This historically has been the time of year that I plan for upcoming financial goals in the new year. It’s a different perspective now that I’m retired and not contributing to accounts. Of course, I hope to see some growth but it’s almost completely out of my control. So, my planning is about managing money rather than growing it.
2025 is a milestone year for me financially because I will turn 59 ½. I’ve kept my 401k account open since I retired just in case I needed to tap it before I turned 59 ½. I don’t know the rules but saved a link to an informative site about withdrawing money from a 401k without penalty after age 55. I shouldn’t need to do that now though as I believe I have enough to last me until that milestone. I will want to move the entire balance of the account into a self-directed IRA. So that’s a focus this year – researching low-cost companies (Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, etc.) as well as researching the mechanics of doing it. It’s a little scary. I hope I can get good, maybe even in-person, customer service.
2025 will also be the year that I have the kitchen remodel completed. I’ve done two corners of the kitchen in phases – the first in 2023 and the second in 2024. The rest, which will be expensive and take much more time, will be done in 2025. I’m excited about this but nervous about the huge cost. I’ll spend a good bit of time during the first part of the year designing the layout in detail. I want to think of every item that needs to be stored and every task I commonly do in the kitchen. I already have the basics decided. I’ll also need to find out about the building permit application process.
As some may recall, I have a deal with my boys to split any scholarships they get for college with them. DS3 is in a special situation because the military is covering his college costs while he works in the day and remotely takes his courses at night. He and I negotiated a $15k gift at graduation in lieu of matches since his isn’t really a ‘scholarship’. There is a possibility that he will graduate in 2025 if he maintains a heavy school load. I need to be prepared to pay.
I’ve taken advantage of the health exchange for insurance beginning in January 2024. I could have kept Cobra coverage for 12 more months but it didn’t make financial sense. I’ve just signed us up for the same coverage in 2025. This will be the first year I do income taxes that take the generous subsidies into consideration. Even though I followed all the rules, a part of me is nervous that there will be some gotcha and that I’ll owe money to the state. I’m looking forward to getting our taxes done so I don’t worry about it any longer. The plan is to stay on the health exchange (provided that it remains in place) until we qualify for Medicare.
My non-financial goal for 2025 is to do an unassisted pull-up on my 60th birthday. I have never in my life done one. It’s a serious goal though and I’ve begun preparing for it. If I don’t succeed, at least I’ll be stronger and healthier!
December 17th, 2024 at 01:21 am 1734398460
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Just my experience but I figured it was worth sharing.
December 17th, 2024 at 12:51 pm 1734439912
December 17th, 2024 at 10:50 pm 1734475806
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December 18th, 2024 at 02:18 pm 1734531530
December 18th, 2024 at 03:04 pm 1734534255
Please remember that the exercise in and of itself does NOT help you get stronger. Quite the opposite, it makes you weaker.
However, getting "weaker" is the necessary catalyst to stimulate your body into repairing and rebuilding those muscle damages into a stronger you.
All this is a long-winded way to say, what a lot of people do NOT do, but is absolutely critical to actually getting stronger is Adequate Rest. All of your major muscle groups could require anywhere from 3 days to 7 days of rest and recuperation, depending on the extend of damage. Some people, for example, would attempt to this daily, or even every other day, and that's not a good idea.
Discipline and consistency are your best friends here.
For the exercise itself, start out with negatives, such as standing on a chair, go to the top of the bar, and then slowly lower yourself. Make sure to go ALL the way down to the point where your arms are completely straight. That last stretching bit is what gives you the best burn and workout.
Once you can do say 8 of these good solid negatives, you can then transition into assisted pull-ups, where your feet on the chair will assist you into pulling up. Once again, please remember to go all the way up with your chin above the bar, and then ALL the way down until your arms are completely straight again, or you will cheat yourself out of the most important burn in the workout.
DO NOT KIP! Kipping is a slang for people rocking forwards and back to try to gain some momentum to try to assist them up the pull-ups. Some also do it to show off just how many pull-ups they can achieve. They are basically focused only on numbers, instead of actually doing what is bio-mechanically correct for the movement, as well as introducing extra factors that might lead to injury, nevermind poor results in the long run.
No matter what you do though, please remember that safety is the most important thing here. The bicep muscles are actually relatively weak and quite prone to catastrophic failures, that one day may even require surgery to fix.
Last but not least, please don't just do pull-ups. Try to balance your muscles. If you do pull-ups, alternate them with days of either push-ups or dips to provide a counter-balance, stability, and support. This will not only make you stronger overall, but also to make your workouts safer even if your goal is only pull-ups.
December 19th, 2024 at 12:56 am 1734569767
A year ago, I joined a fancy fitness center, and I've just used the few coupons from our annual book for a personal training session. The trainer instructed me to do the negatives as you describe. One difference is that I'm starting them with a resistance band. I'm thinking about the points you raise and it may be that the band is assisting most when I'm stretched to the bottom and that may not be ideal. I'll start doing the negatives without it as soon as I can start without dropping.
I also was just considering increasing the frequency of my resistance training from twice a week to three times, but I won't now. You're right - I probably need more rest time since the worked muscles are sore for a couple of days afterward.
I can tell that I'm slowly improving even though I'm no closer to doing an actual pull-up. I attend a circuit class sometimes and one station is hanging on a bar for 45 seconds. I didn't used to be able to do it the whole time. Now I can and with my shoulders engaged as though I might do a pull-up.
I do work other muscles too - legs, core, and tricep dips with a bench and ball. I'd say that about half the exercises I do are to support the pull-up goal - back, biceps, shoulders, and chest. I started about a month ago and have 10 1/2 months before my deadline.
Do you have an opinion on gloves? My hands hurt after I do the hanging exercises but when I googled to see about gloves to protect them, I saw a couple of articles warning against them so I didn't proceed. I guess I'll build calluses. Not very feminine, but it won't hurt then.
I had never heard of kipping! I do try to focus on good form. If something's worth doing, then it's worth doing right. I sure don't want a serious injury at my age.
December 26th, 2024 at 11:04 am 1735211051
Once again, just please be careful when you are balancing yourself on a chair.
As for how much rest you need, as you get stronger, your rest time will become shorter and shorter, perhaps as short as 2 days. However, in the very beginning, I would not be surprised at all if it takes up to a week to recover. I would say to listen to your body as closely as you can, to decide when to exercise the same muscle group again.
Gloves. I do know that many who use gloves, and there are pros and cons to the debate here, but what I am about to suggest is going to be a bit more... controversial? I suggest buying a nice bottle of baby powder for your hands. Ever notice how a lot of Olympic athletes would chaulk their hands before performing their routine? If your hands are sweaty and slippery, baby powder helps to soak up the oil and sweat, improving your grip, and yet, it's also just "slippery" enough to help reduce the possibility of your hands developing blisters. It's worth a shot, especially if you already have a bottle of baby powder on hand. Otherwise, they're not expensive to begin with, and they have a myriad of uses beyond exercising.