Bad Blogger

Hello to all. Since I have gotten back from Cali I have been a terrible blogger. Too busy!!! But to catch you up... Work has been very hectic because of our big inspection, and that is finally over as of last week. Our section and base as a whole did a great job. I also was fortunate enough to be awarded an outstanding individual award from the Inspector General which was exciting. The CrossFit workouts have been going alright. No time for myself anymore! But I have recently taken a position at Anytime Fitness doing personal training and small group classes with a CrossFit type workout sessions. I am getting my personal training license and my level one crossfit cert in November. Looking forward to that.

Also to assist in my fitness career, and what has been taking most of my online time, has been an informational website I built. I plan to post tons of information about health/diet, workouts, equipment, etc. Please feel free to visit the site and pass on to friends!

www.functionalshape.com

Catch Up...

I have been quite the Slacker on this blog lately... As soon as I got home I was immediately crazy busy- per usual! I made it home safe and sound from California. As I expected it- it was hard to say goodbye to the amazing people I met there, and the great routine of working out, etc. I had established. I can't wait to go back and visit everyone! I did end up continuing my CrossFit workouts by joining a gym here in Milwaukee. Man was I spoiled at CrossFit Anacapa! Gym is A LOT smaller with way bigger classes (I'm sure by now Anacapa has grown huge!) so it has been a challenge to get used to it. But they are saying they are getting a bigger space soon, so we will see! I like the programing so far though so it is a win there. They do a lot of strength building as a warm up which I like. The dream of opening my own CrossFit gym might be getting closer. I went back down to my old Anytime Fitness here in Cudahy where I worked out at all the time before I left. The owner was extremely interested in opening a CrossFit section/program in here gym and was looking for a trainer. I am having a meeting with here early next week to discuss her plans, and see if we have a good fit to have me do that. I would likely run that for a couple years and then still open my own up when I get back to the CG area. They even offer certification reimbursement which is really nice because in order to get CrossFit certified it costs $1,000 ... Not cheap and another long weekend!

Well I got 2 days off when I got home (of which I was real sick for!) and was back to work that Friday right away. And it has been go go ever since. We have our huge inspection coming up at the base, we get hit for this every 5 years, and so everyone is in get things in order mode! Been working lots of overtime so the money is good at least, but need a break soon! My return to softball hasn't been what I was hoping! Team and especially myself are struggling. This weekend is the city tournament so I guess we will see what happens. I explored Cudahy a little more throughly once I got back down here too, and I must admit I am a little more excited about living here. I found a great bike trail, beach, pond, and park. I also have been hanging out a lot more with an old college buddy who lives here as well. We joined a basketball league, trap shooting league, and softball. Like I don't need more things to take up my time...

My biggest news to share is the addition of my new best friend Jax! I gave in to my desire for a new hunting dog and got a yellow lab. He has a great personality so far and I am very excited. All puppies have their challenges (Just ask Linda) but it will be worth it. Once Brooke moves in at the end of August he will be living with me full time. Right now he has to spend the week at Grandma and Grandpa's house...

Well not too much going besides work, a little play, and more work. Will do a better job of keeping you updated.

Last Few Days...

Only a few days left- and I have definitely made the most of them. On Thursday after the 4th I went on an amazing hike with a friend called the "Punchbowls". Was a series of three punchbowls and numerous waterfalls where you could jump into the bowls and hike up the creek/falls. Gorgeous hike and one of my favorites- even though the unfortunate happened. While at the very last part of the hike, the water slide, I made a dumb decision to try and climb straight up the falls. Story made short- I slipped, cracked my head open, knocked myself out, fell 10 feet, hit every rock/branch on the way down, and was awaken by being underwater. Worst part was mine and my buddies cell phones were in my backpack and now were no good. Had to make the 3 hour hike back to the van with a bleeding head. Always could be worse! Seems to be healed up now. Then on Friday we had a "Sports Day" with all the Air Force company at school. Had many games and sports going on, and I chose to play softball. Played 4 games- had to pitch, but had a pretty good team and even beat the instructors All-Star team once. Due to my head injury I backed out of the competition in the afternoon- but out of 400 Air Force students I was picked to be in the top 6 for a Fitness competition vs. the Navy's top 6. Air Force ended up winning it even without me. Then today (Saturday) was my long awaited Tough Mudder!!!  12 mile obstacle course designed by the English Special Forces... Was a killer! I swear the whole race was either straight uphill or straight back down- and I'm not sure which one was worse. Had some very tough obstacles- but I completed my first Mudder in a little under 3 hours. Between the hiking fall and this- I am COVERED in bruises and cuts- but feels so good! Accomplished on of my goals. Toughest part about the course was that the ground was so dry- there was a lot of dust being kicked up and inhaled... Some fun obstacles were the Berlin Walls, the jumping into the lake from about 40 feet, and the huge waterslide. The not so fun ones were the freezing ice baths, dragging yourself through rocks, and all the electricity! I managed to keep myself blood free until the very last obstacle- Electroshock Therapy. A ton of wires hanging down that sends 10,000 volts through you. Last couple wires hit me real good and knocked me to the ground hard and opened up the knee! Even with all the pain- Couldn't have asked for a better couple of days! Maybe I will be able to talk Brooke into doing a Mudder with me soon...  Pictures below of the hike and at the Finish Line

Happy Birthday America!

Had a great day today. My gym here "CrossFit Anacapa" had a "Going Away" Workout and cookout for me today. They made a special workout named "Vial"- which included most of my strengths so of course I had to win big! Workout was 10 rounds of 1 MuscleUp/ 3 Ring Dips/ 4 Handstand Pushups/ 6 Kettlebell swings @73#/ 12 Pushups/ 200 m Run...  Was a killer! Completed it in 22:30 min. It was a very fun day and had a ton of people show up. I also made special shirts for everyone playing off the phrase I always use "You can do anything for 10 minutes"- as something to remember me by. In CrossFit they are all big on their shirts and gear so hopefully everyone liked them! Seemed to be a hit. Then again after the workout Alex & Richard had a big cookout at their house. Perfect way to spend the 4th away from home. It is definitely going to be bittersweet leaving next week. On the one hand I am very excited to get home to my life in WI - but as proven by today, I have met some amazing people here and will miss them a lot! SO glad I joined this gym and couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my time out here. Below is a pic of most of the crew that showed! "W" for Wisconsin!

Animal Day

I feel like yesterday was Animal Day! In the morning I was lucky enough to be on the beach and saw 3 dolphins swimming right off shore, about 15 yards.  Beautiful and from what I hear pretty rare for these parts. Then in the middle of class we almost had a skunk run right into our classroom through our open door- which would have been very bad for me because I am the first one next to the door...  And most importantly - ONE WEEK till I am home. REALLY looking forward to it.  We have off from class the next 5 days- then test Monday and graduation Tuesday!

The Countdown begins...

10 DAYS TILL I GET TO FINALLY COME HOME FOR GOOD! Almost in the single digits...  It will be a bittersweet departure. Can not wait to get home, and my full heart and life is there- but I truly feel I have made some great friends out here, and have had a great experience at an amazing CrossFit gym.  So much so that I hope to one day open my own CrossFit gym.  Retirement plan I suppose!  But getting home is going to be great!  For my birthday last month my AMAZING girlfriend had gotten me a one hour private golf lesson out here at a course I constantly talked about with her on the phone that I wanted to try out and play.  It was a very thoughtful gift and she put some time in coming up with it and getting it taken care of all the way in WI.  Well today I got to use it- and it was a really good time.  Absolutely beautiful golf course as I expected- and the guy who gave me the lesson was fun.  An old Marine/PGA tour pro... made for a lot of good stories.  As for my golf game, I found out my swing "needs a lot of work"- which I knew already!!  Gave me some fun pointers and we will see if my game ever gets any better!  Love softball/baseball too much to ever get that perfect golf swing!  Speaking of softball the boys back home are in my favorite tournament of the year this weekend.  Really missing being there- but again will be there soon and can't wait to take the field...  GO SLAMMERS

First CrossFit Competition

Yesterday I participated in my first (of many more to come) CrossFit competitions.  Team CrossFit Anacapa consisted of Richard, Alex, Cam, and myself. The 2 workouts were as follows. Morning WOD: 15 rope climbs - move a pile of 340#'s 200 m - 150 box jumps @ 24 inches - 150 ground to overhead w/ 45# - and partner carry for 800 m ...  In this workout the whole team went at the same time trying to complete this workout as fast as possible.  We ended up taking 1st place overall in this workout!  The second WOD was each member completed one of the benchmark workouts in order of "Annie" "Grace" "Cindy" and "Randy".  I did Randy and had a personal best time. Our team ended up taking 3rd overall in that workout.  So based on points we came in second overall, but first in the coed division! Was very happy with home the team did and had a great time.  Can't wait for more!!!

Brooke's Visit

Been slacking on my blog updates lately mostly due to technical difficulties! Brooke came out to see me for the first 9 days of June- then after that I house & dog sat for Richard and Alex while they were on their honeymoon, sadly with no internet access. So the long post to update you all begins...

Brooke and I had a great time while she was out here. Minus the fact I had to be at school during the day, a perfect vacation. The first weekend we headed up to Topanga Canyon to hike all day and spend the night at a bed & breakfast. Hike was gorgeous and the B&B very cute nestled in the hills. Brooke treated me to the best meal of my life that night as well. All local and organic meat and veggies. Amazing. The next day we rented a Harley for the day and cruised along the beach to Santa Barbara and Ojai. Beautiful scenery as usual. Then during the week we had great dinners at various places with the friends I met out here, one big dinner on the beach with the sunset, and Brooke got her first taste of CrossFit. I think she liked it and am looking forward to continuing it with her at home. Friday night Becky and Dan came and stayed with us, had dinner and hung out. Was great to see them. Then Saturday was Alex's and Richard's big day, and then she was home on Sunday. Quite the jam packed 9 days for Brooke! We didn't get to do some of the tourist stuff I was hoping- but she definitely got a look into a day in the life of Tim out here...

As for house sitting for Alex and Richard- it was very nice to get out of the hotel for a bit! Pippa (their dog) was fun- makes me start to think long and hard about when to get my next dog... They have a beautiful house and was the perfect place to watch the Heat win the title!

School update is that I am doing well. Feels like it is SLOWLY going by- but 18 days left! Can't wait to be done! Got a 100% on my big test today for Block II. Maybe be able to get the Honor Grad... We will see! Below are some pictures of the last couple weeks.

Great Birthday Weekend

Made it home and back to Cali last weekend for my big golden birthday weekend without any troubles. Was very happy I got to spend some time at home, and it was the greatest birthday yet. Was at the cabin the whole weekend with Brooke, friends, and family and had a blast! Even the rainy weather on Saturday couldn't get our spirits down. The mosquitoes definitely ate me alive and reminded me that I wasn't in California anymore too! But again all in all a perfect weekend and was very glad most of the crew made it! Big shout out and thank you to both my parents for the hard work and time and money they put into making my day day/weekend perfect! I even got to take my newly updated Motorcycle out for a ride with Brooke Monday. Itching to get back home for some more!! Picture below is of the gang at the Tiki Bar.

Also looking forward to the next two weekends! I am spoiled and get to see Brooke 3 weekends in a row. She flies out here tomorrow and is spending 10 days with me. We have a full and fun 10 days planned! Going to a B&B, Crossfit days, hikes, and even throwing attending a wedding in there for good measure! The next couple weeks are looking up!

Man Day

Have had a couple fun weekends these past few- Had a great time at the CrossFit Regional games on the 12th. Definitely makes me want to work towards making that day as one of my goals for next year! These guys and girls were beasts. Then yesterday a buddy of mine from the gym killed a workout in the morning then surfed for about 3 hours (picture below with my awesome pink board), and pounded a rack of ribs at an awesome BBQ joint. Each Sunday I have continued to help out Richard and Alex at their house getting projects done. They moved their wedding ceremony to their back yard so we got lots to do before the big day!

Most excitingly though I am heading back home for the long Memorial Day weekend in 5 days! Very excited to see all the friends and family I have been missing lots! Of course most importantly my amazing girlfriend (you're second though Mom). We are having our normal big birthday/weekend bash up at the cabin and the weather so far is supposed to be great. Hopefully that stays that way!

Just a quick update this time!

May Update

Been slacking on my blog updates lately. Sorry Mom! All has been well. First the visit from Dad and Grant went real well! Great way to spend to spend Dad's birthday and very glad they came out and had a good time. Below is a picture from the Dodger game. We will always be able to say that we saw baseball's latest young star's first game. Kid is 19 years old and played a great game in the outfield and got his first hit- smashed a double to deep center.

School update- this school is way too long. We could cover the same amount of material in about 1/2 to 2/3 of the time... But it is still going well, worth while, and am learning a lot. Currently have a 94% average on all the exams. We are in Chassis phase right now, and in 2 weeks we will be moving schools and getting into the higher level and more specialized training so I am looking forward to that.

Crossfit update- Did my first "Hero" workout today and it kicked my butt. All the workouts in Crossfit are normally girl names- and an average workout typically takes anywhere from 10-20 min to complete. These "Hero" workouts are pretty much double the work load, and are named after Male fallen soldiers. These workouts typically take 30min to an hour. Crushers and they use these workouts as benchmarks. Definitely am addicted...  This weekend we are all jumping in the van and heading to the So Cal Regional competitions were the top 30 men and women of the southern cali region are going to compete for the honor to go to the crossfit games in July and fight for the grand prize of $250,000. Top 3 men and women for each region go to the finals. Will be fun to watch and spend the day with all my new crossfit gym friends! Below is also a picture of Richard and the van all loaded up with his new flooring. As mentioned before I have been helping him and Alex around the gym getting things together and also at their house. This last weekend we tore up some carpet and are putting down new hardwood floors. Will look awesome when complete!

To all the Mother's out there happy early Mother's Day! I have one of the greatest Mom's out there! Wish I was home spending the day with her- but also these days I have been thinking about another Mother. Everyone please keep my Aunt Julie, Uncle Keith and the girls in your prayers. As many know Keith is overseas in a hot zone with the Air Force, and they had quite an unfortunate experience recently. The base where Keith is stationed was attacked, and Julie got to witness the attack and some of the aftermath live on Skype. Not a pleasant situation I can imagine! And then about a week later there is a story all over the news of an Air Force officer who was skyping with his wife who was shot and killed when his base was attacked, and his wife got to watch the whole thing. How terrible.... So please keep Keith in your thoughts for a safe duty and return!

Much love to all and am REALLY looking forward to getting to come home over Memorial Day weekend and seeing all my great family, friends, and amazing girlfriend!

Visit from WI

Today is a very exciting day. My Dad and Uncle are coming out from WI to spend Thurs-Sun with me here- and we are going to see the Dodgers play on Saturday. Have been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. Even though I was able to fly home for a quick weekend this past weekend. Was very happy to see my girlfriend Brooke, her family and my family. A quick but good weekend. Made me start to get a little more homesick...

Couple updates from out here- going strong every day at the Crossfit gym. Have actually gotten pretty close with the owners Alex and Richard. We are putting together a team to compete for the Crossfit Games, we have attended many shows/game events on the weekends together, they invited Brooke and I to their wedding (which we will be attending), and I'm also staying at their house to take care of their dog and house sit while they are away for a week. Will definitely be making regular trips back out here to stay in touch with them.

I'm jealous of the softball leagues starting up back in WI. Go Slammers!!

The Last Easy Day Was Yesterday...

Still staying strong on the Crossfit workouts.  I think I am getting more and more addicted every day!  The hot tub here at the hotel is definitely a life saver though!!  I have officially become a gym rat.  I go to school every day, and then after spend about 4 hours at the gym working out, or working on getting their gym ready for the big grand opening this weekend.  Put in about 14 hours of work over the weekend too.  Gym looks great!  Also today I passed the first complete Phase (Gas Phase) of my schooling today with a average of 94%...  Only 4 more phases to go...  VERY excited for Dad and Grant to come see me next weekend and go to a Dodger baseball game.  Then hopefully May I get to go home for my birthday... One month at a time!  Miss everyone!!

Happy (late) Easter to all!

I hope everyone had a great Easter!  I missed being able to spend time with the family, but duty calls!  I did my typical weekend activity of golfing a couple rounds, and I did have some ham in my omelet for breakfast so I got that covered...

Workouts are going well.  VERY sore this week!  Getting all those new muscles worked out and its giving me lots of recovery time needed in the hot tub!  But again that soreness is a good thing and means the workouts are working.  Again for all my cross fit people out there- We did the famous or should I say "infamous" Fran workout yesterday.  Posted a time of 7:07 for a first week cross fitter.  I was happy.  Also posted a 2:47 min 800 meter and a 9:52 "Karen" time which was a killer...

I've made Crossfit Anacapa's website.  Check out my California friends @ http://crossfitanacapa.com/

As for School we just finished up our block unit on Starters, Alternators, and Air Bags.  Got a 96%.  Very excited for all the useful info I am learning- and am excited to put it all to use!

Take Care all-

Bored... So I joined a gym!

I have always been hearing things about these "Crossfit" gyms for some time now, and low and behold I get the "Crossfit Master" for an Instructor during the unit of my schooling.  He has shared lots over the past 2 weeks, and we have bounced our daily workouts off one another, etc.  So this Monday I joined this newly opened Crossfit Gym and let me tell you- I am sold!  The are ALL about my same notion of useable strength over "gym-strength".  Very similar mindset and workout styles I have done for years at my local gym in Madison called Monkey Bar Gym.  Amazing place.  Crossfit's only difference is they incorporate more olympic style lifts in addition to the body weight stuff.  Admittedly the first 2 workouts I have struggled with these, but will get there!  Loving it all already.  I did my first "muscle up" ever in the first 10 min of my first Crossfit workout.  Anyone who does crossfit or monkey bar gym workouts knows what that is and how hard it is!  Was pumped about that.

This new Crossfit gym literally opened up yesterday when I joined.  These 2 went off from the gym my instructor workouts at and I'm sure they never would have thought their first member would be a Wisconsin resident!  Husband and wife team run it together- super nice couple.  I really enjoy these smaller town gyms where everyone gets to know each other in a personal way, etc.  I have worked out there only two nights, but felt compelled that with my ample free time here after class, that on my recovery day tomorrow I would come and help them finish painting their walls, building platforms, boxes, etc.  as they are not quite all set up yet.  That lead them in turn to graciously accept but only if I come to their house on Sunday for Easter dinner.  I also graciously accepted.

After tonights workout we went over lots of nutrition and recovery stuff.  Really enjoyed that too since honestly these aspects are even more important than the workouts themselves.  I have came to learn that the Crossfit community is very into the Paleo diet, and I have to say after hearing about it I like it and am going to try it!  In all my years working out at Monkey Bar Gym they always pushed eating Vegan- which I see some of the benefits, but that was never for me.  This Paleo diet has the same foundation as the Vegan diet of trying to get back to the roots of our ancient ancestors diet and way of life (which I have always believed in) but also incorporates meats, fish, etc. which as you all know I need those!  If anyone is interested google the Paleo diet or feel free to send your questions!

Well I have my big Unit exam tomorrow on the Electrical System and components of vehicles for my training to move onto the next unit of Starter Systems, Air Bags, and Chassy systems... So I better get studying to brush up!  Goodnight to all.

All work and no play?!?!?

You can't have all work and no play. I am in Southern California! I'm staying at a pretty fancy hotel here, and there have been a lot of outdoor weddings here- frankly every weekend there is one on Friday and Saturday night. So last night while I was sitting at the bar having my dinner (grilled salmon and veggies-yum!) there was a wedding going on outside. Unfortunately for everyone attending that wedding it started to downpour- bringing everyone rushing inside to the bar. Of course anyone who has ever been to a wedding knows the first thing everyone does when the wedding ceremony is over... head to the bar. In the mad rush of all these people coming to the bar to get drinks a few started to chat, etc. and especially this one particular Mom. She asked what I did, why I was there, etc. and upon hearing I was there for military, she immediately called over her two sons who were in the wedding party. Came to find out they served in the Army and Navy, and just about everyone in the wedding had some kind of connection with the military. Both these sons have received purple hearts for their time in Iraq, and so this Mom obviously had a soft spot and great pride for those who serve (wish more shared her views.) Well as the drinks flowed more and more and the longer we chatted and shared stories she came up with the great idea that I should join them all at the wedding. Many around her shared this great idea and after some convincing they dragged me in there- Open bar and free food, who am I to say no. So there I was in the middle of a very classy wedding complete in my plaid shorts, black t-shirt, and boat shoes. Good thing this was a family wedding that liked to party! All in all we danced the night away, had a great time, I was even in the fight for the garter belt, and the bride thanked me for joining them as I left. Felt like I was straight out of the movie wedding crashers. This morning was a little rough getting out of bed, but just finished 18 holes on the base golf course, and now off to start my run on the beach. Slow recovery run! Sundays are a day to let the muscles recover from the long week... and I suppose my headache has something to do with it being a recovery day too...  Below a pic of the place I am staying and the view I get out my window every night.

Late Night Workout

My latest love/hate relationship... The TRX Suspension Training system...  All body weight/core training. The age old battle between "useable strength" vs. "gym strength". I used to be a believer in gym strength but am ALL about useable strength now. Dynamic movements, core, etc. is the most important thing! I have taken a completely different approach and have seen more gains and again it really is "useable strength". In every day life and in sports I am seeing better results. Also every workout I do is done either barefoot or with Vibram 5 finger shoes on. A more holistic/balanced approach. If any of you gym rats out there want to try and hang I am ready! :)  2 Tough Mudders this year and will dominate!

Good Morning!

Soaked after my morning Insanity workout... Loving it! I have found that it is best to do Cardio in the morning when you wake up. As much as I hate to crawl out of bed early, it is the time of day where you burn the most fat because your body is hungry and uses up the stored fat as energy right away. Also it is a great way to jump start your metabolism, and wake you up/get you going!

Let the games begin...

Don't worry, this whole blog thing seems weird to me as well- But I figured this has been a long time overdue. And with some pushing from family and friends, I decided to start my first blog. Even if I'm the only one who ever reads this thing- I am looking forward to keeping track of all life's adventures. I have been blessed to be able to see so many amazing places, and now I will be able to keep track! I currently have two addictions in my life- getting the MOST of life by taking advantage of every experience/adventure and as of recently to find the limits I can push my body in fitness. This blog will serve as a journal to both- and hopefully assist others if they have similar quests....  Enjoy!