Tough Mudder F***er In Training

Have you ever held the desire to run for 10 miles through mud, ice cold water, fire and electricity? How about scaling walls and jumping over logs? Or sprinting up a double black diamond slope? I do. And that's only part of what Tough Mudder is all about. It's an obstacle course from hell, and I'm determined to finish that shit.

Unlike my previous attempts/desires at competing, I actually registered for this pain. It costs so much money that I better damn well do it ($155 registration fee!!). So today I'm moving up from just "working out" into "training" mode.

I know I'm definitely in the best physical shape of my entire life right now, but I need to be better. Harder. Faster. Stronger. It's time to pump up the volume on my running distance and endurance. I want to SEE my abs and be able to do a real chin-up by the time April rolls around. I've been working hard at all of the above this past year, and now it's time to work harder.

The thought of circuit training makes me want to vomit. I don't even really know why; I just have this deep-rooted fear of it. I'm going to have to get over myself and start it. My plan is to spend the next month upping the mileage on my sneakers and continue my weight training. I'm going to incorporate a HIIT session at least once a week between the lifting and running. After that I'm going to put a lot more attention on HIIT and circuits. BodyRock.TV is a kickass circuit program that'll make you bleed sweat and tears.

The Tough Mudder website recommends this minimum fitness level:
"At a minimum we recommend that you are running regularly (2+ times a week, working up to 5 miles per run), able to do 15-25 push-ups in a row, able to bang out 6 pull-ups in a row (especially the dudes), and able to swim 50 yards without stopping (although you can skip the water obstacles)."
I'm actually not too far off from those stats! I can't do a solid pull-up yet, but I will.

The drudgery takes place on April 29th in Pennsylvania. Wish me luck!

To Infinity, And Beyond! 2011 In Review

What better way to kickoff the new year than with an awesome new set of goals?! Well, first let's review how epically fantastic 2011 went for me...

It's been quite a while since I've posted... Rest assured I haven't deterred from the goals I set up for myself; I've just been too busy MAKING IT HAPPEN. Kicking ass, taking names, dropping pounds, and becoming a certified badass!

The greatness of this year kicked-off officially when I became a staff employee for one of the largest entertainment media sites on the Internet. Along with that came real health benefits, an awesome salary and the roots of my career firmly planted in the ground. I worked my ass off for 1 1/2 years and the fruits of my labor finally paid off. I'm a member of the cool kids club. "Look ma! I'm a real person now!" Greatest. Day. Ever.

Next comes my overzealous commitment to better health, fitness and weight loss. I've spent no less than five days a week in the gym, pumping iron and beating the crap out of my body for the better good of humanity. Squatting has become my religion and Chin-Ups my lord and savior. On the weekends I pray to the beat of my sneakers landing on asphalt... left, right, left, right, repeat. AND I LOVE IT. I feel like superwoman. I've discovered that I really do have biceps, and my ass has never looked better. I'll even shamelessly admit that I often catch myself checking out that afforementioned ass in the mirror quite often. Oh, and I FIT INTO MY OLD CLOTHES. What a glorious day that was, throwing myself a little fashion show in the bedroom.

My official weight-loss of 2011 was a resounding 35 pounds. Do you know how much that is?! Well, four gallons of water weigh 30lbs. Imagine carrying around four gallons of water with you, everywhere you go. Now put those imaginary jugs down. Thats how it feels to lose that much weight. Fucking fantastic. I've set my sights on losing another 15lbs by Memorial Day. And I'll damn well do it.

So... I also did this cool little thing called QUITTING SMOKING. Aww yeahhhhh! My stop date was September 18th, so I'm working on my fourth month tobacco-free. I didn't take the cold turkey route (call me a pussy if you like, I don't care), but instead weened myself off using the electronic cigarette. It's a godsend and I highly recommend every smoker out there try it. My favorite vendor is Vapor4Life (www.v4l.com) and they wrote the book on insanely amazing customer service. Do it, and thank me later.

Two other quick notes before I sign off:

-I successfully completed two 3-week stints without consuming any refined sugars. One from Halloween to Thanksgiving, and again from Decemeber 3rd through Christmas Eve. That meant no cake, no candy, no cupcakes, no cookies, nothing! The first round was intense, to say the least (detox, OMFG). Both drew awesome results and helped me curb my addiction to sugar. Sugar is a drug. Believe it.

-I also shot and edited this cool little audition video for a friend:



Look forward to my next post where I dive into THE BUCKET LIST!!

P.S. I plan to actually continue writing on this blog this year. I have lots of exciting things to share!