Boston strong & Monday Motivation

First & foremost, I’ve been a little quiet since this all went down, but I want to just take a few moments to thank the first responders and all the unlikely heroes that helped take down the Boston bombing suspects. It frustrates and saddens me that we can’t even enjoy an athletic event – and one of the most historical, at that – without worrying about safety and security. But, on a positive note, Boston is definitely not a city that will stay down for long, and if anything, I know next year’s marathon will probably be bigger, better and more emotional than ever before. I might even have to make a trip just to witness it myself. And even though any other day it would pain me to say this, this week we are definitely all Boston fans.

On a related note, because of everything my little mini trip to Boston got canceled since I was going to drive out there on Friday and spend the weekend. I am fairly certain the conference went on anyway, but I just wasn’t able to get out there. I’m bummed but I know I’ll get to CP performance one of these days.

So today, instead of recapping some knowledge bombs, I am lucky enough to still have a gem to share withe everyone. I have an awesome little post from Juliet at Hey Joob! that really struck a chord with me, so I hope she doesn’t mind me throwing in my 2 cents (Check it out here )

I posted something a few months back that kind of referred to the hard work & dedication it takes to get to a certain level of fitness (or anything, really) and how it frustrates me when people shy away from wanting to learn from me or work out with me because I’m “intimidating”. First and foremost, I was in your shoes once. In fact, dramatically so, since I once spent an entire summer bedridden recovering from major knee surgery. Talk about starting from square 1. I also didn’t just hit the ground running with an abundance of fitness knowledge. I tried things, I learned, I failed, I succeeded, I did things that didn’t work, I did things that did, I mixed and matched and ultimately changed. The main thing, though, is that I was out of my comfort zone and still went for it….and I still do.

I love this part in Juliet’s post:

“I’m sorry, I can’t write because I’m not as good as JK Rowling.”

“I don’t want to snowboard because I’m not as good as Shawn White.”

“Nooooo, it’s okay. I’m not Gordon Ramsey so I’ll order a pizza.”

I’m not even competing in lifting or doing anything remotely competitive other than being a bad ass… but that’s the beauty of it all. You don’t HAVE to be the LeBron James of fitness in order to achieve personal goals.

I think this is a great kick in the pants for a Monday so whatever it is that you’re going after today, leave caution to the wind and attack it. You don’t have to be elite, you just have to try to be better than you were yesterday.

Fun things to read, Life updates & Mini Trip to Boston!

Here are a few articles from the past few weeks that I’ve found pretty interesting & useful! Check them out:

Lacrosse specific training: http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/ten-exercises-for-the-lacrosse-athlete/

New uses for Creatine: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/new_uses_for_creatine#.UWgdCEZAm3k.twitter

How artificial light is ruining your sleep: http://chriskresser.com/how-artificial-light-is-wrecking-your-sleep-and-what-to-do-about-it < I downloaded the app for my laptop to adjust the brightness at night time (since I am too stubborn to stop creeping on the internet before bed) and I have noticed a major difference in my ability to fall asleep. I recommend it 🙂

Life update:

Lately, as a result of my interim job (I’m a server – something I’ve always fallen back on since I was 16 for great money), I have been thinking about quite a few things.

1) Waiting tables is the ultimate work out. I don’t care how in shape you are – walk around with an asymmetrically loaded tray for 8+ hours and tell me how you feel. Holy core work. Also, most of the women I work with are capable of lifting trays with one hand that are heavier than the dumbbells most of them would consider lifting with two – and NONE of them look like Hulk. I think there is a future in personal training for servers. Hmm…. ideas, ideas.

2) Don’t go out to eat if you can’t afford to tip. Just…don’t do it. Please? 🙂

3) I’m heading to Boston on 4/21 for a seminar at Cressey Performance. This is literally a dream come true for me since I am such a huge Cressey/Gentilcore fan. I can’t wait to see their place and hear them in person. I am such a nerd that I am literally going to be starstruck, haha. I will definitely be writing about it when I come back 🙂

4) I am hoping to be more consistent with my blog posts – I think they are going to be a little more personal/anecdotal, but still as informative (and sassy) as possible 😉

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