Wake Up Journal / 5:AM - Quitting Caffeine ⏰

[fridjonk]

Went out for a t-shirt run yesterday with a friend of mine, was pretty cold but I've grown to like the cold a lot so it's no problem. However, what is a problem is my leg. I'm still getting this extreme needle pain and numbness in my foot and up to the knee. I've suspected it could be cuz I was running slower with company, but yesterday we did pick up the pace a little more but it was still not as fast as I run on my own usually. I'm going to go for a run likely tomorrow morning at my normal pace and see if this problem still occurs.

This problem has really disrupted my 5 AM wake up which is unfortunate. It's really tough to wake up this early unless you're going out for a run or working on something at least. I've still been working out full time and going for the occasional run.

[fridjonk]

Just finished a great workout and a cold shower. This was by far my longest time under the cold, bit more than 12 minutes. And my god it feels heavenly afterwards. Cold showers are becoming the favorite part of my day now. It happens occasionally where I just would do anything rather than going under the freezing cold water, but it's in those moments where the biggest wins are to be found, you realize that fear before was just illusory and it was all worth it in the end. I've never ever regretted a cold shower and doubt it's even possible.

Sometimes I do the Wim breathing under but I've come to like more just letting go of all resistance with deep slow breathing instead of the faster-paced breathing. But I think I like the Wim breathing more once the shower is over, usually feel more alive and energized. 

[fridjonk]

Just had my best cold shower experience so far. I did some breathing while slowly turning the water to its coldest setting. And then performed som palm motions such as wim does after getting out of the cold, after that I felt so good I just started to dance like som raving maniac but in a graceful manner, lmao. Safe to say I felt like a divine being after that shower, if I'm ever feeling down, a cold shower and some dancing will instantly get me out of that I can guarantee. Tomorrow I might add some music while performing this sacred cold dance ritual hehe.

Was not feeling like doing today's workout at all after staying up till 5 AM last night following the election, while eating candy and drinking little soda (which I never drink), woke up feeling like an utter disaster. But I just did the workout at a slower pace and listened to Leo's science part 2 video. Felt really detoxing and nice. 

My wake up routine has gone in the gutter after I stopped being able to go on runs. But I'm going to make sure to wake up at least around 7-8 for the while I'm not running. I'm definitely feeling like giving it a shot again soon. Especially since the upcoming Mushroom trip I have planned. But my leg is still pretty bothersome so I won't rush it.

[Michael569]

2 hours ago, fridjonk said:

g. And then performed som palm motions such as wim does after getting out of the cold, after that I felt so good I just started to dance like som raving maniac but in a graceful manner, lmao.

See this is exactly what I meant when I said in @Average Investor's clothes post that we are freaks  (no offence btw) 

[fridjonk]

1 hour ago, Michael569 said:

See this is exactly what I meant when I said in @Average Investor's clothes post that we are freaks  (no offence btw) 

LMAO! ?

[BlackMaze]

What is a freak is defined from what is considered "normal" 

Given that what is considered normal is very disfunctional i wouldn't say that this is necessarily a bad thing. 

But yeah i agree that everyone that is in this forum is probably a freak more or less by default. 

[fridjonk]

5:00 AM

Ran my normal circuit. My leg started hurting quite quickly into the run, I stopped at few points to massage my calf and my foot and it did help relieve the pain a little. But it kept coming back when I started running. I suspect this injury is either coming from a stiff calve muscle or something to do with the foam rolling sessions, as this problem started to happen right around that time. I'll probably keep foam rolling it to try and loosen the muscle up, I can feel how stiff it really is. 

Listened to Inner engineering on the run, I've been enjoying that book during my workouts lately. Then meditated for 20 minutes afterwards. Did a 30-minute meditation session before sleep last night, that felt really good for a first meditation in a little while. I'd love to get to the 1-2 hour mark as I did a year ago. It's so enjoyable once you start that you just want to keep going for longer and longer. Or maybe I'll mix my meditation with Kriya again, who knows.

@BlackMaze Right, who the heck want's to be normal anyway.

Edited November 5, 2020 by fridjonk

[fridjonk]

A little update:

Went for a run on Saturday with a friend of mine. Was a pretty long run and felt good almost the entire time. I did stop a couple of times to massage my calf but all in all, it felt great. That's until I stopped. After I got inside this stabbing foot pain occurred and my foot basically swole up in less than 2 minutes. Could barely walk the next day. So my running has been on hold ever since that happened. I've been actively stretching each day and of course doing my flow workouts with a weighted backpack. Safe to say I'm in tip-top shape even though I'm missing the runs, those are kinda extra. It's the flow workout that's really difficult.

Just finished a great flow workout just now and a cold shower. This cold shower felt oddly satisfying, the shock of it felt so pleasing like it was washing off some toxins from my mind. Been contemplating a lot for this upcoming mushroom trip I'm about to head into. So I've not been very mindful of this strongminded discipline because I know that falls apart as soon as I go in there. I've been living more spontaneously lately yet with a disciplined mind at the same time. After this mushroom trip, I'll go back to 5 AM running if my foot allows me to.

Edited November 10, 2020 by fridjonk

[fridjonk]

Just came from a mountain hike with my friend and his dog. Was quite a challenge, we did one 300-meter mountain then ran about 5 kilometers to another mountain and climbed that one too, which was about 300 meters as well, then we ran back and sprinted the last 5 minutes. It was pretty challenging but I still had a bunch of gas in the tank. Show just how much progress I've made in the last 2 months. It really does not take that long of a time to get into the shape of your life. The weather was absolutely perfect, clear skies, just below freezing, and completely still winds. Made the running very "fresh". 

My leg was fine which was a nice surprise. I was wearing my daily walking shoes (Adidas Ultra Boost's Uncaged), which maybe indicates that my running shoes may be the problem. It could be that they don't fit my feet. I'll maybe try running more in those Adidas shoes on my next runs.

Edited November 13, 2020 by fridjonk

[fridjonk]

I've not done a morning run nor woken up at 5 AM for almost a month now. Since my leg injury happened and all the trips I've been focusing on, my mind has not been in discipline mode at all, which is fine really. I won't guilt myself like in the past for not being able to follow it 100%. Self-Love all the way baby!

Anyway, I've been doing the flow workouts daily and those have been going great. But I've kind of hit a plateau with it and feel like it's time to change the exercises up a bit. I'll construct a new workout plan tomorrow and start following that one instead. I also want to start doing more sprints out in the fields. Really want to build bigger and more defined legs, like Cristiano Ronaldo level. But I always notice how when I start focusing too much on a certain look I want, the fun kind of falls out. I've always loved jumping as well, so I might add in some plyometric exercises, I have this freak of nature jumping power and have ever since I was a kid because I played basketball most of my life, so I might work on that some more. 

I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to start the 5 AM runs right away. I kind of want to but I'm not feeling ready just yet, maybe in a couple of days I'll just go for it. I've not forgotten how amazing it felt, like really really amazing.

I'm going to really work on stretching my calves before I start again. My right calf got incredibly stiff after my leg started to hurt and I need to loosen it up. Been thinking of getting a massage gun soon, I tested one out the other day at a friend's house and it felt incredibly good.

This is the workout I've been doing for the past 3 months. I started off the first month normally, then the second month with a 5kg backpack and the third with a 10kg backpack. I'll still continue the same warm up routine and stretching, I'm just changing the exercises. 

 

 

[fridjonk]

Just finished a fantastic leg workout. I've put the flow workouts to a little rest for now and will be doing only weight/explosive training. With maybe one day of flow workout per week, and some morning running once I can muster up the spirit to start it again.

The weather here has been pretty crazy, currently a snowstorm outside. I 2 months ago would've been loving this, but I got a little softer after my latest trip. I need to work it back up and start waking up at 5 AM. Been doing the cold showers every day which has helped a lot with keeping some of that discipline up, as well as working out daily. I really miss the morning runs, but my right leg seems to not love it at all. Not really been working on my calf like I said I would. I need to write it down so I won't forget. I really do need to loosen it up before I start the daily running again. I ought to get myself a massage gun, but won't until after Christmas, just in case if I get it as a present. And maybe need to go have my foot looked at as well, so I can get the right custom shoes that fit my foot.

Been on Creatine now for probably around 2 months. Feels great, you really do notice a massive difference in performance. But I feel like it's usually worked best when lifting heavy (bodybuilding style) which I've not been doing, but I'm loving it

I've pretty much fallen out of my caffeine discipline as well, after such a long time without it, you kind of forget that you were even doing it. So I'll have to take a look at that soon come. But I won't give up cacao this time around. It benefits me too much and doesn't contain a lot.

 

[fridjonk]

Did a flow workout today. Felt great after not having done it for about 5 days, been lifting pretty heavily alongside explosive plyo exercises this week. I'm seeing a lot of micro-injuries here and there after I started to lift a little heavier, in the shoulder, back, and hip. I have no idea why or how this happened, my form is pretty much perfect and I'm not doing weights that I can't control. It's probably from how fast I went into the weights, should've eased more into it, but it's nothing much so I'll just continue.

I've not tried running yet, I'm still stretching my calf out, did a fantastic session the other day and will do another one tonight. I feel like I should be stretching my body a lot more, alongside some active recovery maybe.

Did a cold shower after the workout. The water has never been as cold as it was today due to the extreme cold that's going around here. It's been predicted to reach -20C tomorrow, was about -13 today. This has made the water unbelievably cold, and it's already been extremely cold anyway. I had to do some rapid breathing and short micro squats to keep myself from freezing in place, lol. Felt amazing afterwards, was under for about 10 min. 

[fridjonk]

Played some football (soccer) last night with my friend. We sprinted pretty much non stop, so I awoke to soreness that rivaled that of a spartan warrior.  Realized how important it is to play sports from time to time, and not just strict autistic exercise. This really worked on all the small balancing muscles that can be quite hard to train without specific exercises, such as with a balancing board and resistance bands. I've been doing a bit of both, so my legs are completely dead from the larger muscles to the smallest ones. I'll definitely be playing some more football soon, it was extra fun in the snow and freezing cold.

I'm going to do some calf stretches today to loosen them up, alongside whole-body stretches. Trying to do it every other day ideally. 

[fridjonk]

This year I've decided I want to focus on calisthenics training. I'm fascinated with how it's possible to control your bodyweight so well. I did a calisthenics workout yesterday with handstand pushups and all sorts of weird pushups and my god is it tough. I realize how many muscles I have remain completely untrained and unused, you can't really hit them with normal training. Calisthenics training relies a lot on triceps, shoulder, and core strength, all areas I need to improve in.

I'm going to try and resume my 5 AM wake up and running soon. I bought a massage gun about a week ago and It's been a complete game-changer, where has this been all my life? Been really going at my calf with it and it's improved a lot. So hopefully it will improve the blood-flow to that area and make running less painful. I can already see a big difference in my body after using it for about 5 full-body sessions.

Been slowly getting my diet back on track after this Christmas feast. I'm pretty much back on track during the daily eating, yet I'm still addicted to nighttime snacking which has not been a problem for me usually. Maybe if I brush my teeth sooner It will stop.

I'm going to look for a calisthenics program today to follow and construct a better weekly program.

Skills I want to learn this year -

Superman pushups

L-Sit

Planche

Muscle-up

Handstand for 15+ sec

 

 

[fridjonk]

 

Week one of calisthenics done. I've been doing handstands daily throughout the day and notice how fast I'm processing. I've yet to puzzle together a scheduled program so I've just been freeballing it. And I've been binge-watching Chris herria and Austin Dunham to get tips and tricks, and to get the gist of how to progress faster in the world of bodyweight training. I feel like I will definitely be able to reach all the goals I've set for this year, the hardest being either the handstand pushup, planche, or the muscle-up, but I really believe I can reach all of these.

I really need to focus on my stretching more also. Found this channel called Saturn Movement which combines Yoga and Calisthenics, so I'll be following some of their videos as well to reach more flexibility.

Edited January 9, 2021 by fridjonk

[fridjonk]

Did a 30-minute handstand session tonight alongside 30-minute stretching. I'm really focusing on opening my hip flexors and loosening my hamstrings; calisthenics really relies a lot on having flexibility in the hips and hamstrings. Also did a 1-hour core session on Monday and I've been infinitely sore in my core since then, so today's stretch session was a nice relief.

I've been listening to Aaron Alexander for the past couple of days, really working on my posture and fixing my anterior pelvic tilt. It takes so much conscious effort and it's really exhausting but it's definitely worth it. I bought his audiobook today, The align method, and will be giving that a listen soon.

Last week I found a pack of Swedish snus (strong), and have been experimenting with it. I've never done nicotine or smoked, so it's been like a really strong weed high yet only lasts for 10 minutes, then it's back to baseline. Safe to say it's not for me, but I really like experimenting with stuff and giving it a chance. I believe to really give something a fair shot you must try it at least 3-5 times before reaching a conclusion. I've decided this is not worth it at all, and it's extremely unhealthy as well. Maybe it's a nice solution for smokers who are trying to quit, but it has no place in my life. I'll be taking San Pedro soon so I'll have to cleans my body of this stuff before I head in.

Diet has been good lately and relatively clean. I'm trying to get about 300+ calorie surplus to build muscle while on this calisthenics journey. I feel how vital all the training I did in sept-dec was to build a strong foundation for all these movements I'm working on. If I keep my volume increasing, I'll be on a fast track to succeeding in all my calisthenic goals. 

Been losing my cold shower consistency lately, only doing them when I really feel like it. I notice how much more comfort bound I'm becoming and I want to fix it before I'll completely ditch them. They're so vital for muscle recovery, and just all-around health.

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by fridjonk

[fridjonk]

I'm now one month into my calisthenics training and progress has been pretty good. I've hit a 20-second handstand so far using a wall for the kickup. I'm still working on the balance, not really been focused on the kickup so far. I'll start training that in maybe 1-2 weeks.

I've also managed the L-sit hold for almost 7 seconds compared to 0 seconds a month ago. So it's all going pretty smoothly. 

Not attempted the muscle-up yet but I've been working at pullups a lot.

At this rate, I'll probably reach all the goals I set for this year in 5-7 months. Besides the planche, that could take up to a year or two.

[fridjonk]

I've logged off from the news now for quite some time, didn't really like how attached I had become to following all the turnings of the world. But one thing has not managed to hold itself from entering my awareness. A distant 4th relative of mine (within my imagined dream life) was climbing the K2 mountain in Pakistan, one of the most dangerous mountains in the world and second-largest. Three of them have now been lost there at the top for around 5 days, with the weather being so bad and cold, the military can't plan a rescue operation. It's pretty safe to say it's likely the end of the road for these 3 men. This really relates to the human desire of exploration, curiosity, and being willing to sacrifice your life for the love of your passion. This is after all the reason god creates duality, to explore and experience all aspects of life, dangerous and not. A piece of my dream died on that mountain, but it lost no substance to it since it's infinite and continues on dreaming. RIP. 

I've always loved mountain climbing and hiking in nature. But I just can't phantom the size of that 8600-meter mountain. The highest I've climbed is probably around 1500-meters. After all these news, it has sparked my inner mountaineer again. I'll be planing some climbs soon. My favorite mountains are ranked in this order and have fun pronouncing them, lol. 

1. Móskarðshnjúkar 
2. Bjarnarhafnarfjall
3. Drápuhlíðarfjall
4. Esjan

My goal is to climb the two highest mountains in Iceland one day, Hvannadalshnúkur (2110 meters) and Öræfajökull (2109).

Edited February 11, 2021 by fridjonk

[flume]

On 11/02/2021 at 11:40 PM, fridjonk said:

My goal is to climb the two highest mountains in Iceland one day, Hvannadalshnúkur (2110 meters) and Öræfajökull (2109).

Omg, I literally read "My goat is to climb the two highest mountains in Iceland in one day." I thought WHAT AN AWESOME GOAT! I think I'm hugely biased towards hoofed mammals

[fridjonk]

@flume LOL  A goat would climb that easily I'm sure.