Week 1 is done (plus a couple days) and I am feeling great. Haven’t missed a single workout, including recovery workouts. Today is my official rest day and I am looking forward to doing nothing. I received in the mail my order of Recoverite which will be my post workout drink. I’m looking forward to the results adding this into my diet will have. And speaking of my diet… it’s improving. I used to be a junk food addict. It was cheap, easy, and actually made me happy. Well, at least initially. Then I’d feel like shit. I’m following a very simple diet now of 3 eggs, yogurt, granola with raspberries for breakfast and a large spinach salad with vegetables & protein for lunch & dinner. If I crave something sweet, I’ll make a raspberry, peanut butter, banana smoothie. (sometimes depending on where I am I do cave in & grab a soda, but that is becoming much more rare these days.)
I have also realized a big difference in my training mentality, last Saturday my trainer John was in Atlanta for a Wing Chun conference and I found out I’d be working out alone without supervision or anyone nearby. So, after receiving my workout from him instead of slacking off or half assing it, I decided to push past my deadlift max workload and hit a PR. I looked up my previous DL’s and saw that I had recently worked with 225#’s but there was a note written down saying 240# DL. I decided to go for 250#. And I did 5 sets of 3 at 250#’s. It was fucking heavy but it was all with excellent form and I know that I can build off this new PR and reach higher. In general, I no longer look at exercising or training as a chore to do to stay in shape or look good but a ritual, a routine, a privilege. Instead of thinking, “I gotta work out today.” I think, “I GET to work out today.”
Lastly, I’ll leave you with a bit of advice from Gym Jones (the training method I follow):
WORK + REST = TRAINING.
DON’T DO THE WORK IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE BALLS TO REST.
“PAIN IS PART OF LIFE. MISERY IS OPTIONAL”
This past month has been amazing! I have stayed focused on my workout goals & am constantly improving and working hard at setting new personal records (PR’s). I have also begun pre-production on a new military/action series that my good friend and fellow Iraq War veteran Rene Rivera have created and wrote together, titled American Terror. I am incredibly excited that this series which we originally created over two years ago is now coming to life. I also credit a large portion of this happening to this blog. In a very simple way I put out into the universe what I wanted and then began following through with making it a reality. I look forward to continuing to kick my butt into shape for this role & creating something with some amazing people. And remember, “All good things come to those that hustle while he waits.” - Thomas Edison
A new project that I have been developing for a while has finally picked up steam and is moving forward into pre-production. More news will follow but I just wanted to give you a quick glimpse.
This morning my workout was 90 minutes on the C2 Rowing Machine with a set goal pace of 2:30 for a 10 minute warm-up, then 2:20 for the remaining 80 minutes. This workout was exhausting. When all said and done my average 500m split was 2:27. Which isn’t bad. The best things I learned while rowing was how to improve the efficiency of my stroke, how proper technique allows you to endure, and when to use power in the stroke. This is great news, since finally it feels like it’s all coming together.
This mornings workout had me sucking wind. After doing an already intense 5 rounds of 15 deadlifts at 185lbs & 15 ring pushups for time. I got to spend 10 death defying minutes on the Triciclo del Diablo for max calorie burn. The idea is to do 15 seconds intense effort then 15 seconds a little less than that. My quote after getting off this bicycle from hell was, “After 10 minutes on the airdyne you could put a bullet in me. Hell, I’d pull the trigger myself.” I’m glad my trainer enjoyed my pain. But this is why I’m doing this training. It’s to push myself past my perceived thresholds, to challenge my mind and body. In the end we’re working on performance muscles not beach muscles. And I couldn’t be happier.
“Sometimes you have to be the nail before you can be the hammer.”
This has been a good great week. I have stayed motivated (even when I wanted to sleep in) and busted my butt in my workout sessions and have already been learning a lot after getting back into Muay Thai after a too long hiatus. I am having so much fun working out and pushing myself to my limits. I really look forward to being able to continue pushing myself further as I continue this journey. I have also been focusing on my diet and cutting out all the junk and garbage that tastes delicious but have zero nutritional value. The best part is once you get through one day it get’s easier. Not that I don’t want to eat an entire pizza but I’ve come to realize I actually feel (and look better) when I don’t. I also overheard from my trainer John in the gym the other day the above quote. So, right now I am thinking of myself as the nail and learning and being forged into something greater. Through focus, discipline, and perseverance I will.
Hit the ground running.
2012 is just a week old and I’ve hit the ground running. I have decided to relaunch my blogging and the chronicling of my physical transformation as part of operation action star. One of my goals for 2012 is to get into the best physical shape of my life and after laying the groundwork in late 2011 with my trainer John Spezanno, I am confident that I will reach this goal. I have embarked on a training regimen that involves pushing myself to the limits and focusing on building muscle, strength, and the stamina needed to become an action star. Three days a week I’ll be training with John in the strength room with Gym Jones style training, then another two days a week I’ll be studying Muay Thai Kickboxing at Five Star Martial Arts, the sixth day I’ll be doing some sort of cardio (however I am investigating Bikram Yoga, so we’ll see how that goes) and of course on my seventh day I’ll rest.
So, you may think, “Wow, that’s cool. But what do you expect to get out of posting this on tumblr?” Well, I hope by sharing my workouts, my diet, and my physical journey it will keep me honest with my goals and also inspire you to push yourself to take a more active interest in your fitness too. I have learned over this past year that being physically in shape has made a huge impact in my overall mental health let alone physical health. That becoming almost religious with my workouts I have found a sense of peace that I had been lacking.
I also have the goal of wanting to work in film and television in the action genre and see this as a way to prepare myself for my future opportunities. I am a firm believer that “Luck” is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
This is me preparing.
