August 2023

Good day.

The morning routine went well. The slow single-leg hip rotations lit up my glutes this time. It’s interesting how slight the left is to the right, though. I think there has been some long-term atrophy of the posterior and lateral chains on the left side.

The physical therapy rounds also went off without a hitch. The 2 2-mile walks were great.

It’s a somewhat relaxing day.

Speaking of which, I had a float tank session scheduled. Becca dropped me off before heading to the gym herself. I only floated for an hour instead of staying the full 90 minutes.

While waiting for Becca to pick me up, I checked how far the apartment was from the float spot. 2 miles, lucky. I sent a message to Becca, letting her know I’d be walking home.

Despite being no longer than my regular morning walk, this walk had me spend most of my time in zone 3 territory.

It sounds like I know what I’m talking about for a second. Suppose your heart rate is below 50 percent of your calculated maximum heart rate. In that case, it’s considered restorative (zone 0 because, of course, the gauge uses base zero, which must be European—that’s an elevator joke). Zone 1 is 50 to 60 percent of your maximum heart rate, more for warming up, cooling down, and active recovery. Zone 2 is 60 to 70 percent and can be maintained for long periods, building endurance and burning fat. Zone 3 is 70 to 80 percent, improving aerobic fitness and muscle strength. You catch up on zones 4 and 5 from the WHOOP article.

Back to the story.

For that 2-mile walk, half my time was spent in zone 3. Most of it was still zone 2. That’s an odd mix for me.

Consider my morning walk at the same distance and pace. 10 percent of my time was in zone 2. The rest was basically zone 1.

WHOOP also gave me an end-of-month report. It’s interesting to look at the data collected. In particular, strain and heart rate zones during training; heart rate zones aren’t measured for just existing. I did about 47 hours of tracked, straining activities. Roughly 60 percent of that time was spent in zone 1. Roughly 20 percent was Zone 2. and 15 percent in Zone 0. And that last little bit is in zone 3.

From a strain perspective, WHOOP measured it as light on a scale of:

1. light,
2. moderate,
3. strenuous, and
4. all out.

This is despite being able to do more.

My takeaway is that you can lightly walk your way into being stronger and more mobile with improved cardiovascular ability; you don’t have to practically kill yourself. Not only that, but it can at least start rapidly (newbie gains and all that).

The other better takeaway is that I can do things without being laid up for a week for otherwise inexplicable reasons.

Another good day.

I had an appointment with my primary care physician. Gave him the news from the rheumatologist. I made sure the request for a lung CT scan was in. And we did a spirometry test, wanting to capture a baseline.

In short, you are tested against a general population with similar attributes based on height, age, sex, and weight. Inhale quick and deep. Exhale quickly and keep trying to exhale for a few seconds. Then inhale. This creates a shape.

2 important measurements are how much air you push out in one second and how much air you push out overall before inhaling again.

I scored a 98 percent and a 102 percent. So, at the top end of normal.

Good sign.

I walked to the doctor’s office for my evening 2-mile walk. I was his last patient, and he offered me a ride home. I declined.

So, I walked 6 miles that day.

Good day.

Tuesday is only physical therapy prescription beyond the baseline shower and walking.

I had a 2-hour sports massage session with some grueling spots and inflammation. My therapist uses cupping in those instances. It’s just an upside-down cup with a slight vacuum. She slid it around my back, but it never stuck anywhere, which is a good sign. She would leave the cup there and bring another cup if it sticks. I had 3 or 4 cups on my back in the first session.

Becca and I were in Nashville last week to get a scan of my foot, and I had a late-night follow-up appointment with the rheumatologist I’m seeing. The rheumatologist said we ruled out many possibilities—no rheumatoid arthritis and, more importantly, no evidence of uric acid crystals in the joints. Therefore, whatever happened with my foot (specifically the big toe) wasn’t gout. She prescribed an increase to my fish oil dosage (1,000 milligrams per day) and the introduction of turmeric (1,000 milligrams per day with black pepper). She also wants me to follow up with a dermatologist to revisit the possibility of psoriasis.

The increase in fish oil was easy enough, just 2 capsules instead of 1. I also purchased a turmeric tablet containing a black pepper extract.

The amount of supplementation bothers me because I think most of our needs should be received from our diet. With that said, right now, I’m looking at therapy to repair and recover from whatever life position this is to give me the space to consider other things.

I’m a pretty intuitive person, and turmeric was something I was considering adding to my diet anyway due to the anti-inflammatory research related to it.

Let’s talk supplementation for a second.

When it comes to foundational supplements, an insurance policy against unfortunate circumstances, I use the following:

1. A broad-spectrum multivitamin.
2. 500 milligrams of fish oil.

That’s it. I was looking to fill some gaps in micronutrients, and I’ve been participating in intermittent fasting for over 20 years. Around 10 years ago, I added a 24-hour fasting period per week.

Now, let’s talk about what’s been added:

1. 6 grams creatine,
2. 14 grams of collagen, and
3. 28 grams of pea protein.

These are all added to my daily fruit smoothie. Becca originally developed the smoothie. The creatine is there mainly to hydrate muscles, I think. The collagen is there because, generally speaking, most people are deficient, and it’s good for bones and joints. So, with those two, much of the musculoskeletal system is aided.

The pea protein is a recent addition to help boost my protein intake to a midpoint between 180 and 200 grams per pound of body weight per day. If I lose weight, the ratio increases despite consuming the same meals and supplements. If I gain weight, the inverse is true.

I recently added the following:

1. Glucosamine plus chondroitin.

I’m a proponent of flexibility as a general benefit and particularly beneficial in avoiding injury. The supplement I use contains multiple ingredients, and the heavy hitter is glucosamine plus chondroitin.

And again, the rheumatologist has the following prescription for now:

1. 500 more milligrams of fish oil and
2. 1,000 milligrams of turmeric.

Good day, but odd.

I’m starting to determine things I’ll continue doing for as long as possible.

For the morning, that’s some form of stretching and mobilization (I typically do this in the shower if it’s large enough):

1. L-sit toe abductions.
2. L-sit foot massage and toe mobilization.
3. L-sit toe abductions.
4. L-sit active foot extensions for 2 minutes.
5. L-sit toe abductions.
6. L-sit active foot dorsiflexions for 2 minutes.
7. Bent sit position while performing hand massage and mobilization.
8. Flat school-style seated position for pelvic floor contractions.
9. Flat school-style seated position (changing which leg is in front) for vagal nerve stimulation breathwork.

A lot is going on here. While stretching and mobilization are the focus, there’s some resistance work. I am pulling during the active stretches. Back and hip flexor engagement from the L-sit; trying to be as upright as possible for the duration (around 6 minutes, static stretching and hold). The toe abductions use the abductor muscles in the feet. Sometimes, there is pushing if I need to post my arm or arms to maintain or achieve that upright spine position. I’m in the flat school-style position for about 4 or 5 minutes (static stretching and hold).

Most mornings, I also add some physical therapy and resistance movements as well:

1. 10 slow (8 to 16 seconds per repetition) single-leg hip rotations.
2. 20 hip lifts.
3. 10 wall presses, emphasizing wrist flexibility.

Throughout the day, I try to fit in the physical therapy prescriptions, plus some additional things. I create circuits (or rounds) for these. The goal for the single-leg hip rotations is 3 sets of 10. I have one of those sets in the shower because I can do it safely, and it seems valuable enough not to miss; even if I only do one set the entire day, it’s worth it.

So, what does a physical therapy prescription look like?

1. 10 wall breaths.
2. 10 single-leg hip rotations.
3. 15 split calf raises.
4. Pectoral corner stretch for 10 breaths.
5. 10 wall presses, hand down.
6. Couch quad stretch for 10 breaths.

Given I already have one of the sets of single-leg hip rotations in from the shower, I remove them from the final round.

What made today odd is I accidentally did more single-leg hip rotations than planned.

Initially, I would only do hip rotations on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday because they were kicking my ass. While that’s the point with the movement, I couldn’t recover fast enough to keep doing them daily; I even cut back to 8 instead of 10 and only 2 sets instead of 3. But, for whatever reason, I was in a flow and feeling good, and without conscious thought, I just did a set. I decided to shoot for 2 sets of 10 daily for the week. If I still weren’t recovering well, I’d cut back again.

While we’re here, we could talk about the rounds. The most basic round looks like this:

1. 10 cat cows.
2. Upward-facing dog for 10 breaths.
3. 10 single-leg hip rotations.
4. 15 split calf raises.
5. Pectoral corner stretch for 10 breaths.
6. 10 wall presses, hand down.
7. Couch quad stretch for 10 breaths.

These are most of the prescribed physical therapy movements, except the ones I do in the morning (shower) and 1 more I do in the first round.

Quick warm-up, followed by more intense movements (lower body), less intense upper body work, and what could be described as a cool-down.

All right, the first round has a bit more thrown in:

1. 5 rock-back breaths leading into 1 and 2 from above.
2. 10 wall breaths.
3. 10 planar slouches with eyes closed leading into 3.

3 rounds at my pace make this a 1-hour workout.

Because I want fitness and exercise to be integrated into my world as a habit, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I also do some MovNat movements. Today was no exception, and I did the following:

1. Supine lying 5 breaths.
2. Roll to prone lying, both sides, 5 breaths.
3. Bent sit for 10 breaths.
4. Side bent sit, both sides, 5 breaths, 3 repetitions.
5. Kneeling for 10 breaths, tall kneeling for 10 breaths, flex foot tall kneeling for 10 breaths, flex foot kneeling for 10 breaths.
6. Number 5, 5 more times (but without holding the position for a specific period).
7. Knee hand position for 5 breaths.

To make fitness a habit, I must make room for it and prioritize its completion. As of today, the plan is that if I can do the entire MovNat Fundamentals Week 1, Day 1, on Friday, I’ll add it to Monday. I’ll add it to Wednesday if I can do that throughout the week. If I can do that throughout the week, I’ll try replacing Friday with Week 1, Day 2.

I’ll revisit at that point.

The habit here is active exercise 3 times a week, at least.

I added a mile to my evening walk. So, we’re doing 4 miles per day at or above a 3-mile-per-hour pace. There are still moments where I hit zone 2 heart rate there, but they’re reducing.

As stated, I’ve decided to save non-shower exercises and movements to weekdays only.

I’m trying out the MacroFactor app partially owned by Jeff Nippard. It integrates directly with Apple’s Health app, which means WHOOP, which does the same, can get extra information. I’m planning to do a write-up about it soon as I decided to download it Saturday.

I’m trying to find a way to integrate pea protein into my mix. Saturday, I swapped out one scoop of collagen for one scoop of pea protein, which didn’t go as well as I hoped. Unlike the collagen, the pea protein has a noticeable flavor and texture. I’m considering converting my vegetables for dinner into a smoothie and adding them there instead. As an experiment, I made a smoothie out of my broccoli and carrots, which also didn’t go as well as I had hoped from a flavor perspective; however, it did reduce how long I spent eating the meal.

Introducing the pea protein gets me to about 188 grams on a typical feeding day. This is roughly the midpoint between the minimum and maximum using the various calculations for such things; at least according to my estimates—the MacroFactor app shows 177 grams based on my meals, which is still close to the low bar of 180 grams.

On Sunday, the WHOOP updated its insights. Of the things I track, consistent bed and wake times appear to have the most significant impact, even if I don’t sleep as long as the app suggests (reduced sleep performance), with roughly a 5 percent increase in recovery each. Next, at about 3 percent, is my perceived energy level, fish oil tablet, and multivitamin. Late meals and workouts have the most significant negative impact on recovery, at about 3 percent.

I decided to add my body composition (measurements) to the MacroFactor app. This took me back to the aesthetics project and two methods in determining “ideal” proportions. (More on that in a second.) The measurements were as follows (flexed); all sizes use inches:

1. Waist (belly button): 43
2. Hip (widest part): 42
3. Shoulders (around deltoids): 48
4. Neck: 18
5. Chest (around nipple height): 42
6. Left bicep (dominant arm, around peak of biceps): 15
7. Left forearm (widest part): 12
8. Left wrist (where the bone protrusion is): 7
9. Right thigh (middle): 22.5
10. Right calf (widest part): 17
11. Right ankle (where the bone protrusion is): 9.5
12. Waist to height (calculated by the app): 0.61
13. Waist to hip: 1.02
14. Visual body fat: 27 percent

Okay, to the methods for calculating ratios.

The first is referred to as the Grecian Ideal. If memory serves, and in short, someone with a lot of time on their hands went around taking measurements of Greek statues. They found that other measurements fell into place if you knew the wrist circumference. The wrist doesn’t fluctuate in size much; the bone is close to the skin, so regardless of where you are currently, wrist measurements won’t fluctuate much with exercise and weight gain. Plugging my wrist size into an online calculator gave me the following results:

1. Waist (belly button): 31.9
2. Hip (widest part): 38.7
3. Neck: 16.8
4. Chest (around nipple height): 45.5
5. Left bicep (dominant arm, around peak of biceps): 16.4
6. Left forearm (widest part): 13.2
7. Right thigh (middle): 24.1
8. Right calf (widest part): 15.5

Growing up, and for the aesthetics project, this is roughly what I was going for. Grecian statues tend to have a more “normal” estimated body fat percentage than we sometimes think is ideal. You might not have a six-pack, but you won’t need to dehydrate yourself, run at a severe caloric deficit from maintenance, or both.

The other method comes from a few decades later and is called the Steve Reeves ideal. And, of course, there’s a calculator for that. It takes into consideration more than the Grecian Ideal and sticks with the approach of measuring areas of the body that don’t change much. This approach looks at height, wrist, ankle, head, pelvis, and knee.

My results for going full Steve Reeves would be:

1. Waist (belly button): 36
2. Neck: 19
3. Chest (around nipple height): 62
4. Left bicep (dominant arm, around peak of biceps): 18
5. Right thigh (middle): 30
6. Right calf (widest part): 18

Notice the larger size for most of the measurements.

Again, my goal with this journey isn’t aesthetic; it’s movement and quality of life. And, with the exercises and activities I’m doing, ending up looking like a Greek statue seems within reach (not far off now), and I was well on my way during the aesthetics project.

The smaller calves would be relatively impossible, given my calves are almost 2 inches larger than the Grecian Ideal and nearly large enough for the Steve Reeves ratios. That’s without intentionally trying, just walking and stairs. However, somewhere in the middle will probably happen naturally. I’ll be okay if I can maintain or increase flexibility, balance, and strength from a functional perspective.

Even though I’m not shooting for aesthetics, I’m also not looking for speed; less flash-fry and more low-and-slow barbecue. In the beginning (where I am), I want to see some improvement in what I’m capable of every week without requiring a day or more to recover due to pain or injury. This is how I gauge whether I’m pushing too hard or not hard enough. Compounding pain day-to-day is trying too hard. Only being able to do the same stuff week-to-week is not hard enough—at least until I find my literal plateau or ceiling, depending on your preferred metaphor.

Oh! One other thing. I’m shifting my fasting day a bit. I won’t bother explaining how it used to work. Basically, on Saturday I’ll eat as usual. I’ll only drink water on Sunday until roughly the same time I finished dinner on Saturday. I’ll have my fruit smoothie, vitamins, protein bar, and possibly a little extra for Sunday dinner.

For example, I had a rotisserie chicken thigh this Sunday, a drumstick, and some sourdough bread.

Muscle soreness started kicking in. Despite having a good recovery, I decided to have a rest day.

I did:

1. 10 hip rotations on both sides.
2. 20 hip lifts on both sides.
3. 10 wall presses on both sides.
4. Foot massage variations.
5. Toe releases and mobilizations.
6. Foot extensions.
7. Foot dorsiflexions.
8. Hand releases.
9. Vagal nerve stimulation.
10. Pelvic floor contractions.
11. 2-mile walk.

Most of this list makes up the non-negotiables for right now. It’s the shower routine and is doing wonders.

It was crazy hot and humid that day. My morning walk was at a 3.5-mile-per-hour pace. By the end, I hadn’t done any zone 2 cardio, and I was so awash with sweat I needed to take off my shirt, to say nothing of how warm I was.

The outside thigh and hip area are not pleased. My knees (more the right than left) don’t seem to appreciate being asked to move through their full range of motion and stay there. Hips and hamstrings are a bit spicy; not a lot, but noticeable.

In other news, I took a shower and some ibuprofen to cut off a migraine before it got too bad. In the shower, I learned I can bend and balance to the point of touching my toes (for the first time in my life). Not only that, but I can do it from a position of strength and control.

Changes:

1. Weekends will be for active recovery.
2. Do 2-miles daily, at minimum.
3. Do as much of the shower routine as possible every day.
4. ‌MovNat on Friday, not the beginning or middle of the week.
5. Increasing protein intake to 190 grams daily, plus or minus 10.
6. I bought a scale; my body has adopted a set point of 240 pounds (100 kilograms).
7. 10 hip rotations per set.

I’m finding after a couple of days of active recovery or rest when I get back to it, I can do more without feeling as drained. So, I’ve decided I’m going to take weekends off.

The weekends are off but come with 2 caveats. First, I want these days to be spent in active recovery. Second, I want to be doing some conditioning work. So, I’ll keep the 2-mile minimum walk and shower routine.

Doing the entire MovNat week 1, day 1 on Wednesday, was a tremendous psychological boost. I didn’t feel fatigued and probably could have kept going. I’m glad I didn’t because my knees started talking back a day later, and I was experiencing low-level delayed onset muscle soreness over the entire body by Friday. Therefore, I will move that routine to Friday and delay my desire to do it on Mondays and Fridays. If I can do the whole routine and not feel it by Monday, I’ll reassess increasing to twice a week.

For the last few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with not changing my diet despite knowing it’s not as “dialed in” as it could be. Given how some of my joints have responded, I’ve decided to add glucosamine chondroitin to my daily pillbox and see if that does anything. I’m also increasing my protein intake to roughly 190 grams per day (the math behind that number). Given the methods and science available, my minimum daily protein intake should be 180 grams; I’ve been around 140 to 165 for a while now. If I were a bodybuilder going through a bulking phase, I’d want to push that to about 200 grams daily. Since my goal is functional movement, I will shoot for 190 and see what happens.

I don’t put much stock in weight; however, many fitness calculations use weight (mass) to do their thing. For example, I try to drink 0.75 to 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight. That’s 240 ounces of water on the high side, roughly 1.9 gallons. If my body weight drops to its previous set point of 220 pounds, I’d only aim for 220 ounces of water on the high side. Dropping to 190 (where I was at the peak of the aesthetics projects) would be even easier to attain and maintain daily. I’m unsure how often I’ll check the scale, but I have one. It’s a straight dial, and I might use it more often to test grip strength than to measure body weight.

I had been doing 8 hip rotations. It feels like I can do 8 without experiencing muscle soreness, so I’m increasing. This lands me at 30 on the days I do all three sets. If I can manage that load, I might switch to doing 20 every weekday before progressing to trying 30 every weekday.

I did my 2-mile walk, and that was about it.

We needed to checkout of where we were staying, and I had the test and then drove home.

I did some hip rotations, hip lifts, and wall presses in the tiny shower. I’m pretty sure I did the hand releases as well.

I think I’m getting a feel for non-negotiables, which I’ll try to ensure always get done, at least for now.

Becca and I are traveling so she can have some in-office time for her job, and I can get a medical test done.

The list of movements I needed to do was a complete stack.

You might be asking, “What does that mean?”

That means I wanted to complete the following:

1. 3 sets of 10 single-leg hip rotations; one set is done slowly, a six-count up and down, on both sides.
2. 1 set of 20 hip lifts on both sides.
3. 10 regular wall presses on both sides.
4. Hand releases.
5. 3 variations of foot massage for the bottom of my feet.
6. 3 sets of 10 toe abductions.
7. Toe mobilizations for each toe and both feet.
8. 2 minutes of active foot extensions.
9. 2 minutes of active foot dorsiflexions.
10. 10 rounds of vagal nerve stimulation breathing.
11. 10 rounds of pelvic floor contractions.
12. A single 2-mile walk at 3 miles per hour.
13. A single 1-mile walk at 3 miles per hour.
14. 10 transverse planar slouches on both sides.
15. 10 split calf raises on both sides.
16. 3 sets of pectoral wall stretches for 10 breaths.
17. 3 sets of 10 wall presses hand down on both sides.
18. 3 sets of couch quad stretches for 10 breaths on both sides.
19. 2 sets of 10 cat cows to upward-facing dog for 10 breaths.
20. 1 set of 5 rock back breaths to 10 cat cows to upward-facing dog for 10 breaths.
21. Supine lying for 5 breaths (3 times), prone lying for 10 breaths (2 times), and rolling to get from supine to prone.
22. Bent sit for 10 breaths.
23. Side bent sit for 10 breaths; on both sides, at least, with a transition.
24. Kneeling, tall kneeling (twice), and flex foot kneeling for 10 breaths.
25. Knee hand for 5 breaths.
26. MovNat Fundamentals week 1, day 1, which consists of:
    1. Supine lying with rolling to prone both ways, resulting in supine lying 3 or 4 times.
    2. Bent sit position for a few breaths.
    3. Side bent sit both sides 3 or 4 times using the transition.
    4. Kneeling, tall kneeling, to flex foot kneeling; a few times with transitions.
    5. 3 or 4 deep squats.
    6. 6-foot knee hand crawl forward and reverse a few times.
    7. A 6-foot foot hand crawl forward a couple of times.
    8. 3 or 4 rounds of the following:
       1. 6-foot foot hand crawl forward, turnaround, and back to start.
       2. Side bent sit with transitions 3 or 4 times.
       3. 6 repetitions of kneeling, tall kneeling, to flex foot kneeling.

That may seem like a lot, and it is. Doing it all in one sitting takes just over 2 hours to complete.

A couple of things to consider:

1. Many of these movements or exercises are low-impact and medium-load.
2. I’m focused on getting to a point where I can move without injuring myself for a week at a time despite what I’m doing not being some hardcore parkour-level stuff, and so far, it’s working.
3. My goal, at present, is adaptation more than anything. I am specifically adapting to more strenuous movements and being comfortable in positions other than standing and lying down.
4. Last, it should have been first; this isn’t a typical day.

This isn’t about achieving aesthetics; that was a different project. This is about improving the quality of life overall. Further, this is also about habit formation and lifestyle change that can be longer lasting. Finally, given my starting point, having a few additional things in the mix (like the active extension and dorsiflexion bits) should help accelerate to where I can regularly do other things to maintain a set point instead of digging out of a ditch.

This day, in particular, is odd because it’s a result of not doing the exercises regularly over the past few days. At this point, I chose to do all of them on the same day. I’m doing what I usually do over 3 days at the beginning of the week to 1 day.

How’d it go?

Very well, actually.

In the morning, I couldn’t do my regular shower routine; the shower was too small. But, as soon as I finished the shower, I went through the stretching, massage, and breathing routine. Then I went for the 2-mile morning walk at about 3.5 miles per hour; most of that was at zone 2 heart rate.

It was hot and humid, and I was sweating balls when I returned to our place.

A few hours later, I did everything but the MovNat sequence. I’ve adapted enough at this point that, from a muscle strain perspective, it’s pretty easy. With that said, the problem joints experienced some releases, which was great and needed.

A couple of hours later, I did the MovNat sequence. Not only that, but this was the first time I could complete the entire sequence, having only been able to get through the emphasis just a week before. So, the plan is to do the whole MovNat week 1, day 1 twice during the week, most likely Monday and Friday.

42 percent recovery.

If memory serves, the WHOOP also gave me my third health monitor warning in as many days. The first warning was due to my respiratory rate being elevated. The second was due to a drop in my HRV. The third was due to respiratory rate again.

I decided to modify the protocols related to WHOOP recovery.

1. Less than 33 percent don’t do anything beyond the bare minimum.
2. Less than 50 percent shower and usual walks.
3. More than 50 percent do all the things.

32 percent recovery.

This is the first recovery I had in the red. I felt okay.

Despite the less-than-fifty protocol, I did my regular Saturday morning errands. I’m walking 4 miles, with part of that having my weekly groceries. I also needed to return the rental car, which resulted in a 2-mile walk back to the apartment.

35 percent recovery.

I didn’t do anything due to the less than 50 percent recovery protocol.

I went to the office early and drove home around noon.

Every day I was out of town, I ate the breakfast provided by the hotel. Mainly the eggs, with some standard pork products. It was a just-in-case measure since I needed to know what the company served for breakfast or lunch.

54 percent recovery.

Only a single 1-mile walk.

I had a lot of sugar that day at the training class. Probably not the wisest choice.

I was still away from home and didn’t exercise because I hung out with some of my colleagues.

91 percent recovery.

Both 1-mile walks.

The same exercises as August 14.

MovNat related:

I’ve been doing MovNat things for a few weeks; I didn’t add them here. Apologies. I’ll add them to the previous entries.

1. Supine lying for 5 breaths, emphasizing the expansion of my abdomen and the front of my ribcage, 3 times.
2. Roll (lower pattern) to prone lying driven by my left or right leg, emphasizing controlling the motion and moving from hips to lumbar to thoracic, 2 times. (Usually right after number 1.)
3. Prone lying for 5 breaths, emphasizing the expansion of my upper back (like rock back breathing), 2 times. (Usually right after number 2.)
4. Roll to supine driven by my left or right leg, similar to number 2. (Usually right after number 3.)
5. Bent sit position (or scaling back to single pelvic tilts, if necessary); on both sides.
6. Side bent sit for 5 breaths; on both sides. (Sometimes I do more. Sometimes I do the side bent sit reverse.)
7. Kneeling for 5 breaths.
8. Tall kneeling for 5 breaths. (Usually after number 7.)
9. Flex foot tall kneeling for 5 breaths. (Usually after number 8.)
10. Flex foot kneeling for 5 breaths. (Usually after number 9.)
11. Knee-hand position for 5 breaths. (Usually as a “cool-down,” where the rolling would be the “warm-up.”)

MovNat sessions typically have 3 acts: the warm-up, the emphasis, and the combo. Given where I am physically, I spend a lot of time on psychology. This routine allows me to put my body into shapes that have recently resulted in strange injuries and pain without resulting in injuries and pain that would otherwise have a low probability of happening. Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 are the warm-up. Numbers 5, 6, and 7 are the emphasis. Numbers 7, 8, 9, and 10 are the combination. Number 11 is the grounding to wind down.

Is this the way the MovNat coaches would break it down? Probably not, mainly because what I’m calling a combination may not be a combination. I call it a combination because I’m doing a combination of kneels and working on the mind-body connection needed to transition between the various kneels.

Something I appreciate about my physical therapist and MovNat as a practice is breathing in the positions you put yourself in.

Right now, I’ve set this to be a routine I do on Wednesdays and Fridays. Initially, I did it every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday because I needed more time to make it through the MovNat Fundamentals week 1 day 1 warm-up.

However, I decided one day (not sure when) to try the warm-up again, and I made it through the warm-up and part of the emphasis. So, that’s what I do on Mondays.

66 percent recovery.

Both 1-mile walks.

The same exercises as August 10.

I started driving in a rental to head to training at my employer’s headquarters.

81 percent recovery.

Both 1-mile walks. Did both at almost 3.5 miles per hour.

The same set of exercises as August 7, scaling back the single-leg calf raises to 10 per side.

78 percent recovery.

This day was a bitch.

Before eating breakfast, I did my store run. This is a 4-mile walk, part of which is with added weight; luckily, it was a light grocery day. When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries and did the exercises in the Reminders app.

Then I ate breakfast.

It was my day to scrub bathrooms, so I did that; that’s a whole exercise routine in and of itself. I also swept the apartment’s kitchen, hall, and small foyer area. I also did the wood conditioning for those areas.

Lots of sweat.

I also packed in all my meals before 4 to try and give more time between my last meal and sleep. This hurt.

81 percent recovery.

Both 1-mile walks.

I did the entire run of movements from the 10th.

I started feeling more severe muscle soreness in my calves and hips. I reduced the number of hip rotations (8 instead of 10) and calf raises (10 instead of 15). My goal is to try and be able to do all the things each day.

95 percent recovery.

I only did the morning 1-mile walk because Becca and I need to head to a float tank session right after work. There was walking involved, but it wasn’t tracked.

I did the shower routine from the previous day and the throughout-the-day routine, less the hip rotations.

I think the way I’ll handle things is that if my recovery is less or equal to 50 percent, I’ll take a rest day. If my recovery score exceeds 50 percent, I’ll do whatever is in the Reminders app for that day.

I did 5 one-legged slow hip rotations in the shower on both sides. Everything else was the same as the previous day.

I did both 1-mile walks at less than 3 miles per hour.

Shower routine:

1. 5 standing hip rotations, exceedingly slow; both sides.
2. 20 hip lifts on both sides.
3. 10 wall presses on both sides.
4. 30 toe abductions; seated.
5. Foot massage, traction, and toe torsion.
6. 2 minutes assisted toe and ankle extensions on both sides.
7. 2 minutes assisted toe and ankle dorsiflexions on both sides.
8. 10 rounds of vagal nerve stimulation breath work; 4-count inhale, chin lock and 4-count hold, 8-count exhale (after releasing chin lock).
9. 10 rounds of 10 pelvic floor contractions.

When possible, I did the following throughout the workday:

1. Rock back breathing (5-count), 10 cat-cows, and upward-facing dog; once.
2. 10 cat-cows and upward-facing dog; twice.
3. Wall breathing for 10 breaths. (Usually right after number 1.)
4. 15 single-leg calf raises; both sides, 3 times.
5. Pectoral corner stretches; 10 breaths. (Usually right after number 4.)
6. Single arm wall press, hand down. (Usually right after number 5.)
7. Couch quad stretches; 10 breaths, both sides, 3 times. (Usually after number 6.)
8. 8 one-legged hip rotations; both sides, 2 times.

Didn’t have a good recovery after Monday and Tuesday. My ankle muscles (not my calves) were very annoyed. My left hamstring is awake now and wasn’t happy about it.

I decided I’d cut back on the reps moving forward and would take the day to focus on active recovery stuff.

I did a regular one-legged slouch in the shower, 10 reps on both sides. The hip lifts and everything else were the same as the previous day.

I did both 1-mile walks and breathing meditation.

I also started paying close attention to the way I was standing.

I’ve been standing at work since the late 90s while working retail and the early-aughts at a desk. So, I haven’t paid much attention.

My body has developed some anti-patterns and unhealthy compensations. I have also created some interesting habits.

The first one I realized was that I tend to favor standing on my right leg when I stand on one leg throughout the day. I also lock my left knee when standing on both feet; my right tends to be relaxed.

I started experimenting with not locking my knee and standing on my left leg when shifting to one leg.

By the end of the day, the bottom of my left mid-foot was pissed.

Same shower routine as the day before.

One modification to the exercises throughout the day. During 2 of the rounds, I did 10 standing hip rotations on both sides; I plan to do these on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. (Really trying to wake up my left ass cheek and strengthen the right.)

I decided to add an evening 1-mile lap to my days. That brings me up to 2 miles daily, with a more extended bit for a grocery run on the weekend.

Shower routine:

1. 5 standing hip rotations, exceedingly slow; both sides.
2. 20 hip lifts on both sides.
3. 10 wall presses on both sides.
4. 30 toe abductions; seated.
5. Foot massage, traction, and toe torsion.
6. 2 minutes assisted toe and ankle extensions on both sides.
7. 2 minutes assisted toe and ankle dorsiflexions on both sides.
8. 10 rounds of vagal nerve stimulation breath work; 4-count inhale, chin lock and 4-count hold, 8-count exhale (after releasing chin lock).
9. 10 rounds of 10 pelvic floor contractions.

When possible, I did the following throughout the workday:

1. Rock back breathing (5-count), 10 cat-cows, and upward-facing dog; once.
2. 10 cat-cows and upward-facing dog; twice.
3. Wall breathing for 10 breaths. (Usually right after number 1.)
4. 15 single-leg calf raises; both sides, 3 times.
5. Pectoral corner stretches; 10 breaths. (Usually right after number 4.)
6. Single arm wall press, hand down. (Usually right after number 5.)
7. Couch quad stretches; 10 breaths, both sides, 3 times. (Usually after number 6.)

This allows me to create 3 solid rounds, starting with the cat-cow and couch quad stretch.

I’ve decided to try and do the week 1 day 1 warmup from the MovNat Fundamentals course on Mondays. It went pretty well.

I decided to take a couple of recovery days, so there is little going on or of note.

WHOOP said this was my first day of reaching over 90 percent recovery.

I knew I would be seeing my physical therapist, and I didn’t do a full-on set because I didn’t want to be any more messed up when I saw her.

We talked about the exercises I felt I was adapting to and my realization regarding my left leg.

My left leg wasn’t getting the memo in the same way my right leg was. During the transverse planar slouch, my right leg would start by overusing the groin and hip flexors; however, it would eventually key in the glutes and outside of the hamstring area. Meanwhile, my left leg never shifted away from the groin and hip flexors. During the inverted wall press, everything in my body felt like it was just another day at the beach, except the back of my left knee, which always felt like it was trying to stretch. During the calf raises, I noticed that my left calf wasn’t contributing as much to the overall effort.

I told her about the pain in my hands and feet. She confirmed that was weird, but not to the point of extra concern.

In short, the leg that passed the movement tests with flying colors managed to do so because of various compensation layers, not by using the muscles it was supposed to.

Modifications were made:

1. Single-leg calf raises instead of calf raises while holding the ball. Start with the left leg, and repeat the same number of reps with the right leg.
2. Single arm wall press with hand down to try and elongate the muscles in my forearm.
3. We moved from rock back breathing on the ground to wall breathing, still emphasizing breathing into and expanding the back of the ribcage.

I’ve added walking a mile in the morning to my routine. This is to replicate the walking to an office building I used to do. When walking to an office, it would have counted as passive exercise. Since walking now is for its own sake, it’s considered active exercise.

I also increased my water intake to about 1 ounce per pound of body weight.

The last two days were intense regarding body transformation and adaptation. I went to bed around 7 p.m. I was wide awake at midnight. I lay in bed and meditated mainly, trying to be as relaxed as possible. The WHOOP showed me as asleep most of that time.

I did the 1-mile walk in the morning. Took a nap. I did all my physical therapy exercises and additional components from the MovNat week 1 day 1 workout; just some warmup movements.

It felt like I slept well. I was able to do all the physical therapy things.

• No stiffness
• Low-grade discomfort and pain similar to the previous day.

This was my second day doing the vagal nerve stimulation and pelvic floor exercises.