This was a week of new beginnings for me. It was the start of year 3 of my fitness journey and the start of a new job.

I started my new job this week and I really like it so far. I am still working as a consultant but at a new firm called TOP Consulting. I really like their approach and their philosophy and that they try to be fully transparent with their employees which is great!

My first assignment is at OhioHealth. I am working in the Population Health area of their technology organization. This means that I am really getting to use project management to help people live healthier lives! I has only really been three and a half days but I am liking what I am seeing so far! Most of this week was dedicated to learning about the healthcare industry and OhioHealth.

My new job was my main focus of the week so I altered my daily routine for this week. That meant that I didn’t get as much exercise as I would like but I needed to start strong and I had some unusual events on my calendar and I needed to be flexible.

The Magic of an Unexpected Day Off

I was supposed to start my new job on Monday but it got pushed to Tuesday so I had an unexpected day off. I reacted by making it a super productive day.

I believe in paying myself first on bonus days off so I started with a good workout. I did some light running and practicing an improved running posture and stride. Then I did some weight lifting including my first time bench pressing 100 pounds without my trainer there as a safety net. It went great.

Then I spent the morning getting organized and working ahead in Operation Melt.

I had been spread a little thin without a real plan or tracking of my work. Not anymore! I built out a work tracking system using Trello and got my arms around everything that I have going on. Plus I was able to focus and write a couple Fit to Lead and PM Tips posts ahead instead of rushing to do them the night before. Hopefully this mean the quality is a little better and they are more valuable to the readers.

Then I got to have a nice afternoon patio lunch with my wife.

It is amazing what just one unexpected day off can do for your productivity!

I wish I could have one day per week or just per month to be focused on productivity like this.

First Training Session of Year 3

Last weekend was the anniversary of starting my Operation Melt journey so I am officially in year 3. This week was the first workout of year 3.

Unfortunately I haven’t set new goals yet for my workouts and the second half of the year. I need to spend some time reflecting, assessing progress and updating my goals over the next couple of weeks.

So we just kept going on the old goals.

In this week’s session I pushed my bench press weight up to 105 pounds. I am kind of ok if we just keep going and I get to the point where I can bench press my body weight!

This week we also started working on some lower body exercises to help mitigate post-run pain. Essentially I am strengthening my glutes – also know as building butt muscles! As a result Thursday was not the most comfortable day for waking!

Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks for more updates on goals for the second half of 2019. Thanks for reading and your continued support for my journey, it really means a lot to me!