What's This Ringing In My Ears?

When I first started working at the gym over two years ago, I pretty much took on any job opportunity I could get my hands on, whether it was checking the equipment, reorganizing the floor pieces or picking up a large group class to teach. Yesterday I took over the class I started with back in my very rookie days as a trainer - and I'm pretty sure I scared 15 out of the 16 women in the class with my music selection.

Yesterday's playlist consisted of the following songs:
Calvin Harris - You Used to Hold Me
Icona Pop - I Love It
The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
Bayside - Already Gone
Paramore - Emergency
AFI - Days of the Phoenix
Anberlin - Feel Good Drag
Paramore - Decode
Love, Robot - Criminal
A Day to Remember - Best of Me
Beloved - Insult to Injury
Black Tide - That Fire
A Day to Remember - All I Want
Cartel - If I Fail
Silverstein - Replace You

When Beloved's song came over, I walked over to one of my clients who was taking the class (who shares similar a taste of music) and said, "It's about to get heavy in here," and sure enough it did. One member gave me a look that showed her displeasure in the music as others stopped performing their crunches and started covering their ears. Needless to say, next week's playlist will be different, softer, and much more member-friendly, but I still might sneak in an "angry" song here and there.

Now Playing - Brand New - Jaws Theme Swimming 

151... And Counting

One hundred and fifty-one days out from the triathlon. We're finally experiencing some spring-like weather in the area, making outside runs much more enjoyable. This past weekend flew by and unfortunately I didn't get a chance to get out and get some miles in. Yesterday I ran a short two miles (17:32) around South Orange and everything felt good. Tracy has already warned me I'm not going to like Wednesday's workout so that should be interesting!

My workout plan for this week is looking like this:
Tuesday - Lift
Wednesday - Run
Thursday - Run
Friday - Lift
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Run

We'll see if this week continues to go as planed.

April 15 - Muse at MSG
May 17 - Birthday at Medieval Times
May 19 - Skate and Surf
May 25 - Attack Attack! at Gramercy in NYC

Now Playing - Bring Me the Horizon - "Sleep Walking"

End of Week Musings

The Anberlin show this past Wednesday was awesome! They had really good energy and stage presence and played some serious hits. 

This song, "Modern Age" was awesome! Give it a listen!

See more Instagram photography of mine here.
I had some good lifts yesterday and earlier today. I'm working on building up my muscle endurance so the heavy lifting is going away for a while... until the fall. Here's how they went...

Chest

SS
DB press 60# - 15x, 15x, 12x
DB Fly 30# - 15x, 15x, 12x

SS
Incline DB Press 45# - 15x, 15x,
Incline DB Fly 30# - 12x, 12x, 12x

SS
Cable cross over 40# 15x, 15x, 18x
Stability Ball Pull Over 50# 15x, 15x, 15x

Back

Lat Pull Down 100# 12x, 110# 12x, 120# 12x
Single Arm DB Row 50# 12x, 12x, 12x
Pull Ups 10x, 10x, 9x
Rhomboid Row 40# 15x, 40# 15x, 50# 12x

SS
Stiff Arm Pull Down 90# 15x, 15x, 15x
Single Arm Cable Row 60# 12x, 12x, 12x

Reverse Lat Pull Down 90# 15x, 15x

Mid Week Musings

Hope all is well with everyone out there. Today seemed to be a very long day - started at 5:30 am and just ending now (11:40 PM). I had some really great clients today who brought their best to each session. I'm very happy with their progress and know they will all continue to do great work.

My mid-day workout consisted of shoulders, abs and 45 mins of cardio. Everything felt really good and I continue to lift heavier weights while trying to lean out. Tonight I went to my fifth jiu jitsu session at Up Top Martial Arts Academy. Tonight was a rough and tough session. Monday's session was a bit of a confidence boost, but tonight brought me back down to Earth. I got gassed pretty early in practice and felt like I didn't have much energy left when we rolled. I went against some pretty experienced guys who definitely gave me a tough time. They were all great and helped me learn while getting my ass handed to me.

It's easy to get frustrated with this sport, throw my hands up and walk away saying, "forget this; I'll never be good at this," or just simply "this isn't for me." That's where determination and willpower come in. I have a tough time accepting "I can't" and plan on giving every challenge my best effort. Although tonight wasn't what I wanted, I'm still very new to this sport and understand it will take time to level up and become better. So my last words I leave to anyone reading this - don't give up on your goals. Just like your body, you mind needs work and training. Mental toughness comes over time; practice on pushing through the tough times and give every effort your very best attempt. Good luck and goodnight.

Now Playing - Gym Class Heroes - Ass Back Home