Oh my aching quads!

So I'm getting myself ready for a show in Austin in August and at least 1 more later in the year. I started working with my coach last week. We had an intense leg circuit on Friday and today I can hardly walk - lol! Oh, the joy of training hard and hitting the body in a different way. I have a feeling that I'm going to look really good come competition time. We have about 5.5 months to get ready, so plenty of time. I'll keep yall posted on how my progress is coming along; I'm anxious to see where we are in 4 weeks time.

Hope everybody's been doing well! I've been out of town the past few weekends for family events & some business related travel. When things calm down some, I'll post more often.

PEACE :-)

It's a brighter day.....

Well, I can safely say that the funk I was in a few weeks back is officially over (and I deleted my funky post to completely eradicate bad thoughts from my mind). I realized that it was all negativity that was getting to me. I had to face facts that I haven't been training or eating as strictly as I should. I have my head on straight and my mind is totally focused. I'm not going to get on the scale for a while; it's pointless. I'll let my body composition changes denote my progress. I also realized that I am not fat. I'm strong and muscular, but far from fat! I was working out the other day and noticed muscles popping out every where. I just had to open my eyes and see for myself - notice the beautiful changes in my physique as opposed to listening to the hurtful comments of someone else. Am I exactly where I want to be? Not yet, but I'm getting there. One of the most difficult things for me about being a competitor is that you train and diet for so long, get down to a weight & size that aren't exactly normal for you, and then I have a hard time readjusting to the "normal" me.

Competition will soon come again...later this year as a matter of fact. I'll start working with my coach again in about a month. And I am confident that when he sees me, he will be very pleased with my progress. I haven't lost an ounce of muscle and even added in places where I was deficient. Yes, a little fat has been added in the process; it's only natural. When I start my competition diet (oh joy) it will all come off quickly. I just need to step back and love me for who I am -- and today is that day.

My advice to those of you struggling with self-image issues, which we ALL do from time to time, is to not let anyone else ROB you of your joy. Find at least 2 good things to say about yourself each day and embrace them. Really dig deep and identify whether or not you are working as hard as you should be or are as dedicated as you need to be. If there is something that is not balanced, then change it - that simple. I'm going to actually post some PICTURES in a few days...sort of my progress report today.

Guess what else -- I actually am working on conquering ANOTHER nemisis of mine...you guessed it -- running! I joined a beginner's running group, and I did really well on the first day! I'm going to give it a month and we'll see how I do. I enjoy and welcome the challenge. I am always excited to conquer my fears.

Lastly, I want to thank all of the wonderful friends who reached out to me when I was feeling blue. Your comments made all of the difference! Love you guys alot!!

Make it a great one! Now, I'm off to the gym!

Excuses - stop making them...and just work hard

Thanks to Jen B & Dave Whitley for the commercial. Really makes you think about your own excuses and if you let them get the best of you or if you keep moving forward. We hope it's the latter....

Improved Conditioning

In my fitness conditioning and training, I have two arch nemeses - running and jumping rope. I would prefer for not a soul to ever see me do either, but I will tolerate jumping rope with others. I will not run in front of other people, though. It's one thing that I feel I am so horrible at that it's just an embarrassment for me. I'm pretty sure it goes back to high school, but it still bothers me.

Anyway, I decided to take on jump roping the other night. I wanted to try an old 15-min jump rope routine that used to kill me (Ropesport's "Beginner" jumprope workout DVD). Well, surprisingly enough, I breezed right through it. Not only did I breeze right through it, but I also tacked on 10 minutes of the advanced routine AND the Crossfit "Annie" workout immediately afterwards. The "Annie" workout is as follows: For time - 50-40-30-20-10 of double unders & situps. Since I can't do double unders yet, I just did jump rope revolutions for the prescribed amount. I got a new speed rope and that made a big difference; I used to use a weighted jump rope for Ropesport work. Anyway, I really attribute my kettlebell training to my improved conditioning. I haven't jumped rope since Sept 2006, and I thought I was going to be spent after the fact. It feels great to be in good shape.

The other good news is that my weight is dropping quickly! In 4 weeks, I've lost 6.1 pounds. I suspect I will keep dropping quickly since I've stopped taking BC. This trend will probably continue until I get back down to my normal weight, then it will plateau. I'm feeling good and 2008 is starting off nicely!

I came down with a bad cold (fever, chills, lack of appetite) over the weekend, so I didn't train Friday-Sunday, and I definitely won't train today. I'm still feeling pretty badly, so I'm just going to focus on getting my energy back up. I just wanted to take a minute to share the good news!

Monday, Dec 17, 2007 - Workout & Diet

Well, I started my new diet today. It was alot of eating, but relatively good food :-) I also started a new cycle of circuits today. It was a great workout (albeit long). Here is a summary:

Exercise	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5
Warm-up	5:20 mins-10 rollover V-sits; 5 fwd/bkwd fire hydrant leg circles; 10 slow mountain climbers, 5 groiners, stretching
Dbl Hang KB Clean & Alt Mil Press 1x5/side (26s)	5:43	16:30	26:16	37:23	50:51
Barbell Bent-Over Row 1x6 (Rounds 1-3: Bar + 30/side = 105 lbs; Rounds 4-5: Bar + 25/side = 95 lbs	6:55	17:39	27:28	38:43	52:11
Dbl KB Clean & Front Squat 1x6 (26’s) (1 sec pause @ btm)	8:29	19:09	29:17	41:15	55:00
DB KB Swing 1x5 (26) (swing to above head lvl)	9:34	20:22	30:53	43:10	57:18
Slow & Controlled Situp 1x10 (2 sec up, 8 sec down)	12:20	22:04	32:59	45:43	59:39
Sandbag Shoulder Clean 1x10 (20lbs)	14:20	24:10	34:51	47:31	1:01:41
Round Rest (90 secs)	15:50	25:42	36:25	49:24	1:03:12
Stretching - As prescribed by Mike	End Time: 1:12:04

A little insiration

When I'm feeling sluggish or tired and don't feel like training, I like to watch something inspirational to get my mind right and change my attitude. Here are 3 insipirational nuggets for you today. In the meantime, find and define what inspires YOU...and use it when you need it!

After watching this how can you NOT want to train and push yourself to achieve YOUR personal best today???

BTW - this song is sampled in the "Victory (Remix)" ft. Diddy, Biggy, 50 Cent....gets me pumped up every time!


This movie insipired me to take up boxing training. It got me in some of the best conditioning shape of my life. "What does it take to be great?"



It's not just football, Al. This is the mentality that every athlete -- beit a professional athlete, weekend warrior, or person just starting out -- should adopt. Rock on, brother...rock on.


I have a BIG training day planned, and I need ALOT of inspiration today. I will post the actuals at the EOD, but I am going to push, push, push and be my best today.

Summary of Workouts Dec 11-13, 2007

Thursday, Dec 13, 2007
Did my Friday kettlebell circuit, the last in this round of workouts. I didn't track my time, just did the workout. The exercises were as follows (3 rounds, 45 sec rest between exercises, 60sec rest between rounds):

• One-arm KB Clean and Push Press 1x7 each side (35lb bell)
• One-arm KB Bent-over Row 1x8 each side (44lb bell)
• Turkish Get-up 5 reps each side (26)
• Barbell Deadlift 6 reps 95lbs
• One-arm KB Swing 1x10 each side (44)

Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007
Today I worked out at CATZ. I had alot of fun, and this substituted for one of my interval cardio days. It was great to go back to CATZ!!

Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007 - Worked out with an AoS Friend
Today I met a friend from the AoS Forums, Anthony Calleo. We discussed some business and even managed to get a workout in. He did the Magic 50, and I did one of my circuits. We had a great time, and I'm looking forward to working with his friends in Houston. Anthony coached me as I snatched the 20kg for the very first time, 1 rep per side.

Found a Prowler!
In other news, I found a welder in Dallas (Scott Prosek) who will construct both a Prowler and a sled for me! He also sells products on eBay under the name sprcar74. They are very reasonably priced and of high quality. I will post his website information once it's ready. Here are a couple of pictures of past prowler's that Scott has built & sold:

Scott's Prowler (red):

Scott's Prowler (yellow):

Below are pictures of Elite Fitness Systems Econo Prowler (on-sale for $249 + shipping) and the Prowler ($349 + shipping). Aside from going with someone to make these products for you, EFS is the only company that I know of who sells Prowlers. Their website is: http://www.elitefts.com/

EFS Econo Prowler:

EFS Prowler: