*the month in snapshots*

the reformation: steady steam ahead

I missed close to two weeks of working out due to catching the flu, but I’m glad to be back at it. Having the flu is a pretty good reason for skimping on self-discipline, but missing my workouts made them feel more like privileges than disciplines. It’s been good getting back into the rhythm.

I’m constantly in a state of flux when it comes to retooling my workouts. I’m always looking for the best way to maximize my time. Right now I’ve got my sessions divided into three groups (chest and shoulders, arms, and core and back). I exercise my upper body in split workouts twice a week (chest/shoulders on Mondays and Thursdays and arms Tuesdays and Saturdays). My core and back session is done on Wednesdays. Each workout takes about thirty to forty-five minutes, the ‘sweet spot’ for weight lifting. Though I haven’t lost anymore weight since my last ‘check-in’ (still hovering around 170), the changes have been noticeable.

#babypics (part dos)

the year in books [IV]

Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe is the story of four sisters of Raymond Berenger V of Provence. As the count of Provence had no male heirs, he sought to enlarge his family's status and security by marrying his daughters to the leading monarchs of thirteenth-century Europe. The four daughters - Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia, and Beatrice - were married off to the rulers of France, England, Germany, and Sicily. Nancy Goldstone's book is a riveting tale, but it bogs down with a lot of energy geared towards explaining the interconnected webs of relationships. It's understandable why she does it, of course; I guess I just prefer a more narrative flow in history books. 

The Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty is a tour-de-force through the Tudor kings. G.J. Meyer devotes most of the book (understandably) to Henry VIII's wives and the inadvertent English Reformation. The effects of that Reformation transformed England's culture forever and pitted Catholics against Protestants. English religion became a dominant factor affecting the country's politics and history. Henry VIII's successors would have to make sense of the religious uncertainty pervading the country. Meyer does an excellent job with the monarchs following Henry VIII: first his young son Edward VI, then his first-born daughter Mary (who would be known as 'Bloody Mary'), and then his younger daughter Elizabeth.

Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe follows the lives of a number of women who played significant roles in Europe in the 1500s. Sarah Gristwood's treatment of Queen Elizabeth is one of the best I've read. Elizabeth's reign would see the flourishing of the English Renaissance and the decimation of the Spanish Armada. As she never married and produced no heir - hence her nickname 'The Virgin Queen' - her death brought an end to the Tudor Dynasty. The throne passed to the Scotland's Stuart kings, who had possessed Tudor blood in their veins since one of Henry VII's daughters, Margaret, had been married to the Scottish king. The Stuart kings would face a dilemma of epic proportions in the English Civil War.

Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World documents the spread of the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean. Roger Crowley covers the Ottoman capture of Rhodes and repulsion at Malta under Suleyman, the pirate activities along the North African coast, and the affairs of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire in the struggle for conquest of the seas. Crowley wraps up his book with a sweeping account of the naval Battle of Lepanto during the early reign of Selim the Sod in the 1570s. Lepanto was the apex of Ottoman expansion; it was all downhill from there. 

#babypics (sans apologies)

the reformation: progress (finally!)

the newest photo (taken end of January) is on the right

Though it may not look it in the before and after pictures, I've lost fifteen pounds since taking the first photograph, and twenty pounds since November altogether. It feels good to get some good traction on the road of healthier living. 

My current 'lifting' regimen is to work all the major muscle groups twice a week (chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps and forearms, legs and core). The minor muscle groups get hit in the compound exercises of the bigger group. Everything is done with body-weight and dumbbells, and a pull-up bar. Diet wise, I'm heavy on protein and complex carbs. Chicken, tuna, and cottage cheese are my go-tos.  

I've been using a workout app called Fitbod. It lets me create workouts that I can do in 'real time,' logging my sets and reps. It tracks the information so I can see how much I've progressed. Most of my gains have been in my chest, arms, and shoulders. My goal is to lose another five pounds by my 32nd birthday; that would put me around 165. I haven't been 165 since 2015! That would definitely be something to celebrate with a cigar on the back deck.

the year in books [III]

I said in my first post of 2019 that I had a fifty-book gauntlet of history books lined up. Well, scratch that. I'm doing something different this year, trying to be more spontaneous (a good challenge for an aspie like me). I tossed out my history reading list and am simply going to be thinking two books ahead, and my choices will come solely from the library shelves the day I visit. These are the first four 'spontaneous' history books of 2019:

Antonio Santusuosso's Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels: The Ways of Medieval Warfare is a sweeping survey of medieval warfare. It covers major campaigns and traces the evolution of warfare and tactics down the ages. Numerous battles are covered, and Santosuosso delivers excellent treatment of the so-called barbarian tribes that overran Italy and Spain, as well as one of the best treatments I've ever seen on the rise of the Islamic Empire. He also covers Ango-Saxon England, the Norman Conquest, the Hundred Years' War between England and France, and the Crusades. 

Christopher Tyerman's Fighting for Christendom: Holy War and the Crusades is a survey of the Crusades. In addition to giving an excellent break-down of the Crusades, Tyerman explores the rationale behind the Crusades and how religion became such a motivational tool. He explores the rise of Just War Theory from its founder St. Augustine up to the fall of Constantinople. 

Thomas Abridge's The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones follows the life of the knight William Marshal, who played an important role in politics and history through the days of the Angevin Empire to the signing of Magna Carta during the reign of King John and beyond. 

John Julius Norwich's Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe is a narrative history of the lives of the four major European monarchs during the 16th century: King Henry VIII of England, King Francis I of Francis, Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, and Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. His writing style is fantastic; I'll have to pick up some more books by him.