DevOps and Cloud Podcasts and Such

I have found these podcasts to be very informative.

• DevOps Cafe
• The Ship Show
• Arrested DevOps
• Food Fight
• Devops Mastery
• Ops All the Things
• The Cloudcast
• Saltstack Videos
• Puppet Labs Podcasts

More to come.

Back to Basics Progress Test Two

After two full days off it is time to check progress.

Intu-Flow warm up from BB4FL: 8.5 minutes

Max Chin-ups: 2.5

3 Minute rest

Max Push-ups: 20

3 Minute rest

Max Squats: 70

Time: 12 minutes

3 Minute rest

Then Six Minute Abs

Myotatic Crunch 1 x 10

CVE 1 x 10

Time: 20'30"

Prasara yoga cool down: 15'30"

OK, chin-ups still suck. I got 1.25 more reps than my previous test on Wednesday 26 February 2014. But it is progress nonetheless. I did a lot better on pushups. I'm pleased with that. I more than doubled my squats. Hooray! Progress! I'm going to add a weight, either 2.5 or 5 pounds, to my crunches. I feel refreshed after the yoga. I almost talked myself out of working out this evening. I'm glad I didn't procrastinate.

Essential DevOps References

Just a quick list of some books that I think are essential to putting your mind in the DevOps way of thinking. No particular order. I'll add some other references soon. Like podcasts, websites, etc.

• The Lean Startup
• The Year Without Pants
• Continuous Delivery
• The Phoenix Project
• Visible Ops Handbook
• The Goal
• Vagrant: Up and Running
• Kanban
• Web Operations
• Effective Monitoring and Alerting
• The Fifth Discipline
• Deming
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

If you force me to pick three to start with I would read: The Phoenix Project,  Lean Start Up and The Year Without Pants. In that order. They are not technology specific. However, they will change the way you think about IT work.

Basics Week 4 Day 3

Chin-ups: Week 3 Day 3
100 Push-ups: Repeating Week 2 Day 3
200 Squats: Week 4 Day 3

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 7 minutes.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 7, Australian Pull-up 7, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 6,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 12,13,10,10 max ( at least 15)
Squats 31,38,31,31 max ( at least 45 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 7, Australian Pull-up 7, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 6,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 12,13,10,10 max => 6,5,4
Squats 31,38,31,31 max => 45

26 minutes, 4  minute break then

6 Minute Abs

1. Myotatic Crunch 1 x 10
2. Cat Vomit Exercise 1 x 10

36 minutes total.

Prasara yoga cool down: 15 minutes.

This was not one of my better workouts. I took 3 minute breaks between rounds 3 & 4 as well as in between 4 & 5. I took a 4 minute break between my last round of calisthenics and the ab work. That's only 4 extra minutes but the entire calisthenics and ab routine took 36 minutes which is 7 minutes longer than Saturday. That means I used 3 more minutes for which I cannot account. By the way rounds 4 and 5 were done outside as normal, however it was quite cold, misty and windy.

Saturday I did have a 5 hour energy about 30 minutes before I started my workout. But that really couldn't account for the difference. Furthermore, my previous calisthenic rounds were all under 20 minutes. I guess it was just a less than optimal day. Every workout can't be better than the last no matter how much we try.

I was disappointed with my max set of push-ups. I had to break it down in 3 segments. I actually started hitting the wall in the third round of push-ups but did better in the fourth. But I was shot in the last round. I did hang longer on the max hang/negative chin-up. I really feel good on the Australians.

I kept to my breakdown pattern for squats 10-9-8-4 for the sets of 31; 10-9-8-7-4 for the set of 38; and barely eked out 10-9-8-7-6-5 for the set of 45. Crazy hard, just crazy.

I need to refocus on slowing down the myotatic crunches. I was pretty slow, but I think I can go slower. I might be able to add a light weight after another week. Finished up with Prasara yoga cool down from BB4FL.

Basics Week 4 Day 2

Four days of slacking off. Time to get busy after a day of sitting out in the sun watching my son, Isaiah, play in a lacrosse tournament.

Chin-ups: Week 3 Day 2
Push-ups: Repeating Week 2 Day 2
Squats: Week 4 Day 2

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 7 minutes.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 10,12,9,9 max ( at least 12)
Squats 27,34,27,27 max ( at least 38 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 10,12,9,9 max => 14

Squats 27,34,27,27 max => 46

20 minutes, 3  minute break then

6 Minute Abs

1. Myotatic Crunch 1 x 10
2. Cat Vomit Exercise 1 x 10

29 minutes total.

Prasara cool down: 15 minutes.

It's amazing how hard the primary part of this simple workout can be. I was barely getting my breath and heart rate down near normal during the two minute rest break between rounds. CRAZY I tell you CRAZY! By the time I finished all five rounds all I could do was collapse on the floor and gasp for breath for three minutes. 

Then I did the 6 minute ab routine. The total time for calisthenics and ab work was 29 minutes. The five rounds of calisthenics took 20 minutes. Get this I did 171 squats! That's CRAZY! I did far fewer chin-ups/autralians ( 23 ) and push-ups ( 54 ), but that's still a significant amount of upper body work. It's a significant amount of work in 20 minutes in my opinion.

When I got to the ab work my quads were so tight, so exhausted that I could barely keep my position on the bosu ball for the myotatic crunches. And my breathing and heart rate quickly soared even though there is really not a lot of movement to the exercise. A 1 minute breather then I was on to the stomach vacuum or CVE. The first couple of reps had me feeling light headed but I persevered. 

I collapsed again for a couple minutes once I completed the ab work. I moved on to the yoga. I'm glad I did as it stretched out my quivering muscles and helped me get my breathing and heart rate back under control. Now I'm doing my part of dinner prep, broiling wild salmon filets, and I can barely stand. I'm just exhausted. I don't even know if I can eat. I just want to drink some more water, take a shower and collapse into bed either with a book or a couple of episodes of some show on Netflix.

Warm Evening Walk and Yoga

The only nice thing about Daylight Savings Time is that it was still light outside when I left for my walk at nearly 7PM. I really didn't feel like exercising this evening but I got myself out the door. It went like this. I'll just put on my workout clothes. Then I'll just go outside and give the dog some water. Then I'll just walk for 5 minutes. If I feel okay, then I'll keep on walking for another 5 minutes and so on. I ended up walking 40 minutes but it was kind of slow, only 1.73 miles. I should have covered at least 2 miles.

Once I got home I got a nice big glass of ice water. Then I did the Prasara yoga recovery routine from BB4FL. I feel great now. Nice and loose and energized.  It was beautiful and warm today. I spent most of the day inside. I'm glad I didn't talk myself out of taking a walk this evening. Tomorrow another basics routine of chin-ups, push-ups, squats and 6 minute abs.

Basics Week 4 Day 1

Chin-ups: Week 3 Day 1
Push-ups: Repeating Week 2 Day 1
Squats: Week 4 Day 1

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 7 minutes.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull-up 4, Assisted Chin-ups 5, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 9,11,8,8 max ( at least 11)
Squats 24,30,22,22 max ( at least 34 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull-up 4, Assisted Chin-ups 5, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 9,11,8,8 max => 8,5,2
Squats 24,30,22,22 max => 41

19'56"

6 Minute Abs

1. Myotatic Crunch 1 x 10
2. Cat Vomit Exercise 1 x 10

Total time 28'00"

Prasara cool down routine: 15'00".

This was a good workout. Rounds 2 and 4 were done outside. I think I'm doing better on the assisted chin-ups, not using as much assistance. The australians really pump my back muscles, which feels really good. I know I could do more reps of them but I'm sticking to the plan.

I was doing really well on the push-ups until I got to the max set. I don't know if it was my mind or really muscular fatigue. I paused at 8 reps, then cranked out 5 more, paused then cranked out 2 final reps for a total of 15 reps. That matched my last max set but then I did 13 and 2. Of course I did a 4 more reps total leading up to the max set per the plan.

Squats were good. I still need to focus on getting rock bottom and keeping my knees out. I worked the same rep ladder: 10,8,6; 10,8,6,4,2; 10,8,4; 10,8,4; then 10,8,6,4,2,1,2,4,4. I only paused long enough between reps on the ladder to take three deep breaths then on to the next group of reps. I think next time I'll do 10,9,8,7 and so on like that.

The main part of the routine took 2 minutes longer than last time. I'm not sure why. I thought I was moving pretty quickly. I didn't take extra rest. I don't think I did two minutes worth or extra reps but maybe I did. after a two minute break I did the 6 Minute Abs from the Four Hour Body. I finished up with the prasara cool down from BB4FL.

I feel extremely good right now. I must dial in my diet. Exercise is a must, but to really make a difference in my weight and fat loss diet is the key. My plan is to eliminate wheat and follow the Slow Carb Diet with Saturdays as my cheat day. Also I will use an Eat Stop Eat 24 hour fast once or twice a week.

Warm Sunny Walk

I started my workout today with the Intu-Flow recovery routine from the Bodyweight Blueprint for Fat Loss. That took 22 minutes. It was almost 10AM and I needed to be showered and dressed by around 11AM to go to the Furman Men's Lacrosse game.

With that in mind I headed out on a pretty much straight line walk. I figured I would do a 30 minute out and back. I had on sweat pants and a sweatshirt over shorts and a short sleeved tshirt. As soon as I got outside I realized I was dressed too warmly and took off the sweatshirt.

I walked 0.75 miles in just over fifteen minutes at which point I turned for home. My total walking time was 31 minutes and total distance was 1.52 miles. Pretty good. I usually want to cover no less than 3 miles in an hour. No time for any post exercise yoga. I'll do some stretching later on tonight, probably Bretzel 1s and 2s and some shinbox switches.

Basics Week 3 Day 3

Chin-ups: Repeating Week 2 Day 3
Push-ups: Repeating Week 1 Day 3
Squats: Week 3 Day 3

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 7 minutes.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 4, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 8,10,7,7 max ( at least 10)
Squats 22,29,20,21 max ( at least 25 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 4, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 8,10,7,7 max => 13,2
Squats 22,29,20,21 max => 31

17'50"

6 Minute Abs

1. Myotatic Crunch 1 x 10
2. Cat Vomit Exercise 1 x 10

Total time 26'30"

I messed up and did the Prasara recovery routine instead of the cool down. : 13'29".

I felt good after this whole thing was over. I should have done it yesterday. I feel like I'm decreasing my "assistance" on the chins and really working my back and arms more. The Australians hit my lats hard! Maybe I should have been repeating Week 2 of push-ups on level 2. Oh well. I easily got the first 4 sets. The max set I did 13 reps then took 3 deep breaths before squeezing out two more reps.

Squats still have me huffing and puffing. I "laddered down" my squat reps. For example on the last set 10 reps - 3 deep breaths - 8 reps - 3 breaths - 6 reps - 3 breaths - 4 reps - 3 breaths - 2 reps - 3 breaths - 1 rep = 31 total reps. That was 1 rep less than last time. I just collapsed and caught my breath for two minutes before moving on to ab work.

I slowly did my crunches. My abs didn't cramp up as much as they did on Tuesday. But I was so beat down that I just stretched out on the floor on my side, sweating like a pig and heaving for breath. Finally I got to the CVEs and squeezed out 10 reps. Can you say exhaustion? 5 simple exercises beat me down. Finished up with some yoga.

Ice Cold Basics

Chin-ups: Repeating Week 2 Day 2
Push-ups: Repeating Week 1 Day 2
Squats: Week 3 Day 2

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 7 minutes.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 3, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 3, Australian Pull up 4,  then 1 Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 6,8,6,6 max ( at least 7)
Squats 19,25,19,19, max ( at least 25 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 3, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 3, Australian Pull up 4,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 6,8,6,6 max => 12
Squats 19,25,19,19, max => 32

19:16 minutes to complete the five rounds.

I postponed the ab work and yoga until later so I could make it to work on time.I did rounds 2 and 4 outside in the 33F air where I have a better set up for the Australians.

Later in the day: 6 Minute Abs

1. Myotatic Crunch 1 x 10
2. Cat Vomit Exercise 1 x 10

Actually finished abs in 7:12 Total time for calisthenics and abs 26 minutes. My abs were cramping like mad after the crunches.

Prasara Yoga cool down 14 minutes.

Was invigorated, loose and just feeling good after yoga. Want to feel better? Yoga is highly recommended.

Low Energy Workout

I procrastinated beginning my workout until late in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day. After the Piedmont Humanist meeting, I spent hours outside eating, reading and surfing the net. Then I finally got up and raked leaves for half an hour or so.

I sat down for a few minutes after my yard work. I watched a couple of exercise videos, mostly Crossfit videos, on YouTube to try and motivate myself. Then I got up and did the Intu-Flow recovery routine BB4FL in 23 minutes.

Even after that nice warm up, I didn't want to walk but I told myself I would just head out for 15 minutes and then turn around. I kept expecting to get warmed up and moving freely. I usually get into a good rhythm in about 10 minutes. Not today. I never got that light energetic feeling.

I ended up walking 41 minutes. However, it was slow, slow, slow. I only covered 1.65 miles. At least I got out there and did it. It's got my steps up around 8K right now. I could really just go to sleep right now.

Back 2 Basics Week 3 Day 1

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 8 minutes.

Redo week 2 level 1 for chin-ups. Go back to week one of push-ups but and try level 3 again. Continue on too week 3 of squats and stay on level 2.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 90 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 4, Australian Pull-up 2, Assisted Chin-ups 5, Australian Pull up 3,  then 1 Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 10,12,7,7 max ( at least 9)
Squats 16,22,17,17, max ( at least 22 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 4, Australian Pull-up 2, Assisted Chin-ups 5, Australian Pull up 3,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 10,9,4,4 max => 12
Squats 16,22,17,17, max => 30

18:18 minutes to complete the five rounds.

Then 6 Minute Abs

1. Myotatic Crunch 1 x 10
2. Cat Vomit Exercise 1 x 10

Total time for calisthenics and abs 26 minutes.

Prasara Yoga cool down 15 minutes.

I had to regroup after the second round. I was supposed to do 12 push-ups but only got 9. Therefore, I dropped down to level two of the 100 Push-up routine. I did pretty good on the chin-ups. I concentrated on using the least amount of assistance I could. I was even able to hang a little longer on the last set.

Squats are still a real cardiovascular challenge. I want to focus on getting my reps without pausing for breath at all. Oh, I almost forgot. I upped the rest between rounds to 120 seconds starting after the second round. I think that is still quick enough to promote fat loss but long enough for maximum strength and muscular endurance training effects.

I finished up with the Prasara Yoga cool down from the BB4FL. Some of the hardest poses for me, like the pigeon pose, actually felt good to do today. Tomorrow I will do Intu-flow mobility work and a nice long walk.