Carnivore, Moby Dick and Doktor Glas

Good afternoon!

Yesterday's work out did not leave me unmoved. That feeling that of a weak electrical current through the body, all the time. I like it! I'll try to get some Jane Fonda and stretch in later today. Has not been walking today, except at Bauhaus, due to the infernal raining. But we did put on some dancing music on our outstanding JBL Xtreme(add) and shook our bums for half an hour or so and that did the trick.

For dinner yesterday, there was beef liver and pork chops with cheese. Very good! I try to vary my protein sources. Eggs, fish, chicken, beef, pork and some intestines, from time to time. I use dairy products sparingly. A few drops of heavy cream in the coffee, butter for frying, hard cheese (rarely), blue cheese, fat and mozzarella.

In these holiday times, I also want to take the opportunity make a case for the old honest "book" as a pastime. I love to read and spend as much time as the house peace allows. (For a while last fall, I even did some audiobook readings at a company called Inläsningstjänst(ILT). It was very educational and sometimes quite fun but the salary was abysmal and it didn't suit me to sit still in an audio studio for hours at a time so I put it off.)

Fact books I read a lot but the classic novels I just can not live without. I recently finished Herman Melville's classic "Moby Dick"(add), which has escaped me all my years. Of course, I've seen John Huston's 1956 movie classic starring Gregory Peck as the avenging Captain Ahab, but I've never picked up the book until now. It was obviously sublime but does not appear on my top 10 list. Maybe not even the top 100! Is it because I have a little trouble relating to all nautical terminology, or just a matter of taste? Hard to say.

Anyway, I quickly moved on to the next book as I become slightly uneasy as soon as I don't have a fictional work at hand. This time I first had an eye on Randy Wayne Whites novels about Doc Ford (I have read all except the last three. A lot of manly stuff but it is a side of me that also needs love), but stumbled instead and borrowed home Hjalmar Söderberg's "Doctor Glass" from the library to my Letto(add). Doctor Glas I read almost thirty years ago and then only once. It was definitely a lovely reunion. I love how the classic Swedish novelists treat the language. Söderberg, Moberg, Boye, Martinsson, Selma Lagerlöf, Per Anders Fogelström to name but a few. Speaking of late reading experiences. The last two, Lagerlöf and Fogelström, I read them for the first time since I turned forty! Insanity! So of course, after reading "The Emperor of Portugal", I had to read through everything Selma wrote and Per Anders's "My Dreams City" suite, which my father has continually recommended since I was a little boy, I was completely engrossed in for a month. It's funny how it is, life.

Anyhow, I got the Letto for  my birthday a few years ago and have been using it extensively ever since. It is a perfect format to take on the subway on the way to work or on the journey to a distant land. If you do not use the "Frontlight" function too much, the battery life is about a week, or more depending on how much you use it otherwise. I have had some small problems downloading books directly to the tablet from Adlibris(add) homepage but then it was usually books in the SEK 10 class. A big plus, I think, is that, as I said, you can borrow books from the Library's website. All you need to do is create an account on Adobe and download Adobe Digital Edition. After that, just log into the library and start looking for available books in e-format. The range of books they have is somewhat limited but if you are not looking for something special, you can certainly keep reading for ever. A small note is also worth mentioning and that is that there is a limit of a maximum of five loans per seven day period. So that's that.

Well, that's probably enough for today. Tomorrow it might be a post about training, again. Only time will tell. I leave you with these thought-provoking lines:

I have stopped smoking,
drink and swearing.
I've started training
and eat healthy.
But unfortunately,
I still lie.

May the Fors be with you!!

Leaving Dramaten, Monday Madness & 24 Hour Fast

Hi there folks!

Gammal man gör så gott han kan.

How are you?

It seems no better than I am going to do a daily thing of this here to write on the blog. It works well as long as I am on vacation but come August time will be harder to come by. New job, new workmates, new routines, new everything !. I take leave from Dramaten after working as a theater technician there for twelve years to try my hand at B2B sales. The company is called Ergoff and deals in ergonomic office solutions and courses. 

To make a long story short (the long one will surely come at a later date), I decided to see if the grass is still greener outside the gold-laden walls of the theater. The first thing I did was to make a quick search on  Blocket Jobb(add) and see what was available. As a theater technician, alternatives are, to say the least, limited. I was not interested in finding a job at any other theater or rental company or the like. After no end of bothers, it dawned on me that I could look after jobs I hadn't even thought of before. Sales job (Taboo within the world of cultural) I handed in applications to a few and went to a bunch of interviews but what I eventually chose was Ergoff.

As I am interested in health care and health in general, I felt that I could stand behind the products they sell and hopefully help a lot of sedentary office workers to a healthier life. A small dilemma with the new job is that at Dramaten I have been wearing work pants and steel cap shoes. Now I'm going to meet customers and look "representative", I guess. I have looked around a little online and found a store that I hope can equip me for the upcoming service. Stayhard(add) is a store that seems to have everything I need, from head to toe. I like how intuitive the website and the search features are. The fact that they are a purely men's shop simplifies and clarifies the experience. The range of products falls in line with what I experience as my taste and the service and payment options leave nothing to be desired. I have not yet made a purchase so I will probably come back with a more detailed review.

That's what that about that. Now there will be some training. I have 4-5 hours left on a 24 hour fast which I usually do on Mondays. What I take in during fasting is water, coffee and salt. The coffee is black.
The training stayed at home on the lawn, again, as several family members wanted to train with me and also it is a bit of a threshold to get away. (I do have a membership at Friskis & Svettiskort, so You know)

This is what I got out of me today:

5 min jump rope

3 rounds of 3-6 reps (some exercises exceed the amount of repetitions when higher weight is not available):

Side Lateral Dumbbells (2x16kg)
Kettlebell Swings (15x32kg)
Dumbbell Biceps Curl  (2x24kg)
Triceps Push Down (35kg)
Toes to bar (5 rps)
One Arm Row (5x42kg)
Parallette Push Ups (12reps)

Just when we hade finished our work out the heavens opened and we had a river of water of biblical proportions come down on the piece of land we call our garden.

In the exercises that involved weights, the weight was increased in two rounds before the Work Set. The work out was made as a circle, if it was not clear, with as much rest in between as needed to get the pulse down slightly. In addition to the mandatory Klean Kanteen(add) water bottle(was really needed today) I'm sporting a pare of Adidas Tiro 19 Training Shorts(add) with Houdini Dynamic Boxers(add) underneath. Houdini has been my go-to underwear for as long as I can remember. Works at work, at the gym as well as out on the cliff.
Some of the most affordable Kettlebellsen(add) I have come across is from Nordic Fighter(add). I have accumulated some Kettlebells from different sources over the years. And if you like to use parallettes and not like me have the opportunity to make your own, they also have prisvärda såna. They have also provided me with most of what I need for the crossfitting and the MMA.

The work out took about an hour, including all the doodling with weight changes and family counseling. A little too much time for my liking but after all it is vacation. Sometimes it was pretty intense and in the end I felt pretty done.

I end the post with a good quote:

"I'm not telling you it's going to be easy,
I'm telling you it's going to be worth it."

May the Fors be with you!

From Omega 3 to Deodorant

Good evening, folks!

Got a visit at 4:00 tonight. Hard to sleep when any little critter wants to spoon in this heat. Therefore, after lunch, I took a nap that I just woke up from. I love naps. Earlier I was at Clas Ohlson and bought   some sommaraktivitet(add). The old ones was all but trash.

Thought about dedicating this post to some stuff and where You can get it, as it is blasphemous to work out on a Sunday. Of course I take a few brisk walks and tonight I'll probably sneak in some stretching. I usually try to get in a good stretch a couple of times a week, usually in conjunction with the "mini WO" and Jane Fonda. I use pretty basic stretching methodology. From the bottom up. PNF Hold-Relax Stretch, is what I have come up with works best for me. I get bored of stretching easily but I've found that it becomes easier if I almost see it as meditation. Thinking about breathing and relaxing in body and soul. Besides, I try to meditate every day, 15-20 min.

Some things I usually have available for external and internal well-being are:

INTERNAL:

Möllers Tran(Omega 3)(add)

OptiZinc tabletter

Magnesiumtabletter 500 mg

Kalium 750 

Yogi Bedtime Tea(add)

Kung Markattas Ofiltrerade Äppelcidervinäger

Optimum Nutrition Creatine Powder

Star Nutrition Pea Protein Isolate

Gotu Kola

EXTERNAL:

Eco Cosmetics Deo(add)

Decubal Clinic Cream 475 g

Decubal Lips & Dry Spots

Decubal Dry Scalp Treatment 150 g

Decubal Face Vital Cream 50 ml

Decubal Shower & Bath Oil 200 ml

(Yes, I suffer from dry skin and Decubal I have been using for years. Used by other family members as well. Great stuff!)

Weleda Salt Toothpaste(add)(I have used it for over ten years and have not felt any need of fluoride) Sometimes I use Dentosal Original 100 ml(add), but only a few times a week.


Of course, this is not all I use, but a rough sketch that can give a little indication of the path I chose to go. Things come and go, moreover. I am willing to try most anything but am responsive to signs of any noticeable effect as I am a minimalist by nature and would rather subtract than add. Gotu Kolan, for example, is on trial. We'll see if it has any noticeable effect.

I think that may be enough for today. In the evening, it will probably grill the steak or entrecote from City Grossen(add).

P.S. I went with the steak and it was delicious. I obviously avoid using lighter fluid when grilling, instead I put newspaper rolled into "sausages" on the charcoal. Then I chop up enough thin wooden sticks to cover most of the grillen(add), lights it and enjoys an equally fragrant, tasty and environmentally friendly barbecue.

May the Fors be with you! ;-)

Sleepless in Stockholm

Guten Tag die Welt!

Woke up at 5:30 am, which does not happen so infrequently. However, I usually do not go to bed at 23:00, which I did the night before. Of the things to prioritize, sleep comes highest on my list. (The priolist in its entirety is a topic for a later post.) Thus, I suffer from lack of sleep today. Common symptoms are brain fog (with everything that comes with concentration difficulties, forgetfulness and blurred vision), irritability, fatigue (dhöö ..) and a bead band of other general state disorders that I am too tired to remember right now.

Took as usual a 30 min walk at 8am. If I don't remember wrong, I downed a protein shake with chocolate flavor and a scoop of collagen upon returning home.(Pure Whey Isolate 90 och Kollagen & Vitamin C-pulver) from Bulk Powder.(I don't get a penny to mention this but I like their products)

Then I was of to City Gross(add) to do some shopping.

The lunch consisted of the remains of yesterday's meatloaf. It was really super good! I have experimented a bit with meatloaf just because I am rather lazy when it comes to cooking and the loaf is well suited for it requires a minimum of preparation (a little depending on how advanced you make it), and you can add a little of whatever you fancy. I often do chopped olives, mozzarella, pesto, etc. Usually ok but this one with a cover of bacon and a core of feta cheese was really top class.

It was quite hot today so I showered with the water hose after refueling some vitamin D. Incredibly nice ... afterwards.

After another brisk walk (about 30 min) I did some "Jane Fonda" exercises, which I usually call it. This is to strengthen my unstable hips. I have sometimes had problems with instability in the hips when I do my deadlifts and squats, especially. Don't know why but I embed a little video on this for maximum humiliation.

The day ended with a grilled chicken roast club steak with a piece of blue cheese. Very good!

Maybe an episode "Handmaid's Tale" after this (think this season is a bit lame, so far)

Tomorrow is another day, as I understand it. It remains to be seen.

May the Fors be with you!

Hit the ground running!

Good day!

After all, when we have started, I can dive straight into reality. Week two of the holiday is soon to
end. I haven't been in the mood for training since Monday. Usually I work out three workouts a week with three "mini workouts" in between.

Anyway, I skipped breakfast this Friday, which is usual. Only one cup of coffee after waking up (no nothing added). I hade the coffee in front of the house in an attempt to start the day in as "zen" -like fashion as possible. I get to wrestle a little with myself here as it can be a bit cool at 06.30 and since I am not a morning person I find it difficult to attach the benefit to the lack of pleasure. When I can not cope with more peace of mind, I pull back in front of the computer and check some news, MMA-Junkie then there is some book reading.

At eight o'clock I start a 30 min brisk walk in the surroundings. Then, trolling the net a bit, more reading and maybe a moment's YouTube indulgence.

At 10:00 I managed to convince myself to at least exercise a little at home. Here's how it played out:

5 min jump rope

Shoulders: Dumbbell press
Legs: Goblet Squats with two dumbbells
Chest: Parallette Push Ups
Biceps: Curl
Triceps: "Scull Crusher" standing with rubber band
Back: Pull Ups

This was done as a circle where the first two rounds were warm up (about 10 reps), then three WS (Work Sets - 6 reps). The dumbbells, which were used in three exercises of equal weight, were increased in three steps. 12, 16 and WS-20kg. Push Ups were made 10 / round. Scull Crusher with rubber band as well. On the other hand, the Pull Ups only managed to reach 8 / round.

Most of the stuff I lift I have purchased at Decathlon as they boast far lowest prices. The quality can be a bit questionable but it usually does not matter. At Dramaten, I used to go down to the forge and weld together what I needed or fashion something in the carpentry.



All this was done out on the lawn, except for Pull Ups, and the rest between each exercise was a turn out to the road to regain my breath. Once, I took a longer break to look at some beautiful butterflies. At least I was pretty well done afterwards and jumped straight into the shower to cool my legs, arms and head with icy water. It's so damn nice. Would certainly be optimal to flush down torso as well but the chicken is strong in me.

One last cup of coffee for the day I drank in the deck chair at about 12:00.

At 13:00 I broke the fast and took a lunch consisting of a piece of flank roast that I had grilled the day before and now roasted in some butter and lard (Sokolow Smalec Wyborowy). In addition, two egg yolks. Lightly bubbled water as a meal drink.

Another walk to a park to play with the child and then there will be meatloaf with Feta cheese and bacon for dinner.



Day ONE is a wrap!


May the Fors be with you!

Then It All Begins!

Hello all you happy people!

Here I will write a little about what it can be like being 45 years of age and formerly a lot of things and have a family and on top of it all, after 12 years, I went from a comfortable, safe and mediocre paid job at the Royal Dramatic Theater, with 8 ! weeks of vacation towards an uncertain future in an uncertain industry with an uncertain feeling in the stomach.


In addition, there will be a lot of exercise, diet and mental well-being. How these things effect you positively and negatively as the years pile on. What has worked for me when it comes to routines and products and then I test new routines and products and hopefully we all can benefit.

In a later post, I go into a little more detail on how "Me Too" was just the last nail in the coffin that made me decide to leave the national scene.

Well met