A New Leaf... aka Starting Over

This month has been fairly difficult on my little family, in so many ways.  I won't discuss them here, but I just wasnted to start off by saying that because for that reason, I have not had a lot of motivation to exercise. Unfortunately, my life is heavily dictated by my stress level. Don't believe me... ask my wife.

Now, I'm not trying to find excuses not to accomplish my goals with American Ninja Warrior. That does not do for an interesting blog and overall awesome Ninja Warrior Experience.  I just wanted to blog and try to explain and inform my followers that progress is not going as well as I had hoped it would.

However... I have used this month to figure out how much I actually miss working out and feel like I'm letting myself and my family down.  I know that there are several people in my family that want to see me succeed at this and have the oppurtunity to see me on tv.

So I'm using this to fuel my motivation and get that fire stoked in myself and feed it to a burning drive to succeed.

Thank you everybody for supporting me and encouraging me to press on. I will not leyt myself get into a funk again and fail to accomplish my daily goals of exercise, which will ultimately lead to Mt. Midoriyama.  Look to see me discuss my successes and set-backs regularly.  With all of your support and encouragement, I will ascend to the top of that "mountain." 

In Remembrance...

I wanted to dedicate this post to the families who lost their loved in the tragedy that occured on July 20, 2012 in Aurora, CO.

I was saddened to hear that such a senseless act occured for no apparent reason.  I believe that such acts are among the largest of blights on our mortal existence. In times of darkness such as these it may be hard not to ask why.  I found myself asking that very question at 8:00 a.m. as I heard about it on the morning news. Why? Why would someone feel the need to end so many innocent lives? Was it to make a point? Was it a self-fulfillment of one's existence? Was it a prank that went too far? The question remains unanswered.

In my life, I have not had to deal with such extreme darkness and sadness as the families of those individuals. But the times that have had to face darkness and loss of hope, I have sought to find a light.

Albus Dumbledore once said," Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." This light can be reached when you focus on the good in one's life.  The good that brings true joy and warmth to our souls.

Please note that the prayers and hearts of my family go out to you and the loved ones lost.  May the peace of the Lord be with you as you wade through this darkness and sorrow.  May you find light and happiness and know that you will one day be reunited with those you have lost.

To my friends and followers: please refer your friends and folowers to this post. It is my wish that those who have suffered grievious losses due to this incident may read this and obtain some measure of peace in their current turmoil. Thank you.



This is the Week!

This is the week that my Ninja Warrior workout is going to get elevated to a slightly higher level. Slightly, anyway. Up to this point, I've primarily been running to get my body a little more used to exercise since it's been a few years.  Now , I feel it's time to ramp up a little more and integrate a fitness program designed to enhance endurance and start the process of upper body development.

The fitness program consists of:

- Pull-Ups (5)
- Shuto Push-Ups (10)
- Fist Push-Ups (15)
- Hindu Push-Ups (20)
- V-Ups (20)
- Knee Hugs (20)
- Ichimonji  Squats (10 Each Side)
- Walking Lunges (20)
- Mountain Climbers (20)

A little crazy, right? Oh, but it gets better! This entire combination is considered one set.  The goal of the exercise is to do as many sets as you can within 20 minutes, without a break between the various exercises and a max of a 90 second break between sets. even more crazy! But, I'm totally game!

Of course, I've got to push myself above and beyond.  So my goal with this particular routine is to move up to a 30 minute time limit when I feel I am able to do so. 

There is a reason that I would like to increase the limit to 30 minutes. As I was searching on the Internet for recommended exercises for Ninja Warrior Training, I came across a synopsis of an exercise regiment that a trainer came up with for someone who was training to get onto the show. In that synopsis he suggested that you condition your body to withstand 30 minutes of intense exercise. So, I would eventually like to get to the point where I can do that.

And this is the week I will integrate this part of the routine that I have set up for my training. Again, as previously mentioned in a post, this is only the second part of a six part program that I have developed on my own to get ready for 2014 ANW.

Besides the added training, it will most likely help me stay motivated, because it is the opportunity to switch things up every other day.

Thanks for reading!

Little Successes

This week has been graced with a few little successes.

- I was able to wake up and stay awake a couple of times and exercise to get ready to compete
- I found a spot to do pull-ups without the use of a gym
- I was able to climb up four rungs of an aircraft off-loading ramp with just the use of my arms

Like I said... little successes.

I want to share with you guys the story of the rung climbing.

On Thursday night I was at work down at the Provo Airport. I saw the (what we call Z-Ramp) that is used to unload the Embraer 190 jets that come in every night and thought to myself,"I'm going to try to climb to the top of the handrails just using upper body strength." Well, it's a four rung railing and I was only able to get up three.  Then, a co-worker got a little competitive and tried it as well.  He got all the way up.  Now this (of course) did not sit well with me.  I had to match him.  So I tried again and got up all the way. Yay Me! 

It may seem like a little thing, but it's just a little more fuel to my desire to get in better shape.

Because of this feat, I was able to tell a couple of co-workers that I was trying to compete in the 2014 American Ninja Warrior.  So this motivates me a little further still.

I think I'm on my way.  I just need to keep the motivation going and make my little family proud.

I love you Heather, Aileah and Eli.

A Sad State of Affairs...

So... my current state of affairs in this journey is sad.  I'm finding it very difficult to stay awake at 5 am to exercise.  It's really starting to bum me out. Granted, due to circumstances beyond my control I was not able to post a new blog, but also I was unable to watch the show.  So maybe that had something to do with my lack of motivation... or I'm a slacker by nature. Who really knows?

But, I was able to watch the show again on saturday night. This boosted my motivation a little. Just not quite enough.

However! There is still hope for me.  I will enter the 2014 competition whether I'm in Ninja Warrior condition or not... so, I might as well earn my stripes and gain a Ninja Warrior Physique.  So I have amended my goals and tactics to slowly boost my cofindence and motivation.  I will wake up at 5 am and start by doing short-ish runs.  Then as my physical activity level increases I will add more exercises and lengthen out the exercises I'm currently doing.

My New Goal:

- Wake up at 5 am and run
- By the end of June... integrate warrior fitness routine

Thanks for all your support and reading my blog.

Tom

The Journey Begins...

On May 22, 2012 my journey to American Ninja Warrior began.  For those of you who don't know, Ninja Warrior is an obstacle course that tests the limits of your physical and mental strength.  I've been watching this show recently, and like a grade school kid with a superhero comic book and said, "I could do that!"  Well, I can't be a superhero, but I can strive to be an American Ninja Warrior.  This blog is going to be about my experiences with training and finally competing in American Ninja Warrior. 

I hope that those of you who will read and follow my blog will enjoy seeing how I experience the endeavor.

For starters I would like to give you a little taste of what I have to work with to begin:

Body Specs:

Weight: 195.5 lbs                Height: 5'9"
Chest: 41"                            Neck: 16"
Stomach: 39"                       Waist: 37"
Biceps: 13.5"                      

My "Not So Ninja Warrior Physique"

Day 1

What can I say... I've let myself go a little. :-)

However, I have a goal in mind:

Initial Goals:

- Wake up every morning Monday-Thursday at 5:00 a.m. to exercise

-  Alternate workouts between Running Routine and Fitness Routine

- Enter the 2014 American Ninja Warrior competition

I have a comprehensive program outlined to train my body in every aspect of what I think it would take to Win ANW (American Ninja Warrior). I am however limited in my resources at this time and am not able to perform the program.  Suffice it to say it will include: weights training, rock climbing, cardiovascular training, parkour, as well as mental and physical endurance.  This is not all inclusive of course.

In conclusion, I want to list some things you can expect and the expectations I have from myself.

What YOU can expect from ME:

- Weekly posts about my progress, setbacks from the previous week

- My goals for the upcoming week

- Monthly statistics and body specs with pictures

- Sweet videos of some of the exercises that I perform

- A final post about competing in ANW and what the experience was like

What I expect from MYSELF:

- Dedication, perseverance, and continual improvement

- Consistency in blog posts

- Detailed record keeping of progress