100 days of Health - 2021

  • 21st Apr 2021
    •  • 
  • 4 min read

Starting today, and for the next one hundred days, I’ll be actively progressing toward my physical health. My partner and I did something similar in the Summer of 2019, and while 2020 didn’t go as any of us had planned, now we’re back on track for a healthy 2021.

In part because of the last year or so, I now weigh more than ever before, and my waist is at its biggest circumference of my life. This is not to say that I look unhealthy. Most people probably wouldn’t notice. But I notice, and don’t like it. Bottom line, it’s unhealthy and it stops here.

So for the next 100 days, I will make have one dedicated improvement or initiative every day. Here are the kind of things that I’ll count (and log):

  1. targeted optimization to daily routine (allowed once per week)
  2. make or attend health appointment
  3. achieve pre-set target milestone

For example, today is day one of my new exercise regimen, and in the next week I’m seeing a dentist, an orthodontist, and getting a COVID inoculation. When I can do ten pull-ups without injury (instead of my current five), that will be a milestone day because I’ll have doubled my baseline. Reducing the girth of my belly by 5% will be another milestone, with 10% being the ultimate goal within the next 100 days. Challenging stuff, sure…but definitely doable. As long as I don’t hurt myself in the process, that’s why this is my first and most important of ten goals.

100-day goals include:

  1. Actively avoid all injuries that could compromise my progress (stay within margin of safety)
  2. Double upper & lower body strength (first reps, then endurance or load)
  3. Decrease waist circumference by 10% (to 30.5 inches)
  4. Restore flexibility to full range of motion (personal Tai Chi standard)
  5. Restore vocal strength & dexterity (personal One Mouth Band standard)
  6. Build/reinforce default habits of health & strength (diet, exercise, hygiene, etc.)
  7. Perform minimum daily activities in 100-day streak without exception
  8. Perform/schedule all regular & elective “someday” body maintenance appointments
  9. Build out infrastructure for physical health (HSA/budget, garden, etc.)
  10. Rigorously eliminate “slippery slope” activities

For that last one, experience tells me that there are a few common things that tend to cause derailments. As such, they are not allowed — unless documented at least 7 days in advance as a special exception.

  • alcohol or non-prescription drugs (exemption for allergy medicine)
  • spending 12+ hours in front of a computer on a single day
  • eating anything after 9pm local time
  • sleeping less than 6hrs
  • redefining the scope of this project

My daily minimum activities (usually I’ll do more than this, but for the next 100 days I won’t do any less) include: 8 essential exercises (Tai Chi), 15min upper/lower body workout (Daily Burn, Body for Life, etc), walking 2-miles (one lap around lake counts), and keeping to “a healthy and focused diet”. Typically, I keep to a pretty healthy vegan diet, but for this 100-days of more intensive muscle-building, I have reason to believe my body do better including at least seafood and eggs as well. I’ll likely do some fasting and a round or two of keto, depending on how this all goes and how I feel throughout.

What about consequences if I slip? 60sec of ice cold shower (within 24hrs of noticing) AND adding another full week to these hundred days. This second part is new for me, and no I don’t like it at all. That’s kinda the point ;)

My target completion date is Friday, July 30th. I’ll be logging everything like crazy in this time, with some monthly updates posted here. Wish me luck!