Most of us go through our day from task to task "letting" the world tell us where to make the next move. This is very reactive and not very empowering. This way is often low energy and does not stimulate the brain or the body. If you manage to squeeze in a workout then it does not leave you feeling energized or stronger.
Take the time at night to plan your day, scheduling in time for exercise and healthy eating. This can give you time for more family, less stress, and more energy. By scheduling and completing what you had scheduled, even if it as simple as eating a healthy lunch, stimulates the brain to accomplish more. You will actually want to do more and be able to do it.
The Beachbody motto is: Decide. Commit. Succeed.
Keeping these 3 things in mind can energize you to take control of our life. It is after all YOUR life. If you decide to want more. Commit to achieving more in your life then you can succeed at a level you never though possible. Keep your commitments fresh in your mind. Re-Commit as often as you need to. When I started taking more control of my life I had to remind myself several times a day that I was the one in charge of my future, my health and my time. Once you begin to take small steps at changing any aspect of your life, review to make sure you are headed in the right direction. Seek the help of others to stay on track. Make the critical decisions necessary to be successful.
now go out and do something good for yourself!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Race Report - Spartan Super: Hurricane Heat
For those who have been following this blog you have seen a few of my workouts. I love training and challenging myself. I like to work too but I love a vacation. this was about a goal event. This was where we put the training to the test.
This was all about the Hurricane Heat.
This was about teamwork, Joe Desena, Tommy McCormack, and a bunch of other people who wanted to come out and finish the race. There are no clocks. There are no timing chips. There are no losers. At the start there was not any daylight. There are only people out challenging themselves against their mind and body; overcoming that voice that says "STOP". And of course there is always the founder of the Spartan Race, Joe, telling you "30 Burpees" or "Jumping jacks until your team gets here. No standing around."
To start the day off right I woke up 30 min later than I had wanted to, 3:45AM. I grabbed a to-go breakfast and hit the road out to Staten Island, the boro I have been to the least and only for races. I showed up late but in enough time to prepare for the start.
After a final head count and safety check we were instructed to choose a team of 15-20 people we did not know (flash networking) and come up with a team name. There were 18 of us on "Team Badass", so named for the t-shirt I was wearing. 6 active duty military, 2 defense contractors, and 10 crazies started and finished together.
At 534AM the warm up, led by the founder of Spartan and Death Race, began with 30 burpees, 30 walking lunges, 30 Jumping Jacks, 30 pushups, etc. set the tone for the day. With our headlamps on and teams assembled we followed Joe out of the parking lot and on to the beach for the first obstacle, over a low wall and under a low beam thru a net that obstructed our view and sent a large clump of beach sand into my right eye (it would stay there until Tues). After the first obstacle we were tasked with reassembling the team and doing 30 burpees( are you noticing a theme yet?). 400 yrds later we were on to the next obstacle, the mud crawl (6 inches of stinky mud) under barbed wire 2ft above the mud followed by (you guessed it) 30 burpees. Did I mention it had rained quite heavily the night before the event?
The next obstacle was the famous over/under/through walls followed by 30 burpees(we are up to 120 burpees if you are keeping count).
I won't bore you with the details but here is a list of the remaining obstacles (assume 30 burpees after each and 400-800 meter run between):
Cargo net climb
50lb block hoist
Run through fire (Awesome! no burpees)
River run (beginning to wait longer for some team members)
tire drag (we had to press the tires full of water over head)
enclosed space with water/tunnel crawl through water
trail running
back through another tunnel
400m river trudge (I fell once)
Steep hill run (we did not have ropes)
appr. 2 mile trail run
Uneven monkey bars traverse (Collin was cramping really bad about now)
Balance Zig-Zag walk (after the burpees and jumping jacks as we waited for more team mates) We were told the finish line is 40 min away(mindf&$@k)
longer run
Ocean Wade with a 5 gallon bucket 3/4 full of water.
Cinder Bock drag/carry (no burpees, thank god, I hate burpees in the sand)
Spear Throw
Wall traverse
Soap rope wall (a 45/45/90 triangle with ropes that have been coated with dish soap)
No Burpees but 100 situps instead. Those are elbows to knees situps, wimp!
Finish line waitfest(Jumping jacks until EVERYONE finished the wall and the situps and the media got there)
All 160 of crossed the finish line at the same time.
It was one the hardest races I have ever done. Second only to XTERRA National Championship in Lake Tahoe, NV. The NYC marathon is a slog fest. Many other races have been hard; no race is easy(if its easy its a training run). I would not trade it for the world. (Well, maybe for the world).
Get yourself signed up for one of these races. Get yourself to a training session or Spartan Race Bootcamp.
If you are in NYC on a Wed night at 6PM, come to my Spartan Race Workout in Central Park (CENTRAL PARK!). Every Wed at 72nd St and 5th Ave. We workout rain or shine (mud is and only an obstacle). Only $10!
Now shut your computer down and go move your body.
Andy Nelson
917-226-5271
andy@getfitnyc.com
www.getfitnyc.com
myshakeology.com/tricoachandy
teambeachbody.com/tricoachandy
This was all about the Hurricane Heat.
This was about teamwork, Joe Desena, Tommy McCormack, and a bunch of other people who wanted to come out and finish the race. There are no clocks. There are no timing chips. There are no losers. At the start there was not any daylight. There are only people out challenging themselves against their mind and body; overcoming that voice that says "STOP". And of course there is always the founder of the Spartan Race, Joe, telling you "30 Burpees" or "Jumping jacks until your team gets here. No standing around."
To start the day off right I woke up 30 min later than I had wanted to, 3:45AM. I grabbed a to-go breakfast and hit the road out to Staten Island, the boro I have been to the least and only for races. I showed up late but in enough time to prepare for the start.
After a final head count and safety check we were instructed to choose a team of 15-20 people we did not know (flash networking) and come up with a team name. There were 18 of us on "Team Badass", so named for the t-shirt I was wearing. 6 active duty military, 2 defense contractors, and 10 crazies started and finished together.
At 534AM the warm up, led by the founder of Spartan and Death Race, began with 30 burpees, 30 walking lunges, 30 Jumping Jacks, 30 pushups, etc. set the tone for the day. With our headlamps on and teams assembled we followed Joe out of the parking lot and on to the beach for the first obstacle, over a low wall and under a low beam thru a net that obstructed our view and sent a large clump of beach sand into my right eye (it would stay there until Tues). After the first obstacle we were tasked with reassembling the team and doing 30 burpees( are you noticing a theme yet?). 400 yrds later we were on to the next obstacle, the mud crawl (6 inches of stinky mud) under barbed wire 2ft above the mud followed by (you guessed it) 30 burpees. Did I mention it had rained quite heavily the night before the event?
The next obstacle was the famous over/under/through walls followed by 30 burpees(we are up to 120 burpees if you are keeping count).
I won't bore you with the details but here is a list of the remaining obstacles (assume 30 burpees after each and 400-800 meter run between):
Cargo net climb
50lb block hoist
Run through fire (Awesome! no burpees)
River run (beginning to wait longer for some team members)
tire drag (we had to press the tires full of water over head)
enclosed space with water/tunnel crawl through water
trail running
back through another tunnel
400m river trudge (I fell once)
Steep hill run (we did not have ropes)
appr. 2 mile trail run
Uneven monkey bars traverse (Collin was cramping really bad about now)
Balance Zig-Zag walk (after the burpees and jumping jacks as we waited for more team mates) We were told the finish line is 40 min away(mindf&$@k)
longer run
Ocean Wade with a 5 gallon bucket 3/4 full of water.
Cinder Bock drag/carry (no burpees, thank god, I hate burpees in the sand)
Spear Throw
Wall traverse
Soap rope wall (a 45/45/90 triangle with ropes that have been coated with dish soap)
No Burpees but 100 situps instead. Those are elbows to knees situps, wimp!
Finish line waitfest(Jumping jacks until EVERYONE finished the wall and the situps and the media got there)
All 160 of crossed the finish line at the same time.
It was one the hardest races I have ever done. Second only to XTERRA National Championship in Lake Tahoe, NV. The NYC marathon is a slog fest. Many other races have been hard; no race is easy(if its easy its a training run). I would not trade it for the world. (Well, maybe for the world).
Get yourself signed up for one of these races. Get yourself to a training session or Spartan Race Bootcamp.
If you are in NYC on a Wed night at 6PM, come to my Spartan Race Workout in Central Park (CENTRAL PARK!). Every Wed at 72nd St and 5th Ave. We workout rain or shine (mud is and only an obstacle). Only $10!
Now shut your computer down and go move your body.
Andy Nelson
917-226-5271
andy@getfitnyc.com
www.getfitnyc.com
myshakeology.com/tricoachandy
teambeachbody.com/tricoachandy
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
My reVolution
MY revolution
I like to run.
For most of the sports I participated in running was punishment. Let a ground ball past you; take a lap. Cover the wrong guy in pass coverage; take a lap. Running was almost always been fun for me. Running has gotten me through some tough times. Running is always there as long as I have motivation, and I can always find motivation. Running balances my mood and puts me in the moment. With every foot strike I defy gravity to pull me to the ground.
I took my running off road in 2001 just to find something better than Central Park to run. I was training for XTERRA _Off-Road Triathlon- and I needed an escape from the urban environment of NYC to inject into my running. I was hooked from the start. I enjoy the solitude and presence required when giving my best effort at trail running. This was a way for me to be healthy in so many ways – Physically, spiritually and financially.
I use a combination of training methods that have a synergistic effect: P90X, CrossFit Endurance, Kundalini Yoga and the occasional long, fun run (usually on a trail). If you talk to a purist from either mode of exercise you will get a definite opinion. I am a USATF and CFE coach as well as an Independent Beachbody Coach and feel I have worked out a great combination of these programs to build a strong and agile body. It is not revolutionary to run and get hurt. It is revolutionary to run fast for a long time over uneven terrain and not get hurt. That is where P90X Plyometrics and Kenpo X pairs very nicely with some Heavy Deadlift(CFE) or Over Head Squats to build supple, reactive muscle that are strong enough to change direction quickly on a trail.
When I am running on a trail I have to be totally focused on the moment. I don’t hike these trails, I run them fast. You cannot let your mind wander to the thoughts of the day. By doing this you allow your mind to relax and release your troubles; to find solutions. When the terrain gets uneven you have to keep yourself focused on right now or you could twist your ankle, trip and fall, or get hurt any number of ways. Getting hurt while you run on a trail is not very balanced and centering. Trail running is a great way to meditate without meditating, just keep picking up your feet. Kundalini Yoga provides great core strengthening and endurance of being present, a key to staying focused on the trail.
Trail running allows me to fulfill my daily physical challenge. Obstacle racing and trail racing pose physical and mental challenges that allow me to be better prepared for the stresses of life. Physically challenging myself daily gives me the focus to carry the message of living healthy to others. When I seek out the challenges of running and training then the rest of what I do is easier to focus on. If I do not have the time for a good trail workout then I can throw in Kenpo X and work on my brain flexibility and the physical challenge (I look pretty stupid trying to remember punch/kick combinations).
When I live my life by challenging myself physically and mentally I am able to show others what is possible. I want to inspire everyone to conquer their fear of challenge. Get out of your comfort zone and allow change for the better. Get connected with your body. Relax your mind. Allow yourself to be present in the challenge at hand. Go be better than you are right now.
Andrew Nelson
www.getfitnyc.com
www.myshakeology.com/tricoachandy
twitter.com/tricoachandy
If you are having trouble making those positive changes then you can join the Health reVolution. With celebrity Trainer Bett Hoebel the health reVolutionaries are changing the health of America. Join the reVolution and turn your health around.
I like to run.
For most of the sports I participated in running was punishment. Let a ground ball past you; take a lap. Cover the wrong guy in pass coverage; take a lap. Running was almost always been fun for me. Running has gotten me through some tough times. Running is always there as long as I have motivation, and I can always find motivation. Running balances my mood and puts me in the moment. With every foot strike I defy gravity to pull me to the ground.
I took my running off road in 2001 just to find something better than Central Park to run. I was training for XTERRA _Off-Road Triathlon- and I needed an escape from the urban environment of NYC to inject into my running. I was hooked from the start. I enjoy the solitude and presence required when giving my best effort at trail running. This was a way for me to be healthy in so many ways – Physically, spiritually and financially.
I use a combination of training methods that have a synergistic effect: P90X, CrossFit Endurance, Kundalini Yoga and the occasional long, fun run (usually on a trail). If you talk to a purist from either mode of exercise you will get a definite opinion. I am a USATF and CFE coach as well as an Independent Beachbody Coach and feel I have worked out a great combination of these programs to build a strong and agile body. It is not revolutionary to run and get hurt. It is revolutionary to run fast for a long time over uneven terrain and not get hurt. That is where P90X Plyometrics and Kenpo X pairs very nicely with some Heavy Deadlift(CFE) or Over Head Squats to build supple, reactive muscle that are strong enough to change direction quickly on a trail.
When I am running on a trail I have to be totally focused on the moment. I don’t hike these trails, I run them fast. You cannot let your mind wander to the thoughts of the day. By doing this you allow your mind to relax and release your troubles; to find solutions. When the terrain gets uneven you have to keep yourself focused on right now or you could twist your ankle, trip and fall, or get hurt any number of ways. Getting hurt while you run on a trail is not very balanced and centering. Trail running is a great way to meditate without meditating, just keep picking up your feet. Kundalini Yoga provides great core strengthening and endurance of being present, a key to staying focused on the trail.
Trail running allows me to fulfill my daily physical challenge. Obstacle racing and trail racing pose physical and mental challenges that allow me to be better prepared for the stresses of life. Physically challenging myself daily gives me the focus to carry the message of living healthy to others. When I seek out the challenges of running and training then the rest of what I do is easier to focus on. If I do not have the time for a good trail workout then I can throw in Kenpo X and work on my brain flexibility and the physical challenge (I look pretty stupid trying to remember punch/kick combinations).
When I live my life by challenging myself physically and mentally I am able to show others what is possible. I want to inspire everyone to conquer their fear of challenge. Get out of your comfort zone and allow change for the better. Get connected with your body. Relax your mind. Allow yourself to be present in the challenge at hand. Go be better than you are right now.
Andrew Nelson
www.getfitnyc.com
www.myshakeology.com/tricoachandy
twitter.com/tricoachandy
If you are having trouble making those positive changes then you can join the Health reVolution. With celebrity Trainer Bett Hoebel the health reVolutionaries are changing the health of America. Join the reVolution and turn your health around.
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