The Recomp Chronicles

Tag: exercise

  • Fueling the Machine (Badly, Sometimes)

    This week was all about consistency, and about slamming face-first into the infamous wall. Four weeks into Phase 2, and shockingly, I haven’t fallen off the wagon yet. I’m not saying I’m a model of discipline, more like a slightly dented shopping cart that still manages to roll in the right direction despite one wheel wobbling worse than my legs after leg day.

    The training is steady, the runs are steady, and even my sleep is finally leveling out. Which, apparently, is the body’s cue to stop giving out “easy” wins. The scale? Mocking me. The mirror? Playing hard to get. My effort-to-result ratio right now feels about as rewarding as shouting into a hurricane.

    I’m guessing it’s normal, every program must hit this stretch (I haven’t been this far into a program in, possibly ever), but it still sucks. I’m doing the things, eating the stuff, logging everything, and the only thing dropping quickly is my patience.

    Now that the novelty’s worn off, I’m down to the nuts and bolts: food timing and recovery. It turns out you can’t just lob protein and carbs at your body whenever and expect superhero regeneration. Some days I nail the timing and feel unstoppable. Other days I mistime a meal and end up running on fumes, wondering if “hitting the wall” was supposed to be metaphorical or if I actually just blacked out mid-lift.

    Fear not, faithful blog reader, I’m still here. Every lift, every run, every recovery session completed. My sleep is improving. My food habits are messy but I’m working on that daily. The wall is here, the wall is painful, but I’m still moving forward.

    Small wins. Consistency over fireworks. Progress that hides under frustration until one day it doesn’t.

    Still lifting. Still losing. Still showing up. Usually.

  • The Farthest I’ve Ever Been

    “If I take one more step, it’ll be the farthest away from home I’ve ever been.” — Samwise Gamgee, The Fellowship of the Ring

    That line has been rattling around in my head this week, because I’m in uncharted territory. Not geographically, but with consistency. I’ve never strung together this much gym and running work without burning out. Usually by week four or five I’ve hit a wall, either physically from under-recovery, or from cutting food too hard, or mentally by not trusting the process. But this time? I’m still here, still going, and still moving forward.

    Consistency = Uncharted Territory

    Old me would hammer workouts, under-eat, then flame out. This version of me is pacing things: lifting three times a week, hitting every Runna workout, logging supportive cardio with the dogs or on the walking pad, and actually recovering and “trying” to eat the way my body needs. It feels strange, but in a good way. I’m no longer waiting for the crash, I’m watching the habits start to stick.

    The Wins Beyond the Scale

    The scale has been bouncing within a two-pound window. Old me would be losing my mind over that. But here’s the truth: It is still driving me a bit bonkers, but I also realize that my waist is continuing to trend down from Phase 1, my lifts are climbing, and my runs are getting longer, and somewhat easier. I’m fitter now than when I started, even if the number on the scale doesn’t scream it yet.

    Runna & Recovery = The Secret Sauce

    Letting Runna handle my progression has been a game-changer. Intervals and long runs bump up gradually, keeping my calves from revolting like they did when I tried to push too far, too fast. On top of that, I’m eating enough to recover. It feels weird not to be starving and sore all the time, but that’s exactly why I’m still here in Week 3 of Phase 2 instead of sidelined.

    Looking Ahead

    This isn’t about arriving anywhere, it’s about seeing how far this road really goes. Like Sam, I’ve stepped beyond the point I’ve ever been before. The question now is: how much farther can I go? The answer is coming one rep, one run, and one week at a time.

    Still lifting. Still losing. Still showing up. Usually.

  • Phase 2, Week 1: Back at it!

    I’m a day late; I try to do these weekly recaps on Sunday, but I ended up working from 6-2, so my day got all kerfuffled. It was a great week though all in all.

    The week’s biggest win? Consistency. I actually got all my workouts in. For me, consistency has always been my biggest issue, and for once I didn’t fuck it up halfway through the week. Three gym sessions down, plus the walks and mobility — it feels good to say I showed up every day I said I would.

    Biggest frustrations? Two-fold:

    1. The park where I walk the dogs did their annual pesticide maintenance, so I decided to keep them away from the park. Bane would have been good, but Ivy loves to eat the grass. Each day I did my walk I checked, but even Saturday the signs were still up, but hopefully Tuesday morning they’ll be gone and we can get our walk on.
    2. The lower ab strain. The light bulb moment came when I was going over some notes, and realized that the lower ab strain kicked in a little after I started doing the GMB drills. A lot of them are very core centric, so I pulled back after Monday and swapped in other mobility work. The soreness dropped off almost immediately. Sometimes progress isn’t about adding — it’s about knowing what to remove. I’ll give it a couple of weeks, then start adding things back in.

    On the upside, weight was down a couple of pounds, and my waist and body fat continue to go down.

    Week 2’s focus: Start the running plan. My calves have been solid through the walking volume the last couple of weeks, and I’m ready to lace up and reintroduce running without pulling myself back into strain city. That’s the test for this week: keep the momentum, keep the joints happy, and get the dogs back out and walking again.

    Still lifting. Still losing. Still showing up. Usually.

  • Phase 1 Wrap-Up – Six Weeks of Showing Up

    Dogs are the best alarm clocks and the worst recovery tools. Most mornings, I’m up at 4 AM to hit the gym, but some nights I’m already awake because Ivy, my youngest, has decided to boop me square in the face at 2 AM like a drunk friend confessing their love. “Hey. Hey. Hey. Guess what?! I fuckin’ love you man.” Meanwhile, Bane, my older hound, itches from allergies, then needs to go outside. After all, he’s up, so why not? A full, uninterrupted night of sleep? Rare as Bigfoot flying a UFO.

    But six weeks later, I’ve learned something: consistency doesn’t mean perfection. It means showing up even when the night before was chaos. It means stringing together enough good days that the bad ones don’t completely screw up your progress.

    The verdict? Mission accomplished — in a George W. Bush sort of way.

    The Numbers (July 19 → Aug 31)

    • Weight: 208.4 lb → 208.2 lb (flat, but the real story is in the details)
    • Body Fat % (tape): 28.6% → 27.3% (–1.3%)
    • Waist: 39.5 in → 38.6 in (–0.9 in)
    • Lean Mass: +2.5 lb
    • Fat Mass: –2.7 lb

    Fitness Test Highlights:

    • Plank: 60s → 70s
    • Push-Ups: 15 → 20
    • Pull-Ups: 5 → 6
    • Dips: 8 → 9
    • Wall Sit: 45s → 60s

    Not breaking records, but breaking my old limits — and that’s the whole point.

    Wins

    • Consistency streak: I finally stacked six weeks of gym sessions, runs, mobility, and recovery. Not perfect attendance, but no disappearing acts either.
    • Logging became a habit: Every lift, every run, every measurement tracked. The data pile is now a foundation, not a chore.
    • Recovery tools came online: Steam room, EMS, massage gun — when used, they worked.
    • Walking became non-negotiable: Daily walks with Bane and Ivy. Some days that was the win, and it was enough.

    Challenges

    • Calf sabotage: My left calf staged a revolt near the end of the phase, forcing me to swap runs for rehab walks. It was a reminder that durability comes before distance.
    • Sleep disruptions: Between dogs and on-call shifts, “uninterrupted sleep” was more of a fantasy. Some mornings the real victory was just getting out of bed.
    • Balancing lifting and running: Learning how much was enough without tipping into too much took trial, error, and a couple strained muscles.
    • Biggest Challenge = Me: Mentally, I’m still my own biggest roadblock. I can overthink, second-guess, or want to scrap it all when things don’t go perfectly. But this time, I didn’t.

    Lessons Learned

    The single biggest lesson from Phase 1: missing workouts doesn’t mean failure.

    I missed Fridays. I missed Saturdays. Sometimes back-to-back weeks. In the past, that would’ve been the end. I would’ve scrapped the plan and “restarted later” (translation: months down the road when I looked in the mirror and wondered when I was due).

    This time, I just kept showing up. Mondays were my reset button. Dog walks were my insurance policy. A bad day, a bad night of sleep, or a missed workout didn’t derail the whole thing — it was just like tripping on a raised bit of sidewalk. I stumbled, caught myself, and kept going.

    I also learned that:

    • Recovery matters as much as training. Push through a strain and you lose weeks. Rest smart and you’re back in days.
    • Data = accountability. Logging everything, even the ugly sessions, kept me honest.
    • Consistency isn’t about streaks, it’s about persistence.

    Recomp Week (Deload)

    This week isn’t about progress, it’s about preservation. The plan:

    • Training: Light weights, mobility, calf rehab, walks, maybe some biking.
    • Nutrition: Simple, clean meals. More protein, less fluff. Sandwiches and salads are the name of the game.
    • Recovery: Steam room and sauna back in the mix, EMS/TENS daily for the calf, compression on rotation.

    It’s not retreat — it’s reset.

    Looking Ahead – Phase 2

    Phase 2 officially starts Sept 7, with the half marathon training plan launching Sept 14. The goals:

    • Push gym weights upward with a fresh baseline.
    • Rebuild my running base without re-aggravating the calf.
    • Keep recovery non-negotiable.

    The foundation is built. Now it’s time to layer strength and endurance onto it.

    Closing

    Phase 1 is done. I’m leaner, stronger, and still standing. Not because everything went perfectly — it didn’t — but because I kept showing up. Even when the calf blew up. Even when sleep didn’t happen. Even when Ivy booped me awake at 2 AM to remind me that she loved me.

    The base is built. Recomp week is here. Next stop: Phase 2.

    Still lifting. Still losing. Still showing up. Usually.

  • Week 6 Mid-Week Recap

    Sunday Reset – Week 6 Kickoff
    Sometimes the best training move is no training at all. After cramping through Saturday’s run, I skipped my planned Lone Mountain walk and gave my calf a real break. Instead, I caught up on sleep, food prep, and a whole lot of nothing. Funny thing is, that “nothing” might have been the smartest thing I did all week.

    The grogginess from a CBD gummy reminded me that recovery isn’t just about muscles—it’s also about the nervous system and sleep quality. With soreness easing and the week ahead mapped out, I’m stepping into Week 6 not burnt out, not behind—just ready to keep stacking consistent days.

    Monday
    Ivy decided 3 AM was the perfect time to puke, and Bane chimed in later with his itching routine, so sleep wasn’t exactly awesome. Still, I managed to shake it off and head in for leg day.

    The session itself went well — I’m still dialing in that upper limit on the leg press. The tricky part is finding a load that pushes strength without wrecking my legs for the next day’s run. That balance between strength and endurance is Phase 1 in a nutshell: building a base without overcooking anything.

    It’s the last week of this phase, and I want to finish it proud — consistent, steady, and ready to earn that de-load before Phase 2 cranks things up.

    Tuesday
    Planned: continuous 4K run. Reality: calf had other ideas. The left side cramped again, so the run became another run/walk. Frustrating, since hydration and electrolytes were on point yesterday and this morning. So, it’s likely not an issue with hydration.

    So I’ll take it easy today and keep icing and stretching, and hope that adding a compression sleeve Thursday will help. And next week is my scheduled de-load week, so I won’t be going quite as hard at the gym.

    Wednesday

    Last night’s sleep finally cooperated, and it showed up in the gym today. The chest and triceps session moved well, and it felt good to rack weights without second-guessing if I had anything left in the tank. It’s also the last stretch of my on-call rotation, which means soon I can get back to one of my favorite recovery tools: steam room sessions. I’ve missed them more than I expected.

    Midweek, the body feels solid and the mindset is steady. I know the measurements will be what they’ll be, but I feel like I’m actually putting in the kind of work that will start to show. Progress may not always be obvious day to day, but stringing together weeks like this is what gets me to the bigger goals. Right now, I’m hitting the gym hard and staying locked in—that’s a win.

    Still Lifting. Still Losing (My Mind). Still Showing Up (Usually).

  • Midweek Check-In – Finding the Groove

    Sunday 8/10 – Quiet Reset

    Sunday was as standard as it gets for a rest day. I knocked out my weekly measurements, prepped food for the week, got some reading in, and kept things low-key.
    Sleep was solid, soreness was basically gone, and while my energy wasn’t off the charts, it didn’t need to be — nothing major was planned. Mood was good overall.
    I probably ate a little more than I should have — weekends always test discipline — but that’s part of the process. The important thing was getting meals prepped and structure in place for the week ahead.

    Monday – Sleepy Strong Start

    Last night’s sleep was so good it left me a little “sleep drunk” in the morning. I shook it off at the gym with a solid leg day, then got the dogs out for their walk. That turned into a full-on social hour when we ran into another pair of basset hounds — lots of sniffing and hanging out, not much actual walking.
    Soreness stayed minimal, mood was good, and energy was decent overall. I even snuck in a quick power nap to top things off. Not a bad way to kick off the week.

    Tuesday – Early Start, Hot Spot Hustle

    Sleep was a little off thanks to Daisy’s late Taekwondo and Bane’s early wake-up call. I lost about an hour overall, so energy wasn’t where I wanted it, but I still got up and knocked out my run.
    The run itself went well — 2.5 miles in 30 minutes — though I’m still chasing down the hot spot on the ball of my right foot. It fades as I go, but I’d rather fix it than keep hoping it disappears.

    Wednesday – Midweek Switch-Up

    The gym felt good today, and I switched things up with a different routine. The goal was simple: adjust lifts and sets so I’d have time to squeeze in a steam session afterward for recovery. Mission accomplished on the time side at least, I didn’t add in the steam session yet, that will come in in a couple of weeks.
    Sleep wasn’t perfect — Tuesday nights rarely are — but it wasn’t a disaster either. I’ll try to make up for it the rest of the week and, fingers crossed, actually get into the gym on Friday.
    On-call starts back up tomorrow, but for now the slate looks clean. We’ll see how long that lasts.

    Still Lifting. Still Losing. Still Showing Up. (Usually)

  • Week 3 Midweek Recap – Building Momentum

    Week 3 kicked off with a little chaos, but the training rhythm is coming together, and I’m finding my footing with food, mobility, and the return to running.

    Sunday – Reset Mode

    Low-key recovery day. I didn’t leave the house, didn’t push it. I did get a nap in, so I felt rested and ready to hit the week.

    Monday – Leg Press Lunacy

    Kicked off the gym week with severly interupted sleep, but not from the dogs this time. The shower caddy decided to jump off the wall at 1 AM, and it was a bitch getting back to sleep. But I made it to the gym for bilateral legs and shoulders. I’m slowly pushing on weights to find my upper limit. I got the dogs out for their walk, and GMB afterward felt good.

    Tuesday – Back on the Road

    Finally ran again. Two miles of intervals to get my legs back into the groove.Got the dogs out for their walk, then did my GMB and mobility afterward. I had good energy all day which was a nice change.

    Wednesday – Chest and Triceps

    Chest and triceps day was solid even though the incline press had to move to the end of the session. Huge gym, but not always enough machines. Sadly, the steam room was down yet again, so I hit the sauna for a quick shot of recovery heat. Dogs got their walk in, and I hit my GMB flow.

    Midweek Mood

    Energy is holding. Sleep is still a bit wonky, but not wrecking me. Carbs are finally climbing without just shoving bread down my throat. Running’s back, and the weight is nudging down without giving up muscle. Here’s to momentum!

    Still lifting. Still losing. Still showing up (Usually).

  • Fit by 50: Week 1 Recap – The Grind Before the Growth

    Well, Week 1 of Fit by 50 is officially in the books.

    It sucked.

    Not the “fun challenge” kind of suck. The “why am I even doing this, I’m exhausted and bloated and feel like shit” kind of suck.

    Let’s get brutally honest about it.

    📉 The Numbers (Because They Sure Didn’t Feel Like Wins)

    • Weight: 208.2 lbs (–0.2 lbs)
    • Body Fat %: 28.54% (–0.08%)
    • Waist: 39.38″ (–0.09”)
    • Neck: 14.15″ (–0.04”)

    Despite dragging myself through workouts, keeping calories mostly in check (at least in total, if not in balance), walking the dogs, steaming, stretching, flossing, and getting back in the gym—I got tiny changes. Microscopic. Practically invisible.

    🏋️ Training

    The lifting sessions were solid on paper: bilateral leg/shoulder day, chest/triceps, and back/biceps. I hit my scheduled workouts, bike intervals, mobility, and even added GMB and core training.

    But the recovery?

    Brutal.

    Soreness stuck around like a bad house guest. My chest was so tender after Tuesday’s session I could’ve starred in a meat tenderizer commercial. Sleep was erratic. I was constantly thirsty. And my brain? Fogged up like the inside of the damn steam room I kept missing because of broken equipment or poor planning.

    🍽️ Nutrition

    My macros were wrecked. High protein, low carb, low fat—nearly every day.

    Somehow, even with large meals, I was under-fueled. I’d crash mid-morning. Mood swings. Cramps. Dizziness. Vertigo. No rhythm. No clarity.

    Trying to pre-fuel and recover better is now my focus going into Week 2. I’ve got Huel, protein snacks, pre-run rice cakes, and a few fallback options lined up. Hopefully my gut and brain can come to an agreement soon.

    💤 Sleep

    Oh, sleep. One night it’s 8 hours with beautiful deep sleep. The next? Dogs puking, brain wired, and wake-ups every 90 minutes.

    My average sleep was technically “enough.” But recovery quality wasn’t. Some nights I woke up more exhausted than when I went to bed.

    It’s clear now: until my nervous system calms down and my sleep stabilizes, fat loss and strength gains are going to crawl.

    💀 Mental State

    This week was a slap in the face.

    I did almost everything right, and felt worse by the day. I looked for signs of progress, but found frustration, inflammation, and disappointment.

    But here’s the truth: this is what the first week of a real transformation looks like.

    • Not Instagram PRs.
    • Not shredded abs.
    • Just surviving, logging, adapting, and staying the course when it feels like nothing is working.

    🧭 The Road Ahead

    I’m not quitting.

    Not after one week, one pound, or one sleepless night.

    Next week I’ll get the macros dialed in. I’ll experiment with light pre-workout fuel. I’ll show up to the gym, steam, and foam roll. I’ll deal with the soreness. And I’ll keep logging every inch, pound, step, and drop of sweat until this body gives me what I came for.

    Still lifting.
    Still losing.
    Still showing up.
    Usually.

    – Martin
    #FitBy50

  • Zero-Day Check-In: Ground Zero and Moving Forward

    Tomorrow starts my new training cycle.
    Today is Zero Day — not because I’m doing nothing, but because I’m starting from exactly where I am, no filters, no fluff, no pretending I’m further along than I am.

    📊 The Raw Stats

    • Weight: 208.4 lbs
    • Body Fat %: ~29%
    • Waist: 39.47″
    • Resting Heart Rate: 59 bpm
    • Heart Rate Variability: 40 ms
    • VO2 Max: 35.4
    • Lean Body Mass: ~149 lbs

    Physically, I’m carrying more fat than I want, and I’ve slipped further away from my goals than I intended during visits from family and a two week vacation. That said, there’s muscle under the fluff, and my heart rate data shows I’m still carrying a decent endurance base. I’m not broken—just rebuilding.

    🧠 The Real Talk

    I only trained once this past week. Life happened. Energy was off. Plague was endured. Sleep was trash. But I’m not here to make excuses—I’m here to draw a line.

    That line is today.

    🛠️ What I’m Building Toward

    • Sub-15% body fat
    • 175 lbs with visible muscle definition
    • A strong back, solid joints, and cardio endurance to match
    • A sub-30 5K and a half marathon in the winter
    • 10 pull-ups, 10 chin-ups, and 0 excuses

    💤 Recovery Snapshot

    Sleep was inconsistent. My deep sleep and REM are both under where I need them to be. HRV isn’t terrible, but not great either. Recovery is clearly one of the first things I need to address.

    💬 Why This Matters

    This isn’t about chasing a six-pack. It’s about showing up for my health, my future, and my family.

    I turn 50 next year. I’m not trying to “get back” to anything—I’m trying to build the best version of me I’ve ever been. And I’m doing it in full view. No edits. No shortcuts.

    🔜 What’s Next

    • Training starts Monday: lifting, running, conditioning
    • Nutrition is already dialed and tracked
    • Progress photos and measurements logged monthly
    • Fitness tests rechecked every 6–8 weeks

    Tomorrow is Day 1.
    Today is just the proof that I’m serious enough to show you where I’m starting.

    Still lifting.
    Still losing (my mind).
    Still showing up.

    Usually.

    — Martin

  • Meet Bane: The Dog Who Doesn’t Believe in Rest Days

    We got Bane from a Basset rescue when he was about six months old. He’s been part of the family ever since—30% nose, 60% attitude, and 100% in charge of my cardio.

    Bane is an extremely good boy. He’s also allergic to basically everything: food, dust, air, joy, you name it. He’s on special hydrolyzed food, takes Apoquel daily (sometimes twice), and his treats are limited to ice cubes and vegan marshmallows—which is either adorable or tragic, depending on how you look at it.

    He also gets frequent skin infections and has to be wiped down daily like a sweaty gym bench, and bathed in special shampoo once or twice a week. The goal is to get him into a full allergy treatment program, which could run around $5,000. I’ve picked up a second job to help cover it, but in the meantime, I set up a Ko-fi page to support his care.

    If you’d rather support with action instead of cash, I’ve made something for that too.

    🎁 Download Bane’s Daily Walk Log – a printable tracking sheet for you (or your dog) to log daily walks, sniff sessions, and silent resentment toward squirrels.

    Thanks for supporting Bane, this blog, and my attempt to get fit without falling apart.
    He might ruin my sleep and ignore rest days, but he’s family.

    🐶💤
    Martin & Bane
    The Recomp Chronicles