The word “Yoga” is said to stem from Sanskrit and it can mean union or  discipline.  Some have interpreted the word to mean a union of the body, mind and soul.  I can tell you that I definitely did not have that union yesterday  morning.  I had my 1st private lesson with Lori in Yoga.  Lori owns her own studio called Yatra Yoga.  A couple of things:

First of all Lori is an awesome instructor and made me feel real comfortable.  Her instruction was clear, articulate and filled with passion.  The good stuff that I look for in my instructors.  I would recommend her for Yoga training if you’re in Burnaby, BC area.  She also teaches out of the Gold’s Gym in the area, but I found the studio more to my liking.  She was very “gentle” with me for my first time and I found myself really enjoying the postures and the breathing exercises.  Yoga definitely stretched me out and challenged my strength; I even got a fairly good sweat going on.  Another thing that I found astounding was her breathing.  We take breathing for granted, and quite frankly we do it wrong.  I was amazed how deeply she breathed in and out; like I mean the room vibrated with her energy.  I felt like I was wheezing in comparison to her.  She also moved very well into each posture, matching each inhale and exhale with a positional change.  One thing that she said that struck me was “let your breathe move you.”  I will definitely have to contemplate this.  All in all it was a good experience and I will be training with her for the rest of the week.  I can also say  that by the end of the session I was a little closer to this coveted union    Namaste Lori

Afterwards  I chilled out at this 20 year old cafe with these old Italian dudes as I made my way through Sakyong Mipham’s Ruling Your World, another great book.  I must say I was distracted by the old guys, so I left them to their own devices and made my way to KB1 for training camp.

Mehdi was busy, so I busied myself with 9 two minute rounds with 1 min breaks on various heavy bags.  Afterwards I did a fight simulation with Mehdi, holding for 5 three minute rounds.  The last round was murder!  I was feeling it, and at times I was going to call it quits!  Afterwards I went back to work a drill on the bag that Mehdi gave me; for 6 three minute rounds with 30 sec breaks   Mehdi continued to spar a bit.   Here is a short video clip of Mehdi finishing a 9 minute round with Semmy Schilt’s little brother!

I got an opportunity to hang around with Perry and watch a bit.  Perry is Mehdi’s boxing coach.  I love hanging around for “story” time with Perry.  He is one of those olde school coaches, with a lot of charisma and wisdom that I hope to attain as a coach one day.

I finished my workout with a Tabata protocol on a Concept 2 Rower, using my Gym Boss to help me through.

The evening was done with Josip and I going off to Brown’s for Kobe burgers and yam fries.  Need that weight!!!  Tomorrow is more hell at the camp.  Be good guys-Jd

Eita! Finalmente resolvi atualizar isso aqui!

Não devia, já que estou com trilhões de coisas pra fazer (pra variar né…), mas estou afim de vir contar algumas novidades (seja lá quem ainda passa por aqui hehehe)

A maior novidade creio ser minhas recentes tentativas em mudar meu estilo de vida. Não que estava um lixo, mas não estava como gostaria.

Felipe e eu finalmente resolvemos nos inscrever numa academia,. Há 3 semanas estamos frequentando Gold’s Gym. E é tão bom voltar a ter uma vida ativa! Sentia muita falta da minha época de Átrio (a academia que malhava em Goiânia). Posso dizer que foi lá que aprendi a gostar de praticar atividade física!

Estou puxando ferro (que adoro!!), fazendo Tae-Bo, spinning (esporadicamente), e cardio. Tem uma sala de cinema com aparelhos de cardio que é show de bola!

Bom, meu objetivo agora (além dos estudos e trabalho, claro!) é melhorar meu estilo de vida. Além da academia, Felipe e eu temos tentado melhor nossa alimentação; diminuímos muito as saídas para comer fora (que normalmente se resumia a hamburguer), diminuímos as compras de alimentos pouco saudáveis e aumentamos de frutas e verduras.

Inclusive, tem uma frutaria excelente a poucos blocos daqui, bem como um açougue que vende cortes brasileiros!!!

Nessas 3 semanas já tenho me sentido bem melhor e Felipe não tem sentido mais dores nas costas como antes.

E descobri um site super legal, cheio de informações, onde podemos criar um perfil, adicionar fotos e outras informações pessoais para acompanhar nosso progresso. www.bodybuilding.com Apesar do nome parecer um pouco “hardcore”, até que achei bastantes coisas interessantes por lá mesmo para quem não quer pegar muito pesado em alterofilia.

Além dessas mudanças, tudo na paz. Nosso novo apê é bem mais tranquilo. A região é superagradável. As pessoas são mais educadas. O trânsito não é uma loucura… enfim. Graças a Deus, tudo parece estar ajeitando.

Meu trabalho no Teaching and Learning Services está uma delícia. A pesquisa ainda meio enrolada, mas agora estou mais preocupada com o Comprehesive Exam (aquele teste de doutorado que cai simplesmente tudo de nutrição…).

“That’s all I have to say about that…” =]
(Forrest Gump)

Abraços para quem (ainda) passa por aqui… hehehe

Laura G.

Angel and I made a date to look for her shoes that she will wear to a garden wedding this weekend. We decided to go to Podium since I was also planning to buy a new pair of Espadrilles from Sueño de Espadrilles. I originally own a dirty white pair but because I had it washed, it became beige and are choking my feet [they shrunk!]. **Note: Espadrilles are not meant to be washed.

Espadrilles by Sueño de Espadrilles

Aside from Podium, I planned to do my errands today since Blade Mall of Asia has long been texting me that the seat cover I ordered was finally in the store. So I finally did get the seat cover and fetched Angel at Glorietta.

When we got to Podium, we were so hungry that we decided to eat lunch first, hence Kimono Ken. Normally, when I eat in Japanese restaurants, I order Teriyaki Chicken or Teriyaki Salmon. But this time, I decided to go for a change and tried a new dish [will supply this name later on]. It was soooo goooood and it only cost me P150! Change is good.

After eating, we went shoe hunting. And boy! Did we find some shoes!

Even though I was planning to buy my Espadrilles, I was unable to because they did not have the style I wanted. On the other hand, I found this adorable baby that blew me away. Instead of getting the Steve Madden shoe which would cost me close to P9000, I am getting this shoe instead.

Bootie by Substance

I was really about to pay for it but the saleslady could not give me a discount [there's a defect on the back]. So anyway, she reserved the shoe for me until she confirms with her boss.

Angel, meanwhile, was able to buy whore heels from People are People [picture next time] which only cost her P600! They were so cuttteee!! But she later realized that she still needed shoes for the wedding. Since she was running low on money, we both decided to look for shoes which would only cost P400.

So after Podium, we went to Galleria since I had a schedule to visit Gold’s Gym. While I checked out the amenities of the gym [planning to join? get in touch with me! They have a promo!!!], Angel checked out the shoes in the Department Store.

When I was able to catch up with her, I told her VNC was having a sale and we should check out 50th Avenue as well. So we did, and finally, Angel found shoes from Cole Vintage at only P300! Meanwhile, I found another new pair of shoes to drool over from VNC. They still cost P2,600+ and they’re breaking my heart..

Hej alla!
Nu är jag hemma i lägenheten en snabbis innan jag ska iväg igen.
Idag jobbade jag 8-16 och sen tränade jag rygg och biceps med Elin på Golds gym.
Och nu är jag som sagt bara hemma för att äta lite thaimat innan jag, Jakob och Hinken ska dra till ..

Hörs när vi kommer hem igen!

Ciao

I play head games with myself.  That’s how I get more from my cardio workouts.  To me, there is nothing more boring than doing cardio at the gym looking at the same stale scenery.  So, I create my own mental intervals to keep from going mad.

• Alternate calorie/distance goals.  When I first get on the machine, I have a calorie goal, say 800 calories.  When I reach that, I then keep going until I round my distance to the next full mile.  So, if at 800 calories, I’ve done 3.2 miles, I’ll keep going until I hit 4 miles.  Then… round up to the next 100-calorie marker, like 1000 calories.  It’s a way I find to get a better workout than just climbing on with no end plan at all and giving up the first time I’m totally winded or bored.

• Use the Eliptical’s features. All too often, I see people climb on an elliptical and just start going.  A steady pace on level 1.  90 minutes later, they’re still going at the same steady pace on level 1.  That’s not for me.  I want to get the most calories burned in the least amount of time—I’ve got better things to do with my day!  I opt for the HILL feature which alternates the tension to mirror running up hills.  Then, I also opt for a higher level (the higher level, the tighter the machine’s tension).  I tend to go with levels 13-15.  You won’t reach any personal best distance goals, but you will get a better cardio workout than just going slow and steady.  Beware though—calf cramps!

This week’s workout playlist highlights:

• Kid Rock, Badwitdaba (Devil Without A Cause)
• AC/DC, Thunderstruck (The Razor’s Edge)
• 3 Days Grace, Just Like You
• U2, New Years Day (Live from Slane Castle)
• Gavin Rossdale, Adrenaline (XXX Soundtrack)
• House of Pain, Jump Around
• Evanescence, Call Me When You’re Sober (The Open Door)

El segundo nivel de Plaza Vea Brasil albergaría a Energym

La cadena de gimnasios Energym estaría trabajando en las obras de un nuevo establecimiento en Jesús María. Este tendrá por ubicación el segundo nivel del hipermercado Plaza Vea en la intersección de las avenidas Brasil y Húsares de Junín.

El nuevo gimnasio representa el primer proyecto conjunto entre Energym y Plaza Vea, cadena que, al parecer, le ha dado énfasis a la explotación de nuevos espacios para arrendamiento en sus autoservicios. Al respecto, las tiendas que ha inaugurado en lo que va del año cuentan con operadores menores como Norky’s, Sweet Garden, Pizzanova y el salón de belleza Mint, además de los ya tradicionales Interbank, Inkafarma y Econolentes.

Cabe indicar que a tres cuadras del futuro Energym opera un local de Gold’s Gym, nada menos que sobre otro autoservicio: el supermercado Metro ubicado en la cuadra 13 de la avenida Garzón.

It’s a wonderful thing to see other people learn or accomplish new things.  I imagine those of you with kids elate when your child learns how to open cupboards, throw things in the toilet, and talk back to you, just as I was thrilled when my dog learned to climb over a child gate or onto a table.  Excluding sarcasm (Ha.), watching others’ growth is uplifting.  Experiencing one’s own learning process is, well, not always so uplifting.

Learning theory aside, I see three types of learning opportunities – learning through hard work, learning by mistake, and learning by discovery.   I’m surely no one to comment on hard work; however I’ve made sufficient mistakes and some interesting discoveries in my many decades.   Mistake-based learning, or, as I refer to it, “learning experiences” (note that air-quotes are required if you say this out-loud; this may also be interchanged with “humbling experiences”), are those situations in which you learn something not by choice, but by humiliation.  For example, yesterday I learned Gold’s Gym’s policy is that paying members may not use the aerobics room when class is in session.  I learned this after the cardiofunk instructor stopped her class to march over to Dan and me and instruct us to leave.   There’s nothing like two fat people being forced to leave an aerobics room in front of 40 college-aged onlookers.  However, this mistake-based learning needed to occur through only one experience.  This is highly effective.  With behavioral experiences, the memory of the event lingers – for kids, we often hear the example of touching a hand to a hot burner.  Kids know that the burner is hot and will not repeat the behavior (ideally…some kids, well… never mind). 

Humiliation sucks.  I could do with fewer “learning experiences” in my life.  However, the kind of learning I especially enjoy is that which occurs fortuitously or spontaneously through discovery.  For example, Dan just suggested the joy of discovering ankle socks.  Reluctant for years, he finally caved.  At some point he might even conform and wear a purple shirt (however, we both still veto him in pink).  Some exceptional things I have discovered somewhat accidentally include the joy of chewing pebble ice, shopping at the For Every Body outlet, performing basic plumbing, handling all kinds of technology-related problems, the luxury of texting on QWERTY-keyboarded cell phones, and how Red Robin season salt ($3) is good on more than just Red Robin steak fries.

So, since I don’t want to talk about the unfortunate part of “learning experiences”, the question o’ the day is – what good things have you learned that required essentially no effort to learn? And, can you teach me…or is that too much effort?

It’s been 3 years since I cancelled my gym membership…and I’ve never been in better shape!

I went to the gym year after year to keep fit and do workouts that improved my ability to play beach volleyball and other sports I enjoy…I was even a sponsored athlete with Gold’s Gym for 8 years (Santa Barbara and Venice locations). While I have no beef with gym’s or gym-goers, I found that hitting the gym 3-5 times per week was incredibly disruptive to my life and therefore decided to make a change.

The departure from working out at the gym had the following up sides:

• saved money on membership fees
• saved money on parking fees (yes, parking costs money in California!)
• saved money on gas to and from the gym
• saved time spent getting to and from the gym
• less exposure to sweat and germs left on equipment
• no more frustration that the equipment I want to use is taken
• no “prime time” hours and high-traffic hours to contend with
• no more seasonal surges in membership to clog the facility with newbies and short-timers
• no more annoying cell phone talkers yappin away while doing cardio simultaneously

Now that life’s distractions have been trimmed down by letting my membership expire it was time to find a worthy replacement for the thousands of pounds or training equipment I was accustomed to having access to (when not in use or out of order). Ironically enough, the solution for me was a piece of equipment that weighed less than two pounds and looked like a three-legged seatbelt – the TRX Suspension Trainer, a bodyweight-based fitness tool that uses your bodyweight and gravity as resistance to provide whole-body workout capability that’s functional in nature, core-intensive and made easy or extremely difficult depending on the user’s ability, desire and fitness goals.

Granted, Suspension Training took me 2-3 workouts in order to really get the hang of it but now that I’m a proficcient TRX user, my workout options are endless…and I have no reason to ever spend money and join a gym again! 

My investment in TRX cost $150 and the product has held up for over three years, even with regular use (3-5 times per week…and my wife uses it too). That’s a great return on investment when compared to 3-years worth of gym membership fees! Even better, I used an affiliate code at checkout and received a gift certificate that paid for my door anchor accessory, which I use to set up my TRX off of doors at home and when I’m on the road at hotels or a friends house. You can use the affiliate code “GIFT” at checkout and do the same thing!

Check out my website, www.VirtualWorkoutPartner.com which is dedicated to helping people stay fit despite living a busy lifestyle. I hope TRX becomes your fitness solution and saviour from undesirable costs, hassel and lost time as well. Please comment and let me know how your life has improved with TRX added to your arsenal of fitness tools.

Baby, just ride the bike!

It’s the second week of working out at Gold’s and the second time that we’ve joined the Monday class of Precision Cycling – and man, we”re really enjoying the class.

What makes it so different? Well, for me:

1. My feet doesn’t ache!

I’m flat footed and I my doctor said I shouldn’t run a lot because the bone on my foot will go lower and will often cause foot aches <<<< Good ol’ excuse

2. I can last for an hour with cycling!

I can’t last for more than 30 minutes of running/jogging – even when I have someone to chat while doing so.

3. I’m having a lot of fun while doing it!

I can be that the music we’re using is energizing and the routine works with it well OR the routine’s fun and varying and can give you that variety you’re looking for OR probably both

In any case – Gold’s Precision cycling class makes working out (every Mondays) really enjoyable.

Here’s our results for the second week. You can check out our previous weights here.

Qny - ??? lbs. (she was sick last Monday)

DHK - 206 lbs.

Won Won – 174 lbs.

————————————————–

Side Story

I did this fitness test they’re offering for newbies in the gym. I’m happy with the results – low body fat, normal fitness level, NORMAL weight but CAN”T believe that the freakin gym instructor thought that:

1. I was twenty-nine – WTF?! Am I THAT stressed? Di kaya! Was it because of my handwriting?!

2. I was a girl – WTF?! Was it because of the stupid long messy hair? And he was actually gauging my results (at first) on the women’s chart until I corrected him.

X_X

I have a new physical trainer at my new gym, Gold’s Gym Alabang. His name is Froiland.

He looks something like this, only not as pleasant.

He’s brutal, ripped, and unusually cruel – he makes me do painful, unusual things on machines with such strange names as a “treadmill” and a “stationary bike.”

He’s also brutally frank, and took my vital statistics to prove a point. I’m obviously not in the best of shape, as I’m shaped more like a Coke can than a Coke bottle. (In the meantime, let’s not debate on why a rugged, manly dude such as myself would want to shape like a Coke bottle, to begin with…)

I’m extremely lopsided, based on these numbers. My right side outmeasures my left side by half an inch for most bodyparts.. no wonder my clothes fit funny.

Froiland has his heart set on turning me into the second coming of Ravishing Rick Rude. He says it’s for my health, but I think he just likes the thought of “accidentally” teabagging me as he spots me on my bench press…

My workout is divided into three days. Here’s how Day One (Shoulders & Legs) looks.

He expects me to finish all of these in an hour-and-a-half. Right.

Day Two (Back & Biceps) is slightly easier, but is still a pain to get through. I’ve always had a strong back and biceps though, so I expect I’ll be able to just breeze through this day.

Day 3 is for Chest & Triceps, and looks like the most fun.

The one thing I don’t like from this program (apart from all the cardio, which I really do, but hate every step of the way!) is the little addendum he tacked on at the end. He says I have to do this too, on top of the 3-day split:

I swear to God, it’s a joke asking MDJ Superstar to do such undignified, un-cool things as freaking abdominal crunches. I don’t think I’ve done those in years. But alas, I must obey, despite the unglamorous side effects of doing crunches, such as grunting, groaning, sobbing a little bit inside, and just overall sounding like “a cow with intestinal gas” (based on feedback heard from innocent bystanders).

I no longer want to argue with people that I am in shape – the caveat being that round certainly counts as a shape.

I no longer want to insist that I am just “big-boned” – with the caveat this time being that my stomach simply has a big tummy bone.

I want to be fit, I want to be ripped, and most importantly I want to be loved and wanted for my body more than for my mind.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what being a Superstar is really all about.

I’ve found my new gym buddies – Qny and DHK. With one goal of losing weight and firming up in mind, we started working out yesterday.

FACT: I was intimidated when I first entered the gym because most of the people working out are not THAT fat. Well, that, in a way, boosted my confidence that I can really be… healthier with the program that they’re going to give me – with the proper diet, motivation and commitment, of course.

Anyways, we’ve tried Precision Cycling from 6:30 to 7:30 in the evening. If you’re wondering why it’s that long, well, I’m still wondering about it too. The routine/group exercise consists of 3 stages where your stamina and strength are measured and challenged individually then at the same time. It was one hell of an exercise! I was sweating profusely and my eggs and legs hurt – until now (except the eggs).

I’ll be returning on TH for my tests and the program they’ll give me. The gym guys wanted me NOT to eat 5 hours and NOT to eat/drink caffeine 24 hours before my scheduled test. Well, hope it works out fine for me.

MYTH: It’s not true that eating 2 pieces of wheat pandesal after a workout will keep you satisfied the whole night. You must eat!

I’m planning to document our progress through this blog and for starters, here’s our initial weights. No pictures as we’d want to make this blog as anonymous as possible.

Qny – 138 lbs.

DHK – 203 lbs.

Won Won – 178 lbs.

That someone who works for a church does not have an email address from the church, or at least their own private email address.  A friend of mine mentioned Westbridge Community Church on their blog.  We both get generic mailings from this church and I am sick and tired of walking to the recyling bin with them, so I went to their website to ask to be removed from the mailing list.  Well, interestingly enough, the website has no “Contact Us” tab and no obvious site map.  So I clicked one tab which got me nowhere, then I clicked the “Team” tab and got a list of the people who supposedly run this church.  I clicked on the guy whose job was listed as Groups and his email address popped up.  He apparently works at Gold’s Gym!  That was his email info.  Does Gold’s know that he’s using their email system to get his church going?  This is highly unethical by my standards (although I have been told that few people would actually be able to meet my standards-poppycock I say, try a little harder.  Afterall, how many free email providers are there in Webworld? Loads!).  Well, I emailed him to take us off the mailing list.  Let’s see if he complies.  Or if he even gets the email, since if I were Gold’s, I’d fire him.

My flirt-dar is non-existent. Unless it’s blatant “Hola, Mami”-stylings, I am kinda clueless if a guy is checking me out. For example: A few nights ago  I went went to Whole Foods and for once I had worn makeup to work so I wasn’t looking as blah as I usually do. I sorta forgot that I looked decent and was poking around the produce section looking for my spinach when I thought I caught the eye of a somewhat cutie. At first it registered that he was cute, but the pressing matter of finding spinach was more important. Plus, I thought the glance in my direction  was an accident.

I had 3 things on my mind: spinach, avocados and watermelon. Penis was not on the list.

Once I found my spinach,  and I  started my watermelon search, I saw him near the peaches and he was again casting a glance in my direction. As I looked for my watermelon, I started to think, “heeeyyyy, maybe he’s checking me out??” By the time it registered, and I try to  see if I could catch eyes w/him again, he was gone. And all I could think was how I had just FAIL’d at the produce flirting game.

And then there’s the gym. So for the past couple of trips to the gym there has been this dude that I’ve been eying. We’ll call him Abnormally Tall Hottie. He has to be at least 6′8. Seriously, he’s a Ginormotron. I don’t even reach his shoulder.

The first time I noticed Abnormally Tall Hottie was when he was next to me on the elliptical (which doesn’t help w/ figuring out the height).  He’s got a nice lean body, light brown hair,  tends to wear dark blue  and as Vagabondventures would say, “He’s cute for a white guy.”  But I suspect he’s not that bright.

I was well into my 40-min routine when he jumped on and started going, but soon he was making these weird groany/grunt/gasp things. Dunno if that’s how he catches his breath or he has asthma or what, but he sounded like a pussy. It’s an elliptical, dude. Chicks and old guys use it and we don’t moan like we’re dying. Suck it up.

I didn’t attempt a conversation b/c a) I’m chicken and b)  I was afraid the exertion to speak to me while on the elliptical might have killed him.  After a scolding pep talk from Vagabondventures, I was determined to think about considering attempting conversation w/ ATH.

For starters, I usually only see him walking from one piece of equipment to the other, and I’m usually on the elliptical (glowing red and dripping buckets of sweat) so I can’t easily strike up a convo  but I have noticed that he walks around w. a spiral-bound notebook  and writes in it after reps. Now I get tracking your progress, (and I have been known to lose count of my reps and end up overdoing it)  but to see a dude who’s in shape doing that seems a lil’ “speshul”. Or maybe I’m a bitch.

And there was the time I was rocking out to my favorite Beto song, while on the elliptical. It wasn’t a full -on Brad Pitt dancing on the treadmill (skip to 1:54) scene, but there was definite musical interpretation movement on my part. And lip-synching. My eyes might have been closed too. When I opened them, I saw him looking away from me. Yeeeaaaah.

maaaaybe I’m the one who’s Speshul.

Hej alla!

Nu är det redan en ny jobbvecka igen. Men det är bara fem dagar kvar innan jag och Vera drar till Paris.
Det ska bli skitkul och jag längtar sååå!
Men, det är bara en sak. Jag måste skriva ut biljetterna online, och jag har ingen skrivare!! Hmm, får se hur det ska gå.
Nu ska jag iväg till jobbet och jobba 8 timmar. Sen blir det träning med Elin på Golds.

Måste springa!
Ha det underbart!

Client:	Gold’s Gym
Agency:	Jotabequ, San José
Creatives:	Noelia Badilla (Photographer) Héctor Acuña (Art Director) Osvaldo Baldi (Copywriter)
Country:	Costa Rica
Other Credits:
Campaign file:	No campaign file is available for this ad.

I ran across these creative ads for Gold’s Gym Costa Rica! Its interesting how marketing strategies vary depending the country. Sparce approves.

via Likecool

Hej alla!

Imorses så upptäckte vi att vi inte hade något varmvatten, attans! Så därför var jag tvungen att dra mej till Golds gym för att kunna duscha efter jobbet.
Så då tänkte jag, varför inte slå två flugor i en smäll? Jag kan ju lika gärna träna om jag ändå ska till gymmet. Jag menar, varför inte göra sej lite svettig innan man ändå ska duscha?
Hehe, smart va?
Men så är det ju det här att jag inte riktigt “vågar” träna själv. Jag har lite problem med det, har liksom alltid haft någon med mej. Känns som att alla kollar på en när man är på gymmet. Speciellt ett sånt “fint” gym, där det är viktigare att se bra ut än att ta i lite för mycket så att man ser dum ut. Hmm, konstigt va?
Det känns nästan som att vissa gjort sej i ordning för ett träningspass, det är ju helt sjukt.
Själv så går jag till gymmet för att träna.
I alla fall, när jag kom dit så ställde jag mej på en sån där maskin där man går med både ben och armar (hehe, ni fattar säkert!). Dom har nämligen tv på alla dom maskinerna, så jag satte i hörlurarna och stog där och trampa samtidigt som jag kollade på scrubs. Underbart, tänkte inte ens på att jag tränade… Förens det blev reklam och jag upptäckte att jag svettades som en gris!!
Då var det dags för lite styrka. Så jag satte på musik och gjorde mina övningar.
Sen måste jag säga att jag kände mej väldigt duktig! Efter träningen så blev det en lååång dusch! Man vet ju aldrig när varmvattnet hade tänkt att komma tillbaka.

Nu kom jag precis hem. Sitter och väntar på att Jakob ska komma hem. Vi ska nämligen laga middag ihop. Undrar vad vi ska äta idag?

Per dissade bion. Får bli en annan dag.

Vi hörs lite senare! Nu kom nämligen Jakob!! Kramar

Interesting campaign and good art for Gold’s Gym by Jotabequ, San José, Costa Rica.

Tagline: It’s about time.

Hej alla!

Idag på jobbet så gick allt väldigt bra! Jag gjorde i ordning en “jakkeshop”, hmm på svenska skulle jag väl kalla det för “jackavdelning”.
Vi har ju fått så mycket nya snygga höstkläder nu, vilket gör det så sjukt kul att jobba!!

Efter jobbet så var det dags för träning med Elin. Men Anja tvingade med oss på en kaffe innan.
Det var mysigt. Satte oss och snackade en stund. Och sen kom plötsligt två grymt heta killar och satte sej jämte oss. Wowi wowi!
Vi blev lite fnittriga och sen efter nästan en timma så gick vi.
Jag var sugen på att köpa skor, så vi gick till Bianco och kikade lite. Men eftersom jag redan köpt 6 par denna veckan så kände jag att jag kanske borde vänta lite med att köpa ett till par.
Men jag är så fruktansvärt sugen på ett par lårhöga stövlar!! Någon som har ett tips på var jag kan hitta ett par snygga?

Efter svängen på stan så gick jag och Elin till Gold´s gym och tränade lite styrka. Det var jobbigt och fick det väldigt klart för mej att jag är riktigt otränad just nu.
Jag orkade nästan ingenting och kände att magen inte ens gick att spänna.
Men det ska de bli ändring på vill jag lova!
Nu har jag och Elin lovat varandra att träna varje dag som vi jobbar lika tider. Så det ska bli kul att komma igång igen!

Efter träningen så mötte jag Vera. Snackade lite om våran Parisresa. Det ska bli så jävla kul att dra dit!!! Längtar!

Nu måste jag äta. Lax kanske?
Vi hörs senare!
Kramar!!

I wrote this last week, but I’m posting it here today…

Today I was inspired and proud.  I watched my little girl, and by little girl I really mean very quickly growing up youngest daughter, in action at her first ever Volleyball game.  She was fantastic!

Earlier this summer my girl and I were in the car driving somewhere when she asked me why when I was a kid I was never in sports?  This is a subject I have never been very comfortable with.   In my family of origin I was the “artsy” one while all of my siblings pursued athletics.   Most of what I told her she already had heard before…like how my brothers were both natural athletes who were gifted with physical talent, and I felt like I was clumsy and awkward, like how my sister went out for the volleyball team and the track team (She’s now a PE teacher), and a favorite family story where a 7^th grade me decided to join the Pacific Junior High basketball team and when after a week when the coach announced that we were going to practice our “lay-ups” I looked at him utterly puzzled and asked the question that ended my WNBA career, “What’s a lay-up?”

That day in the car, I told her how I had always wished that I started doing something sports or fitness oriented when I was young, because maybe some kind of sports activity would have helped me establish a love for lifelong fitness.  I told her about entering the Gold’s Gym for the first time and how it took me 2 ½ years, yes years, to even step on the weight room floor!  I told her about how a few years ago I began to realize that God gave me this body to serve me!  It’s not the other way around and in order for my body to serve the needs I have it needs to be healthy and able.  Fitness is the key to that.  (We talked about food too of course, but I’m trying to stick to the exercise part of the “diet and exercise” balance.)  We talked about how physical health, for better or worse, is a lifelong journey.

My girl is a lot like me.   If I had and get a nickel for every time someone tells me how much she looks like me, I’ll be able to retire to Paris!  When she was little, her grandpa called her my little magpie.  As a parent it’s hard to watch when your child struggles with the same things you do, especially when you feel like they are some of you own personal failures.  In the car that day, I told her that I’m not looking for a “Gym Barbie” body, but a body that functions better.  Perfection isn’t what this is about, and I don’t expect that from her either.   Some days are good and some are not so good, just keep going.  Keep at it and even make friends with it.  As a tank top I work out in reads, I told her to be “a force 2B reckoned with!”  Neither of us are runners, but we made a pact that day to run in a race someday together.  I don’t know when or where that will be, but I’m still in!

Since that day in the car I have had many ups and down on my journey towards physical fitness.  Some days I feel like a triumphant warrior, and others like a fragile egg.  I hired a trainer to teach me and mentor me and that has helped.  You know what they say about putting your money where your mouth is!  I am seeing the benefits, and new challenges are ever present, but most of all I have begun to set the example I want to set for my girl.  The example that you are never to old, out of shape, inexperienced, unskilled, and that you CAN muster the confidence to try something new to make your life better.   So today I sat on the bleachers

and clapped for the Spartans, and for her, but in a way I guess, I also clapped for me and for the changes I have made that are a turning point for both of us.

That's my girl!

Haven’t written in a few days! Training has been going really well. I’ve been hitting the weights really heavy and I’m feeling it for sure. Yesterday I hit up Gold’s gym for a change of scenery. I got an awesome back/bicep workout and finished it up with my favorite: the stair mill!! I think people might have thought I was nuts as I smiled my way through that cardio sesh, but we don’t have one at my regular gym so I was stoked about it!

The workout consisted of:

-T-Bar Rows/EZ Bar Curls

-Wide Grip Cable Rows/ Isolated Bicep Curls

-Wide Grip Straight Arm Pulldowns/21’s

-Close Grip Lat Pulldowns

Today I woke up bright and early and made it to boxing. I forgot my wraps AND gloves, but that’s an entirely different story. Boxing was a sweat-a-thon like always and I was glad I pulled myself out of bed for it. I also had a workout at Funktional Fitness today. When I got there, there were about 10 exercises written on the board for me to do. Not too bad, except that I had 100 REPS of each to do. My love/hate relationship with pull ups grew today Needless to say, I crawled walked out of there feeling like this:

Those of you that follow the blog with any regularity know that we are gearing up for the Mega Muscle Photography Expo in Palm Springs next month.  For those of you that do not know what this is, it is an opportunity for photographers from around the globe to work one on one with the amazing models of Mega Muscle.  We set up the locations, provide lighting, schedule one on one sessions with each model, and then also provide unique photography opportunities depending on the city we are producing in.

Yvan Cournoyer, photo by Ryan Boyd at the Mega Muscle Photography Expo in Las Vegas.

I got into producing the photography expos when I was approached by several photographers who had been attending photography workshops produced by another company and they were less than impressed with the talent and the organization.  I took this on as I do most projects, with the intent of making it the best possible event I could make it!

Our very first event was held in Las Vegas in June.  I decided to bring the top guys we were working with plus a couple of new faces that I thought had a lot of potential.  We had some last minute changes but our final lineup of models was Dave Nathan, Yvan Cournoyer, Billy Freda, Ryan Jaeger, Lance LaMar, David Fox and an unknown model at the time, Derrick Davenport.  We rented an estate in an older part of Las Vegas, a home that used to belong to the legendary Frank Sinatra.  It was pretty amazing – when you walked through the front doors, you were greeted by a swimming pool in the middle of the living room!

In addition to the Sinatra estate, we also rented studio space and had guys shooting fitness stuff at Gold’s Gym.  The event was three days and on the last day we were to shoot out at Lake Mead but I realized quickly that it was way to hot to head out to the middle of the desert so at the last minute, we were able to substitute the Blue Moon Resort as a fourth location and it turned out perfectly!

The best thing about this weekend, the reason I keep producing these events, was the feeling of friendship that developed between the models, the photographers and my crew.  On the Saturday evening of the event, Dave Nathan, who in addition to be a model and championship bodybuilder is an amazing chef, cooked up one of the best meals I have EVER eaten.

Of course, I think the best thing that came out of the weekend were the amazing photos.  I definitely saw all of the photographers who attended have their talents pushed and their creativity inspired.  At this and all of the events we have produced, I have seen many photographers learn to use new types of lights.  I have witnessed the evolution of a photographer who attended our very first event and every subsequent one – his talent and confidence have blossomed!

And it has been great for the models.  Derrick as many of you know, went from being an unknown model at this event to Playgirl’s Man of the Year the following year.  It is a fantastic opportunity to test new models, and for them to work with a variety of personalities.

I am so looking forward to this year’s event.  Fortunately we have sold most of the spaces we have available but if it is something you would be into, let us know as we can always try and squeeze someone in!  If you are not a photographer but would still like to see what Mega Muscle is all about, we are hosting a party at a local night club in Palm Springs on October 10th.  Come join us and get a chance to meet your favorite models in person!

For more details or to register for the Mega Muscle Expo in Palm Springs, visit http://www.mega-muscle.net/events.php

Here are some shots from our first photo expo in Las Vegas.  Want to see the whole event on video?  Check out the Behind the Scenes 2 disc set!

Ryan Jaeger, photo by Richard Alan at the Mega Muscle Photo Expo in Las Vegas

Derrick Davenport, photographed by Mark Jenkins at the Mega Muscle Photo Expo in Las Vegas

David Fox, photographed by Jim Oblak at the Mega Muscle Photography Expo in Las Vegas

Lance LaMar, photographed by Ryan Boyd at the Mega Muscle Photo Expo in Las Vegas

Yvan Cournoyer, photographed by I. David Carter at the Mega Muscle Photo Expo in Palm Springs

Ryan Jaeger, photographed by Mark Jenkins at the Mega Muscle Photography Expo in Las Vegas

Dave Nathan, photographed by Richard Allan at the Mega Muscle Photo Expo in Las Vegas

Derrick Davenport, photographed by Richard Allan at the Mega Muscle Photo Expo in Las Vegas

Lance LaMar, photographed by Mark Jenkins at the Mega Muscle Photo Expo in Las Vegas