The Sub-7 Experiment

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  • The Big Scary Machine

    Just out of the gym. It’s Wednesday, and that was a cracking session.

    I’m delighted with myself.

    You might remember the big scary assisted dip and chin machine from Monday. The one I was nearly brave enough to try, but not quite.

    Well, today I had a go.

    I did a few sets, worked out roughly where my starting point is and set myself a baseline. That’s good. It is no longer the big mysterious machine in the corner. Now it is just a machine I have used.

    While I was feeling brave, I also had a go on the preacher curl machine.

    That was another one I had looked at before and quietly avoided. Not because it is particularly complicated, as it turns out. It is actually very simple. But it normally seems to be inhabited by rather large gentlemen who look like they know exactly what they are doing.

    Today it was free, so I climbed aboard.

    And then, just for good measure, I finally did a Pallof press.

    That is another exercise I have been meaning to try for ages and have been putting off, and putting off, and putting off. Again, not complicated once you actually do it.

    Funny how often that is the case.

    There was plenty of familiar stuff too. Ten minutes on the bike to warm up, two ten-minute sets on the rower, and a spin around the weights.

    Nothing heroic.

    But three things that had been sitting in the “I’ll try that another day” category have now moved into the “I know how to do that” category.

    That feels like progress.

    I came out of the gym genuinely delighted with myself. Really, really pleased.

    The refurbished gym is already starting to feel a little less new.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment.

    We continue.

  • Row, Prepare, Deliver, Recover

    It’s Thursday, and it’s been quite a week.

    I had a presentation on Wednesday. The topic itself wasn’t massive. It was simply to talk about something I’ve been doing at work. But the way I wanted to do it was new. Different. And I wasn’t 100% sure how it would be received.

    I’d adapted a PechaKucha-style format: fast-moving slides, short bursts of speaking, and a hard limit on how long you can linger. The whole point is to avoid death by PowerPoint and keep the energy up.

    What I really wanted to do, though, was tell a story about a deal I’ve been working on. Not the technology. Not the bits and bytes. The human side of it. And that’s why I was nervous, because that’s not the default setting in a room full of tech people.

    So I used the week properly.

    Monday I did a row to clear my head. Tuesday was the main prep day, even though I’ve been thinking about it for weeks, and I also got out for a walk to keep myself moving. Wednesday I delivered it.

    And it went down a storm.

    I absolutely loved it. The audience really liked it too, and I got loads of great feedback afterwards. I spent the rest of Wednesday riding that wave of euphoria and adrenaline.

    So here we are on Thursday. Back to normal. I’ve just done 30 minutes on the rowing machine at a reasonable pace. Enough to make me sweat and puff a bit. Just to settle the system again.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment: trying new things at work, and still rowing away in the background to keep my head right.

  • Third Time’s the Charm

    Not sure what’s up today—this is the third time I’ve tried to do this. Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s the app, maybe I just keep hitting the wrong button. Whatever. Let’s call this one off the cuff, because that’s exactly how it feels.

    The important bit: another good session.

    Strong. Organised. Full-on. Bit of rowing, bit of weights. Finished with a couple of fast 250m sprints, let the engine rip, felt solid.

    Keys went in the box again. That’s becoming a habit now. Quiet statement, every time: I’m here. I belong.

    It’s Friday. The weekend starts now. That’s all I’ve got. Just a check-in. Job done.

    This is the Sub-7 Experiment.

  • Meditation, Mission, Mindset

    Today was supposed to be a standard long row, 10K, get in, move, reset the head.
    But something shifted mid-session.

    10K came and went.
    12K sounded doable.
    The hour mark was within reach…
    And before I knew it, I was chasing down 17,000 meters.

    17,000.
    The furthest I’ve ever rowed in a single session.

    And I’m delighted with that.

    I didn’t plan it.
    I didn’t go in with a strategy.
    I just followed the rhythm, stayed present, and let it build,

    until what started as a quiet mental reset turned into the longest, most committed row I’ve ever done.

    A Week Worth Remembering

    It’s been a hell of a week.

    • Fastest ever 2,000m on Monday
    • A high stakes presentation on Thursday (which went brilliantly)
    • And now this: a new distance milestone, pulled from what started as uncertainty

    There’s been a lot of self-doubt recently. Work stress, pressure, tiredness, old voices creeping in.
    But I’ve rowed through all of it. And today, I proved to myself, again, that it’s still in me.

    Meditation became a mission. The mission became mindset. And the mindset brought me here.

    I’m at home now.
    To rest. To be with my people.
    To enjoy this one properly. And let it land.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment

  • From “Only Here” to “Already Here”

    I went for a ride on the bike yesterday—60km all in—and it felt great.
    What really struck me was the shift in mindset. I kept recognising where I was and thinking, “Oh, I’m here already” instead of “Oh, I’m only here.” Just a small difference in words and thoughts, but a massive one in terms of progress.

    I really gelled with the bike. Getting a proper bike fit and a new saddle was such a good call. Not just because I’m now physically connected to the bike, but because it actually saved me a load of cash.

    I’d been eyeing up new bikes—maybe a gravel bike, an “adventure” bike, or a racier road model. Something exciting.
    But the bike fit brought me back to the 11-year-old Giant I already own. And now? It feels like new. It’s as exciting to ride as I hoped it would be when I first bought it all those years ago.

    I probably could’ve gone further than 60km yesterday, but I surprised myself by deciding it was a good place to stop. I didn’t push past “great ride” into “slog”—and that feels like progress, too.

    I’ve got a 150km ride scheduled for September. In past long rides, I made rice cakes from a cycling nutrition book. To be honest, I couldn’t face them again. So before the ride, I asked ChatGPT for fuelling strategies and a few recipe ideas.

    I tried one of its banana oat bar suggestions, and aside from a few flavour tweaks and a more refined fuelling schedule, they worked really well.

    This is good.
    I’m pleased with how the bike is performing. I’m pleased with how I’m performing. And the rowing is complementing the cycling beautifully.

    It’s going to be a good summer—training to break the 7-minute rowing barrier and getting ready for that 150km.

    This is the Sub-7 Experiment.