It is now three months since I was put on Furlough, where has the time gone and what have been doing?
First though, what I haven't been doing enough of is posting on Hive. You would think that with less cash coming in and most days being completely free, I would be putting this wonderful 2nd income opportunity to work and adding at least one piece of content to the chain each day.
However, with only 13 posts so far this month, that has not been the case and I guess my only real excuse is that I can overthink stuff and spend far to much time wondering if what I am adding here is adding any value or not. I go between thinking hardly any content adds value, to almost all content adds value in some way, but the former usually wins out in my mind.
So today I just thought screw it, I've got photos and screenshots of my bike rides and some of the beer I've been drinking - and seeing as that I've mostly spent the last three months exercising and drinking beer, and excising a bit more, this will have to be my content for the time being.
Come nearer Lamas, my phone cant make you out over there....
The three photos above could have been taking on pretty much any of the bike rides I've been on of late, I feel lucky and much happier when the sun is shining and so far this year, the weather has not disappointed at all.
Today was another cracker, with more sun scheduled this week, and having already done 30 mins on the Elliptical this morning, I visited the local park with one of my friends (above). One daytime beer is enough when you have further exercise scheduled in later in the day, and I've just finished a legs/ass routine, with an ab workout following that.
I had just started working out again at the beginning of the year, but Furlough (and the time it has allowed) has given me the chance to put more effort into training, with the end goal being ripped and drunk on the Spanish coast :P
Since getting the Amazfit Sports Watch and the new bike, I've been totally hooked on collecting PAI and tracking my exercise, and I wish I had something like this 20 odd years ago when I started working out as a late teen. Back then, the only heart rate notifications I had was a pain in my chest after hammering the Elliptical machine for 20 minutes flat out - that was the clue to slow down a little.
I've noticed with the watch, be it running, cycling (up-hill), or during an Elliptical workout, that I can go steadily at 155-160 BPM without over-doing it and needing a break. If I work harder and BPM goes to 160+ (VO MAX for me), I can only keep that effort going for a couple of minutes before needing to ease off and catch my breath.
The 160+ BPM range is the sweet spot though for obtaining PAI, and so they are tough to earn if you are trying to keep a certain pace. I've noticed that interval work (go hard then rest) seems to collect PAI more efficiently - I can push to 165-170 for a minute, then ease of and rest until BPM drops to 155-160, and repeat. Still, it's tough, and when your workout partner collects 50 PAI for an hours sport, a bit frustrating. I will admit it, I have PAI envy, and the gamification has got me bad.
Anyway, enough exercise chat, what about the beer!?
I signed up again for a monthly beer delivery, and the above are the most recent arrivals. They didn't last long, and I got a little forgetful on taking an 'in glass' photo of each, but here are some lovely beer photos for you....
Yum!
I'm at the point now where I don't really want Furlough to end, but understand that my employer may want me back working, at least once the Government stop setting money on fire / aiding the completely broken economy.
Until then though, I shall be riding my bike in the sunshine, and reading about what people are up to on Hive, likely with a cold beer in hand.
Cheers!
Asher
Ohhh, I passed 90000 Hive Power today - collecting HP should go on my Furlough CV too I guess :)