Sometimes it's the Little Things

I want to be the cool Dad.  The one who plays sports with his sons.  The one who can still take his sons in a game of one on one.  The Dad that despite the age difference can still whoop his sons' butts into shape.

My son is only two, so now is the time for me to prepare and get healthy and active.  The days of basketball games, running, and training and years from now.  I realized last night that I can still be the cool Dad, even now.

There's this thing that my son loves.  I lie on the ground and stretch my arms up over my head.  He then stands on my hands and I have to bring my legs up above my head so that he can grab them.  Then basically, he wants me to balance him a couple feet off the ground with his feet still on my hands and his arms wrapped around my legs.   It requires a little bit of flexibility and strength, but nothing strenuous.

We were doing that last night (and he always wants to do it over and over again), and my wife commented, "That requires a lot of flexibility.  I don't think that you could have done that before."

Being able to do that with my son, and my wife's comment last night made me feel like a champ.  It definitely is the little things that make a big difference.  Stuff like that is enough to keep me going back to the gym.

Fran Taught Me a Few Lessons Today

I met Fran at the gym today.  If you haven't been introduced to Fran, let me do the pleasure of telling you who she is:

"Fran"
21-15-9 of
95 lb Thrusters
Pull-ups

Fran is one of the CrossFit Benchmarks and is a brutal one.  I finished the workout in 4:30, however I needed to start doing jumping pull-ups during the round of 15.  Fran taught me a couple of lessons today.

1. I really need to work on my pull-ups.  I definitely need to improve my kipping pull-up, but I think more importantly, pull-ups at 260 lbs get hard and I don't have the stamina for it.  One more piece of motivation to shed some weight.

2. The positive lesson.  Lifting is my strength in the WODs and my stamina is getting much better.  In this and other WODs that I've done this week, I have been able to handle the lifting elements well.  My stamina from previous weeks is much improved.  My struggle are the bodyweight exercises like pull-ups, handstand push-ups, dips, etc.  The good thing is that all of those will improve with a combination of increased strength and weight loss.

For motivation here's a video of some CrossFitters taking on the WOD.  I apologize for the very mild language.  It's PG-13, don't worry.

I thought I was going to be funny and post a picture of Fran Drescher in this post, but found that LAX Crossfit had already done it...I guess I'm not original.

Two Great Days of CrossFit

I started off my week with two great CrossFit workouts.  Here's what my Monday and Tuesday looked like.

Monday - "Nancy" in 20 minutes (benchmark WOD)
5 rounds for time of:
400 meter run
95 lb overhead squats - 15 reps

Tuesday - 23:50
5 rounds for time of:
135 lb overhead squats, 5 reps
10 toes to bars
40 lb dumbbell hang squat clean, 15 reps
20 double unders

Both workouts were awesome and I've got a lot of work to do, but I felt great throughout both of them.  Can you believe that there are some people who do Tuesday's workout in sub 10 minutes?  That is absolutely nuts, and I'm jealous.

My Dilemma

I'm Polynesian.  I'm big boned.  I have a slow metabolism.  I love to eat.

You know, I've always been a big guy.  In the words of my sister, "You know you were always the chubby and awkward one, right?"

See why I really have no reason to complain?

I have this dilemma.  I love to go to the gym and stay active, yet the Poly inside of me eats like a Poly.  I'm also part Japanese, so you combine Japanese food with a Polynesian appetite...you get the picture.

It's an awfully fun dilemma to be in.  I really shouldn't complain.

In all seriousness though, in my efforts to be healthy, finding a balance in this dilemma will be one of the most important things I do (and biggest battle I'll face).  The reason I'm thinking about it now is that my parents are in town.  When the family gets together, we have great food and I eat more than I normally do.  After this week, I'll probably have a pound or two to shed (but it will totally be worth it).

After a weekend like this, I definitely have to hit the gym hard this week!

Benchmarks From this Past Week or Two

In a recent post, I wrote about how progress motivates me and the importance of benchmarks.  I made a goal to do a "benchmark" Crossfit workout each week.  It's been good to do a couple of Crossfit workouts mixed with the other things that we've been doing in the gym.

It's been a lot of fun to do and track the benchmark workouts.  I've also done a few variations on the workouts as well and they've been great.  Here is a list of the workouts I've done and my results for each of them.

"Cindy"
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats
I was able to complete 19 rounds and 6 squats.

"Annie"
Double-Unders and Sit-Ups
50-40-30-20-10 reps; for time
Neither are strengths of mine.  I completed the workout in 13:25

"Jeremy" - This isn't a benchmark workout, but definitely one that I'm going to come back to and compare times in the future.
21-15-9 reps of:
Overhead squats at 95lbs
Burpees
I do not heart burpees.  I completed the workout in 6:51

Variation on "Annie"
Double-Unders, Squats and Push-Ups
50-40-30-20-10 reps; for time
I completed the workout in 12:57.  Much better time than my traditional "Annie".  It's probably due to a good rhythm with the rope, and that I'm much better at squats and push ups than sit ups.

Saturday's Metcon
There's no name for this one, but I did this metcon this morning.  It was brutal and I did not perform well.  Here's what the workout called for -
Four rounds for time of:
15 burpees
10 wide push-ups
10 narrow push-ups
14 lunge jumps (7 both leg)
15 V-ups
10 pull-ups
10 halos
I completed the workout in 28:07.  Not a very good time at all.  I don't heart burpees, v-ups or tackling this type of a metcon alone.

Exhausted after a Metcon

These benchmark workouts have been great.  They don't take long, but man do I get a burn and work up a sweat.  They are great workouts for my type of schedule.  I look forward to tackling a few more benchmark workouts over the next few weeks.  I especially look forward to coming back to these in a couple of months and seeing how I perform.  Ideally, I should do better, right? :-)

It must be the business person in me, but I anticipate an amazing feeling of accomplishment when/if I crush these times/performances.  Because these are all firsts for me, these times serve as baselines to crush in the future!  Wish me luck.

Check out more of my benchmarks.

To the Mothers in My Life...

...Happy Mother's Day.

I'm extremely thankful to the mothers in my life, especially my mommy and my wife.  There are many other "mother" figures for me to honor on a day like this (my mother-in-law, my mission mom, my Aunty Maile, and the list could go on and on).  For the purpose of this post, we'll just focus on the first two.

To me, they are great motivators to stay healthy and active.  My mother always encouraged her children to eat healthy, to not eat too much, to stay active, to not watch too much TV, to go on walks, to play with friends...you know, all the things a mother does to ensure that her kid stays healthy.  Not only did she encourage, but she DID as well.  I remember my mother going to the gym, to step class, to water aerobics, playing tennis and much more.  When I was in high school, and I was told that I had to trim up for my senior season of volleyball it was my mother who drove my strict diet and ensured I was up early enough to run before school.

Now that all the kids are out of the house, she drags Dad out to do a bunch of fun activities.

Mom and Dad's new favorite summer activity

I've talked about my wife on this blog before.  She's absolutely amazing and is a great example for me.  We've got one little boy and one more on the way.  In between the two boys, my wife decided that she really wanted to get in good shape.  We engaged a personal trainer and my wife became extremely dedicated.  She lost about 20 lbs over the course of a few months and still remains active far into her second pregnancy.  She is such a great example to me.

Family pictures 2010

To all the mothers out there: thank you for being the drivers and motivators behind that which is good. To the mother's in my life, I love you and thank you for being my motivation.

I'm Solar Powered

I think that we may finally be saying good bye to winter and hello to spring.  It was a beautiful day today.

Saturdays are a hard day for me to make it to the gym.  I get up in the morning and my son is normally awake and excited to spend time with me.  I've resorted to the fact that I'm going to have to do pretty quick workouts on Saturdays most of the time.  This morning I decided that I would just jump rope for about half an hour.

I went out on my driveway and in the 8:00 AM sun, and just got in a rhythm for about 30 minutes.  I did some sets of 30 double-unders, jumped to the rhythm on my iPod and just enjoyed my time in the sun.  It was invigorating to feel the sun on my face and back as sweat poured down my face toward the end of the 30 minutes.  

I needed to help our local church's youth group aerate a bunch of lawns today as a fundraiser, so I was in the sun for a total of about six hours.  I'm fried and red (thank goodness my Hawaiian blood turns that burn into a pretty nice brown), but it was totally worth it.

I'm so excited for warm weather.  In the words of a friend of mine, "We truly are solar powered."  Being in the sun just makes me want to stay active and healthy.

Set Some Benchmarks. That'll Keep You Going.

I made a return to CrossFit this week.  We've been doing some great workouts for the last few weeks, however I simply felt like I needed to do a couple of Crossfit workouts to get motivated again.  I made a decision that I'm going to try and do one of the "Benchmark Girl" Crossfit Workouts each week (mixed in with the other workouts we're doing).

If you're not familiar with the Benchmark Girls, let me introduce you to them.  They are a group of gals who will absolutely kick your butt, so don't mess with them.

In all seriousness though, they are a set of Crossfit workouts that are meant to be basic benchmarks for you to track progress with.  Take a look at some of them.  If I'm not mistaken, Angie was my first ever CrossFit workout, and boy did it gas me.  I wish I could remember my time...well not really :-)!

From the FAQ on CrossFit.com

Also from the FAQ on CrossFit.com

So on Thursday I did Cindy.  I did 19 rounds and got to 6 squats.  I'm going to admit that around rounds 13 or 14 I needed to start doing jumping pull-ups (that is a major improvement from 5 months ago).

There is something about benchmarks that motivate me.  When I realize what my baseline is, and I am able to come back and improve against that baseline, I feel a great sense of accomplishment.  I'm hoping that in a few months, my times and results for each of these workouts will improve.

Having something to work towards and against...now that's enough motivation for me to keep going.

Change Motivates Me to Workout

We started a new workout plan today.  It's actually the second part of the one we've been doing for the last few weeks.  For the past few weeks it was a lot of high reps.  This next section is lower reps and much heavier weight.  I feel like these past few weeks have been great for me.  I feel stronger, I have better endurance and am getting closer to where I feel that I need to be.

Despite that progress, today gassed me.  It was great!

I've often found that I lose motivation when I feel that I'm doing the same thing over and over again.  I actually found that with this last section of the workout.  By last week, I was ready to move on...despite really enjoying the workouts.

That's a good lesson for me to learn: when I feel like I'm not motivated, change things up a little bit.  I think that even small changes help.  Add an extra motion.  Ask someone who's working around you for tips.  Observe what others are doing and try to incorporate what they're doing into your workout.  Do something different and see how your body reacts (just don't overdo it).

CrossFit nails this principle and it's one of the reasons that I admire the lifestyle and program so much.  Much of what you do in CrossFit is based on the unknown.  You don't necessarily know what your workouts are going to look like until maybe the day of.  There are so many different motions, combinations and challenges.  It's exciting.

Man, when I have the money (and I'm in much better shape), I can't wait to join a box.

Inactivity. That's What Motivates Me Today.

So you'll notice that I haven't posted in a week or so.  I was on a business trip in Phoenix for a few days, and I spent the last few days of the week catching up on things that came up while I was gone.

I was only able to make it to the gym three days last week.  What's funny, is that 6 months ago that would have been an amazing accomplishment for me.  Now, I feel let down.  That's a good sign right?

Well that feeling of "inactivity" is what motivates me to hit the gym hard this week (and what motivates me to get back to blogging).  I learned a couple of things this week while on my business trip:

1. I love really good Mexican Food.  Man, Phoenix has great Mexican food.
2. Pro baseball games are a blast.  I got to go to my first MLB game while in Phoenix.  It was a blast, but the food selection isn't the healthiest.
3. It doesn't matter where you are, being active feels great.  The hotel we stayed at had a very small "exercise center".  30 minutes of cardio, 100 push ups, 100 squats and 100 crunches later, I felt ready for the day.  I've often found it easy to blame my surroundings for not working out.  I realize more and more how much that really isn't the case.  You can find something active to do nearly anywhere you are.

Well...thanks for listening to my jabbering.  Have a great week!