Selfie Contest

Guys, I need a quick favor. If all of you amazing readers could go to the link I posted and vote for me in the selfie contest on MapMyRun.com. The winner gets a pebble smartwatch which has some great features I could use during my workouts. It would be greatly appreciated. Have a great day!
Here's that link:

http://woobox.com/ah5ajn/vote/for/2194517

It's All Gonna Be Worth It

     Hey guys, just wanted to drop in and give you some updates on this crazy/funny life of mine. For starters, my workouts have been going quite well. I decided to sign up for a new gym after four years with Planet Fitness. Initially, I was reluctant to leave because of its convenience. The gym was minutes away from my job, which made life that much easier. But, I wasn't making any progress over there anymore. I'd say that Planet Fitness is a gym for people who are in the beginning stages of fitness, or just want to get toned up and whatnot, which is great. For someone like me, I needed a new place where I could push myself and get stronger. Also, a place that was affordable because the way my student loans are set up....
     But anywho, I decided to make the voyage over to Maxx Fitness. Luckily, I have great friends who are willing to pick me up from my house and workout together (in the process of car shopping as well). I really enjoy the place because I have more space, I can use my jump rope, they make smoothies, AND I can make noise? Sold! My boy Jerome and I have been making great progress in there and I'm glad to have a workout partner who's taught me a few things as well.
     On some days, when I'm really pumped up, I've been getting in two workouts a day. My supervisor let me borrow one of his barbells so I can begin doing more bicep curls to build up my arms. I take as much advice as I can from him because he's into fitness as much as I am and I'm appreciative of it. I've also made it my goal to do 300 push-ups a day. Sometimes, it's 12 sets of 25, 6 sets of 50, 4 sets of 50 and 1 set of 100. I'm telling you guys, I'm busting out of my clothes like the Hulk. It sucks having to buy new clothes, but a great feeling at the same time.
     Also, I have other fitness friends that I've been collaborating with on designing fitness challenges. My ladies Charlotte and Zarela have been putting me through my paces as well and I appreciate the constant support that we give each other to get through these workouts. We've been getting others involved to push themselves and increase their fitness.  My friend Brandon has been taking my advice and he's making great progress with the workouts that I designed for him. I love pushing my friends because it makes me want to work twice as hard. There's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition right? I've also signed up for my first 5K of the year. I'm not exactly in my best running shape at the moment since I've been focusing more on the weights, but I'm ready to get back to it.
     On the nutritional side of things, I've been making great efforts to eat even healthier. Something came over me and I told myself I gotta do better. Last weekend, I ordered a pizza, bacon cheesesticks, and a cookie pie. I wanted to pig out and binge so bad because I knew it was free (reward points, judge me). I ate a few slices, but I didn't enjoy it. The cookie was all hard and not that good. I just threw everything out and said I'm all set. The next day, I went to the store and bought fruits and vegetables and lots of water.
     I've started juicing this week, eating more fruits, and less meat. Let me tell you, I have never been to the bathroom so many times a day in my life. Got me feeling light as a feather and whatnot, but I feel lighter and healthier. Once you find a good mixture, it doesn't taste that bad. AND I have been turning down free food and treats. Can you even begin to understand how hard that is for me to do???? But I'm working on becoming more disciplined. I want to be a trainer and I know that I have to practice what I preach and look the part.
     Speaking of training, I've been doing studying in small doses. There's a lot of material to retain and understand and sometimes it can be overwhelming. I'm not big on anatomy or physiology, and those are two components to being an effective personal trainer. I was reading today and nothing was registering in my brain, talk about frustrating.
     Then out of the blue, one of my friends wrote on Facebook talking about how my posts about running inspired and motivated him to to start running after his surgery and attributed a huge portion of his weight loss success to my work. I can't fully express the joy and happiness I felt in that moment. It was confirmation that this is what I'm meant to do. I'm supposed to be in the fitness field. God works in mysterious ways man. You never know who's listening to you or following your advice. So I'm gonna take my time with this and study to the best of my abilities. I appreciate everyone for their ongoing support for me, this blog, and for my future endeavors. It's gonna be a lot of work ahead of me, but it's all gonna be worth it.


If anyone has any questions for me email me at vxmartin90@gmail.com
Peace!

Another Challenge Down

Hey guys, here again with some updates. I've been busy figuring out life and whatnot and working, working, working. Can't complain though, because I like to stay as busy as possible. So this past month, I decided I needed a new fitness challenge to embark upon but didn't know exactly what to do. I was chatting with my friend Charlotte, encouraging her to incorporate burpees into her workout routines. To keep her going, I decided to do some with her during commercial breaks. We ended up banging out 60 burpees altogether. That's when my mind started twirling with the possibilities of another burpees challenge. We added our friend Zarela into the challenge and away we went.

The main objective was to perform 60-90 burpees a day, as well as a minimum of 60 push-ups. You could do it all at once or break it up throughout the day. I took it upon myself to get them all out of the way in the morning or during my workouts. We would keep each other motivated with texts and progress reports, with a little comedy and sarcasm tossed into the mix. Zarela even went so far as to design a chart for us to input our data.

Not gonna lie, there were some days when my body was not feeling the burpees at all, especially on the weekends when I like to lounge and be lazy on my days off. But of course, I love to push myself to my limits and see just how far I can go, and that I did. I would just put on my headphones and bang them out as quickly as I could. No matter how many sets you try to break up 60 burpees into, it's still 60 burpees at the end of the day. I also tried to get some other people onto the burpee wave, and surprisingly a few people complied (except for Phredrick, but I still claim him).

It was insane how much we were pushing ourselves. I would do an average of 60 burpees and 160 push-ups a day, on top of gym workouts. At one point I was doing two workouts a day. All of my friends called me insane, and well I think they're right. But I loved the way I feel after a workout and the results came quick. I've been busting out of shirts and my arms are getting bigger. So it's all totally worth it.

Today was the last day of our challenge. I went to the gym this morning with my friend Noereem and we decided to do the workout that Spartan Race emailed us this week. We had to run a mile and perform 30 burpees, repeating this four times (that's four miles and 120 burpees). No pressure right? I was on that treadmill saying what the hell did I get myself into. All I could do was put on my MJ Live playlist and keep on moving. I have a live playlist of his songs because it reminds me that this man would sing and dance at the same time for two hours straight, so I can do a couple miles and burpees. When we finished, my poor shirt was drenched in sweat (of course) but I'm glad I pushed myself. I mean granted walking is a struggle right now, but hey.

My grand total for the month:

1,710 BURPEES

4,570 PUSH-UPS!!!!!

Now it's time for a new challenge, don't know exactly what to do yet , but my mind will think of something crazy to do. Always push yourself guys, progress is everything.

New Year, New Opportunities

Happy New Years everyone!!! I hope that everyone is having a good year so far (yeah it's only been eight days I get it). Anywho, I'm writing tonight because well I just felt like sharing with you guys the next phase of my fitness journey. I've decided to begin prepping to become a certified personal trainer. Of course, as anyone that reads this blog or knows me personally knows that fitness is a major focus in my life. The last few weeks have been different for me though. I've become even more enthusiastic about working out and challenging myself as well as learning more about the personal training field. It's a feeling of this is what I'm meant to do.

Not only that, but quite a few of my friends have been noticing my increased focus and determination and are asking me for advice and to possibly train them. I've been doing my best to set up little workouts for them to do and just a little insight on how to start out. I just want to see my friends healthy and happy and this is my way of helping them achieve the two. I've encountered a few complainers (who shall remain nameless) but some people do need a little bit of extra encouragement and I'm glad to oblige. Anyone that I train or workout with, I constantly state the fact that anything that I ask them to do, I would do myself.

Case in point, today I trained with one of my friends. He told me that he had taken about six months off and wanted some help in getting back into the swing of things. I went into it telling myself not to push him too hard seeing as it's been awhile. Sometimes, I forget that I'm on a different level with my intensity and I need to tone things down in order to be an effective trainer. Luckily for me, he said that he wanted to be pushed, my eyes literally glowed with happiness. We went through a vigorous routine and he did everything I asked and gave it 100% effort. I was extremely proud of not just my friend but for myself as well because I proved to myself that I can be a good communicator and not too bossy or obnoxious in dealing with others (which some people have said I should work on, whatever).

This is not going to be an easy task. Becoming a personal trainer is going to take a lot of time, money, and dedication to accomplish. I know that I'm up for the challenge because this is something I can see myself doing for years to come. Whenever I put my mind to something, I'm gonna make it happen. I lost all of that weight, I graduated college, I FINALLY got my license, I think you see where I'm going with this. I'm excited to embark on this next phase of my journey and I will definitely keep you all posted on what I'm working on. Thank you for all of the support, it definitely does not go unnoticed. Until next time.

30 Days of Burpees

Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well. I've been keeping busy of course with work and the gym, just figuring out life I guess. At the same time, I've been looking for new fitness challenges to get into. One day, my friend Noereem brought to my attention this 30 days of burpees challenge that Spartan Race posted on their facebook page. I was like "ehhhh I hate burpees, I don't think so". Then I said to myself that I gotta keep pushing myself so why the hell not? So that night, I put in my mind that I was going to perform 30 burpees a day for the next 30 days. No pressure right?

For those that may not know what a burpee is, it is an explosive full body workout that can be used for strength training as well as cardio conditioning.  Here's the basic set-up:

1. Begin in a standing position.
2. Drop into a squat position with your hands on the ground.
3. Kick your feet back, while keeping your arms extended.
4. Immediately return your feet to the squat position.
5. Stand up from the squat position.

Some slight alterations that can be done to the burpee includes adding a push-up once you're in the plank position and as opposed to standing up from the squat position, give a quick jump instead. This is the variation that I chose to do for 30 days. 30 burpees may sounds overwhelming to people, but you can easily break it down. For example:

1. 3 sets of 10.

2. 6 sets of 5.

3. 1 set of 20, 1 set of 10.

I must admit in the beginning, I wasn't sure if I was gonna continue with the challenge. I'm a bigger guy and that's a lot of bodyweight to be flinging around in the air and whatnot. But I kept pushing myself because I'm not a quitter. It was also good to have Noereem's constant support and making me want to be great. Halfway through the challenge, I noticed that my arms and chest were getting more solid and the beginnings of a kinda sorta but not really four-pack. That made me wanna keep going, and that I did. 

Once I got to the last day, I thanked the Lord that I got through it and I didn't quit. It's become a part of my regular workout routine. After my lifting sessions, I go to the cardio area of the gym and bang out burpees. I always get an array of looks from others at the gym, probably wondering what the hell is this guy doing. I'm simply unleashing the beast that I am. From now on, I'm doing 40 or more burpees a day. All of this extra work is merely the beginning stages of training for the Spartan Race I plan on signing up for next year. This will be my next thrill, so wish me luck. Hopefully, I've inspired someone to get up and do some burpees. I still hate them, but the results will influence to you to keep on giving your all. Until next time guys, and thanks for the support as always.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

(Royal H. Burpee; the man responsible for inflicting this hellish workout on the world)

Push It To The Limit

     Hello all, I hope you guys enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday and that you have much to be thankful for, I know I sure do. I have a little bit to catch you up on in my journey to remain healthy and strong.

     A few weeks ago, I calculated all of the miles I ran since April, which turned out to be 191 miles. How I got that far in just a few short months is beyond me, but I made it happen. My friend Noereem also reached the same number of miles. Then of course, my competitive nature kicked in and a challenge was initiated: The first person to reach 200 miles gets a free meal from the loser and also has to complete 30 burpees. Because I'm always up for a challenge, I said to myself I'm gonna run nine miles in one day in order to win. You ever say something out loud and regret it later? Yup, that moment.

     So I woke up early Friday morning, the day of reckoning came too soon. I definitely said a little prayer before I headed out to make sure that my legs and lungs don't collapse. As I'm walking down the hill to stretch, I saw that Noereem had already ran about six or seven miles on my MapMyRun app. To which I said "DAMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN"!!!! I'm pretty sure my neighbors heard me, but it's all good. So I put on my headphones (MJ playlist of course) and I started running.

     I didn't know how I would map out my run, I only put in my mind that I would make my way to the east side and run up and down some hills and take it from there. Ohhh man what the hell was I thinking? I have never stopped to gasp for air so many times in my life. After awhile, I just running around in circles looking all types of stupid (dumb as hell really).

     Noereem had already finished by the time I reached six miles, but I wasn't gonna stop there. I put in my mind that if I finished, I would be personally satisfied as well as the bragging rights and social media appeal of this story, so I had to make it happen.

     I never thought those three miles would end, but when I finished mannnnn, I'm sure you'd like a motivational climax but in actuality, my legs were on FIRE!!!!!! I went to the store and got me a gatorade and took the bus home cuz I was not trying to run back. Ain't nobody got time for that!! For the next few days, movement was limited. I was tempted to invest in a power walker, but I toughed it out.

     Overall, I'm proud of myself for not giving up and completing the nine miles. My time ended up being 1:45:55. I'll definitely do another major run when the weather allows for it, basically in March. I never imagined myself saying oh I'm gonna run nine miles and actually do it. At this point in my life, I'm focused on bettering myself physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. This was yet another example of what I can accomplish when I put my mind to use and focus on the goal at hand. If I can do it guys, there's no stopping anyone that reads this blog.

(I really had no idea where to go after awhile, as you can see from my frantic gps tracking)

I Did It

     Hey guys, hope everyone is doing well and whatnot. I must say that today was a great day for myself. Not only did I complete my 3rd 5K in a month, but I performed my best run today. I finished the race with the time of 29:20.

     This race was important to me because I had to redeem myself for my last two races. Don't get me wrong, I did alright for a guy my a size, but I knew that I could do better. For instance, I can run three miles under 30 minutes any day of the week when it's just me by myself. But then what happens is that I see other people running during the race and in my mind I have to outrun everyone.

     I have this competitive nature when it comes to anything related to fitness. I have to run faster, lift heavier, all of that. That competitive nature has been my downfall in the past. By the last mile, I slow down and my pace and my rhythm gets all messed up. I end up with a less than desirable finish time, which gets me frustrated because I know I can do wayyyyy better. So this time, I made it my goal to finish this race with a great time.

     When it was time to start, I had to tell myself to block everyone out and pretend that it's just me running around my neighborhood like a regular workout and just keep a good steady pace and breathe, just BREATHE! So we're off, my playlist is going (MJ of course) and I'm just keeping focused on the path and nothing else. There were slight moments when I said I needed to outrun him or her, but I let it go and worried about competing with myself.

     So I'm running and I'm running, then my timer told me that I had one more mile to complete. That's when I kicked it into overdrive. I was determined to finish this race strong and not stop. I didn't even stop for water, I just wanted to cross that finish line. Then of course, "Bad" comes on the shuffle. I swear, y'all just don't understand how MJ's music inspires me and motivates me to keep moving and pushing myself.
   
     Once I saw how close I was to the finish line, I started sprinted like there were pitbulls chasing me. It was not a game. I checked my phone to see what my time was, and I did my 5k in 29:20. You can only imagine my excitement/lack of breath. I was so proud of myself and it only goes to show that if you set a goal and work towards achieving that goal, success is right around the corner. This is only the beginning. I'm ready to run a 10K, then a half marathon, and eventually the Boston or New York marathon. Why not? I'm prepared to do the work and it's gonna happen. Keep pushing everyone and have a great night!

(2009/Today's race)