GPOY. KB edition.
Pop-upView Separately

GPOY. KB edition.

Flashback Friday. It was all down hill after this.
View Separately

Flashback Friday. It was all down hill after this.

GPOY.  Deadlift edition from this WOD.
Pop-upView Separately

GPOY.  Deadlift edition from this WOD.

L to R: Carlos, Kim, me, and Robert My buddy Robert found this on the Southern Crescent Cycling page and emailed it to me.  I told him that I was thankful that this was taken before the race and not after.  He said that we should have lied and said it was taken after, meaning we could have kept up with Kim (the lady to my right).  Sadly, I may have to break one of her legs to keep up with her, and even then it would be a challenge.
Pop-upView Separately

L to R: Carlos, Kim, me, and Robert

My buddy Robert found this on the Southern Crescent Cycling page and emailed it to me.  I told him that I was thankful that this was taken before the race and not after.  He said that we should have lied and said it was taken after, meaning we could have kept up with Kim (the lady to my right).  Sadly, I may have to break one of her legs to keep up with her, and even then it would be a challenge.

Tough Mudder Over the past year I have seen a handful of race photos, but none of them seemed like ones that I was truly proud of.  This is different.  I am super picky about photos of myself but I actually like this one.  Please don’t mistake this for arrogance.  I know I am not going to grace the cover of Men’s Fitness or GQ.  But this photo, the event and year it symbolizes, means a great deal to me.
Pop-upView Separately

Tough Mudder

Over the past year I have seen a handful of race photos, but none of them seemed like ones that I was truly proud of.  This is different.  I am super picky about photos of myself but I actually like this one.  Please don’t mistake this for arrogance.  I know I am not going to grace the cover of Men’s Fitness or GQ.  But this photo, the event and year it symbolizes, means a great deal to me.

Flashback Friday February 2009 on a trip with my little girl to the zoo.  I remember trying to smile despite knowing it was going to hurt when I stood back up.  Thankful that those days seem so long ago.
Pop-upView Separately

Flashback Friday

February 2009 on a trip with my little girl to the zoo.  I remember trying to smile despite knowing it was going to hurt when I stood back up.  Thankful that those days seem so long ago.

GPOY.  New bike jersey edition.
Pop-upView Separately

GPOY.  New bike jersey edition.

I was looking through some photos here at work and came across this one of me on the left from August 2010.  A congressman had come to visit our County and I was there taking photos of the event.  Despite it being hot outside, I remember feeling like the only guy sweating.  Which made me feel like everyone was looking at me wondering why I was so fat.  I used to carry a small handkerchief in my pocket strictly to wipe sweat off my head.  It was so embarrassing to have to do that.  I always felt in the way and out of place. Sometimes it hurts to look at old photos.  To think that I let myself get that way upsets me.  I remember how much it hurt to carry that weight around, both the physical and emotional baggage that comes with being “the big guy”. The photo on the right is a different guy now.  And although I still cant get a decent facial expression to save my life, I am proud that I have made it to where I am.  I am glad that I no longer feel like a sweaty blimp when I walk into a room.  It is nice to carry confidence instead of weight.  Sure, I want to drop a few more pounds and have plenty that I still want to work on.  But for the most part, it is great to just be comfortable in my own skin.
Pop-upView Separately

I was looking through some photos here at work and came across this one of me on the left from August 2010.  A congressman had come to visit our County and I was there taking photos of the event.  Despite it being hot outside, I remember feeling like the only guy sweating.  Which made me feel like everyone was looking at me wondering why I was so fat.  I used to carry a small handkerchief in my pocket strictly to wipe sweat off my head.  It was so embarrassing to have to do that.  I always felt in the way and out of place.

Sometimes it hurts to look at old photos.  To think that I let myself get that way upsets me.  I remember how much it hurt to carry that weight around, both the physical and emotional baggage that comes with being “the big guy”.

The photo on the right is a different guy now.  And although I still cant get a decent facial expression to save my life, I am proud that I have made it to where I am.  I am glad that I no longer feel like a sweaty blimp when I walk into a room.  It is nice to carry confidence instead of weight.  Sure, I want to drop a few more pounds and have plenty that I still want to work on.  But for the most part, it is great to just be comfortable in my own skin.

GPOY.  Giving birth to a 2POOD kettlebell edition. I realize this is not as sexy as some of the butt chaffing posts going on lately, but it will have to do.  That big kettlebell sucks.  Having your photo taken mid-swing isn’t much better.
Pop-upView Separately

GPOY.  Giving birth to a 2POOD kettlebell edition.

I realize this is not as sexy as some of the butt chaffing posts going on lately, but it will have to do.  That big kettlebell sucks.  Having your photo taken mid-swing isn’t much better.

GPOY: Barbell lunges
Pop-upView Separately

GPOY: Barbell lunges

It’s all about taking yourself seriously, right? RIGHT? Our Christmas gift cards sure are spent differently now.
Pop-upView Separately

It’s all about taking yourself seriously, right? RIGHT? Our Christmas gift cards sure are spent differently now.

My form on squat snatches is like the unemployment line.  Needs work, son. WOD - 1RFT: 800m run 40 pull-ups 15 squat snatches Felt decent on all of these until I got to the squat snatch.  I don’t think it is a strength issue, because I feel like I could handle the beast weight this morning (115lbs) but the flexibility and form gets me, so I dropped to 95lbs.  Still above RX but not quite where I want to be either.  Peto snapped this shot of me and you can see my left heal coming up.  In this shot I think I am a bit too forward as well.  Need to be further back on my heels which would fix a lot of my form issues.  Regardless, I did get several good reps where I dropped right under and went into the overhead squat.  Will have to keep working on it. Time was 13 and some change.  Post WOD was 16 rounds of tabata abs.  Shortly after I obliterated a breakfast of chicken, avocado, and salsa. Yea, oh-blit-er-rate-ed.
Pop-upView Separately

My form on squat snatches is like the unemployment line.  Needs work, son.

WOD - 1RFT:

  • 800m run
  • 40 pull-ups
  • 15 squat snatches

Felt decent on all of these until I got to the squat snatch.  I don’t think it is a strength issue, because I feel like I could handle the beast weight this morning (115lbs) but the flexibility and form gets me, so I dropped to 95lbs.  Still above RX but not quite where I want to be either. 

Peto snapped this shot of me and you can see my left heal coming up.  In this shot I think I am a bit too forward as well.  Need to be further back on my heels which would fix a lot of my form issues.  Regardless, I did get several good reps where I dropped right under and went into the overhead squat.  Will have to keep working on it.

Time was 13 and some change.  Post WOD was 16 rounds of tabata abs.  Shortly after I obliterated a breakfast of chicken, avocado, and salsa. Yea, oh-blit-er-rate-ed.

GPOY.  Picked up a new bike jersey this weekend and thought I would try and take a decent photo. Instead of using the timer, my wife helped me.  I think she got a kick out of it. For you photogs out there, this was shot with a Nikon D700 and 24-70mm f/2.8.  Lighting was a single AB1600 into an 86” PLM @ 1/32, triggered with PWII’s.
Pop-upView Separately

GPOY.  Picked up a new bike jersey this weekend and thought I would try and take a decent photo. Instead of using the timer, my wife helped me.  I think she got a kick out of it.

For you photogs out there, this was shot with a Nikon D700 and 24-70mm f/2.8.  Lighting was a single AB1600 into an 86” PLM @ 1/32, triggered with PWII’s.

I am not sure when this officially happened, but its a really fun place to be in.  20 miles, done.
Pop-upView Separately

I am not sure when this officially happened, but its a really fun place to be in.  20 miles, done.

Not the strongest, but stronger… When I started CrossFit back at the end of March, pretty much everything was difficult.  Not that everything is easy now, because that certainly isn’t the case, but what was hard then is different for me now.  For example, when I started, benching 135 was really a challenge for me.  Now I warm up with that.  The day after Christmas we hit a pretty good WOD and had some time left so we opted for a little bench.  Still feeling like we had gas in the tank, we kept adding weight.  And while it was a struggle and I had to have a good spot, I managed to get 275lbs up.  While I am not the strongest by any stretch, it is rewarding to go from struggling with 135lbs to struggling with 275lbs. You may not be happy with where you are right now.  And you know what, that is perfectly OK.  But keep digging, clawing, and fighting your way forward.  Next thing you know you will find yourself in a totally different position from where you started.
Pop-upView Separately

Not the strongest, but stronger…

When I started CrossFit back at the end of March, pretty much everything was difficult.  Not that everything is easy now, because that certainly isn’t the case, but what was hard then is different for me now.  For example, when I started, benching 135 was really a challenge for me.  Now I warm up with that.  The day after Christmas we hit a pretty good WOD and had some time left so we opted for a little bench.  Still feeling like we had gas in the tank, we kept adding weight.  And while it was a struggle and I had to have a good spot, I managed to get 275lbs up.  While I am not the strongest by any stretch, it is rewarding to go from struggling with 135lbs to struggling with 275lbs.

You may not be happy with where you are right now.  And you know what, that is perfectly OK.  But keep digging, clawing, and fighting your way forward.  Next thing you know you will find yourself in a totally different position from where you started.