My CrossFit- Year in Review

It was last year in the middle of October when I was first introduced to CrossFit. I was watching ESPN2 and the CrossFit Games just happened to be on- from that moment on I had no idea what was about to rock my world.

I graduated college in May 2011 at age 23. I played 4 years of collegiate basketball. Sports were my life for the last 20+ years. I was an athlete. I love competition and thrived in those moments. But after basketball ended-- I just remember the empty feeling of "what is next". I trained for the next 3 months for 5k runs and also did a 15k race. I remember getting up 5-6 days a week getting ready for my "run" and just having the thought of "I'm ready for this to be over". I mean, don't get me wrong, I have a ton of credit and respect for distance runners and I know the time that they put in and the hard work that goes with it, but it just was not for me. I remember talking to others and telling people I don't know what to do now-- as far as keeping my love for competition and training. 

Then came ESPN2 and the CrossFit games. I had honestly NEVER heard of CrossFit before then. I had no idea what type of workouts (or WODs) that they do, what type of equipment they use, etc. I was a lost sheep in the CrossFit pasture. But when I watched the games on ESPN2 I remember thinking to myself-- "I can do this. I can swim, run, do pushups, pullups and air squats---> how hard can this program be?" 

So I committed on November 1st 2011 to start a 30 day challenge of all CrossFit. Again, I loved being in the gym, working out, and lifting weights so I was very familiar with most of the lifts. I talked to some people at the gym I work out at and there was not a whole lot of information that could be given about CrossFit. So I said what the heck, tried to follow www.crosssfit.com for the entire month as best as I could and other CrossFit sites and also benchmark WODs for the entire month. I told myself I have nothing to lose in giving this a shot.

I can honestly say, after 2-3 workouts I was sold! I loved this stuff. Taking a chance on CrossFit has changed my life in the fitness world. I am a fitness guru so I started studying, reading, watching videos, how to's, asking questions, etc. CrossFit hooked me from the beginning. 

So whats the point of this? Am I trying to get you hooked on CrossFit or hooked on some sort of diet... no... that is not my intentions or my goals. But my ultimate goal is to challenge you to become more fit and to live a healthier / happier life. How did that happen for me--> through CrossFit and through committing to something. That is why I am so gung-ho about 30 day challenges. There is such a pay off in life when you commit to something whether physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc. You can become such a better person in so many deeper aspects of life. You can truly find a bigger picture for life. A reason to get up every morning ready to make a difference... ready to impact others and try to motivated people to become better then they were yesterday...

No one wants to live in a state of homeostasis (constant)... we want change. We like change. We like to be better. We like to see increases. Thats what CrossFit and this 30 day challenge did for me.

I wanted to include in this post a quick video of my journal. The first part of this video is from a CrossFit competition in January. Obviously I was no where near the level I hope to be or want to be, and my efficiency is terrible on these "double unders" (jump rope passing 2x per jump)-- the 2nd part is a video from this month and 100 straight double unders. This isn't posted to brag, or boast  or to show off by any means-- but its to just put the icing on the cake when I challenge you "to commit to something and you will see such a positive difference" 

So what do you want to do? Where do you want to become better? What will you commit to for the next 30 days. 

I had no idea that my 30 day challenge last November with CrossFit would hook me for the rest of my life. But thats what it did. And to celebrate on a personal note, I just registered and invested into getting my CrossFit certification! I will be attending the Level 1 Seminar in Columbus OH come December! I am more then excited and cannot wait to learn more, dig deeper and just continue to keep my passion at such a high level in hopes of impacting and changes other people's lives!
I did get to compete in the 2012 CrossFit Open (1st stage before making it to the Games) but failed to qualify for the regionals. I am also training for the 2013 CrossFit games and other competitions--> which is where my competition bucket has been filled to the top once again! So my personal goal for year 2: qualifying for regionals. 

I appreciate you taking a moment to hear about my last year in review. Now its your turn....

Here's your challenge. Step up and DO SOMETHING.

GM 

Giving respect where its due...

i know its been a while since i have posted but the month of may has been an awesome month that hasnt really given me too much time to post. and today is no different- but its the last day of the month and i want to give some love and some respect where its due.
i have talked over and over about challenging yourself and the importance of setting goals to ever see growth in your own life and experiences. i have many times challenged people to attempt something for 30 days and see exactly what time of change they see and the fun you can have when you truly commit to something. one person that has truly take grasp of this and has ran (no pun intended) wild with this concept.
the person that i want to give a quick shout out to is patrick glasser. (ps. he has no idea about this so hopefully he wont mind someone giving him a social media pat on the back). at the beginning of this month patrick text me and said that his goal for the month of may was to run 60 miles. i thought "heck yea man, thats awesome." and told him whatever i could do to help or to show encouragement to let me know. well to make the month and this post short- i just received a message from patrick that said "it's done, may challenge just got killed".... i loved hearing that. so to you, patrick, job well done! you deserve it man!
so with that, i offer up a challenge. tomorrow is day 1 of june. we have 30 days ahead of us for the next month that i want you to do something that challenges yourself...something that you will have fun with but also at the same time push yourself to see improvement and changes! we should never want to be in a standstill or want to be apart of the "norm" that society has termed--- we should always be in pursuit of goals, growth, excitement, impact, change, passion, love, improvement, etc etc etc.
give it shot. 30 days. thats it. do something different. you have nothing to lose. after this 30 days, 2012 will be half way over--- what are you going to do to make the rest of the year great? set yourself apart from the norm.
when you decide what your 30 day challenge is... i challenge you again to let me know. i want to be apart of it however it is. to encourage, to help with, however else. and hopefully at the end of this month you give me a reason to blog about you. thats what i want. do it.

#BetterEveryDay #LiveWithPurpose #2012breakthrough

breakthrough.
gabe.

a gift while i traveled...

so this past week i had the opportunity to travel to virginia for a long weekend. it was a great relaxing time with family! the purpose of the vacation was just to get away. we went with no agenda (except we did plan to visit washington dc one day). i will have to say, going out of state for 5 days and not having an agenda, not having a plan, not knowing what you were going to do each day-- was quite nice. it was perfect just to get up each day and to truly take a moment to appreciate the day ahead. i wont go into a lot of details pertaining to the trip but what i do want to make note of one of the two books i had the opportunity to read while away. as most of you know, if you have read any of these, i am a person who is passionate about many things. one of those things is trying to make more of an impact on the community that i am apart of however that is. so the book that i read talked about the steps to success. how to become more successful in your life. i wasnt quite sure what to expect with the book but i love recommendations and figured id give it a shot! and man, i will tell you what i am glad i did.
so here is my recommendation to you. go read, the travelers gift by andy andrews. it is truly a remarkable book and truly outlines the steps to success in a different yet amazing way! i dont want ruin the book for you in hopes that you go out and read it. but i do want to address one of the things that he talks about. the outline of the book is he has 7 steps to success. the main character travels and he given this "gift" of steps to success from 7 different people. he then explains at the end, once all steps are revealed, that to be successful you must incorporate each action! you cannot be successful by just working on 1, or 2, or 3, but you must truly devote to studying, learning more about, and incorporating all of them!
one step that i will quickly touch on, and i cannot give it justice like the writer does, but the 3rd step in the process is "I am a person of action. I seize this moment. I choose now". how relevant is that with our lives? whatever situation you are in, whatever you face on a daily basis we need to attack it with an attitude of action. we are blessed with many opportunities in our lives and each day--- and for those situations to truly be maximized we make take action and seize the moment. the story that andrews talks about during this step is awesome and basically life changing. its really changed my attitude and thoughts as i approach the day. and thats what life is about. for any of us to truly make an impact, to help others, to challenge others to jump on the wagon--we must take action. this is about at church, at our jobs, in our homes- wherever you find yourself! what kind of attitude do you have? do you have an attitude of attacking the situation? to truly maximize what is in front of you? if not, you need to first ask yourself why dont you? what is holding you back? why dont you want to take action? and then once you have that answer, change! do whatever it takes to seize the moment. and once you do, trust me, you will be on the path of living a life that will impact yourself but more impacting you will be on the path of impacting others.
so enough blabbing, go get the book. seriously. now.

breakthrough.
gabe.

7 days with no tv... Makes one weak?

I sure hope everyone has had an amazing weekend as that everyone is fired up to tackle as attack this next week! What a great opportunity we have tomorrow-- to face another Monday head on and own it like never before... I sure hope that is your attitude about this next week. If you are worried about it, or dreading going to work tomorrow, or whatever it is that you are thinking about-- change your thought! Be ready to make this the best week possible! However that is. I don't care if it's suppose to be the worst week of the year-- don't let that happen. It's up to you. You have the power to make the week whatever you want. And it all starts with your attitude and how you approach tomorrow morning! So be different. Be weird. Be unique. And get pumped up about tomorrow and attack it head on.
Want it to be a different week? Want to challenge yourself? Want to try something crazy. Here's what I'm doing this week-- yesterday I challenge myself to go the next 7 days with zero tv. That's sportscenter, Espn (Thats about all I care to watch) but it also includes any tv show or movie. I'm not going to turn the tv on until at least next Sunday. Why? Because after much thought I feel that I waste to much time in front of it. I mean, what does it do for me? How does watching a tv show that has no sentimental meaning going to help me make this the next year ever? I couldn't come up with an answer. I reasoned that I could spend more time doing other things-- like today instead of watching tv I went on a bike ride- easy enough. But seriously what about you? Think about what you could accomplish if you gave up something as simple as the tv. I am honestly very excited about this challenge. I know it's going to e tough and there will be those temptations but that's where the personal growth is going to take a turn for the better! So for me it's the tv, what's it for you? What can you do different this week? 7 days. That's it. Why not give it a shot and see where it gets you--- you might actually get a little more accomplished and feel a little better about yourself! I don't know-- but until next time.

Breakthrough.
Gabe.

calling all challengers...

where does time go? man- i tell you what, its tough to find a few moments every now and then just to sit down and to write about whats going on where you dont make it a priority. so thats what i did today. i stopped making excuses and got on here and have a few things to share. hopefully, ill keep this quick but also get my point across.

i ran across this quote today and it caught my attention right off the back:

"Don't be afraid to fail. Don't waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It's OK to fail. If you're not failing, you're not growing."

can you truly say that is your mindset? but think about the personal growth that you could develop if it was. what if we truly werent afraid to fail? that can be with many things... life, eating habits, workouts, journaling, etc... but thats not my point here, my point here is to even have a chance of "not being afriad to fail" we have to have something to "not be afraid of". how many of us just go through the days with the same ol' routine as yesterday. where the heck is the excitement in that? where is the excitement of trying something new? doing some fun? learning more about yourself? challenging yourself? thats what got me stuck on this 30 day challenge routine for myself (i hope if you have read any of my previous posts that you have caught on to this). tomorrow is the end of my 2nd round of challenges. this go round was fitness related, my goal at the end of 30 days was to be able to 1) do a 5:00 plank 2) 100 consecutive double under jump ropes... when i first started this challenge, i knew they were going to be tough- esp. the plank. but i committed to working on them for 30 straight days in hopes of achieving my goals... and you know what-- im not afraid to fail!! because i know that i have put some time into something and committed myself to attempting these-- and its been fun over 30 days to truly see differences in particular with these two exercises.. so whats holding you back? whats keeping you from challenging yourself? whats keeping you from trying something new? maybe giving up a certain food/drink for 2 weeks, or starting a new workout routine, or starting to journal for 30 days... stop making excuses, dont be afraid to fail- and challenge yourself.. the personal growth that you will see during that time will totally exceed your expectation. and it will keep you from going day in and day out with the same routine because each day you wake up you know that there is a new challenge out there even if its the smallest of changes--- its still something...

im serious though. try something new. see where it takes you. you might enjoy it and actually see positive changes and growth!

breakthrough.

gabe. 

on a mission..and its called life.

its been a while. so welcome back- if anyone is here.
the last couple of weeks have been up and down for myself. ive learned a lot about myself, my friends, and more importantly my family. first, i want to say thank you for everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and condolences sent to our family for the passing of my grandpa. he was a great man- as i heard over and over from many different stories from many different people. i definitely learned a lot more about him and about my family over the last weeks. i knew my grandpa was a devout christian, good man, a hard worker-- what i didnt quite grasp or understand until lately is the fact that he: was a great friend, a man who truly loved his job, someone who put others before him, knew what he wanted to do in life, set goals and set out to reach them, was a mentor, and so many other things. the one fact that so many people told me and the one thing that stuck with me is the comment that "i might not of been your grandpa's best friend, but i tell you what, whenever i ran into him or whenever i got the chance to talk to him, he made me feel like i was the most important person on earth- he made me feel like his friend." wow. for real? how amazing and how awesome is that. im envious of that. i want to strive for that. i want to be able to make people feel that way. my grandpa was a genuine man! i challenge you to do the same. how often do we just go through the motions as we "talk" to someone on a daily basis? how often do we reply to the question "how are you doing" with a quick "im good" and then walk around not thinking twice about it? im at fault- more then once. but thats not what we are called to do. that should not be our mission. our mission should be to reach out to others- "to treat every single person we pass as the most important person in the world-- treat them like our friend". we should take time to listen to them, to truly ask them and to truly care "how their day is going"-- instead of just passing by through the motions. thats my challenge to you. thats my challenge to myself- to strive for that. to strive to be like my grandpa.
so over the last week, i have been thinking about my life- and about my life's mission. what exactly do i want to be? its not so much what i want people to say about me or think about it, its more about what i can do for people. i dont care what people say about me or think about me--- if im living out my mission then that will take care of itself. so i came up with my life mission. i sat down and thought about it- i brainstormed exactly what i crave for, what gets me fired up, what i truly love to do... and i came up with this statement:
"I'm here to add positive value and effectively influence others' spiritual, physical, and mental growth."
thats it. one sentence can sum up what i want to pursue. and thats what im going to do. have you ever thought about a mission statement for your life? if not, do it! right down exactly what you want from yourself. it not only is exciting to do, but its a challenge and it keeps you on track. so stop reading and go and think about it. write it down. post it somewhere. let others know. and then, go out and make a difference. life is a mission and we are called to be on.
ps. one way that im striving toward my mission is im going into the twitter world. so follow me if your on there- i will be sending daily, weekly, honestly whenever i think about it- tweets (is that what they are called?) to motivate, to educate, or just to have a good laugh. but for real, follow me: @gm1ll3r


until next time. 
breakthrough.
gabe. 

feedin' your body

so here is another post about fitness. its not about motivating you to go workout or posting workout examples for you guys to try-- i want to talk about nutrition, about what kind of food you are putting into your body. theres a quote that states, "tell me what you eat and ill tell you what you are".
i think that is exactly right. in todays society all of the hoopla that is put on fitness and working out can easily be subsidized by what people are putting into their bodies. so what i want to do in this post is to give my top 5 food choices- i dont know if they are the best choices, but they work for me. when your body breaks down food, the macronutrients (fat, protein and carbs) are used basically for energy. so think about that for a minute-- what you are putting into your body correlates with what type of energy you have. take care of your body and it will take care of you. so again, below is my list of top 5 foods-- snacks, dinner, lunch options-- they are what work for me. whats your top 5? let me know!

Top 5 Foods:

1) Peanut Butter
"-Why it's good for you: At least five major studies confirm that eating peanuts can lower risk for    coronary heart disease. So it's no leap to think that peanut butter confers the same benefits. "Suffice it to say that eating peanut butter or peanuts has been associated with lower total cholesterol, lower ldl or 'bad' cholesterol, and lower triglycerides, all of which are associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk," says Richard Mattes, Ph.D"


2) Lean Turkey
"-Turkey is an excellent source of lean protein. One serving of turkey provides more than half your body's protein requirement, with half the fat of beef and 30% fewer calories. Also contains selenium, niacin, and Vitamin B6."


3) Chocolate Milk
"-Studies now show that chocolate milk aids the body in recovery, most importantly the muscles"


4) Beef Jerky
"-Part of the jerky-preparation process involves trimming away excess fat, so jerky may provide a heart-healthy way to enjoy the taste of red meat...Animal protein, such as red meat, contains all nine essential amino acids, making beef jerky a high-quality protein."


5) Sweet Potato (plain)
"They are high in vitamin B6, a good source of Vitamin C, contain Vitamin D, iron and also magnesium."






again, this is just my list of some of my favorite foods/snacks that i have found work for myself. to get some of the best results for this year, keeping tabs and paying attention to what you are feeding your body is huge. take it for what it is.


breakthrough. 
gabe.

'march'in into a new month

whats up people. how are things going? hows the week going? good? great? poor? maybe you're thinkin its thursday, already put friday in the past and youre clocked out and ready for the weekend? whatever it is, today is thursday march 1! thats right, a new month. #3 in the year. currently we are 1/6 of the way through 2012. 16.66% of the year has passed. crazy huh? so the question that i ask is what have you done so far? whats the 16.66% of the year you cant get back look like? did you get anything accomplished? did you stick to any of your new years resolutions that you had planned to? or are you thinking " i have 83.34% of the year left. ill just wait until then to get started. ill wait until then to make an impact. ill wait until tomorrow. blah.. so what i want to do with this post is just check in and see how things are going? if your still doing the 30 day challenge, i wanna see how thats going? (i have 9 days left of no sweets!) what about yours? if you havent started a challenge, scroll down to a few posts ago and check my challenge! its a great way to push yourself and see some changes that you would like to see in a fun and challenging way. 

not only do i want to see how your year is going so far, i want to see what you have planned for this month? what are you wanting to accomplish? do you have any idea? one of the best ways to see things get done is to set realistic goals-- and take steps to get there! we all need to strive to make this the best month so far! it doesnt matter what you did or didnt do in january and february- those are over, done, in the past- but what does matter is what you will do this month. what youll get done today. what you will do tomorrow--this weekend---next week..  we have 31 days to make this the best month so far. weather thats at your job, with your family, with your relationship with God, your workouts, your diets, whatever it is-- they need to be at top notch for this month. in the video below (its a quick 4 minute watch, so please do) the speaker talks about how success is not a one way street. and thats exactly right. to be successful in whatever it takes work! ok, some people might get lucky here and there and "achieve success" in the blink of an eye- but for the majority of situations success comes from hard work. i love the outline he gives when he explains success is 8 principles. passion. work. focus. push. ideas. improve. serve. persist. how are you going to implement those 8 principles in this month? i challenge you to think about, think about what you can do this month to challenge yourself- to strive for something you didnt think was possible or you thought you had no opportunity to do so. success is not a one way street. its a constant trip that we need to be on. when we learn how to develop those 8 principles into our life and every day activities thats when we will have success- and not only have it-- but we will sustain it!

step up and step out this month. do something that you have wanted to do for a long time but never thought you could. dont wait for the opportunity. create yourself! and when you do, thats when you will see a breakthrough. 

until later. 

breakthrough.

gabe. 

the key to success.

success. what is it? how do you describe it? what word would you use to talk about success? how does a person become successful? who is a successful person? what makes that person successful? i could go on and on about success and ways to describe success and possibly even talk about my philosophy on what makes a person successful and what doesnt. but i wont bore you with that- what i want to hit on is something thats been on my mind for the last week or so. and thats the fact that there is a process a person must go through to have success. and whatever is at the end of a process, its different from person to person, is what you can consider a success.
that process also what i consider the key to success is preparation. sounds easy huh? but how often do we try to skip this step in our world where its always the thought of "i want more, more, more, more and i want it now". seriously. how often have you been victim to that? how often do want something without actually working for it? and if youre lucky, you might achieve "success" but where in the world does the satisfaction come from for actually working for it. actually going through of process. going through the bumps in the road and jumping over obstacles. actually dedicated yourself to something to make sure you sure it all the way through. thats where we fall short. many times. we forget about the process of preparing for something. during that time you can learn so much about yourself, grow so much stronger as an individual and even enjoy steps you have to take.
a quick example.

1) Lin-sanity. how many people know exactly what im talking about when you read that. if you dont, google it for a more in depth explanation. but ill do my best couple sentence approach. jeremy lin--he is an nba player for the new york knicks. a couple of weeks ago he was never heard of, never spoke about, etc. no one even cared about this guy that sat on the end of the bench. he was on the verge of being cut...aka losing his job. then all of the sudden he got this chance- he got an opportunity of a life time and bam---SUCCESS. but if you know anything about it, if you have watched espn, been on any websites out there, would you even think that he would of been successful? how did he get there? do you think he seriously just sat around... no he was prepared. he worked his butt off. he went through the steps that people do not always see. we get to watch the process at the end. we get to see him score 38 points against the lakers on espn. we get to see him put up incredible numbers people havent seen in years. but my point is this: jeremy lin was prepared. the because of his preparation, when the opportunity came knocking-- the dude stepped in and took care of business because he was ready! thats the point... preparation is what makes you ready. its key to success. if he wasnt prepared we would not even be thinking twice about him or have the cool nicknames like "super LIN tendo" or "all he does is LIN". prepare the right way and success will come. (if you dont believe me that jeremy lin was preparing the right way, take a look at the video)

as i was reading my book this week i read a quote that i wrote down for my "quote of the week" and has had a pretty cool impact on myself. heres what it said.
"success is a function of persistence and doggedness and a willingness to work hard."
how sweet of a quote is that? i love the word doggedness. which means a showing tenacity. when i read that word i just get pumped up. it has that type of effect on myself. if i was to ask you how would you describe your preparation for success how would you describe it? would you use the word doggedness? i doubt anyone would. but how awesome would it be if we could. thats the attitude we need to take. success wont come easy. its going to take persistence, its going to take willingness to work hard, and you can bet its going to take a doggedness approach.
if you have never thought about preparing or never thought about how to describe your steps to success-- change it. change how you approach your daily activities. if its your job and you want to be more successful. its going to take persistence, its going to take willingness. if its your fitness and you want to see bigger and better results-- change your approach- attack your next workout with a doggedness attitude. this is the way to get work done. this is the way to see results. you have to be work hard. you have to be persistence.
you have to be prepared.

breakthrough.
gabe.

ps. how is your 30 day challenge going? have you even started? if not why not? i know a few people that have caught on and started up their own and i love it! that gets me jacked up! i love seeing others stepping up and challenging themselves-- making steps toward achieving something. even if its the smallest change or challenge- its still something. continue to pursue it. continue taking the steps to achieving what you have set out to achieve. no sugar, no pop, exercise, whatever it is-- stick with it. if you havent got a 30 day challenge going, check out my previous post and join in. its fun. its challenging. its a way to see yourself make some changes that you want. and most of all its rewarding.
i already have a plan for my next 30 day challenge. i seriously cant wait for it to start. until then. prepare.

30 day challenge.

this week somehow i managed to stroll upon a site that has had a huge impact on me so far. its a site that has a ton of videos that range from all different topics. im obviously under the "inspiring" category each time i visit the site. i found a video today that i was wanting to share.
have you ever wanted to start up a habit or try something new out? this video challenges you to try something new for 30 days. it doesnt matter what it is-- give it shot. "if you want something badly enough, you will do it for 30 days." the speaker notes. seriously. watch this video. if it doesnt motivate you to try something new out, i dont know what to tell you then.
what better way then to make 2012 a breakthrough year then to start new habits, to try things out that we have never done before. your 2012 can not only be a year about breaking down old barriers, but it can be more about creating new opportunities that you never even thought were manageable. your mind can run wild with things when trying to come up with something to do for 30 days. last october i challenged myself to run for 30 consecutive days of at least 1 mile. think it sounds easy? try it. there were days that first week that i was like "what the heck am i doing". it didnt matter rain or shine i was out running or on the treadmill. for those who know me, im not much of a distance runner back then so it was a huge challenge. well to sum it up, i ran 1 mile a day for 54 consecutive days. it became a habit. at the end of the challenge i ran my first 15k race just to prove to myself that i could do it. and it all started because of a 30 day challenge. let your mind run free a little with this. here are a few ideas ive thrown out for you to try: no pop, no candy, read at least 1 chapter a day of a book, 10 minutes of prayer (wow), run/exercise, journal, etc. etc. etc. its easy to come up with ideas but its difficult to actually step up to the plate and take on this challenge. if you are reading this-- seriously join this 30 day challenge with me. lets start today-- not tomorrow. we still have over 7 hours left today. think of something. if you arent reading this on friday, then start whatever day you read this-- 30 days.
the beginning of january, one of my 2012 breakthrough goals was to journal each day. below is a picture of the january 23rd-29th of my journal. i write down whatever i feel like: what i eat, what my workouts were, a motivating quote for the week, whatever comes to mind and i tell you what: the effect that this has had on me this year has been huge so far! you never know, whatever you do for the next 30 days might just stick with you for the rest of the year or even longer.
so what are you doing the next 30 days? comment and let me know. text me and let me know. whatever it is let me know or someone. because you will need someone to keep you accountable. dont keep it to yourself. share it. let people know that this year is going to be a huge breakthrough for you and get others on board!

"when you make small sustainable changes, things you can keep doing, they are more likely to stick."

(click this link for the video)

Something New For 30 Days

i will leave you with my challenge for the next 30 days. if you see me ask me how im doing. ask me how its going. keep me accountable and ill keep you accountable. ill check back with you march 10 for results.

my challenge=  im giving up ALL sweets for the next 30 days. cookies, cookie dough, chocolate, brownies whatever it is it doesnt matter im giving it up. sounds easy? try it.


breakthrough.
gabe.

check up for intrinsic rewards

first i just want to tell myself welcome back. i know its been a little while-- but i warned whoever reads this from the beginning how random this blog might end up being.
its been crazy the last couple of weeks. with work, workouts, and other events that i was a part of- it was as if i didnt have any time to get on here. but here i am. and a few things are on my mind:
here they go.
so its february 6th. i had all intentions to post something on february 1st. i just want to check up on you and see how your 2012 has been? how about all of those resolutions that you started just merely one month ago? are you still on track? is your 2012 off to a great start? or is it kind of going off track already? thats a serious question. ask yourself. are you still getting to the gym like you promised yourself just over 30 days ago? are you still doing a daily devotion each morning like you wanted? if not, dont worry. its ok. we all have some slip ups and we all can easily get off track. but heres to you getting back on track! thats what this post is about. its about motivating you to step back up! start now! get back into it so your 2012 can be a breakthrough of a year.
ill be the first to admit, the middle of january just started getting extremely busy. it seemed like it didnt matter what day it was or what time it was there was something that i was suppose to be doing. and one slip up that i had was my resolution to read out of a book each day. but that changed up over the last few days and man, it seriously feels good. not that reading has to "feel good" but the fact that i committed to something and im back on track. its an intrinsic reward. it has nothing to do with others. its all on me. the motivation and the reward both come from myself rather then anything external. so get back on track! its worth it. come on.

the last quick thing i want to mention is something out of a book i was reading this morning. currently i am engulfed in the book "outliers: the story of success", its a great book and i would recommend to anyone. but as im reading this morning i come across this:

"And in [his] work, there was a relationship between effort and reward...Those three things---autonomy, complexity and a connection between effort and reward-- are, most people agree, the 3 qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. It is not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and give. It's whether our work fulfills us... Work that fulfills those three criteria is meaningful"

right away, i had to ask myself is what im doing meaningful? on an everyday basis, what you do, does it have any meaning to you or anyone else? if not why? why not? have you even thought about that? and this is where it leads me to my newest 2012 breakthrough goal: what i do this year will have meaning. thats it. i want my life to have meaning. i want to be living for the right reasons. and those reasons change from person to person but i challenge you to sit down right now, right after this sentence, and list out exactly why this year is going to be meaningful for you- it can be a person, a feeling, a goal-- whatever it is, write it down so 2012 can be a breakthrough.

breakthrough.
gabe.

"Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities."

winners stay, losers walk... really?

for the last couple of weeks, as im sure its the same with some, my attention in the sports are has been focused on the nfl playoffs. some might not know this, but im not a huge football fan. sports fan= yes. so when it comes to the playoffs you can bet that im watching. for the nfl this year has had quite a ride. first it was the lockout, then it was the tebow hype and now its the arguments of who will win the superbowl. honestly, im not really rooting for either team. i will watch the superbowl, and ill be rooting for a good game. but what motivated me to write this post was from a video i saw this morning first on the mike and mike show on espn. im not sure how many people have actually seen it but its from a camera that was recording in the baltimore ravens locker room after their lost last week against the patriots. for those of you who dont know the ravens lost after their kickers missed a 30+ yard chip shot of a field goal-- but going on. .. 

watching this video, ray lewis, who is the heart and face of that franchise really had a moving speech despite the lost. im sure that he was ticked off. frustrated. upset. emotional. and whatever else you can feel--  but what he said couldnt of been said better. take a listen...

seriously? after losing a game, an nfl player can have that outlook and be able to express it the way he did? ray lewis might not be the most liked or the player with the best reputation but dang, he can definitely put some goose bumps on my arms.

youre probably thinkin, so what? how the heck can i implement this video into my day to where it can lead to 2012 being a breakthrough year. many times in life we get knocked down. we might be a step slow. we might of missed out on an opportunity "of a lifetime". but just like he says in the video its about coming back the very next time and being prepared to tackle whatever it is head on. there might of been things occur to you in 2011 that you didnt expect or never thought could happen to you. MOVE ON. its done. its over. you cannot change the past. you cannot change mistakes you made. you cannot change what he/she said about you. you cannot...blah.... move on dude. and thats what i get from this video. 2012 we need to have the ability and be tough enough to move on from situations like this that might knock us down. theres an old saying i used to use in basketball when playing pick up games was "winners stay, losers walk". and yea that might apply when you are playing pick up games but do not let it apply to your life. when you "lose" dont just walk away. you might have to step back, yes, but never walk away. come back stronger. dont let situations in life tear you down. no matter how you feel, get up!  just like he says in the video, "God has never made a mistake"- and that is completely true. He doesnt mess up. the situations that he puts in our lives are opportunities for us to grow stronger in our relationship with him and also to grow stronger as an individual. 

so to answer your question, how can a ray lewis video be used for your 2012 being a breakthrough year. i hope i have answered it. 

breakthrough.

gabe. 

"you've gotta come back and go to work and make sure we finish it next time..."

perceived limits...

for those of you that know me pretty well, know that i am a fitness guru. i mean, im really a guru. i can sit all day on fitness websites looking up new workouts, reading about new eating plans, etc etc. in todays society a lot of emphasis is put on being physically fit. if this is something that you are tired of hearing about please dont read on.
...ok i gave you enough time to close out of this browser so ill continue...
i warned people from the beginning that this blog will be randomly written. as erika made note one evening and i quote her: "i love how on your blog one day you post a nelly video, and then the next you try to make up for it by posting a mercy me- i can only imagine" video. but thats what i enjoy about this thing. i can honestly open up about whatever is on my mind however i want to. and thats no different then what i want to discuss today.
heres a quick question for you. do you set limits for yourself? i mean, do you say i can only do this or i can only do that? it can be with anything i.e- "i can only eat healthy on the weekends" or "i cant do that because im not good enough", how about "my body just wont let me know"? in the past ive caught myself saying this a few times here and there. and that leads me to this blog topic. 2012 is about forgetting perceived limits you might have for yourself. theres no reason to set these limits. physically, emotionally, mentally we can go harder, longer, do more etc then our mind and body tells us.
this past weekend i was in this type of situation. (back to my fitness guru attitude). i competed in my very first fitness competition. it was called the great lakes crossfit invitational. (for those of you who dont know what crossfit is youtube/google/search it and you will find out). so basically what we did were 5 wods (workout of the day) throughout saturday and sunday. it ranged from running a 5k to lifting as much weight as you could to being able to do "double unders" jumping rope 150x. enough about that, but what i found myself doing quickly into the workouts was telling myself "i cant do anymore" "my body just cant"...blah blah blah... i could of quit, i could of stopped-- but what would that of done. they were just perceived limits-- deep down i knew i could go faster, that i could finish the workout and do the best i could. enough about me...
thats what i challenge you to. it doenst have to be just about working out. being able to tell yourself that you can do better, that you can go harder, that you can give more then youre actually giving can relate to anything in life. dont settle for "just enough". go the extra mile. the world around us tells us many times to be happy with average-- but you shouldnt be happy with average. stop listening to the limits that others set for us or the limits that our mind is telling you. make 2012 a breakthrough of the personal limits. step up and do something about it.

below is a quick video of part of a workout from this past weekend (sorry about the quality, it was best i could do). it was a tough workout and i wanted to quit halfway through it. but from what youve read above, thats not what we are making 2012 about. in the weight room, in the kitchen, at work, wherever-- never settle and you will be remarkable achievements soon!

Climbing is not about conquering the rock; it is about

conquering yourself. – Jim Collins, Author, “Good to Great”

breakthrough.
gabe.

a friday pick me up

i had a whole post just typed up and ready to submit. then i thought- my words don't do justice to what this video can say. so i deleted everything and im going to keep it simple. take a few minutes, seriously do it now, listen to this song--close your eyes and enjoy. its a true friday "pick-me-up". unbelievable.

breakthrough.

gam. 

yesterdays tomorrow

heres a question for you. every morning when you wake up what is the first thought that comes to your mind? is it: "i have way to much to do today", "i just need a few more hours of sleep", "i cant wait until the weekend" or something along these lines? 

i dont know about you but these have been my thoughts many numerous times. and every time i justify telling myself those because "its what every one else says". its the norm in todays society for us to just go through the motions monday-thursday and only live for friday-sunday. think about that. having that mind set is losing out on over half of the week that we are blessed with. 

so here i go again on my 2012 breakthrough soap box. forget about how we have approached "today" in the past. this year i challenge you to approach "today" with the mindset to get something done. stop using the excuse that itll get done tomorrow. today is yesterdays tomorrow. its the time to get up, get going and make something of the twenty four hours that we have. 

one way that i have changed my attitude for the day is how i approach my morning routine. instead of laying for as long as i possibly can until my alarm clocks snooze doesnt work anymore, i get up and get excited about the day. i have recently started reading more books (another one of my 2012 goals). i tell you what, a little time to yourself each morning reading an inspiring book totally can change your outlook. so far this year i have read "God's Story- your story" by Max Lucado and also "Outliers- the Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell. just a chapter each morning or two can really kick start your day. if reading isnt your thing, which i would highly suggest tryin, what about listening to a little music? no better way then to kick start your day then having a little music to help out. dont always just rely on the tv. do something different this year each morning. 

the key to havin a great day is how you approach the day. 2012's breakthrough for myself is havin an approach to each day to make it a great one. life is too short to have a bad day, to be in a bad mood, or to let little things in this life effect us drastically. change it up with me. no more "ill do it tomorrow", or "theres not enough time". make time. make a change. make a difference. and see a breakthrough. 

below i have added in a little music video that i have used this year to just start my day. try it out, listen to it one morning--i mean really listen to it, the words, the beat, everything. dont just have it on in the background. then after sit there for a few minutes, dwell on it, and attack the day to get something done.

breakthrough.

gam. 

"This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24

just between me and you...

this post is just between me and you... i'm just going to give you a little advice, a few tips, a couple of pointers, but it's just between me and you so dont go around tellin others about it. how did you do with your 2012 resolutions? are you still on track? are you struggling to keep up 1 week in? what did you want to change? i am aware that a "back to work" schedule can really throw off some of your wishes for 2012. i know that the "i'm too busy", "ill do it later", "tomorrow ill finish it", "ill be back on track tomorrow" excuses can creep up rather quickly. re-read that last part-- and zone in on the word EXCUSES. that's what those are. nothing but excuses. a favorite quote of mine says, 'no one ever excused his way to success'--
this is where i made a change. 2012 = breakthrough. a breakthrough of not makin excuses. if i want something- im going to strive to do it. if i need something- you can bet ill go get it. im not waiting for tomorrow. i wont be 'to tired' to do it. i wont have 'to much on my plate'. its a new year. a breakthrough type of year. so stop makin excuses. get up. move forward. get something done today. excuses : 0
do you need some help? some motivation to get back on track or to just get on track? check out the list i found on a website (linked below) on the 25 tips to live by for the happiest new year of 2012.
print the list out. put it somewhere where you can look at it daily. these are 25 rather good tips. tips to make a change. tips to help 2012 be a breakthrough year for myself and for you.
dont make an excuse, do it.

TIPS FOR A HAPPY 2012 (click here)

"Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave." - Proverbs 12:24


gam. 

first things first.

first things first. let me explain the purpose of this and my motivation for this. some might be wondering why exactly am i starting this blog. well i'm starting it for a couple of reasons. 

one. this is something that ive been wanting to do. be able to write down things that i'm thinking, feeling, or just want to talk about. its going be about anything and everything. from what i ate for lunch, to what my workout was, to what my daily devotion with God was about. but thats the point of this. to just be able to write whatever i want. 

two. for 2012 i wanted to challenge myself. ive always been pretty comfortable with who i am. ive always been pretty happy with things ive done. but ive never really challenged myself to anything. i mean really challenge myself too. like going out on the limb and seeing exactly how much i can grow as a person. so for 2012, my "new years resolution" was basically to have a motto or phrase for the year and plant that into my life. whether that is in my relationship with God, my relationship with Erika, my family, my workouts, my diet, whatever that is i want to make it apart of my life. my motto for 2012 is "breakthrough". i want to be able to push past whatever obstacle is every thrown at me. i wanna be strong enough, confident enough, happy enough, to be able to breakthrough whatever life throws at me. so before the beginning of the year i made a little poster (very uncommon for me, trust me) that i placed at my desk to remind me of what i want my 2012 to be about. (its shown below). when i was making this poster/sign or whatever you want to call it, i was excited about. i was exciting to find phrases, words, pictures whatever it was that i wanted to describe myself for 2012. i want to stop making excuses. i want to be more grateful. i want to take every advantage that life throws at me. i want to see results. i want to strive for excellence. but most of all, i want to do it for Him. i want my relationship with my Savior for 2012 to be such a huge breakthrough that i dont care what life ever throws at me this year- that im strong enough, confident enough, happy enough to say that my relationship with Jesus Christ is first and foremost in my life for 2012. this is a huge thing. a huge commitment. but im excited about it.

 2012 is going to be a breakthrough year for myself and im looking forward to it and looking forward to sharing whatever i can with you out there.

gam. 

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." -Matthew 6:33