Fitness & Health

Gordon trains consistently, 3–4x per week. His primary goals are maintaining strength and posterior chain flexibility as he approaches 56.

Training Style

  • **Upper/Lower split** — runs roughly weekly, targets each movement 2x per week
  • Upper body day: bar dips, bent-over row, pull-up, standing press — 2 sets of 5–10 reps each
  • Legs: squats, walking lunges, RDLs — compound focus, auto-regulation (roughly same each week)
  • Sessions run ~30–35 minutes
  • **Auto-regulation:** does roughly the same routine weekly; not rigid about progression but watches for progressive overload drift

    • Health Notes

  • Has a **mild left hip/glute issue** — managed carefully on squats and lunges. No discomfort reported from sessions.
  • Squat progression: warm-up 45 → 95 → 145 (2×6 working sets). When consistently clean, bump to 3 working sets before adding weight.

    • Daily Flexibility Protocol

    Gordon does a short daily mobility routine, broken into two sessions:

    AM — "Wake Up" (movement/lubrication, ~5 min)

  • Elephant Walks (1 min)
  • 90/90 Hip Switches (1 min)
  • Bodyweight Jefferson Curls (1 min)
  • Downward Dog Pedals (2 min) — replaced Bird Dog (back/core stability, not ROM)

    • PM or Post-Workout — "Deepen" (lengthening, ~5 min)

  • Single-Leg Calf Stretch (1 min)
  • Alternating Cossack Squats (2 min)
  • Pigeon Stretch or Figure-4 (2 min)

    • Two 5-minute routines > one 10-minute routine. Frequency over duration for flexibility.

    Also interested in the World's Greatest Stretch (WGS) — good for hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings, and thoracic spine. Thoracic rotation is a bonus for skiing.

    Conditioning Context

    Hiking Tinker Knob (14–16 miles, 3,000+ ft gain) later in summer 2026. Works in with strength training.

    Alcohol Use

    Consciously cutting back. Initially identified a "reward/buffer" cycle — drinking to mark the end of a hard day, then using it as a buffer to wind down before bed.

    Currently doing one drink per night. Feels "a little better" in the morning but:

  • Not sleeping better yet
  • Harder to fall asleep
  • Dreams are more vivid and more likely to wake him up

    • A 9–10 PM work meeting that gets him "spun up" is "really unhelpful" for the wind-down routine.

    Making progress — one drink is a significant win from a nightly buffer habit. Chemical recalibration takes time.

    Related: Hiking, Backpacking