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.

Still Grinding...

Day 106

Great gym work out today, still training at a really high heart rate, but new exercises and much heavier weights.

Got a pretty good cardio in yesterday, some jogging a little interval work, and some stationary bike, about 30 min all together.

Day 107

Almost a third of the way through this experiment and I could not be happier with the results. I feel great about the sense of accomplishment that comes from sticking to ones goals. I am genuinely just happy about what I am doing, but like all goals once you are about to meet them others arise.

Lately however I have been really trying to focus in on how I can make this a career. I really feel like I can help people go through the same sort of journey that I am on. By no means do I feel like I have all the answers or a secret  solution to anyone’s problems. What I have discovered are the tools one can use to transform their body and in doing so transform their belief system.

If a person can transform their body by visualizing the results they want, by being accountable to a plan, by trusting the process, what other life transformations can they apply these things to? I think the answer is everything.

On my computer at work I have these taped up; I would like to share with you Arnold’s six secrets to success.

1) Trust yourself- be who you want to be

2) Break the rules

3) Don’t be afraid to fail

4) Don’t listen to naysayers

5) Work your ass off

6) Find time to give back

The thing about all of this, there are no secrets, everyone knows these things. It is when we are able to put them to use and make them become who we are, not what we do that the results follow.

I am gonna get in some cardio at some point today. Peace!

Day 108

Went for a nice run yesterday with my boy. Great gym work out this morning.

Day 109

Rest Day

Day 110

Rest day

Day 111

Circuit workout at the hotel, going to try and go really big tomorrow and get two solid workouts in. The plan is to meet my buddy at the gym at 5:30am for some heavy lifting. Work at the gym for a couple hours and than hit up my trainers ski conditioning class at 8:30 and to work by 10am. Sounds like a perfect morning to me.

It's never too late to become what you might have been.

Day 89

Crazy weekend. I took a rest day today, to help get everything ready for my daughters birthday party which is tomorrow.

Day 90

Took today off as well for my daughters party. She had such a blast and I think everyone did, kids and adults. Two days in a row with no exercise, I will be honest I was freaking out about it a little, but did not want to make the weekend about my workouts. I will get after it this week.

I had some birthday cake, just for the record.

Day 91

Great road bike ride, I road 16 miles in 57 minutes. I did not do this ride for a good time. It was a workout ride. I set the bike in the hardest gear and did the whole ride. There is one step hill by my house in the last mile of the ride and I down shifted here because the bike was starting to come to a stop and I thought I was going to tip over. My legs were burning.

I am trying to get faster on my road bike. I need a cadence meter for the second workout and the third will be hill climbs. I wish I had a $1000 dollar fitness budget as there is some gear that would help elevate my workouts, heart rate monitor, cadence/speedometer for my road bike, workout bench, kettle bell weights, and exercise pad, and some resistance straps, all in due time.

Today was my daughter’s real birthday. I can’t believe she is five already. I had another piece of cake.

Day 92

First day on the floor at the recreation center. I had someone approach me about training, so hopefully I did a good job selling it.

After working I worked out for an hour. Weightlifting routine with much heavier weights and lower reps.  Felt good to workout, I was sucking for air the whole time, but they have so many fans it was hard to work up a sweat. I maxed out at the 55 pound dumbbells for chest fly’s, will certainly be trying to push way past this in the next couple of weeks.

Diet is going well, 151 pounds on the scale this morning.

I will start the 100 sit up challenge today, since I have not done it up to now.

Day 93

Happy Halloween! Yes I do plan to eat some candy tonight while I walk around trick or treating. That being said today is an awesome day.

First time in a long time my wife and I had a couple of hours together, kid free. We went for a 4.5 mile mountain bike ride, which was my wife’s first real mountain bike ride in a really long time. She was awesome and is looking forward to next week.

Got in my 100 sit ups.

Day 94

Early morning treadmill workout. This is the one workout where at the end I know I have put in work. Life is goood.

Day 95

Got my 100 sit ups in yesterday for a total of 200 which is defiantly a personal one day record. I am going to take my boy for a nice long run later.

My wife went back to work yesterday, full time. A lot more Daddy care going on in the Leto house these days. 

Day 96

Run was good, 4 miles in about 38 minutes, felt nice to be outside. Did not get my 100 sit ups in. Passed out on the couch thinking about doing them?

Watching two little munchkins all day is exhausting. I have so much respect for stay at home moms with little kids!!

Day 97

Did a 30 minutes circuit, chest, back, abs workout in the ghetto barn gym last night. I got my 100 sit ups in yesterday as well. Days are getting shorter here, which makes it harder to get in evening bike ride which was the plan yesterday. I will try again today, but who knows what the day will bring. There will be some sort of workout, which I am sure of.

Day 98

Took Maizy for about a 30 minute chariot mountain bike ride, not much but better than nothing. Got in my 100 sit ups and my abs are for sure sore.

Day 99

Headed to the gym to work and workout!

Got a great workout in, I love lifting weights?

Day 100

Rest Day

Still did 100 push ups and 100 sit ups.

Day 101

Awesome hour long jog/walk with my beautiful wife.

Day 102

Trainer Day- Such a tough workout 300 sit ups, dead lifts, plyo-metrics, heavy weight bench 135x20 times, 3x2x1-225pounds eccentric lifting, an exercise I do not know the name of, and 150 pound rows. Ha hurt so bad I was laughing at the end from exhaustion, but felt so good to make it through.

My workouts are going to change up a bit. I am lifting 3 times a week and going to some boot camp classes for cardio. Also putting two rest days back in the mix.  Trainer said I should be really sore tomorrow, we’ll  see?

Switching the routine up a little to shock the body!

Day 103

Rest Day. I am so sore that the bottom of my feet hurt, that was a serious workout yesterday.

Day 104

Awesome day at home with the kids, got some snow which I am psyched about.

Got in 100 pushup, but still really sore. A lot of people are starting to comment on how different I look. I will admit that I like it, “man you look ripped”, is always a nice thing to hear and I don’t see myself getting sick of it anytime soon.

Day 105

At work this morning, and I will get a run in on the treadmill at some point today. I can not wait to go snowboarding with my wife some time soon. It has been way too long.

“The day you take complete responsibility for yourself, the day you stop making any excuses, that's the day you start to the top.”

Day 84

Hit the ghetto barn gym at home yesterday for a good workout.

Great day yesterday out at the ranch. Having the horses out there makes it a whole different experience, “there is nothing as good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse.” They are such special animals.

Went to the gym early this morning and got in some heavy weights while still keeping my heart rate up. This is going to start getting really fun. I feel like I am about to take this body and my fitness to the next level.

I have two hours of training tomorrow for my personal training. Thursday and Friday I have certified pool operator training all day so should be tough to get a workout in, but I will stick to one of my mottos,

No Days Off!

Day 85

I went for a run today with my son, four miles, about a 10 minute mile. Not two fast, but got something in. Plus my little man is not light, probably pushing about 50 pounds all together with the jogger.

Did my last training at the rec center, I am a now a personal trainer at the Gypsum Recreation Center. Let me rephrase that, once I get a client I will be a personal trainer. My first day on the floor is next Tuesday at 8am.

During the training session I also got my body fat tested 9.2%. I am back up to 152 pounds. My weight seems to be jumping around a bit. I am hoping to put on about 10 pounds of muscle in the next six months.  That is less than two pounds a month, which would put me around 162 by my birthday. If I can keep my body fat below 10% and gain 10 pounds of muscle that would be cool. I am making this up as I write, but just trying to shoot for another goal besides the eight pack.

My goals are refocusing. I want to just work on dynamic health, get a little stronger, add some muscle, keep my cardio up, eat really healthy.

At the end of this road, 280ish days from now I will post a before and after shot of myself as the last post of this blog, but the more I workout the less I am concerned about appearance and the more I am concerned with performance. Although I won’t lie for that last picture I will try to get down to 4-5% body fat.

Got in my 100 push ups today.

Day 86

Went  for a little over five mile trail run in the rain/snow, such a great run. I am at a loss of words to describe how special this run was, kind of an out of body run, really cool. It was surreal, I was so unmotivated to go for a run because of the weather, but once I was out there everything was great. So many things are like that. It is so hard to get things started, or your brain says oh this may happen, or this may happen, but the fact is until you get out there and do it, whatever it is, you will never really know what is waiting for you.

Got in my 100 push ups as well.

Day 87

First snow of the year out at the ranch, hopefully just the start of a heavy snow year. Also if the snow gods are listening, I need it to snow every Tuesday night, thank you!

Tried to get up early for a workout, but didn’t make it in time. Sat on my ass for eight hours in a CPO class, not fun. I was forced to do math equations for the first time in a long time.

Got my 100 push ups in, two sets of 50. I have never done 50 pushups in a row before, felt good about that. Some sit ups and light stretching and off to bed, basically a rest day.

Day 88

I made it in early today and got in an awesome new workout. I found a great website www.fitnessblender.com. Did two different workouts off of this, it was new and fun, and I highly recommend this website. It is 100% free and seems to have all different type of workouts with a really easy to follow format.

I am also a certified pool operator, Yay! Scored 55 out of 60 on the first test I have taken in well over 5 years.

I will get my 100 pushups in along the way today. Last day for pushups, tomorrow I will start on 100 sit ups a day on top of my workouts.

Make the rest of your life the best of your life!

Day 80

Sprint interval workout.

1 x 1:32         2 x 4:22       4 x 9:36

1 x 1:53          2 x 4:23

1x 1:53

1 x 1:57

Not very goo compared to when I did it on the treadmill. The distance may have been off a little because we were not running on the track. My lovely wife did join me and did a great job. The sprint intervals are not my favorite, but I am going to keep doing them because there is probably a good reason I don’t like them, they are hard. I will keep doing them till they are easy.

Day 81

Trainer Day!!! I had such a great workout this morning with my trainer. We did a boxing workout and it was awesome. I felt really good the whole way through. It was a moment of vindication that all this working out is really paying off. I lost about 5-7 pounds since the last time I weighed myself. Right at 149ish. Six pack is starting to come in nicely if I do say so myself!!

New focus is on some heavy weights, which I like because I was thinking the same thing. Time to put some mass on this frame! I also got a challenge, 100 push up a day for the next week, with a different challenge following the next week.

We also discussed some road bike training which I am excited to try out.

Day 82

Mellow day at home, I did some yard work. Worked the 3-11 shift and I will workout after. I am going to put in an hour on the elliptical machine, get a real good sweat going, burn some more fat. I am also going to get those push ups in. Really looking forward to hitting the iron this week.  Starting to look a little skinny, but some heavy weight should fix that in no time!

Day 82

30 mins on the eliptical and 20 on the stationary bike with 100 push ups thrown in  last night.

Rest DayToday! I got the 100 pushups in, but other than that just hung with the family all day. I did have a cheat day today. I ate a piece of pizza and some birthday cake at a kids party. Oh well! We went to the horse rescue party today, and it feels really good to be helping such a worthy cause. Might be doing a little horse back riding tomorrow?

Day 83

Not sure what I am going to do today for a workout. I have a bit of a stomach ache, probably from that cake? I am thinking about a road bike today, but maybe just a treadmill workout at home.

The Bronco’s have a bye week, but I am looking forward to a little NFL anyways!

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice: It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”

Day 76

My wife got the stomach bug today. It has taken the Leto’s down. Spent all day with the kids which was awesome, but no workout except carrying around my son all day.

I have recently started counting all calories, and just about everything else going in the old body. I use MyFitnessPal app on my Iphone. I just got my wife an Iphone 4 for .99cents. She lost her 3s a week or so ago. That’s not important but awesome, point being I am really watching everything I eat even closer. Trying to take everything to the next level.

I started to feel a little down lately. I just re read my blog and I noticed I do not really talk about how tough this is. It is tough to find time to workout, to work at my jobs, to become a personal trainer, to be a dad, and to be a husband.  To find the motivation to eat healthy and to work out and, a lot of times I don’t want to work out. Shit I don’t want to do anything, but where would that get me? So what do I do to keep going?

I spend most of my free time looking at motivational quotes, videos, anything to spark that fire in me, to remind me why I started this journey. I can’t reinforce enough that it was not the eight pack. I needed to let myself know that I could make a change in my life. There are so many things in this world that I can not control. What I can control is what goes into my mouth, and how often I exercise, and when I exercise how hard I push myself. These things are for the most part totally up to me.

When I decided to make this change my pie in the sky was to get an eight pack. I am 76 days in and have for the most part really stuck to my program and little by little I am seeing the physical changes occur. More important than that is the mental change that I am going through. 

I will not give up on this journey.  I know that. My behavioral change is starting to become a mentality change. I do not think about things the way I use to.  I am not the same person I was 76 days ago and I will never be that person again. This is not different from anyone else. No one is the person they were 76 days ago. We all change, the difference is I am taking control of the changes. I am purposefully creating the person that I want to become, little by little, it will not happen over night, but it will happen.

It is however a constant struggle and I don’t want that to get lost on anyone wanting to do this same sort of thing. It is not easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.  I remind my self of this multiple times a day, and one day I will not have to remind myself, because it will be who I am.

I will be an author, personal trainer, and motivational life coach. 

Day 77

I spent the day working, than taking care of an emergency at our rental unit. A sewer drain that was filled with sewage got backed up and I had to go rent a seventy five foot snake to unclog it. Really shitty day, literally.

After I got home and showered for about an hour. I kissed and hugged my wife good night and than did 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, some planks, and some stretching, ate a little food and off to bed around midnight.

Day 78

I woke up this morning smiled at the moon still in the sky. Three little birds slept outside my window, but I was awake at 5am. Helped put my son back to sleep, prepared my meals for the day, than I was out the door to workout. I got a great circuit workout in at the hotel, concentrating on my legs, shoulders and back. I kept my heart rate high the whole time, got a great sweat in, dripping.

Two more days left till I meet with the trainer again. The only thing I know we are going to do is measure body fat, because I am curious. I have got to get in a sprint interval workout in the next two days.

11/16 is the opening day at Vail, almost one month away, hopefully a powder day!

Some people go to church, we go snowboarding...

Day 71

No gym.  No nothing. I am taking another rest day. Feel wiped out.

Day 72

I rode the mountain bike towing my daughter in the chariot. I love hanging out with my little girl, she is so awesome!

Day 73

I went for a run pushing the Bulldog. That is what my self and others call my son, his other nickname is meatball, he is round, cute, and so cuddly. When he was littler he always looked kind of grumpy so he looked like a little bulldog growling. Know he smiles all the time so it is loosing its effect, but I still love it. He was super good on the run, about an hour, and he slept the whole time, maybe four or five miles total.

I still feel pretty weak from being sick. I have not really pushed myself working out since I have been back.

Day 74

Went to the gym and had a good workout going until some guy interrupted me to talk. Turned out to be a good conversation, but jacked up my workout. I have got to get my home gym set up to avoid this. There is to much social shit going on in gyms, I just want to work out!!!

Day 75

Good road bike ride today. I took it pretty mellow, but had a pretty good time heading out, slowed down a bit on the way home but all in all a good ride. I am starting to feel like myself again. I did get caught in a rain storm on the way back. Sometimes Colorado rain can be so cold, guess it might snow tonight.

This will be my 15 or 16 winter since Taber and I basically started building our lives around snowboarding.  I would not recommend this for everyone, but it seems to be working for us so far. Things have changed a bit, and the kids (thankfully) and work (not thankfully) are taking more and more precedence in our lives. However when the snow starts to fall and the mountains start to open I still get just as excited as I did every prior year.

 I am more patient these days and I try to watch less snow porn this far out, but the thought of catching some more powder days this year is just as enticing as ever. This year I  got my best riding buddy back after a year on the pregnant reserve list. I also think this is the year my daughter is going to start really riding, as opposed to sliding with me catching her. Who knows what the 2012-13 Vail winter will hold? I can’t wait to find out.

“'Tis healthy to be sick sometimes.”

Day 68

I did not do the sprint interval training. It was 12:30am by the time I got on the tread mill. I warmed up for about five minutes set the tread mill to 12.5 and started the first sprint. I made it about twenty seconds before I lost all motivation to continue. I was not at all into it; in fact treadmills in general are something I am not very fond of at the moment. I am going to take this workout outside sometime in the future. I ended up getting on the elliptical machine for about 20 minutes than creating my own little circuit workout. It was fun to do something a little different.

Today I went on a 16 mile bike ride, in about 52 min, taking about 3 minutes off my time, averaged about 3.14 minutes per mile.  Eight miles is down hill and eight miles is up.

Day 69

Last night I woke up at around 3am curled up shaking in the fetal position and threw up, a lot. Spent all day Sunday cramped up and could not eat anything till around 10pm. Not a great day.

Although I did catch some cycling on TV in between the football games, the woman were doing a 16 mile time trial and the winning time was around 32 minutes. The men were doing 30 miles and the winning time was under one hour. Granted the guy that won pretty much passed out at the finish, but that is some impressive bike riding. I also discovered my new favorite TV show, Duck Dynasty.

Really though my wife is the best. She went from having two kids to three and did not miss a beat. She is awesome and in need of a spa day soon.

Day 70

Still feel like shit, but I am vertical so that is an improvement. My lower back is sore from puking so much if that is any indication of the violent nature of my regurgitation.

Going to take it easy today, eat healthy, rehydrate, and try to get to bed early tonight.

Tomorrow I will ease back into a workout, probably hit the gym.

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”

Day 64

Sweat it all out yesterday. Felt really good to get a workout in. I am off to the gym today to lift some weights. Get some!!

Day 65

I had my first personal trainer training. It was pretty basic paper work stuff and tour of the facilities. I went on a trail run on the boneyard, about six miles long in about an hour. First real steep up hill run. The whole time running up you can’t wait to start running down. When you start running down you realize this is no easier. The irony!

Really beautiful Colorado day.

One thing about the exercise program that I am doing is I get to spend a lot of time outdoors. Everyday I head out I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. It will be interesting to see how this all changes when the cold weather and snow come to town.

Day 66

I took a rest day today. Spent a great day with the family, although my daughter was sick, think she got some food poisoning or something. She is a tough little trooper! It was still a nice day around the house. I cheated a bit on my diet with some pizza. It was delicious!

Day 67

My wife started a new job today.  So I watched both of the groms this morning and it was awesome. I love hanging out with those two little monsters. It is a lot of work, but definitely the most rewarding type!

I have to work today 3pm-11pm shift. I am going to do a late night interval sprint workout followed by some planks, stretching, and swimming. I am not really looking forward to it cause it is no joke, but it is time to make it happen. I will try to beat my last times, especially on the two half miles and last mile? I have the minimus shoes, hopefully my calves hold up.

Thus far this whole experience has been really rewarding. I feel great, look better, and the mental advantages to eating healthy and exercising are just incredible. I feel calmer all the time and focused. What started as an inward journey to make my self look better, has coincidentally made my outward observations look better?

Trying to really focus on food preparation and making sure I bring meals with me everywhere I go. Letting your self get too hungry is a recipe for bad decision making. I am starting to study nutrition to make my self better and to make myself a better trainer. There are so many philosophies, but what has stuck with me the most is just being a conscious eater. Really just thinking about everything that goes in the body and why it is going there?  

Have a great weekend!

“It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or the fourteenth.”

Day 54

Adding the sets to the treadmill work out defiantly put a strain on me. Felt good, but I was super spent after.

Day 55

Went to the gym before heading in to the Lodge for a 12 hour shift.

Day 56

Went on a 7.34 mile run in 1:02:54 Avg speed 7.01 mi/h. Ran in my minimus shoes and my calves are fucking killing me. Awesome run!!!

I am going to start using my other running shoes for the longer runs and just switching back and forth, till I am use to the shoes.

Day 57

Heading to the gym to get after a little iron. We get horses out at the ranch tomorrow!

Day 58

Gym workout yesterday got cut short by the fact that I had no time? Awesome road bike ride today 16.21 miles in 55:35 avg speed 17.51.

Man, my wife and daughter excited about our horses. It is really sweet to see them all together.

Day 59

Quarter mile sprint day. On the tread mill!           ¼ x 4 =1:30 1:23 1:17 1:19

    ½ x 2 = 3:52 4:00

    1 x 1 = 7:52

Brutal workout! My calves still kind of hurt and I wanted to quit soooo bad, but alas I made it through and feel good about doing so. That might be a huge component of this just training your mind that it is not okay to stop. Perhaps this will carry over to other aspects of life?

 Day 60

I took a nice hour long bike ride, towing my daughter in the chariot. It was such a beautiful fall day in Colorado.

Day 61 and 62

I had every intention of working out and staying on my diet during my buddy’s weekend wedding. Neither of these things happened, I jumped way off the wagon. Had a really good time, too good of a time really, did not really over eat, but defiantly over drank. I sat around and watched football all day Sunday, Broncos!! My body hates me right now, but it was fun to let loose a bit. 

Day 63

I am still feeling the effects today. Stomach is a mess and I feel super lazy, but I will get a workout in very soon. Gonna hammer out a treadmill workout and try and sweat this shit out, “Be gone vodka demon!”

The best way to predict the future is to create it...

Day 51

Such a sweet bike ride today, Hardscrabble to Pipeline, which has a lot of rocks covered in yellow leaves at the top. Some of those rocks are hard to see, I took a pretty good spill but came out with just a sore right butt cheek. Did the whole ride in about an hour and twenty minutes; I shut my GPS off by accident, Oh well?

Day 52

Went on a mellow run this morning with my new New Balance minimus 10’s, thanks to my little cousin and mom for such an awesome present. Run felt really good, defiantly a different feel when running, but I liked it. Did not track mileage, just ran for about 40 minutes.

Day 53

Calves are really sore today from the new shoes, going to take some getting use to, but I really like them.

 I am getting excited to start my personal trainer training. It is just another tool to help keep me motivated for getting into optimal shape.  I really need to start preparing my meals for the week better. I have been much better about the stretching; now I must conquer the preparing of food.

I am at work for 16 hours today, but am planning on a nice 11pm treadmill workout. I am going to add 5 reps to all sets tonight, time to step it up a little bit. 25 pushups, 20 leg thrusters,  15 squats, 25 sit ups, 15 crunches, 10 handstand push ups, run for two minutes in between x 4. We’ll see how it goes?

I've been thinking lately about what is IT? What is the difference between succeeding and failing? Kai Green, a really successful body builder says, “Success comes from stringing together efficient action day after day.” Seems so basic, but it is so true. With any goal the key is to visualize it and than day after day manifest actions that bring you towards that goal. Knowing this information will not allow you to accomplish your goals, it is the use of this information that will lead to success.

It's not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.

Day 46

Busy day so tonight will be a nice long run on the treadmill after work!

And so it was a nice long run, 5.503 miles in 60:05. I was not going for speed just wanted to put in a good hour long run.  Little bit of stretching afterwards and some hot tub before I headed home and crawled into bed. Than I crawled out of bed three more times to help with my almost six month old son who is not a big fan of sleeping thru the night.

Day 47

Awesome MTB ride today with my old neighbor Matt “single speed” Hendrix. I chased him up and down bone yard for what was one of the most gratifying bike rides I have had yet. For those of you that don’t know Matt is fast. Just the mere fact that I was able to see him for most of the ride lets me know that what I am doing is working. Ordinarily I am no where near him up or down. We also flew by three other riders on the way up which is a first for me.

I am at work now and extremely tired from no sleep and lots of exercise. It is going to be a late night because we have a wedding in house. Hopefully I do not fall asleep in my chair.

Day 48

Awesome rest day with my family!!

Day 49

Hit the iron a little getting ready for Trainer in the morning! Go Broncos!

Day 50

Meet with the personal trainer again this morning and again I puked. Now this is getting crazy. In my defense it was an 8am meeting which is not really my cup of tea and I probably shoved my food down around 7:40, but still this is crazy. My stomach is a officially a huge wimp. That being said, I puked and continued on with most of the workout.

Workout was awesome. Totally random spin bike, medicine ball throws, running while dragging the trainer, which is what made me puke, and some boxing which was super fun, lots of push ups and sit ups!!

Also talked about me starting my personal trainer training ASAP, which I am really excited about! Hope anyone reading this is doing well although I get the sinking suspicion no body is reading this. Which is really okay, this is really just out there to keep me honest, and so far at day 50, it is working!!

vincit qui se vincit

Day 43

He conquers who conquers himself...

This is the motto for the high school that I attended. For four years I saw this everyday and it never meant a thing to me. Now at the age of 37 I realize just how true this statement is. We are no good to anyone until we conquer ourselves. Conquer our fears, anxieties, doubts and beliefs. There is a great quote I read the other day by Anthony Robbins, "What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our own beliefs about who we are."

This is what we have to conquer. We have to conquer the negative thoughts we have about ourselves, and all the negative thoughts we have about others. We have to keep our minds open to new possibilities, new ideas, and new beliefs. The smartest people are those that are willing to challenge their own beliefs when faced with new information.

What ever it is that you want out of life, it is there for your taking. You just have to convince yourself of this fact. The fact that we are capable of 100 times more than what we currently think we are capable of. Sometime this year try to do something that you think is impossible, you just might suprise yourself. This suprise might just change your whole life!

I did a treadmill work out late night last night, finished the whole thing including 10min warm up run in 36.48. Late night work outs are the shit. I have the workout area, pool, and hot tub all to myself. It also makes for a great nights sleep, if my six month old son cooperates!

Day 44

Rest day, because sometimes you got to go to Lowes instead of working out. Hopefully I will have some new blinds installed in the bedroom by the end of the week. Great day hanging with my wife and than watching the kids! Although it is the hardest thing ever, being a dad is also the most rewarding!

Day 45

I am going to embark on a long ass bike ride today. More details to come later…

Hell Yes! Road Biking is so fun, and really allows me to zone out and get my head clear!

29.82 mi in 1:56:26 Avg. speed 15.37. I think my time was a little better than this because I started the clock before I really got going, so I could roughly knock 5-10 minutes off that time. It is so fun going for that long of a ride and I could have gone farther for sure. I could see this getting addicting. I also did my good deed for the day when I got flagged down by a gaggle of ladies from Arrowhead and changed one of their flats.

I followed this up with a couple miles of hiking with the family. It was so beautiful and just an Awesome Colorado day!

Men make plans and God’s laugh...

Day 40

Go Bronco’s!

I beat my best 5k time last night, 3.208 miles in 24:25. Pretty pumped about it. I know it is not that fast but it is a solid 4+ minute drop from my first time! Getting rid of the next  5 minutes is going to be tough. I did not get a ride in this morning, going to take a rest day today. I feel beat up from my run last night.

Day 41

I am headed to the gym for a workout today. 

I am starting to realize that Just wanting something is not enough. Once you decided you want it and start striving for it, that is when the real challenge begins. That is when life starts to test your will, that’s when you start to get knocked down. The questions is how many times are you willing to get back up, to get back up and run even faster into the proverbial wall?

Day 42

Work out was good yesterday. Also went on a nice hike with my wife and son. Going home now for long ass bike ride. Peace!

Men make plans and God’s laugh… No such luck on the bike ride ended up having to take care of an energy audit out at the Ranch. Oh well, looks like another late night run at the hotel or maybe even a treadmill workout.

I also followed up on an epiphany I had the other day. If this whole personal trainer thing is working so well, which it is. What other type of personal training could I do? Well I have a 10:30 Friday morning appointment with my new financial advisor. Time to start killing it in that department as well.

I’ve also been checking out Eric Thomas the Hip Hop preacher a bunch on You Tube. If you are into motivational speakers, he defiantly has a unique style that I like.

Till tomorrow.

“Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”

Day 34

Day was a bust work out wise. Took the family to dinner.  Was super tired from the night before.  Ended up camping in the front yard with my daughter  which was awesome!

Day 35

Got in a good gym work out today! While I was there I witnessed about five ladies on their respective eliptical machines working out. At least they thought they were working out. None of them were sweating or really seemed to be working on anything. What is the point of that. I am glad that they are there, that is more effort than most people put in, but why waste your time working out if you are not going to get after it 100 percent. I am not trying to hate just making an observation. They would feel so much better if they really put a workout in, and they may actually see some results?

Day 36

I had to work the night audit again last night. Woke up and got a quick road bike ride in about 30 mins sprinting up and down a hill by my house, than off to work at the Lodge at Vail!

Day 37

Treadmill workout today. It was super fun and my daughter joined me for the last two sets and did her version of the exercises which made time fly. And yes I am starting to find this workout fun?

Day 38

I have been really crunched for time lately with work, kids, etc. I was able to squeeze in a 40 min run. I say run because that is what I am starting to do. I used to jog, but I am starting to run!

Day 39

Time! This seems to be my nemesis these days. The desire is there I just can’t find the time to get the longer bike rides in. I really wanted to go MTB biking today but no such luck. As of yet I have not got my workout in, but I plan to run at 11pm tonight when I get off work. Thinking about a heater 5k. See if I can beat my 28 min time. I am going to try and wake up in the Am and get a boneyard mtb ride in!

Tomorrow we will find out more information about possibly getting some horses out at the ranch!!

Stay focused, trust the process, never quit.

Day 32

Great bike ride yesterday although I was trying for a Hardscrabble to Pipeline and I think I might have come down 2^nd gulch? There was a fork in the road and I think I choose unwisely. I will do some more investigating soon. It is such a beautiful ride and so much fun to be out in the mountains. ColoRADo is  awesome and I am so thankful to live in such a beautiful place.

I had to work late last night and early this morning. I tried to wake up even earlier to get a run in, which I did. Although the run was a grueling, both mentally and physically, I ended up being short on time. I basically did a sprint interval workout. One minute on, one off for 3.2 miles running at an 8 than 9 on the treadmill. I had no food in me, my legs were tired from yesterday, and I was tired from no sleep. Whaaaaaaaaa! Such a complaining little, whatever word you want to put in here.

I am going to try to get do some yoga later just to stretch everything out.  For some reason I have not been good about stretching and I need to be more diligent about it. My hamstrings are already naturally tight and all of this exercise is not making it any better. This upcoming month I will place focus on a good stretching after workouts. I also got a couple free yoga classes coming my way and will throw those in the mix as well!

 Diet is still going well and getting easier, I just don’t eat junk anymore, my food is my fuel. Craving for sugar is gone and I do not miss alcohol at all. There is a wedding party waking up at my hotel this morning and they all look like they got their asses kicked last night. No thank you!

I have been critical of my appearance in the mirror lately. Even though people are telling me I look better I impatiently want to see new and improved results everyday. This is obviously not going to happen. I remind myself that there are going to be peaks, valleys, and everything in between on this journey.  Stay focused, trust the process, and never quit. Tomorrow back in the gym for some IRON!

Day 33

In looking over this blog I notice that I have been complaining about work since day 16. I am going to stop doing this because there is no point. I am happy and thankful to have a job and the best boss I have ever had. Someday I will support my family in a different way. For now I am going to stop whining and focus on the positive aspects of my job!

That being said I am at work it is 2am, the night auditor called in sick, I will be awake all night. At 7am I will head home to get some sleep. I will try to get about 5-6 hours wake up head to the gym and spend the afternoon/evening with my family.

Before coming into work I did about 30 minutes of yoga on an awesome site that I found www.doyogawith me.com. This site has all different yoga classes and is totally free!  Felt really good and reinforced the thought that a little yoga needs to be sprinkled on top of all this working out.

Also found another great blog by a guy named Steve Maxwell.  I really enjoyed his blog. If you are reading this you should Google him, you will like it. He talks about dynamic health and balanced health. This really resonates with me because the eight pack that I named this blog after is superficial if there is nothing to back it up. I don’t just want to look like I am in good shape I want to be in good shape. I want to create a lifestyle that encompasses eating healthy, exercising healthy, living/thinking healthy. I want to own these things so that I can share them with anyone interested in learning. I am not the master of any of these things yet, but I am finally on the right track.

Stay focused, trust the process, never quit. This is my new mantra!

The happiest people do not have the best of everything, they make the best of everything they have!

Day 28

I only ended up running for a bout 38 minutes because I kept getting distracted by work. It was a good mellow run to follow up the crazy work out from the day before. Today I will head to the Gym for a little iron. Always watch a little Arnold before heading in!

Day 29

Lifting weights is fun! The gym did not disappoint. Saw my trainer there working with other people and I was glad I was doing my own thing. Although I am constantly pushing myself beyond my comfort zone!

Today I went for a road ride and just hammered hills for about 35 minutes. Not as long as I would have liked but I felt like I really got after it in the time I had. I am taking today and tomorrow off to be with my family. It is so rare that I get to take two days in a row off and already today I have gotten multiple calls from work. I am jealous of people who actually get days off from work.

Day 30

I had to go into work first thing this morning to take care of a few things. That is right this is my second day off, kind of?

The rest of the day was spent in Vail with my awesome family. I cheated a little on the diet with some low fat yogurt, and had to help my daughter clean up her mint chocolate chip cone a couple of times.

I hammered a treadmill workout late last night. Finished as the sun was just dropping below the horizon and I let out a yell to remind the universe that I am around.  I’ve started adding reps to this workout!

Day 31

An official month down and I am pretty excited as to how things are going. People are starting to comment on my appearance. That definitely helps keep the motivation up a bit. Although it is not the biggest factor, far more satisfying is the knowledge that I have stuck to this for 31 days and have no feeling of wanting to give up.

It is difficult to find time to train, but thanks to my wife I have been able to keep this up. I am going to go on a mountain bike ride later and am really looking forward to it. I can not stress enough the support this takes from the people in your life. My wife has found the patience to let me work out even in the face of two tired kids and a puppy we are babysitting, and again I can not really say enough about her!

One month down and eleven to go!  I am torn about only one night. Should I or should I not have a couple drinks at my buddies wedding at the end of the month? I think it will be a last minute decision. I am leaning towards no, although a little vodka on the tongue sounds awesome! Only time will tell!