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.