GAR Training - Day 1

It's that time again! Great Aloha Run is just a little under two months away. Time to get training! My goal this year is to finish in under an hour. Same goal as last year but last year I finished in 1 hour and 3 minutes. The year before my goal was to finish in under 1:05:00, but I finished in 1:05:25. Two years in a row I missed the goal. So this year I'm gunning to hit the mark.

In previous years my training focused heavily on running. I'd run 4, sometimes 5 times a week. This year I think I'll mix it up. The plan is to focus on overall fitness and run twice a week. The running is more to work on form and to condition my knees and ankles for impact. And I got started today.

A 3 mile run around Ala Moana Beach Park got things started. In a word, I felt sluggish. My footfalls were loud, my knees started getting sore around mile 2, and I just felt slow. Great start! Actually it's not too surprising considering I haven't ran in about a month and I've been loading up on junk food over the holidays. On the upside I never felt out of breath and recovered pretty quickly once the run was over.

Following the run I jumped into the ocean for an 800m swim. The cool water felt nicely refreshing on my legs. I took it easy in the water and kept a steady pace. Last year when I began training I went too hard too soon and ended up losing 2 weeks of training due to injury. Don't want to do that again.

I think it was a good start. As I write this my legs feel like they got some good work but they're not sore. They feel like they're ready for day 2 tomorrow. Now I just need to clean up the diet a bit (definitely avoid the junk food), get some new running shoes, and stay diligent with the workouts. And if anybody reading this has any advice, please share!

Xterra 2012

Up before sunrise on a weekend can only mean there's some kind of event. Today it was the Xterra Trail run at Kualoa Ranch. I woke up, ate a banana, packed some coconut water, and hit the road. It was about a 40 minute drive and on the way I thought about what I was getting myself into.

The start line...or start arch

Last year was the first time I did the Xterra. I did the 5k run. I trained for well over a month and did pretty good. This time around I signed up for the 10k run. But I didn't train at all for it. I'm fairly fit but I haven't ran in about 5 months. Could my knees and ankles handle the impact? Will my lungs burn after the first mile? Is this 10k a good idea? Guess I would find out...

The event kicked off with the arrival of Team Xtreme, a group of military badasses who dedicate their races to wounded warriors. They run the 21k course in full gear and with oxygen masks on – the masks inhibit their breathing by about 30% or 40%. And they run as a group and make sure they all finish together. No man gets left behind.

As is their custom, Team Xtreme arrived by skydiving into Kualoa Ranch, landing to a roaring crowd of runners who wish they could be half as badass. This year they dedicated their run to a man who lost his legs to an IED in Afghanistan. In fact, they took him on the run with them, carrying him on their backs. Also, one of the Team Xtreme members lost a leg in combat and used a stilt. With their arrival, the 21k race got started and 10 minutes later the 10k race began.

I began the race in the main field at a steady pace. I remember from last year the first mile being mostly uphill and nearly gassing out because I charged out from the start. This time I took it easy. Many people ran ahead, huffing and puffing as they climbed the hill. I just stayed relaxed, actually breathed through my nose for the first half mile, and it wasn't long before my steady pace caught up to many of those that charged ahead too fast too early. At the top of the incline the trail leveled off, I picked up the pace just a little, but mostly I enjoyed the scenery.

The valley was gorgeous. Steep rocky mountains towering over a pristine green valley. The air was crisp and kept cool by cloud-cover. Great day for a run. Great place for a run.

About 2 miles in I passed Team Xtreme. They moved as a cohesive unit. Several of us shouted encouragement as we ran by.

I was holding a good pace. That is up until the trail turned from a 10-15 foot wide road to a single lane trail. It was like hitting rush hour traffic on the freeway. Everything stopped. It was about a 3 minute wait to get onto the trail. Yep, there was a line. When I got onto the trail it was so jammed up that we could only walk for the next 100 meters or so. Eventually things thinned out and we returned to a slow jog but being a single lane trail everybody was at the mercy of whoever was in front of them.

The rest of the run was like that. The trail was only wide enough for one person and there were only a few stretches where it opened up enough for two people to fit. The pace slowed a lot. A few of us decided to run off the trail in order to pick up the speed. Footing wasn't sturdy at all so we had to be careful not to roll an ankle.

The trail finally opened up with about a quarter mile left. I felt fine. My legs were only mildly sore and I wasn't close to being out of breath. There was plenty left in the gas tank so I decided to open up my stride for the finish. The dirt trail opened up to the grass field of Kualoa Valley and the finish was just ahead. A few seconds later, I finished my first 10k trail run, official time: 52:13.

Much to my shock, I felt great. Legs were a little sore but they still worked just fine. I wasn't out of breath at all. Although I'm sure the slowed pace of the single lane trail saved me some pain.

Photo finish. I still think the guy in orange won

There were some other cool things that happened. The battle for first place for the 21k was nothing less than a battle. It was a sprint to the finish between the top 2 runners. One led by maybe 3 feet, he wore a white shirt, and let up at the very end. The other guy, in orange, pushed it all the way and closed the gap. Both men stormed through the finish shoulder-to-shoulder, the guy in white crashed into a cameraman while the guy in orange narrowly avoided doing the same.

And there goes the cameraman

It looked like the guy in orange edged out the victory. My friend Kalani was taking photos and on his camera it looked like the guy in orange won by a hair. Even one of the even staff who was right next to the finish claimed to see the guy in orange come through first. But it was a really close call. Event staff crowded around cameras, video, and even asked people in the audience if they had any photos that might help (for some reason they didn't want to look at Kalani's pics though, go figure). The event staff couldn't make the call and had to hand the decision to the event director. This is what he said, “We don't know who broke through the finish tape first, but we know where the finish line is. There is no option but to call this a draw.”

A draw!? Wow. Never seen that in a distance race before. They took the first and second place prize money and split it evenly between the two runners. First place won $2000, second place won $1000, so each runner took home $1500. I guess that's fair...but I really feel that the orange guy edged out the win but the director and staff just didn't want to call it one way or the other.

A few minutes after that drama, more drama! A man proposed to his girlfriend as she crossed the finish line. Luckily she said yes. There were two sisters running the 21k, the youngest runners there. The older sister is 12, and crossed the finish line to a cheering crowd. A few minutes later her younger 10 year old sister crossed the finish. More cheers rang out.

After the run it was barbeque time! A bunch of friends, many who didn't actually run but came to support, fired up the grill and opened up the coolers. We cruised on the valley floor while the rest of the runners, and of course Team Xtreme, finished the 21k. We stayed well after everybody else had left. Good run, good food, good drink, good times! Thanks to those who sent encouraging messages and to those who came out to support, and congrats to all who ran and conquered the course. Cheers!

Some cool statue thingy. It won a gold medal.

Magical Warlock Ninja Dream

Last night I had another crazy awesome dream. Here's how it went down...

I was walking along a dirt trail in the middle of the woods. My leather boots shuffled along the ground. I wore a faded red robe that had an emblem of a shield with a lion inside of it on my chest.

Eventually I came upon a clearing in the woods. The trail led to a small log cabin, smoke rising from its chimney. Outside there was a very large man, easily over eight feet tall, with shaggy black hair and a full beard. He was standing above a girl who lied on the ground. She had bushy brown hair which obscured a cut along her hairline. Blood trickled down her forehead and down the side of her cheek. The large man wore a grim face.

“He attacked her.” He said in a gruff voice. “Came outta nowhere, he did. Hit her fast and was gone before ya knew it. Poor thing never had a chance. You gotta find him. He went thataway.” The large man said pointing toward another trail in the woods. The girl was still alive, just injured. The large man would look after her so I took off through the woods. Along the way I passed by a small puddle and caught a glimpse of my reflection. I looked like myself but there was a strange lightning bolt shaped scar on my forehead. Something told me I knew how to do magic.

I followed the dirt path for what felt like minutes. Hey, in a dream that could be a long time. Eventually the dirt path turned into a stone walkway flanked by a wide stream on both sides. The water was more black than it was blue and I sensed it would be dangerous to touch the water. Beyond the streams the woods expanded in all directions.

Something was near. I was close to whatever or whoever it was I was chasing. I reached for my hip where I thought my magic wand would be and when I drew it out instead of a wand I was holding a sword. Perfectly balanced and razor sharp. The edge glistened in the low sunlight. The steel blade rested in a brilliant silver cross-guard, the hilt was wrapped in soft black leather allowing for a comfortable grip, and the pommel was a sparkling red jewel. I could feel energy coursing through the weapon. Maybe instead of a magic wand I had a magic sword. Why not?

I made a few practice swings and twirled the blade a few times. It was effortless, as though the blade was an extension of my own arm. Oh yeah, I knew how to use a sword!

Suddenly everything went pitch black. The only light came from the blade of my sword. It radiated white but only enough for me to see a few feet in front of me. I had found whatever I was chasing after, or perhaps it found me.

There was a soft rustling from behind and I turned just in time to deflect a blade that was coming for my head. A dark figure wielded a short, straight edged sword. It lunged at me with three quick attacks. I was able to parry each attack but when I countered I only hit air. The figure had disappeared back into the darkness.

It took a moment for me to realize what I had just seen. A dark hooded figure, it's face was masked. It attacked from behind with lightning speed and disappeared just as quickly. But in the brief exchange I caught a glimpse of my attacker. It was freakin' ninja! Looked like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat, but without the yellow. Everything on this guy was black.

Then there was a loud swoosh sound and I turned to see a purple fireball flying my way. I dove, rolled and recovered to my feet and the ninja was in my face again. He attacked with a flurry but again I managed to block all his attacks. But, again, he disappeared into the dark before I could counter.

Ok, so not only am I fighting a ninja, I'm fighting a crazy wizard warlock ninja! Great...

If I could only see I could pursue and mount an attack. I realized that with the ease I was defending myself I could take on the ninja in a toe-to-toe fight. But the ninja was using stealth and eventually one of his attacks would get through my defense. I had to light the place up somehow.

Wait...don't I know magic? I shouted lumos, but nothing happened. I tried again and sensed that the ninja's spell to cast everything in darkness was more powerful than my spell – besides, my sword was already glowing so I guess lumos wasn't the right spell to use. Oh well, I only realized that after I woke up. The Harry Potter fans will get it. You picked up on the Harry Potter thing by now, right? Anyway...

I heard the ninja laugh from somewhere to my left. I took a few steps and glimpsed his figure. The ninja threw a blade at my face, I just managed to dodge it. When I turned back he was gone.

Fed up with the darkness I had an idea. I was on a stone pathway but there were woods all around me. I shouted Fira and sent a fireball into the woods. Yeah, yeah, I know the fire spell in Harry Potter is Incendio but I guess my brain was thinking Final Fantasy at this point. In case you don't know, fira is the fire spell from the Final Fantasy video games. Anyway, I sent several fireballs into the woods and set the trees ablaze. Now I could see.

The ninja stood a mere ten feet in front of me. Dumbfounded at the surrounding fire, he looked at me with a start, turned, and ran away. He might have even swore to himself. This time I chased after him.

I launched a stun spell at the black-clad ninja. He dove and avoided it. All good though, it let me close the distance on him. The ninja turned to face me. Expelliarmus! Guess I was back to Harry Potter spells again. A bolt of white light shot out of my sword and slammed into the ninja's chest. He dropped his sword and stumbled backward a few steps. I lunged in and drove my blade into his gut. The ninja slumped over and fell to the ground.

I turned and began walking away but ninjas never go down that easily. I heard the sound of metal sliding on metal and turned to see the ninja back on his feet with a long dagger in his hand. He lunged in and struck at me. I parried the attack and countered with an arcing slash across his body. A large cut opened up from his shoulder down to the opposite hip. I followed up with a lateral slash which caught the ninja across the neck. He fell, and this time there would be no getting up.

I sheathed my sword and began making my way back to the dirt path in the woods. But not after casting a spell to put out the fires. Wouldn't want to burn down the entire forest even if it is just a dream.

One More Year

Yesterday was my 29^th birthday. My day started at 5am and lasted well into the night. It was a pretty full day with a few interesting things. I spent some time reflecting on the past year, a little more time thinking about the year to come, but mostly I just enjoyed the day.

It's cloudy but the light still shines

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about how I wanted to watch a sunrise from the top of Koko Head but missed it by about 20 minutes. I figured I'd try again, which is why my day started at 5am. I got up early, managed not to fall back asleep, and made my way to Koko Head. I just made it to the top when the sun was supposed to peek over the horizon and when I looked to the east it was cloudy. I couldn't actually see the sun rise but the view was spectacular nonetheless. Rays of light broke through the clouds to form curtains of orange and yellow that draped over the neighbor island of Moloka'i.

The interesting thing about my trek up Koko Head was how a random encounter coincided with something that's been on my mind lately: Jiu-jitsu. In the past couple of weeks I've been thinking about where I want to go with jiu-jitsu. Do I want to keep it up to stay fit or do something more serious with it? I've decided that this next year I want to compete. But I don't want to enter a tournament just for the sake of it, I want to be competitive. And in order to do that I'll need to get a lot better and I'll need to step up my training. As made my way up Koko Head I contemplated how I might do this and then I ran into Professor Caveirinha, my jiu-jitsu instructor from Gracie Barra. I guess there's my answer.

After Koko Head I went out to Ala Moana Beach for a swim, something I've been doing in the morning the past few weeks. On this day something different happened. The water was a bit more murky than usual and as I swam along, a large dark figure approached and passed in front of me. Freaked me out at first. It was sort of round and had fins. As it got closer I could make out what it was. A turtle! It came out of nowhere and swam with me, staying about 5 feet ahead. How often does a turtle come up to you at the beach? How often is a turtle ever seen at Ala Moana?? It was really cool.

After the swim I made my way to the UFC gym to roll. I had a jiu-jitsu class that morning and a friend of mine whose just starting out – it was his second class - was there. We took the class then hung back a while so I could show him some fundamental techniques and submissions. It was a good roll. Hiking, swimming, rolling, and it wasn't even noon yet.

When I got home from the gym I logged onto Facebook and saw my page flooded with birthday wishes. New friends, old friends, family, and people I haven't seen since high school had posted. It was nice to see. Not to mention all the text messages I had received. It was easy to smile that morning, and for the rest of the day for that matter.

One text I got said to enjoy the last year of my 20's. Thinking about it, I'm surprised my reaction wasn't along the lines of dammit I'm getting old! Instead I simply thought, yes...yes I will!

So what do I want to do with the last year of my third decade? First thing that came to mind was to keep writing. For a while now my ambition has been to become a published writer. I've completed a first draft of a novel, which I'm currently doing revisions on, and I'm almost at a point of needing to search for publishers. So without a doubt, keep writing. Next thought that came to mind was jiu-jitsu. Keep rolling! Another thought that keeps recurring in my mind is to remember that people matter. More than things, more than titles, people matter. Don't want to forget that one.

Simply put, I want to keep writing, keep rolling, keep caring, and keep smiling. A big thanks to all the well wishers and blog readers.

More Randomness

Last week I wrote a blog about randomly running into a friend. A similar thing happened again about an hour ago. As I was leaving Walmart I heard somebody call out “chocolatier!” Something about that rung a bell. Then I heard it again, “chocolatier!” This time I turned and recognized the guy calling it out.

Here's the back story. About a year ago when I was real heavy into training jiu-jitsu with Gracie Barra and Professor Caveirinha, I was given the nickname of chocolatier. The reason for that is simple. I would bring chocolates from my family's shop to Gracie Barra to share with everybody. Hence the nickname, it was even printed onto my membership card.

I took a break from training at Gracie Barra and haven't had any chocolates sent my way in a while so I haven't been called chocolatier for quite some time...almost a year, I think. A week ago or so I asked my family to send me some chocolate and I had just picked it up today. So there I was, first time I've had my family's chocolates and the same day I run into Zach, a friend from Gracie Barra, who's calling me chocolatier. Awesomely random!

 

Kauai Chocolate Company - the best stuff ever, seriously

Random Meeting

For some strange reason I felt like watching the sunrise this morning. I live in Hawaii, it's absolutely beautiful here, and I couldn't remember the last time I watched a sunrise. So last night I decided I would wake up early and head to the east side of the island. I thought it would be even cooler to watch the sunrise from the top of a mountain so the plan was to hike to the top of Koko Head before dawn.

The sun rose at 6:22am this morning. I figured if I got to Koko Head a little before 6 I'd have enough time to get to the top. I woke up at 5am, blinked, and it was suddenly 5:53am. Not used to waking up before dawn. Anyway, I crawled out of bed, splashed some water on my face, brushed my teeth, grabbed an apple and a water bottle, and headed out.

It was almost 6:20 went I neared Koko Head. The sky was lighting up by the rising sun. Koko Head loomed ahead, still darkened by the fleeting night but the sky behind it was a glowing orange. I should of stopped to take a picture of it, maybe next time. Anyhow, I knew there was no way I'd get to the top in 2 minutes so I figured I'd just keep driving and stop at a lookout point along the road.

Now, you may be wondering what the title of this blog has to do with what's written so far. Well, honestly, nothing. So let's tie it up. On Friday I was talking with a friend of mine about how long it's been since we've seen some of our other friends. Last year we used to hike regularly, have lots of barbeques, train for events together, and so on. But this year we haven't done so much of that.

Back to this morning, I'm at the Halona lookout point just before Makapu'u beach. The sun was halfway above the horizon and lighting up the sky. Several photographers had climbed down onto the rocks and a small beach area below the lookout. Most were photographing the sunrise, some were snapping away at the swirling waters, one guy was taking pictures of a woman sitting on the rocks.

Hawaiian Sunrise with a golden path to the stars

I was admiring the brilliant sunrise, noticing how its rays reflected off the ocean creating what looked like a golden pathway leading from the shore to the Sun. Then I hear, “Hey David!” I turned and saw my friend James, one of the guys we used to go hiking and have barbeques with. He's a photographer, does some really nice stuff (check out his website here: http://jameswramos.wix.com/jamesramos#!home/mainPage or see his Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/JamesRamosPhotography?ref=ts&fref=ts#!/JamesRamosPhotography). He was waiting for some people to show up for a photo shoot.

Title makes a little more sense now right?? Right.

It was nice running into James. He's a good guy and I admire how he pursues one of his passions in photography. It got me thinking about how many of us - or perhaps all of us - want to achieve something. Whether it's creating something, reaching a certain status, or getting to a certain place, there's something we want to do. But there's a difference in the people that want it, and those that try for it. James strikes me as a guy that's taking a shot and puts his talents to use.

To think, if I had actually woken up when I planned to and went to the top of Koko Head I wouldn't have run into James. I wouldn't have reflected on the difference of having an idea of what you want to become and actually going after what you want to become. What I want to become for that matter. Randomness works out from time to time. And with that in mind, I'm going to go work on my book.

Divine Mortality

I've been reading a book called The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. It's a great read if you're interested in mythology and learning how myth and folklore across cultures relate to one another. How hero journeys follow a universal format, journeys of the soul into the afterlife, and the death and rebirth cycle of all things. Today I read a portion that touched upon Norse mythology with Odin/Othin, Thor, Loki, and more (the mythological gods, not the characters from the comics) which sparked my curiosity. It talked about how the Nordic gods die.

I read somewhere else that Norse mythology is unique from all others in that their gods are mortal. They actually die. None of this death of body spiritual reincarnation stuff. They really can die. Thor and his brethren are not immortal. In The Hero With a Thousand Faces the Nordic gods are the only ones mentioned with this quality (if you can call it a “quality”). Every other myth the book mentions involves some kind of life, death, rebirth cycle. But not the Nordic, they break the cycle. They go away and stay gone...along with everything else.

It made me wonder. What does it do to a person or a culture when your god is capable of dying?

At first I thought it must make for a grim and bleak world. I mean, if your god(s) can die what hope do you have? Which I guess makes sense considering the Nordic people (like the Vikings) lived a pretty rough life. Famine, weather, war, winter, wolves, and countless other things can kill you at any given moment. Why shouldn't the gods share the same mortality?

Then I got to thinking about the concept of “shared mortality.” Maybe mortal gods is a way to reflect the reality of the culture. The Nordic people were certainly familiar with death. Maybe it even goes further and that shared mortality brings them closer to divinity. Perhaps the Nordic people could feel more spiritually at peace or more godly because they shared a common end with their gods.

I don't know, just thinking. If you have any thoughts, please share.

Another thing, the passage I read made me think of the scene from The Lord of the Rings when the ring was destroyed and Frodo and Sam were hanging out on a rock while Mount Doom was erupting around them. Frodo tells Sam “I'm glad you're here with me at the end of all things.” The end of all things. Such finality. Reading about Norse mythology reminded me of that scene because when Odin and all the other gods die, that's it.

Spoiled?

I forget how spoiled I am sometimes. The other day I was talking to a good friend of mine who lives in California. He's going through some tough times. The company he works for is going bankrupt, jobs are scarce, he's had to move several times in the past year, and the future is looking grim for the guy. But he's not a whiner, he's a worker. He's no stranger to strife or blisters and his work ethic has always pulled him through the rough patches of his life. As he told me about what's going on with him, not once did it sound like he was complaining. It was more like, “this is what I'm dealing with and yep, I'm dealing with it.”

Now I've had a stressful past month. Without getting into it, there's been a few disappointments here and there. When the conversation between my friend and I began I was ready to vent a few things out. When he asked how I've been, I told I've been stressed. Just a warm up into the vent session. When he asked what's been stressing me out, in that moment the severity of what I was about to say compared to what I just heard from him clicked. I had a reality check and instantly my attitude changed. All I could say was “Petty...very petty things.”

Here's a guy who's handling a legitimate rough patch and there I was about to gripe about how money was tight and I couldn't go buy a new pair of pants and other things like that. Oh woe is me...

Another thing, I've been planning a vacation for the past several months. I wanted to do a few things but circumstances have changed and I have to cut out a lot of what I was planning to do and I may even cut my vacation short. I was feeling disappointed that I would have to fly home earlier than planned and then what would I do? Yeah...because coming back to Hawaii is such a horrible thing...

I was talking with a different friend of mine about vacation plans and ideas. He was kind of bummed that he wouldn't be able to take a vacation to the mainland and instead he's going to Maui for a few hiking excursions. I told him, “Ya know that's not bad at all. To the rest of the world that's a dream come true.” My friend nodded, smiled, and said, “Yeah good point.”

Getting caught up in the tediousness of daily routines has a tendency to put blinders on my eyes. I forget sometimes that I live in Hawaii. A place that most of the world considers paradise. Sure, paychecks aren't as big as I'd like them to be, things happen and plans change, things fall short of expectations sometimes, but I get by okay. It's really not that bad. Some could say I'm spoiled, and yeah...they'd have a good point.

Freedom DUT

7/4/2012

Today the UFC gym hosted an all-member Daily Ultimate Training (DUT...still love that acronym) to celebrate America's birthday. It was a massive class that utilized the whole gym and there was easily over 100 people there.

The day before I took a judo class, a jiu-jitsu class, and an MMA fight fit class (think crossfit with a fighting twist), and was thoroughly drained after 3 hours of training. Then I went out until about 2am. So I woke up this morning sore and a little groggy. Oh yeah, I was completely ready for today's epic DUT class...yeah right.

I tanked a bunch of water, ate a light breakfast, and tanked some more water to shake the grogginess. Then I hopped in the shower and stood under the hot water to loosen up my body. Worked pretty good. The soreness backed off a bit. Feeling better, I made my way to the gym.

Swarms of people were gathered and there was a buzz of anticipation in the air. I hopped on a stationary bike and did some light pedaling – or spinning as I've heard it called – to warm up. Then the announcement came, “Attention all members, those participating in today's DUT please gather at the front desk. It's time!”

We started with a warmup run outside and ran around the block. Felt like it was close to a quarter mile, maybe more. I felt stiff as the run began but quickly loosened up and began to get into a good stride. We circled back to the gym thinking that was it for the run but then the coach leading kept going. I guess we're doing 2 laps. I think this caught a lot of people off guard because several people ran hard that first lap and slowed down on the second lap. The opposite happened for me and by the end of the second lap I was at the front of the pack and my legs were feeling good. With the warmup completed it was time to get inside and get to DUT-ing.

Warm up run...what's that...2 laps?!

We were broken up into groups of 20 as we finished the warmup run. My group started in the bag room. TRX cables dangled from the metal framework alongside various punching bags. This station's workout: 10 of us on a TRX cable doing push-ups with our feet strapped into the cables, knees to chest after each push-up for some core work (I think the coach called these atomic push-ups...cool name). The other 10 get on a heavy back and do alternating kicks. Do as much as we can in a minute, then the groups switch. After one rotation the exercises switched up. Now the TRX group did squat jumps, and the heavy bag group did 1-2 punches. We repeated this circuit for 10 minutes. I had fun with the heavy bags but felt the burn when on the TRX cables. A few times I had to stop doing push-ups and just held a plank for a few seconds...not like that's really a rest but it's just a little less exertion.

After 10 minutes it was time to rotate to the next station. Time to get in the Octagon! It occurred to me as I entered that this was my first time in the Octagon, I was stoked. We did some forward somersaults, then backward somersaults. Felt like jiu-jitsu drills, I'm sure Coach Mel influenced that one. Next Coach Mel and Coach Sam demoed a workout circuit for us which included V-sit ups, medicine ball slams, push ups, dumbbell squats with a shoulder-press and knee-raise, and this crazy core move that looks like you're squirming across the floor.

Unfortunately, the 10 minutes were up before we could complete a full circuit in the Octagon. I could see the coaches a little confused and bummed about the timing. I was too, I wanted to do all the exercises. Ah well, off to the treadmills.

The coaches here had us do some intervals on the treadmills, increasing the incline with each interval. I though I heard Coach Leslie tell us to set our speed so that we were at a full sprint, then I thought she said to set our speed at 7.2 miles per hour. Couldn't really hear her too well, not by lack of effort on her part because Leslie was shouting at the top of her lungs. The place was just noisy and had a lot going on. Anyway, me and the guys next to me figured we'll just set our speed to 7.2 because that was the only number we heard.

The run wasn't too bad. I'm a pretty strong runner and I recover quickly during our breaks between intervals. The only time I had to push it was when the incline got up to 15, I don't really know what that means but it was steep. After that we began to decrease our incline with each interval. An announcement came through the speakers saying there was only 2 minutes left until the next rotation. Again, our coaches looked confused and I heard one of them say “Already? That's too fast.” We had to skip a few intervals and set our incline to 3 to finish up. After running on an incline of 15, 3 was a delight. Time was up and it was time to hit up the bikes for some spinning.

The coaches had to explain how to use the bikes (set the seat height, adjust the resistance, turn it on, etc.) while we pedaled. He had us maintain 90 rpm and increase our resistance every 30 seconds. I could feel the burn in my legs getting hotter. Then he had us drop our rpm to 60 and increase our resistance a lot so that we had to stand in our bikes to keep pedaling. That burning was getting even hotter. But as I was stamping on the pedals I remembered that the Tour De France is happening and wondered how the race was going (I wonder if Cavendish won another stage?).

The bikes were set up in a large ring and in the middle were a bunch of yoga mats, each with a dumbbell on it. We hopped off the bikes and hit the mats for some core work. We did some Russian twists holding the dumbbell (sit on the mat, lift you feet off the ground, hold the weight and twist your body side-to-side bringing the weight to the ground each time). Then we got into a plank and did some plank exercises. By the end of it my core was on fire and I was gasping for air. Couldn't see to well either because of all the sweat in my eyes.

It was time of our 5^th and final station. We were on the turf and the coaches there had a circuit workout set up for us. Dumbbells, medicine balls, tire-jumps, and more. My favorite one here was the push-ups because we put our feet on sliders so that we could lift our hips into a pike after each push-up. I never used sliders before. My feet glided across the turf easily, almost like ice-skating. I had fun sliding around...only at first though because everything was burning after a few pike push-ups.

Today's DUT was awesome. There were a few timing issues but hey, first time the gym did an event of this magnitude so there were bound to be a few hiccups. I'm sure it'll get ironed out at the next one...and I really hope there will be a next one. I had the most fun with the heavy bags and was most surprised with the spinning bikes. Didn't realize how much that would burn. Everybody there had a great attitude too. Very positive, encouraging, and funny. I remember when we were doing a plank exercise one guy said, “This don't feel natural man! It hurts.” and one of the coaches replied, “That's how you know it's working! 10 seconds left!”

There was a good team-oriented feeling throughout the whole thing. The exercises we did were simple but really effective and the coaches were great in showing how to do them and encouraging us to push through when it got tough. We all sweat together, suffered together, finished together, and in the end we all triumphed. Good DUT indeed.

Happy 4^th!

All Member DUT
I'm in there somewhere

Abs Contest - Judgment Day

I has arrived! The day we've been anticipating for the past 6 months. It was time to strip off our shirts, suck in our guts, and flex whatever muscles we've been able to develop in our cores. It's judging time for the abs contest!

When the contest began I knew I would have to drop at least 10 lbs to even have a chance at being competitive. And I did, in fact I've lost about 16 lbs since February. Having cut some weight off I then knew I had to get to working out the midsection. I did that too. Since the UFC gym opened I've been going regularly and I haven't ignored the core workouts. I like the results I've been seeing and it gave me a little confidence for the contest.

Last week I wrote a little about my strategy and the other contestants. The “young guy” is my friend Jimmy, and the “endurance athlete” is my friend Waimea. Each of them had their advantages and disadvantages at the start of the contest. Jimmy has a high metabolism and is naturally slim but his core may not have been as developed at the start of the competition. Waimea has always had a strong core but he eats a lot and has the roundest midsection of the three of us. As for myself, I have a strong core but I've always maintained a pudge layer in my midsection. Since the start we've all put in effort to chisel our midsections and it's time to see what each of us now has to put forward to the judges.

We all met at the Queens Beach Cafe and we got right to it. Our judges, Laura and Tony, were preselected several months ago and ready to witness our abdominal awesomeness. We stripped our shirts off and gave them an eyeful. Laura and Tony used photographs to judge. So they busted out an iPhone and began snapping away. We took a group picture with all three of us then did individual pics. The two judges went off on their own to confer. We put our shirts back on and awaited the result.

Greer, Waimea, and Jimmy. It's like a reverse Oreo

After about 5 minutes they came back and told us to take off our shirts again. They said it was too close to call so they needed us to do another round and “really flex” this time. At this moment I was wondering if I might actually have a chance of winning. “Too close to tell” was a good sign for me.

Off came the shirts again. Tony and Laura took another round of individual pictures. This time we really sucked it in and flexed. Again, the judges conferred and we waited. For a moment I was hopeful that I might have a chance of winning. They came back and were ready to make their announcement.

And the winner is....Waimea!!

I was shocked. I didn't even react. When they announced the winner I was expecting it to be Jimmy. He had been the favorite since the beginning. So when they said Waimea it actually took a moment for the words to register. I think the same thing happened with the others because we were all silent. Even Waimea was expecting Jimmy to be the winner. It made sense too. He's the slimmest of the three of us and has the least amount of fat to get in the way of revealing muscle. But the judges had spoken. Big congrats to Waimea. I handed him his prize money, shook his hand, and told him good job.



Greer  I think I look a bit hairy, and dang I'm white!

Waimea The winner!

Jimmy Not a single hair on him...

At the time I was a bit confused about the judge's decision. We all expected Jimmy to win but it was Waimea. What did the judges see? Before the contest began I had asked Laura to e-mail me any pictures she took so I could use them in this blog. I went home and opened my e-mail. And I must say, after looking at the pictures the judges made the right choice. Waimea's abs look the best. Kudos my friend, well done!

The abs contest was fun. It gave me extra motivation to workout and get fit. There was some competitive camaraderie among the three of us which made things interesting and fun. I wouldn't mind doing it again. Maybe we can switch it up next time. Best legs, or best arms, or who can run a mile the fastest, or who can hold a plank the longest while balancing a Starbucks iced tea on their back.

Now that the contest is over I can relax on my workouts and take it easy. Right? Nope, don't think so! I plan to utilize the gym and continue my quest for fitness. My goal is to put some more muscle on my frame and lower my body fat percentage. I also want to get back into jiu-jitsu and learn some other martial arts at the UFC gym so I can mix up my workouts while learning new things. I'll definitely be dropping some blogs about that in the future, and if we ever do another fitness contest you can be sure there will be blogs for that as well.

Congrats to all of us. We all made strides in our fitness throughout the contest, and of course a big congrats to Waimea. As he would put it: Cheee Heee!

Abs Contest – The Final Stretch

6/24/2012
About a year ago some friends and I had an idea of having an abs contest. It was simple: whoever had the nicest looking abs after a period of six months is the winner. The wager: $100 per person, winner take all. However, none of us were willing or able to commit to such a feat last year and the contest fizzled out.

But things change! Six months ago we decided to bring it back and commit to the contest. We all had 6 months to whip ourselves into shape and chisel our midsections to resemble that of a Greek god's. Agreements made, wager set, it was on! And next week Saturday, June 30 marks the culmination of our journey. Here's how it's been for me so far.

My competition includes a guy a few years younger than me. His metabolism is higher than mine and he's naturally slim. He was the favorite in the competition from the start. Next is an endurance athlete. If it was a performance-based competition he would be the clear favorite, but alas the competition is judged on looks only. As for myself, I was in decent shape for a pudgy guy. I had some work to do.

Let's start with my strategy. As mentioned, pudgy guy...that's me. My core is strong, there's muscle under there, really. I was heavy into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which builds a lot of core strength. So my focus wasn't going to be on strengthening but rather on weight-loss, well fat-loss to be more specific.

The other half of my strategy: sabotage the competition. Still hungry? Finish the rest of my food. Hey let's get dessert, and you can try some of mine...and try it some more. Basically, influence bad, fattening, unhealthy food choices to my friends and deviously laugh inside as they eat it up. It worked like a charm for the endurance athlete. No surprise because endurance athletes normally have a high calorie intake due to their training...and this guy just loves to eat. I remember one time I bought some nachos to “share” and I let him eat the entire thing – deviously snickering inside. The young guy didn't fall for it at all. In fact he turned it against me a few times when we would get a dessert and I'd end up eating cake and ice cream while he just had a small scoop of ice cream...hey, I gotta bad sweet tooth.

Now you may be thinking what a horrible strategy. Two things. 1) it's a competition and there were no rules set against it. 2) I told them up front from day one that this was part of my plan so watch out. It's legal, they were warned, so game on!

Okay, back to the fat-loss. For the first couple months of the competition I really didn't do too much working out. Illness and injury kept me inactive for a while (if you've read some of my previous blogs about training for the Great Aloha Run, you know all about it). I knew I needed to do something serious to catch up to the young guy. So I did the Insanity workout (I have blogs all about that too). I followed the whole workout schedule and nutrition plan for two months. It worked well. I slimmed down and gained some definition in my midsection along with everywhere else. At one point my love-handles almost disappeared.

It seemed like I was on my way to becoming the new favorite to win the contest but Insanity ended about a month ago. Things declined a bit since then. I still worked out, just not as much, and honestly no workout quite compared to Insanity. I still maintained a healthy diet but it wasn't as disciplined. Before I knew it I saw signs of pudgyness emerging. I needed to get back on it.

Luckily the UFC Gym opened up. They have fitness classes that push the intensity the way Insanity did. I can weight-lift or jump on a cardio machine, or both...I usually do both. The only thing about it, the young guy also joined the gym. I'm not complaining, heck I brought him into the gym, it's just going to make it that much harder to out work him now. As for the endurance athlete, he had vanished for a while and was doing his own thing. Made me a little nervous because he may have some triathlete trick to trimming down. But I wasn't too nervous because I felt I had done enough damage sabotaging his diet.

There is one week left until judgment day. My plan until next week is to maintain a healthy diet (whole grains, protein, and vegetables), keep hydrated, and get to the gym every day. I'm signed up for several fitness classes at the UFC gym throughout the week. In the past two weeks I've lost about 5 lbs so I aim to lose a couple more this week.

Stepping back from the whole competitive mindset, this competition has led to several beneficial lifestyle changes. The biggest one for me is the change in my diet. Vegetables are a regular thing now, I don't eat as much sugar and desserts, my breads and pastas are all whole grain, and I'm mindful of portion sizes – which is a freakin miracle! Doing Insanity boosted my fitness to a whole new level. A 4 mile run feels like a warm up. My recovery time between exercises is pretty quick. If I do an exercise to the point of exhaustion, a couple deep breaths is all I need to get back in it – hmm...I wonder if my idea of exhaustion is accurate.

So I guess all-in-all I'm saying win or lose this contest has been a good thing. Even though the younger guy is my competition, he's a friend first and we help each other at the gym. We've shared a few core exercises and weight-lifting tips. The endurance athlete is also a friend first, we've helped each other with running and swimming training in the past and I'm sure we will again in the future. But don't get me wrong, I still want to win this contest and I am making a final push this week to do so.

I'll write another blog next week about the contest results...might even try to get a few pictures. Be sure to check back :)

MMA Fight Fit - Round 1

MMA Fight Fit – Round 1

6/7/2012

The other day I tried out the Daily Ultimate Training (DUT) and it was a tough workout. But I've heard people in the gym talk about the MMA Fight Fit class being even crazier than the DUT. One buddy of mine described it as “the DUT on crack.” I put myself on the MMA Fight Fit wait list hoping a spot would open up and my wish was granted. I got to try it out tonight.

Much like the DUT, Fight Fit is a circuit workout with a number of different workout stations. Each exercise is performed for 1 minute, rotate to the next exercise and immediately get into it. Repeat until every workout station is hit, take a 1 minute break. Repeat for however many times we did it, felt like we were there for about 45 min...but I really wasn't keeping track of time, I was just trying to breathe.

Here's the workouts we did (I don't know what they're really called so I'm just making it up):

• Wall sit – pretty self-explanatory,if you feel comfortable in the wall sit, sit lower!
• Plank Punches – a large medicine ball is on the ground, put your right forearm across the ball and hold a plank, keep your back straight. Punch the ball 3 times with your left hand, place your left forearm across the ball, remove your right forearm and punch the ball with your right hand 3 times. Hold the plank the entire time. This one burned...a lot.
• Hooks – open palm strikes (aka, slap) on a punching bag. Focus on speed, not power. I always started fast and eventually slowed to a moderate pace I could barely hold for the whole minute.
• Body hops – A 90 lbs dummy, which resembles a human body, is placed on the ground. Hop over the dummy side-to-side non-stop keeping your feet together. A couple times I lost my balance because I tried to land as close to the dummy as possible.
• Sprawl to kick – sprawl onto the ground, hips low. Pop back up and kick a heavy bag as hard as you can. Sprawl again, kick with the other leg. Go for power on this one.
• Sprawl to jump – sprawl just like above but when you pop back up jump as high as you can. By this point I'm lucky if I jump 2 inches off the ground because I'm dying.
• 1 – 2's – jab cross, jab cross, jab cross on a heavy bag. Keep going as fast as you can.
• TRX cable jumps – hold onto the cables keeping your body at an angle to the ground, squat and jump as high as you can. I was jumping higher than I thought because I used the cables to pull myself up. Even though I used my arms a bit, my legs burned.
• 1, 2, 3, kick – jab, cross, hook, kick. Repeat and beat the hell outta that bag. I had fun with this one but I think I need to learn how to kick properly.

That's 1 circuit. We did that about 3 times then our coach Scott Junk, who is a pro MMA fighter and participated in the 10^th season of The Ultimate Fighter show, switched up a few parts of the workout.

• Instead of plank punches, we lifted the medicine ball overhead, slammed it to the ground, caught it and sprawled. This one gave my wrist some problems...dang wrist.
• Instead of body hops, we placed both hands on the dummy's chest, sat on the right side of the dummy with our left hip on the ground, shift your body to hop over to the dummy's left side and bring your right hip to the ground. Repeat. I liked this one, it resembled a jiu-jitsu drill.
• Instead of sprawl-to-jump, do 1 jumping jack, drop down and do 1 push up, then 1 mountain climber. Stand back up and repeat. I was actually thankful for this one. I had an easier time with it and was able to catch my breath a little even though I was moving fast. I did a lot of this kind of movement when I did Insanity so I was used to these kind of movements.
• Instead of jumping with the TRX cables, we held onto them, positioned ourselves so our feet were flat on the ground, body parallel to the floor, arms extended straight up from our chests toward the ceiling holding onto the cables. Keep your hips up in a bridge, don't let them dip, and pull your arms to lift your chest to your hands. This one was tough. My grip failed me at one point and I almost dropped flat to the ground but I managed to adjust my hands before that happened and held on.
• The rest of the exercises stayed the same. We did this circuit 2 or 3 times.

The workout was a killer. DUT on crack for sure. At each circuit I would start strong and when I started tiring it was only halfway through the rotation. Only one thing to do: keep going and feel the burn. During one of the breaks I was struggling to catch my breath. Coach saw it, looked me dead in the eye and said, “don't let your mind tell your body it can quit. Don't listen to it, your body can keep going.” All I thought was yes sir. Coach actually walked around yelling and barking all sorts of motivation. From the outside it sounds like he's chewing us out when he yells “don't quit,” “you're losing this fight, what are you gonna do, push or give up?” “quitting is easy, anybody can be a quitter but can you push through” and so on, but it was actually motivating when I was in it. He also helped out when we weren't sure what to do...a lot of us are new to the MMA thing.

At one point Scott Junk made a comment about taking breaks when he wasn't looking and how it's only cheating yourself and so on. Honestly, I had no idea where he was most of the time. He's got a big voice so he's loud and clear whether he's right next to you or across the mat. Besides, I was too focused on trying to keep breathing and not passing out to worry about where he was. At one point everything burned, lungs, legs, arms, core, all of it. It was awesome!

MMA Fight Fit...good stuff. More intense than the DUT classes I've done so far. I'd even say more intense than the Insanity workouts. Just like the DUT, you rotate among exercises with a small group of 3 or 4 people, which helps. It didn't matter that I didn't know who they were. We all suffered together and we all prevailed together. Before the Fight Fit class started I weight 168 lbs, when it was over I was 164 lbs. I sweat out 4 pounds in less than an hour doing that thing. I hope I can get in more of these classes. I heard that they're different every time, which is even better. Time to go check to schedule and register for another one!

Daily Ultimate Training - Round 1

Daily Ultimate Training “The DUT”
6/4/2012

Finally made into one of the “ultimate” classes at the UFC gym: Daily Ultimate Training, also known as the DUT (gotta love that acronym). I was at the gym about an hour before the class started, didn't want to do a full on workout before hitting the DUT so I did some light exercises instead. About 15 minutes on a treadmill, a few core exercises, and about 20 minutes on a bike. Just wanted to get the blood flowing and warm up the muscles. I've heard stories that the DUT is full on craziness so I didn't want to get tired before it began.

When the class started we did a few warm up exercises. All dynamic stretching movements to get moving and loosen up the muscles. My least favorite was the side-lunge walk only because my hips are really tight. I don't move well that way, which probably means I should do it more. The funnest one was the spiderman crawl. It reminded me of a jiu-jitsu drill and it's just cool to imagine yourself as a superhero.

My spidey-sense is tingling...oh wait,
 no it's the DUT

The class itself consisted of 5 exercises stations. Perform each exercise as much as you can for 1 minute then rotate to the next station, repeat for 6 circuits. So that's what....sorry gotta do some math here...5 times 1, times 6, carry the 2...30 minutes of non-stop workout. Sounds awesome! Here's what we did in the order I did it.

The first station was about a 20 meter sprint followed by a backward run to return to the starting point. Touch the ground at each endpoint. The second station utilized the TRX cables. We did bicep curls and followed by a back exercise (don't know what it's called) while suspended at a 45 degree angle from the floor. Third used a medicine ball. We got into a push-up position with our hands on a medicine ball, did 5 mountain climbers (aka bring your knee to your chest) followed by 1 push-up. At the fourth station was a 25 lbs weight, hold the weight with both hands and basically move it in circles around your head. When your arms get tired switch directions...as weird as it sounds that actually did help. The fifth and final station was box-jumps...well technically tire-jumps since I jumped onto a giant tire fit for a monster truck, maybe about 2 and a half feet off the ground.

When the workout began I was in it right away. I did well with the sprints because I'm a fairly good runner. Only thing was the distance was so short that when I started to speed up I was already at the end and had to stop to run backwards. So instead I focused on starting quickly, really had to pump the arms for that. Good stuff. The hardest thing for me was the medicine ball push-ups because my wrist gives me problems so I had to stop for a second or two a few times to shake it out.

At the 4^th station there was an option to use a 25 lbs plate or a 35 lbs plate. On the second circuit I used the 35 lbs plate. When the coach walked by and saw it he said, “all right! Going for the 35!” to which I replied, “yep, and I think it was a bad idea.” It was hurting a bit. The coach then said, “No it's not, it's a good idea. You don't want to be the guy doing the light weight and go home knowing you took the easy out. You wanna go home knowing you pushed it.” Good point, but I went back to using the 25 lbs plate for the rest of the circuits.

Around the 3^rd circuit my lungs started to burn. I knew I was working hard and reaching my limit. After the sprints I had to run to the water fountain for a quick drink. Good thing they were nearby so it only cost me about 5 seconds to get some water. I think next time I'll have a water bottle so I can grab a drink while transitioning between stations. Anyway, I was feeling the burn and reached the point where will power comes into play. This is where the real workout and test in fitness begins because here is where you have to push your body further when it's screaming for you to stop. I noticed I was breathing really heavily and grunting at times. I haven't done a workout that pushed me like this since Insanity - how y'all doin?...bring it! - if you read my Insanity blogs you get this.

I lost track of how many circuits we did and I had just begun the 5^th station jumping onto the monster tire when the coach said, “last one, keep pushing.” So I dug deep and determined to go the rest of the minute non-stop. No half second rests to take a breath or shake out my legs, just give all I have left and jump non-stop. When the minute was over I heard the coach yell out, “switch!”....what!? I thought we were done...nope, what he really meant by “last one” was that our last circuit was next. I admit, my heart sank a little knowing I just used all that was left in my gas tank to jump onto that dang tire and now I have to do an entire circuit again. Okay, take a deep breath, let's see if I can push through.

It was tough...really tough. My lungs felt on fire after the sprints and I was grunting with each exercise afterward. But I made it. 30 minutes of non-stop action. It was a good DUT! One thing I liked about it is that we moved from station to station with the same group of 3 to 4 people. Even though my group didn't say a word to each other it still triggered the competitive part of my mentality and I pushed to keep up with or out-perform my workout partners. I'm not out to actually beat them it just helps me push that extra bit when I reach my limit and would gas-out otherwise. The DUT was good fun (don't you just love the acronym). Props to everybody who made it. I'm looking forward to doing it again especially since I heard each coach has their own circuit so each DUT is different. I'll be DUT-ing it up again in a couple days.

Insanity - Totally Crazy

Insanity – Totally Crazy

I made it! Two months, dang...What a workout program. So much sweat, so much soreness. I'd definitely call it an investment in fitness. I had to change my diet, adjust my schedule so I'd have enough time to workout when I get home, and occasionally do a late-night workout. I stayed pretty true to the program. I missed one full workout, and two half-workouts. So overall I guess I missed two workout days. Not bad considering there's 54 total workout days. I'll count that as a win.

Fit Test

Insanity begins with a fitness test, which you repeat about every two weeks and, of course, the program ends with it. The Fit Test consists of 8 exercises. You perform each exercise for one minute and go for as many repetitions as you can. Take a one minute rest, then on to the next exercise. You're supposed to track your results to see how you improve. So I did! Here they are:

	Week 1	Week 3	Week 6	Week 8	Week 9 (final)	Improvement Day 1 to Day 60
Switch Kicks	95	101	116	124	132	37
Power Jacks	42	46	51	53	59	17
Power Knees	74	88	95	99	103	29
Power Jumps	32	35	40	46	58	26
Globe Jumps	8	9	10	9	10	2
Suicide Jumps	13	16	18	19	20	7
Push-Up Jacks	28	33	37	40	44	16
Low Plank Oblique	50	52	62	67	74	24

Description of each exercise:

Switch Kicks – Standing straight, kick your leg forward at hip-height, hop as you switch legs and kick the other one, each kick is 1 rep.

Power Jacks - Start standing feet together, hands above head. Legs move apart like a jumping jack and go into a squat, arms come down to your side as you squat. Really burns the legs.

Power Knees - Support your weight on your right leg, body is at a slight angle, hold your hands above your head. Raise your left knee toward your chest as you bring your hands to your knee. It's like a Tae Bo move. My standing leg tires out more than everything else.

Power Jumps – Start in a slight squat, jump and raise your knees to the same level as your hips, bring your hands to knees while in the air. Land and repeat. This one's exhausting.

Globe Jumps – Start in a squat, hands on the ground. Jump to the right, raise your hands above your head as you jump and land back in a squat, hands back on the ground. Jump back, then jump left, then jump forward. That's 1 rep...yeah, 4 jumps is 1 rep. Really tires me out.

Suicide Jumps – Start in plank (aka push-up position), kick your feet in close to your hands, jump straight up while reaching your hands overhead, land and go back into plank. That's 1 rep.

Push-Up Jacks – Start in a normal push-up position, do a push-up. As you bring your chest to the ground kick your feet apart about shoulder-width. As you push back up kick your feet back together.

Low Plank Oblique – Hold a low plank with your forearms on the ground. Bring your right knee up toward your right elbow (I count that as 1 rep), right let goes back and do the same thing on the left side (2 reps). Kind of feels like a lizard-crawl.

Pictures

I can hear some of my friends saying, “pics or it didn't happen!” So here you go. Just keep in mind the quality of my camera sucks. Things like lighting and how steady my hand is effects the picture a lot.

Day 1	Week 2	Week 5
Week 8	Day 60

Looking back at the pictures (I actually haven't looked at any of them until I wrote this), I look the most trimmed down at week 5. I think that's because the first month of Insanity is heavy on cardio. The second month has more strength training based workouts so while I was getting more exhausted I don't think I was burning off as much. That's what I tell myself.

Now, the more I think about this the more it doesn't make sense to me because muscle burns fat, so if I'm building more muscle I should be trimming down in month 2 just as much as in month 1. So I'll get real here. I slipped in my diet the 2^nd month. Not badly, but enough to make the week 5 pic look like the best one, of course camera quality could also be to blame...right? I have a reason for the diet slip up, more on that later. Right now, let's focus on the positives. Given the picture quality, it's tough to really see the changes in my physique. So here's some of the things I notice are different from day 1 to today.

• Today, what my gut looks like normal is what it used to look like when I'd suck it in
• All my clothes fit more loosely
• I had to tighten my belt a notch
• My chest resembles a pectoral muscle and doesn't look so man-boobish
• I still got some love-handle action going, but for the first time ever my lats are broader than the love-handles
• I feel more fit and confident in my appearance
  

What I Got Out of It

I learned a few things doing Insanity. Like I make a variety of noises depending one how close I am to my limit. As I start to get tired I breath heavy. When I get more tired I start panting. Grunting kicks in near exhaustion. Then when I'm really near the breaking point, I start to whimper. Sort of a high-pitched squeal. Never knew I did that before, it's kind of funny.

When it comes to eating I can resist temptation. I passed on several desserts and dining out opportunities. But I can't fight off stress and I stress-eat. Now I don't mean the “I had such a long day” kind of stress, I mean the kind of stress that's subtle and dwells in the back of your mind. When you worry about something inwardly, but outwardly you seem fine. That kind of stress. It's like a silent doomsday countdown. I had some of that going on during the second month of Insanity. I ate some cakes, some pizzas, drank some beers, and ate a few larger portions. Now I didn't completely gorge myself, but I let it go enough that you can see a slight inflation going on in the week 8 picture. Guess I need to find a good way to deal with that kind of stress. If I can, who knows, I just might get that sweet tooth under control.

I managed to get a few new eating habits. Vegetables aren't so foreign to me and I even started liking vegetable juice. There's a dash of portion control going on too. I get full on less food, which is different...and good I guess. I cook for myself more often, which is both healthier and less expensive than eating out as much as I did before Insanity.

Most importantly, I got through it! It's a tough workout and I was able to push through the moments of utter exhaustion. And I got results! Not the whole “ripped in 60 days” you see on TV but I'm slimmer and have some muscle definition. I feel a bit proud of myself.

What's Next?

Good question! I could do Insanity again. Maybe. I definitely feel that if I did it again I'd continue to improve my fitness. The better I got the further I could push myself during the workouts. The fit test results show I haven't hit my limit yet. But...not right now though. It's time to mix things up. The new UFC gym is opening up soon (hopefully within a week of writing this) and I got a good deal there so I'll check that place out. I'm sure they'll have some Insanity-type workouts.

Thanks to everybody who's been reading these blogs. I appreciate the comments and all you silent readers. Much mahalos. And keep reading. Though Insanity is finished, the blogging shall go on!

Oh, and since the start of Insanity I talked about how Shaun T. would ask “How y'all doin?” and my reply was always “fricken horrible!” Well, at the end of Insanity it's still the same ;)

Insanity - Home Stretch

Well it's finally here, the last week of Insanity! Hard to believe it's been about 2 months already. The gains have been noticeable, both in performance and appearance. And dang, this workout is a beat down. The better I get, the more I can do, and the more I do, the more exhausted I get. So as I perform better I get more exhausted, but I recover quicker so I can get back into it sooner than before. It's a vicious cycle but I kinda like it.

Tonight's workout was brutal just like last week. But I did better. More importantly my mind was in a better place. Rather than thinking “all right let's get on with it” I was thinking “bring it on, let's do this!” Just a shift in mentality led to a whole different, and much more positive, experience.

During the second month of Insanity I've been a lot hungrier. And I don't mean hungrier as in hungry for the win or for the results. I mean hungry as in I want to eat! So the other day I reviewed the Insanity nutrition guide and discovered that I was supposed to adjust my food intake to compensate for the longer and more intense workouts. I could have been eating more the past 3 weeks. Dang it! At least I'll be able to adjust my diet this final week so I shouldn't suffer through the hunger as much.

Five more workout days left, two of them are dual workouts, and then my final Fit Test. It's gonna hurt. But hey it's hurt since day one so bring it on.