Sunny Saturday...

...And I'm stuck inside!! Everyone in Portland is praising the heavens because we finally have some sun, and of course it happens on a day when I am at work from 10am to 7pm. LAME. It's okay though, because tomorrow is supposed to be even better and I am determined to do AT LEAST these two things: spend some time in our new garden plot getting it ready to plant some seeds for veggies(!) and jog down to the Park Blocks and practice some Parkour. If I don't do anything else with my Sunday, I will be thrilled. However, being that Sunday is my only TRUE day off, I inevitably have TONS of things to do.. But I am determined to enjoy it however I choose.

I have never gardened before but this year we managed to grab a plot in the community garden at our apartment. After we signed up for it we had a moment of 'Oh crap, when the hell are we going to have time for this?!' But, like I said, I am determined (by nature) and this is something I have wanted to do for a long time. Now that I have the opportunity, I'm going to make it happen. So, we are going to plant some zucchini, cucumber, peas, peppers, tomatoes, green onion, and a few other things... The trick is getting them planted at the right time. Some of them should be planted now and others should wait a few months until it's warmer. I'll be so pleased when my little seeds start yielding beautiful vegetables for us to enjoy:)

I am obsessed with becoming a Tracuese (a female Parkour practitioner). Here is a link to the definition of Parkour, it is basically the "art of movement", moving from one place to another as quickly as possible, overcoming obstacles and using just your own body. I have been dreaming of becoming this bad-ass Parkourista (I like this name, it's kind of like Capoierista) for over a year now and I have done very little to become comfortable practicing these skills outside. I have been doing gymnastics and Parkour skills inside with the safety of soft mats and spring floors, which is great, but I want to take it outside. Part of me has been waiting for Ramman and I to have time to go do it together, but that time rarely comes. We have had a few training sessions outside in the parks, but a few times a year isn't going to cut it. Ramman started teaching a Parkour class which is so great, the only downfall is that it is on a day that I can't go. So, it has come down to me getting out there, Ramman or not, and practicing it on my own. I feel more comfortable with him there because he knows more about the skills than I do and he can help me get it right, but at this point I am still such a beginner that I just need to get out there and run through the basics. So tomorrow my challenge to myself is on. Just make it happen!

Rip City Fitness is coming along. We hit a speed bump last week with our logo and the process of getting business cards and fliers (and possibly some other paraphernalia) printed, thus prolonging our marketing efforts which of course delays the amount of business we can get right now. A bit frustrating, but I know we will be able to make it happen soon. Other than that, things are going very well. We have a few people coming to group workouts and even more on a list of those who are interested. The main focus now is just to get people in there for a free session so that we can get the word out! Plus we have a few things that we have been lusting after: a video camera (so we can film our gymnastics tricks and hard workouts) and a GHD (Glute-Ham Developer), among other things. Yes we are true fitness NERDS. Two peas in a pod!

So, back to being stuck at work on this gorgeous day in Portland.. I work at a Globo-Gym. It drives me nuts. I feel silly complaining about my job when a) a lot of people don't have jobs right now and b) I get paid pretty damn well to do next to nothing (especially on Saturdays, I mean- I'm writing on my blog while I'm here, not bad..). The problem is that this "gym" hardly entails anything that I believe a gym or wellness facility should be. We don't have any music and we have a shit-ton of Life Fitness machines worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (yes, they cost that much!) that when potential members see, lure them in with their whirring motors and sleek and shiny appearance. Little do these people know that these machines are WORTHLESS. What the mainstream fitness industry has become is a disgrace, and March Wellness contributes to it. My responsibilities include the following: I give new members "Health Assessments" that in actuality are a JOKE. We use the BMI (which was originally developed for an obesity study in the late 19th century!) which measures your height to weight ratio and takes into account absolutely zero of your lean muscle tissue. We also use a 3-site skin fold body fat percentage test with a margin for error of like 4 to a gazillion percent depending on who's administering it. What else, oh my favorite- the grip strength test. REALLY? So, I'm supposed to tell this person that they're total upper body strength is determined by the GRIP STRENGTH TEST?! Um, I don't think I can do that.. so I don't. And finally, we have the sub-maximal VO2 max estimation (could we be any more vague about the results you get?) on the bike. Oh one more! Let us not forget the one we all remember from the Presidential Fitness Challenge, the sit-and-reach test.. Give me a break! Now, I realize that if you aren't a totally jaded because of what corporate America has done to fitness, cynical, know it all trainer, you probably don't even know what I'm talking about, but trust me- this entire "Health Assessment" is CRAP. So, I usually end up telling people just that when their BMI says they're obese and there estimated VO2 says they have the lung capacity of our dead grandparents. It's actually quite embarrassing. People come to our "wellness" center for guidance, for help in achieving their, in some cases daunting, fitness goals, and we give them a worthless assessment and pass them off to someone else to give them a free session and a cookie-cutter workout routine. THIS IS NOT FITNESS. Nor is it wellness. Another responsibility: free sessions. When I have to give these I can't help but feel like a rogue. What we are "supposed" to do is fill out a nice little workout sheet using the pretty Life Fitness machines and hand over a routine for the member to do "3 days a week". What do I do? I try to tell the person as much about CrossFit, functional fitness, constantly varied, high intensity, body weight exercises, metabolic conditioning, etc. as I can in an hour. The response? Most people get a glazed over look in their eyes because 'I thought I was just going to learn how to use the machines' and will usually be seen over the next couple of weeks doing what every body else is doing in the gym. And then they'll disappear. Oh well, at least I tried. But some, SOME people LOVE it and it lights the fire inside them. It's times like this when I really love teaching people about fitness and about themselves. THIS is why I wanted to open my own place with Ramman. THIS is why I love training people. THESE are the kind of people I want to train. And I want to train them in my own place, with my own rules, and lots of loud music. I want to get OUT of here. People like me aren't meant to work under other people. Me and bureaucracies don't get along.

Here's to a rest day and getting some thoughts out of my system!
Peep this all girl Parkour video: