Summit K-12

Friday May 29th:

I'm about to leave for Seattle for the weekend. The school I went to for 7th grade through senior year is being closed so there is a farewell reunion/celebration this weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing all my old friends and teachers and being in the Summit building one last time. When I found out about this months ago I really wanted Ramman to come (I still do). I wanted him to see where I came from and meet some of the people who helped shape me into who I am now and who I am still becoming. As the weekend approached it seemed as though it would be somewhat difficult logistically for him to make it. The reunion starts today (Friday) in the afternoon with an alumni basketball tournament, and he has an obligation here in Portland until 6pm.. So he would already have missed the basketball games, which I am playing in, and we were unsure how he would get up here later. But I was going to figure out a way to make it happen so that we could spend a nice weekend together in Seattle. Just when I had figured out a plan, my mother decided to spaz out again and go on a rampage of sending messages about how awful Ramman is and how he is not right for me, etc etc.. (This has been happening off and on for about a year now.) So I made the decision to ask Ramman to stay in Portland so that I could make an attempt at connecting with my mom over the weekend and I knew she would unfortunately not be open to this if he was there (for whatever reason or lack thereof, because there actually is NO logic behind why she says she doesn't like him). So here I am about to leave, and I'm regretting making that decision for a few reasons. First, I want Ramman to be there. That in itself is reason enough. Second, I'm only encouraging her manipulative behavior by giving in to what she demands, which will only make future attempts at having them be around each other all the more difficult. And third, same as first, I should have just done what I wanted to do. I feel like I've gone against my philosophy about only doing what it is that I want to do and not being forced into doing something I don't.

All I am trying to do is make this better. It has been stressing me out for a year. The fact that my mom has decided that Ramman isn't the right man for me has made having a good relationship with her absolutely impossible. And she is not open to getting to know him. She has already cast her judgement and nothing can be done to change her mind, unless of course she decides to.

And in the midst of trying to make this better, I am making the wrong decisions and crying way too often.

Frustration.

Sunday May 31st:

I just got home from a very long and eventful weekend. And apparently I'm not home yet. I have not had one second to reflect on the last three days and their profound impact on me. And now that I am home, I am regretting even more that Ramman wasn't there. He knows that I have just gone through this amazing experience with old friends, my mother, Ann Reese (whom I will write more about later), and myself but he is not connected to it. Since he wasn't a part of it, he seems frustrated that I am not all the way home yet. I understand his frustration. But I still need time to decompress and reflect on all that has happened this weekend. I'm unable to put it all into sentences and paragraphs at this point....

Friday: basketball tournament, Mama came and had so much fun, seeing everyone for the first time in years- Dharma, Gabe, Adam, Yuuki, Jessica, Sita, Devin, Carley, Corey, Jared, Justin, Crystal, Carrie, my teachers, etc..

Friday Night: hanging out with Jasen, Adam, Jess, Dharma

Saturday: went to appointment with Ann Reese, cried, and had profound realizations of my strength and individuality.. Met up with Mindy, went to Glimpses, saw more old friends and two of my favorite teachers: Andy Bell and Cora Mackoff.. Watched Glimpses and cried with the slide show of pictures and quotes, saw Maya dance..

Saturday Night: went to Jalisco's with EVERYONE. Visited, hugged, laughed, reconnected.. Went with Gabe to see my dear Maren<3

Sunday: hung out with Mama, left to meet up with Rachel who I haven't seen since I moved to Portland.. drove home..... reflection.. gratitude.. looking forward..

Profound

On Tuesday night:
I just don't know what to do. Right now I just feel like running away. Far away. Seriously. I'm thinking that I will get my ESL certificate and just go. Ramman may come too. Maybe I need to do it alone..? Maybe it will be wonderful with him.. I just don't know. But I do know that I want to leave. I want- no I need to experience life in other cultures, learn other languages, and just be away from all of this.. This that is our society, American culture and the expectations and standards of the people that buy into it. It's all bullshit.

On Wednesday night:
I just watched the second Zeitgeist movie: Zeitgeist Addendum. It was incredibly profound. I remember crying after I saw the first Zeitgeist movie because I felt so helpless.. This one was quite different. It was empowering. Knowledge is empowering. Just when I started to feel lost and out of control of my own destiny, this movie reminded me that I can be free. I can achieve what I want to achieve, despite the system constantly trying to keep me, and others like me, down. I say fuck that. I'm going to do great things and experience life how I want to experience it. Mistakes will be made along the way, victories will be had, and it will all be wonderful. People may not agree that my decisions are the best, but they are my decisions, and I will own them no matter what they are. No decision I make is going to ruin my life. No regrets will fill my heart throughout this journey and when I'm done I will rejoice in all that was: my miraculous life.

Here is the movie.. Take action- watch it..

Taking it easy this week

This week I am listening to myself.. Other things are going on in my life that are requiring a certain amount of energy, so I am only training if I want to. It is a good time to just take it easy and only do what I want to do.. Next week I'll be back on track with my regular training schedule.

Today I just felt like doing a bunch of different things instead of a WOD:

20 V-Ups
20 Arch-Ups
20 Side Arches each side
20 Lemon Squeezes
40 Russian Twists
2 Sets of stairs
(all with client Zach)

10 Muscle Ups from knees
10 Dips
3x5 Strict Pullups
3x10 GHD Sit-Ups
3x10 GHD Back Extensions
3x5 GHD Side Arches
100 Double Unders for time= 3:23
2x20 Squats & Lunges + 45# weight vest
10 Bent knee wall handstand drill
Hips, Knees, & Ankles Pre-hab (Ramman learned at the GB Seminar, really good stuff!)

It really is a good life..

Yesterday as I was getting ready to ride my bike up to Council Crest and spend some meditative time alone, my friend Tad calls.. A few of my friends were hanging out, having a barbecue and jumping into a 3 foot pool filled with freezing cold hose water.. So I said, "I'm in, be there in a bit." So I quickly did a workout and hopped on my bike and pedaled over to Hawthorne in the sunshine. It wasn't exactly meditative time alone, but it served the same purpose: joy and resolution.

This weekend I didn't expect to figure it all out. I didn't expect that three days of spending time alone would lead me to any grand conclusions about what career I next want to go into, or how to heal my relationship with my mother. I know that it will take more than just one long weekend. But what I did realize is that I have a good life. I have a few problems, yes, but so does everyone else.. ultimately my life is wonderful. I have love and companionship, I have incredible friends, I have a comfortable place to live, I have plenty of food, I have a healthy and able body, I have good jobs that provide me with enough money, and I have ambition. So even though I am questioning certain things about my life, I know that it will come to me. My questions will be answered, well- at least the ones I need the answers to. And for the time being, I am happy and safe and healthy. I have abundance.

One thing I did decide this weekend is that this summer I am committing myself to experiencing joy. I am going to hang out with my friends more, be a bit more spontaneous, spend lots of time outside, and take spur of the moment adventures on days when I don't have much going on. I am going to do all the things that fill me with joy and grace.. I am going to surround myself with happiness and light so that my life will continue to be abundantly filled with exactly that. By making my journey a fulfilling one is how I will get the answers, how I will gain perspective and realize exactly who I am.. It's life.

Today Ramman came home around 1:30pm and I was thinking that I would do a workout and just hang out at home, but instead we spontaneously went to a river with his friend who is visiting for a week or so. His friend is from Portland originally and so he knew of a secluded spot on the Sandy River, about 45 minutes away. It was such a magical place. We got there and as it turned out it was a watershed and we had to hop a fence and walk about a mile (above picture) in to this bridge that was about 100 feet above the river. Nobody else was there. The river was pretty high, so instead of being able to just walk along the shallow rocks, we had to make our way down small cliffs, over rocks, and through brush until we got to one of the pools. We were all scratched up and stung by a few nettles so even though it wasn't too hot, we jumped right into the FREEZING water. It felt so amazing. The river wasn't the only thing that refreshed me.. I felt very calm in this place. I even could hear what sounded like voices as we were trekking through the woods.. happy voices.. river voices. It was the strangest thing; it was comforting. This is the way that I want to spend my summer.. my life. Enjoying the unknown experiences that make me feel alive and connected with the worlds around me.

The view of the river from the bridge:

Here's the WOD I did yesterday:
Half "Barbara"

5 Rounds for time:

10 Pullups

15 Pushups

20 Situps

25 Squats

17:45

A Weekend Alone

Ramman left yesterday for the Gymnastic Bodies Seminar down in California. Besides having to be at work today, I am enjoying my time alone. Apparently I have a lot of things to think about.. I think tomorrow I am going to ride my bike up to Council Crest. In the two years that I have lived in Portland, I have never been up there. I've heard you can see all of Portland and it will be a beautiful, clear, sunny day. My focus this weekend is to just be in the moment, alone.

I was planning on driving up to Olympia to celebrate my brother's birthday tonight, but driving for two hours only to not really get to hang out with him (he'll be spinning records at a dance club) and be with a bunch of strangers dancing until 2am is pretty much the opposite of what I want to do. And what I need. If I went, I wouldn't be able to take full advantage of this weekend alone, and this is something I need right now. I'm sorry Ira, I love you and happy birthday.. Linz and I are getting you an iPod:)

This week has been very challenging on a few different levels. But I think what it all boils down to is that I need to pay some serious attention to myself for a while so that I can figure out what it is that I want to do. More on that tomorrow...........

Friday's WOD:
(I had low energy and just wanted to move a bit, so this wasn't timed or too intense..)
4 Rounds:
10 GHD Situps
10 GHD Back Extensions
10 GHD Side Arches
10 KB Swings 16kg

My life is like the weather in Portland.

I haven't posted my workouts for a few days, here's what I've been doing..

Monday-
GB WOD:
3x5 Heavy Weighted Deck Squats
3x5 Half GHR (negatives)
3x10 Hip Circles
Stretch

Also:
3x10 GHD Situps
3x10 GHD Back Extensions
3x5 GHD Side Arches
Jog 1 mile (with clients)
30 Divebomber Pushups (with clients)

Tuesday-

5 sets of 202 stairs, 10 pushups at the top

Total Stairs= 1,010
Total Pushups= 50

Wednesday-

Inspired, once again, by CrossFit 603:

Lift 40x my body weight (145x40= 5,800 lbs) from the ground to overhead..

I decided to turn this into lifting the weight from not quite the ground to overhead :l seeing as how I have hardly done ANY Oly lifting in the last 6 months (at least)

**So- I used 75 lbs and did 77 Hang Clean /Split Jerks for a total of 5,800 lbs moved. Boy was that rough. During the first ten reps this is what was going through my head, "EFF.. I don't know if I can even do 50.." But I did all 77 of them, it took me 20:14, but I did them all.

This has been an incredibly challenging week so far. Ramman and I found out on Monday that we can no longer use our garage for our training business. The agreement we made with the landlord should not have been made because as it turns out, the whole thing is not okay with the owners of the complex, Norris & Stevens (only one of the biggest real estate/property management companies in Portland). We were under the impression that we were allowed to do this, based on what our landlord said. This is the ONLY reason we moved to these apartments, and now it has to be shut down. We aren't even sure if they are okay with us using it for ourselves, and if we can't even do that, we definitely want OUT. We've written a letter to Norris & Stevens (currently being proofread by one of my clients) to request to be let out of our lease because of the false pretense which we were operating under. Hopefully they will grant this to us along with permission for personal use of our garage until we move. This week has just been a nightmare. However, I do not regret taking part in this endeavor. I can just hear my mother saying that she "told me so!" or she "knew it!" and that it's "all Ramman's fault!" (this is the other stressful thing happening in my life at the moment)- but in no way is it his, or my, fault. We invested our time, energy, and money into this project together. We went into this together and we are sticking together through it.. And whatever we do next will most likely be together, if not in support of one another. All I can do is hope that the big guys at Norris & Stevens agree to grant us what we are asking for. After all, to them it's nothing, but to us it's huge.

The next plan? Well... I don't know. I am struggling with figuring out exactly what I want to do with myself. I know what kind of life I want to ultimately have; a simple one. I want to travel. I want to train. I want to have a fulfilling job. I want to learn other languages. I want to experience love without any outside pressures from family. But I do not want any one of these things to be my identity. I want to be secure and stable. I want to be comfortable. But I do not want to be just another cog in the wheel of American society. I want to be FREE. How do I acheive all of these things? My mom would say to marry someone who can provide them all for me, I wouldn't have to do anything. But that is not what I want. I want to create my own reality. I want to create it together with Ramman. I can see clearly what I want, but what is unclear is how to get there, the most important part, right? The journey... I don't know what my journey is.. my path. I feel a little lost. I feel like being a trainer is over for me. I'm ready to move on, to focus on something new. I know I am a good trainer, and I have succeeded at this.. But I cannot picture myself doing this in 10, even 5 years. I don't picture anything. I enjoy training people, I know I help people, and I am a good teacher and listener. I have developed some incredible relationships through this career. But I just don't know if really "does it" for me. I will always train. I will always be passionate about moving and using your physical body as much as you can, and even teaching it to some people.. but the actual jobs and business ideas in this industry seem so temporal.. for me.

Should I go back to school? Get my teaching certificate (sounds of mother cheering, off in the distance).. Work abroad as a teacher? Do I want to work with kids? Teens? Adults? Teach ESL? I do want to travel. Working abroad seems like a smart way to do this. Getting a teaching certificate would make working abroad easier. Seems like a smart thing to do. But- WHAT DO I WANT TO DO?

It's time for some serious soul-searching.

Channelling Energy

Ape Cave last summer

Well, of course I was a little too ambitious going to into today, I knew I would not get to everything.. but it was still a pretty good day (minus some drama with my mama!) I got to sleep in until about 10am, had a delicious egg and veggie breakfast, spent some time alone, sat in the sun, trained for over three hours, had my brother over for a delicious chicken and veggie dinner, played around on the Internet, and chilled out. That's a good Sunday.

Shoulder stretches and prehab
Handstand work:
bent knee wall drill x10
partner drill facing wall (shift weight back & forth)
Partner backbend stretch 3x10
Backbend kickover progressions w/ panel mat- 4 panels to floor (x2)= 12 total
Muscle up work:
about 10 attempts, getting very high on rings but going out too wide at the top...

Then on to a WOD (that I made up):
Buy In:
GHD work
3x0 front
3x10 back
WOD: 21-15-9 for time 10:50
Pullups
KB "wall ball sub" 12kg
KB Snatch 12kg (21 stronger arm, 15 & 9 weaker arm)
Cash Out:
10 TGU's each side 12kg (2x5 each)
Stretch

That was about 3-31/2 hours of training today. Good stuff. I felt like I did pretty well at channelling some intense energy from my personal life into my training today. It was a rough start to the day, but I decided to take that energy and turn it into something positive, something that would bring me joy. It made me feel better. Hopefully my mom and I can get through this.

With the summer approaching I am getting excited to go on some outdoor adventures with Ramman. Hiking, climbing, the coast, Seattle, Spokane, Vancouver BC.. We have lots of places to go, people to see, and things to do!!

Missed a few days..

It's been a few days since I posted.. here's what I've done the last two days..

Thursday: Gymnastics Class at Omega

Stretching

Lots of handstand work- facing wall, free, hs roll, tuck up, pike up, straddle up, pirouette attempts, etc..

Tumble Track- punch jumps, straight jumps, hollow jumps, arch jumps, front handsprings, jump back drill for back handsprings, front tuck attempts onto big mat

P-Bar walks, P-Bar Hops, P-Bar L-Sit walks

1 Rope Climb- 5 steps without feet

Friday: My WOD

Buy In-

10 TGUs each side 12kg

30 Double Unders

WOD- 5 Rounds for time 14:42

10 Knees to Elbows

10 KB Snatches- 5 each side 16kg

10 Box Jumps 24 inches

Cash Out-

Accumulate 1 minute Hollow Hold

Accumulate 1 minute Arch Hold

I've been using this "Buy In & Cash Out" used by CrossFit 603. It's a pretty cool concept of just adding in a few more exercises into a one hour workout. On days that I only have one hour (which are not preferable over days with 3+ hours) to train I have implemented their idea of Buy Ins and Cash Outs. That way I have a little more structure and efficiency to my hour. Obviously it is more ideal to have multiple hours a day to train so that I can spend plenty of time on skills, strength, and metcon.. But unfortunately not everyday allows that. By the way, CrossFit 603 has some killer wods too:)

We got our GHD!!! It's assembled and tested, and it ROCKS. The thing is HUGE. It's a step up from the ones I've used before, it's actually quite a BEAST of a piece of equipment. I'm excited to incorporate it into my training. Soon I will have such a stable and strong core that I will no longer be dealing with sciatic pain:)

Our garage is looking pretty nice these days.. We've organized and cleaned up a bit, still more to do, and a few more things on the wish list to buy (like a Concept 2 Rower!), but it's getting there! Now it's time to pick up our marketing so we can get some more people in there! Exciting times for us.

Tomorrow is Sunday. My favorite day. I am usually overly ambitious about how much stuff I want to do on Sunday. Tomorrow I am planning on finishing up filming for our video for The Amazing Race, doing some bouldering at Circuit (or Parkour outside), in addition to a couple of hours of training (handstands, backbends, and muscle ups) in the garage, working in the garden (which is sort of pathetic right now), having my brother over, and of course all of the chores like sweeping and laundry. Phew! Seems like I might not get to all of it, but it will be a great day any way! I'll just be glad to get outside.. Today I am missing the entire beautiful sunny day, stuck inside at work........

This is not okay..

Portland sunrise.. a picture will do- no really, I don't need to see it..

Here are a few clues as to how effing early I have to get up on Wednesdays:

1) The sun isn't up

2) It's May, however it's cold enough to wear my puffy coat

3) The parking meters don't accept money yet

4) I'm at work before the construction workers

5) I'm at work an hour and a half before the coffee cart opens

6) The night security guard is still at the concierge desk

Last night I could not fall asleep. With this new Wednesday opening (4:45am!!!!!!) shift at March Wellness (my craptastic part-time, steady income, benefits job), I have pretty much resigned mayself to sleeping very little, like 4 hours, the night before, and taking a very long nap when I get home around noon. However, while I normally have no problem falling asleep around midnight (and waking up about 8:30, to no alarm, so nice..) on Tuesday nights I find myself anxious and wide awake until well after I attempt to go to sleep. Last night I was lying awake until after 2am, only for my alarm to go off at 4:15am. This is not okay. I don't normally drink coffee, since I quit last year, but these Wednesdays it is an absolute necessity. Why did I take this shift in the first place? Because in order to get benefits (medical and dental insurance) I must work at least 20 hours a week here. And the shittiest shifts were what I got.. low end of the totem pole, even though I've worked here for 2 years now. I am beginning to hate this place. While I am here, I dream about my garage and how nice it will be when I make more money training out of it 10 hours a week than I do with my two jobs and 25-30 hours combined. I am seriously considering dropping this early shift, and thus dropping my benefits for a while, for the sake of my physical and mental health. Some of you might say, "But it's only one day a week, not such a big deal!" Yeah, that's what I thought too.. but this is not the case. It makes it harder. And I'm not going to do it ANYMORE.

Okay, it's later in the day now, I'm home, had a nap- but still exhausted. It's a good day to take a rest since my body and brain are not actually fully functional. I spoke with my boss about this opening nonsense and hopefully I will be able to trade a shift with someone. Fingers crossed.. otherwise, I'm just going to have to say fuck it and lose some hours for the sake of my health.

All the more motivation to get my own thing going and stop working for others.

Goal Achieved: Backbend Kickover

Shoulder Stretching/Opening
Partner back bend stretch 3x10
Backbend kick overs x12 (6 each side) 4 panels down to the floor(!!)

RCF WOD:
7 rounds for time-
Run 200m
10 Burpees
10 Pullups
24:20

That was a tough metcon.

I'm super stoked that I FINALLY achieved my backbend kickover from the floor. I have been working on this for quite some time using panel mat progressions and some shoulder opening stretches. But NONE of the stretching or kicking over from an elevated surface has worked like the partner back bend stretch that Ido showed us. After a good warmup and working my way down the stack of panels; when I finally did it from the floor, it was EASY.

This WOD made me furious..

Shoulder pre-hab & stretching
Bent knee wall handstand drill x10
Muscle Up Attempts x10 (FURY)

GB WOD:
10 Depth Jumps
30 seconds Jumping Deck Squats (FURY)
40' Arch Hollow Snaps (these really suck=FURY)

2x30 seconds Weighted Pike Stretch

Also:
10 minutes on Step Mill= 62 floors
20V-Ups
40 Lemon Squeezes
20Arch-Ups

It was strange. I felt okay going in to the workout, but once I got to the first set of arch hollow snaps, I just got angry. Plus, I was a little frustrated with my muscle up attempts because I have started to feel somewhat apathetic about actually ACHIEVING a muscle up, since I have ben trying for so freakin' long. I know that attitude won't get me there. Sometimes this is how workouts are for me, but not often. I just feel furious. Why? I can't quite explain. I think it's mostly from frustration of not being good at one particular thing.. Or I feel like my body isn't cooperating.. Or it's just plain hard. Sometimes the fury can be detrimental to training, but sometimes it can add fuel to the ever-burning fire.

A Barbell and a Jedi

This is the beautiful barbell I am manifesting for the garage.

Today I worked on a little bit of barbell stuff. I haven't worked with a barbell in a LONG time. I want to get one for the garage, along with some bumper plates, but it's not at the top of the expense list.. So, I did it while I was at work. Nothing too serious, just light weight and a few movements:

3x5 Deadlift 45#/65#/75#
3x5 Front Squat 45#/65#/75#
3x5 Overhead Squat 45#/65#/75#
3x5 Hang Squat Clean 45#/65#/75#

Ab Series:
20 V-Ups
20 Lemon Squeezes
20 Side Arches (each side)
40 Russian Twists
40 Arch Ups

Tonight= Watching "Return Of The Jedi"

Friday Night in the Garage

Tonight Ramman and I had a great training session in our garage. 2 hours of uninterrupted skills training and a WOD at the end. It is so nice to be able to just go downstairs to our own little sacred place and do what we love to do.
Here's what I did:

Ab series (as part of my warmup)
-20 V-Ups
-20 Lemon Squeezes
-20 Side Arches each side
-40 Russian Twists
-40 Arch-Ups
Get Up-Sit Ups 3x5 each side- 8kg
Bent knee handstand drill x20
Partner backbend stretch 3x10
Backbend progressions on panel mats x6 (3 each side) 4 panels down to 2
Queda De Rins x12 (6 each side)
WOD:
3 rounds for time-
3 TGUs each side- 12kg
10 KB SDLHP- 20kg
5 KB Clean & Press- 16kg
10 KB Swings-16kg
Time= 11:15

Then off to New Seasons we went for some Dragon Thighs (YUM!).

Last night I also made these delicious little gluten-free carrot muffins. Since they are made with coconut flour, really the only carbs that they have come from the carrots, currants, and the tiny bit of honey (about 1/8 cup) I used (instead of 1/4 cup yacon syrup). And they are delicious. Of course I made them a bit non-paleo by adding some maple syrup-cream cheese on top. But I figure having a little bit of organic dairy is better than having gluten and refined sugar. I don't feel at all guilty about this treat!

Finding Balance

(This is not me:))

Today we went to CrossFit Portland again to do the Gymnastic Bodies WOD. Ido was still there, so he offered up some more tips and exercises. I tried a muscle up after which Ido said, "Oh, give me a break!" meaning, cut the bullshit and just do it! No kidding. I did some negative transition drills, or at least tried, and practiced some handstands. A great drill for finding your line in a handstand is kicking up against a wall, bend the knees so that your feet are touching the wall. Tilt your pelvis and push through the shoulders until your feet come off the wall and then try and straighten your legs. If you lose balance and your feet go back to the wall, start back at the bottom of the knee bend. Also important: placement of the hands and fingers, and pressure applied to the different parts of the hands. Hands should be shoulder width apart and index fingers parallel to one another. Finding balance has a lot to do with controlling imbalance with your fingers and heel of your palm.

Then we did the GB WOD:

3x5 SLS jumping for height (single leg squat)

3x5 GHR (these are HORRIBLY PAINFUL.)

Finish with 60 seconds total aggregate work of a straddle L variation.
6x10 on parallettes

Later Ramman and I did a nice 1.5 hour long partner stretching session. I am usually resistant to this kind of thing but I am trying to reverse my aversion to in depth active stretching. We are going to start doing this 2 days a week.

Equilibre

As it turns out, I lost the Gymnastic Bodies Contest. Coach Sommer offered me 50% off the price of tuition for coming in second, but all together the trip would cost me about $700, and I just don't have that extra cash right now.. Sooo, I will be staying home. I'm okay with that. It's actually the same weekend as my brother Ira's 30th birthday, so I will be able to go up to Olympia and celebrate his birthday, which is important to me. There will be more chances to meet and learn from Coach Sommer, I'm sure. Thanks to all of you who voted for me!

Last night Ramman and I went to the Parkour class and afterward did not feel like cooking anything so we stopped at Ole Ole, one of our favorite Mexican places, to pick up some dinner and grab a margarita. Big mistake. The dinners we usually get there are pretty well balanced, and although they are not Paleo (a little bit of beans and rice), they are Zone. We usually enjoy it and feel fine afterwards. Well we thought we would treat ourselves to a mango margarita, again something we have enjoyed in the past, and were sorely disappointed. After we finished them and were at home we both started feeling icky. Not like food poisening or anything that bad, but just OFF. The margaritas were WAY TOO SWEET. Although we didn't feel that great it was kind of cool to see how something that we used to think was a delicious treat was now something we never wanted to have again. Don't get me wrong, I will have a margarita again, probably a few in my lifetime, but just not those ones. The same goes for the food. There are plenty of much better Mexican places where you can get good quality meat and veggies, we won't be wasting our precious eating out dates on that crap anymore. Ole Ole, we are breaking up with you.

Now it is Thursday.. I am not being very good at finishing posts on the same day I start them! But, training comes first- blogging about it second. Yesterday was AWESOME. We went to CrossFit Portland for Ido Portal's workshops. The first session was on Equilibre, the art of balancing. As Ido said, Equilbre is not something that is very well learned in a 2 hour workshop as it takes years, a lifetime, to master it, and actually he says that no one ever acheives a perfectly straight line. I understand what he means, but I still learned a TON in 2 hours. He showed us some very good techniques and drills for achieving a straighter line and thus balance in the handstand. He also showed us some more grounded hand balancing positions used in capoeira and breakdancing.

The second session was more focused on gymnastic/acrobatic strength and conditioning. This session was VERY hard, but also fun. When one of the first exercises he showed us was Japanese Pushups (which I cannot find a video for on YouTube, so if you look it up and see a Japanese guy doing atrocious pushups, this is not what I am referring to!), I knew it was going to be a hard session. I learned a lot of cool, extremely difficult strength exercises, some of which I could not even do, like the Japanese pushup and the single leg squat holding your other leg behind you with both hands (for all of them there are modifications, of course). Ido is an endless resource for exericises that will help with acrobatics and hand balancing. After it was all said and done we had 5 full hours of learning and training.

Thank you Ido!

Cinco de Traino

Lots of people are referring to Cinco de Mayo as "Cinco de Drinko" on Facebook, which I think is kind of embarrassing. So I'm calling it Cinco de Traino (even though it doesn't make sense gramatically), because instead of drinking my life away like all these other people, I'm going to be training.

Okay.. I'm alive. I'm still not 100%, but I am alive and I'm glad that I feel better. It's Tuesday, which means that Parkour class is tonight. Normally I would do a WOD before I go to the class, just to make sure I get my metcon on.. But today I think I will just do the class. Whatever he has us do I'm sure will be enough for my not-fully-recovered-self. Last week was the first time I went to the class and I was a little disappointed when I got there and found out that it was open gym. I was looking for a structured class and I went on a day that was open gym. Don't get me wrong, I still practiced a lot of skills and got some instruction, but this week should be a little better for learning. We'll see..

Being a personal trainer is tough sometimes. It's nice being able to create your own schedule and set appointments when you want to, but it also is sometimes a pain in the neck trying to coordinate with other people's schedules. Sometimes it takes MONTHS to get someone on my schedule for their first FREE session. You would think getting someone in for a free session would be easy, afterall, people like free stuff. But NOOO, not so easy! And the cancelling and rescheduling, oh man, some weeks it's enoughto make me want to scream. Afterall, training people is the only way I get paid. Consistency, commitment, and flexibility are the most important qualities in a client. If I could have like 15 clients all with those three characteristics, I would be stoked. I have a few now.. But a few ain't gonna cut it. I know it can happen though!

I signed up for Robb Wolf's Nutrition Certification (CrossFit) which is coming in June to CrossFit Portland. I'm super stoked for this. Many people go to it and rave about it afterward and the changes they were inspired to make in their own lives. I'm already inspired to make some changes toward a strict Paleo diet, but I guess I just don't fully BELIEVE that I can do it. It doesn't seem that hard in writing: Eat meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. EASY. Until I am faced with a piece of carrot cake when it's not time for a cheat meal, or I get home from work have a delicious Paleo dinner and have serious hankering for some dark chocolate. Are they SURE there wasn't chocolate and wine in the Paleolithic times?! And then, just like that, I'm not on a Paleo diet. Now, for the most part, I am doing it. But it's those tiny little, kinda crucial parts that I need help with. I ordered two books (that will hopefully help me focus!) to study up on before the cert: "Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival" by T.S Wiley, and "The Paleos Diet For Athletes" by Loren Cordain. I'm super excited to read both of these books and will surely be posting about what I learn. Meanwhile, I am doing my best with the Paleo thing.

Now it is the next day- at 5:25am. This Wednesday shift might be the end of me.. Okay, I'm being dramatic, but really, it sucks. I can't go to bed early one night of the week, my body is used to going to bed at midnight and waking up between 8 and 9am. So this waking up at 4:15am business is NOT COOL. But these are the kinds of things we have to do when we work for people and their establishments. Well, I'm over it.

Here's what we did in Parkour class last night:
LOTS of Bear Crawls up and down stairs
Rail Balancing & Walking, Pivoting
LOTS of Safety Vaults & Lazy Vaults
Precision Jumps
Conditioning: The workout we did was pretty easy, used dumbbells for some pressing variations, old fashioned, non-functional exercises, some good core work, and more bear crawls... I worked up a good sweat but none of it was very hard.

I was a little disappointed with the class structure, or lack thereof. I would like for it to be a little more structured with more specific direction by the teacher, but he is kind of young and obviously has experience doing Parkour, but not a lot of experience organizing effective classes with large groups of people (and lots of unfocused & hyper kids). I'm going to continue to go for the rest of this month because I paid for the whole month, so maybe each class will be a little different. Not sure I like his workouts for conditioning. Yesterday it was fine because I was getting over being sick and didn't want to do too much, but next week I might risk doing a WOD before I go to class.

Looking forward to the hand balancing workshop put on by Ido Portal, this guy from Isreal who is incredibly good at hand balancing, acrobatics, and capoeira. Scott (Hagnas) got him to come to CrossFit Portland for an afternoon, so I cancelled a couple of appointments so that I could go. It should be pretty cool! Here's one of Ido's videos on YouTube:

Super Sick

I have been incapacitated all day today.. Everything I do requires a tremendous amount of energy.. I feel like absolute shit.. Everything from the outside in hurts.. I have watched about 8 episodes of The Office alternating with sleep.. Ramman brought me some stuff that should help me feel better.. Hopefully.. This is lame..

It's a TIE..

(This is what we make Toro do on his 3 ft tall scratching post/perch...)

Wow. I went to bed last night and I was down by 4 votes. I woke up this morning and it is tied. Incredible! So now we are in the middle of a tie-breaker.. We have until Monday to get as many votes as possible, and then that's it. Just when I thought it was over, I got another chance! So, if anyone out there who reads my blog and hasn't voted yet, vote for me! If you don't know how, let me know and I'll send you the info.

Today I felt super tired and sluggish. I think I am slightly affected by the abundant pollen in the air. A lot of people, including Ramman, have super bad allergies this time of year, luckily mine aren't that bad- but just enough to throw me off. So I ended up taking a SUPER long nap. I peeled myself out of bed to go down to the garage for a wod. I was extremely unmotivated and fatigued, so naturally I threw something terrible at myself. Melissa Byers, co-owner of CrossFit 603 in New Hampshire, talked about this wod on Facebook a few days ago.. So of course I had to check it out. Silly me... I went into it trying to beat her score, and ended up getting the EXACT same same score. Here's what it is:

20 Minutes for Rounds:
12 DB Squat Cleans (I used KBs)- 12kg
9 Pullups
6 Burpees

Those squat cleans SUCKED. I got 6 rounds + 3 cleans..

At 603 they have a pretty cool WOD structure with a "Buy In" which is not necessarily part of the warmup, but it's what you do before you get to do the WOD. And then there's the "Cash Out", which is performed after you are done with the WOD. I think this is genius because it gives you the opportunity to have a more structured hour, getting a good warmup, some skill work (usually what the Buy In is), th WOD, and a little extra work with the Cash Out. I think I'll start incorporating this style more with my own workouts and my clients'.

Buy In: 5 TGUs each side
Cash Out: 3 rounds of 5 each side of "Get Up, Sit Up" (see it at the wod link above..)