Mid-2026 update

I’m doing well! Half a year ago I could hardly hope to get down to 170lbs at my lowest point in 2026 - this month I was able to say that 165 felt a bit higher than I was aiming for!

I’ve added in weekly hard cardio, something that I wasn’t even contemplating half a year ago.

For those first two points I think I actually have the BJJ competition in June to thank for those better than expected results.

I’ve been consistent with BJJ and am seeing progress I think, and have been consistent with musculation - not so sure if I’m seeing much progress there lately but at least I’m retaining the progress I’d previously made, which I was, and still am, already happy with, and in theory if I keep doing this over time then I should continue growing muscle, even if only somewhat slowly.

I’ve slowed down with ai learning but only after already making some amazing progress there. Still no standup comedy or anything, but I’m fine with that still.

And I’m applying to the reserves! I don’t know if I’ll be accepted or if so on what timeline, but this event is both a result of the progress I’ve already made (I doubt I’d be doing this if like two years ago I was 270lbs and weak and relatively fragile and with bad cardio), and an opportunity for further progress (eg there are loads of skills and good habits and useful knowledge I stand to acquire if I make it into the reserves, and motivation for further progress outside the reserves).

In the next half a year I’d like to try staying in the 160-170lb window I think, keep consistent with musculation, keep consistent with BJJ and try to improve as quickly as I can within my current training schedule, and keep the cardio progress I’ve made while experimenting and trying to get the most bang for my buck in terms of training time and recovery time and cardio improvement. I want to keep working toward having a position in the reserves, even if in the short term it might at some point slow me down in some of my other goals.

Wish me luck! I’ll check in again at the end of the year for a big picture review.

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