Another Injury

Well, as the title of this Blog suggest, I am hurting again. Not long ago I healed, somewhat quickly, from a moderate hamstring pull and now I have a low back strain. According to my massage therapist it has something to do with where the soaze ties into the back of the pelvis. I don't know this stuff so I might be mis-stateing what she actually said or meant. The good news is that it is already feeling much better.

Here's what happened, and there's a bit of a lesson in it: Thursday morning I felt great. I don't usually work out on Thursdays, but I'm going out of town next week and am going to miss a few days so I was hoping to get a couple of extra days in beforehand. Anyway, the workout was backsquats (again). Those seem to be popping up alot lately. I noticed early on that my back was tweaking alittle after each set, during the build-up to 90% of max. Each time I would rack it after my squats I would feel a painfull twinge in my low left side of my back. I should have shut it down right there. Instead, I pushed through a few 1 rep sets of 255# and suddenly it got real bad.

So I left and went to work and painfully made it through the day. By the time I got to my previously scheduled massage appintment at the end of the day I was having a very hard time gettting in and out of my truck. She fixed me up pretty good though and I think I can be back at workouts on Monday.

As it turns out, 255# is a PR for me. This is good news. If that is truly 90% 0f my max, then my max must be around 290#. I'm not so sure about that, but we'll probably see in a couple of weeks. This is a big step for me as backsquat is really my weakness and I have a goal of reaching 300# in backsquat and 400# in deadlift by July. I am hoping to get my Crossfit Total score over 800# by then. The deadlift seems to be an easier goal for me and I have no idea about the shoulder press, I'm assuming it won't be much over 100# if I'm lucky.

The lesson learned is: Listen to your body! If I had shut it down earlier I wouldn't have missed any other workouts this week. Luckily, this "old guy" still heals pretty quick.

Fast Heal

The last couple of weeks have been great at my workouts, not so great at work though. While I have been pushing harder and harder at the gym my pulled hamstring muscle has proven to be totally healed. I feel 100%.

This last week, the week most students have spring break, I have had a new addition to my workout classes. CJ, pictured here, came up from Santa Barbara and was in on most of the same workouts that I did. This kid is going to be a beast! He has alot of heart and is very strong, especially on any kind of squats. He seems to have a great life plan too. I believe he's going to be the owner of a very successful Crossfit gym in the next few years. I've always been intrigued by people that have things so planned out. I have pretty much just taken life as it comes and have never really been good at long-term planning. I guess there's pro's and con's to both personality types.

Having CJ in those classes definitely had me digging alot deeper than I normally do. I am going to have to find some way to find that extra push down deep. When your a little over the halfway point in a workout and feeling spent it's very hard to pick up the pace. Pushing yourself when you're totally out of breath and full of fatigue is hard enough all by itself. With CJ there I was somehow actually able to find it in myself to pick-up my pace towards the end. This is something I believe is hard to come by unless you have a competitor right behind, or out in front, of you.

The trainers at Crossfit NSC have been great. The tailored my workouts around my hamstring and kept me in top form. I believe this also caused fast healing to my injury. When it comes to nutrition and fitness Crossfit trainers are the ones to trust.

Instead of me posting my workouts for you to view just click here.. http://crossfitnsc.com/wod/index.php scroll down to go back in time. Sometimes you have to click the comments to see the scores.

Until next time...........................

It's Been Awhile

I haven't posted in quite along time. I'm not sure how it happened but things got really busy all of the sudden. Work has been crazy, softball season started and coaching the team has taken alot of the evening times, Britnee had her second child (a boy, my third grand-child), and there has been lots of family stuff going on.

We always refer to core stability at Crossfit. Well in costruction stabily is key as well. Here you see a steel moment frame being added to a home for stability.

As far as fitness goes I have still been charging hard at Crossfit North Santa Cruz. On the 13th I had a low hamstring pull on my left leg and had to avoid running and some leg exercises this week. It feels mostly healed except for sprints I think I can get back to doing just about anything this upcoming week. Luckily I didn't pop it and it has healed surprisingly fast. Everyone prepared me for this to be a long slow process. Being 45 years old I assumed it would be a slow heal. I'm sure diet and the crossfit way of doing things has aided, but I'm quite happy with the healing time.

During last week when I had to modify some of the workouts for my injury I focused more on upper body intensity. All of the sudden I have been able to do a few of movements that I didn't have before. First, I finally got muscle-ups. I can't believe how much mental this movement is. Once I got one I could do a few in a row without problem. Second, I figured handstand push-ups out. I went form thinking there was no way I could do anything more than a negative to being able to get 5 in a row. Again, very mental. Once your brain realizes you can do one they become much easier. Lastly, I went up the rope w/o legs. Athough I have gotten pretty good on the rope this exercise was my nemesis last fall and I had no idea I would be able to do "ams only" assents, ever.

If you really want to have sore arms do some muscle-ups and legless rope climbs and feel the lingering pain. While I have learned these new movements I really haven't progressed much on the double unders. Of course I couldn't work on these while my hammy was bad, but with my rythem I'm not sure it would matter. Hopefully the will just click one of these days.

I'll try to post with some sort of regularity from now on. Until then keep hitting it hard.............

Athletic Training

Over the past couple of days of workouts I'm starting to feel my self getting back to where I was before I got the flu. I feels good to be back where I can make actual progress again. I am definetly very motivated to improve my performance all the time and the only way you can know your improving is if you are bettering your times in the workouts.

This is a picture of my daughters softball team at the opening ceremonies for the Jr. Olympic Games in San Diego last year.

Most anyone who works-out at least a couple of days a week should see that kind of improvement. The thing is, if you want to improve on pace with the real performers in any sport you have to do more. This is true of Crossfit training and just about any sport someone would participate in. Practiceing your sport isn't enough either, you need to be stronger and more fit than the others playing it if you want to excel. Crossfit builds stamina, strength, quickness, and mental toughness all while getting as fit as you could ever imagine. This is all true if you commit the efforts of the top performers. Everyone benefits, but to realize top performance you have to commit this type of effort.

Something else I've noticed, that I'm sure all real athletes know well, is diet, sleep and mental preparedness becomes very important too. Once you get to a certain point in fitness you begin to notice that what you eat effects you performance very much. Overall diet is important, but sometimes just the last things you consumed can play a big factor in how well you perform. When you eat in relation to a workout makes a big difference too. Eat too close to a workout and you might not do so well. Workout starved and you'll probably be weak and lose stamina.

At my age of 45 and the fact that the guy's I'm trying to catch are much younger should leave me satisfied, right? It actually only motivates me to work harder............because I know I'm already giving some of them a run for their money and I think I can catch them.............

Fridays Workout:
Overhead Squat, 5 rep max
5-5-5-5-5.............120#
I felt pretty weak in the shoulders on this one after the other stuff this week. Should be 15# more, I think, if I was alittle more fresh.

Saturday:
21 Sumo-deadlift-high-pulls (75#), 3 rope climbs, run 200m
15 SDHP, 2 rope climbs, run 400m
9 SDHP, 1 rope climb, run 800m......................10:02
I was very happy with this time. This was my 4th workout in a row and I thought I was pretty spent. Thankfully today is a rest day!

After a few weeks that made it seem like summer was here we are back at having some winter weather again. It has been raining off and on all week with chilly temperatures (for around here anyway) and wind. Whenever the weather gets like this I always think about one our tropical trips. This is a waterfall in Micronesia on the island of Pohnpei.

This is just a quick post to update some you on my workouts.......

Monday:

OH DB Squats

53# Kettle bell swings

2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2....................9:52

then

10- Pull-ups

10- Ring dips

10- Kettle Bell swings, 53#

5-35# shoulder press

as many rounds in 10 mins.........4 rnds + 10 pull-ups and 8 ring dips

Weds:

Tabata thrusters, 25# db's

Then row 500m.............7/1:38

then

Tabata Jumping Pullups

then 21-15-9 25# thrusters and Row for calories.......12/5:54

Thursday:

Elisabeth

21-15-9

135# Squat Cleans, Ring Dips.............14:53

These were all pretty brutal especially thursday. My schedule is alittle messed up this week and now I'm gonna have a 4-day in a row thing going on.........we'll see how it goes.

Back at it

Well I'm finally feeling back to normal after being sick. This is my first full week of workouts since I had that nasty flu bug that has been hitting so many people.

The first day back was a little unerving as I went through the workout. Exaustion comes much quicker after a layoff and I was kinda worried that I would trigger a relapse. After all it seemed to be a workout that caused the flu to settle on me in the first place. My time sucked but I felt good afterward so I was very happy. The soreness this week has been a big factor though. My legs have been so sore that walking has been a painful exercise everyday at work. At my work you walk around all day, with 40# of tools hanging from your hips, going up and down ladders and usually carrying stuff too.

The soreness is almost gone and I had a real good workout out the last couple of days. The workouts this week were................................

Monday: 100 ft waiter walk with 40# (alternate arms halfway thru)

20 Box jumps (big box)

10 wall balls with 20# ball

As many rounds as you can in 20 mins.........................9 rounds

Tuesday: Backsquat, 5 round max

215, 215, 220, 220, 220

Wednesday: Daniel

50 Pull-ups

400m run

21 thrusters, 95#

800m run

21 thrusters, 95#

400m run

50 pull-ups....................................20:19

Friday: 400m Run

15 snatch balances, 75#

5 Rounds...............................................16:58

Saturday: Big Loop Run (approx 700m)

30 man-makers, 25# dbs

30 knees to elbows

30 hollow-rocks

250m row

20 man-makers

20 k2e

20 hollow-rocks

250m row

10 man-makers

10 k2e

10 hollow-rocks

Big Loop Run...................................20:22

As usual rest days are sunday and thursday

Thank you for my Blessings

Do you ever stop to think how lucky you are? I mean really think about it. We all say it once in awhile: "I'm so lucky", or " the Lord has blessed me". But do we really feel it in a deep and real way. Knowing it is one thing, but feeling it is quite another.

The thing is, most of us fall into a couple of main groups. One consists of all the people that feel life has been mostly unlucky for them. They are barely getting by and living week to week. Most of these people look around at others and think "why can't I get lucky like them". They see the people driving cars with factory warranties and going on vacations and assume those people all got breaks they never had and may never get. They wonder if they'll ever own a home or even be able to save money yet they still claim to be thankful from time to time. They know things could be worse or more hopless. Actually, they know this but at the same time are alittle jealous or bitter.

The other group is filled with people that have lots of hope and, for the most part, are doing quite well. They have fairly new cars and own their home. They get to go on good vacations. These people need the vacations because they work lots of hours and usually experince lots of stress in their jobs or business. They also claim to be greatful for all they have. But deep inside they're thinking "I worked hard for everything I have, nobody gave me this".

Both groups have one thing in common: They should be very thankful. I belive nobody, especially me, can actually be truly greatful until they experince great loss. Most of us will go through life and never have to feel this. I make the claim that this is both a blessing and a curse. No one wants to have a huge loss or tragedy in their life but I'm sure it puts things in perspective. People who have experinced great loss and overcame it through time see life differently that the rest of us.

Who are these people? Can we relate to them? Probably not. How do you know what it feels like to lose the person most close to you in the whole world without it actually happening? How do you know what it would be like to be suddenly paralized and bound to a wheelchair if you're not? How about someone that loses their whole family, or to be stuck in the poverty of a war stricken country? The truth is not many people can even imagine these things let alone know what that would feel like yet alot of these people will display more sincere gratitude than all of us who are blessed with so much more.

So my point is what? It's that I have no right to be unhappy..........ever. I have it so good it's not even funny. And so does everyone I know. We all should be so greatful. We get so focused on our goals, both finacial and social, business and carreer, fun and fitness. We get frustrated if there's a setback due to personal decisions, the economic downturn, politics or whatever reason, and forget to be greatful. Even when we are backsliding from where we want to be we must remember, LIFE IS GOOD! We are lucky!

I have six great kids, two beautiful grandchildren with one on the way, a huge and loving family and most of all, the greatest wife a guy could hope for. Oh yea, there's the awsome house, the vehicles, the yard, the vacations and all that. The thing I think about sometimes is that I would give up all that to have or keep any one part of my family. I could live in a little apartment, barly scraping by week to week, as long as Melanie was still by my side.

I have to make an effort not to let all the hassles and daily tragedies get in the way of my seeing how great life is. Life constantly pulls and pushes you all over...................remember it's just a ride, the passengers are what's important.

Caution

It's been a few days since my last post and there's a story behind that............

Last time I posted I had been sick with the flu, not the FLU, just a light version of the flu. This hadn't gotten to me enough to keep me from work but made me a bit miserable. I missed 3 days of workouts and was planning on going in friday morning and getting back at it. After dealing with work stuff and definetly feeling much better I went in at 11am. I was kind of hoping for a short but intense workout and planned on taking it kind of easy, using some caution.

When I got there I noticed the workout was anything but short. Some of the times already on the board were over 40 minutes. I got started thinking of going slow and using caution. Of coarse, once I got going, I pushed real hard and through caution out the window. When I finally finished, with a very mediocre time, I had Pukie beating on me and trying to get the best of me. I suffered through it and took off to go back to work. Unfortunatly about an hour and a half later I was crawling into bed. Melanie placed a bucket next me with only minutes to spare and I was offically sick with the FLU.

The big mistake here was not using enough caution. I didn't listen to my own good sence or, the smarter thing to listen to, my wife. I knew I needed to start slow and kidded myself that I was cleared to go. I probably could have gotten off with the "flu lite" and instead went three days with a fever and no appitite. My competitive spirit got me in trouble. I didn't want to fall behind in my training progress and instead am now having to suffer a larger set-back. Such is life.

So what is there to be learned from this. How about caution, meaning: it's better to be safe that sorry. One step forward isn't worth two steps back, not if you can take a quarter step forward and no steps back. That being said, I am going to wait until latter this week to work-out and my first few workouts are going to be walk-throughs.

I hate taking a setback on my work-out progress, but I really hate laying sick in bed.............Caution.

Boring Post

Well, I've been loading up on vitamin C and trying to take it pretty easy the last few days and I think I beat this flu that I had. Or, rather, that had me. It's still got me alittle weak but I'm ready to get back to workouts and regular work schedule. Looking back at my workout schedule I was due for a rest period. Not exactly the way I wanted to take it though. I'm still getting the stomach pain, but it's manageable, and I'm going to the doctor next week.

Gals Softball is in the process of starting up and is just the begining of continuous softball for our household through October. I am coaching 14 year olds this year and have a good time doing it. We have tryouts this weekend and the draft next week with practices starting at the end of February. Hopefully we won't get too many rain-outs on our practice.

I've been looking at the Crossfit N. Santa Cruz workout postings and really hating that I havn't been part of the action. It is sooooo hard to take a bunch of days off like this. I wouldn't mind if I was on vacation or something, but just missing them like this sucks. Tomorrow (Friday) I plan to go in at 7am and get back into it. That is, if I wake up feeling the same kind of progress on getting better that I felt today.

I hope to post something alot less boring in the next few days..................................

Under the Weather

For the last couple of weeks I haven't been feeling all that good. Nothing major, I hope, just not 100% and I can't really figure it out. I have been functioning with a stomach ache pretty much 80% of the time. Some days it's been more like 40-50% but usually worse.

Here, were at the Hardrock Cafe and off the Zone for the day.


I have been following the Zone Diet pretty close and, when I first started it I lost about 10 pounds, dropping me from 183 to 173 or even lower. I was doing 20-21 blocks a day and my intention was to perform better in the workouts, gain muscle, replacing fat. Since muscle weighs more than fat I figured I would probably gain weight or at least stay even. So I wasn't happy about losing weight. I talked to Brendan and Shari about it and they increased my fat blocks to triple. So now, on a 5 block meal I'm doing 15 blocks of fat.

This has worked well for me and My body weight has stayed around 178 and my performance continued to increase. Then these stomach aches came along and, at first I thought maybe I was just fighting a bug (I'm still hoping that's what it is) but when they kept on, I started experimenting with different things to see if it would help. Trying more fibrous veggies, or less powders (shakes w/vitamins and protein), and finally adjusting my fat blocks down a bit. I think the fat block thing might be causing a decrease in the symptoms. I have been getting them less, maybe 30% of the day or so. We'll see, it could just be coincidence.

The thing is, even on really bad days it feels fine while I am working out. It seem when my breathing becomes hard and heavy it's fine. I don't think it's affecting my workouts, but with-in a half-hour after it would generally be back. Now that it's decreased I all of the sudden have a sore throat and a fever. I went to Mondays workout anyway. I usually ignore sickness and don't give it the time of day and it usually surrenders and goes away. Even though I feel worse today I plan to stick with that plan, although I will probably take at least one extra rest day from crossfit.

I find it kind of funny how most people, me included, go through life eating pretty badly and feeling pretty OK. I used to get away with eating all sorts of bad food: lots of Mexican, donuts once a week, tons of pancakes and french toast with loads of syrup, and lots of pasta w/a half a loaf of french bread at one sitting. I was lucky, I never really got overweight and I never once had indigestion or heart burn. I don't even know what they feel like (maybe that's what I have). I've never even tasted a Rolaids of a Tums. Then you get your diet right and get your body performing like a race car and it acts like one. The minute you mess with its fuel you notice it.

I'm still hoping this is just a bug in stomach or some kind of body adjustment after 4 months on the zone. I'm thinking it will go away and remain somewhat of a mystery. Maybe this fever and sore throat are the final phase of this thing leaving my body. Either way, as soon as my fever drops to normal I'm going back to workouts.

Workout update:


Saturday: Went to the "Newbe" session with my brother who was checking Crossfit out...
30 Cal. row, 30 squats, 30 push-ups, 30 Pull-ups and 30 sit-ups...5:13...then
Round 2 with deadlift added to the mix, 70# dumbells............7:26


Monday:
1000m row warm-up then...
1000m row, 50 wall-balls
750m row, 30 wall balls
2000m row, 20 wall balls..........................20:48

Congrats to my constant pursuer.........Michael Finelli, who beat me and got the time of the day.
Good job Michael

Fran Time

It's another very rainy and cold day here in Santa Cruz. This week we've had sun (very little), rain, hail, snow and wind. What's mother nature unleashing on your area? Rainy days are a time for me to catch up on my least favorite thing.........paperwork. I've got bidding, materials lists, and some billing to do. As you can see I'm starting off with a little procrastination and getting a quick post in first.

Here's Talon, our grandson and future Crossfitter.

Today Brendan was sick so our 5am was canceled. I went in at 9am after checking a couple of my jobs. Today the workout was Fran= 21-15-9 reps of 95# Thrusters and Pull-ups. I haven't done this workout since November 16th. That was just about a month and a half after I started at Crossfit.

Anyone who has been at Crossfit for very long knows that Fran is one of the main barometers for how fit you are. Fit in the total body and cardio way that Crossfit is geared to. My time last November was 9:13 and I felt that, at the time, that was a good start. So last night, since I had the knowledge that Fran was happening today, I started psyching my self out. I figured that getting my time down under 7 would be a good personal record. Then I started to the math in my head: 3 seconds per thruster, 1 second per pull-up, four or five 10 second rests, transition time from the bar bell to the pull-up bar..........and so on. Now I'm getting to the gym thinking that I should be able to get a sub 5 min time.

All this "thinking" while I know that my legs and shoulders are pretty spent and sore from monday, tues and weds. workouts. But it's just 4 or 5 minutes of work, right? I gave it my all and ended up with a 5:58. I was a little disappointed that I didn't finish about a minute quicker. The reality is that it is a 3:15 cut in my time. I shaved over 33% off for my PR. The other reality is that I need to get a lot stronger on my 95# and heavier thrusters. I had to set the bar down way to many times. The pull-ups are probably almost 2 per second, so they're good.

So next time I will be stronger and hopefully a little fresher too. Then I'll shave off a couple more minutes. After Fran (like 15 minutes after, when I finally got Pukie to quite trying to visit) I did 4 sets of 25 weighted sit-ups and alternated those with 30 second handstand holds.

Well back to work for me. Try to stay dry out there.

5 am

Today I worked out at 5am. That's the usual for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I really like working out early, it makes the whole day better. The group we have for the 5am class is great too. My cousin, Justin, just joined us as well. Here he is with his son Angelo.

Something that I have found to be really motivating is competing against all the younger guys on the timed workouts. I am naturally a competitive person but this has been more fun that I would have imagined. Some of the young crossfitters, high school and college aged guys, really impress me with their dedication. They get up early and come in to these workouts in addition to their sports stuff at school.

The thing that has started happening that I find the most surprising, and flattering, is how some of these young guy's have made it their mission to catch up to me in the workouts. I'm by no means the fastest or the best. I do put up numbers that seem to be just out of reach of these guys though. And their obvious interest in beating me has me working hard to stay out front. I guess I have to thank them for pushing me and being a big part of my drive. Of coarse wanting to put Brendan-like numbers up is my main drive. The summary would be: they chase me and I'm chasing Brendan. Works for me, hope it's working for them.........

Workouts:

Tuesday- 5 push press, 135#

250 meter row

7 Rounds.......................15:54

Wednesday- Back Squat, 3 rep max, 7 sets.......205 x1 set, 215x6 sets

I was really hoping my back squat numbers would have jumped up much farther. I'm pretty sure I'm getting a lot stronger, but I did torch my legs (along with my shoulders) the last two days. I'm pretty happy overall with my progress. The main thing is that I'm having loads of fun.

Birthday

Well as you might have guessed by the title, today is my birthday. Yep, I am now officially 45 years old. I say that because about half the year I was thinking I was already 45. Keeping track of how old you are once you get into your 40's doesn't seem all that important. I remember when I couldn't wait to turn 16 so I could drive. That seemed like it took for ever. Then I couldn't wait to be 18 and out of high school. That wasn't so bad once I had my licence and a car. Then there was the big 21, when i could finally buy beer. When it got there it was really not that big of a deal.

Today was mostly just a regular day. I was in the gym hitting the workout hard at 5am. Then worked half the day in the field and the other half in the office. Got calls from some family members wishing me happiness on my birthday. Last night we had a dinner with all the kids and grand kids and had some cake and ice cream.

They say your only as young, or old as you feel. Well depending on when you ask, I could feel 20 something, or at other times, 45 or more. Usually I feel younger, or as young as the people around me. I tend to be around younger people alot. The only real difference I've noticed about getting old is that I don't sleep as well as I used to. I usually get 6 to 7 hours but pretty much never more, and sometimes less. I wish I could sleep more on the weekends but it useless to try.

The main thing I envy of the younger guys is their being able to not have to take everything serious. I hate having to always think about money and the future and if my kids are going to ever get on track (the ones living on their own). Other than that, I really don't mind being "old". I don't mind that I look older, in fact I feel like I look better now than I did years ago.

Sometimes it's really nice to just soak in what you have and not worry about making it better or having more. I really like our house and our yard. In fact I think they are both great. I can't wait to just enjoy them this year as they are. Although, I know I'm going to have to do some stuff to the yard before the enjoying it part comes.

I really do think that alot of people spend to much time trying to attain perfection in their belongings, or their looks, or their finances, and never really enjoy themselves. I work real hard at my workouts 4-5 days a week because I am having fun. Not because I'm trying to look better or attain some sort of perfection. Looking better is a nice side effect though. The point is to take time in this short life to do some things only because they're fun to you. Now, if you're one of the lucky ones that chose a profession that is fun to you, even after years of doing it, then you are someone I envy.

Work hard at what you do.......................but have fun!!!

Vacation

Melanie and I are avid scuba divers. Every year we try and go on two tropical dive trips somewhere far, far away. Last year we went to Micronesia and visited the islands of Kosrae and Pohnepei. Then latter in the year we spent two weeks in Belize. Both trips were all that we hoped they would be. In fact we have yet to be disappointed.

This year we decided to take our vacation budget and get new furniture. We just purchased new living room furniture to replace our perfectly good couch and love seat. These things seem to be more important to Melanie than they are to me. I look at our nice leather couch and think, "there's a good place to sit and plan our next dive trip". She looks at them and thinks, "we've had this stuff for eight years, it's time to shop for furniture". Of course a couch leads to three other living room pieces and new dining room stuff as well as new bar stools for the kitchen breakfast bar.

I'm OK with it. Believe me, I'd rather be diving in the Maldives or the Galapagos, but Melanie being happy is priceless. It's hard to relate to or understand how this purchase, of which we have nothing in our possession yet, makes her so damned happy...........but it does. Seeing that makes staying home worth it though. I know it sounds Corny but, I just love it when she's really happy. Don't get me wrong, she loves the trips as much as I do. She does like new furniture a lot more than me though.

So I guess the plan is that this year we are going to have a lot more barbecue parties and use the house more. That will be fun. Somewhere in there I'm gonna get some local diving in too. Meanwhile, in a couple of weeks, after the furniture is all delivered, I'll take a nap on that couch and dream that I'm in a hammock in Indonesia. When I wake up, I'll be home with my beautiful wife. That's a good thing, another type of paradise, right here at home.

Getting Work

I haven't posted as often as I would like lately. In addition to spending the days at the job sites I have been buried in bidding and misc paperwork after hours and where ever I can fit it in. Unfortunately that is part of the business. I really don't like office work. Every once in a while its nice to be in out of the weather but, for the most part, I'd rather be out working with the guys.

Bidding is a real important part of the business. If you don't estimate properly you might not get the job. Or worse than that, you get the job and then work weeks or even months just to find out you lost money. That's like going to work and, instead of getting a paycheck each week, your employer takes money out of your checking account. You still have to perform on the job, the money is just going the wrong way.

The only way to avoid this is to bid properly. That means you have to make the actual lumber list for the house and get the sub-contractor bids and calculate the amounts of concrete and labor and so on and so on. A turn key bid on a house (building a house from start to finish, all inclusive) may take upwards of 40 hours. Then if you don't get the job you take that thick file of paper that represents all the work and toss it in the garbage. This happens alot.

The only way to ensure you don't end up with a month or more with no work is to constantly be bidding. Right now, this time of year, is when most of my work is bid and locked up in contract for the year. These are usually the main jobs of the year. The rest of the year I am usually bidding smaller fill in jobs. So this is an important time. This is when all the homeowners of big jobs are gearing up for spring starts.

This all makes me think of how most things in life are similar to this. We can't only focus on what is in front of us. If we do we won't be planning for what to do when we finish what is in front of us. Even if you think you have plenty of clients and you'll stay busy, there's always a point where, if your not constantly proactive, you will regret it. In economic times like we are currently having, a habit of constantly building your business is important. It's harder to start from scratch and get the marketing wheel rolling than it is to keep an already established one going.

On the workout front: I didn't feel well earlier this week but decided to go in for my 5am workout anyway on Wednesday. I did pretty well on the workout but didn't feel as if I killed it. Then, at the end of the day, when all the times were up, mine was the lowest. I guess I'm getting faster even though I don't always feel it. Of coarse Brendan and Zak didn't post times or that would have been a different story.

Workout: Big Loop Run (about 800m), 70 Ab Mat sit-ups, 50 Overhead squats(45# bar), 30 Double unders (I suck at these), 10 knees to elbows, 2 rope climbs, 10 knees two elbows, 30 Dbl. unders, 50 OHS, 70 Ab mat sit-ups, 1000m row.............................19:11

Never stop moving.........at anything and everything

Happiness

Last night Melanie and I were navigating through our Tivo to kill some time while waiting for the kids to come in for the night while playing with all the neighborhood kids. We decided to watch a 20/20. They were doing the whole hour on the subject of the "Pursuit of Happiness". It really made me think.

It turns out that the frontal lobe of our brain can be monitored to tell if you're a happy person or not. That is if you have a propensity to think positively and lose your unhappiness or anger quickly or if you are more apt to dwell on negative and be generally discontented more often. The people studying this stuff also found that we have the power to manipulate this with thought and actions.

So, have you ever wondered why you might visit a church and everyone seems so happy that it almost doesn't seem real? Or that someone with an actually shitty job seems to be happy all the time. It turns out that the old sayings "think happy thoughts" and "count your blessings" actually work. Practicing these things on a regular basis will literally change the make-up of your frontal lobe and you will be happy. It's no coincidence that people with positive attitudes always seem happy even when things go wrong.

So the good news is you don't have to be an unhappy, crabby person. There's no excuse to be unhappy, so if you are, know that we know this, you must want to be. Good things happen to happy, optimistic people. Everyone should want to be someone who brightens the room not the one who brings a dark cloud into the building with them.

Leaders and Followers

Occasionally things happen at work, on the job site that I find very frustrating. I have a very good reputation for being even keeled and not losing my temper so usually my unhappiness in something on the job shows as frustration. I have found that it's usually the same people that make me frustrated. In thinking about this I realized that the world is comprised of an ever changing combination of leaders and followers.

The question is, are you a leader or a follower? In my opinion everyone that is doing this thing call "life" with the most success are leaders and followers. Sometimes simultaneously and sometimes switching from one to the other and back again. But most everyone falls into one of these groups.

The true leaders, leaders that are worth following, are leading many while following a few who have blazed a proven path in front of them. All the while listening to advisers and those around them before making changes in the way they lead. Others might be true followers. people who are contented to just follow, punching the time clock, always looking forward to quiting time and doing the minimum necessary.

Most people are somewhere in the middle. They are followers with motivation and that motivation is making them unaware leaders. They do good at what is in front of them and they want to do better. As they do better others are motivated to keep up and this creates a great dynamic. These are the kind of people leaders want. These people are sometimes hard to find.

I've hired people that seem to be these followers that lead, potential future leaders, but more often than not they eventually become ordinary followers. The problem is these people become discontented in their lives eventually and the whole thing spirals down. Maybe this isn't as true in other sorts of jobs. But in construction it usually work this way. When things get slow in the industry they are the first to get laid off.

I only assume that this is industry wide and not something that I perpetuate on my own crew. Last October I laid a bunch of guys off and am now in the process of hiring some new replacements as things are getting busy again. So I'll be trying to find the true followers with leadership in their future.

Competitiveness

Competitiveness: To be competitive or possess a competitive spirit. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? I believe that, like anything, it can be either. It really depends on the situation and what you use your competitiveness for

Here's a picture of Jack, my stepson, competing in a soccer game. He's a force to be reckoned with when it comes to defense.

My wife tells me I'm too competitive. She may have something there. The problem is I really can't see why anyone would want to put effort into something and not try to win, or be the best, or the fastest, or whatever it is you're doing. That being said, possessing the ability to be a good loser when you're out performed is probably more important. As I have found, more times than not, you can't win them all. This doesn't mean you have to like, or even accept losing. Not caring if you win is really equal to not caring to give it your all, at least to me. You can act like you don't care, but down inside you have to be thinking "if I could just get a little better I might be able to win next time".


I know we can all put ourselves in situations where we don't stand much of a chance to win. I know that I'll probably never outperform Brendan at most of the Crossfit workouts. But, I also think if I give it my all I might find a few where I have him looking over his shoulder.


This whole competitive thing has gotten me thinking.


Three days a week I workout w/a group of mostly women all from the same dental office. They also comment on how men are so competitive. The thing is, we are, and we aren't shy about showing it. Actually there's no hiding it, that is if your a guy. Women are competitive too. They just do it in more of a passive-aggressive way. That's either by design or maybe they're in denial. I remember once one of the ladies in this group finished before me in a workout and displayed no sign of being that exited about finishing first in the class that day. I later ran into her husband and he told me how she came home was excited that she beat me that day. That spirit is there, it's just handled differently by women.


My guess is that if you think your not competitive at anything you do, you haven't really thought it out. This doesn't just apply to sports. People are very competitive in their business or job, in their friendships and relationships, at games of thought and card games, in regards to their children. What about at school? Competing for a scholarship or grant, or just good grades.


When I was in high school I played Soccer, Baseball, Football, and ran Track. I was not physically gifted in any of the sports I played. I worked real hard and played all out at all of them and was therefore considered a valuable asset. I always played the whole game. I learned real early that I wasn't gifted enough to have anything handed to me. I had to make up for my inabilities by using my speed (I always seemed to be pretty fast) to make up for the fact that I didn't do a lot of things as good as others. Competitive drive can take you where you otherwise wouldn't think you could compete.


When I started in the trades as a laborer I knew I wanted to be the one that put the lumber together and not just the guy who carried it all day. So I would make moving all the lumber a race. Much like a Crossfit workout. I found if I got all the crappy work done fast enough they would let me run the nail gun or help nail walls together. I just wanted to be better than the other laborers. Then I wanted to be able to outperform the lowest carpenter. Then I wanted to learn enough to be a journeyman. Then I wanted to be the best journeyman. Then, without even knowing when it happened, I was running the job.


Once I started my own business I kept it going by working harder than everyone around me. I found that if I worked real hard, all my guy's would try and keep up. Productivity was through the roof, so was profitability. I used to have other contractors stop me and say "I bid against you on that job. You must have lost money because I bid it too tight and you still beat me." I actually did real good on these jobs. The difference is they didn't work with their guy's. They had no pace setter. There was no environment of competition to fuel the workers.

This is why almost everyone gets more out of working with a class or trainer than they do working out on their own. When we have no one to compete with and compare ourselves to we let ourselves off a little easier. Sometimes it's done subconsciously and is very subtle. The bottom line is we need that extra incentive to dig deeper and push harder. I can't help but want to put up the best number of the day. If I don't, it just makes me want to work harder so that the next time, or very soon, I will put the number of the day up on the board. In my work, I always want my customers to be happy. I want them to tell other people that my company is the greatest and Troy really cares. The only way I can achieve this is by really caring.

Maybe you aren't competitive. Maybe you do just workout and don't care if you finish after everyone else. You may just be happy to be there and get a workout in. That might make you happy. There's nothing wrong with that. I believe if that is totally true then you are a rare individual. Most of us do compare ourselves to those around us. It's a good thing if you use it to motivate yourself towards improvement and, ultimately, to be more happy with yourself.

Lazy Weekend

This weekend has been mostly about relaxation. We had rain almost continuously since Friday and going outside never looked like much fun. We still did get out of the house a few times.

We had my two older daughters and their families over for dinner Saturday night. Here's a picture of Margaux with Talon, our grandson. He's gonna be a big boy. My mom came to dinner too. That four generations together for dinner.

I worked out Saturday morning, I did pretty good but am surprisingly sore today. We did Dumb bell Bear: 20min. continuous rounds of 5-dead lifts, 5-squat cleans, 5-push presses, and 5 squats all with 30 lb dumb bells. I got 14 rounds in. My legs are sore from all the squats. My legs usually never get sore. Good thing Sunday is a rest day for me.

Tomorrow it's back to work, and working out. Looking forward to the workout. I also have to set up a bunch of interviews for potential workers. We'll see how that goes.

Big Storm

It's the first friday night of the new year and today was very stormy. It rained real hard but was really bad was the wind. The gusts were up to huricane force and it wreaked havoc on the trees and caused alot of houses to leak that haven't leaked before. Our's is one that leaked. Luckily it was only in the garage and I know what I need to do to fix it.

Here's a pic of Melanie and Carley in our front courtyard. Today that would be a very wet spot to hang out.

I feel pretty fortunate. Even with this heavy wind and rain all my jobs fared well. The only real leak is the one in my own garage. The ants trying to get in our house is a whole other story. I really hate ants and have been in constant battle with them for a couple of weeks now.

Belize underwater and misc.

Rainy Rest Day

Today was a rest day for me. I don't work out on Thursdays or Sundays. I have really grown to hate rest days. Especially rainy rest days. Yes it is raining outside and this is supposed to develop into a monster storm.

This is a picture of where I wish I was right now. I can almost see me and Melanie sitting in those chairs, resting between dives.

I got totally soaked clearing the gutters on the roof. They really needed it though. I find the it's the easiest to clear them out while it's pouring rain. Alittle dangerous, but not too bad.

Tomorrow I workout at 5am at Crossfit North Santa Cruz http://crossfitnsc.com/ I really like working out early. It makes the whole day better. Don't get me wrong, I don't always pop out of bed at 4:30 ready to go. But I'm always glad to be there once I get going.

I'm hoping more people start reading these posts. If you are please leave a comment so I know you're there. You can even start your own blog and keep me up to date with what your doing. It doesn't take much time and it helps build the typing skills.

Passion

I never can figure out why someone can keep doing the same thing over and over again with no passion. Just sleepwalking through it, whatever "it" may be. I see it all the time in the construction industry. A guy shows up to work, usually on time, but not always, and just does his job........but boringly. I mean he doesn't even care enough to remember or retain vital elements to his progression in his "career". As an employer it is so frustrating.

I know when I was an apprentice, in my late teens, I did not want construction to be my career. I thought the whole industry was too unstable and planned on getting a degree and doing something else. Even though I felt this way, I learned everything I could to advance my skills and abilities as a builder. I wanted to make more money and I wanted to be "the man" on the site. I would look at the guy that was further along than me and I wanted to be him. It wasn't long before there wasn't anyone on the job site that was further along. That didn't mean I was done learning stuff, hell, I learned something today. The difference is I'll remember it and apply it the next time. Why? Because I care.

Some people might say that I pulled this off because I'm smarter, or more gifted, or at an advantage because I grew up in the industry. The reality is it comes down to two things and two things only.

1) Always strive to work harder than everyone around me.

Be an example of how hard you should work, even if it's not your job to do so. And if you are already out performing everyone, pretend they're outworking you. If you do this you'll find its contagious, they'll start working closer to your pace. Another side effect is that time will fly by. The best side effect is that you will get better faster and retain more of what you learn. You are forced to learn to think one, two and three steps ahead, which has a dynamic effect on your learning curve.

I firmly believe that I'm not that smart. My wife is the smart one. I just know how to make up for most of my shortcomings with hard work.

2) Learn from the best people that are available to you.

Most everyone has people available to learn from. The key is: it's your job to learn from them, not necessarily their job to teach you. Watch and learn! Learning means remembering what you've been shown. I hate that I have to reteach stuff that we've done numerous times before. I'm not talking about something we did for ten minutes last month. I mean the stuff we worked on for days, or even weeks, last month or even a couple of months ago and now you forget how to do it. Maybe even don't know how to get started. Learning=progressing=increased value to you employer=increased pay and benefits.

Duh! Then they wonder why they haven't gotten raises in pay.

The bottom line is if you're not progressing then you DON'T CARE. If you cared you'd remember, retain, and you'd be a hard worker.

You can apply this same formula to anything in your life. I strive to apply this to my relationship with my wife and kids, my physical workouts, my job, and my fun and recreation.

Forgive my rant.

Another resolution this year is that I am not going to tolerate people that sleepwalk through things that should be important to them. It's a disservice to them. They must need a kick in the butt to go find something they can be passionate about.

New Year

It the first day of 2008. This is going to be a great year! I thought I would take a moment to talk about some things I plan to make happen this year...............

I plan to have the majority of my years work signed up in this 1st quarter. A couple of houses and a couple of major remodel/additions. The smaller jobs will fill in the gaps as the year goes on.

I plan to hire a few more employees. One lead guy that is strong in residential framing and two others that are very close to jouneyman level.

I plan to take a nice dive trip with Melanie around the end of April. Maybe to Roatan in the Honduras or maybe to Indonesia.

I plan to take a nice trip in which we go with all the kids this summer.

I plan to have fun this year with Maddie and Lauren coaching softball leagues.

I plan to take some of the pressure off of Melanie this year. She is an E.A. Accountant and is really the glue that hold my business and our house-hold together.

I plan to be more of an active christian this year.

I plan to get into good enough shape to compete at the Crossfit games latter this year and also attend a Crossfit Certification at some point.

All of this wouldn't even matter if weren't for my family. That is the most important thing to me. I want to be a great husband, father, and grandfather all year long. I hope everyone stays happy, healthy and prosperous this year.

Troy