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I was still feeling pretty beat up yesterday - lack of sleep for the last several days and a brutal physical therapy session, so I fell asleep early.

Today I got out on my bike. I tried to follow a route I found recently on bikely.com, but pretty quickly started missing turns, so I didn't quite follow the trail I had intended. I did take about the same course, and I did about the same mileage, give or take - but of course since I wasn't starting on any point of the trail there was a little extra mileage to get to it. I had to stop a few times and check my location on my iPhone map and see if I could get myself back to the trail I wanted to follow. Then I finally joined up with trail I was familiar with, and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way - to a point.

I'm pretty sure I neglected to consume enough calories in the morning before I went. After a total of about 19 miles or so, I was really feeling like I had run completely out of gas. But I kept on pushing through, at a little slower pace, and finally got home.

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I'm already eyeing a route for Monday - looks like as the route is plotted on bikely.com, it's about 33 miles. I'll be adjusting it slightly for my start and end points.

August 27:

Back to the physical therapist today. Today they did something to my back - it felt like they were trying to dislocate my shoulder blade. But it sounds more painful than it was - it was primarily just a weird feeling. They also had me do a bunch of shoulder stuff, and some triceps stuff. Which I'm hoping won't get too much in the way of...

Push ups: Week 5, column 2, day 2. 17 then 17 then 16 then 16 then 14 then 14 then 12 then maxed out at 20. Rested about 45 seconds between sets for a total of 126 in about 7 minutes, give or take.

Chin ups: Week 1, column 3, day 2. 12 then 12 then 10 (these are getting pretty tough) then 9 (yeah, not too many more, but then I still) maxed out at 8. Barely. Rested about 90 seconds between sets for a total of 51 in about 8 minutes.

And then I noticed that I'm somehow out of Ensure™ bottles, which I was using as a post-workout protein shake. I was pretty sure I had some left. So, it appears that someone absconded with them. It totally couldn't have been me that took the last one and forgot about it. So I had to resort to some yogurt, which - now I'm not sure if it's the brand, or what, but - didn't taste all that great.

August 28:

Physical therapy today. My physical therapist is a sadist. The first half wasn't so bad, pretty much the standard stuff - treadmill, arm bike, stretches, light abs, shoulder, and gluteal work. But then I had to be in a pushup stance and walk my hands up onto a step and then back down. 30 times. And if that wasn't bad enough, then I had to hold a plank on a stability ball for 30 seconds. Twice. And then a set of stability ball roll-ins - uh, it says on that page that they're an "advanced" exercise? Sheesh. Let's not forget that just the day before, I did some triceps pulldowns in physical therapy and then went home to do 126 pushups. And boy, are my arms tired. No desire, motivation, or energy to do absolutely anything at home afterwards.

August 25:

Went to the physical therapist again. They're really tearing up my shoulders and back. Which is good, because that's what they've determined I need help with. I still had a lot of back pain from my work day - the CTA, my stupid Herman Miller Aeron chair (how this thing is supposed to be comfortable I'll never know), adjusting my desk, trying to sit with good posture, and then the CTA ride home all did a number on me.

So about that chair. I used to only slouch at my desk, reclined in my chair, etc. But that's bad. Even though it feels so good. So I'm forcing myself to keep my chair upright, legs and hips at around 90 degree angles - but something's not quite right. It feels bad, even though the Aeron chair is supposedly one of the most ergonomic chairs out there. I guess. Sure doesn't seem at all comfortable to me. Then, I realize that my desk is too high. So I brought in some allen wrenches to lower my desk. Did that, and now my arms are at a more appropriate angle.

But now there's another problem. My monitor height. Which is easy enough to fix, but the issue there is that it's a giant 30" monitor - so it's hard to get it to a height that feels right for the majority of the things on my screen.

It's pretty pathetic - nice chair, decent desk, nice monitor, but it feels like hell on my body.

At any rate, after physical therapy, I thought I'd be feeling pretty beat up - especially with the work on my core muscles (including my lower back) - but it's actually a little energizing. So energizing, in fact, that I felt really ready to jump right into...

Push ups: Week 5, column 2, day 1. 35 then 28 (oh wow, these are really hard today) then 20. I collapsed about 4 times near the end of the last set. Each time I collapsed, I rested at most 2 seconds, and did another 2 before collapsing again. I have no idea why I couldn't do these today. 80 in the course of about 4 minutes. This is the worst I've failed in ... well, ever. It was my triceps that gave out. I think I'll give 5-2-2 a try on Wednesday. But I'm thinking I'll likely have to redo this week.

Chin ups: Week 1, column 3, day 1. 10 then 10 then 8 then 6 then maxed out at 7. Rested about 60 seconds between sets for a total of 41 in about 6 minutes. Fairly tough, but I did it. And hit the target, even on the max out set.

Then I went back and did another set of 20 pushups. Which amazingly enough felt OK. I didn't quite max out, but stopped a few shy of it. Then I typed up most of this entry (starting from the push ups section - not quite the whole thing :) and then did another set of 30. So now I suppose that 130 in about 30 minutes, or so. I forget when exactly I started. After another brief rest and after I chugged down a protein shake, I briefly considered doing some more. But I thought I was pushing my luck.

BTW, it occurs to me that a few (or more?) days ago I mentioned something about "Oh, I don't need to do any ab work since blah blah blah" and yet here I am complaining about the abuse my transverse abdominal muscles are taking at the hands of the physical therapist. Suffice it to say that the crunches I was doing hardly hit all of my abs. Especially not the ones that are apparently weak. I'm doing little more than tensing the muscles and doing some leg lifts, and that's enough to make me sore.

I was sore the next day, so I skipped the kettlebell.

August 23:

I got out on my bike today. Pretty close to the same route that I did last Saturday, though instead of cutting a straighter line through the city to get back to the house in time, I just turned around and went the same route home. The good news is that there wasn't the Air and Water show going on, so the bike path wasn't absolutely jam-packed with people like it was last week. However, the people who are there normally (runners, walkers, roller-bladers, and other bikers) just have no clue how to coexist in the world with other people. It's simple - keep to the right, but get to the left to pass. Once you've passed, get back to the right. Don't run 3 people abreast. Don't ride in a huge clump of people with opposing foot or bike traffic. Be aware of your surroundings. And that means get those earphones out of your ears! How are you supposed to hear me yell out "on your left" so I can safely pass you, much less "OMG LOOK OUT FOR THAT BABY".

I also had the incredible good fortune to have either a cross wind or a head wind going south, and then again on my way back. So my average speed wasn't great, but there were a few times I actually caught a tail wind and kept a pace of 20 mph. But there was more than a few times where I had to slog along at 12 or 13 mph.

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Sunday was a day of rest. I like those.

August 21:

Went back to the physical therapist today, they beat up my shoulders and transverse abdominals again. But that's OK - I obviously need the work. Since, you know, they diagnosed that I needed it - what with their poking, pulling, yanking, and torturing. Hopefully my sore shoulders don't interfere too much with my...

Push ups: exhaustion test... I did 40. And a half. But no halvsies. So 40. Which means I don't get to stay in column 3 for the next week - I'm in column two. I think I'll shoot for going through week 5, column 2, and then doing another exhaustion test to make sure I can get into column 3, and then go from there. I'm almost glad I petered out after 40 - had I done that last one where my triceps gave out, I'd have to start with 40 for my first set. Uh, hello? I could just barely do 40! Then I'm supposed to rest a measly 60 seconds and turn around and do another 32? I don't think so.

For chin ups, I'm going straight into week 1, column 3, since it's the target number is the same number as the last time around - just a different amount of rest between sets. So long as by "different", I mean less. Like, half. So without further adieu...

Chin ups: 10 then 10 then 8 then 6 then maxed out at 4. I think. I know I counted to 5 on the last set, but once again I don't remember if that was the last full chin up, or the last one I was attempting (and of course, subsequently failed to achieve). I'm still on the shorter door. At least I am fully aware of and fully admit to my cheating. I'll repeat this day to have it back in sync with push ups.

I'm also strongly considering resting 3 days. For one, I'm not sure when on Saturday I'll find a little time for my workout - we've got a day commitment out in the far west/northwest suburbs, and then we're having a babysitter over to let us have a night out - which we haven't been able to do since a month or so ago, which was the night we misjudged Matthew's antigrump capacity and had to run out of a restaurant with our food in to go boxes and a screaming infant in tow.

August 18:

Push ups: 30 then 22 then 22 then 20 then maxed out at 29. Wow. Rested about 2 minutes between sets for a total of 123 in about 11 minutes. I somehow had it in me to squeeze out the 29 max out set. Boy am I tired. But not too tired to do...

Chin ups: 10 then 8 then 8 then 5 then maxed out at 7, I think. Rested about 2 minutes between sets for a total of 38 in about 10 minutes. Again, these were from the shorter door, so I think I was cheating a little. I recall counting to 8 on the last one, but I think I only got halfway up on 8, so that's why I've got it as 7.

The chart for this week:

August 19:

Three kettlebell circuits. I'm thinking I really need to start thinking about buying a heavier kettlebell. But then I think that I'm certainly sweating, huffing, and puffing by the time I'm done with this one. Do I really need to push myself that much harder? Also, I've only done this (3 circuits) about once a week. I really think I should let me body get used to this increased activity gradually, because I really think I touched on overtraining there for a bit while I had split the chin ups and push ups onto their own days.

August 20:

I finally got myself to a physical therapist. Turns out that in addition to my previously diagnosed sciatica (compression of the sciatic nerve which causes some hip/pelvis/low back pain on my left side and an occasional shooting sensation down my shin - go figure) I also have a hip deflection. Or rotation. Or something. I don't recall. Also, some of my core muscles are a lot weaker than perhaps they ought to be. Like the gluteal meads, transverse abdominals, mid and rear deltoids, and who knows what else. So the therapist put me through some torture, er I mean strength, tests, and had me do some simple exercises which left me a little sore afterwards, and a little tired. Also the fact that Lisa and I took Matthew to the doctor in the morning, which meant that I had to wake up early. And of course the night before I had to stay up late doing all the normal evening things. So I didn't have much sleep. So I was pretty tired by the time the evening rolled around, so I completely skipped my push ups and chin ups. Which makes me sad.

August 15:

I almost skipped today. I went to see the doctor, taking public transportation, and the bus was really crowded. Which made me stand the whole way. Which made my back hurt a lot more. Which is a little ironic, since I was going to the doctor to help alleviate my back pain. We also had another nanny interview, which made me not be able to rest my back after I got home. Long story short, my back hurt, and I wasn't sure it would stop hurting before I had to go to bed. But it ended up feeling good enough, so I went ahead and did my...

Push ups: 27 (oh wow, my inner upper arms are kind of sore today, but) then 21 (not so bad this time around, but still not great, but) then 21 (kind of running out of gas towards the end there, and) then 18 (oh you gotta be kidding me, there's another set after this?) then maxed out at 25. The minimum, I might add. Rested about 90 seconds between sets for a total of 112 in about 8 minutes. No idea how I got the max on the last set.

Chin ups: 9 then 8 then 6 then 5 then maxed out at 7. Resting about 90 seconds between sets for a total of 35 in about 7 minutes. Lisa went to bed early, so I had to move the chin up bar to a shorter door. So these were a little easier, since I let my feet hit the ground after each chin up. I wonder if I could have done as many on the taller door upstairs...

Wee bit of bad news about going to the doctor today. They weighed me, and my weight appears to be the same. Granted, this is just after a hearty lunch, and it was a different scale, and I was wearing all my clothes (which I haven't been at home), so this may not necessarily be an accurate reflection of my real weight. But I guess I was secretly hoping I had lost maybe a pound or two in the four weeks I've been doing this. And of course it's not pounds that matter - I would happily weigh 10 pounds more if it were all muscle.

August 16:

I got out on my bike. I had to hurry back, because Lisa had somewhere to go, and I needed to watch Matthew. So instead of the circuitous route I took to get there, I took as close to a straight line as I could. Also, I had completely forgotten that this weekend is the Air and Water Show along the lake, so it was really unwise to go down the lakeshore bike path starting around Armitage. It was wall to wall people, none of whom had any idea that people might be using the bike path for - you know, biking?

I really wish I had the opportunity to go a little further, because I'd really like to keep steadily increasing the mileage of my rides. And it's also been a few years since I've been down the Lake Shore Bike Path, especially further south than McCormick Place. But I did get down to Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium.

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August 13:

I stayed home from work in the morning to take Lisa back to the oral surgeon, but I found myself with a little extra time to make up for missing kettlebell last night. So I did the three circuits, hopped in the shower, and went to the oral surgeon with Lisa. She's doing fine, BTW. The swelling has gone down a lot and she only has a little bruising on her cheeks.

Later in the evening, it was time for my push ups and chin ups. I plan to do week 4 day 1 column 3 for push ups, and I figure I'll try to do week 1 column 2 again on chin ups.

Push ups: 27 then 20 then 20 then 17 then maxed out at 23. Rested about 60 seconds between sets, for a total of 107 in about 7 minutes.

Chin ups: 7 then 5 then 5 then 4 then 5. Resting about 60 seconds between sets, for a total of 26 in about 6 minutes. I could hardly do the last two of the four and the last three of the last five. But I took a rest for a beat or two, then gave it my all. So I hit all the targets today, but just barely.

And I rested August 14th, too. And I swear it's completely unrelated, but I'm finally going to go to a doctor to see about my back pain. I really just wanted to go to a physical therapist, but they seem to only accept "patients" with "prescriptions" from "doctors" for physical therapy. I just don't want my doctor giving me drugs. Ibuprofen is about all I'm willing to take, but I can't keep taking it like I have been lately.

August 11:

Push ups: 30 then 22 then 22 then 20 then maxed out at 28. Rested about 2 minutes between sets for a total of 122 in about 11 minutes. Yes - I did more than the minimum on the max. That feels pretty good. Even though I missed the max on day 1 of week 3 redux, I'll go ahead and move on to week 4.

The chin ups look tough today - almost unreachable - but I'll give it a go anyhow. I've got that 2 minute rest to try to get my muscles ready to go again, so I'll see if it helps any.

Chin ups: 10 then 8 then 7 then 5 then maxed out at 2. Rested about 2 minutes between sets - which obviously wasn't enough to recover to pull off the next set - for a total of 32 in about 10 minutes.

So the push ups week 3 and chin ups week 1 wrap up look like this:

Obviously these number surpass any I've done so far in the last 4 (or is it 5?) weeks. So I'll be moving on in push ups, and repeating week 1 column 2 for chin ups. Not so bad, hopefully the repeat of the week will let me hit all the targets this time around. It looks like the start of week 2 column 2 will be fewer chin ups, but in less time. I'll see if I can hit those - in another week, of course.

I meant to do the kettlebell training the next day, but I was tired. I woke up early thinking I might have to come home early and interview a nanny - but neither Lisa or I had the chance to set anything up.

I'm posting a bit more than a day or two per post, hoping I can catch up to current before too much longer.

August 8:

I think I'm supposed to do week 3, day 2, column 3 for push ups today, but I'm not sure. I'm more sure about doing week 1, day 2, column 2 for chin ups. Regardless of what I've actually worked up to, this is what I'll be doing for the day.

Push ups: 27 then 19 then 19 then 15 then maxed out at 25. Resting about 90 seconds between sets for a total of 105 in about 8 minutes. I actually think I could've gotten one, possibly two more out of the max set before total collapse, but I just stopped at 25. But the really good news is that today, I hit all the targets for week 3 day 2. Hooray!

Chin ups: Not quite so good. 9 then 8 then 6 then 4 and two halves and then maxed out at 2 and three halves. Yes, I tried to get more than two on three separate tries. And failed. Rested about 90 seconds between sets for a total of 29 in about 7 minutes. This is definitely more than I've done so far, but it was still short of the target. I think I'll probably end up repeating this one, too. Small bummer. But overall I'm still feeling good about my generally forward progress with the chin ups.

August 9:

Just to wrap up where I've been along the path to 100 consecutive push ups and chin ups so far, I've created a little chart tracking my progress.

This gives me a lot of hope - I can see, now that I've laid it all out, that I'm making some real progress. At times it feels like I'm taking a step backwards for every two steps forward I'm making, but I can see the method to the madness.

Thanks to Lisa's parents being in town to help out after Lisa's wisdom teeth extraction, I got to get out on my bike both days without feeling guilty about leaving her with Matthew! I got out and cleaned up my CamelBak backpack, loaded it up with about 3 liters of water, filled my tires up to 110 psi, and took off. I went just a few more miles today than I did last Sunday, so the total was almost 32 miles. The route was pretty similar to what I did Sunday, just following the trail a little further. Courtesy Google Maps again, here's my route for today:

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Lisa and I interviewed a few potential nannies on Sunday, and we had to take her parents back to the airport, so I took another day of rest on August 10.