Sunday, January 2, 2022

Hilton Head Island: 20,560: books read July-December 2021; life as diary


In 2021 I set a personal record for number of workouts:  121, surpassing the old record of 115. Of these, 20 were what I call 100 level workouts.  The standard workout starts with stretching, then my age in push-ups and crunches, and last year I went one beyond my age for most of the year and did 80 of each, followed by 60 knee bends, then 40 more push-ups, 40 crunches; 40 knee bends; 40 push-ups; 40 crunches; 100 side leg rises each leg; 150 knee bends.  The 100 level is 100 push-ups; 100 crunches; 60 knee bends; 50 push-ups; 50 crunches; 40 knee bends; 50 push-ups; 50 crunches; 110 side leg rises each leg; 200 knee bends.  All done in immediate succession.  I have no specific plan when I go to the 100 level.  I just do so on days I am feeling particularly good, usually deciding after 30 or 40 push-ups in the first set.  Sometimes the first 30 are hard; sometimes easy.  So in 2021 I did a total of 20,560 push-ups and crunches.

I started keeping track of my workouts because I found I was making too many excuses and not doing them as regularly as I should.  Here is the list since record keeping began.

The lowest totals came when I was circumnavigating in THE HAWKE OF TUONELA and GANNET

I recall when giving a talk sometime in my 50s relating that I do my age in push-ups and just think what great shape I will be in when I am 100.  I’m getting there.

It is good to compete only with yourself.  And sometimes history.



Here is the list of books read the past six months.



Some may remember that I started re-reading the anthology of diary entries, THE ASSASSIN’S CLOAK, on July 1, so I have just moved from the end of the book to the beginning.  January begins with this quote from the creator of Petter Pan.

I like to believe that mine has pretty much been as I vowed to make it.





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