For those of you who are on LifeKraze and remember the athletes that Ben Wagner and the LK team were able to write posts and accomplishments, for me personally, it was one of the coolest experiences as we were able to hear what was happening in the camp, training sessions, and competition. And the feeling when one of our new friends won the gold medal and how even though we didn't know them personally, we were so excited and over joyed with their success.
All of you know that O and I are super active in the Crossfit community and this year The Crossfit Games had a personal connection much like the Olympics did through Lifekraze. One of my crossfit friends that I met via twitter is an elite coach and is quickly becoming a well respected voice for the sport. Well this year one of her athlete's, Colleen Fahey, competed in the women's masters division and became "The Fittest Woman" for her age group! I have to tell you, it was an unbelievable accomplishment! As O and I watched her compete, fight through those hard lifts, push through the pain on the track and just blow her competition away!
When I texted my friend Katie it was so cool to hear her excitement and emotions in that moment that she helped someone accomplish their dream! If anything, I hope this is an encouragement for you reading this that dreams can happen no matter what age you are!
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Have You Ever...
Have you ever been somewhere where you know the Lord has called you to be and there's just small little clues along the way that point to Him and his provision? Well that's where I am currently in this stage of life. The last two years has just been a whirlwind of transitioning into marriage, living in Kenya, moving back to the US, living away from O for awhile, and being here in Orlando at the DeVos Sport Business Management Program! Life definitely has a way of taking you on a ride and I definitely was/and am very much still on it.
The last 7 weeks I have been living in the hot and humid Orlando, Florida. The reason that I am here is because upon my acceptance into the DeVos Masters Program, I would have to re-take four business classes over the summer. At first, I was pretty upset that I had to do this because it would cost a lot of money that we didn't have and it would mean that I would have to leave Olivia in Denver for her to finish her masters program and then move all of our belongings to Florida.
Even though this wasn't part of the plan, it has been instrumental in terms of my future at the program and in the greater Orlando community! For example, last week I met the chair of the program, who happens to be one of the most influential people in sport, and found out that I will be working for him the next two years as his personal assistant! This is a huge honor and a position that most people in the program apply for! I later found out through the other assistants and administrators that the reason I was given the position was because of all the hurdles that I have had to overcome as well as being here in Orlando the last 7 weeks has allowed Dr. Lapchick the opportunity to get to know me and decide whether or not I was the right fit for the job. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this position because not only will it challenge me professionally, but this man has faced so many personal trials to have the impact in sport that it is an amazing testimony to be motivated, persevere, and work under his direction to help utilize the power that sport has to offer!
Besides that, I also have had the opportunity of getting to know the current students in the program. And this is and will be a huge asset for me as I have an advantage over the other students in my class. One of the ways that I have connected with them is I am on their indoor soccer team. I cannot tell you how much fun I am having playing with them! It has been a great study break and a way to build community. I have also gained a lot of their respect through playing with them and have even been asked to join them in a Tough Mudder later this year! If you don't know what a Tough Mudder is you should check out their website and see where the closest one is to you. It's an amazing race that makes men feel manly! Pretty cool!
So my community is growing, my confidence is high, and I could not ask to be in a better living situation. Right now I am living with the Goin family who has been a HUGE blessing in my life! They have continued to bless and love on me and Olivia in so many ways I cannot express my thankfulness to them and their sacrifice to help me and Olivia get on our feet.
Well, that's all I've got for now. Keep looking for other posts that tell of our hot and humid stories in Orlando!
The last 7 weeks I have been living in the hot and humid Orlando, Florida. The reason that I am here is because upon my acceptance into the DeVos Masters Program, I would have to re-take four business classes over the summer. At first, I was pretty upset that I had to do this because it would cost a lot of money that we didn't have and it would mean that I would have to leave Olivia in Denver for her to finish her masters program and then move all of our belongings to Florida.
Even though this wasn't part of the plan, it has been instrumental in terms of my future at the program and in the greater Orlando community! For example, last week I met the chair of the program, who happens to be one of the most influential people in sport, and found out that I will be working for him the next two years as his personal assistant! This is a huge honor and a position that most people in the program apply for! I later found out through the other assistants and administrators that the reason I was given the position was because of all the hurdles that I have had to overcome as well as being here in Orlando the last 7 weeks has allowed Dr. Lapchick the opportunity to get to know me and decide whether or not I was the right fit for the job. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this position because not only will it challenge me professionally, but this man has faced so many personal trials to have the impact in sport that it is an amazing testimony to be motivated, persevere, and work under his direction to help utilize the power that sport has to offer!
Besides that, I also have had the opportunity of getting to know the current students in the program. And this is and will be a huge asset for me as I have an advantage over the other students in my class. One of the ways that I have connected with them is I am on their indoor soccer team. I cannot tell you how much fun I am having playing with them! It has been a great study break and a way to build community. I have also gained a lot of their respect through playing with them and have even been asked to join them in a Tough Mudder later this year! If you don't know what a Tough Mudder is you should check out their website and see where the closest one is to you. It's an amazing race that makes men feel manly! Pretty cool!
So my community is growing, my confidence is high, and I could not ask to be in a better living situation. Right now I am living with the Goin family who has been a HUGE blessing in my life! They have continued to bless and love on me and Olivia in so many ways I cannot express my thankfulness to them and their sacrifice to help me and Olivia get on our feet.
Well, that's all I've got for now. Keep looking for other posts that tell of our hot and humid stories in Orlando!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Hasta Luego!
Well the chapter of working at the tree service company is over and I am attempting to reflect on what I learned, how fast the time went by, and just the craziness of it all. Some of you know my good friend Ryan Opganorth, well as O and I were passing through Texas and trying to figure out how I would provide financially for us, Ryan got me in touch with his uncle Jeff who owns Aesthetic Tree Service, a tree trimming, removal, and family business. I'll be completely honest. I had no desire whatsoever to do this job during my time in CO, but I guess God had other plans.
I do not think one can make a job description of what we do in this company but some helpful adjectives are: manual labor, dangerous, a black finger nail, new scars, cross cultural, and beer. I don't think I have to go in to great detail about how this job was full of labor but tasks such as: splitting logs, cleaning up branches from tree trimmings and putting them into a chipper machine, and then stump removal was by no means an easy task, not even mentioning that clean up job.
Dangerous. Never have I worked for a company that every day, every new job had a new set of potential harmful situations that you had to constantly be aware of. It was almost like living in Nairobi and having to be constantly turned on to your surroundings and what has happening. I definitely had some close calls with the chipper when I would get slammed to the ground by a branch, or not be aware of someone cutting something above me and almost getting hit by it. Thankfully I had some good colleagues who would look out for me.
So the black finger story is one that I will remember for awhile because I see it every day. So if you have ever worked with a wood splitter, you'll understand this story, if not, well just be glad you don't. So basically you get piece of wood, load it onto a tray, push the lever for the axe to split the wood for you rather than using a ton of wasted energy on an axe, even though "Duck Dynasty" did have a good episode on how that is a great workout. Now these machines are insanely powerful and this particular one could split wood with up to 35tons of pressure. That's a lot. So what happened. Well my finger got caught one day behind the log that I was splitting and there's all that pressure on my thumb! Thankfully I was able to stop the machine before it got really bad, but that thing hurt like nothing else. My aunt Mary Anne was extremely helpful as she encouraged me to ice my finger for 20min every hour otherwise I might lose my finger nail. So naturally with those odds I was religious about that ice. And what do you know, I still have the finger nail!
New scars are basically part of what the job entails because with all the limbs, trunks, equipment that you're using, something is guaranteed to get ya. Oh well at least I don't have anything like Scar from the Lion King and I am extremely grateful for that.
I guess I'm meant to work with every cultural group because I think I am getting pretty close of doing that. With this workforce we consisted of Americans, Mexican, and El Salvador. It was fun and I learned a lot about their home culture, what it's like to transition to the US and raise a family here, and lots of other things.
Beer! This was an interesting element of this job because so much of jobs like this consist of work and then drinking a cold one, or two, or three, or more for whatever reason. Whether its alcoholism, just wanting something cold, or because you like the taste, this was a huge motivational piece to our work. It's crazy what one can accomplish when that is used as a reward to the get the job done. This of course was my observation as I was an outsider to these guys and learned how they operate. And this was a big aspect for them.
So I'm done all of that. It was fun, adventurous, insightful, and I am so motivated to get back into the world of sports. Never have I missed being in that industry so much. But in hindsight, sometimes to get somewhere you have to make sacrifices and even though this job was very demanding, taxing, and draining I am extremely grateful for those guys at Aesthetic and for their openness to teach me on the fly.
So let the new journey begin. Here's to those stories and lessons, but here's to a new mission, a new setting that I cannot wait to dive into! Cheers.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Run for Boston
So this past weekend Michelle Moore (also known as Miche), O, and yours truly hit the trails at the Boulder Reservoir for the Boulder Distance Classic 15k and 5k races. When arrived early for registration, we were pleasantly surprised to find that our runners packet came with this logo on our race tshirts! The director of the race was actually in Boston and had finished the race an hour before the bombings went off. Before the race he shared his story and gave a short devotional about how the running community would not be shaken by such heinous acts. It was really cool to be in this sweet community that dedicated this race and day to people we didn't even know.After a moment of silence and the national anthem it was on and let me tell you, Miche and I owned the 15k! This was one of the hardest races that I had ever competed in, not because of the terrain, although that had a few challenges, but because the athletes were dominated by the Boulder community and all of their running groups. There was only 255 15k competitors, but each of these competitors had something to prove on their turf. With it being a small race, it was easy for us to get a good start. After the first mile Michelle and I both found ourselves in the top 10% of the pack after with times of 7min and 30 sec and 6min and 30 sec!
When I heard my female British accent Endomondo app tell me my first mile time, my response was, "Oh $#*^!" Later I found out that Miche experienced the same thoughts as we were way ahead of our projected targets. She was shooting for an average 8.30min/mile pace while I was hoping for an 8min/mile. So getting that far ahead naturally brought on a few mental obstacles that scared us that we were not going to have enough gas to finish.
As I said, this was a tough race not just because of our pace, but because we were running on trails, which weren't very stable. The lanes were usually only one person wide and it would cost a lot of energy to get past another runner. Runner's etiquette definitely had to be followed and thankfully that was not an issue.
In the midst of my run, I found that the only people I could get in a good rhythm with was females. The men would either pass me at a much faster pace or they were behind me by a good margin. There was no in between. So the first half I was paced by these two ladies who obviously train together. After that I tried to keep up with an all Lululemon clad female who smoked me the last mile and a half.
Besides having to get over those comparisons, I finished with a PR of 1hour 9min and 39seconds! An average pace of 7.29min/mile! I was definitely pleased with that and couldn't ask for a better time. After the race, I found those women who helped keep my pace and thanked them. It was cool to see their expression because I am sure that was the last thing they expected.
Unfortunately for O, she was forced to power walk her 5k rather than attack it with her ferocity. O has started seeing the chiropractors at Body In Balance, in Golden, CO. They have been a great fit for her back as she suffers from scoliosis. After two weeks of therapy, she has already begun to see a huge improvement in her posture and stance. After discussing the race with them, they advised her to take a break from running for a while so as to not lose any of the progress that she's made. It was a tough request and being forced to walk is a humbling process. But she not only endured it, but excelled in it! With a goal of one hour she clocked in at 38min and 36seconds! She will admit that it was a tough workout and it was really cool to see her put on her game face and do her best. Even when it wasn't what she wanted to do. I couldn't be more proud of her.
For all you running married couples out there, here's a pic I found on one of my Crossfit athlete's twitter that made me laugh a lot!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Another Day Off
Well peeps,
It's another freezing day in Denver, Colorado where snow and rain just continue to fall and then melt within 24 hours. It's crazy how weather here changes so fast. So as I have ample amount of time to write Kenya support thank you's, finish graduate school essays, blog, hopefully write a newsletter, and catch up on some rest I wanted to discuss a few things today because they have been on my mind a lot recently and their on the topics of Crossfit and eating Healthily.
I cannot express how my journey with Crossfit has not only allowed me to experience more joy in my workouts and training, but also provided me with what counselors call "self-care." The other day someone asked me how do I have the energy to go from a physical demanding job to doing these insane workouts? Well my training has become my way of release and pushing myself to new and exciting limits!
Just this week, I started feeling like my body was telling me to do more. Now that could be because I've had the last 2 days off from work, but this feeling is so rewarding and exhilarating when you can go from sprinting 400meters in 4 rounds of a METCON (Metabolic Conditioning) to a strength WOD of doing Olympic weight lifting movements.
The bit that I love about Crossfit is that it not only trains you to be extremely fit to lift and do some pretty cool movements, but it also trains you to do other things. It's Cross-training. For example, O and I have started attending a kick boxing class at our gym. It's only once a week, but because we do Crossfit and supplement our training with running workouts, we are finding ourselves being able to punch and kick harder every week, as well as push the group when it comes to sprints and mobility, AND we can enjoy the class rather than hate it. Our kick boxing coach, Gigi, has loved our enthusiasm and spunk in the class that she has requested us to participate in her other classes to add another level of intensity to the group.
Below is a pic with one of my WOD's that is killed me, with the latest music selection that is rocking my workouts (OneRepublic's new album) and how much time I had left. It was legit and if you don't believe me, try it and let me know. Here's also a pic of how legit O is getting with her tire squats!
The other part that Crossfit has allowed me to be cross-functional is my journey with yoga. When I added this to my weekly schedule it was all because I am not flexible at ALL. I have never been able to touch my feet when I bend over. It's bad. So I originally started for that reason, and the other day our instructor showed us a strength and balance move (frog to crow to plank, without letting your feet touching the floor) and two months ago I never would have believed that I could do such a move. Well... now I am able to do it a couple times easily! So sweet!
Alright so that's my Crossfit bit. Onto diet and health. If you guys didn't watch this past season of the Biggest Loser on NBC, you really need to go to Hulu or Netflix and see what is happening in our society. I'll be honest, the biggest culture shock that I've had coming back to the US is how few fit people there are today! It's just shocking and the Biggest Loser gave America a wake up call.
Besides getting their contestants fit, looking good, and sharing weight losing secrets, they attacked the reality that child obesity is real and for the first time, we have a generation that won't outlive their parents.Which is insane to me!
To give you an idea how O and I made our very limited budget, our priorities are: 1) housing/rent, 2) food, 3) gas to get from point A to point B, and 4) gym membership. Since we are still in transition and are in an amazing "God Send" situation with a host family that has blessed us in so many ways during our short time in CO we haven't had to deal with the rent item just yet. When it comes to food, we do live on a short weekly budget. We spend around $100 a week on groceries from King Super and Sprouts! Talk about budgeting. Now my wife is one of the best people I have ever met when it comes to budgeting. So what is her secret? Well O goes to King Supers and Sprouts websites before we go to the store and looks at what is on sale. Over the last several years she has built a recipe bank through her collection of Jamie Oliver books, The Homesick Texan, and other such books, as well as have a plethora of blogs and pinterest ideas.
From there she builds our menu for the week and then it's off shopping. So let's be clear that one of the major reasons that I'm seeing such amazing results in my training is because O is so committed to making sure that we get plenty of proteins, good fats, fruits, and vegetables. One thing that we have found together since being back in the US is that both of us react to glutten products. We have started buying glutten free bread, snacks, and I cannot tell you how much a difference we feel/experience.
So guys, yesterday I cooked dinner. It was simple and pretty incredible! I made chicken tacos. First I made guacamole, which a lot of people have their own opinion of what this crucial element to tacos should consist of. All I use is 2 avocados, splashes of cumin and salt, a nice portion of garlic, and a couple squirts of lemon juice. That's it. If you're scared about adding those things, just do it minimally and keep adding those ingredients until you've nailed it! I can say that it has taken me a year of doing this to finally be able to produce perfection in literally 3 minutes.
For the tacos all I sauteed was chicken, 1-yellow pepper, beans, a hint of garlic, and of course cilantro! and it was awesome! You can see in the pic above that it looks appetizing.
So there you go. Hope you guys have a great day wherever you are in the world under whatever circumstances. Remember life is a journey, not a destination, and our choices we make are not isolated decions about the here and now, but about who and what we will serve now and in the future!
Cheers guys!
It's another freezing day in Denver, Colorado where snow and rain just continue to fall and then melt within 24 hours. It's crazy how weather here changes so fast. So as I have ample amount of time to write Kenya support thank you's, finish graduate school essays, blog, hopefully write a newsletter, and catch up on some rest I wanted to discuss a few things today because they have been on my mind a lot recently and their on the topics of Crossfit and eating Healthily.
I cannot express how my journey with Crossfit has not only allowed me to experience more joy in my workouts and training, but also provided me with what counselors call "self-care." The other day someone asked me how do I have the energy to go from a physical demanding job to doing these insane workouts? Well my training has become my way of release and pushing myself to new and exciting limits!
Just this week, I started feeling like my body was telling me to do more. Now that could be because I've had the last 2 days off from work, but this feeling is so rewarding and exhilarating when you can go from sprinting 400meters in 4 rounds of a METCON (Metabolic Conditioning) to a strength WOD of doing Olympic weight lifting movements.
The bit that I love about Crossfit is that it not only trains you to be extremely fit to lift and do some pretty cool movements, but it also trains you to do other things. It's Cross-training. For example, O and I have started attending a kick boxing class at our gym. It's only once a week, but because we do Crossfit and supplement our training with running workouts, we are finding ourselves being able to punch and kick harder every week, as well as push the group when it comes to sprints and mobility, AND we can enjoy the class rather than hate it. Our kick boxing coach, Gigi, has loved our enthusiasm and spunk in the class that she has requested us to participate in her other classes to add another level of intensity to the group.
Below is a pic with one of my WOD's that is killed me, with the latest music selection that is rocking my workouts (OneRepublic's new album) and how much time I had left. It was legit and if you don't believe me, try it and let me know. Here's also a pic of how legit O is getting with her tire squats!
The other part that Crossfit has allowed me to be cross-functional is my journey with yoga. When I added this to my weekly schedule it was all because I am not flexible at ALL. I have never been able to touch my feet when I bend over. It's bad. So I originally started for that reason, and the other day our instructor showed us a strength and balance move (frog to crow to plank, without letting your feet touching the floor) and two months ago I never would have believed that I could do such a move. Well... now I am able to do it a couple times easily! So sweet!
Alright so that's my Crossfit bit. Onto diet and health. If you guys didn't watch this past season of the Biggest Loser on NBC, you really need to go to Hulu or Netflix and see what is happening in our society. I'll be honest, the biggest culture shock that I've had coming back to the US is how few fit people there are today! It's just shocking and the Biggest Loser gave America a wake up call.
Besides getting their contestants fit, looking good, and sharing weight losing secrets, they attacked the reality that child obesity is real and for the first time, we have a generation that won't outlive their parents.Which is insane to me!
To give you an idea how O and I made our very limited budget, our priorities are: 1) housing/rent, 2) food, 3) gas to get from point A to point B, and 4) gym membership. Since we are still in transition and are in an amazing "God Send" situation with a host family that has blessed us in so many ways during our short time in CO we haven't had to deal with the rent item just yet. When it comes to food, we do live on a short weekly budget. We spend around $100 a week on groceries from King Super and Sprouts! Talk about budgeting. Now my wife is one of the best people I have ever met when it comes to budgeting. So what is her secret? Well O goes to King Supers and Sprouts websites before we go to the store and looks at what is on sale. Over the last several years she has built a recipe bank through her collection of Jamie Oliver books, The Homesick Texan, and other such books, as well as have a plethora of blogs and pinterest ideas.
From there she builds our menu for the week and then it's off shopping. So let's be clear that one of the major reasons that I'm seeing such amazing results in my training is because O is so committed to making sure that we get plenty of proteins, good fats, fruits, and vegetables. One thing that we have found together since being back in the US is that both of us react to glutten products. We have started buying glutten free bread, snacks, and I cannot tell you how much a difference we feel/experience.
So guys, yesterday I cooked dinner. It was simple and pretty incredible! I made chicken tacos. First I made guacamole, which a lot of people have their own opinion of what this crucial element to tacos should consist of. All I use is 2 avocados, splashes of cumin and salt, a nice portion of garlic, and a couple squirts of lemon juice. That's it. If you're scared about adding those things, just do it minimally and keep adding those ingredients until you've nailed it! I can say that it has taken me a year of doing this to finally be able to produce perfection in literally 3 minutes.For the tacos all I sauteed was chicken, 1-yellow pepper, beans, a hint of garlic, and of course cilantro! and it was awesome! You can see in the pic above that it looks appetizing.
So there you go. Hope you guys have a great day wherever you are in the world under whatever circumstances. Remember life is a journey, not a destination, and our choices we make are not isolated decions about the here and now, but about who and what we will serve now and in the future!
Cheers guys!
Monday, April 15, 2013
We are loved, this is His City, and He's not done here yet.
So... Yesterday I had actually started writing my next post about mine and O's adventures through Crossfit's open workout competition that we were unofficially participating in, but due to today's occurrences at the Boston Marathon I changed my thought.
Now let's back up a few months. If you had followed our last blog in Kenya, O and I experienced a bomb blast in downtown Nairobi. To be clear, we did not feel the blast go off, but we were 6 miles away from the blast, as opposed to being a few thousand miles away to today's. But both have huge affects on one's mind and outlook on life.
So what I experienced today, hearing about a blast on twitter, via the Kenya Redcross, yes my friends across the pond care about us over here and were the first to come up on my feed with the latest news. Then I turned to the TV, saw the images and unlike Nairobi, our images from our phones are much better quality, hence our ability to see and view some pretty horrific sights that are just sad to be displayed throughout the world where some our mourning and others rejoicing (that's just the reality of such an event).
So what is the affect on me? Well seeing and even somewhat hearing the blasts from today send these shock waves and goose bumps through me. It is hard to see the video footages that are coming out every hour with blood all over the sidewalks, but encouraging to see the "good samiritans" who put their own lives at risk for others. Those are the images I have running through my mind, but what words I have running through my heart is "God is in this city." He knows what happened, he is hurting, and he has a plan. Now my working friends would say where's God's love in that situation and how can you have faith in such false statements. And the truth is I know and believe and will have any conversation about my God's love for me, you, and this world.
My hope is that this one event hasn't nor will it change God's master plan for his creation. It is ongoing and it has already won. We don't have to be afraid of the bombs that happened in Nairobi or Boston. We do have a responsibility to act, to help, to love, to inform, to care for, and many more things, but we also have decisions to make that as my pastor preached on yesterday "not only affect the here and now, but display who we are serving yesterday, today, and tomorrow."
So as we're sharing our stories of tramatic experiences (which is great and healing), posting our thoughts on social media, and praying, remember who we serve and His love that He endured on the cross, scourning its shame, and is now seated next to the Heavenly Father. We are loved, this is His City, and He's not done here yet.
Now let's back up a few months. If you had followed our last blog in Kenya, O and I experienced a bomb blast in downtown Nairobi. To be clear, we did not feel the blast go off, but we were 6 miles away from the blast, as opposed to being a few thousand miles away to today's. But both have huge affects on one's mind and outlook on life.
So what I experienced today, hearing about a blast on twitter, via the Kenya Redcross, yes my friends across the pond care about us over here and were the first to come up on my feed with the latest news. Then I turned to the TV, saw the images and unlike Nairobi, our images from our phones are much better quality, hence our ability to see and view some pretty horrific sights that are just sad to be displayed throughout the world where some our mourning and others rejoicing (that's just the reality of such an event).
So what is the affect on me? Well seeing and even somewhat hearing the blasts from today send these shock waves and goose bumps through me. It is hard to see the video footages that are coming out every hour with blood all over the sidewalks, but encouraging to see the "good samiritans" who put their own lives at risk for others. Those are the images I have running through my mind, but what words I have running through my heart is "God is in this city." He knows what happened, he is hurting, and he has a plan. Now my working friends would say where's God's love in that situation and how can you have faith in such false statements. And the truth is I know and believe and will have any conversation about my God's love for me, you, and this world.
My hope is that this one event hasn't nor will it change God's master plan for his creation. It is ongoing and it has already won. We don't have to be afraid of the bombs that happened in Nairobi or Boston. We do have a responsibility to act, to help, to love, to inform, to care for, and many more things, but we also have decisions to make that as my pastor preached on yesterday "not only affect the here and now, but display who we are serving yesterday, today, and tomorrow."
So as we're sharing our stories of tramatic experiences (which is great and healing), posting our thoughts on social media, and praying, remember who we serve and His love that He endured on the cross, scourning its shame, and is now seated next to the Heavenly Father. We are loved, this is His City, and He's not done here yet.
Monday, March 25, 2013
A New Beginning
Alright fans,
O (Olivia) and I are back to blogging. Hopefully we'll be more consistent this time around, but with us being back in the US and the many adventures that we have already had, we've felt like we needed a place to share them with all of you. So with that being said, let's start.
Some of you might know that O and I have been keeping up with the Crossfit games and doing the WOD's (Workout of the Day) at our local gym. We are not competing officially, but are keeping track of our progress and seeing how we compare to those who are. During our time in Kenya, I began my journey with Crossfit and it has since brought me refreshment, joy, and a new found love for working out. Some people ask me, "Why Crossfit?" And I'll be honest, I've done P90X, Insanity, Jillian Michaels, and of course all my other soccer training stuff, and they were all good in their various ways. But this particular regimen has taken my fitness to a whole new level and I can't get enough of it. Here's a short clip that pretty much sums up why I do Crossfit and to what end. Well hopefully competing in the Crossfit games one day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoFlNa6B9fo
So that's our current workout trend and let me tell you, this week's WOD 13.3 kicked both of our tails. We still are having trouble walking straight and getting out of our seats. To add a little flavor to our WOD's, O and I are very pro-yoga, running, eating healthy, and making good choices. We have found that supplementing Crossfit with regular yoga classes at LifeTime Fitness and running workouts are key in our fitness journey. If you want to hear more about those feel free to ask questions. Also, we are part of an amazing community on LifeKraze.com that not only encourages us in our fitness goals, but is there to virtually "high five" us in our healthy choices and lifestyle. If you aren't apart of it yet, you should definitely check it out! I use it way more than Facebook, twitter, and instagram. Just saying, it's WORTH your time.
Our eating choices boils down to a few key factors: 1) we are on a super tight budget and 2) what's in it. When we go grocery shopping O usually starts with Sprouts, which we have found to give you more for your money than Whole Foods, and Colorado's King Super or the equivalent Kroger. O will go online before we go shopping at those places, check out their savings, and put together a game plan for the week. She's amazing when it comes to planning in general and the way she prepares our dinner schedule is amazing!
Guys, if you're married or have a woman in mind that you are interested, I would highly recommend going to the grocery store together and start those conversations of what do you buy? why do you choose wheat or glutten free over the classic white? I'm telling you that will take the relationship or future relationship will put you on a higher pedestal than any other guy. We love going to grocery together and make those decisions together. It's one of the small things in life that we enjoy. Our rule of thumb, which is a huge help if I ever have to go to the store by myself, is if you can't pronounce an ingredient or have no clue what it is don't buy it. Period!
Lately we've been on a Mexican kick lately, but we love throwing in some Pad Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, Italian, and any other ethnic foods that have spice and flavor. If I can figure out how to add pictures to this thing I'll post our weekly hot meals along with the recipe.
So there you have it. Let these adventures keep coming and if you have any constructive suggestions or comments about anything please leave them. We are all about sharing information and resources that can help others in their journey.
Until next time... Let the adventures keep rolling.
PS. O and I made our first purchases at Lululemon and are absolutely loving my new pants and her new running shirt. Thanks Mom and Dad Pelts for our anniversary gift :)
O (Olivia) and I are back to blogging. Hopefully we'll be more consistent this time around, but with us being back in the US and the many adventures that we have already had, we've felt like we needed a place to share them with all of you. So with that being said, let's start.
Some of you might know that O and I have been keeping up with the Crossfit games and doing the WOD's (Workout of the Day) at our local gym. We are not competing officially, but are keeping track of our progress and seeing how we compare to those who are. During our time in Kenya, I began my journey with Crossfit and it has since brought me refreshment, joy, and a new found love for working out. Some people ask me, "Why Crossfit?" And I'll be honest, I've done P90X, Insanity, Jillian Michaels, and of course all my other soccer training stuff, and they were all good in their various ways. But this particular regimen has taken my fitness to a whole new level and I can't get enough of it. Here's a short clip that pretty much sums up why I do Crossfit and to what end. Well hopefully competing in the Crossfit games one day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoFlNa6B9fo
So that's our current workout trend and let me tell you, this week's WOD 13.3 kicked both of our tails. We still are having trouble walking straight and getting out of our seats. To add a little flavor to our WOD's, O and I are very pro-yoga, running, eating healthy, and making good choices. We have found that supplementing Crossfit with regular yoga classes at LifeTime Fitness and running workouts are key in our fitness journey. If you want to hear more about those feel free to ask questions. Also, we are part of an amazing community on LifeKraze.com that not only encourages us in our fitness goals, but is there to virtually "high five" us in our healthy choices and lifestyle. If you aren't apart of it yet, you should definitely check it out! I use it way more than Facebook, twitter, and instagram. Just saying, it's WORTH your time.
Our eating choices boils down to a few key factors: 1) we are on a super tight budget and 2) what's in it. When we go grocery shopping O usually starts with Sprouts, which we have found to give you more for your money than Whole Foods, and Colorado's King Super or the equivalent Kroger. O will go online before we go shopping at those places, check out their savings, and put together a game plan for the week. She's amazing when it comes to planning in general and the way she prepares our dinner schedule is amazing!
Guys, if you're married or have a woman in mind that you are interested, I would highly recommend going to the grocery store together and start those conversations of what do you buy? why do you choose wheat or glutten free over the classic white? I'm telling you that will take the relationship or future relationship will put you on a higher pedestal than any other guy. We love going to grocery together and make those decisions together. It's one of the small things in life that we enjoy. Our rule of thumb, which is a huge help if I ever have to go to the store by myself, is if you can't pronounce an ingredient or have no clue what it is don't buy it. Period!
Lately we've been on a Mexican kick lately, but we love throwing in some Pad Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, Italian, and any other ethnic foods that have spice and flavor. If I can figure out how to add pictures to this thing I'll post our weekly hot meals along with the recipe.
So there you have it. Let these adventures keep coming and if you have any constructive suggestions or comments about anything please leave them. We are all about sharing information and resources that can help others in their journey.
Until next time... Let the adventures keep rolling.
PS. O and I made our first purchases at Lululemon and are absolutely loving my new pants and her new running shirt. Thanks Mom and Dad Pelts for our anniversary gift :)
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