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
Friday, March 21, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
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!
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!
Friday, January 31, 2014
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)