Frugality is a core part of my life, my budget and my identity. I take pride in not spending money frivolously. Although I have loosened up my discretionary spending in recent years, it doesn’t come naturally to me. My initial instinct before making most purchases is to consider the cost and assess whether the purchase…
What Day Is It?
A surprising happened to me the moment I stopped going to the pool every day. I have no idea what day it is. I literally pay no attention to it whatsoever. Because I no longer have to navigate around swim team schedules, learn-to-swim classes, pool maintenance, traffic issues and holiday closures I only pay attention…
Naming Names
I discovered Dan John in the late 2000s while reading about training with sleds, kettlebells and sandbags. At the time, he was a college & high school professor, a strength & conditioning coach, a writer, a blogger and a popular kettlebell trainer. I watched many of his videos, read through his forum posts and purchased one…
To Not Do List
I am a list guy. I keep several lists on my phone that I refer to on a regular basis. Here are some examples: I have others that I keep as reference for occasional use: These lists help me not keep forgetting to take care of something only to be reminded of it later and…
Eye Yi Yi
About 14 months ago after seeing an optimist for the first time in 7 years, I learned my prescription had changed so I ordered two pairs of new glasses from Zenni. Even though Zenni has fantastic prices compared to local places, my glasses still aren’t cheap. I get high-end progressive lenses that lighten and darken automatically based…
A Custom Fit Life
I bought a new computer recently and have been quite pleased with it. In addition to the benefits mentioned in my prior post, it is lightning fast and the large display makes it infinitely better to use. The only thing I didn’t love about is that my formerly pristine desktop now had the Mac Mini, the…
My $20 Massage Therapist
When I switched my workouts to functional training, several of the coaches I follow recommended using foam rolling to help with recovery. I was familiar with foam rolling because I did this when I was doing functional training before. Since I’m older now and made this switch because of an injury, I jumped right back…
Dr. AI
I had a health concern pop-up unexpectedly in the midst of our snowpacalypse this weekend. I won’t get into the specific details. I refuse to become another old person who talks about their health problems all the time. Let’s just say that I never had this issue before and wasn’t sure how to handle it….
Giving Up Fighting Mother Nature
I am a grinder. All my life I’ve pushed hard and persistently against obstacles, discomfort and challenges. I don’t give up easily. I keep grinding. It’s my nature. The older I get, the more I recognize that this is not always appropriate. I can be obsessive, obstinate and plain foolhardy. I am trying to change….
If It Hurts Don’t Do It
Note: This post is more for me to sort out what I’m thinking than for my readers. If you’re not interested in fitness and dealing with getting older, you might want to skip it. I’ve been reading and listening to Mike Boyle as I re-immerse myself into functional training. On a podcast, Mike was a…