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Good girls don’t make history

#mma #girl power #boxing #kickboxing #jiujitsu #muaythai #womensmma #fight #fighting

Happy Holidays Everyone

We'll miss you Steve :*(

Times of Grace and Kimbo Slice

Our usual instructor was out of town, so Eric, a blue belt, and amazing all around athlete ran training last night. He likes to blast music while we are rolling. In his mix there were a couple of tracks by Times of Grace and Killswitch Engage thrown in. It was great. The Times of Grace album has been on repeat in my car for weeks now.

I had a chance to roll with Eric last night too which is always an experience. They call him "Therapist," but it's actually a nice way of saying "The Rapist." No, he's not a sexual deviant, he's just unbelievably strong and explosive. Basically, he's got two speeds, 0 and 190 mph and he accelerates between the two in less than a second. He was a division one college gymnast before he took up fighting. I'm interested to see what he'll be doing in his career.

In other news, we found out this week that a guy from our gym will be fighting Kimbo Slice next month. I'm hoping I can make it down for that event.

#Times of Grace #killswitch engage #kimbo slice #boxing #jiu jitsu

Whoops

I accidentally dumped frozen broccoli into the blender today on top of the rest of the contents of my fruit smoothie (the bag looks very close to the blueberry bag, and it was 5 am). I scooped out what I could, but there was about ¾ of a cup that I couldn’t get, and I wasn’t going to throw the whole thing away. I went ahead and blended it, and it actually wasn’t bad at all. Possibly even a little better. I may start adding this from now on.

Listen

I had a guy stop me the other day to ask me for advice in getting hired at my company. He was very motivated and I liked that he was willing to ask for advice, the only problem was that he wouldn’t listen to the advice I gave him. He had interviewed once already, and been turned down for the job, but every tip I gave him on how to interview better, specifically for my company, he said he had already done. In the end I walked away knowing how great he thought he would be for the job, and he walked away knowing how great he thought he would be for the job. Unfortunately, he didn’t walk away with anything that would help him get the job. I’ve found that the more I act like I know what I really don’t know, the further I get from achieving my goals. On the other hand, the more I listen to those who know more than I do, the more I accomplish.

Awesome Protein Smoothie

1 Cup Milk

6 Ozs Non-Fat Yogurt (I like Lime or Peach)

1 Scoop Strawberry Flavored Whey Protein Isolate

1 Banana

1/2 cup Frozen Blueberries

2 Ice Cubes

Throw it all in the blender and blend to your liking. I like it smooth, some people like it chunky. I've been eating this once or twice a day over the last 2 weeks.

I forgot to mention yesterday that after my trainer calculated my body fat and muscle mass numbers he was like "F#$% you man. I f^%$ing hate you." He wasn't really mad, he's just been on the same program and doesn't put on muscle that fast. He is about 50 pounds lighter than me though, and we both know that if push came to shove he could knock me out in about 10 seconds.

It's good to know that I'm doing it well though.

i4- If you don't know, ask

My trainer put me on a diet and lifting regimen 2 weeks ago and we weighed for the second time yesterday. After only 2 weeks of lifting like he's told me to and eating like he's told me to, I've managed to gain 5 pounds of muscle and show huge gains in my max lifts. There are 6 weeks left on the program.

I've always wanted to be stronger and look better and I've tried and failed numerous times on my own. It wasn't until I got in touch with someone who really knew what they were doing and listened to what they told me, that I finally started seeing the results I wanted.

Martin Rooney's Rules

1. The Road to Success does not intersect with the Path of Least Resistance. 2. To be successful in life, you must commit. If you freeze, you lose. There should be no halfway in anything you do. 3. When you take consistent action toward any endeavor over time, small gains will eventually equal large ones. 4. What is easy to do is also easy not to do. Your personal definition of “easy” will determine the height you reach in life. 5. In order to reach greatness, it will not be because of an absence of obstacles, but in spite of them. The Obstacle is the Path! 6. The greatest mistake is to keep making the same mistake over and over again without ever learning from it. 7. You can never gain Momentum if you never get moving. If anything is going to stop you, don’t let it be the start. 8. The success is much less commonly the man with the most natural talent as he is the man that continued to train while everyone else gave up from some self-created excuse. 9. You must first accept responsibility that you are the only one in control of your destiny. Where you are in life is exactly where you are supposed to be as a result of either the things you have or have not done, thought, said, or attempted. 10. If you want what other people don’t have, you must be willing to do what other people won’t do. Find out what stops everyone else and do it! 11. Of all the people on the planet, you talk to yourself more than anyone. Make sure you are saying the right things. 12. You will get good at something you do a lot of. Anyone better than you just spent more time doing instead of wishing. Do more! 13. A dream is powerless until you attach a deadline to it. Set a date and you immediately start to dare more greatly than before. 14. Never be satisfied with what you know or the skills you have. Fear comfort for if you just get by, people start to pass by. 15. Most people haven’t reached their dreams. As a result, most will try to stop you from reaching yours. Trust in yourself! 16. There is no “best.” But that doesn’t mean you should not always be in the search of finding “better.” Stay on the hunt! 17. As a coach, before you worry about fancy exercises, remember the best thing you can do for an athlete is to believe in them. 18. Your strength, like your ability, is not age or gender dependent. It is only “perception” dependent. Perceive wisely. 19. Your time is the most important currency you will ever possess. Where it is spent will determine your success. Spend wisely! 20. You will not be measured by the natural gifts you have, but by how much you did with what you were given. Reach your potential!

#martin rooney

i4 - Protein Farts

My trainer has me on a new lifting program. Basically he's got me doing the same 8-week training camp that he's going through to prepare for a his fight in October. He asked me when I walked into my session on Saturday if I was ready to get huge. I said yes and he's had me eating like two horses ever since. A lion's share of that eating is protein, and I think I've mentioned intestinal distress before. Here's a list of what I ate TODAY (on top of drinking a gallon of water throughout the day)

6:00 am

4 whole eggs

Bagel

8:00 am

Protein Smoothie (1 cup milk, 6 ozs yogurt, 1 scoop whey, 1 banana, blueberries)

10:00 am

Clif's Builder Bar (20 grams protein)

12:00 pm

Two large tacos (whole wheat tortilla, hamburger, pico de gallo, spinach)

2:00 pm

Protein Shake (1 scoop whey, water)

4:00 pm

12 ozs Lentil Soup (lots of veggies and lentils blended to a concrete consistency)

6:00 pm

Large Spinach Salad w. Roast Beef and nuts

Large Spinach Salad w. Chicken and nuts

A couple pieces of Fruit

8:00 pm

Apple

Protein Smoothie (1 cup milk, 1 tblsp peanut butter, 1 scoop whey)

I'm half afraid I'm going to get fat again, but I'm lifting heavy 4 days a week and doing cardio on the days off. If I end up looking good, I'll post some pics...

#protein farts #eating big

i4 - Back on the Wagon

I took one week off of my diet after my competition, and it was fun, but I'm looking forward to hitting it hard again starting today.

I never thought I would say this, but I far prefer eating healthy and limiting my portions to eating anything I want.

I used to be afraid that I would only be able to eat healthy for so long and then give up because it was too difficult, but it's not a concern any longer. I can honestly say I don't like gorging myself on a regular basis anymore.

#diet #over eating #gorging

ripppedfuel-blog-deactivated202

“Food is the most widely abused anti-anxiety drug in America, and exercise is the most potent yet underutilized antidepressant.”

-Bill Phillips (via rippedfuel)

Don't let food slap you around.

After cutting so much weight I decided to take a little vacation from my ultra healthy diet, and I'm realizing today that I don't like doing that so much. I have a hard time believing that this is how I used to eat and feel all the time.

Why do people do it? I guess just changing a routine may be the hardest part. Trying to wrap your mind around giving up foods you "love" can be really difficult. It's kinda like breaking up with a girlfriend or boyfriend. You work really hard to make a bad relationship work and when it finally ends, you're devastated. But then down the road you start to realize how crappy the relationship was in the first place and at that point, no one could pay you enough to go back to it. Unfortunately, our relationship with food is one sided, which means you have to be the one to break up, and most of us just aren't going to do that. Food is just too good looking and it says all the right things at the right time, even after it gets done slapping you around.

If you haven't already, it's time to get out of your abusive relationship with food. After the withdrawal, there's a much more harmonious relationship waiting for you.

And of course, this post is not making light of actual domestic abuse. If you're in an abusive relationship, you deserve better. Get away from it by any means possible. They're not going to change, and they don't deserve another chance.

#diet #food #abuse #domestic abuse

Don't mess with Gina Carano

#Gina Carano

i4 - First Competition Results

I had my first Jiu Jitsu competition yesterday and I've discovered that competing is much like a tattoo. While its painful and a bit unpleasant, all I can think about is doing it again. If nothing else, it was a huge learning experience. I ended up fighting 5 times and winning a bronze in the Gi competition. I'm proud of the accomplishment, but not that proud. As you'll see from the fight recaps below, I've got a lot of work to do.

No Gi - Fight 1 - LOSS: My first no-gi fight went quickly and I got tapped in about 30 seconds with a guillotine. This is one of the things I didn't want to happen. On the other hand, that guy won bronze at the same competition last year so he had at least a year more experience than I did. He's also an MMA fighter and has been training in other forms for martial arts since he was 5. I guess it doesn't hurt so bad losing to someone who is likely near a blue belt level. I've been doing this since March.

No Gi - Fight 2 - LOSS: This one I should have won, and it's my own fault I didn't. I pulled guard almost immediately and held him there for quit a while, trying to work some submissions and sweeps, but he was really strong. At one point I tried for a Kimura and had it locked but he protected himself and I ended up taking his back and setting my hooks. I held this for a while, trying to work the rear naked choke but couldn't get under his chin. I realize now I should have gone for the pain submission across the jaw, but it didn't cross my mind. Eventually he worked me up high enough that he was able to get me off his back. The rest of the match was a blur as it was back and forth between us. Eventually, he took full mount and eventually my back and then won with a Kimura. Talking with him later I found out that he's been fighting MMA for the last 2 years, so I was proud that I hung with him as long as I did.

Gi - Fight 1 - LOSS: I researched names from the roster online before the match, and the guy I fought in my first gi fight I knew was a monster. He's a police officer and a boxer and has been training in other forms of martial arts for a long time. We went out and it was back and forth for a while but then he pulled guard and threw an arm bar. At this point I was able to defend the arm bar but he managed to turn it into a wrist lock and I tapped.

Gi - Fight 2 - WIN: I had about 5 minutes between this fight and my first gi fight, but thanks to all the cardio I've been doing, I recovered quickly. It was back and forth in the stand up for a little bit and he ended up shooting for the takedown. I reversed it and ended up taking him down almost immediately into side control. After I held it long enough for the points, I worked my way to mount. At this point I tried a lapel choke and he shot his arm up to defend it, so I crashed down on his arm and worked it across his face and shot my other hand behind his head and grabbed his wrist. I went to thread the needle and finish the choke and he bucked to try and defend it. When he did that, he rolled just a bit so I took his back, sunk in my hooks, and flattened him out. From here I went for the rear naked, and when he defended it I squeezed for the pain submission across the jaw and he tapped when I was at about 50% pressure.

Gi - Fight 3 - Loss: Honestly, I don't remember much of this fight. Almost immediately after I stood up from the fight I won, I was on the mat again for this one. I think he pulled guard and I was working to get out of it and I got arm barred. That's about my only recollection.

Today: My left arm is pretty sore at the shoulder, the elbow, and the wrist this morning. My right arm is pretty much fine. My ribs on the right side are sore as well.

Takeaways: I need to work on strength and technique, and that's what it comes down to. I need more time with the weights and more time on the mats. This week I'm going to be taking some time off to heal up and see some family out of town, but next week, I'm going to start training like I've never done before.

Six months ago, I would have never dreamed that I would be writing a post like this. If you want to do something, go and do it. A lot of the time, the only person stopping you is yourself.

#jiu jitsu #competiton #gi jiu jitsu #no gi jiu jitsu

i4 - Sub 170

I weighed in at 169.6 this morning. I've been very strict on my diet this week and won't even be able to take an official cheat day today. I did have a couple bowls of plain Cheerios to celebrate my milestone this morning though. All it took was putting on a long sleeve shirt and jump roping outside in the heat after a 2 mile jog. That and following my diet to a T the last couple weeks. This puts me at a total weight loss over the last 6 months of 40.9 pounds. About 5 more pounds to go, and I'll make weight.

I've decided that after I compete next week, win or lose, I'm going to Perkins and having a big stack of pancakes. I've been craving them like crazy this week.

Lake Penguins

It was my half birthday this weekend. I didn’t realize it until this morning, but once I did, I started thinking about what I’ve accomplished over the last 6 months and I felt pretty good about myself. I weighed in at 173.2 on Saturday morning, which puts my total weight loss over the last 6 months at 37.3 pounds. That’s 18% of my total weight that I’ve lost. In two weeks that number will be over 20%. I’ve also picked a major and started back in college, paid off thousands of dollars of debt, and started training in Jiu Jitsu with my first competition happening in 2 weeks. I guess it just goes to show what an average person is capable of when they put their mind to it.

This weekend was HOT. I loved it. Saturday was a busy day, but Sunday I ventured out into the 100 degree, 100% humidity and went to work on a tall tree in my back yard. This involved me climbing about 25 feet up a not easy to climb tree with a bow-saw and then hand sawing off about 10 large branches. Once they were down I had to saw them up into manageable pieces. By the time I was done I had sweated through my shirt, my khaki shorts, and even soaked the leather belt I was wearing. The nice thing is that if I would have had more branches to take care of, I would have had the energy. I’m almost 30 and literally in the best shape of my life. It feels great.

I also got to thinking about my friend Nate, who shared a birthday with me, and was killed in a motorcycle accident last month. When he celebrated his birthday this year, on the same day I celebrated mine, he had no idea it would be the last he would celebrate. It put things in perspective.

I’ve dreamed about him a couple times since he passed, and all the dreams have involved a crystal clear lake with hundreds of penguins. I’m always there with friends and it’s always just after his funeral, but it’s a very serene place. The sand is white, the temperature is perfect, and the water is so clear you can see to the bottom. The penguins are always on the other side of the lake, but it’s relaxing to watch them from our side. My friends and I talk about Nate and our dreams and aspirations of life for moving forward. I really don’t know what it means, but it makes me feel better about the whole situation, and that’s welcome.

Here’s to making it to my next birthday and more dreams of lakes and penguins.

#accomplishment #death #half birthday #penguins #weight loss #dreams

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