A mental challenge... my training diary entry from August 15 2026

_{(Here is another sad photo from my vacation in Thailand. It is beyond me why, in so many countries, it is still permitted to keep animals in inhumane conditions and offer them for sale at markets. You don’t have to be an expert to see that this snake is not living a happy life.)}

Hi Actifitters,

yesterday, I started my second pull-up workout according to the training plan. It actually felt harder than the first attempt three days earlier. I was all the more surprised, then, when I managed one extra repetition in the fourth set.

The next goal according to the training plan (26):

My previous attempt (20):

Yesterdays attempt (21):

So, there are still five repetitions left in total where I slowly lower myself—taking about three seconds—from the top position of a pull-up (chin level with the bar). My gut tells me I’ll be grappling with this first intermediate goal for quite some time.

Afterward, I had to take down an old satellite dish for my mom. To do this, I had to climb onto the shed roof and stand for quite a while on roof tiles that didn't feel very stable. I was pretty tense the whole time, and my calf muscles were shaking uncontrollably. I should mention that I’m afraid of heights, so the whole ordeal took a real effort to overcome my fear. Still, it was better than sending my mom up onto the roof. ;-) When I got back home a good hour later, my calves felt as if I had just climbed a high mountain.

After a light meal that provided me with enough carbohydrates, I hopped on the indoor bike for a two-hour session. Garmin recommended a long ride at 150 watts, so that’s what I did. I’m actually quite pleased with the numbers so far. It took nearly 90 minutes for my heart rate to climb above 130 for the first time. This shows my endurance has definitely improved significantly, though I really had to grit my teeth for the final half-hour. My backside started to hurt, and I found myself staring at the screen in front of me, watching the remaining seconds tick down. Minutes drag by so slowly like that, and the entire workout feels seemingly endless.

Duration - 2:00:09 (2:00:19)
Distance - 63.81 km (62.19 km)
Average speed - 31.9 km/h (31.0 km/h)
Maximum speed - 40.8 km/h (47.2 km/h)
Average power output - 151 watts (148 watts)
Average heart rate - 124 bpm (137 bpm)
Maximum heart rate - 139 bpm (166 bpm)
Average cadence - 85 (86)
Maximum cadence - 94 (95)
Calories - 1046 (1025)

I just realized that I completed the exact same workout exactly a week ago. So, I’m now adding last week’s figures in parentheses. It is amazing how much better I performed yesterday.

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Mission 80 (Day 48 = 87.7 kg / Goal = 80.0 kg / Initial weight = 90.0 / Total loss = 2.3 kg)

Sticking to the comparison with exactly one week ago, I have to report a significant setback of one kilogram. However, compared to yesterday, I have at least lost 500 grams.

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Once I’m done with this post, I’m going to warm up thoroughly and try to complete that last missing rep of close-grip push-ups to reach my current interim goal. After that, Garmin has a 90-minute base ride at 150 watts scheduled for me. We'll see how my backside holds up today, given that it was already a bit sore yesterday.

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Daily HSBI raffle (The rules)

Congratulations @onemanonewrite, you won today's share... it has already been sent.

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That's all for today.
Be kind to each other and keep moving!

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