Puerto Vallarta

I know i haven{t blogged in forever. I{m now in puerto vallarta with my roommate/best friend vacationing. we got here yesterday night. unfortunately not in time to see the city before the sun went down, but i{m not complaing. please ignore the weird symbols, mexican keyboard is different than american keyboard and i{m not going to make the effort to figure it out. i only paid for an hour of time.

so anyways, we are having an awesome time. sat on the beach, had some drinks, soaked up some sun, maybe a little too much, and it is only our first day. i would post more pictures, but that takes way too much time. just want to let you know we are safe and sound, having the time of our lives. miss you all at home, and i{m pretty sure you should be jealous of us in our 80 degreee wather. love you.yes we have our own mini bar, refilled every two days...i think this is trouble....fridge refilled every two dayscristina at the michael jackson show drinking a mexican fly...(note to self, does not taste good, do not order again) cristina after working, then flying and not sleeping, not too bad...we are on vacation, we can{t complain that much.

mmmmm....now we are talking....didn{t i forget to mention unlimited....(again, not going to take the effort to flip the pictures the right way, limited time here, so just deal)

yep....that is what we are hanging out in....jealous, i think so

loving the sun....this is paradise

beach babe

classic

the fountain at our resort...i{ll post a better picture later

Fight Gone Bad

Fight Gone Bad really wasn't that bad. It was fun to help coach everyone through the classes. The energy that everyone had really helped when it was my turn up to bat. There were a few points during the workout when I thought I might die and could no longer pick up the bar/ball, but my partner Kate and Nate/Tina/Melissa/Dev/Aaron/Nadine were all very helpful in pushing me, instead of listening to the voices inside my head that were telling me I was crazy. Because of that I think I made a great improvement from the previous time. I also think it helped that I started on the push press, which is a great exercise for me. That is where I made some huge gains from the last time. I went from 247 to 272, which is 3 reps shy of my 6th month goal to do 275. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing because now it means that I actually have to do it again to see if I can hit 275....Hmmm..

WOD
Fight Gone Bad

Round 1 Round 2: Round 3:
PP: 33 26 20
Row: 14 11 10
Wall Ball: 20 16 13
SDHP: 19 15 15
Box Jump: 25 18 17

I think I went out too hard at the push press. Cause my numbers dwindled quickly. I guess I will have to figure out ways to strategize this better. Until next time.

Friday WOD

Didn't really do much, just wasn't feeling it. It has been one of those weeks. I think i did some med ball cleans and stopped at the 50 lb because it felt very heavy.

The NATINA

Warmup
25lb kb
8 halo
10 goblet squat
5 windmill

Skill
Push press 2 warmup rounds then
5x3
65/80/95/105/115x2 (I just can't do that last rep)

WOD
Everyone loves the NATINA

Row 250m
20 Ball Slams- 16 lb
Run to end of driveway and back
Rest 3:00 min
3 rounds

2:06/2:10/2:22

I thought I couldn't walk there for awhile there at the end. My legs hurt so much. But I guess my running has improved significantly from the last time we did this workout, so that is good.

Tuesday WOD

Warmup
15 pass thrus
10 OHS
75 jump rope

Skill
4 rounds
Pullups- 1 dead hang, 4 kipping/10 kipping/5 kipping/8 kipping (my hands hurt really bad from Saturday's max pull ups)
10 leg curls
5 snatch each arm- 25/25/35/35

WOD
4 rounds
40/20

renegade lunge- 25
heavy jump rope
double kb clean- 25
plank
shuttle run

I was not feeling the workout. Somewhat surly and tired. I think I was still recovering from snowboarding this weekend.

Monday WOD

Warmup
3 rounds

10-halo
10-goblet squat
10- H2h swing
5- 1 arm clean and press
5- spiderman

Skill

Front squat- 2 warmup rounds, then
3-3-3-1-1-1
65/80/95/110/115/125

PR again, pretty excited about that. I'm curious to see what next week will be like.

WOD
How many rounds in 15 minutes?

10- push ups
10- flip, catch & squat
10- box jumps
35lb kb the first round, and then i went down to the 25lb kb. I was so tired from snowboarding I could barely move.

8 rounds, just 3 box jumps shy of 9. Oh well.

Sunday WOD

One of my favorite WOD's

Ride chairlift up mountain

Snowboard down hill

How many rounds in 6 hrs?

I think we did 8-12. I lost count.

Warmup-
Kettlebell complex- All I remember is how hard the half squats were

Skill
Max pullup
1 arm overhead squat

I did not think I was going to get very many pullups today. I just wasn't feeling it. I suprised myself and got 23 kipping pullups. I only needed 2 more to hit my goal that I made for the new year, but when I tried to go for 24 my hands slipped off the bar. I have to work on my grip a little more. Either, I am still very happy.

WOD- Partner style

50 med ball situp passes- 14lb
100 wall ball- 14 lb
200 db snatch- 20 lb
run 2 laps
8x bear crawls
200 jumping pull ups
100 kb sdhp- 25lb
50 atomic pushups

Melissa was my partner and it was great because we paced and encouraged each other. I guess it helps when two trainers are partnered together.

25:08

Jackie improvement

So I'm kind of excited about this next fact...I found my old Jackie time from 8/27 and it was 11:11. I improved by 2:11 this time around on Monday. I was pretty happy about that. Yay for improvements.

Friday WOD

So instead of having a play day like most i decided to subject myself to the fantastic fifty torture. Although it ended up not being that bad and I actually really liked it. Those workouts are great.

Warmup
15 pass thrus
10 Overhead squats
75 jump rope

WOD
Row 1000m
50- pushups
50- 2 hand swings- 35lb
50- jumping pullups
50- situps
50- med ball cleans- 20 lb
50- snatch each arm, 25 lb (I didn't switch arms until I was done with the first one. Apparently I could have, but I guess I just like making things more difficult.)
50- ball slams-16 lb
50- ring rows- I did 3 straight leg and couldn't go any further, so the rest were table top
250- jump rope

31:52

Thursday's WOD

Warmup

Band walk (who misses the old gym with its shorter distance for the band walk? I certainly do)
Monster Walk
Lunge walk
Skip
Big Skip
Bear crawl
Alligator (still gotta work on that one)


Skill

Push Press
2 warmup sets, then 5x3- 65/80/90/105/115x2- I grazed my chin/face on the last try and I think that just threw me off. I gave it two more tries, but wasn't able to get the bar up. I was still pretty happy.

Pullups- 1 dead hang, 4 negatives/1 dead hang, 4 negatives/1 dead hang, 4 negatives/8 kipping

WOD

Run 2 laps
then 30-20-10
DB deadlift- 20lb
DB Push Press- 20lb
run 2 laps

9:03

Rest Day

Apparently I missed out on a very tough workout. Sometimes sleep is more important.

No need for kettlebells...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/dietandfitness/4303781/Gym-has-human-dumbbells-to-help-customers-exercise.html

Thanks for courtney for the link. Pretty funny. Interesting concept. Hey, I should sell it to 24 hr fitness. Think of all the jobs it would provide for people to be the "weight."

A different take on the tabata

First off, late to the workout because people do not know how to drive in the snow. People, it is half an inch, stop freaking out.

Warmup
2x
Windmills- 5, 20 lb
1 arm overhead squat- 5, 20 lb
75 jump ropes

Skill
Snatch- 5, 25lb
Jacknife- 12
Tgu- 1 each side (didn't get through much skill because I was late)

WOD
30/30

Rope snap
Burpees
2-hand swings- 35 lb
5 meter sprints

We did six rounds staying at the same station. It was different, but I liked this new version. Although, the sprints at the end was very hard. Thanks to Tina for putting herself through a couple of sets of sprints with me to push me.

Monday's Workout

First off, I'm the crazy lady who likes snowboarding so much that I went up to the mountain with Katie after working 8hrs. It was worth it though cause the snow was alright. We went for about 2.5 hrs and then headed back home because I was supposed to work that night. Luckily I got comped, so then I decided to go the gym because a little bird or birds informed me that we were doing a benchmark workout. As much as benchmark workouts can suck, I like them cause they give me an idea of my increase it fitness. Plus, it was Jackie, and Jackie is geared towards me (aka no running involved).

Warmup
3x- 20 lb kb
10- Halos
10- goblet squats
15- swings

Skill
Front squat
2 warmup sets of 5, then 5 sets of 3- 65/85/95/105/120
5- spiderman

I had a PR on the front squat which is exciting for me. Katie told me that I had good form and good depth, which is exciting for me.

WOD

Jackie
Row 100m
50 thrusters- 33lb
30 pullups
9:00

I'm not exactly sure what my previous time was. I'll have to go back and research it, but I know for sure it was over 10 minutes. So i'm happy with taking at least a minute off my time.

Saturday's WOD

Gotta love the Saturday partner workouts.

Warmup
Ladder drills
Med ball passes- 10 lb with Katie

Skill
Pullups- 2 dead hang in a row, then 3 negatives/2 dead hang, then 5 kipping/8 kipping
1 legged squat- tried pistol, but fell over, then squat to box all three rounds

WOD
Row 1000m
Box jump- 100; 20 in box, 2 rounds, step up step down, 3 rounds jump up, step down
Ring Rows- 100
Walking Swings- 8 trips- 25lb
Med Ball Situp- 100- 12 lb
Run around building x2

20:11

Friday's WOD- Deadlift roomate x3

So I was pretty tired from this last week of working out that i didn't really feel like doing much. I warmed up and then did 3 sets of db hang squat clean- 25, 30, 35. I then tried the hang squat clean with the barbell- 53, 73, 73. I don't really like the barbell version, it is just kind of awkward. I prefer the db version. I think it is more difficult to stabilize each arm.

Later in the day I helped with the 530 class. Cristina had a brilliant idea to try and deadlift me. She was able to do it. It was hilarious. Then, I tried to deadlift her and was able to do it x3. I guess we have a new workout on our hands. I guess next part will be clean and press roommate x3. That will be something to work up to.

Double D's

I was introduced to a new exercise today at the gym. Melissa called it the dot game, I like to call it the dot drill, hence the title of this post (for those who have their minds in the gutter). Anyways, I would explain it, but I don't know if i can describe it appropriately, so you will just have to go to the gym and learn for yourself. It's fun, but also very cardio/taxing at the same time and involves some agility. It reminds me of ladder drills and I love the ladder drills. So anyways this Double D exercise may be in competition with the Double B exercise.

Warmup
2 rounds
5 Windmills- 20
5 overhead squat with kettlebell- 20
Farmers walk- 35

Skill
Push Press 5x5- 65/75/85/100/110 x4
Cross chop to halo- 10

WOD
How many rounds in 15 mins?
5- L 1 arm swing
5- R 1 arm wing
5- L arm snatch
5- R arm snatch
10- pushups
12 rounds with 25lb kb

Once again the pushups were my demise.

Grind It...

Today was the core grind. They are taxing because they take so long. I got paired with the tough kids tonight, abs Sally, Mark, Joe, Orion and Grayson. No slacking off for me.

Warmup
3x- 25lb
halo-10
around the body-10
goblet squat- 10
h2h swing-10

Set A- 4 times
12 Deadlift- 75/95/115/115
Row 250- averaged under 1:45 for 3, then mid 1:50's

My legs were burning at the end of this.

Set B- 4 rounds
10 Wall Ball- 14
10 Knees to elbows

Set C-
Power wheel
10 leg curls

I officially suck at the power wheel. I guess that is just an area I need to improve on.

Good workout tonight. I think I might try and go running tomorrow. We will see how that goes.

Tuesday's WOD

It was nice to move today. I was feeling sore from yesterday, those darn med ball cleans. I felt pretty good today. Dev and I fed off each other's energy. I pushed her to do the 40 lb weight vest pull ups and she pushed me during the WOD. It was great. Sean certainly had me using my ab muscles today during the battling rope station. He was making some "interesting" noises. I wasn't sure what was going on behind me. Anyways, good workout today, tabatas are fun. I like recreate's take on the tabata.

Skill

4 rounds

Snatch- 25/35/20k/20k

I wasn't sure if I should try going up, but I did and they felt good. I didn't feel like my arm was going to give out. Yay for progress.

Dips- 2 real, 3 band/1 real, 4 band/5 band/5 band

Weighted pull ups- 5/5 with 20lb/5 with 30lb/4 with 40lb

WOD

Started out at froghop/bear crawl station because of Devon's suggestion. Very good suggestion Devon. I had to stop at one point because my hip flexors started cramping.

Battling ropes

SDHP- 35lb

Jumping Pull ups

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Mondays Workout

Warmup x2
Inchworm- 5
Spiderman-5
Goblet Squat- 10 (25 lb)
2 hand swing- 15 (25 lb)

Skill
2 warmup sets then 5 sets of 5 of front squat

65/75/85/95/110

Today it felt good squatting. I was on Amanda's bar and that girl is getting so strong. I had to keep up with her. I just feel like my squatting is so much better and I think it partly related to that kettlebell certification.

WOD
7 rounds
7- med ball cleans- 16lb
7- burpees
7- ring rows- I did 2 rounds with legs out straight, so hard.

11:15

Fight Gone Bad's Cousin

Yesterday's workout was so hard. This was my 6th day in a row, which I decided I am not going to do anymore. My body is recovery well, partly because I'm eating better, and drinking less, but I felt beat up at the end of yesterday. (Hence why I could barely keep my eyes open at the UFC fight at Nate and Tina's).

Warmup
Ladder drill
Med ball around the building-12 lb with courtney

Skill
5 rounds
Windmill- 20/25/25/25/25
Pullups- 5/8/7/ switched to ring pullups because my hands hurt so much from yesterday, 7/7

WOD
4 rounds
Running, 1 minute at each station
Ball Slam- 16 lb
Row
Box Jump- 24in box, step ups
Db thrusters- 20lb

80/82/75/73

So I helped coach during the 1st three classes on Saturday, which means I watched people be subjected to this intense workout. Let's just say when it was my turn up to bat I thought I was going to throw up, and I'm being serious. I went out too hard the first round, and then on the 3rd and 4th round I thought I was going to throw up. Luckily I took some deep breaths and got past it. As much as I don't like this workout, it is very good mental conditioning for Fight Gone Bad. It is amazing what your body can do and your brain thinks it can't do. I think I laid on the floor for 10 minutes. This is also another reason why I am not going to work out 6 days in a row.

I would have gone home and taken a nap, but unfortunately I had plans. This resulted in me being very sleepy during the fight. Yes, I went to bed at 1030 last night, which is super early for me, but I needed. I'm feeling refreshed today and it is absolutely beautiful. I thought about running, but I need to truly have a rest day.

Friday Fun Day

So Friday was a play day at the gym...which was much needed. Does anyone else think it was a really tough week this week? I loved it, but definitely feeling it. Anyways, I went to the trainer workout on Friday, which are always fun because it is a great way for us to experiment with exercises to bring to class.

I got to try out the rope. I didn't get very far on the the regular rope, so I moved the knotted rope. I was able to actually make it to the top. So my little circuit was dumbell hang squat clean, climb rope, then transverse the bars. I did all three for 3 sets, and then just a 4th set of the db hang squat clean. My hands were pretty shot after all of that grip work.

DB hang squat clean x5- 20/25/30/35

Nathan then brought up the ever famous game of beam ball. We of course had to try it out. So Melissa and I teamed up against Nathan and Blake for a little competition. It was hard, but I loved it.

The next step was actually making it an exercise where you throw the ball to yourself. I loved it, and I think I was pretty good at it, must be from my earlier basketball days.

So Tina announced that there may be a beam ball tournament sometime soon. Any takers for being on my team? I'm thinking we could be Team Double B's...

Friday fun day was great...

Thursday's WOD

Warmup
3 rounds
15 pass thrus
10 overhead squats
75 jumprope

Skill

2 warmup sets then
5 rounds
push press x5- 65/75/85/95/105
cross chop to halo x5 each side

I was pretty excited to being push pressing today. This is my favorite olympic lift that we do. I was actually able to press 105 x5, the last two were pretty weak, but I still made it. It was great.

WOD
3 rounds for time

run 2 laps
12 dumbell push press- 20lb
10 knees to elbows
med ball carry length of gym and back- 40 lb ball
11:59

The workout was nice. Easier than yesterday, so it was nice for recovering from yesterday.

WOD- To Hell and Back For Time

Aka Power Endurance

For some reason I always seem to miss the endurance workouts, but not today. I actually made an effort to go, so that I could try this workout. What was I thinking. It was insane. Thank goodness one of the other trainers, Blake, did it with me because I am pretty sure I would have quit. Of course I started out way too fast on the row, which was not good. I did appreciate the mini leg circuit vs. the regular leg circuit. (My legs thank you nate and tina for not being completely jello). The pushups were my demise. I had to resort to doing 2 pushups at a time for the last ten. It took forever. The last lap around the building I thought I might throw up, but I made it somehow in 26:50, which I'm pretty sure is a decent time. It took me five minutes to recover, but I'm glad I did it. Those workouts build some major mental toughness, which will be good for when we do Fight Gone Bad.

Tuesday's WOD

I don't know if anyone else agrees or not, but I thought the 40/20 on Tuesday was very difficult. It was good though. I've been sleeping better and eating better and I feel a difference in my performance.

Skill

Tgu- 25lb/25/25

Heavy 2 hand swings- 35lb/20k/24k

Farmers walk- 20k/20k/20k

WOD

40/20

Heavy jump rope

Double kb clean and press- 25lb

Superplank

Shuttle Run

Rope Snap

I tried my hardest to work all the way through the 40 seconds. On the fourth round, I had to take a small break on the rope snap.

Tiffany's favorite workout....Not

So if you don't know one of the first workouts I did was this one, and I nearly lost my lunch. I wasn't sure if I wanted to come back to the gym. From here on out I am on puke watch, although I have been fine thus far. I don't know what the warmup was, but we did front squats for skill. The last time we did front squats I did not do very well. I kept getting stuck at the bottom of the squat. I think I did one rep max at 105lbs. I was pretty excited because today I was able to do 100x5 and it felt good. I knew 105 would have been tough, but I think I could have done it. I think my squatting is much better from those darn leg circuits (who doesn't love/hate those?).

Then for the row/ball slam workout. Unfortunately, I had to go by myself because we were odd numbered, which is fine, I don't mind. Luckily I was next to Katie, so I was able to pace myself with her. It was tough. The last three minutes always feel like forever. I ended with 120 ball slams and 69 calories, not too shabby. And then catching my breath on the floor for five minutes.

Updates on Last few workouts

I didn't workout on Friday, however, I did go snowboarding with Megan and Trevor so I think that kind of counts. I also helped move the gym on Friday, so that involved a little bit of exercise. I even traversed the pullup bars. I will have to be timed next time to see how long it takes. It definitely does a number on my hands.

Saturday was the first workout at the new gym. It was an awesome and crazy partner workout. It was tough, lots of movement. Bear crawls, jumps, and sprints, plus some other stuff. Great workout though.

Sunday was my day off.

Updates on the rest of the weeks workouts.

WOD

So I know I haven't update this blog for a few days. I swear I have been exercising. Updates to come.

Today's WOD:

Ride chairlift up mountain and snowboard down without falling too many times

How many rounds in 4 hrs?

We will find out today how many we actually got.

-$10

So I lost ten bucks today all because I wouldn't wake up and go to the gym. Ok, so that might be skewing it a little bit, but I didn't end up going to the gym today. I was so tired from work the night before that I could barely wake up to shut off my alarm that was telling me to go to the gym. Days when I sign up for the 10am class after working the night before are just not a good idea. I used to do it, and I have no idea how. I must have been more crazy back then. So yeah, no workout today, but that is okay because I slept so well, which I think I really needed. I'm definitely looking forward to the workout today.

Bear crawls are my demise

Today's workout was tough. Definitely felt it in the legs after yesterday. I'm sure I will feel it even more. Although, I felt good, better than last week.

Warmup-
Kb stuff- 25lb, heavy

Skill-
4 rounds
Pull up- 2 dead hang first round, then 1 at the beginning of the next rounds. I then did kipping negatives to work towards my goal
5 windmills- 20lb/25lb/25lb
Single leg deadlift- 20lb/25lb/25lb/25lb

WOD
40/20
bear crawl
jumping pullups
ball slam
row

I went to the grocery store today and bought a bunch of fruits and vegetables. The goal is to not eat out this week and make my meals. I made a chicken stir fry and just some grilled chicken for salads. Whenever I have food at home, then I am more likely to eat better. So i guess this is baby step #1.

Time to get physical...

Gotta love those kettlebells

Today was a good day for me. I felt strong, although the cardio in the WOD was tough it still felt good.
Warmup-
band walk
monster walk
lunges
lots of animal exercises- bear, crab, frog, inchworm

Skill-
5 rounds
5 1 arm kb clean and press- 12kg/16kg/20kg/20kg/24kg x4 each arm
5 racked kb lunges each leg- 20lb/25lb/16kg
8 ring rows

So that last round of clean and press I just wanted to see if I could do the 24k x1. I suprised myself and was able to do 4 on each arm. I could feel that the 5th one would have probably resulted in a kettlebell crashing onto my head. Probably not a good thing.

WOD
30-20-10

Db thrusters- 20lbs
Swings- 16kg

Pushups- full pushups

11:30

There is a point during the 1st group of thrusters that I thought this workout wasn't going to end. I made it through the entire workout without putting the dumbells during each section, which was a goal I set beforehand. Again the pushups was my demise. I could only do 5 at a time the first set, and then after that it was sets of 2 or 3. That definitely was my demise again.

At the end of it I felt great. Definitely on the upswing.

So today is Megan's birthday and Cristina, Trevor, and myself went out to dinner at Jake's. I had the Flat Iron steak and it was absolutely delicious. Of course we had to have dessert. I sort of earned right? I did press 24kg overhead? I guess this must be why I can't lose the weight.

I had the peppermint chocolate cheesecake. It was very rich, and I wasn't able to finish all of it, which is probably okay. It was delicious.

Cristina had the warm chocolate cake with chocolate drizzle. It was also very delicious.




Megan's birthday cake. It was a flour free dense chocolate cake. IT was also very delicious. All in all a great day! Happy Birthday Megan!

Gotta Love Those Partner Workouts

Workout Jan. 3rd 2009

Saturday's workout was great. I love the partner workouts. They are so hard, but at least you get little breaks while it is going. Cristina and I were paired up and we rocked it. We seem to really push each other when we are paired up.

The warmup was fun. I always love doing the ladder drills. Love that fancy footwork.

The skill was max pull ups, max push ups. My last pull up max was 19. I was only able to get 18 this time around. My grip was shot and I just couldn't do anymore. There is always next time. The push ups sucked for me. I was only able to do 20. I have to work on my technique more. I guess I should probably add that to one of my goals.

Here is the grueling partner workout. The row was tough to start off with. We broke it up into three 250 sections each. The rest was the ladder. The ring hold at the end was very hard for me.

we finished the workout in 20:30 in the middle of the pack. That is good. Melissa and Kim tore it up. It was intense.

Cristina at the end of the workout. We liked it. It is one of those love/hate things.

This was definitely a better day for me than yesterday. Things are looking up.

First workout of the New Year

I didn't workout on Jan 1st. I knew that I would not be feeling to great after a night at the Crystal Ballroom. So Jan. 2nd was my first workout. Let's just say I didn't start the year off too well. I was very "compromised" (as Nathan would say) during the workout. There were a few times I thought I might lose my Jubelale beer from the night before. I think I was still recovering from New Years, as well as those few beers that I had the night before at Deschutes, along with not sleeping very much. Those are all equate to a half ass workout. But now I know to be better rested and to give the drinking a rest because it definitely affects my performance.

This was a part of my demise.

The workout was also a core grind, which are long and very tough, which does not help when you bring your C game.

Workout Jan. 2nd

Warmup-

Pass thrus

Overhead squats

Spiderman

Group A

Leg circuit

10 Jacknives

I only got through 3 and I thought my legs were going to fall off. I have a love/hate relationship with the leg circuits.

Group B

20 Heavy 2 hand swing- 35lb

row 250m

I only got through 3 rounds. This was where how compromised I was really showed up. You are only supposed to rest 1 min between rounds, and I'm pretty sure I took at least 3 minutes after that first round because I was fighting back the need to vomit. I was rowing at about a 1:45-150 average, so I was instructed by Nathan to slow down. I did somewhat, but for some reason I have this pacing issue. The next two rounds felt better.

Group C

3 turkish get ups- 20lbs

10 knees to elbows

I only did 3 rounds. My arms were so tired for some reason, so I could only use the 20lb kettlebell when I normally do the 25lb. Just goes to show to eat better and rest more to have a better performance.

So a bad way to start the New Year, but I guess that means it can only get better, right?

Time to get physical...

Resolutions 2009...

Time for those resolutions...

(Every client at Recreate was supposed to send a list of resolutions to Nate and Tina so they can keep a log. Some of mine were meant to be a joke, kind of. But once I really thought about them I should probably actually keep them).

1. Drink Less- I'll be honest. I like going out and getting drinks with friends. Especially in the last few months with the holidays and all I feel I have had my fair share of drinks. The reason I would like to drink less is because it is less calories, which will help in trying to lose weight.

2. Lose weight- I'm getting body measurements done tomorrow. I would like to lose 10 lbs and keep it off. This alone will be difficult for me, but I think I can do it, especially with my support.

3. Deadlift 1.5 times my bodyweight by June- This will be even more likely to be attainable if I lose those 10 pounds.

4. 25 kipping pullups by April- I'm at 19 and so 6 does not seem like much, but I know it is going to be very hard to get there. I have to work on adjusting my grip while doing my pullups.

5. 5 dead hang pullups by June- I have done 1 so far.

6. Sub 7:00 Fran- I did 7:30 last time.

7. 3-5 dips by June- I can do a few dips, but they are half dips. I'm going to have to break away from the band.

8. 500m row 1:45- I did 1:46.8 not too long ago. At the end of it I thought I was going to die, so taking off almost 2 more seconds is going to be very difficult.

9. Running- So I suck at running. And sometimes it is good to try and improve on those things which we are not good at. I am going to participate in a 5k four times this year, quarterly is the idea. Shamrock run is the first one.

10. Fight Gone Bad, 275- We will see how this one goes.

So those are my goals. The losing weight goal I know is very extensive and involves watching my diet. I'm going to start writing down what I eat, maybe even eventually putting it here on the website. I will do some calorie restriction, once I get an idea of where I stand in my calorie intake at this point. Cutting down on the alcohol will also help this, as well as making more meals from home.

So these are my goals for the first half of 2009.

Time to get physical....

Fitness Blog/Log/Journal

I can't believe that it is already 2009...the time does fly. Anyways, 2008 was a great year and I think that 2009 will be an even better year. So it is the that time of year when everyone is making resolutions, and since I am a person who loves making checklists/to do lists, I think that creating resolutions, so that I can check them off, are right up my alley. (Plus, it is a suggestion from the trainers at Recreate Fitness.) One of the requirements/suggestions is to keep a training log/journal. Being a blogger, I found it only appropriate to have a fitness blog. So here it is...

Let's recap:
In 2008, I was fed up with not being able to maintain a workout regimen at my regular 24 hour fitness gym. I hired a trainer in Jan/Feb to help me get in better shape for my trip to Hawaii. It worked somewhat with crazh dieting, but then once I returned home I wasn't able to keep it going. This whole night shift schedule made it difficult. What to do, what do do. Then, I was introduced to this new gym called Recreate Fitness in the beginning of the year. I was very intimidated by it because these people were doing pullups, ring holds, handstands, and other crazy stuff. After awhile I gave into the pressure and actually gave the gym a try in April with my friend Cristina. I fell in love after day 1, even though it was super hard. The workouts reminded me of being an athlete in high school. The workouts were different everyday, which was also great for me (I get bored easily). Soon I was hooked on this crazy crossfit workout, and couldn't get enough.

Fast forward to the end of 2008 and I am pretty impressed with the strength and skills that I have gained. I could barely do a few pullups with the thickest band at the gym, and now I can do 19 kipping pullups. Deadlifting 130 lbs was the toughest thing, and my most recent max was 205. One of the happiest days for me was when I was able to do an actual benchmark workout prescribed. Also, I went through two days of training to become Crossfit certified, and well as a day and a half seminar for my Kettlebell certification.

All in all, I'm pretty happy. The only thing I would change is having done some body measurements (inches, weight, bodyfat) so that I would have a baseline to see how my body changed. Although I'm pretty sure I haven't lost any weight, and that is mainly because my diet could be better. This year is going to be different. I want a baseline to have an idea. I am going to get measured tomorrow, and know where I stand and then I will create some goals off of that.

So 2008 was great, and 2009 will be the year to shine (I know cheesy).

I'm going to include my resolutions in the next blog, as I am still tweaking them.

Thought I would include some pictures from the gym being as this is my fitness blog.

This picture was in the first few weeks of going to Recreate. I put it on because I am using the 15lb kettlebell. I can't remember the last time I used that.Cristina and I doing med ball around the block. It is not a good picture, but I think it represents how out of shape I was.

This is a recent picture of medball cleans. I feel that I have slimmed down some and gotten stronger, which I am happy. Now I just need to lose a few more pounds and I am set.

Time to get physical...