An Eye Opening Week

This week there have been many non scale victories, lots of sweat, and some tears. I stood tall through it all. I learned that I need to check in with myself, and believe that I have changed. My body has changed quite a bit and I did not notice the changes it has made in the last few months until this week.

Friday was a great day; I spent most of the day relaxing. Around 4 my wife Kristy and good Friends Sandra, Lara, and I went to the batting cage. Now I have not hit a ball in about 15 years or so. I was not sure I would even remember how to do it. I put in the coin and the first pitch came down and I nailed the ball. Nope I did not forget it came back to me pretty quick. I think I missed about 5 balls out of the 100 pitches. It felt good. From the batting cages we went to boot camp, when we arrived Sandra gave me an awesome red Adidas shirt, with no time to look at it I put it on without looking to see what size it was. It fit well! Many fellow Boot campers comment I looked much slimmer with the shirt on. After Damir kick our asses for the hour I went to change and had time to check what size it was, 3XL wow I was wearing a 3XL shirt! I was so excited I was showing everyone. It was awesome!

On Saturday I hopped on the scale and I was down five pounds this week. After getting off the scale I grabbed my Alive and Empowerment shirt that was made for the Santa Shuffle. It did not really fit when we did the shuffle back in December. It also fit me, so I wore it to kickboxing.

Now kickboxing was an intense class, Sandra was my partner. Sandra does her roundhouses at the same level as my head; now on our last set she was kicking a little lighter than normal. Then all of a sudden she kicked very hard and I did not expect it and the pad and her foot hit me in the face! Almost knocking me down, but I recovered my balance and we finished. Thought for sure my nose was bleeding, but it was not. It was a very eye opening experience.

Later that evening Kristy, Ryan, Cheryl and I went out to dinner. When we arrived at the restaurant there were not tables left, just booths. Now in the past this would mean that we would have to wait, feeling good from fitting into a 3XL shirt, I felt like trying to see if I fit. Yes I fit, it was awesome! I have not been able to do that in many years.

Monday’s boot camp was good, Justine was my partner and she was good at pushing me to go hard. The hour flew right by!!

Tuesday’s Session was a crazy circuit, it began with this exercise that was different. I had to stand in the middle of thisCircle bar thing that had very heavy weights on it. So i had to squat twice with it and walk to the end of the fake grass. Squat twice again and Walk back. I had to do it 20 times. At the time it only hurt my hands to keep the weights up. Now we did burpees and a few other exercises, then we did sledge hammer slams on to the big ass tire and a few more Exercises, I think clean and presses were in there. Then we started the whole round again.

Now the circle bar thing with the heavy weights on it did not really hurt at the time, but when I woke up on Wednesday it was a whole different story. It hurt so bad I could not lift my arms very well; my shoulders were so tight it was a very hard day. It made kickboxing a very sore hour. It was an interesting experience.

Tonight session was very intense. We started with cardio. Now a treadmill experience with Damir is no walk in the park. I don’t think he knows the treadmill works when it is flat. No he likes it at a 15 incline and no holding on. After the treadmill, it was the Crank bike, he called it our recovery time. Yeah my heart is pounding out of my chest and the crank bike is my recovery. It was more like the treadmill got the heart rate up, and the crank bike kept it there. So when I got back on the treadmill I would barely be able to keep on it. After I think 4 or maybe 5 rounds of that Damir Said “take a small break.” So while we caught our breath Damir goes over to The Big Ass Tire and moves it onto the fake grass. I am thinking here we go again. So we head over to the Big Ass Tire and Damir says “flip the tire down to the end and back. Your second exercise will be with the Sled” Ryan smiles and heads over to the Big Ass Tire, so I started with the sled. Now the whole time I am pulling the sled I am thinking how it is I going to flip that tire, I only lifted it once. So when it is time to switch, Damir Says “Brian you could have given me a little more with the sled, you better lift the tire with a little more effort!” Busted, but I don’t think he realized the tire was messing with my head. Now I squat down and lift the tire, as I get it just over my knee I rest it and quickly switch my hands and push the tire down, it was very hard to do, but I could do it! So I Flip down and back, as it hits the floor on the last flip Damir hands me the Sledge hammer and says “Slams now.” I start hit the tire with the hammer, my heart is flying out of my chest, and I am think when he said we were going to doing the hammers slams. I finish with the hammer slams. Then we started the next round. Now this time, I pounded out the sled with a whole new attitude because the tire was not on my mind. Damir was much happier with that round. After the second round I thought we were done, I was exhausted. But Damir Says “one more time” so I pushed through and finished with the sled I dragged my ass over to the tire and started, I Struggled with the first flip, but got my 2^nd or maybe it was my 5^th wind and I flipped it with much more strength and made it through the end of the session.

It was an awesome week! I really love the whole Circuit training thing! In my mind there was no way I was ever going to flip that Big Ass Tire!! I wish I Believed in myself the way Damir Believes in me!

Climbing back up on the horse

Climbing back up on the horse

Last week I started boot camp and training again since my fall a few weeks ago. You would think it would be easy to jump back in. It was not; my day back at boot camp I was very excited to jump back in, but my body was not. Damir set up the boot camp so there were 3 area’s with 4 stations in each area. My first stop was burpees of course, as I started I noticed I was very nervous about dropping down and I did my first set slowly. Now I am not sure if Damir notice but when I was done he mentioned that in he was adding burpees to each area and I would be starting with burpees in each area. By the end of the class I was doing them like I normally do.

On Tuesday I walked into 2110 fitness for my training session, and I noticed a Big Ass Tire in the middle of the floor. As I got changed I was worried the tire was going to make an appearance in my session. After I got changed into my gym gear, I bumped into fellow Alive member Sheenah, as we got caught up one of the Trainer from 2110 came over to the tire we were standing beside, got excited to see it and dropped down and picked it up very smoothly. As he put it back down, Sheenah asked him how much it weighed? His replied was 300lbs. I started to smile, because I was sure we would not be lifting the tire. Ryan arrived and Damir went through what are session was going to be. It was all weight training; now I think I was really smiling... no tire. As always, I forgot that Damir has that special power of reading me like a book. Just as I was about to start he says” but, before you ladies start I want to see if you can lift the tire” All that was in my mind was “FUCK!!” Ryan went first he dropped down and struggled, but he got it up. Now it was my turn, now I am thinking I am not going to be able to do this. I squat down and only get it five inches off the ground. Oh well I tried. Both sessions were all weights & Cardio.

Wednesday and Saturday’s kickboxing boot camp was a lot of fun. My new Partner Sandra was awesome she pushed me hard and when she saw I was struggling a little with my wrist when I did the burpees with my boxing gloves on, she helped come up with something else for me to do. Also she made me laugh all the way through the class it was awesome!!

This week has started off with a bang, before boot camp on Monday I got together with Sandra and played catch for about 45mins. It was awesome!! Then boot camp was very intense. I think I may have had another first as I did push ups on my toes for the first time.

Now the last few weeks Kim cut my calories down quite a bit, I was not exercising as much or as hard so it made sense. Now this week she adds a few more than normal. Just looking at the new rotation on Monday, I knew Damir was going to go crazy and turn it up a notch. Now day one was today, but Damir thought day one was yesterday. So yesterday’s session was insane, in the first 5mins he had my heart pounding out of my chest. It was the fastest I have ever got to the puking stage. Of course my first exercise on his crazy mini circuit was Burpees; I asked if he meant dirty burpees, his response made me cringe, “Brian from now on when I say burpees I mean dirty burpees for you”

On my 5^th round of burpees I noticed Damir moving the Big Ass Tire onto the fake grass. As I finished with the burpees and other three exercises in the set, I am thinking “here we go, another tire workout, and this tire is much heavier. And I can’t even lift the dam thing”

As I take a small breather to catch my breath I see what the tire was for, Ryan and I are going to swing the Big Ass Tire back and forth. Ok now I am thinking I could do this, what is the most we will do pass it back and forth 10 times, so I start us off, pass it to Ryan, at this point I am thinking this is not that bad, he catches it and passes it back to me. it was like being hit by a linebacker it came down hard and very fast. After we had passed it back and forth about 20 times I drop it and before it even hits the ground I knew exactly what Damir was going to say “Brian Burpees now” which he did back. So back at it we go after Ryan and I have passed it back and forth 50 times we moved on the next thing in the circuit. After the first round we go back to the Big Ass Tire, and of course Drop it again and do burpees. while i am doing burpees Ryan picked it up off the ground with ease. So now I am thinking there is no way am I not going to do it as well? During our break before out last round I get my chance! Damir knocked over the Big Ass Tire by mistake and went over to pick it up, I piped up no let me try. He stopped and I could tell he was debating it in his head, but I insisted, so he got out of the way. I squatted down and I put my hands under it as far as could to grab on. And I lifted it up off the Fake Grass it was awesome!! The last round right flew by. As Damir put stuff away he asked “Was today, day one of adding more calories?” I answer “no tomorrow is” that when he said “oh shit, today’s workout Was supposed to be about that” he smiled and walked away. Now this is very scary, if he can see I can do what I did yesterday on very little calories, What is he going to through at us tomorrow!!

Oh how I am Missing Training

Oh how I am Missing Training

It has been 11 days since my last training session. Lost is the best way to describes how I feel. I started training to lose weight. It is still about weight loss, but now it is much more. Pushing my body past its limits, the happiness that comes from the feeling of accomplishment when you master a difficult exercise, my heart pounding in my head, the soreness in my body the next day, and the pride that comes from spending an hour getting my ass handed to me from Damir. I miss it all!!

A great circuit training session has an awesome rhythm to it. The first Round in the circuit is like a warm up round. It goes smooth I find my comfort zone, the second round is smooth, but it seems to go by fast and I can feel the comfort zone slowly disappearing , the third round is a hardcore pushing me way past my limits, my heart is pounding in my head. Round four is usually a big blur, my heart coming right out of my chest; I am feeling no pain, just high! Circuit training with Damir is by far my favourite kind of session. I love it more than kickboxing. Oh how I miss that.

Weight training session is awesome, a much slower more focused. It is a different kind of session. I like it just not as much as circuit training.

Boot camp is a whole different beast. Monday & Friday is like a circuit training session, with a great group people all pushing hard towards the same goal. It is awesome to work in a group. There is always someone there to push you hard. Sometimes the push comes from another boot camper kicking ass beside you. Sometimes they are pushing you by giving you a gentle encouragement...unless I am working out next to Kim then it’s not gentle at all, as she likes to push me hard! No time to catch my breath if she is beside me!! ... Everyone so positive, I missed it so much.

Last night I was in the room working out on a cardio machine, but it is not the same as doing the boot camp. Standing tall, Sweating through Damir's crazy ass boot camp together. Looking to you left having the person next to you working super hard, looking to your right seeing another pushing through ... It rocks!!

Wednesday & Saturday boot camp is kickboxing and if you have been following my blog you know I love kickboxing. I missed this so much as well!!

Cardio on the hamster wheel or the elliptical is good, but it is not as great as training or Boot camp. I can get my heart pounding and my body sweating on the machines, however it seems I cannot push my body past it limits.

Monday Everything goes back to normal I can't wait!!

the other shoe

the other shoe

It has been a tough week, I sometimes talk about my fear of the other shoe dropping, well this week it did. Tuesday’s session I was finally settling into 2110 Fitness, Damir was seriously kicking Ryan and I’s ass. I was doing well with the food thing; life was starting to feel normal again. That’s when the other shoe dropped!!

Wednesday I was just cleaning up at the end of my shift when I lost my footing and fell, twisting my ankle like the top of a bottle, falling hard to the cement floor. I am sure the on my way down I tighten up my core, like I do at the gym, and just like every other time I have fallen I use my hand and forearm to stop the fall. It was the hardest impact I think I have ever had. While I was on the ground I was thinking ok this is not that bad I will lay here a bit, and catch my breath. Then I started to try and get up, and I was in extreme pain. As I lied there I was thinking shit I am not going to be able to go to kickboxing boot camp for sure. As my co workers rallied around me to try and help me up, that is when the worst case pop in my head, I broke a bone in my ankle & I won’t be able to train for months. After getting in a cab, headed to the Doctor I started to feel a lot of pain in my left hand. So as a half empty glass kind of guy that I am. I really start to panic if my foot is broken and my hand is broken how I will get around.

After many , many, many hours at the doctor I found out my foot is not broken, just sprained and my wrist may have a broken bone in it that does not show up on an x-ray for ten days, so I need to wear a splint for the 10 days.

So his means no training or boot camp for awhile. No exercise sucks, last year about this time I had to take time off from training for illness, I climbed the walls at home. It has been 5 days and I am already climbing the walls. My support team is being very positive, I was not so positive. I know I am not in a race, when it comes to my weight loss. But I am so tired of this fat suit I wear every day, the sooner it comes off the better. I first saw this as a setback. Now I am thinking it time to put my eating habits to the test.

Now I wanted to skip the whole weighing in thing this week! Kim was not to keen on that, so I stepped on the scale and I was up 2 pounds. I started to freak out! Last time I gained Damir said there would be consequences to a weight gain. Damir is a no excuses kind of guy so I thought for sure I am up the creek.

Kim calmed me down, and I texted Damir, who as could tell from my text I was upset. He calmed me down. Reminded me everything happens for a reason, and I will come out of this strong then I was before. Now I don’t know about that!

Kim has decided this is a great time to work harder on my body and my food so Tuesday I am starting some sort of cleanse thing, i used to make fun of that shit.... now i have to do it. Of course I Googled it and I must say I had a good laugh and thought why am I going to do this again.... that’s when I remembered that I said I would do whatever Kim and Damir wanted. They both seem excited for me to do it. So I guess after this week I can’t make fun of people who do Cleanses anymore...

This week my plan is to stay standing tall and I hope to be at the very least to be back on the hamster wheel before Friday.

Damir’s Circuit of Doom

Damir’s Circuit of Doom

Ok now I must say Damir is on fire, our training sessions have been on an entire different World. Now I think he knows my cardio is not at the same level as it was at alive, so he is kicking the shit right out of Ryan and me! Last summer we did a circuit outside with a giant tire. Our workouts now make the giant tire circuit feel like the good old days.

Tonight we arrived early, so I hopped on the elliptical because I don’t like watching Damir set up the sessions, because as he sets it up and if I see what he is thinking I tend to cringe at stuff I don’t like. I prefer not to have time to think about what is coming.

He set up a circuit that I am going to call “Damir’s circuit of doom!” At first glance I thought it was going to be an easy session, but I was wrong!! The first exercise was ropes, some call the ropes “ropes gone wild” I say there is nothing wild about the ropes. The rope was tied to the weight sled so when we were done playing with the ropes, you had to Squat and pull the sled up to you. Then push the sled back! Next we did plank rows, 15 each arm. Then it was off to the Ball slam.... I love the ball slam!! Next it was what I am going to call “the punch in the face”; it was like last week with the green ball full of water. This time it was a red roll full of water. Again I popped it up in the air like Damir said and it came down on my face and my neck. It really sucks!!! Next it was Dirty Burpees.....yeah Baby!! Gotha to love those. The TRX rows were next, that was supposed to be the last one, but Damir threw in Squat clean and press.

After the first set, Damir said let’s do it again, but this time we will add and a pull, push with the sled!!So I start going hard on the ropes and pull, push. That’s when it hit me this whole session is going to be this circuit. So I take my time pulling back the sled, of course Damir notices and yells lets go Brian!! So I turn it back up, and pound off the push pulls, Plank rows and ball slam. I started with the dam water filled roll and bang I figure it out, pop the roll up like you would bump volleyball. It worked!! I thought holy shit I did it right!! I pound off the rest of that set pretty quickly.

As I finish the second round, I went to sit and grab water my heart was just pounding in my head. Damir said something to me, but all I heard was “wha wha wha wha” ... so I got up and started my next round as I picked up the ropes, Damir said 3 times now with the sled!! I smiled and started with the ropes, and gave it my all on the next three stations. That is when my heart felt like it was coming right out chest. But I pushed on as hard as I could because I Was thinking it was the last round. After I finished I went and sat and grabbed my water bottle. Damir says lets go Brian we are doing five rounds today! As I walk over to the ropes I am thinking I am not going to be able to do this again my heart is just pounding hard! I do the ropes and I start pulling the sled, now I am having a hard time pulling it back, then something someone said earlier in the day slipped in my head I don’t know why, but it did. “This is where we separate the boys from the men!!” That is when I get this second wind I did not think I had. So I pound off the sled and I just go full tilt on the Plank rows and Ball slams! As I picked up the red roll filled with water, which is when my body had something to say, and bang I vomit in my mouth, and swallow. After that it seemed to become easier. So I finish the fourth round and as I start walking to my water bottle Damir say right away Brian you only have to do the sled a fifth time. So I pound off the sled and I must say it was an amazing feeling to finish the circuit without really bitching about it. Like I said Damir is on fire!!!

I can already feel my body stiffening up! I hope I can Walk tomorrow!!

Summer of Possibilities

Summer of Possibilities

In my weight loss journey I feel I am close to big changes this summer. I will do many of the things I have always wanted to try. Basketball, this maybe the first thing I will be able to try. I am hoping this summer a few friends will get together on a Saturday and play some basketball. I have never really play basketball, but am very excited to give it a try. Also maybe ride a bicycle maybe in the cards. Although I have not even been on a spin bike, I am hoping to blow the dust off my bicycle, give it a tune up and go for a ride in fish creek. I really want this, so I am pushing hard in sessions and with the food to reach this goal.

I am also excited to do a little hiking in Fish Creek & maybe try a small hike in banff. But first I will be running a 5k I'm May, last year I did this 5k, walked the whole way it took me 1:26 to finish. This year I am hoping to run and walk it and push hard and finish in 45mins.

I would also like to play softball, Walmart sometimes has a tournament during the summer, if they do I am going to give it a try.

Also I would love to try boating of some kind. When I was in my teens I used to kayak. I would love to try that or maybe try a canoe. The summer has so many possibilities, this is going to be the best summer ever!

The one thing I am going to defiantly going to do is playing catch. I do believe I have many friends that like to do this, so I am going to try and do this as much as I can do!

I feel amazing, all my hard work feels like it really is taking me where I want to go! If I stay on on this path I will be in the 200's by September. The last time I was in the 200's I think I was in high school. I don't remember what it is like to be in the 200's, i am guessing it will make life a lot easier.

Jail yard chain squat lifts from hell

Jail yard chain squat lifts from hell

Funny right when I think Damir has settled into a groove with our training, he surprises the shit out of me. On my way to the gym tonight my Buddy and nutritional Coach Kim sent me a text message “last night’s training session was insane”. So I knew he was in one of his crazy moods, what I did not know is that it was going to make me literally cry like a little girl!

As I came out of the change room tonight, I saw Damir showing Ryan the first part of our First set. I thought it was a joke... from time to time Damir makes a joke like that, showing us something crazy and then just before we did he says just kidding. Not this time!! So I choose to do the crazy thing first, I am calling it “Jail yard chain squat lifts from hell”. So this is how it went Damir put the heavy bench press bar on my shoulders with two heavy chains attach to the bar and had me sit on two step up steppers. It was insane. I thought there is no way I am going to be able to do this. As I stood up the first time my whole body shook. I did ten, with a breather in between. I switch over to do what Ryan was doing, biceps curls and over head press, and Ryan went over to the “Jail yard chain squat lifts from hell”. As I started to curl the weights I heard Ryan say stop in a voice I have never heard before. That when Damir and Clayton grabbed the bar off Ryan’s Shoulders very fast. In fact I have never seen two trainers jump into action so quickly before. Damir modified the squat lift for Ryan, as put the weights down from the Curls and pressed Damir Say “now Nine “ and pointed to the bar with the chains on it. As I walked over to the bar I said to myself Damir would not make me do it if I could not do it so time to cowboy up and do it with confidence. That is exactly what I did.

The next two sets was normal stuff we have done many times before, Step ups and squat rows, chest flies and triceps lifts. However the last sets pushed me beyond my limits! First I had to throw this ball full of water in the air from the squat position, catch it and do it again. The problem with this is that when the ball comes back down it hits me in the face, it was like being punched it the face. So I have done that about ten times I think. Then I switched with Ryan, to squat pulls with the rope tied to the weight Sled, like I did last Friday with the steel beams in the truck at work. Once I had pulled the sled to me I had to push it back and do it again. Problem with this was I wanted to run the sled back, but the dam rope kept getting in the way. After pulling it back and pushing it back, Damir said back to the ball. So again I throw that ball in the air and it smacked me in the face! Damir try to help me figure out how to do it without the smack, but I just couldn’t .again I switched over to the pull and push. And banged that out! That when Damir said “one more time” As I started the ball hit me square on the nose and as I continued I started to cry. Of course I stopped because ...... well because I started to see stars. Damir saw that I stopped so he added a and extra pull and push to Ryan, and yelled lets go Brian. So I pop that ball back in the air and it came down and hit me again in the face..... But now I was mad so I just kept going taking it in the face, did it about two more times before I switched. Now the pull and push was much easier to do because I was pissed, so I pounded that off, even with and extra one pretty quick. As Damir gave us the traditional great job hand slap, I just laided down right there in the fake grass and took a minute to collect myself... It was an extreme work out and it blows my mind!!