Back to CATZ...

Well, it's getting chilly here in Austin. Yesterday was an incredibly full workout day. In the morning, I went to UT at 7AM for a body composition & calorie consumption analysis; I was thoroughly depressed afterwards - LOL. That's all I will say about that...LOL

When I got home, I registered for Joe DeFranco & Zach Even Esh's seminar being held in December. I've been waiting for the seminar to open for registration all week. Registration & sign-up opened at 10AM EST yesterday and was limited to only 20 participants. The event sold out in less than 45 mins! Luckily, I got on the roster :-). It was also very reasonably priced for 2 days. I am so amped!! I've been wanting to meet Joe D and Zach for a long time. I was considering going up to each of their gyms seperately over the Christmas holidays, so, Christmas came early for me :-) BUT, I realized immediately, that I am going to have to improve my conditioning & endurance by leaps and bounds between now and early December. That sparked the beginning of my long workout day :-D.

I did 25 mins of Cathe (High Step Challenge) at lunch time. Then, I decided to go back to CATZ to focus on improved conditioning; I would like to keep it up 2x/week from now until next April or May. I am also considering picking up martial arts. I love keeping things challenging and different. I was so nervous to return to CATZ, but it was like going back home. The coaching staff is top notch and everyone is so friendly. I am so passionate about the training model that I would like to become a coach there. I've always wanted to be a coach there ever since I stepped in their doors in 2007. I want to pass my CSCS exam first, though, and then I should be good to go. I said a little prayer before I went to class asking the Almighty to please not let me pass out or cramp up in front of all these folks. Surprisingly, I did much better than I thought! It was a really killer workout, and I was able to hold out thorough most of it. We did a drill with fire hoses (gosh are they heavy) that reminded me of Ropes Gone Wild. It was a partner drill where the person at the other end wrapped the hose around their waist and the other person was seated on the ground and pulling them in; each person had 40 seconds to pull the entire rope in. It was tough since the person on the end was providing an anchored (but walking) resistance. Working at CATZ will help me improve in my abilities as both an athlete and strength & conditioning coach.

Lastly, I got lucky b/c my masseuse offered me a free stretching session, which I used last night. We spent about 45 minutes just doing partner stretches, and I felt GREAT! My shoulders and hamstrings are always very tight. We focused mainly on shoulders/traps/rhomboids, but we did a few hamstring stretches as well. Let me tell you - my body FINALLY loosened up. We agreed to do an hour of full body stretching techniques and follow it up with my usual 90 minute sports massage next time. I actually had a sports massage earlier this week. I ended the night with a soak in the hot tub & sauna, and finally went to see "W." with my family. It was a LONG, but great day!

Train, Train, Train

Well, I've decided not to compete this year. I've had way too many (albeit good) distractions and not enough time to train or diet properly. Soooooo...time to develop a new game plan. I'm going to do the first show in 2009 (March). In the mean time, I want to spend the rest of 2008 getting back into my kettlebell practice and focusing on improved overall metabolic conditioning. I will continue coaching Spinning classes 2x/week, which I love. I'll also continue to train with Jerry 2x/week doing traditional weight training, but my focus will be to get in 4 days of kettlebell or conditioning work per week, plus cardio. I might try Alwyn's Afterburn program, as I really enjoyed his Warp Speed Fat Loss program; I haven't really decided yet. I'm getting my groove back in many different avenues, and am ready to focus on my personal development. I'm happier and not putting as much emphasis on competing, which was beginning to stress me out and take away the joy of lifting.

Hope that everyone's doing well!! Keep training hard. I'll get back to more regular blog updates this month :-) Thanks to all of my friends for your well wishes and encouragement.