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Daily Ramblings…

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Daily Ramblings…

Monthly Archives: June 2019

Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Arms and Abs

30 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Workout Routine

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Tags

Biceps, curls, Extensions, Kris Gethin, Leg Raises, Skull Crushers, triceps, Upper Abs

Today’s workout:

Arms

Superset 1: 

  • Cable Curls 1×40;1×30;1×20;1×10;1×10
  • Tricep Overhead Cable Triceps Extensions 1×40;1×30;1×20;1×10;1×10

Superset 2:

  • Barbell Curls 1×10;1×10;1×20;1×30;1×40
  • Triceps Skull Crushers 1×10;1×10;1×20;1×30;1×40

Abs

  • Hanging Leg Raises 5×20

As you can tell, I like supersets. It’s a great way to get a good pump and ensure you hit all the muscle fibers. The higher reps loosen up the muscle and help lift heavier in subsequent supersets.

That’s it for today!

See you at the finish line!

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Chest and Back

28 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Workout Routine

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Tags

Back, Bodybuilding, chest, Dumbbell Rows, Flat Bench Dumbbell Press, healthy living, Incline Dumbbell Press, strength training

Yesterday’s workout:

Superset 1: 

  • Dumbbell Incline Press: 1×50; 1×40; 1×30; 1×20; 1×10
  • Dumbbell Bent Over Row 1×50; 1×40; 1×30; 1×20; 1×10

Superset 2:

  • Dumbbell Flat Bench Press: 1×10; 1×20; 1×30; 1×40; 1×50;
  • Dumbbell Bent Over Row: 1×10; 1×20; 1×30; 1×40; 1×50;

See you at the finish line…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday

28 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Funny Friday

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Friday, Funny, Hilarious, Joke, Laughter, Pun, Quip

I just wrote a book on reverse psychology. Do *not* read it!

Courtesy: Pun.me

I hope all of you have a great Friday and have some great things planned for the weekend! Happy Fri-YAY!!

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – The Joy of Video Gaming

27 Thursday Jun 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thankful Thursdays

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Tags

Alien: Isolation, First-person Shooters, Grateful, Metro Trilogy, Survival Horror, Thanks, Video Games, Xbox

Image by Marko Deichmann from Pixabay 

Today, my inner child is coming out. I am thankful for my XBOX and all the game developers out there who create terrific video games. Recently I beat Metro Exodus, the third game in the Metro Trilogy. It has a great story, awesome graphics, and really sucks you in. The entire trilogy was awesome. If you have not played Metro 2033, Metro Last Light, and Metro Exodus, you are missing out. It is a tremendous story, filled with characters you’ll enjoy interacting with.

I just started playing Alien: Isolation. Wow! What a scary game! In this game, you are Ripley’s daughter. You get the opportunity to travel to a ship nearby which holds the final flight recorder of your Mom’s ship. I won’t spoil this for you. You just have to play it to experience it. It is a really creepy game so far. If you have not seen the movie Alien, you may want to watch it. This game was built to add on to the story in the original film.

The trailer above will give you an idea about what I’m talking about. It’s a great game so far.

Here’s to video gaming!

Until next time…

Dave

 

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Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Cardio Day

27 Thursday Jun 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Workout Routine

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Cardio Day, Elliptical, Hacks, HIIT, Rowing Machine, Stationary Bike, Step Machine, Treadmill

Yesterday’s workout was HIIT cardio. I like to vary the equipment I use and yesterday it was the elliptical.

Yesterday’s Workout:

  • Planet Fitness, Elliptical Machine, Interval Program, 20 minutes.

As most of you know, I fell off the exercise wagon this last few weeks. We had family come in from out of town, and all the other excuses that come to mind. Each of us has little tricks or hacks to get something done. For me, it is just going to the gym. If I can get myself into the parking lot, I’m going to workout. The workout itself is enjoyable, it’s the getting there that stops me from consistently working out from time-to-time.

What is your hack or trick to get to the gym, especially on those days you would rather be somewhere else? Respond in the comments below.

 

See you at the finish line!

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Legs and Abs

26 Wednesday Jun 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Workout Routine

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Bodybuilding, Calves, Crunches, Discipline, Hamstrings, healthy living, Planet Fitness, Presses, Quadriceps

I’m finally back at it. It is so easy to blow off the gym and make excuses right?

Here you go:

Superset:

Leg Press 1×50; 1×40; 1×30; 1×20; 1×10; 1×10; 1×20; 1×30; 1×40; 1×50

Calf Press 1×40; 1×30; 1×20; 1×10; 1×10; 1×10; 1×10; 1×20; 1×30; 1×40

Ab Crunch 1×20; 1×30; 1×40; 1×40; 1×50;

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Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Moving Mountains

26 Wednesday Jun 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Wisdom Wednesday

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change, Consistency, Focus, habits, mini-habits, Moving Mountains, Resistance

Image by Frank Winkler from Pixabay 

“The man who moves a mountain begins carrying away small stones.” – Confucius

This is a great quote for anyone that is trying to do big things in their life and tries to do too much or is trying to do too many things at once. My wife and I had a quick chat yesterday, and she is focused on two things and nothing else. The first is a bodybuilding competition she’s headed to in 6 days; the second is a test she has to take for a teaching credential. The rest of her day is eating, maintenance, errands, and sleep. She knows that focus and consistency are important when accomplishing one’s goals. She also knows that you can’t do everything. You have to decide and execute.

Learning how to make a choice and sticking with something has always been a challenge for me. I like variety in my day. I like the spontaneity of the moment. Unfortunately, you can’t get anything meaningful done that way. So I began a search for information on how to get more focused, decisive, and consistent. During my search, I discovered a book called Mini Habits by Steven Guise. He suggests doing something very small each day will build a habit over time. The key is something small, but not too small. For example, Steven’s first Mini habit was doing 1 pushup every day.

I have used mini habits for a good 5 or 6 years now and it works. The trick is not to overwhelm yourself or expect yourself to do more than necessary. You really want to stick with small things until they become habitual. Each of us is unique. The time it takes for you to form a habit may be much shorter than it is for me or someone else. The key is to keep it small, so your mind doesn’t catch on that you are making a change. The mind gets overwhelmed very quickly, when taking on new things. If you try to start too many mini habits at once or your mini habit is too much (like I will write 1000 words today), the mini habit will not take hold.

I have had to learn this lesson more than once. Trust me. The mini habits work because they avoid overwhelming your brain, which will resist change if you hit it with too much. Start small. The key to the mini habit system is consistency. Reading for 10 minutes each day may not seem like a lot, but over a year that is 3650 minutes of reading. It may not seem like a lot, but if you are not reading at all right now, trust me, this is a lot of reading (60 hours).

You can apply mini habits for anything. You can use it for exercise like Steven did, you can use it for reading, writing, learning a language, learning to code, anything. You just have to use a little creativity, carve out a few minutes of your day to do the mini habit, and then track it. I use a repeating to-do list for mine using Google Tasks, but whatever you use, even a wall calendar and a marker will do. Try this out if you are having a hard time starting something you’d like to start working on. Resistance is psychological. It is your brain telling you this is too much. Some folks have very resistant brains, while others do not. It is very individual. Experiment until you find your own sweet spot.

I hope each of you is having a terrific Wednesday!

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – Teachers as Champions

25 Tuesday Jun 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Ted Talk

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Caring, Champion, Dedication, Inspiring, Learning, Teachers, Teaching, Ted Talk

Image by rawpixel from Pixabay

We all had that one teacher that made a difference. In my case, there were a few. Rita Pierson is one of those teachers that treats her job responsibilities seriously and realizes the importance of her role as an educator. For me, my favorite teacher was Mrs. Feick in the 5th grade. She was so innovative. I think I learned more in her class than most of my elementary education combined. Rest in Peace Mrs. Feick.

Do you have a teacher that made learning fun? Did you have a teacher that held you to a higher standard, knowing you could do more? Did you have a teacher that made you feel like you could take on the world? Watch this Ted Talk. It is worth it.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Persistence

24 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

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Exercise, Insomnia, Learning, My week, Persistence, Reading, Spiritual Work, Writing

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas A. Edison

Hello, folks! Happy Monday!

I found this quote and felt it was exactly in alignment with what I wanted to talk about today–persistence. Persistence is what gets you through anything. It helps you when you doubt what you are doing. It helps when the obstacles to your progress pile up. It is supported by faith. The faith that you do have what it takes to succeed. We all have this capability. We just have to stick with what we are doing to get to where we want to go.

I try to keep my life simple. Read daily, write daily, learn daily, exercise daily, and spiritual exercises daily. This is it. Where I have fallen down this year is in the exercise arena. I go, then I don’t go, I start this program and then I stop this program. Today, I’m revamping my exercise routine and starting again. Exercise is important to me and once in a while I’ll lose track of that key point. I’m not into exercising for aesthetic purposes. I don’t care about posting an infinite amount of selfies showing off this or that. For me, it is just about feeling good, sleeping well, and taking care of myself.

For a few weeks, I was going through some horrific insomnia. I couldn’t sleep. One of the primary causes for this insomnia was my lack of consistent exercise. You see, I have always been hyperactive. If I don’t get rid of some energy doing yard work, exercise, and some actual brain work every day, I am not tired at all when I go to bed. I just lay there tossing and turning. I realize some folks suffer a form of insomnia because of worry. I do not fall into this category. My life is pretty calm, without too much drama. I feel for you if you cannot sleep because of excessive worry. This is a horrible place to be.

Ok. This week, we’ll be hitting it hard in the gym (check my workouts on my Workout Routine posts). I’ll be doing some work on my book, continue to post here, and work through an NLP course I signed up for on Udemy. I’ve also got my daily yard work to do, pending the weather. I hope each of you has a terrific week!

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Gratitude

22 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Spiritual Saturday

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experiences, Grateful, Gratitude, Harold Klemp, Little Moments, memories, spirituality

Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay 

“Sometimes it’s important to just stop and be grateful for the blessings that you already have.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

Think about the things you have right now. It’s highly likely you have a place you call home. You have a bed to sleep in. You have people in your life you call friends and loved ones. You may even have a pet. When I look back over my life, the times I was truly happy were when I was satisfied with what I had. I was grateful for those little moments you hold close to your heart. Laughter at a birthday party, knowing smiles between you and your lover in a crowded room, enjoying a cup of coffee or tea while you read a good book, or walking in a park or along a beach with your dog. All of these little moments collect in our boxes of memories where we visit them again and again.

As I have mentioned in numerous postings on this blog, a gratitude journal assists you with staying in perspective. Yeah, we all want a new car, a nicer home, or more toys to play with, but when it really comes down to it, most of us have all we need to live. Why are the feelings we get when we buy something new so fleeting, while the little moments I mentioned above stick with us throughout our lives? It is because these little moments in time are more important to us than a new car, home, or toy. These moments we take with us. They stay with us forever. When we are called to our final resting place, leaving this place, this reality behind, all we have are our experiences. The cars, the homes, the toys, the bank accounts, will not go with you. Neither will your loved ones. You will leave this place with your character, your memories, your experiences–nothing more.

This is why I think our little moments stay with us. We know inside that this is what is important in life. The times you laughed so hard you couldn’t breathe, the times you felt love from your friends, significant other, or your pet. The times you felt peaceful and satisfied and everything was right with the world. These are the moments that stick with us and what we take with us when we go to our next place. I am truly grateful for all the experiences and little moments that have blessed my life. Life is a privilege. It is something to be cherished while you have it. Don’t waste it on jealousy, anger, lust, vanity, or attachment. Instead, be grateful for every moment you have.

Until next time…

Dave

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