Fighting Back... To Fitness

I've not been riding as much as I would like lately, but there are a few reasons for that. Firstly, the wind has been terrible, and when the wind is pumping it is deeply unpleasant and borderline dangerous to ride in.

Secondly, I'm still quite a way off where I would like to be fitness wise since my operation. I had no idea quite how much it would knock me and quite how tough it would be getting back to where I was before the op'.

Thirdly...

A Dry Year

I never intended to give up drinking alcohol, and I certainly don't judge those that do drink, and in truth I do miss the odd tipple, but having been dry for a year today, I have to say I prefer life without alcohol.

Now before you switch off, this post isn't a rant against alcohol, rather it's a celebration of the health benefits I have reaped from going dry.

4am Happy Nutter

I'm back riding!

I am one happy bunny now that I've got the green light from the surgeon to get back exercising.

These last six weeks have been really difficult, not just because the after effects of surgery left me incontinent (TMI) and thoroughly depressed, but the fact that I couldn't do anything that would elevate my heart rate just compounded the depression.

Home Where My Loves Lies Waitin'

Thank you for all your prayer and support for my stay in hospital.

I'm home now, having been admitted for a prostate op on Tuesday. The op was very successful and the surgeon is very happy with the results.

I'll have the results of the biopsied parts that were removed, but given that my PSA was fine, the urine tests are all clear and the scans were clear, there's no real concern for anything malignant to be discovered.

Thank you LORD! 

104 Weeks

I'm quite proud of this achievement.

A few weeks ago I hit 100 consecutive weeks of hitting my Exercise Goals with our healthcare provider.

Today it got even better as I hit 104 consecutive weeks or two years of hitting my Exercise Goals. 

A Year In Review

Like most government run institutions in South Africa, the health service is very badly broken and on its knees, to the point that it's best avoided at all costs (treasure and fight for the NHS!).

Even trying to get our daughter's wisdom teeth seen to has been a nightmare and not an experience we would be keen to repeat any time soon!

Five Years Of Massive Change

Five years ago today, after much encouragement & cajoling, I overcame my fears and anxiety and walked in to what was then CEY Boxing Gym (now Knockout Centre).

I had decided late in 2018, that after almost ten years of doing no exercise, and with a number of health red flags which were beginning to concern me, it was time to make some changes and get fit.

24 Hours

In the 24 hours since I dropped Paula at the airport I've had quite a fun time of it...

Things began with serving 140 litres of soup at The Gathering's weekly Soup Kitchen which was another blessed time of serving generously. This time everyone got a cup & a pot to takeaway and some even hung around for seconds.

Riding In A Lunar Eclipse

I had a great 15k ride on my KH 26er along Strand beachfront promenade this morning, and got to enjoy the last hour of the solar eclipse.

It got truly spectacular as the rising sun just clipped the top of the moon on its way down making for some stunning views of it all.

Riding along the beachfront promenade is always a pleasant ride, but when there's such an amazing natural spectacle adding to the beauty of the place it takes on a whole different level of spectacular.

I'm Going Down, I'm Going Down

I have been hoping to write this post for a while but wasn't expecting to do it quite so soon, but I'm very happy that the day has come.

When I set out on my health & fitness journey in January 2019 I was seriously in denial about how much I weighed & unhealthy I was, and truth be told I'll never know how quite bad it got. All I can say is that after hitting 105Kgs I simply stopped weighing myself, but I know I put more weight on because I did nothing to change my lifestyle.

Reflections On The A To Z Challenge 2022

I'll just say it up top... this was my best A to Z Challenge yet and it was for one simple reason; I had a plan for the whole series of posts which took so much pressure off.

The other thing that made this a lot more fun than previous years was that I had all my posts scheduled to post well ahead of time. In fact the closest I ever got to being close to the actual posting date was with Y & Z both of which were completed just two days before posting.

Now I'm not renowned for being the most organized person on the planet but having a clear plan & schedule really helped me and I would heartily recommend it to anyone else participating in the A2Z Challenge.

Z Is For Omega

So here it is... the end.

Well done to all the A2Zers who made it this far.

Ω (Omega) is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, so there's no cheating going on here.

I have used Ω previously in 2012 & 2013.

Y Is For Youth

I'm really happy that my sons learnt to box in their youth, I wish I had.

If nothing else, learning to box ensures that they'll never be physically bullied, but what really warms my heart about them learning is the fact that it changed them both for the better. 

X Is For eXercise

I love exercise!

There, I said it. 

No I'm not mad (at least I don't think I am), but I do enjoy the rush of endorphins from a good session, they're a great fix and one that I'm in no hurry to give up on.

U Is For Unorthodox

I'm a Southpaw (and proud of it) which means I'm left handed or in boxing terms I take an unorthodox stance. This means that I lead with my right hand jab with my right foot forward as in the photo. My left foot is nicely behind my right with my weight balanced for stability, whilst my right shoulder is slightly leaning forwards with my left shoulder slightly behind. Essentially as a southpaw my stance is a mirror image of an orthodox boxer's stance.

The unorthodox stance actually applies to any stance that isn't right handed, so it covers any other stance including the southpaw stance, but today most people in boxing would understand the term to mean a southpaw or left handed fighter.

S Is For Sparring

Sparring has to be one of the most fun things I've ever done.

It took quite a while from first stepping in to the boxing gym to stepping in to the boxing ring, but the minute I did I was hooked.

The very first time I stepped in to the ring was with Coach Cris who was very gentle and patient with me and helped me to control my temper, it's natural to get angry when you've been hit!

P Is For Protective Gear

It's important to use the correct protective gear when boxing, be it on bag work, sparring or fighting in the ring.

The most obvious piece of protective equipment is the boxer's gloves. These come in various sizes which are dictated by weight. Personally I like to use 16oz gloves, but for white collar boxing match (that will be my W post) gloves are normally 12oz.

O Is For Open Mat

Open Mat is a term probably more closely associated with MMA than boxing but it is used to some extent in the world of boxing gyms.

At Knockout Centre (owned and run by Corné Blom a former MMA fighter) it's used to denote an open session on Saturday mornings, in which boxers can come and do their own workouts as well as spar with other willing members.

For me it's a new idea and one I really like and enjoy, especially the sparring aspect of it (that'll be my S post). 

N Is For Neutral Corner

A boxing ring has four corners, two are owned by the fighters, these are normally the blue & red corners. The other two corners are the Neutral Corners and are normally white.

The purpose of the neutral corners is to provide a space that a boxer can be sent to by the referee, for example whilst counting down a felled opponent.

L Is For Lumbering Dinosaur

In my previous white collar fights I've been known as Pastor Punch as I dispense the five-fold ministry to my opponent.

I always found this quite an amusing play on Ephesians 4:11 "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers" and the idea of 'give me 5', or rather giving my opponent five.

However, in view of my age and health issues, not least of which is a collapsed disc in my spine, if I do ever fight again I will be renaming myself as Dino The Lumbering Dinosaur.