So I just returned from a vacation of epic proportions. This Hawaiian vacation was pure awesomeness! My friend Dan did an amazing job of documenting the vacation on his blog, and so, I redirect you to his link HERE.
You won’t be disappointed. It’s filled with adventure, good times, and a smashed face- everything you would want in a blog post!
I miss Hawaii :(.
Each year my siblings, cousin and I come up with a goal for the new year. It’s not quite a resolution, but more of a reflection on how we think the upcoming year will be, or how we would like it to be. For me…
2011 will be a year of taking control of and enjoying my current situation. It’s all about embracing the phrase: “Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Today is a Gift, That’s why it’s called the Present”. I feel fortunate to have a great position in Calgary, and one that allows me to have a flexible schedule with generous vacation time. Over the past year, I’ve thought a lot about my next step or move- Another career, moving back to the GTA, or a new overseas experience. Although Calgary may not be ‘my city’, I began to realize that I didn’t do enough to take advantage of the many opportunities available to me, in the city, in the present. I hope to change this by counting my blessings and being more thankful of my current situation.
2010 was a year of being selfish- I focussed on myself by integrating fitness and health into my life (with which I will continue to go hard-core), and I put my well-being and awesomeness first :). This year, I’ll chip away at the black heart that makes up this cold-hearted Leo and just be more open to what’s out there, whether that encompasses friendships, relationships, or new adventures (but hopefully all of the above!).
Like the first and most important of Gretchen Rubin’s Twelve Commandments found in “The Happiness Project”, regardless of what happens in 2011, I’m going to approach this year just being me. Be Rick. I’ll be myself, do the things I like, and try some things I’ve always wanted to try. I hope it will be a good, positive and fun year.
So one of the goals I wanted to do for the new year was get into shape. I think I made this resolution last year, but I’m not sure what happened there! It included an unused gym membership for which I’m still paying :S. It was also due to some ‘drama’ that occurred in the latter half of 2009, of which I’ve stopped trying to understand. BAM! Breath, Accept, and Move on. 🙂 And my ongoing saying: ‘Don’t try to understand people and why they do the things they do. Just be content with the way in which you react and deal with those situations.’ That’s just an aside, but I realize that thinking that way eliminates a lot of mental energy in the long run. People are funny in general. Not ‘haha’ funny, but ‘I don’t get you’ funny :D.
So here I am, making an attempt to get into the best shape ever. I’ve tried the original Power 90 program, and although I didn’t complete the full 90 days, I definitely saw positive results with it after 60-something days. So for this new year, I decided I would take the plunge and order P90X- the Extreme Home Fitness program by Beachbody.com. And let me tell you, it’s a crazy intense program with a pretty strict nutrition plan.
As I write this, I have now completed Day 5. I’m am sore. Very very sore. But it’s been good so far, and I’ve been impressed with my ability to remain completely motivated even after cursing at the TV or laptop (depending on where I’m watching the DVDs). Believe me, the cursing is warranted. My life has basically become work/exercise/squash/eat/sleep. Yes, in the midst of this crazy program, I’ve committed to playing squash twice a week for that extra cardio. Silly me. And to add to my work day, most of the workouts last about 1.5 hours each day. I even found myself getting up at 6 am on Day 2 just to get the workout in, because squash is on Tuesday nights :S. Oh, and the nutrition plan basically calls for me to eat about 2400 ‘good’ calories a day, with lots of protein in there. Needless to say, I have been eating non-stop, and ingesting WAY MORE than I’m used to… sigh. That alone is getting quite costly…. especially the protein shakes and bars. And lots of chicken breast. LOTS! But overall, so far so good :). So here’s a quick run down thus far of Week 1:
Day 1: Chest & Back, and Ab Ripper X. Ridiculous. WAYY too many push ups and pull ups. I realize I’m quite weak and can’t really do any of the pull ups without the assistance of a chair for support. In any case, I’ll work my way up ;). My entire body basically cramped up once I tried Ab Ripper. Overall, it was a painful day.
Day 2: Plyometrics. And so I was up at 6 am to do an hour of jump exercises, which killed the legs and the buttocks! Think jumping then squatting, then jumping then squatting. Rinse and repeat. By the end, the legs hurt. The butt hurt. I hurt. Oh yeah, squash that evening didn’t help the legs. I could barely walk the next day.
Day 3: Shoulders & Arms, then Ab Ripper X. Not as bad as chest and back, but it still hurt. I realized that I need some heavier weights, because I should be maxing out at 8 reps or so, but was able to go beyond that for some exercises.
Day 4: Yoga X. My goodness, who knew that yoga was so ridiculously intense! I sweat more than anything… and it’s an hour and a half long! I think I have the ‘tree’ and ‘frog’ positions under control 🙂 Those push ups and downward dogs are killer though :S.
Day 5 (Today!): Legs & Back, then Ab Ripper X. I’m starting to make some progress with the Ab Ripper stuff, with less cramping. The moves are still tough though, and sometimes I’d rather be reading an article on diagnosis codes for administrative data (i.e. WORK! eek) than doing ab work. But it’s a good pain in the end I suppose. As for the legs and back, the pull ups for the back exercises are still not going so well, but the chair helps tremendously. I actually like the leg exercises. Though the wall squat for 90 seconds was a bee-otch.
Day 6: Kenpo X. I’m looking forward to this one, as there’s going to be lots of punches and kicks. That’s right… don’t mess with me.
Day 7: Rest or X Stretch. Well, clearly to keep the momentum going, I don’t plan to use it as a rest day. So hopefully the stretch is less intense as the rest of the week! I’m thinking it will be… how painful could stretching be??? I may retract this statement following Day 7.
Then I have to repeat that routine for Weeks 2 and 3. Fun times indeed! Then Week 4 is a bit of a cool down week, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy! Not sure what that week will be about, but I anticipate lots of sweat and hopefully visible results. Although now, I’m in shape. Round is a shape :). After Week 4, it’s a whole new playing field :S.
And who’s Tony Horton?? The guy who developed this program, and my new ‘personal trainer’ in the DVDs. His photo is above. The guy is like 51 years old or something, but he’s in amazing shape. I hope to be in shape like him after 90 days… and when I’m 51! I love and hate Tony Horton all at the same time… “Curse you Tony!!!! I will NOT do one more downward dog!!…. Alright fine, I’ll BRING IT!!!”
So I figured that one of the things I’ll blog about is music, and what graces my ears at that point in time. Since I live alone, and have no furniture (or barely any), and the fact that it tends to be really quiet, I pretty much have music going at all times. Or TV. I have a TV.
In general, I’m a huge fan of the divas, especially the black empowering ones. It’s no secret that I’m a huge Beyonce fan. Yes, I flew home to Toronto this past summer just to see her in concert. Yes, I’ve endured countless jokes by my coworkers on my obsession. My boss tried to get my attention once while I had Beyonce’s music blaring in my headphones. Eventually she gave up and told the people she was meeting with ‘Oh, he’s just listening to Beyonce.’ Yes, I have a poster/calendar of her in my office, complete with complimentary Beyonce stickers. So it now comes as no surprise that I’ve always been a fan of Alicia Keys as well. But I’ve now come to love this woman’s music as of her current studio album, The Element of Freedom. She has an amazing gift in her voice, and she’s a great pianist as well- along with her soul and passion, she produces some incredible music. I highly recommend it. On this album, she sings about what one may expect- moving on from a relationship, empowerment, love- but it has a little different of a feel. I can’t quite articulate how I get a different feeling from it, but sometimes that is the great thing about music- it’s all about how one feels when one feels it. Take my word for it though- it’s a great album 🙂
One of my favourite songs on the album is called ‘Wait Till You See My Smile.’ I think it’s good to highlight this song as 2010 begins since it complements the positive thinking and optimistic resolutions that I feel characterize this year for me. ‘Wait Till You See My Smile’ talks about enduring hardship, but standing strong after that experience and coming back in full force; showing the world that you’re ready for it once again… or it better be ready for you :). My favourite line of the song: “‘Cause you’re stronger, and you’re better, and you’re ready for whatever, Sing!” And I like to sing. Sometimes like a diva. And what a positive message to internalize and project. When you’re ready to show your smile, the world will be watching :).
So I figured that after not blogging for quite some time, I would start getting back into the swing of things. In fact, I remember when I used to do a lot more blogging (while living abroad, for example), that I really felt that typing the words was very therapeutic. Maybe it’s because I have my new MacBook Pro, with the fast sounding ‘clicks’ of the keyboard, that just makes me want to write again. The most significant change to the blog- I’ve changed my blog title to: “SMOKES is OUT and ABOUT!”, for this signifies that things have changed a bit for me personally (not that it ever really changed, but I’m starting this new decade with the support of family and friends :D); I’m proud of the way things have gone up until this point in my life, but I’m ready for a little more that will focus on the personal side; and I am up for the new and exciting opportunities that may present themselves, either here in Calgary, or wherever my travels may take me. Random interruption photo: Me ice skating at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto on January 2, 2010. This is probably my first really photogenic photo of the new decade, so I feel that it’s appropriate to post it. It was bitterly cold, yes, and although hot chocolate was free, the answer is no, all three of them weren’t for me.
So what does 2010 hold for me? I hope to make new friends and work on the ones I’ve already established. I hope to be a little bit ‘selfish’ in a way, focusing on my health and the opportunities that cross my path. I want to be in control of my finances and more in control of my emotions. I tend to dish some logical black/white advice when need be which can come across as pretty cold-hearted sometimes, lol. It turns out, however, that when the emotional tables are turned, I cannot follow this advice at all! This cold-hearted Leo ain’t so cold-hearted anymore. So although there will be many emotional ups and downs, I hope to embrace those feelings, but remain the optimistic and positive person I try to be, and ride through the turmoil with my head held high barf to the cheese…. But it’s true. And as most years include a trip of some sort, this one is no different, and I hope to take at least one vacation to somewhere new in the coming year.
So in my opinion, this year should shape up to be quite an interesting one. Already starting the year is a brilliant idea entitled ‘theDOTproject’ (see link at the side for my bro’s blog), and my decision to ‘BRING IT’, courtesy of Tony Horton and the P90X Beachbody team. Damn you Tony Horton for making your 90 day boot camp so intense!!!! But hey, no pain, no gain. Barf on the cliche. But if you don’t know me by now, I love my cheese and cliches, and never like to let a good joke die prematurely, WOOT!
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 