Friday Five

I thought I'd get back to my Friday Five posts as a quick recap of the week. Sunday is usually my prep day for the week, but this past Sunday, I was so busy with training and then helping out during the Gracie Game day for the kids that I was exhausted and didn't do nearly enough prep for the week. That kind of threw off my groove for the rest of the week ... but nevertheless, despite not being able to follow my usual schedule the way I wanted too, I had a pretty good week.


1) On Sunday I participated in my first ever Gracie Games Day. It's held for the kids at the Jiu-Jitsu school as a reward for doing a good job with their class attendance, participation, and general behavior outside of class (e.g. good manners, being helpful, etc.). I"m not used to being around kids so it was quite overwhelming for me, but it was also quite a bit of fun!

 a few shots of the kids during game day

2) In general I've been spending  lot of time on the mats. In fact, I head to the Jiu-Jitsu school everyday to either train or assist the head coach. It's good practice for me as I continue to prepare for my Instructor's Certification Program. Plus I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

with one of my training partner's after a session on the mats

3) I attended a Muay Thai seminar held at Watford Martial Arts Center where I do my Muay Thai and my yoga. It was given by fighter John Wayne Parr. The seminar was great -- high level of energy and enthusiasm, lots of techniques fit in ... overall really enjoyable and informative!

my training partner and I with 10x world champion in Muay Thai John Wayne Parr

John Wayne Parr doing a demo with me during the seminar

4) I started a new weight training program -- for the past 8 weeks I was focusing on fewer reps and heavier sets. It was definitely good, but I found that the recovery time took a lot longer than I would have liked. Now I'm back to a more normal routine - 4 sets of 10 reps - hoping to continue to get stronger and build muscle.

low rows - one of my favorites

5) The Whole Life Challenge ends tomorrow. I still want to make sure I stay on track through the holiday season until the end of the year so I've organized a new challenge. If you'd like to join, please connect through the group's Facebook page entitled: It's a Lifestyle. A brief outline of the challenge is listed below and more details are posted here.

It's a Lifestyle -- the Facebook page for the 50 Day Challenge

details of the 50 Day Challenge