
🏋️ Workout Breakdown:
- 🦵 Easy Bar Squats: 4 sets – Started with 20kg on each side for the first two sets, then moved to 25kg per side for the last two sets.
- 😮💨 Breathing Issues: I was breathing harder than a priest at a Wiggles concert and almost felt like passing out on the last set.
- 🍑 Romanian Deadlifts: 4 sets – Started with 10kg per side and worked up to 20kg per side.
- 🦵 Single Leg Press: 3 sets – No weight added, focused on high volume and good form.
🔥 Takeaway: My breathing and grip strength were the biggest challenges today. I need to work on my breathing technique during heavy lifts.
📚 Mindfulness & Gratitude Check-In
- 🙏 Grateful for: Phone alarms – They saved me today by reminding me to grab a pork chop from the freezer.
- 👍 Compliment to Myself: I actually followed through on my alarms and brought all my essentials to work, including my glasses and protein shaker.
🔥 Takeaway: Small wins like remembering my food and glasses help me feel more prepared for the day.
🥗 Nutrition & Flexible Tracking
🍖 **Lunch Plan:** We had a work BBQ today, so tracking calories was tricky. I planned to guesstimate my intake and balance it out later in the day.
- 🥩 **Protein Sources:** Brought a pork chop to work to avoid relying solely on protein powder and Brazil nuts.
- 🍕 **Free Pizza Surprise:** Got free pizza from the maintenance team, which was a double-edged sword—delicious but not exactly in the meal plan.
🔥 Takeaway: I’m learning to be flexible with my nutrition and not stress about every single calorie.
🎸 Guitar Practice & Creative Routine
🎸 **Practice Session:** Played a little on my grandparents’ guitar but didn’t log it because it was more of a casual session.
- 🎶 **Learning Progress:** Still practicing “You Should Probably Leave” by Chris Stapleton – focusing on the rhythm section and intro.
- 📖 **Learning Chords & Tabs:** Realized how many songs use the same chords and continued getting comfortable with tab reading.
🔥 Takeaway: Even casual play helps with muscle memory and chord transitions.
🏃 Evening Cardio – Maybe?
❓ **Cardio Dilemma:** I planned to either go for a light jog or use the elliptical at home but wasn’t sure if my legs could handle it after this morning’s leg day.
🔥 Takeaway: I’m learning to listen to my body and not force cardio if it feels counterproductive.
📊 XP Tracking & Progress Update
📌 Total XP Progress (Feb 23 Update):
- ✅ Gym: 29.30 hours – Short session but still progress.
- ✅ Guitar: 10.11 hours – No logged practice today, but casual playtime at grandparents’ house.
- ✅ Reading: 8.74 hours – Managed to read before work.
- ✅ Running: 35.83 KM – No run today, prioritizing leg recovery.
🚀 Next Focus:
- 📖 Continue daily reading habit – Keep momentum going.
- 🎸 Practice guitar rhythm and intro for “You Should Probably Leave.”
- 🏃 Plan for a light jog or elliptical session tomorrow.
- 😴 Get to bed earlier – Targeting 10:00 PM for better recovery.
🔥 Takeaway: Consistent tracking keeps me accountable, even on off days.
🔥 Final Thoughts
💡 Biggest Wins Today:
- ✅ Still hit the gym even with a short session.
- ✅ Flexible with nutrition and didn’t stress about free pizza.
- ✅ Maintained mindfulness with gratitude and self-compliments.
“You’re enough. You’ve got this. Keep moving forward and crushing those goals!” 🚀
