#TGIF Weekend Vibes

OK so I know its not Saturday, but I am really looking forward to the weekend! May was a busy busy month and I have yet to share my June goals and do a quick eval of May... I will be back on track next week as this weekend I plan to recharge. I don't have any flights to catch or weddings and baby showers to attend! My recharge will include some much need PT and I cant wait to check out the colab between Refinery 29 and SIX02 this Saturday! They are bringing it with 6 hours of sweat sessions with the SIX Hour Burn down at the 3rd Street Promenade, giving you the opportunity to test drive 6 different workout classes for FREE! You can check out the classes here, and you can catch me at the Upper Body Blast followed by the Nike Training Club Class and I cant wait! #TGIF! 

The Secret to Setting Goals

Its May already and it seems like yesterday I sat down to set intentions for my April goals... So I guess its time to see how I did... 

Recap of April's Goals 

1: Finish & Read – I have been slowly dabbling in what I will call a financial encouragement book which I plan to finish in the next week (by 1/7) And start and finish the book currently on my night stand.
I made it through The Automatic Millionaire and I have will have a blog post up with some insight, so stay tuned there. I didn't quite make it through the next book, but you can check out my currently reading in the side bar. I am about 1/4 through (yes, I know not very far) 

2: Journal/Blog - With the recent effort to get blog on track (ha! get it, blog on track), I plan to start off with a post a week and see where I can take my efforts from there... 
A success! I am excited to say. While I really do blog for myself and my less than 10 followers... I have managed to deliver here and I plan to continue.   

3: Do What You Love - And I love DIY! I plan to add one DIY project to my repertoire this month and whatever that may be, I plan to share it with you! 
I did complete a DIY this month however it is a DIY for a dear friend who's baby shower is at the tail end of the month so in an effort to keep the to be gift a secret I will need to share at a later date. 

4: Run - Run more, fun faster and run longer! I am going to start with the run more and commit to running between 15-20 miles from Mon-Fri.    
Week 1 I ran 17 miles 
Week 2 I ran 19
Week 3 I got sick... I managed to back about 6 miles total 
Week 4 I got busy... will keep this on my list!

In recapping this months progress, I have to say not bad. Everyone knows the secret to goal setting is set SMART goals. SMART meaning S- Specific M- Measurable A- Attainable R- Relevant T- Time Based. And it you didn't know, now you know! If you can SMART goals I am confident you can achieve them. I will take the weekend to evaluate what is ahead of me this month and will be back with my smart goal for the the month of May on Monday!   

April Goals

Goals at large are a good thing to have and in theory make life more approachable (anything you can check off a list as done is an accomplishment no matter how big or small). April is upon us, so I figured what better time than a beginning of a month (even if it is April Fools Day...) to take a few minutes and set forth some personal goals.  Simply put setting goals for myself I believe will allow me to become a better version on myself and the best way to do this is by setting attainable goals. So for the month of April I have set the following 4 milestones for myself:

1: Finish & Read – I have been slowly dabbling in what I will call a financial encouragement book which I plan to finish in the next week (by 1/7) And start and finish the book currently on my night stand.

2: Journal/Blog - With the recent effort to get blog on track (ha! get it, blog on track), I plan to start off with a post a week and see where I can take my efforts from there... 

3: Do What You Love - And I love DIY! I plan to add one DIY project to my repertoire this month and whatever that may be, I plan to share it with you! 

4: Run - Run more, fun faster and run longer! I am going to start with the run more and commit to running between 15-20 miles from Mon-Fri.    

Boot Camp: Week 5&6 Thats a Wrap!

Last Friday was the end of our first bootcamp session in 2013! We made it! The last 2 weeks festivities included circuits, stairs, running, traveling burpees (see video below) weight vests, ankle weights, weigh ins and more... Unfortunately I had to get yet another new iPhone this weekend so I lost a little of the documentation... nonetheless the below is great photo and video mashup of what weeks 5&6 were made of! Congrats to everyone who reached their goal weight and to all of us for making it through the first session of the New Year! 

 

{weight vest ready!}

{mile run around staples}

Boot Camp: Week 4

Monday morning of week 4 started off with a heart pounding Tabata circuit. If you are not familiar with what Tabata is let me explain a bit about it. Based on reasearch conducted byJapanese scientist Izumi Tabata, Tabata is a specific form of workout pumped out in increments of time — 20 seconds on, 10 off - for four minutes and the trick to really benefiting from this work out is going all-out during those 20 seconds of work. This pattern is repeated a total of eight times, making one tabata round four minutes. The following was our Bootcamp Tabata circuit:

20 Seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest.

Tabata Stations:

Wall Sits With Ball Overhead
Plank on Ball
Jump Squats
Oblique’s
Hanging Abs Knees to Elbows
Jump Pull Ups
Burpees
Sprints leaning forward on bar heels to butt
Ab roller of death
Jump Rope

{tabata stations front and center ab roller of death!}

{Wall Sits With Ball Overhead}

{Sprints leaning forward on bar heels to butt}

 

Partner Style:

Wednesday mornings workout was partner style taking turns. Starting with 100 x's up and down the step and then 50 x's each of the following:

Step 100 x’s

Dead Lift
Overhead Lunges
Back Squat Press
Push Press
Superman
Sit Ups
Buddy Burpees
Stairs

As for Friday {as well as this past Monday morning...} I unfortunately missed bootcamp... and I think the following phrase sums it up:

He/she who fails to plan is planning to fail...  

I apologize for not having those 2 days to share with you... More next week starting with Wednesday 2/6.

Boot Camp: Week 3

Week 3 Monday Morning 1/21: Step, Step, Step it Up!  

Here we are! Week 3 complete! Let me start off by apologizing for non iPhone pic documentation of Monday morning workout {I woke up late, which is precisely why I lay my clothes out the night before which i plan to discuss in a later post} With a room full of boot-campers eager to get our sweat on post Monday morning weigh in blues, 36 of us to be exact we all rushed the corners of the room to grab our steps, mats and dumbbells ready to shed some weekend lbs! Lined from wall to wall and double up were are steps, facing a partner, dumbbells hand in hand and ankle weights tightly secured for the remainder of the hour we were up and down plank to push up, on our mats legs up donkey kicks, leg extensions, mountain climbers on the step, burpees using the step... we did NOT stop!

Wed 1/23 

Things Not to Forget to Bring to Boot-Camp... Your Ankle Weights and Your Brain:

While it was clear that Wednesdays workout took some serious thought and effort to come up with, I was unfortunately a part of the unlucky few who "forgot their brains at home" Wednesday morning and was abruptly kick out kindly asked to leave the workout before we were able to launch into parts 2 and 3. Without going into elaborate details about how the morning unfolded, let me just remind everyone {myself included} of something I said about Yardo's Boot-camp Week 1: Boot-camp is a group which is based on commitment, forged by good friendships  and undoubtedly bound in camaraderie... One thing that sets this 6 am workout apart from all others is that we do things TOGETHER! I don't think this is something any of us will forget to be mindful of from here (or should I say last Wednesday) on out!


It Never Rains in Southern California 1/25:

In the words of Toni Toni Toni It Never Rains in Southern California, but when it does, what do us crazy boot-campers do? We celebrate Marks Birthday and head out for our OG Downtown Run. But not before we work up little sweat first. In can you cant see the pics clearly above, Fridays workout was broken down into 3 parts.

Part I: Adams Apology

After how Wednesday unfolded an apology was delivered but with a reminder to all of us what boot-camp is about!  

Part II:  Start with 5 burpees and then every 2 mins on the 2 min mark drop and do 5 burpees all the while working to complete completing 4 rounds of the following with 30lb Barbell

20 Thrusters 

20 Sumo Squats 

20 Push Press

20 Dead Lifts

20 Squats

{We be up in the gym just working on our fitness}

 

{Running in the Rain OG dtla run!}

And there you have week 3 concluded... 3 more to go!

Boot Camp: Week 2

 With the second week of boot camp under our belts or should I say shaved from our waistlines, I have 3 more heart pumping workouts to share. This past weeks journey included the likes of brutal uphill climbs, a trip down memory lane for boot camp veterans with a grueling day devoted to what we like to call "Old School Boot Camp" and a 6 plus mile run! So here's to week 2! Check it out!

Week 2:
Bixel  Day 4 of 18

Monday morning we set out onto the streets of Downtown LA donning our ankle weights and gripping our dumbbells. I'm not sure about the rest of my fellow boot campers, but the fact that it was about 39 degrees outside didn't make for comfortable workout conditions and made gripping my 8 lb hand weights even tougher. But I sure did warm up quick running up and down Bixel (see the Google Maps screen grab above) weights in hand only stopping at the bottom to drop and pump out 5 burpees. A major challenge of taking your running to streets are hills and as if Bixel wasn't tough enough, try 45 mins straight up and down the hill, 5 burpees at the bottom all with 13 added lbs to lug around. Killer, but in a good way!

Old School Boot Camp Day 5 of 18 

"Run up your step, get in a plank, plank to push up, hands-up knees-up, run run run!" These are just a few of the directives being yelled out during this 60 minuets of non stop pounding movement, welcome to Old School Boot camp. If you can, imagine a turbocharged workout that mixes cardio and strength training, with just an aerobic step, 8 lb dumbbells (wish I had used 5 lbs that day) and a mat for cushioning the sit-ups and plank and the music pulsing we literally don't stop moving for about 45 plus minuets. Oh wait, and let not forget... our ankle weights!The energy in the room is almost euphoric and the music hypnotizing which moves this high intensity right along! 

Echo Park Run Day 6 of 18

2 miles from the gym, 1 mile around the lake, and 2 miles back, our Echo Park run can last anywhere from 4 to 8 miles. This past Friday was our first run run of the New Year and with perfect running conditions in the air, i pods & gps rearing to go we hit pavement at a steady pace and made our way to Echo Park. Running 2 solid times around the "lake" then switching directions and running 1 additional mile the opposite way I met up with some of the group on Glendale blvd before making our way back home. All in all we ran about 7 miles (I stopped a few times to snap some iPhone pics check them out below which paused my Nike App.) I say lake quote in quote because at this moment there isn't much of a lake that exists due to it becoming very polluted ultimately not meeting the states water quality standards and being deemed by the State of California as an impaired body of water  But with its Rehabilitation process pressing forward with the park scheduled to reopen in March of this year the future of Echo Park Lake is hopeful. On a random note regarding the lake, check out this cute love story of an unlikely friendship which unfolded on the very route we ran this past Friday! Its too cute... ps once Maria was relocated, Dominic was informed that Maria wasn't a Maria... she was really a he, but their love and friendship forges on!

{the rehabilitation of Echo Park Lake with the sunrise reflection over DTLA}

{I am really looking forward to the completion of the Rehabilitation of Echo Park Lake!}

{keeping up with this bunch was a challenge, feeling motivated!}

Another successful week of boot camp and 3rd week is already underway... stay tuned, more to come!

A Walk in the Park: Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook

Scenic overlook, without a doubt, a walk in the park not so much… The Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook trail in Culver City may reside in a park, but this trail is anything but a walk in one. This past weekend I had the grueling pleasure (thanks to a certain special someone) to experience yet another wonderful, outdoor recreation space Los Angeles has to offer. Upon our arrival there was plenty of parking along the south side of Jefferson Boulevard and at first glance I thought to myself this looks fairly simple, but don’t be deceived as what lies ahead is actually quite a challenge.

With several options as to how to tackle this trail there is no wrong way to enjoy this hike and the unique perspective of the LA basin which waits for you at the top is a reward within itself. We decided to start our work out ascending along the paved walk up to the overlook. This gradual uphill climb (which was probably just short of a mile) made for nice warm up and definitely got our blood flowing and hearts pounding. The beautifully designed visitor center which sits at the top of hill was open this past Saturday (although we didn’t peek inside) and I was also pleasantly surprised that there were functioning restrooms atop which is not a standard hiking find!

The 500ft plus summit this scenic outlook resides upon certainly offers up some of the most breathtaking views which I think LA has to offer. We were lucky enough to go on an exceptionally clear day and were able to enjoy a front-row view from Santa Monica and the Pacific Ocean all the way to Downtown and beyond to the snowcapped mountains with many recognizable landmarks in between (all of this sans the typical smoggy layer hanging over the city)

{not a stich of smog in sight... such a beautiful day}

After taking a few moments to catch our breath, take in the sweeping views and rehydrate a bit we continued our sweat session heading down the stairs which sit in the middle of the park. 282 stairs to be exact, of recycled concrete each step offering up varying heights making for calf & thigh-burning challenge.

Once at the bottom of this ½ mile stone stair case we then geared up to continue our hike right back up those same stairs climbing at a pace which left me out of breath for sure once we reached the top! With a few moments of rest and bit more rehydration we finished up this great workout by making our way down the zigzagging unpaved dirt trail which stretches around the mountain side meeting the stairs again at various points. We took the dirt trail until it met up again with the stone stairs and ended our afternoon hike descending the bottom portion of the steps which put us right back at the bottom of the summit onto Jefferson Boulevard. All in all it was a perfect Saturday and I will definitely be back for more!

BOOTCAMP: Cant Stop Wont Stop

2013 is here and so is the 28^th session of Yardo’s Bootcamp Golds Gym Downtown LA and while I am not one of the relentless few, lucky enough to have been a part of this unique group since day one I am in my second year, which means I have attended 6 consecutive boot camp sessions at 6 weeks a session (w/ a one week break between each). I began during the last weeks of session 20 back in Dec 2011 and am now confident enough to invest some time to share with you our journey through session 28 of bootcamp ! For me, Ive known for a while that there is so much more to boot camp than the kick-A$$ early morning sweat… The camaraderie of bootcamp goes far past the actual 6AM meetup 3 days a week and it certainly starts with having a fearless and devoted leader… Adam/Yardo, please stand up! So for the next 6 weeks I intend to share with all of you our bootcamp journey as we each strive be the ideal walking business card for Adam (quote in quote) kidding but in all fairness we kinda are… right?! Nonetheless I hope our journey motivates, inspires, awwwes, scares and just plain informs those of you who don’t know about Yardo’s Bootcamp a group which is based on commitment, forged by good friendships  and undoubtedly bound in Camaraderie. And with that said...

Week One Day One:

Monday morning typically start out with a weigh in around 6:00 am. This can be a little brutal, especially right after the weekend, but for the most part I like to believe it keeps me in check (most of the time) This past Mondays weigh in was after 3 weeks off and facing the scale was like an exercise out of an episode of Fear Factor or something... And the work out (WOD seen in pic above) went a little something like this:

Welcome Back to Torture

• Weigh In

• Stairs 16 flights up and down as many times as possible in 15 min (I was able to cap at 4 x's up and down) this was followed by a 2 min break

• DLs (deadlifts) & Push Press - 15 x's each as many rounds as possible in 8 mins followed by a 2 min break 

• Squats (20) Tuck Jumps (15) Pushup Row (10) 8 mins as many rounds as possible followed by a 2 min rest

• Burpees 4 mins as many burpees as possible- DONE! 

Day Two: 

 I'm pretty sure day two kicked all of our As$es! Its a little difficult to see the deets of the WOD but the following is what made us sweat:

2 ROUNDS

• 100 Air Squats 
• 50 OH Lunges (25 lb plate held over your head)
• 50 DL's 
• 50 Curls 
• 50 Chest Press (lying on the mat with a 25 lb)
• 50 Burpees 
• 50 Bicycle Crunches 
• Stairs (up and dwn 16 flights)

And then do it all again! In the words of one of my nearest and dearest... "Aggressive!" 

Day Three:   

 

Here were all are killing it wearing our ankle weights. This mornings workout was a circuit based on exercises that incorporated the use of ankle weights. We did a lot of jumping around and kicking our legs (as seen above) We stared off on the treadmill for a warm up, I was only able to get in a mile and a half (not used to wearing ankle weights and they were making my ankles itch... higher socks are a must!) Once warmed up we headed into the room and our hour plus circuit went like this (not sure if I'm referencing all the exercise we did by the correct name but for the most part you will get the idea): 

10 Stations- 1 min or so at each- remember we have ankle weights on:

• Squat Jumps with 10 lb bar 
• Sumo Squats upright Row with Kettle bell (i just know thay s*#% was heavy)
• Mountain Climbers 
• Alternating Front Kicks (think Rockettes)
• Burpees 
• Ab Roller of Death (as Adam calls it)
• Step Up's w/ 15 or 17 lb weights
• Jump Rope 
• Hip Raises on the mat with the yoga block (squeezing the yoga block between your knees) 
• Leg Extensions

Overall our first week of boot-camp was a success! Great energy great effort and awesome workouts! More to come next week!

   

RFYL Vail Lake: How Will You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?

Amidst the undead area sprawling the 5k obstacle course placed just above Vail Lake is where the zombie run took place... "Run For Your Lives" is what is was and ran for my life is what I did. Lining up for our 1:30 wave, we were separated into 3 different corrals, Appetizers (fast), Entrees (medium) and Desserts (slow).

Darkness falls across the land The midnite hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood To terrorize yawls neighbourhood...

Each corral is released one after another, which keeps a steady stream of runners throughout the course.We started off as entrees quickly turned muddy runners hustling to dodge and evade the shuffling brain-eating zombies.

The race began up a fairly steep hill which made for a nice warm up until we reached the top and encountered our first batch of hungry walkers. Mixing in with the crowd I drifted past the undead with all flags remaining. It was dirty and dusty and the dust felt a bit like an obstacle in itself (the zombie sandstorm) because the dust being kicked up by all the runners made it a bit difficult to see and kinda grueling to breath through, but I hustled on with a smile on my face and what felt like sand in my teeth! My will to live was strong, but by the time I reached the shock shack (and oh did I get shocked) I had only one flag remaining and was completely zombified by the end of the maze.
 

{my first attempt at sprinting past the hungry undead}

 About the Race:

• Each runner is given a flag belt which represents health. 3 health flags included for you to protect throughout the course.
• The zombies are looking to steal your flags.
•  If you have no flags left at the end, you are now a part of the undead.
• Health bonuses are hidden throughout the course. (I looked for these but was unsuccessful in finding any) If a runner finds one and carries it to the finish, it will save your life.
• The course is flooded with 2 types of zombies: stumblers (those who can only walk and not chase a runner) and chasers (those who can all out sprint and chase after a runner
• There were 12 man-made obstacles runners must compete in order to be eligible for prizes.

The Obstacles: (well, what I remember of them)

The Mud Hill (times 2):
At the end of what seemed about the first dusty mile, we encountered the Mud Hill which was two muddy steep mounds of dirt each ending with a mucky mud pit you were about waist deep in.  

{not sure what Im smiling at here pretty sure I had just lost my last flag}

Zombie Gauntlet:
A flat open surface covered with zombies as far as my eyes could see. And I was clearly covered in mud which made it tough to slosh through this obstacle while protecting my flags.

Shock Shack:
A smoked filled house (like a burning building) which you entered by crawling through the window stocked with dangling electrical wires you were forced to crawl under which i quickly learned after being shocked in the head (which literally felt like I was kicked in the face... ouch!)

Muddy Logs:
Three logs placed over a muddy puddle which I crawled over and watched some silly "hard core" athletes unnecessarily crawl underneath.

Zombie Infested Maze:
Self explanatory... a maze infested with zombies which I got lost in twice.

And other Zombie Gauntlet

Low Vaulting Wall:
There were a couple of these about 3-4 ft or so... up and over!

Barbed Wire:
Two large pits of mud covered in barbed wire you made your way through on ducking low and being careful on your hands and knees.

Yet another Small Zombie Gauntlet

Mud Slide:
Up a ladder and down a slippery slide into a pit of mud. This was undoubtedly the most entertaining obstacle for spectators as runners seemed to find all sorts of ways to slip down this slide into the pool of mud.

Arch Crawl:
About 100 yrds of closely spaced arches everyone made their way through, head to butt. Pretty sure we all looked insanely ridiculous. Some people crawled while other were on all fours. I however scooted along using my hands to kinda squat hop between each arch.

Electrified Chain Link Fence:
Approximately 6 feet long and about 15″ off the ground this was the last obstacle which required you to  get flat and low crawl to avoid electrocution.  Since I had already experienced a bit of electricity in the shock shack I avoided making contact with this fence like my life depended on it.  

 

 

The organization of this event surpassed my expectations (especially considering they were pumping out 500 runners every 30 minuets) Signage was clear and the registration process took merely minutes. Parking was effortless and very efficient (and love that we parked for free Subaru being a sponsor and Tom having a Subaru yay!) Even bag check and pick up was super fast. Unfortunately I reached the apocalypse party to celebrate my zombie transformation (in other words, I lost all my flags and therefore was now a part of the undead) but celebrated and enjoyed a refreshingly cold blue moon beer.  From uphill climbs, swimming through mud, crawling under fences and even going through an electric shock house (all while bobbing and weaving through groups of undead), we faced several obstacles that challenged our fearlessness. This was an awesome day to remember, all in all it made for a fun race for our lives I highly recomend it (see video below) and I would deffieitely consider running again!