I'm talented.

First off, I'd like to say that electric blankets are pretty damn fantastic.
Now that that's out of the way, today was beattheshitouttastuffday.

Yay, beattheshitouttastuffday!

I did Marcin's 1730 class, where he tried to convince me to rename my secret recipe chocolate chip cookies to "Marcin Chip Cookies". I told him I'd think about it. I was getting pretty tired, skipping days at the gym kills me! I dropped a plank and I was pissed that I dropped it.
Before today, I hadn't dropped a plank since I was fresh meat. Oh well.

I did Zach's 1830 class, and I was feeling beat down after the first few rounds of bag work. I tried to keep my stamina, but faded fast. I was able to hold out through the last 53 seconds of a plank from hell, although my butt was way too high in the air, but I couldn't drop another plank.

After class, we wasted some time and then I sparred two rounds with Zach. He, of course, beat the shit out of me, but I'm getting better at sparring Zach.
In the first round, Zach clocked me good a lot harder than I believe he intended too, cause he stopped and put a hand down and apologized. I, however, wasn't expecting an apology, and I got him upside the head with a right hook. Whoopsie.
I wasn't expecting an apology because A) it's boxing...I'm paying to get my ass kicked! And B) it's Zach...
I don't intend to imply or allege that Zach is a bad guy cause he's definitely not a bad guy, but he loves teaching lessons!

During the second round, I managed to stab myself in the eye with an eyelash (yeah, I have no friggin clue either-I'm just that talented).
I stopped sparring and started blinking rapidly, so Zach apologized and asked if I was okay, then realized he didn't even hit me in the eye. We're special.

I'm blaming snow.

My weight sucks. 207. I'm blaming snow.

I couldn't go the gym Sunday or Monday cause of the stupid snow.


I'm also going to blame the stupid snow for not eating enough today, and it's the stupid snow's fault that I ate poorly during the storm.

Stupid snow.

Grr. Stupid me.

Ladies of Mass Attack!

I had MARD practice tonight, and it went okay. I can feel myself getting stronger and a better sense of balance, but I've still got ways to go.

Snow sucks

I worked a 24 hour shift (no breaks for sleeping!) And I have to go in early tomorrow. Fuuuuun.

Naht.

Tomorrow night is derby practice though, whoooo Mass Attack Roller Derby !

I'm off to take a coma.

I really, really, really, hate snow...

...yet i still live in New England. I know, I'm a glutton for punishment.

20 inches of frozen hell is currently falling over the area, so I am at Job #1 until it stops snowing, which the weather people say will probably be tomorrow night. 

Tomorrow freaking night.

Which means I get to be at work for 24+ hours with no breaks,

THUPER!

So much for gymming it today. Or tomorrow.

Gah.

Saturday gymming

I slept till elevenish yesterday (Saturday) and then went to the gym.

I was the only one there, so I cranked the music and had fun.

I did a few rounds working on my slipping like I did with Gretchen on Friday, and then did a few rounds trying to keep my feet spaced properly and weighted properly.

Then, I alternated a few rounds with the speed bag and double end bag. I got a nice rhythm going, and I was happy with the work I did. Hooray, progress!

I did a few sets of dips and started getting really tired. So, I decided to try running to see how my shins would feel.
My shins didn't hurt at all during my bouncing around in the ring, so I figured it was worth a shot.

I decided to do six minutes, (2 rounds) worth of slow running to see how it felt.

I hopped on the treadmill and was doing okay for the first round. During the fourth minute, I started to realize just how long it's been since I ran. I got pretty out of breath but kept my turtle pace and concentrated on my breathing. I made it through six minutes with no shin pain, and figured it was at least a start, and I could build up from there.

I did a quick cool down round and went home and puttered around for a while, chilling on the couch and cleaning up the living room.

8 hours after I ran, my right shin started to ache. So, I grabbed a bag of frozen strawberries to ice my pain away. However, I was too impatient to stay till, so I used a pretty purple shoelace to tie the strawberries to my shin.

Problem solved!

Shin pain sucks, but I guess it's progress.Only the right shin hurts and unfortunately it's still hurting now, but it's only the right! Fingers crossed it can get better like the left did!

No work Friday!

Friday I didn't have to work, so I went to the gym to do Marcin's 0930 boxing drills class, then I did my hour with Gretchen.

We worked on slipping, something I really need help with. I always watch the trainers spar, and am amazed by their slipping skills. I can't wait till I master it...my face will appreciate it. Often, it's easier for me to just take a solid hit to the face than get out of the way, so it kinda sucks.

I also did some pad work with Gretchen, and I did a pretty solid job with that.

After the gym, I went home and vegged out on the couch for the rest of the day, it's been a long time since I was able to do that!

Yay sparring!

I think Thursday found out Wednesday and Friday were in the running for my favorite days.

I went to the gym for Mike's boxing drills class today, and only Sonic, Menace and myself showed up.

We started warming up shadow boxing with weights, when Mike asked us if we would want to spar instead of doing class.

I immediately said "yes please!!" And so did Sonic & Menace.

I did 6 rounds total- 3 with Mike and 3 with Sonic.

After class, Zach, Lynds and I went to go see The Fighter.
Awesome movie, loved it,can't wait to see it again!

Weigh in Wednesday

Today is the best day ever, beattheshitouttastuffday! aka Wednesday. Although Fridays are staring to give Wednesdays a run for their money, but more on that later.

There was a tiny snow flurry during rush hour today, and for some reason, the majority of new englanders can't drive in the damn snow.

If it's not sticking to the road, there's no reason to slam on your brakes every 5 feet! Hell, even if it is sticking you shouldn't do that.

I wish a winter driving test was the law in addition to a regular test.
Anyway, it took me forever to get to the gym today.

I did Marcin's core conditioning class, and Zach's Traditional Boxing Class, then sparred with Zach for three rounds.
Zach, of course, beat the crap out of me, but I hadn't sparred 3 rounds in a row in the longest time, so I loved it.

Everyone has been injured lately, so sparring has been non-existent or me getting my ass handed to me (Aleks, Zach, etc)

Zach beat the crap out of me in round 1, but let me work in on him a bit in rounds 2 and 3.
I had a difficult time catching my breath after round 3, and I almost started wheezing, but I was able to take deep breaths and work it out, but it was still weird.

My scale says I am 206.6 pounds, so I have 8 pounds to go by January 15.

progress...

If (when!) I make 198, I am going to buy myself a fancy new pair of shoes, and sign up for trapeze school.

ooh, pretty...

I'm hoping that less weight means less stress on the shins, which would mean more jump roping! And running!
(Take note, that's probably the only time I'll sound happy about running. Once I start, I'll do nothing but bitch.

Knuckles, (since you're probably the only one who reads this with any regularity - if there's more than Knuckles, drop me a comment, say hi! [thanks Menace!]) I'm going to update with pictures in the morning, so check back to see my fancy shoes and the link to trapeze school!

Listening to: Hear Me Say- Someday Providence

What you give is what you get.

It only works if you work it...and lately I've been half-assing it. Food, exercise, you name it, I've been slacking. Today I did a half assed modded circuit after my Spanish final.

I finished the final in 7 minutes then went home, banged out a half assed circuit, made cookies, then went to home plate to meet up with Kevin.

Kevin & I!

Kevin is in the Navy, and I hadn't seen him in 7 months. We are total opposites, (we don't see eye to eye on anything-not even literally- he's short, I'm tall) and even though we call each other assholes, he is like the brother I never had.

Countless hours have been spent arguing with this kid, but I still love him.
He's on my mailing list, so he gets everything from pictures of heffalumps that I colored to letters spelled out in paper clips.

When Kevin got this in the mail I think he enjoyed it..he texted me "I love you you're effin hysterical you just made my day possibly my week!" (btw, Kev named him Bernard Swiftly III)

Basically, he understands that I am crazy, but still talks to me anyway.

So he's home for a bit, and as much as I want to make 198, I couldn't pass up seeing Kev.

I had dinner at HP with kev, but I was good- I got water and a salad, dressing on the side.
I had a good time with Kev, and stayed out late.

I checked my weight when I got home, and it was 207.8.
Thankfully, school is out for a month, so I can kick my own ass and make it to 198 in 20 something days.
Wish me luck!

Snow Ruins Everything.

I was supposed to have awesome, fantastic, fun, calorie burning MARD practice tonight, but stupid snow came and  ruined everything.

People all over facebook are proclaiming their love for snow, and it's really annoying.

Snow ruins everything.

The only people who should like snow is children.
Children have no responsibilities, they don't understand that snow makes traveling the shortest distances impossible and unsafe (because not many people can drive safely in the snow, cities and towns aren't properly funded/equipped to sand/salt/plow roads), snow creates more emergencies (car crashes, heart attacks while shoveling snow, people slipping on ice and calling 911, power outages, flooding areas/homes when it finally melts, people not cleaning snow and ice off of the top of their monster SUVs and the newly created deadly weapon slicing though someone's windshield, the geniuses who refuse to completely clean off their windows and then crash into someone/something when they can't see...need I go on?)

So, apparently, most of my friends are 12 years old. They for some reason are overjoyed that normal operations are grinding to a halt due to the lovely blanket of frozen hell covering the surrounding areas.

So, I am stuck at home because it is snowing, and I might have to go to Job #1 if it continues, because job #1 involves working when the surrounding areas decide to get covered in frozen hell.

I'm going to do a modded circuit and be angry at snow.

Snow, snow, go away; don't come back any other day.

Listening to:  Helena - The Misfits

Sunday Funday

Today I woke up at 0730 to do Jaime's class. I stayed for a round of sparring with Sonic, then did a modified circuit because my shins were hurting.

Jaime told me that Zach was insane and I should shoot for 185ish cause I'd be anorexic at 165. I'll take it, cause that's 20 pounds, woot! I would fight at 178 instead of 165, and I think that is totally doable.

I went home and did some stuff around the house, then headed out to job #2.

I've been at job #2 since 1630, and its 0044 now...I'm ready for a nice long nap under my electric blanket. I'm so glad I have tomorrow off job #1.

I have derby practice tomorrow night (yeah MASS ATTACK ROLLER DERBY !) So that will wake me up. . . I hope. Oh and a Spanish Final to study for.

Gah.

Relatively uneventful day...

However, I have a new goal once I get to 165.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DwWPquro04

Go check that out. I want to be able to do sit ups on a bag when I get to 165.

I have ridiculously weak abs now, so improving them is definitely a long term goal. Long term, but doable.

I did a modified circuit at home today and nothing else. I slept until 1400 cause I was exhausted, and it was pretty awesome. Then, I went to the SB party, came home and did some dishes.

Now I'm off to bed so I can wake up at 0730 to get to SB for Jaime's 0830 class, then sparring then a circuit and maybe some time on the elliptical depending on what time is is and how many rounds I spar.

Fight life isn't easy, but I love it!


Listening to:  If I Leave - A Day To Remember

Imma Beast.

Today I had my weekly private training session with Gretchen.

I started out with 10 minutes on the bike, like I usually do since my shins suck at life and I can't jump rope.

Next, Gretchen had me do a circuit that Jaime had made Gretchen do earlier in the week...that was all she told me at first, and I just thought 'uh oh" to myself.

There were 8 stations, with one minute of activity at each station.

Derby has been killing my legs lately, but I got through it.

Next, we did some 3 minute combos on a bag, and I worked on getting high and low with my hooks, and some speed on pads for breaks (1 minute).

Then, Gretchen told me that we were doing all the way through speed rounds on the bag.

Two minutes, as many punches as I could.

I tend to lose speed after 30 seconds, a minute max, so this was a rather daunting gauntlet thrown my way.

However, I didn't really have a choice, so I nodded and Gretchen set the timer.

The bell rang and I started throwing like a cracked out chipmunk on the last bender of its life.

I started getting tired, and slowed into hook combos to give myself a rest. I moved into uppercuts, and then went back to straight punches. I concentrated on my breathing, since at this point I sounded like a beached whale with a golf ball obstructing its supply of oxygen. The 30 second bell rang, and I sped up.

All I could hear in my head was Zach saying "last 30 seconds, make it count! come on, throw faster!"

The bell rang and Gretchen told me to stop.

I put my hands down and wiped my dripping face on my sleeve, and then put my hands over my head as I tuned to look at Gretchen.

She was just standing there, looking at me. I thought to myself "shit. I didn't throw enough. gahhhh"

However, Gretchen said exactly the opposite. I threw 482 punches in the 2 minute round.

Gretchen told me to take a break, cause next round I was doing 500 punches.

I took a deep breath and nodded, and went to grab water.

When I was finally able to breathe like a normal human again, Gretchen reset the clock and round 2 was on.

I got that first wave of "ohjeezwhyamidoingthiscanijustslowdownnow?" but mentally punched it out of my brain, and worked though it.

That feeling of tiredness succumbed to my amazing mental brain punch, and I did a few seconds of super speed throws. I concentrated on my breathing and keeping my hands moving from my face to the bag, my face to the bag, my face to the bag.

The 30 second bell rang, and I threw straight punches for the last 30. I'm pretty sure that was the fastest I've ever thrown for 30 consecutive seconds, and it paid off.

Gretchen told me I threw 517 punches.

I was happy with that, I'm shooting for 600 next week though!

After the speed rounds, we got in the ring and did some pads, and then some abs.

My abs still hurt, but not as badly as they did Wednesday, but dare I say progress?! I hope that's the case and I just still wasn't floating on euphoria from my awesome right hooks in the ring.

Today's workout was awesome. I died a little bit, but I did a few things right as well. If only everyday was like this...

Listening to: All I Want-A Day To Remember

I fully intended to blog last night...

However, counting sheep took precedence.

I went to the gym for Mike's 1730 boxing drills class.

After class, I played with Neyla (one of the trainer's daughter) and then I hung around for a bit and talked with Sonic and Menace.

Sonic had to go to the mall to get crapmas presents, and mentioned that they had a Spike's in the mall now.
If you aren't from SE MA/RI, chances are you don't know Spike's.

Nom.

The full name is Spike's Junkyard Dogs, and they make the worlds most delicious hot dogs and veggie dogs. (And hot dog buns, and fries, and salads...)

I was salivating at the thought of a Spike's veggie dog since I hadn't had one since the Spike's on Thayer closed last year :(

So I checked my weight to see if I could allow myself a little slice of deliciousness.
They gym scale said I was 211. Grrr.

Then, I realized that since the gym scale hates me to the tune of about 3 pounds, that actually meant 208ish.
I sadly walked over to the desk and told Sonic I couldn't go.

She mad a face at me, but realized that I was serious, because sparkle shorts>veggie dogs.
I decided to do Zach's circuit to make me feel less amorphous blob-like, and I subbed tricep dips for forward dips since my hands hurt like whoa.

When I finished, Sonic was still at the gym, and she wanted me to go to the mall with her.
So, I gave in to temptation by rationalizing that I hadn't eaten my veggie burger that day, or my rice cake, or the pineapple, so my cals were low, and I'd only eat half the bun and get a salad.

So, we went to the mall and got dinner at Spike's, then bought all kinds of crap that I can't tell you about yet, because it's supposed to be secret.


By the time I got home it was past 2200, and I was tired. I haven't gone to bed on time yet this week.
I took a shower, checked my weight (208.8) and crashed into bed and apparently fell asleep right away, because when I woke up to my phone alarm, I couldn't find my phone!

It was tangled up in the sheets. I guess I fell asleep before I could put it on my bookcase next to my bed.
Hooray for sleep.

Listening to: Swing Life Away by Rise Against

So glad today is Beattheshitouttastuffday. aka Wednesday.

So, today is Beattheshitouttastuffday. aka Wednesday. I like beating the shit out of stuff. I like beating the shit out of people too, but only when A) we are sparring, or B) they actually deserve it. - more on that later haha.

Anyway, today after work I went to Striking Beauties for Marcin's Core Conditioning Class. Koala showed up for Marcin's class, and so did two other people who don't usually do Marcin's class, so we had a lot of fun.

Zach's traditional boxing class was next, and while it was fun, I died a little bit.

My knuckles have been hurting lately- Zach suggested I put regular dish sponges under my wraps, over my knuckles to cushion them.

I tried that, but it felt really weird, and Anthony yelled at me for it. Well, not really yelled, but shook his head and ripped the sponges off my hands and threw them on the floor, then he rewrapped my hands without the sponges, mumbling to himself about "damn sponges" the whole time.It was great- the wraps, although the mini-fit was entertaining too! The wraps cushioned my knuckles and stayed in place. Now only if I could wrap my hands that way myself.

I asked Zach how long gloves should last me, and he said he has had his for about 2 years. I explained why I was asking, and he checked out my gloves. Zach said they seem normal, so I guess my hands are just defective.

I did abs with Zach at the end of class, and it seems like no matter how much ab work I do, I can't get any stronger. I felt like I was going to die, but I was working with Zach, so if I wanted to stop, death would be the only way out!

I made it through the laughably easy (for a normal person) ab workout, and the stretched out for a few minutes.

Me sparring my comfortable pair of pants, aka Sonic :)

Hugging it out. Just kidding. She had me on the ropes.

After Zach's class, I sparred 2 rounds with Sonic and one with Knuckles. Sonic and Knuckles are both slightly crippled- Sonic's ankle bothers her if she bounces too much, and Knuckles managed to kill her knuckle, (I know) and can't throw any rights for a few more weeks.

Knuckles and I sparring

So, I did 2 rounds with Sonic, and the did a round of just jabs with Knuckles.

pow.

You wouldn't want to piss us off...just a warning!

I've sparred with just jabs before when I sprained my right wrist on Ginger's face, but I don't remember it being this difficult!


I think it is because I have been working on my right, and it is one of my favorite and most powerful punches, so when I can't throw it, I really miss it!

Listening to: Young the Giant - My Body

Tueeeeeeeeeesday.

Today is Tuesday.
AKA Spanish Class night. Boo.
However, I only have the final next Tuesday night and then I'm free!!!
...for four weeks.

oh well, I'll take what I can get.

My butt muscles already hurt from all the fantastic squats we did yesterday. (ooh, and all the falling!)

I did a modified circuit when I got home from class, and it was pretty painful.

My butt muscles hurt, my abs hurt, my legs hurt. My arms are okay though!
I can't wait to get to the gym and punch stuff tomorrow.
Sunday feels like it was ages ago.

There are 2 videos from the rounds I did with Morgan. Nora was nice enough to hang out and record my rounds so I could watch them 8,000 times and obsess over what I did wrong later.

Round 1  Round 2

I know, it looks like  I'm a bully, but she got some great shots in on me cause I didn't sit on my back foot.

Morgan socking me...(Anthony and Zach, I KNOW, I should have sat on my back foot)

See! I wasn't kidding...she's got power! a few more months boxing and she's going to be a beast.


I didn't eat nearly what I should have today, and I managed to break a fingernail while taking off a sweatshirt. Coincidence? I think not.

whoopsie.

I need to start eating all of the food that I am supposed to, Adderall be damned!

One of these days, I will get my shit together, promise!
Until then, I'm gonna fake it till I make it...or you know, go bald...

I've got a dirty little secret...

...I'm cheating on boxing with roller derby.

Mass Attack Roller Derby!!!

Okay, it's not much of a secret, but damn is it a killer workout!

I thought planks were hard...try straight arm planks in wrist guards!

Tonight Mass Attack Roller Derby had practice with Vicious Stylz, an absolutely amazing skater. She skates with Providence Roller Derby, and used to box at Striking Beauties! (Small world, right?)

She's a beast. I want to be her if I grow up.

Anyway, tonight she led us through an awesome practice.
Falls, recovery, jammer starts, t stops, plow stops, heelies,...so much! The warm up was similar to a boxing warm up, and I still felt like I was gonna die, it was great!

I feel way more confident in a few skills, I can't wait till I can get to the rink and try 'em out!

I'll leave you with something Stylz kept saying tonight that really stuck with me.

"If you're not falling, you're not trying hard enough!"

Ninjabread house and Sadie Hawkins class!

Saturday I didn't blog because I was too tired at the end of the day. I finished the ninjabread house with Koala, and then brought it to the gym.

what's better than gingerbread? Ninjabread!!

I wanted to take my motorcycle out for a quick ride cause it was kind of warm out (46 degrees) but instead I did another modified circuit. Then, I went to a derby get together and we brainstormed about team names and  talked about Roller Con and all kinds of appropriately geeky roller derby fantastic-ness.

Today was the Sadie Hawkins class at the gym, where we all got to bring a guy and beat him up in the name of charity! We raised over $300 for RI Foster Care, who knew beating guys up would raise so much money?
All the members seemed to have a great time, and we plan on having another Sadie event soon, definitely an annual fundraiser. The guys looked like they were going to die, but they all said it was a good time.

I brought my friend Anthony to class. He has been boxing and doing MMA for a while, so he knew what he was doing in class and gave me a few pointers.
After class, we sparred 3 rounds-aka he let me beat him up while giving me pointers- but they were good rounds.

My shins started to hurt after the second round with Anthony, so I took a round off and then did the third.

There was an exhibition at the gym today after the Sadie class, and I wanted to do it, but figured I shouldn't since my shins were hurting.

Jaime saw Anthony during class and during our 3 rounds sparring, and signed him  up to spar one of the guys from Battleground.

Jaime was putting the list together, and needed more people, so I volunteered to get in the ring.

I was matched up with Morgan, someone I had never sparred before.

I went over and introduced myself and  told her how my shins hate me, so I might die, but I was looking forward to sparring her!

She told me that she had only recently started sparring at Battleground, and she had sparred Sonic yesterday.

Morgan and I were slated to go on 7th, so we hung out and watched everyone else's rounds, and then got ready.

We got in the ring, and started our round. I noticed right away that Morgan was faster than me (she's a runner as well - no shin problems there!) but I tried to keep up with her and cut her off. I got a few good body shots in on her, and tried to work on getting in and out, something I've been working on a lot with Gretchen.

We finished the first round, and I got a quick drink, and felt good to go. Usually a little out of breath after a round like that, but not today!

Morgan asked if I could tone it down a few, so I tried working on my speed and pivots instead of power in my punches. I don't think I did a good job toning it down, though, because we stopped for a bit in the second round, and didn't do a third.

Sparing is unlike any other activity, and it kills you at first. I feel the same way Morgan did today every day I spar with Aleks, but I am constantly being told by everyone (Zach, Menace, Jaime, Sonic, Gretchen, Anthony) that's how you learn.

I talked to Morgan a bit after the rounds, and asked her to come back to spar sometime. She got my nose good, and I would definitely love to have one more person  around to bash my face in!

After the exhibition was over, I got back in the ring and did 2 rounds with Anthony, and then he did three rounds with Marcia, two rounds with Menace, and one with Dena.

He had a lot of fun letting us beat him up, and he offered some really good pointers for me to work on, especially when fighting people shorter than me. (so basically, everyone!) I've got some good stuff to work on now, and hopefully I can do another exhibition soon!

Holy tiredness...

I just helped build an insane gingerbread house and I am exhausted.

Here's what happened today: I did stuff, and other people did stuff, then I did more stuff, then I passed out
Details? Nope, that's all.

Juuust kidding

Today was okay. I had my private with gretchen today, and like the past few days, I noticed I was losing my breath easily and having a problem regaining it.
Gretchen told me that I am probably over training, and effectively killing myself, and that a day or two off here or there might be a good thing.

I was shocked for a second, and then realized it made sense.
I decided to think about it later.

I worked on hooks and body shots with Gretchen today, and it was good. I practiced a bit on the bags, and then on Gretchen in the ring. Now I know what I need to work on, so I can practice on my own.
After training with G, I did the elliptical for a bit.

I didn't do the circuit (I know, I know) but I think I pulled one of the few tiny ab muscles that I have. I tried to do butt lifts today and almost cried. Major owies

Ill post about the gingerbread house tomorrow, I'm falling asleep typing this!

Thursday was rather uneventful

I didn't go to the gym yesterday, because after work I went to dinner with B-Man.

B-Man is an awesome friend of mine, but we both have crazy schedules, so it's difficult to find time to hang out. Every few months we will go out to dinner and do something fun.

Yesterday, we went to Providence for dinner and to buy his parents a coffee maker, because B-Man means well, but he and shopping don't mix.
I picked out a cute little coffee maker, and then we walked around the mall for a bit, until I got sick of being pounced on by over-eager sales people working for commissions.
I normally hate malls, but December in a mall is my own personal version of hell.
Screaming children, ads pressuring you to "BUY, BUY, BUY!" Never ending wish lists...no thank you.

If you don't know me in real life then let me tell you this: I despise christmas.

It has gone from a religious holiday to a no holds barred gluttonous greed fest that drives people insane. The whole concept is just mind boggling to me, and while I do have a pointed list of specific as to exactly why I despise the season, I will spare you. :)

After we escaped the claws of the bloodthirsty salespeople, we made our way through the frigid parking garage to B-Man's truck. Never have I loved heated seats more than a 10 degree night!

When I got home, I did a modified version of the circuit with 5 and 8 pound dumbbells. Not the best thing ever, but it was late and I didn't want to drive all the way to the gym for a 30 minute workout and fall asleep on the way home.

I really need to have K go shopping, because I ran out of food and haven't been eating as well as I should. I've been eating healthy foods, but not enough calories. K is going shopping for me tomorrow though, so hopefully ill get myself back on track soon!
January 15 is only 36 days away!

Weigh in Wednesday!

I knew today was going to suck food-wise.

I ran out of lettuce and didn't have time/ was too lazy to go get more, so I didn't eat my veggie burger. I forgot my carrots and just didn't eat the pineapple.

Way to go, brain. You suck at this game!
Tomorrow, I WILL do better. Or at least I'll try harder. Or try to try harder.

Anyway, tonight I did Marcin's Core Conditioning Class, and Zach's Traditional Boxing class, and sparred three two minute rounds with Sonic.

I feel like I got some decent shots in on her, but I also feel so comfortable sparring her. Comfortable is good when you're selecting a pair of pants, or a couch, but not for sparring.

We spar so much that we both know the other's favorite moves and how their brain works. I need to push myself to break that shell more often so I have the element of surprise, and I can be a better boxer.

Sonic (blue) and I (green) sparring

I'm never happy. Sparring Sonic is comfortable, sparring Aleks is impossible...I need a happy medium!!

After the 6 minutes sparring with Sonic, I felt dead. :/ I need to figure out my shins!!

I got on the evil, misreading gym scale and it said 214.6.
I expected it to be a crappy number, so I shrugged and stepped off the scale.

I did my circuit, drank a protein shake, went home, ate a graham cracker with honey (wicked delish!) While browsing facebook, and then decided to check my weight.

huzzah!

My scale said 210. No freaking way I lost 4.6 pounds in a matter of hours.
I know, I know, I already determined that the gym scale is crap, but it still astounds me.

I've been losing my breath a lot easier lately, and I don't know why.
I wish I could run, but I tried jump roping today and I made about a minute before I gave up because of the pain.

I got my awesome new SMCK'N Sneakers this week!

They are super fancy and have all kinds of special padding so that (hopefully!) my shins don't die. I wore them for the core conditioning class, and I felt good in them (no pain during high skips!) but jump rope is still a no go. :(



I also got myself a nice ringside hoodie so I have something to wear home from the gym when I am gross and sweaty so I don't have to worry about getting a nice sweatshirt soaked in sweat.

Isn't it pretty?

Hooray for Black Friday sales, right?

Sleeping until 1400 really screws up my eating habits

whodathunk, huh?

When I got home last night, I took a shower, and collapsed into bed. I woke up around noon, and then decided to go back to sleep because I didn't technically *have* to be up until 1400 so I could do my spanish homework before class.

So, I went back to bed, and the alarm went off at 1400. I snoozed it and didn't end up getting out of bed until 1515. Whoopsie.

I had just enough time to make myself some egg whites, eat some fruit, and do my homework.
After my homework, I had a greek yogurt and some apple juice.
Then, I left for my lovely 3 hour spanish class, and a quick jaunt on the elliptical, because today is a no circuit day! So :D and . :/

I had some orange juice on the way to campus, and an apple and a bottle of chocolate milk while there.

I finally left campus around 2130, and headed home, where I now sit, freaking out that because I didn't eat enough today, my weight will be off tomorrow, and tomorrow is weigh in Wednesday.

Grrrr. Tomorrow's going to be fun.

I'm at the gym now..

And it's 0145 (aka 1:45 AM). I'm sitting here warming up on the bike (literally, its freezing outside!) and I'm wondering just how insane I am, and if this even counts because technically, it's not today anymore, its yesterday's tomorrow, which is now today. But a different today than yesterday's today.
Still with me?
Good.
I don't count it a new day until A) I go to bed or B) I see the sun rise. So if I stay up late (like now) my brain considers now "today"aka 12/06 even though it is technically 12/07.

See, this is why shoddy sleep patterns aren't good for me.
I did something to my knee at job #2 and it feels weird, but I'm gonna get through this circuit and then go take a coma and deal with it tomorrow.

2 minutes left on the bike, gonna go make it count.

Dear Monday Night Football, I hate you.

Monday Night Football makes me want to punch people.

Well, not really punch people. Because I don't know who is responsible for Monday Night Football, and even if I did they are either some super jacked football dude, or a super well protected marketing mogul.

Anyway, the reason that I hate Monday Night Football is that job #2 has to do with the local pro football team.

Anytime those spandex-clad football machines take the field, I am working.

So today, I will work Job #1 from 07:00 - 16:00, and then job #2 from 16:00- 01:30ish? and then I have to go to the gym because of Jaime's 25 Days of fitness challenge, and the only day I can take off from the circuit is Tuesday..


So, after working lots and lots and feeling like death and wanting nothing but to go home and chop my legs off and fall into a deep sleep under my electric blanket, I instead get to go to the gym and complete Zach's Circuit of Hell.

Welcome to my Pity Party.

However, I took Tuesday off from Job #1, so that I can sleep late-ish, and actually study for my Spanish class Tuesday Night. Oh, and do a mockup of the gingerbread house. And clean my kitchen. And find the recipe for gingerbread in my giant recipe binder.

Okay, looks like I'm not sleeping late after all. Shit.


I'm pretty sure the rest of the day is going to go something like this:

1330-1559 go back to work, do things like a robot
1600 freak out and realize that I needed to change clothes  and already be gone by now
1605 actually leave job #1
1630 arrive at job # 2 due to some deft  maneuvering on the highway/ swearing at other drivers
1630-0130 bitch and moan about A) the weather B) how much I hate football C) how tired I already am, while telling people to do stuff.
0130-0230 get to the gym and make a pitiful attempt to complete the circuit
0230-0300 drive home
0300 take a shower, and then bellyflop into bed and fall into a coma.

2 days in a row of 8 AM wakeup calls...

Like I said yesterday, I have the sleep habits of a teenager.

I got up early again today to go to a class at the gym, and then spar after.

When my alarm went off, I rolled over. Usually, I have no problem getting out of bed on Sundays for class.

After I dragged my butt out of bed, I had a quick breakfast of egg whites and cheese, and then drove to the gym.

I felt tired and crappy, and I couldn't stop yawning.
Gretchen and Sonic both told me that I looked like crap (thanks guys!) and I told them that's how I felt.

I made it through class, and my left shin started to hurt a little, but I stretched it out before we started sparring, so I figured I'd be okay.

I figured wrong. I sparred one 3 minute round with Aleks, a pro boxer that sometimes comes on Sundays to spar with us, and  about 2 minutes into it, I was dying.

This is Aleks and I sparring at the Costume Sparing event - hence my Wonder Woman costume!

I managed to finish the round, but Aleks beat the shit out of me, because that hurt less than moving out of the way.

I've got another cute little bruise on the bridge of my nose, similar to the bloody beatdown of 2010. Knuckles and I were sparring on a Wednesday night, and we both just started throwing hard punches; going in for the kill, aka totally beating the shit out of each other.

When we spar on Wednesdays, we just spar for practice. We are still making contact - still throwing hard punches - but the main objective isn't to see how much you can make the other person bleed.

Well, that night with Knuckles, we forgot that and ended up bloody and bruised. It was a great round, but incredibly painful. We both ended up brusied and bloody and it kind of scared Zach.

Ever since them, my nose hurts after a couple of direct hits, especially hits from Aleks.

I can't wait until my shins are better and I can run away from Aleks' powerful punches, my nose will be so happy!

Thankfully, I am going to the doctor tomorrow, and I can ask what the hell is going on with these shins, because I am sick of it!

Owie.

Today, I woke up at 8:30 so that I could get to the gym to meet Dena. Her son's birthday party was today, and I made him a monster truck cake.

Jake's monster truck birthday cake!

I have the sleep habits of a teenager, and if I can sleep until 3 PM, I will. I figured since I was schlepping myself out of bed at the unhuman hour of 8:30 AM, I might as well make it count.

Zach would be so proud!

I met Dena at the gym to giver her the cake, and then stayed and did a quick warm up. I did some work with the speed bag, double end bag, and my fast feet on the ladder.

Then, I did the circuit again, even though every muscle in my body was begging me not to.

Thankfully Knuckles was at the gym working out as well, and she was able to encourage me when I felt like I was going to die.

I made it through, and did a bit more work with my fast feet band, and then collapsed on the floor for a few minutes.

I decided not to do any time on the elliptical today  (not only because I was tired and sore) because I have roller derby practice tonight, and I will spend about two hours skating.

When I got home, I hopped on the scale before I got in the shower.

woot!

Apparently all of the work is making a difference!

(I brought my scale to they gym today, and tested my scale vs gym scale with me and then with weights on it. Gym scale with me on it said 214.4, off by 3 pounds & Gym scale was off by a pound with 50 pounds of weights on it, and my scale was right on, so from now on, I am ignoring the gym scale!)

Update*** I just got back from the rink, and my upper thighs feel like rocks! I did 12 consecutive laps of sticky feet, holy owies.

I'm gonna be jacked in no time!!

:D

Today was a messed up day.

It all started when I forgot my apple.

No, scratch that.

It all started when I didn't pack my food the night before. I was busy, I was tired, yaddah, yahddah, yaddah.
I left the job until the morning, even though I knew better.

All was good until the clock chimed 0900 and I realized "crap!! I forgot my apple!!"

I mentally punched my brain for forgetting, and figured I'd just add it in later in the day.
I had my 1100 meal, and headed off to the gym for my private with Gretchen.

This is Gretchen, I train with her on Fridays. She's awesome!

It started off well. We worked on pivots and hooks, and I now have lots of good stuff to practice!
I sparred 2 rounds with Sarah, which was a lot of fun, because I hadn't sparred her before, and I love sparring with new people.

Afterwards, I did some ab work with Gretchen.
I always have a hard time with ab work. (I'm pretty sure there is some kind of parasitic gnome that lives in my abs and feeds on muscle, but that's another story for a whole other day.)

No matter how much/what ab work I do, I always end up hurting myself.

Today, I pushed myself until I could feel tears welling up in my eyes because it was that painful, and then, I spent about 20 seconds convinced that I was going to puke my 1100 meal right up in the ring.

I managed to tame my unruly bile duct, and started stretching out, but all the ab stretches hurt. Gretchen said that the pain probably means I pulled something. :/

I really want to skip the whole "building character" part of ab work, because holy crap do they hurt!

Granted it probably didn't help that I did Zach's circuit today again, but hey, what can I say - I'm a glutton for punishment!

Anyway, after I worked with Gretchen, I decided to give my poor aching abs a rest, and do my 45 minutes on the elliptical next, instead of the circuit.

I had a greek yogurt before hopping on the elliptical, and then sweated my butt off. (Not literally of course, I'm pretty sure the oceans of the world would rise a few inches if that happened!)

As I was finishing up on the elliptical, Sharryn showed up to workout.
She ended up doing the circuit with me, and I am glad she showed up when she did!
I'm not entirely sure I would have made it through without someone pushing me today.

All of my muscles are sore, but I just keep picturing my sparkle shorts!

So. Much. Food.

Yesterday I started my new meal plan.

I've never been one to eat normal meals or on a regular schedule- I always just ate food when I was hungry. That plan wasn't the best though, because I take Adderall during the week to keep my ADHD in line so that I can actually be productive.

While Adderall is great for making my brain focus and able to function like an average person rather than a chipmunk on LSD, it totally kills my appetite.

I don't usually take Adderall on the weekends, because I either sleep too late, or don't really have a reason to. During the week, I have to be a productive adult at work, so I begrudgingly deal with a messed up appetite.

The new meal plan has me eating every 2 hours from when I get up till I go to bed.

I had to use a shoebox  since all the food wouldn't fit in my lunchbox!

Yesterday, I made it until about 1230 before I started to question this whole "eat every 2 hours" scheme.
I had already had my 0700 meal (bagel, egg white & cheese with an 8oz OJ) , and my 0900 meal (an apple & pineapple) and my 1100 meal (tomato soup & carrots).
I was facing my 1300 meal (veggie burger wrapped in romaine lettuce & chocolate milk) and I was not even close to hungry.

I texted Zach and told him that it was meal time, and I wasn't hungry.


His response? "Eat up!"

I left my office and trudged out to the kitchen where I nuked my veggie burger, than wrapped it in lettuce leaves.

mmm,veggie burger

I took a picture of my meal and sent it to Zach to prove that I was eating. I also warned him that if I puked at the gym tonight, I was blaming him!

Next was the 1500 meal of greek yogurt and apple juice. This meal, like the previous, was hesitantly approached. I could hear my grade school teacher telling me "if you're not hungry, don't eat!" However, Mrs. Flaherty, although a great teacher, wasn't exactly an expert on dropping weight, so I took a deep breath and just ate the food.

I made sure to drink some water in the 2 hour lapse between 1500 and 1700, because I was leaving work at 1630 and heading to the gym.

On the way to the gym, I had a rice cake with peanut butter.
When I got to the gym, I felt like a stuffed animal. I waddled into the gym and changed my shoes and wrapped up for Mike's Boxing Drills class.

I felt like I had more energy, but I could have just been delirious from the carrots with the faint chemical residue.

After Mike's class, I did a circuit with Menace & Sonic that Zach approved, aka 30 minutes of hell.

Zach's Circuit

50 push ups
100 russian twists with medicine ball
50 crunches on ball
15 dips
50 squats with medicine ball
1 minute plank
30 secs right side plank
30 secs left side plank
1 minute scissor kicks
25 medicine ball toe touches
50 push ups
50 crunches on ball
15 dips
50 squats with medicine ball

I am sorely lacking in the ab muscles department, so I was hurting throughout the circuit, but I finished it!
We were just finishing up with the circuit when Dena, the owner of Striking Beauties, arrived with Ava (her daughter), toting a box about the same size as Dena.

We went over to say hi to Dena, and she excitedly showed us what was in the giant box.

The neon pink tree looks like it was made to live at SB!

She had managed to stumble upon a faux neon pink Christmas tree at Border's. Only Dena!

After oohing and aahing, she eagerly ripped open the box and we set it up in the front window at the gym.
I still had 45 minutes on the elliptical, so I filled up my awesome TMNT waterbottle and hopped on the elliptical.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles waterbottle! cowabunga!

My foot started to cramp up about 35 minutes in, but I finished my time. I made sure to stretch out afterwards, but it still feels weird. I can't wait to get my new shoes!

Operation Sparkle Shorts, Day 1!

Here we have the mastermind of Operation Sparkle Shorts, Zach, and I officially making the bet, handshake and all.

When we dreamed up this scheme, I was 219 pounds.

Yesterday was the starting point. The gym scale said I was 216.5 pounds, and my home scale said I was 213.4 pounds, so one of the scales needs to be recalibrated.

Huzzah!

I have to go to the doctor's on Monday to get my shins checked out again, so I am going to see what the balance beam scale says, because those are usually right on the money.

I get really bad shin splints, to the point where my shins look like they were a paintball target, and feel like someone tested a sledgehammer on them.

I finally went to the doctor and got them checked out, and turned out I had some major stress fractures going on. I stopped jump roping and running, and I have been taking calcium pills every day, hoping that I can get them to heal!

Anyway, yesterday I did Marcin's Core Conditioning Class, then the fateful Traditional Boxing Class that started my addiction with boxing. Afterwards, I sparred two rounds with Zach, and then, since it was the first day of Hanukkah, Menace, Sonic, Koala, Zach and I played dreidel! (Dreidel is definitely the key to a healthy workout plan!)

Playing dreidel in the ring with Hershey's Kisses!

After, I did some bodyweight exercises with Zach that were extremely challenging, but I finished them. I did pushups,   Russian twists with a medicine ball, toe touch sit-ups with a medicine ball, core crunches on a balance ball, scissor kicks, planks and dips.

The dips just about killed me, since I have no shoulder strength...yet. Zach told me that the better I get at dips, the less tired I will get while punching, so I'm all for it!

As you can imagine, my muscles hurt today, but it's all good - it means I did the exercises right and made my muscles work! Pretty soon those exercises will be easy! (I hope!)

Operation Sparkle Shorts Backstory

Hi! My name is Courtney, and I 'm going to tell you all about how I got myself into this.

I used to volunteer with, and still am a big fan of Providence Roller Derby! 

I was at a bout, and looking through the program, when I found an ad for "Striking Beauties - the Original 24/7 boxing gym for women!"

I thought to myself "Self, this looks awesome! I'm good a punching stuff....I think this would be wicked fun!"

So, off I went to North Attleboro to check this place out.

I stopped by one day after work, and got a tour of the gym, and a schedule, and chatted with the people working there.

It looked like my kind of place - hot pink walls, a picture of Audrey Hepburn and a picture of Ali hung on the wall behind the treadmills, but most importantly, everyone seemed to be having a blast!


I went back the following Wednesday for a 30 minute "Intro to Boxing" session, where I met a trainer named Keith who showed me how to wrap my hands, the boxing stance, basic punches, & how to move while punching.

Just those 30 minutes moving back and forth in the ring tired me out, but I decided to stay for a one hour "Traditional Boxing Class".

In the one hour that was the class, I thought I was going to die.

I have never sweated more, or worked out harder in my life.

However, when class was over (after collapsing on the carpet, of course) I couldn't wait to come back and do it again.

I went up to the front desk, and signed up for a Knockout membership. That membership meant I could take unlimited classes, and get a key card so I could enter the gym and workout whenever I wanted! It sounded like a pretty awesome deal to me!

I went back the next Wednesday for the same class, and didn't die quite as soon. I stared asking people what kind of gloves they liked best, trying to figure out what would be right for me.

One of the girls I talked to mentioned that she sparred after the class we were in, and that I should stay and watch. I readily agreed, since when I do something, I like to go all out, so sparring seemed like the next step on this journey.

I stayed to watch sparring that day, and I could not wait to get in the ring.

Zach, the sparring trainer, told me that I needed a mouth guard, headgear, gloves and a USA amateur boxing membership in order to spar.

I went home, and went straight to titleboxing.com. I ordered myself a pair of 16oz gloves, a boil and bite mouth guard, and full face headgear. I was so excited that I paid extra money for 2 day shipping so that I would be able to get in the ring next Wednesday!

 Thanks to the expedited shipping, I got all my gear, and was ready to spar the next Wednesday.

Menace, the girl who told me I should stay to watch sparring the previous week, and the trainer Zach were the only people that were there for sparring that week, so I got in the ring with Menace.

Aside from being 230 pounds at the time, I am 6 feet tall. Menace is maybe 5'3"  on a good day, and I think she was about 140 pounds at the time.

However she had been sparring for a few months, and is a really good sport, so she agreed to get in the ring with me and see what I could do.

Zach set the clock for a 2 minute round. Menace and I waited for the start bell, then touched gloves, and the round had officially started!

The next two minutes were the longest two minutes of my life.

When the final bell sounded to signify the end of the round, I thought I was going to die again.

I was out of breath, drenched with sweat, and felt like I had just run a mile.

I hopped out of the ring, and let Menace beat up Zach for a round. After lots of water, holding my hands over my head and breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, I  decide to get back in the ring.

I felt the same at the end of the second round, but I also couldn't wait to do it again. however, I was so exhausted, I decided to wait till next week to spar any more. Menace and Zach sparred for another 5 or 6 rounds, while I sat there dumbfounded, watching them bounce all over the ring, throwing and slipping punches.

They made it look so easy, but I was determined to look like them someday!

That was the second week of May 2010. 7 Months later, I am now a total gym rat.

I usually spend about 12 hours per week in the gym now, and I spar 1-2 times a week, and love it!

Sonic (blue) and I (green) sparring a few weeks ago,