“If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be.”

Day 157-214

1/2/12 - 2/28/13

Two months since my last post and what a two months it has been. The highlights or lowlights in this case was the flu for five straight days and a pretty messed up back. I would tell you what is wrong with my back but I do not know and it is still not 100%. I have spent over $2000 at the chiropractor and it is better but I am not sure fixed. I went a month with out working out or snowboarding and it has been torture.  But I am on the mend and I did not fall off my diet at all so I did not lose too much ground, but I did lose some. I am just not as lean as I was a month ago, but its coming back soon.

Anyone who is reading this, who is active and healthy, count your blessings and just try to remember how truly lucky we all are. Life and health are fragile.

I have been doing a lot of personal training during this time. I have been teaching classes and picked up three clients so far. This has helped keep me in the gym and thinking positively. Without it I may have got lost over the last month. However being forced into the gym even when I could not work out kept me focused enough to stick with my diet and a heavy dose of stretching. Without knowing it my classes/clients may have helped me more than I helped them.

I am going to try to get back to writing this blog more frequently and really get into more detail about the workouts and diet. I have started two new supplements, magnesium and fish oil. I have a 50 day supply of both and will see if they make any difference.

I have only worked out twice since I have started to recoup and they have been relatively mellow. I will workout tomorrow and will see how it goes. Wish me luck with my back and I wish all of you health and happiness.

 “If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be.” –John Heywood

Sleep?

Day 157-159

1/2/12-1/5/12

Not much to report.  I am really focusing in on my diet now that all the Holidays and parties are over.

Have my first paying client in two days and am going to help a friend out with her fitness goals as well.  

Great work out on Thursday and I got a little cardio set up for myself after work, midnight run. You got to get it while you can. I have to be back at work tomorrow at 5:30am. Sleep? Sleep is for people with out anything to do.

I look forward to 2013 with realistic optimism, and untapped potential for growth and adventure.

Day 150 – 156

12/27/12 - 1/1/13

Happy New Year!

I rang in the New Year last night with my wife and kids after a fun day on the hill. First full family trip to go shred at Vail. My daughter is starting to figure out how to snowboard which is really fun to watch. Along with learning how to ride comes the inevitable falls and yesterday she took two big ones. One heal side edge and one toe side edge, which left her eye a bit red from slamming her face into the ground and her first wip lash this morning. But she is one tough cookie and just keeps getting up and trying again.

Getting up and trying again, is there any better lesson to learn? When I was snowboarding all the time and trying to learn new tricks I found that the hardest part was trying the trick for the first time. It was not the trick that was scary, but the unknown.  After that first try every subsequent try got easier, and such is the case for life. I think in life more than anything we all fear the unknown, the “what ifs”. Well for the New Year I pledge to not fear the “what ifs”, in fact fuck them.

If I have proven anything to myself in the last 156 days it is that with clear goals, determination, sacrifice, and support from loved ones, anything is possible!  So for the New Year I will try to keep this in the fore front of my mind and try to relay this to my clients as well. I look forward to 2013 with realistic optimism, and untapped potential for growth and adventure.

As far as my workouts this week, Thursday is turning into a big workout day for me. Triathlon club at 5:30am this week was fun, probably did like 7-8 miles on the spin bike, three mile run and a bunch of dry land stuff. We tried to keep the heart rate at 85-95% MHR. Skipped the Olympic lifting because of work, but will defiantly get it this week.  Friday I went and rode for two hours, Vail called nine inches but it was questionable, still super fun two hours with a old friend, 100 push up and 100 sit ups that night with some stretching. Saturday was 100 push ups and 100 sit ups in 7min and 16 seconds.  Sunday did 200 pushups and 100 sit ups.  Monday was pretty much a rest day did some stretching and abs work at night, but nothing to speak of. I will get a work out in after work today, half hour circuit at the hotel and then home to take care of the horses. The ranch has been a bit of an adventure lately, an adventure involving a lot of water, ice, a 1942 restored Willies jeep, and a  50 caliber sniper rifle with armor piercing exploding bullets!!  That is another story all together.

I wish everyone around me health and happiness. Much Love!! Happy New Year!!!

Merry Xmas!

Day 143-149

12/21/12 - 12/26/12

Man is it hard to make it through the holidays eating healthy. There is just so much opportunity to eat poorly. I certainly did my fair share. I had more cake and cookies than I’ve had in the last 100 days and I even had two drinks on my wife’s birthday. If there is one day out of every year that is not about me it is my wife’s birthday. She asked me if I would have some drinks with her and of course my answer was yes.  A glass of Champaign and a raspberry Saki mojito, hit the spot. So much fun, after 15 years I still love her so much.

On a fitness note that was pretty much it, stayed pretty close to my caloric intake and defiantly put in at least 100 push ups and sit ups everyday I did not make it to the gym or go snowboard.

My wife got me a heart rate monitor for xmas and today was my first day using it, other than the fact that I walked around all day on Christmas letting everyone know what my heart rate was. I am not 100 percent sure what I am doing with it so I just kept my heart rate really high the whole time I worked out today. About 138 - 177 beats per minute during the work outs, including a 14 minute run at 8 and 8.5 on the treadmil with a heart rate of 177-183l. I will run a sub 20 minute 5k at some point this year.  I really do not like treadmills these days? Not sure why, but they make me angry?

Tomorrow I go to my first triathlon club at 5:30am followed by Olympic lifting at 6:30 than to work for a little bit than the whole family is headed to Vail for some mini shred!  So basically I will not be able to walk on Friday.

After the New Year I will try to blog everyday and get back into a routine. New client starts next week, can’t wait! Happy Holidays to everyone, and my heartfelt thoughts to those who Holidays were not blessed with happiness.

Machine Guns and Snowboarding...

Day 129 - 142

12/7/12-12/20/12

What a shitty job I have done of blogging lately. Sorry to anyone that reads this (all 10 of you),  and has been anxiously awaiting an update. It feels like an eternity since I have  wrote but it has only been about 13 days, but man a lot can happen in two weeks.

The worst thing that happen was a mass shooting by a psycho-path at an elementary school in my home state of Connecticut.  What a fucking coward to go into a school kill little children and than turn the gun on yourself,  little bitch. The truth is there will never be anything you can do about crazy people wanting to take other peoples life. However there is something you can do to make it more difficult for them to get thee hands on machine guns. What world are you living in that you think you need a machine gun? Just in case our society comes to a crashing halt and its everyman for themselves. It  is so crazy to live your life under this assumption. I have a favorite quote that says that “every generation is a mystery unto themselves.” This has always given me a sense of comfort because it is so true, my dads generation was hiding under desk at school, we were scared of the Russians, nowadays people are still waiting for the end of the world. Whether it is global warming or fiscal catastrophes so many humans have this internal fear that the end is near. How many generations have come and gone living with this fear that never materializes?

So instead of banning assault rifles (machine guns), our fear leads us to believe that we must have these things to protect ourselves from something that does not exist.  Hopefully calmer heads will prevail and realize we do not need these items to be easily obtainable. Even if it had only saved five children because he was using a pistol instead of an assault rifle, that would be more than worth it.

The best thing that happen over the last thirteen days is actually many things. I have continued on my healthy path although I have had a couple Holiday treats, like warm sugar cookies. Biking and running have been replaced by snowboarding. I could write for hours on the impact snowboarding has had on my life and my belief that achieving a true powder day is one of lives most magical experiences. But  I will try to sum it up with a quick story. I sat on the chair lift with my wife yesterday and we were talking about life. We were discussing how a lot of decisions we have made over the last 15 years have revolved around snowboarding. Most jobs I have taken, the question is always asked when will I be able to ride. We structured our lives around something many people would call a hobby and most would think that was crazy. But as we sat there on the chairlift looking around we asked ourselves what is it that we do in life that is better than spending the day together on the hill. The answer for us is nothing. Would I trade a powder day for a nicer car? No. Would I trade all my powder days for a better job that makes more money? No.  If you don’t understand this it is because you have never experienced it. It’s like trying to explain sex to a virgin, some things you have to experience for yourself.

So what does this mean? Well it means that we are incredibly blessed to know that we have constructed the life that we imagined. We went confidently in the direction of our dreams and it is all starting to pay off. It means that we are the happiest we ever been. Not because of what we have, but because of what we have become.

 When I was graduating from high school my mom asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up and I remember telling her I wanted to be happy. Well mission accomplished. Thank you to the universe for everything, and to all the friends that have become family who inspire me by always chasing their dreams.

I have my first paying personal training client starting on Jan 7th. I hope I have the skills and ability to effect his life in a positive manner, because what better gift could you give someone than happiness?  What brings more happiness that achieving a goal through hard work, dedication, perseverance, and the realization that we as humans are capable of infinitely more things than we give ourselves credit for?

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”

“A person can achieve everything by being simple and humble.”

Day 117

Ended up going on a run, somewhere around 4-5 miles. Awesome run into the white river national forest, so peaceful! Felt good to get outside, the weather has been really nice, which is great, but we need snow!

Day 118

I made it to the gym this morning around 6:00, worked out with heavy weights for about an hour. Cleaned up the gym and than went to a ski conditioning class at 8:00am. I for sure kicked my own ass this morning. Feeling really good right now, and I am glad about that because I was feeling not so good after Thanksgiving. It was fun to let lose for a little while, but is amazing how much damage you can do in a couple of days, for something that took weeks to accomplish. I gained two pounds in two days, crazy but true, and it was not muscle. Just confirms how vital diet is to the whole process of looking good. You can work your ass off but if your diet is not right, you will not get the results you are looking for.

Day 119

Rest day to get ready for a bit of snowboarding with my wife tomorrow.

Day 120

Snowboarded for about an hour before we got called home. Babysitters kid got sick, somethings are not meant to be. All and all it was a really fun day.

Day 121

Woke up at 4am with a very sick wife and a wide awake eight month old. Still got in 100 push ups, 100 sit ups and when my wife was feeling better I got in a 16 mile bike ride before dinner. The bike ride was awesome, it was sunny and 45 degrees which is great except that it should be snowing, weird dry warm winds are a blowing.

Day 122

Went to the gym this morning and lifted weights. I love getting to the gym when it is still dark out.

I am a third of the way through my get an eight pack experiment.  I currently have a six pack for the first time in my life. When I first started I thought about this time and wondered what it would be like. Well I can say that I am both excited with the results and humbled by the journey, along the way I am learning a lot about myself.

For starters I am by far my biggest critic, which is both good and bad. It is good because I am always self-critical which makes me push myself harder, but bad because I am never satisfied. I am 37 years old and am in the best shape of my life and when I look in the mirror I immediately see the faults and mentally criticize myself for all of them.  It works both ways, it gets me motivated to work harder, to eat healthier, but at the same time it is very hard for me to enjoy any success that I have.

As I think about this I realize this has been a theme of my existence. All good things have always been meet with a healthy dose of some self loathing, and all bad things were always taken as, well I deserved it.  I can think of some things from my youth that might have helped this seed to grow but for the sake of having my big boy pants on I am going to take full responsibility for this and just know it about myself. I have been trying lately to give myself a mental pat on the back every now and again.

Secondly, I do not miss drinking alcohol as much as I thought I would. When people ask me how you could give up drinking my response is the same, “I have drunk plenty and been drunk plenty”.  My nights in college and the ten years I spent snowboarding after college were pretty heavily dosed with lots of alcohol. I can honestly say that not one of those drinks did anything for me, but I remember thinking they were.  I am older now and almost all of the drinking I have done for the last six or seven years has been pretty responsible, but none the less pointless. I have never found the answer to anything at the bottom of a bottle and I have seen the bottom of a lot of bottles. I am also at a point in my life that I do not need alcohol to relax or loosen up, I am pretty loose sober.  At the end of the year I will have a couple drinks here and there but not as often as I use to.

Third I am humbled and thankful for every moment of my life that has lead to this moment right now. I am blessed with a great family and I am living the life I imagined as a kid driving his Chevy Blazer out to Colorado fifteen years ago. I am not even sure how it all happened, but I am so thankful that it has.

Last but not least I am inspired. Even though I am third of the way through my year challenge I feel like my healthy living is going to stick for life. I enjoy challenging myself to eat better and to work harder everyday. I want to be in better shape next year than I am this year and continue that trend till by body just won’t cooperate anymore. In other words I plan to have a six pack till the day I die.

I will end on this note. I am looking so forward to sharing my experiences with others and hope I am lucky enough to help people out on their own journeys to a healthier existence.

243 days to go!

Day after Turkey Day...

Day 112

Well I almost did that. I did make it to the gym at 5:30am. Great workout with a buddy, than I worked for an hour and swam 5 laps in the pool and now I am sitting at my desk at work. Gonna rest tomorrow ride on WED (YEA), kick it on Turkey day, and Friday go to the Beaver Creek Tree Lighting. Awesome week coming up! Happy turkey day people!!

Day 113

Rest Day.

Day 114

Spent the day snowboarding. So much fun!! Can’t wait to ride again, but as usual we need some snow!! Please and Thank you!

Day 115

Turkey Day!! I did not drink any alcohol but I did pig out for the last two days straight. I could not begin to tell you how many calories I stuffed in my mouth, but it was gluttonous and fun! Great little vacation with the family!!

We did go for a two mile run/walk and I did 50 push ups.

Day 116

The day after!!! I got up at 5am and was working out by 5:45. Nice workout, about 15 minutes of cardio than 100 sit ups, 100 push ups, 100 dips, and 100 curls. I am going to try to get into the gym tomorrow for some heavy lifting.