I’ve definitely fallen behind.

As many of you know, I lost my grandfather last week and the following days were not kind to me. I spent Thursday processing it, Friday in denial, Saturday trying to stay distracted, Sunday-Tuesday mourning with family and Wednesday getting the last little bit out of my system. I’ve been running, doing boxing classes and I’ve been back at work so I’ve slowly gotten back into the groove of things but it’s still not easy.

Boo-hoo, I guess.

I’ve gotten a boatload of support from friends and family — both those that came to visit and those that reached out via social media — and I’m back to normal emotionally (I think). With that said, I’m motivated once again to keep pressing on with this weird fitness shit you guys seem to enjoy reading.

Father’s Day is this weekend and I hope you little weirdos haven’t forgotten your dear old dad. Sometimes I wish my dogs were people so they’d be expected to get me stuff like this food slicer, this Instant Pot or this Kitchenaid Mixer.

Lately I’ve been gawking at photos of $2,000+ smokers and making funny noises at them like I’m watching hardcore porn.

Anyway, here’s some cool stuff I found this week:

• A-Side Meal Prepping Pt. 3 by Me
  Just like the weeks before, this is the most-recent post I made about meal prepping. Part 3 in a 6 part series. Go ahead and get caught up if you haven’t already and get ready for part 4 coming up on Sunday!

• Don’t Save Anything for the Swim Back by Brett and Kate McKay via The Art of Manliness
  This essay draws inspiration from a film I’ve never seen (Gattaca) and discusses the importance of putting all of yourself into your goals — so much so that there’s nothing left to come back with — so much so that you’re closer to a new adventure/goal than from your starting point. May as well just keep pushing, yeah?

• Chocolate Chip Raspberry Shortbread Cookie Bars by PaleOMG
  Not a lot to say here, I’m just hoping to make this for my friends soon. Fully Paleo, a sweet treat and a lovely way to use raspberries!

• Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala by BudgetBytes
  This is on my list to make for next week’s meal prep. I’ll definitely let you know how this one works. The Domestic Man makes a beautiful chicken tikka masala that is also my favorite recipe to make at home but it requires an entire afternoon of attention whereas this recipe is a “set it and forget it” recipe. I’m into it.

• The Seven Deadly Sins of Fitness by Eric C. Stevens via Breaking Muscle
  There’s no such thing as “seven deadly sins of fitness” but this article does a pretty great job of tying those infamous “sins” to the world of fitness. I’m certainly guilty of all of these and will likely continue to be, but I think it’s a positive thing to be aware of them. However, I also think you should be allowed to show off what you’ve worked hard for, no matter the pride/lust involved :-)

• Eye Candy / Physique Goals by Ricki Hall
  Ricki Hall is an inspiration to me for many reasons and in many ways. I’d thought about him recently and how Instagram changed their algorithm so that I don’t see his posts much any more. When I went to his page today I found this and just…damn.

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Music to Run Fast-ish To

I haven’t heard much new this week. Not a great way to start this section with a new name. I’ve definitely been listening to a lot of the Velvet Underground in the last week as I’ve seemed to find peace during this weird time in the voice of Lou Reed. With that said, here’s an appropriately titled Velvet Underground song and we’ll hope I can come up with something better next week.