For the first time in a while, I’m stringing the good weeks together. Part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop and upset this great progress.
This Week
I’ve been able to keep up my plan to get up early every day. I’m home free now. I get up at 6:30 during the week and on the weekend, I’ve been waking up by 7:00 without an alarm clock.
It’s really been a great way to get to the gym before work. Working out doesn’t feel like such a chore now after a long day.
Speaking of working out, I got in another three solid workouts this week. I’ve been continuing my high intensity interval training. I was using a recumbent bike, but as I began to adapt to that, I started to increase the challenge by graduating to an elliptical trainer.
Right now, I do a couple of intervals on each, but the elliptical trainer definitely takes a bigger toll.
I’m continuing with some moderate weight training to gain some strength in my arms, shoulders, and core. I’m also doing a fair amount of stretching to keep everything loose.
All that working out is paying off because I got out for an 18 hole round yesterday for the first time in a while and I felt the difference. I had more stamina and felt more flexible. Unfortunately, it was 46 degrees, overcast, windy, and the course was wet, so I wasn’t scoring well.
The off season is tough because nothing about my game is sharp. That’s OK though. I’m laying the foundation for good things next season.
The workouts are also paying off on the weight loss front, finally. I’m down 5 pounds this week. It’s not really my intent to lose that much each week because slow and steady is what will be better for me in the end. However, I don’t feel like I was starving myself so I’m not going to change anything.
Tweaks
The only real tweak I’d like to make is to try and work some putting practice in each week. This is something I can do a half hour here and there without having to worry too much about the cold. If cold and/or snow becomes and issue, I’ll bring my putter inside.
My round yesterday showed me that my putting pace is generally good, aside from a few mistakes. The problem is, my alignment feels a little inconsistent and nothing is dropping for me. Part of this is no doubt because I haven’t been playing lately between surgery and the off season that is now blanketing me.
At the same time, I think I just didn’t get in enough putting work this year. My putting has been much more sharp in the past than it was this year. My stroke has been inconsistent and that’s something I need to put a lot of work into.
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Great post! It sounds like you are heading in the right direction. Discipline and focus are the secrets to success.
Sounds like you had a great week Mike. I’m starting to realize the importance of putting. You might consider attaching a goal to your off-season putting practice. When I practice putting, I do the bulk of it from six to ten feet.
Stick with the plan, it’s great to read your progress!!
-Greg
That’s a good idea about the putting goal. That will make it much easier to manage and track. I’ll give it some thought and come up with some things I’d like to accomplish this winter.