The bunnyman challenge

[bunnyman666]

Four years of poor health have taken its toll on my fitness and my game. I was never a “hockey is my workout” guy, but there are deficiencies in my fitness that show when I play. 
 
I began my new hockey period 2011 by going to a skating coach once a week and working on what she taught me 2-3 times per week. I also did some cross-training, etc. I was in pretty good shape until I started a new career.

Time management was a chore, now having sometimes a 14 hour work day door-to-door. With a sometimes rough commute, I could easily be on the road an hour and a half each way. This left me with literally no time for much. Add to that working hair 3 nights per week and all day Saturday, I only had time for hockey on Sundays. Of course nearly dying in 2018 cut the hair schedule short. The health scare and subsequent surgeries decimated my fitness the rest of the way. 

I have been granted an AWESOME gift: work from home PERMANENTLY. Not only do I never have to smell my boss’ horrible breath again, but now I have an additional two hours per day if you count the lack of commuting. This is an amazing gift. I now can work on dynamic stretching, some of Maria’s butterfly challenge, some weights, more cardio, etc. 

I have one more year before 50. I am hoping that I can improve in that year. 
 
I hope some of you who have been feeling the struggle of Covid fitness or needing to up your off-ice fitness will join me in becoming the best version of yourself. Chime in with your tricks and tips. 

Edited August 10, 2021 by bunnyman666

[creasecollector]

I will come back to this thread. Thank you for posting. Since my return to hockey due to covid, this topic has been on my mind a lot lately.

[bunnyman666]

8 minutes ago, creasecollector said:

I will come back to this thread. Thank you for posting. Since my return to hockey due to covid, this topic has been on my mind a lot lately.

This silly disease has done a lot of peoples’ heads and fitness in!

I don’t have children running around, so working from home is very much a gift. I just had to get my head right and get my body feeling solid again. 

Edited August 10, 2021 by bunnyman666

[bunnyman666]

So, to start things out, I did 3 sets of exercises with kettlebells, some static stretching and 40 minutes on the bike. My plan is to take breaks from work to get on the vibration plate and a few other lightweight dumb bell exercises just to get blood moving.

[bunnyman666]

50 minutes on the bike; will do 30 for lunch.

[insertnamehere]

So, what exactly is the challenge? @bunnyman666

[bunnyman666]

59 minutes ago, insertnamehere said:

So, what exactly is the challenge? @bunnyman666

Getting my fitness back. 

[insertnamehere]

Just now, bunnyman666 said:

Getting my fitness back. 

Are you making any changes in regards to nutrition to support this?

[bunnyman666]

14 minutes ago, insertnamehere said:

Are you making any changes in regards to nutrition to support this?

Yes, though I am still adjusting. First order of bidniss: cutting the booze.

[insertnamehere]

7 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

Yes, though I am still adjusting. First order of bidniss: cutting the booze.

Ah yes, cutting out liquid calories, especially alcohol can have a tremendous impact without having to change much else. 

[bunnyman666]

1 minute ago, insertnamehere said:

Ah yes, cutting out liquid calories, especially alcohol can have a tremendous impact without having to change much else. 

I have discovered that my body doesn’t like booze, either.

[insertnamehere]

18 minutes ago, bunnyman666 said:

I have discovered that my body doesn’t like booze, either.

Well, it is basically willful poisoning of yourself. 

[bunnyman666]

20 minutes ago, insertnamehere said:

Well, it is basically willful poisoning of yourself. 

My body now treats alcohol like it’s poison.

[bunnyman666]

45 minutes of cycling this morning with some interval work. Interval work always helps with those times you are anaerobic in the crease. I always used interval training when I was racing bikes, but somewhat forgot about it whilst playing hockey. 
 
Also did my kettle bell training, particularly in the core. This will help stabilise me in the butterfly. I do a movement that mimics my movements in the crease. 
 
Next up is the clean out my indoor rink and work on movement during lunch and also fire up the Skilz ball shooter. I will have six weeks off from my organised drop in session as it switches to outdoor in late October to November depending on weather. 

[bunnyman666]

I have done no fewer than 30 minutes on the bike for the last week. I hit the bike for lunch, as well. I have noticed that my gear bag feels just a bit easier to lug around. Once I am cleared to play, I feel like I will be fresher at 50 minutes than I have in a long time. Working from home is a gift!

I can admit I was dangerously close to being a “hockey is my workout” guy.

Edited August 18, 2021 by bunnyman666

[coopaloop1234]

On 8/12/2021 at 12:23 PM, bunnyman666 said:

My body now treats alcohol like it’s poison.

Hate to break it to you...

[bunnyman666]

I will be working in something I used to do, and that is boxing. I have had too many head traumas to do boxing competitively (or even with a sparring partner) any longer, but the workout is great and breaks up the monotony of just riding the bike and hefting kettle bells. I miss fighting dearly (as I used to box flyweight many moons ago), but the chance of serious head injury is quite high, even with head gear. So instead, I hit a bag with the names of my stressors written all over it! 

[bunnyman666]

Down to 203.2 pounds from 225 earlier this year. I did play half a period (as my group’s EBUG) and felt good DESPITE not being square to any shots. I was cleared to play about ten minutes by the doc. The fitness programme is working. Hefting my gear bag was no big deal. Kettle bells have been working well, especially my dead lift/ lift up move. Despite the fundamentals lacking, I felt otherwise solid in the net. 

[bunnyman666]

Starting to feel some fitness return. Two long bike rides per day, plus strength training is starting to pay off.

[bunnyman666]

Got myself a Lifepro fitness treadmill. After having owned everything from scoop to nuts, this is a fine SMALL treadmill. 
 
What do I mean by that? Most small treadmills are of poor quality. Okay, frighteningly poor quality. Some people don’t have the room for a full-size treadmill; others simply don’t need all of the features. This one can be run on IF you are not too much over 5’8”. The weight limit is 220#. I just checked in at 194. This is 30# less than where I was in March at my last doc appointment. I am slowly starting to see a difference in my appearance. 
 
I need to clear up my fake ice rink in the basement so I can start working on my crease movements and use my Skillz ball pitching machine. I am trying to rig up something to make the balls shoot out more randomly. 
 
The fitness routine is as I have been progressing it: kettlebells for upper body and core, then a long bike ride in the morning; afternoon gets either a bike ride, a go on the treadmill or BOTH. Once my rink is cleared, I will do some crease work in the evenings. My next season starts late October, and I am hoping to be better in net with not only superior aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, but endurance to feel like I still could take another period after the buzzer. 

[bunnyman666]

Of course the diet came into question. My breakfast is two eggs scrambled with mild kimchi on top. Kimchi is a super food due to the probiotics and the fibre. 
 
Lunch is either a Kind bar or three pieces of  Boar’s Head deli meat with Kimchi. 
 
Supper varies. I either eat steak, ribs, or good old-fashioned chicken (with some sauce) with noodles made of rice. Of course I can’t get enough of traditional Indian, but I make my own sauce with a minimum of yoghurt. I will eat a bag of roasted Brussels sprouts. I did indulge in some sushi last night. I keep the soy sauce to a minimum, as I can have adverse reactions to it. I keep the starch to a minimum in general.

Edited September 12, 2021 by bunnyman666

[bunnyman666]

Weighted vests. Trying one soon.

[loki1416]

Mmmmmm weighted vests! I always ran in my combat harness with plates in. Even roller bladed during the summer with it on. Always wanted to try it on the ice but never did. I miss that weight, will be getting a vest soon, but nothing like what I had in the military. That's just too much (cost wise) weight for my old age.

[bunnyman666]

9 minutes ago, loki1416 said:

Mmmmmm weighted vests! I always ran in my combat harness with plates in. Even roller bladed during the summer with it on. Always wanted to try it on the ice but never did. I miss that weight, will be getting a vest soon, but nothing like what I had in the military. That's just too much (cost wise) weight for my old age.

Mine will only be 12 pounds. I decided to be very conservative at first.  Won’t use it on ice, just for dryland exercise.

[bunnyman666]

Wow- weighted vest definitely was a trip. The moment I took it off, everything felt, well, lighter. Good training.