I'm doing a fat focus day. I suppose other folks would call it a fat fast, but it's not like I'm abstaining from protein; it's just not my focus. Look, there's protein in my butter and coffee that I drink; never could I say I'm not having it. I'm just not eating eggs, bacon, etc to hit my protein targets.

I have ignited this morning with steamy chicken broth! It's been something like 52 oz. It just feels right.

I'm refueling after another solid performance in my 2:30 AM mornings. It was my Shoulders day—I love Shoulders days. Then again, I love Chest days...and Arms...and Back...and I'm beginning to fall in love with Abs day. The key is to jack up your dopamine levels and engage in the behavior. And thus why coffee is in my diet!

But, it is a GOOD routine: Arnold press, seated rear lateral raise, and upright rows. It's not much, but with my high rep/lightweight approach, most days are a totality of 225 reps. Still, I see a path where more will be added in the future.

Three exercises feel good to remain empowered as I did today to then hit cardio outside for 1:21:08. I headed out there in the night with my green light "(raging) against the dying of the light". Railing against the darkness, my "fitness shove" song was at the top.

Speaking of which, this morning I hit LEVEL 4 on Garmin with 140 points by picking up the 2024 January Gains badge for weightlifting.

It is an Alaska belt buckle kind of day. I've got the 38-year-old, colored one on right now, straight out of 1986. Yeah, that's the Alaska I remember:

• Commuted on foot regularly with twelve bald eagles overhead;
• Lived next to the island with the highest density of brown bears in the world;
• Watched a moose eat my neighbor's tree; Had moose legs pass me in while sitting in traffic in my GMC Yukon;
• Hiked by hundreds (if not thousands) of dead salmon on the banks of a stream in a rainforest.

Late yesterday afternoon, I feasted on chicken bones and skin! 4.3 oz of bones and 1.2 oz of skin—everything I could glean from 3 chicken quarters. I set aside the meat for the kids. And regarding the broth—my main intent—I am delighting in it after coming in from another walk in the windchill 20s this morning.

The broth is easy to make:

1. Water to the max on an Instant Pot
2. 4 hours + depressurization
3. Filter broth
4. Chill broth overnight and skim off fat separation
5. Stream Redmond salt and reheat to 160℉

The cardio session was just under an hour, just long enough for me to be thriving and confidently cutting through the night air, my green headlamp a beacon Burning Bright.

I canceled a couple of orders with Amazon: the aforementioned glow stick and treadmill, the glow stick because of logistics irregularities, and the treadmill because of a new strategy. We extended my Bartlett Rec individual membership to a family one for the next 3 ½ months so that my wife could use its resources.

As for me, I haven't been back to BRC since that Dust in the Bin day. I've competed in recent days to put that May away. And I have...

But, I'm not done yet...I'm just getting started.

If you want a cowboy on a white horse
Ridin' off into the sunset
If that's the (fitness shove) you wanna wait for
Hold on tight, girl, I ain't there yet
No, I ain't there yet

-Chris Stapleton, White Horse

This cowboy is wearing his Battlestar Galactica buckle for the first time.

By pressing on mile 5 of yesterday's cardio, I knocked my right foot out of whack, specifically on the outer midfoot. While I added 6500 more steps for the day, I skipped the afternoon barefoot treadmill. In the meantime, I drank more chicken broth for its gelatin.

This morning, my body chose an extended down period for repair. I never detected my Garmin alarm at 2:30 AM or its subsequent reminder 10 minutes later.

And thus, I woke up at 4:30 AM, squeezed out my chest day, and then waded through the streets. I sloshed to the local park to put it in cruise control. I would roll a couple of miles onto the odometer before picking up the 100 walking activities badge from Garmin and hitting the showers.

This morning is not unlike the other day when my accursed Xero Prio's aggravated my left patella as I passed the first milemarker. How I look forward to setting aside this backpack of Brick!

...and that's what 2024 is for—it's really all about this:

YouTube Link

...and yes, today is the first time I've worn my reflective Transformers' belt buckle!