The summer man challenge update: In true Don fashion, I am quitting and starting again!
So I did the challenge for 3 days and stopped yesterday. As background, I am a couch potato. The only regular exercise I get is walking my dog for 2 miles every 3-5 times a week. I chose swimming because it’s exercise but it’s not as intensive as other forms of cardio. I don’t like lifting weights. Plus, I love Mad Men and I thought Don’s routine was cool.
I usually drink one alcoholic beverage a day. On days a plenty, I drink 3-6 depending on the occasion. There are days I don’t drink and I don’t crave a drink. My doctor says I drink a bit too much. I think keeping the drink to once a day is okay. I try to only drink after 5 pm.
I liked the journaling aspect of this challenge. Don’s right, it does feel silly writing about what happened during the day, but I started to use journaling as a way to plan for the future.
As for the swimming… well I can confidently say, I cant really swim but I know how to not drown in open water. I have ass form and I swim very slowly. It does make me feel good to be in the water though. You feel cleaner after swimming. The hardest part of swimming is logistical for me. The gym I usually go to has a pool but the water was very dirty. I had red eyes the next day. I went to another gym and while the water is very clean, the pool is very crowded. If you go at the wrong time, you won’t have a chance to swim. I work from 8-5. All gyms are packed from 5-9. So I have a small window to actually swim. I did find a gym that is dead after 10 pm though.
The reason why I stopped though because I got an injury. I was swimming on Monday night and was doing twist flips on the back wall of the pool. I twisted my right calf the wrong way and got a cramp. I got out of the pool and walked with a limp. Apparently, this is a common swimming injury but I was told to take a rest day. My leg feels a lot better, so I am going to start swimming again tonight.
TLDR: I got hurt swimming and took a rest day. Going to restart the swimming today.