Okay, enough time away from the blog. It is time reinvest my energies in pursuits that make me healthy and happy. I am making changes in my life that I think will serve that purpose well. More about that later. For now…let’s talk about a passion: my workouts.

I returned to the gym (other than cardio) on November 3, 2012 after my surgery. Since that time, I have seen the following gains:

Bench squats up to 3 sets of 20 from 15

Back lunges up to 3 sets of 10 from 5

Adductor up from 115 lbs to 140 lbs

Abductor up from 100 lbs to 105 lbs

Leg curls up from 55 lbs to 60 lbs

RDL up from 20 lbs to 50 lbs (can easily go higher, just being conservative)

Ab machine from 10 lbs to 15 lbs

Seated rows from 25 lbs to 28 lbs

Lat pull downs from 25 lbs to 30 lbs

Close Dickersons from 15 lbs to 18 lbs

DB curl from 5 lbs to 10 lbs

Incline DB press from 5 lbs to 10 lbs

Incline DB flyes from 5 lbs to 10 lbs

Cable bar push down (triceps) from 15 lbs to 20 lbs

Seated calves from 90 lbs to 110 lbs

Straight arm pullovers from 10 lbs to 15 lbs

While these may not seem like huge gains to some, I am quite pleased with the progress. I can tell the muscles are growing again and I am having fun again. I have also seen gains in my cardio. My pulse is back to normal (60-63), I am doing what I call low intensity intervals (LIIT). I walk briskly at 3.8 for 90 seconds and then jog at 4.5 for 30 seconds. The gain, my jogs now rise to 5.0 and last 30 to 60 seconds. This week I change the intervals to 60 min brisk walking and 30 sec jogging.

If you know me, you will not be surprised to know that my playlist right now is Christmas music.  “Christmas is Coming” from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is a great song for jogging – it has the perfect beat for my current jog speed. Some of the songs from “Polar Express” have great fast walking tempos.

I am also examining some other parts of my life in an attempt to decrease stress. Until I actually examined things, I had no idea how much unnecessary stress I carry on a day to day basis. I am in a position to eliminate a large number of those stressors and will explain when these changes occur. Suffice to say, just knowing that I can actually unload a considerable number of issues has allowed me to feel relief.

As always, as things unfold and the holidays approach, I will continue to remind myself – and you – to breathe!