So, it was like 2.5 months ago, the day after my birthday, and I don't remember it because it's like so many other workouts.

Was it challenging?  Sure.

Am I getting stronger?  Yes.

Am I glad I did it?  Yes.

DAY 1 — LOWER STRENGTH + POWER

Warm-up

Easy row — 2:00
Ankle rocks — 10/side
Cossack squats — 8 total
Empty-bar front squat — 2 x 5, rest 30 sec
Jump squats — 2 x 3, rest 30 sec

Workout

A. Box Jump

4 x 2 @ 31”
Rest 45 sec
Goal: quiet, crisp, athletic
Stay here another week. Do not chase height yet.

RESULTS: Done! No problem.

B. Front Squat

200 x 4
205 x 4
205 x 4
210 x 3
210 x 3 if set 4 is clean
 If not, do 205 x 4
Rest:
2:00 after first set
2:30 after 205 sets
3:00 before and after 210 sets
Goal: turn 210 into a repeatable work weight

RESULTS: Got it done, tough at the end but clean. 200, 205, 205, 210, 210, all prescribed reps.

C. DB Front-Rack Split Squat

3 x 8/leg @ 62s
Rest 20 sec between legs
Rest 75 sec between sets
Goal: progress from last week’s easy 53s and prior good 62s work

RESULTS: 1st set is always the hardest then I loosen up and do much better.  Done.

D. Weighted Strict Pull-Up

4 x 4
Sets 1-2 @ 50 lb
Set 3 @ 55 lb
Set 4 @ 55 lb if set 3 stays clean
Rest 90 sec
Goal: start making 55 less special

RESULTS: Done.  55# final set was tough.

E. Hanging Knee Raise

3 x 12
Rest 45 sec
Goal: cleaner ROM than last week

Use knee raise this week instead of straight-leg raise so all reps are consistent

RESULTS: Done, final few reps were tough maybe not as high as others.

I'm not sure how it happened, or when I first heard this version of this song.

Somehow, at some time, it became one of the most important songs in my life.

When my brother died, I learned he had been listening to this song over and over.

I'm not sure if he tried to learn it on guitar.  I played around with it, the lazy way.  Just some random arpeggios through the chord progression.

After all this time, and now 13 and a half years after my brothers death, it still brings me to my knees, and touches my soul in a way that is difficult to put into words.

Even without the devastation that came with my brother's suicide, this song has always grabbed my emotions deeply.

Now, it's time to work through it, note by note, bar by bar, measure by measure so I can experience it through my fingertips.

Producing the notes with your own hands creates an intimate connection with a song.  And this one is worthy of the time it takes for mastery.

Though it got lukewarm reviews, the girls and I really liked this one.

The fight scenes with Mando taking out tons of bad guys, with Grogu using the force to help him out when absolutely needed, were awesome.

It's an orphan story.  A little one with no family and no home.  Being taken under wing by a bounty hunter with a heart.

The full plot escapes me, but in essence he was hired to find someone and take him out.

He ended up making morally righteous choices with heart, after leaving the little one behind for a time, only to reconnect and realize they are helplessly attached to one another.

A sweet story with cool action sequences, and lots of heart where it's called for.

Both girls liked it.  I liked it.  Win.

Apparently I plugged this workout in as a draft, on my birthday in 2026.  And yay me for tying my previous score.

Maybe I'll keep logging these, maybe I won't.

It might be interesting to look back one day...

DAY 7 — ZONE 2 BIKE

Workout:

Ramp — 8-10 min
Steady Zone 2 — 40 min
Cool-down — 5 min
Total time: 53-55 min
HR target:

120-130 bpm
Daily goal:

Finish fresher than you started

Log average HR and total distance

RESULTS: As I mentioned I moved the 200m run, 10 wbs, 8 burpees, 12 minute amrap here and tied my previous score.  The I followed up with 30 minute easy bike.

These workouts are a grind. I pick a spot on the sidewalk, run up around the end of Saratoga, back down and around the culdesac to the right, then up past our house to the first corner.

It goes well in the middle once my body has done 1 rep, then it's fatigue at the end pushing my time higher.

I love the feeling of the strain.  It hurts, I want to stop, but I also like it.  It makes me feel so alive.  It makes me feel like I did something good for myself, and my future.

DAY 6 — RUN WORKOUT: MILE SUPPORT
Warm-up:

Easy jog — 8 min
Walking lunges — 10 total
Air squats — 10
Pogo hops — 20 sec
Relaxed strides — 2 x 20 sec
Easy jog/walk — 2 min
Workout:
 5 x 600m

Rest 2:00 walk/jog
Target pace:

Rep 1: 2:12
Rep 2: 2:12
Rep 3: 2:10-2:11
Rep 4: 2:10
Rep 5: 2:08-2:10
Cool-down:

Easy walk/jog — 8-10 min
Daily goal:

Fast but relaxed
No rep slower than rep 2
RESULTS: Brutal workout.  My times at an actual 600m measured in my neighborhood: 2:16, 2:10, 2:10, 2:11, 2:12

About 10 years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting a sushi restaurant owner's daughter during my monthly sushi meetup with Jimmy, my old business partner.

She was about 16 at the time.  Friendly, smart, discipline, organized as she helped out waiting tables.

I found out she was beyond a straight A student, and quite accomplished for her young age.

Having 2 young daughters of my own (around 6 and 4 at the time), I was curious if there was some secret I needed to be privy to, in order to raise daughters with similar qualities.

Steve said, "Tae Kwon Do".

His daughter was a 6th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Steve assured me this was a big part of his daughters success at such a young age.

The discipline.  The life lessons.  The respect.

It was than that I hoped my girls would eventually find their way to the martial arts.

The first attempt failed when I enrolled Kalea into Tae Kwon Do classes when she was about 5 or 6.  ATA was the name.

Oh did she cry during the first group class.

And that was it.  One class.

Too young and/or not ready.

I kinda forgot about things until my younger daughter Kara asked to try Tae Kwon Do when she was 7.  

The closest spot was Tae Kwon Do Plus about half a mile from our house.

There's a video of Squeak in her white belt and headband, at home after the first class, responding to my prompts with palm strikes and kicks.

Her tiny little leggies sticking out for awkward little kicks, along with open hand "palm strikes" (which she now insists were never a thing, and what the hell was I doing... :) )

She stayed with it.

Then Bink joined up for her second attempt 6 months later.

They were in it.  They went every week.  And in 2022 or so, they both achieved the rank of Black Belt.

While that is truly the "beginning" of the journey in martial arts, Bink went off to high school cross country and track, and had to quit Tae Kwon Do.

But Squeak stayed on.  She forged new friendships, and has found her way into a tight "sisterhood" of TKD students and teachers.

In fact, she's now teaching kids after having advanced in the TKD leadership program, and is next in line to become a paid instructor.

She's entered several tournaments and come away with several gold medals, lots of silver medals, and a few bronze medals.

I couldn't be more proud of her resiliency and discipline she has embraced.

It's helped her far beyond the studio.  The lessons spill out into all of life, just as Steve said they would.

This is something I hope she continues for the rest of her life, as it's become a safe space for her.  A place where she can shut out the rest of the world for a time.