The 400-day countdown to my 60th birthday begins on August 7, 2023.

Some may ask, “Why on earth are you doing this?” and “What are you doing during this countdown?“

The simple answer is that I am goal-oriented and need a goal RIGHT NOW. The need for a plan has been triggered by three things: (1) my weight gain due to limited physical activity after my right hip replacement six months ago; (2) the recent passing of my mother-in-law; and (3) the fact that turning sixty is a milestone.

I have been impatient with my recovery, never mind that a standard hip replacement recovery can take six to twelve months, depending on one’s age and physical condition beforehand. I had a goal of returning to teaching private lessons by May. That turned out to be wildly optimistic.

Due to the recovery process limiting my physical activity, I have gained weight. Not good. I ain’t too happy about this. So, that’s a freaking good reason to set a goal.

Readers of this blog know that my mother-in-law’s health declined for six months before passing in May. Due to this decline, my wife and I increasingly became full-time caretakers from November through May. Speaking for myself, there has been a void and some aimlessness since May. Yet another reason for me to come up with this goal.

And let’s be honest, hitting the big 6-0 will be no small feat for yours truly. It’s like reaching the milestone where I can officially trade in my “youth card” for a senior discount at the local pharmacy!

I was not in the least bit bothered about turning 50.

However, 60 is a different story in my present physical condition. That qualifier is key here.

My wife and I recently went to Seattle to visit my sister and her family. It was the first time I had seen her in five years. However, the pandemic (with the US-Canada border closing) and taking care of my mother-in-law prevented us from visiting my sister for a long time. Anyway, the day after we returned from the trip, I weighed in at 192 lbs.

Whoa!

On the one hand, if that had occurred on my 60th birthday, I would have been miserable.

On the other hand, I need to be fair to myself and remind myself that I’ve been recovering for the last six months and have been unable to “put the pedal to the medal!” regarding physical conditioning. Plus, I ate a bit too much in Seattle. Hehehehe.

If you are not able to view the video, go here.

It’s time to change that. I will soon be able to start working out more intensively. Hence the “400 Day Countdown to 60!”

I have created a pre-countdown spreadsheet. It is entitled “Pre-Countdown Experiment.” It contains several categories that I want to achieve each day. You would not be surprised to see that I have included empty hand anyos, cane anyos, and various exercise regimens. I have two weeks to consider and tinker with it before August 7th.

The 400-Day Countdown needs a “why?” and metrics.

“I want to feel good by 60” is a good “why” for me. As I said earlier in this post, seeing 192 on the scale on Monday wasn’t the greatest feeling.

But I need solid metrics to get there. I’m leaning toward “160 and 60 by 60!”

160 lbs and 60 pull-ups or push-ups by age 60. I’ve been going back and forth between pull-ups and push-ups. I’ve got a couple of weeks to think about this.

The above goals will definitely improve the quality of my martial abilities and set the stage for my golden years. 🙂 Most importantly, I want to expand my horizons and have fun!

What do you think?

Oh yes, I’ll be doing a test session with Alex next week to see how my hip holds up. Stay tuned!

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