HNT: EOY

Yes, it’s that time again: the End of the Year HNT, in which I show off the results of my diet and exercise, and yet again remind people that this used to be an interesting blog to read, and now it’s just an excuse to post some pictures and comment on silly news stories.

Anyhow, the past year and a half has been a bit off, health-wise. A year ago I was recovering from rotator cuff injuries, and had given up lifting for quite some time until I could recover. Then at the end of the summer I had to go under the knife for hernia surgery; ironically, both issues may have been aggravated, if not caused by my trying to lift those heavy weights that were supposed to be keeping me healthy.

I was able to do quite a bit of bicycling over the summer, something that I’ve become more involved with over the last few years. I rebuilt an old a vintage touring bike, modernizing a little, and managed to put 800 miles on it before my surgery. And right before bike season ended I managed to pick up a lightly used newish road bike, and when I recovered enough to ride, managed to put another hundred miles on it before putting it back into the garage.

But I have to accept that bike season is pretty much over. I know that some hard core riders are still pedaling in the winter, but I haven’t worked up to that yet. On the other hand, I’m finally recovered enough to get back to lifting. Those of you following the Ferns Fitness Challenge may remember that I dropped almost 20 pounds by the end of the summer; I expect that I’ll be putting some back on, but if I work my plan properly, most of that will be muscle. My doctor tells me that my BMI is a bit high, but I’m down to a Medium shirt, a 33″ pants waist, the last notches on my belts, and cardio-vascular response that’s better than guys ten years younger than I am. He told me to just keep doing what I’m doing.

Anyway, here’s my submission for the last HNT of the year, taken just after one of my workouts. I don’t have a forward-facing camera, so this is the best of about a dozen shots before I gave up.

And here’s wishing all of my readers a safe and happy holiday season.