Day 81

Last night was pretty rough. Hadassah started running a fever and ended up in our bed so we didn’t get much sleep at all. She seems to be better, but still fussy : ) We had planned on a workout today, but simply ran out of time. Hopefully we can get in one more workout before the end of our Body-for-Life challenge. We are planning on taking our final pictures on Friday morning and then resting the next few days before starting another challenge on Monday January 3^rd! 

This next challenge is going to be amazing and I truly can’t wait to get started!!! We also found another fitness contest that will be beginning in January that is for individuals only, so since we are doing the BFL as a couple we are thinking about entering this one as well…Just more motivation to finally turn our health and fitness around once and for all!

Enjoy!

~Rob

Day 80

Today was the best day we’ve had in a long time! Jen and I both did HIIT on the treadmill this morning and then did a Workout this afternoon. Feels great to be back in the saddle of health…

Our WOD for today was / 5 rounds for time of 65 lb dumbbell bench-press- 85 lb barbell squat- TRX suspension knee raises (ROB- 15:54:62)   (JEN-9:20:04) scaled to 20 lb db and 13 lbs barbell) (JOSH-10:00:19) scaled to 15 lb db and 13 lb barbell)

Actually woke up early this morning as well, so we are getting back to a better schedule for now at least, the New Year is in just a few days and I’m sure that will put a kink in our healthy strides, but maybe not! Either way…January 3^rd we are planning on starting Body-for-Life challenge #2 and it’s going to be the BEST one yet!!!

Be well!

~Rob

Day 79

Finally got in a great WOD 5 rounds for time of 400 meter run/10 pushups/ 10 kettle bell swings 35 lbs/ 25 sit-ups!!!  Jen, Josh and I hit it hard and even Harvest and Hadassah did a little ‘mini WOD’ afterwards…so cute!!!

Feels good to be back and feel much better and motivated!

Best!

~Rob

Day 78

So….once again seems like we are in recovery mode : ) The last couple of weeks have been rough beyond words! I mean, life is good and we have made tremendous progress, but I SOOO wanted to be further along in our Body-for-Life challenge by now! Our first challenge ends in just a few days and I think we have just decided to go into maintenance mode or worse…no mode at all!

I think we are just trying to maintain the results we have made thus far and are planning on our next challenge to be the biggest and best one EVER!!! We do and ARE going to finish this one though cause we have determined NO MATTER what we wouldn’t quit…

We have learned sooo much from this challenge about what works and doesn’t and this next challenge we will put it all together for the best ever transformation!!!

Till then…hopefully we can get in a few more workouts and end up with a bang!

All the best!

~Rob

Day 77

Today seems like the whole world is taking the day off! We were going to have some friends over for drinks, but only one person showed up and so Jen and I had TONS of alcohol to consume… : )

We never were ones to waste : ) Anyway, had a restful…non-eventful day!

~Rob

Day 76

So nutrition was much better today, but so much going on we still didn’t get in a workout….REALLY need to get refocused!!!

Sweet dreams!

~Rob

Day 75

Today was much better although we didn’t get in a workout. Jen had to work the afternoon shift and our ‘planned’ morning WOD just didn’t happen! Life with 4 kids can be hectic and plays hell on any type of planned schedule : )

Anyway, we both feel much better and our planning on really hitting it hard the next few days and giving the end of this challenge ALL we got!!!

Sleep well!

~Rob

Day 74

Another rough day, I thought things were better but mentally I am in such a funk! I think I am officially battling depression now. I woke up and just could not find any motivation and ended up going back to sleep. When I finally did get out of bed it was because I had to, not that I wanted to. No workouts and not even hungry all day.

I think it’s a combination of NOT giving this challenge 100%...(I HATE That) and then the lack of motivation due to drinking alcohol the other day. It really weighs on me mentally and takes me out of the game a few days usually…one good reason I should really limit my alcohol consumption : ) It seems to be affecting mine and Jen’s relationship as well. I REALLY hope things change and SOON!!!

~Rob

Day 73

Alright…

We’re BACK!!! Jen and I both ran 2 miles today and did amazing! We wanted to do something to get back into the groove after our few days furlough. It felt great to be exercising again and I also received my well anticipated Kettle Bell in the mail today!!! WOOOHOOO…I’m sure I’ll find a good use for it tomorrow!  

I’m more anxious now than ever to actually finish this Body-for-Life challenge so we can get started on our next one! This was a great foundational challenge and though great results happened…I know we are capable of more, much more!!!

Till tomorrow!

~Rob

Day 72

Today was much better…I guess the ‘sickness’ was not all alcohol related as most of the family is congested and under the weather. Nutrition was much better today and I actually feel okay, just no way feeling like exercising!!! I hope tomorrow is better!!!

~Rob

Day71

Today we felt the consequence of yesterdays ALL OUT NO HOLDS BARED free day…hung-over-felt sick, ate very little and wanted to crawl in a corner and die!

~Rob

Day 70

(This is a late, catch up post)

Today we decided to just relax and have a ‘free day’!!!

We’ve been a bit stressed lately and went all out tonight : ) It started with tequila-beer and ended with chicken wings : ) Total blow out free day….worse one yet or best one yet…depending on how you view it : )!

~Rob

Day 69

Today we decided to take a rest day and we went to the mall so Jen and Harvest could get their hair cuts. PLEASE remind me next time to stay at home : ) Jen’s hairstylist was late due to an accident on the beltway and a quick trip ended up lasting over 3 hours!!! Crazy…they do look beautiful though and as long as momma’s happy…we are ALL happy!

So, rest day overall is usually a stress day for me…I’m not good at ‘rest days!’I keep wanting to grab a weight and start lifting it or drop and do pushups…something-anything!!! I know our bodies NEED rest to recover, but I always feel so lazy. One day I’ll lean, maybe : ) Anyway, can’t wait to get to sleep just so I can wake up and do work!!! Hittin it hard tomorrow!!!

Best wishes!

~Rob

Day 68

Today we did a Team WOD 7 pushups and dumbbell squats for 20 minutes- Rob and Josh= 323 Jen and Harvest= 193. Josh and I slaughtered the girls…yeah!!! We rocked that challenge, but they did put in a valiant effort! We all actually did really well and it was loads of fun!!! How it worked was one person started doing pushups while the other started doing dumbbell squats, as soon as the person doing pushups completed 7 pushups the two switched…the only thing that counted was the dumbbell squats. You keep count of the squats and keep switching every 7^th pushup for 20 minutes! Awesome workout!!!

SNOW-SNOW everywhere today so we had to find something to do inside to have fun : )

Till tomorrow!

~Rob

Day 67

Today we did a WOD earlier than normal ( in the morning)  that was rough…We did Chelsea - 5 pull-ups-10 pushups- 15 squats on the minute, every minute for 30 minutes (scaled to 15 minutes)  The squats were killing me by 5 minutes. Later tonight I decided to run a 5K just to have a bit of extra cardio work. The end of our first Body-for-Life challenge ends January 1^st so I really want to up the fat loss the next two weeks.

Other than that we hit Whole Foods today and spent half our pay check : ) We always say, “We may not do a lot, but we sure eat good!” I so enjoy watching our kids eat healthy!!!

Another late night and late start this morning, but its been nice having Jennifer here.

Sleep tight!

~Rob

Day 66

Today we got a bit of a late start due to a late night. We got in another GREAT workout!!! I LOVE the CrossFit WODS and CrossFit style workouts we do!!! Being able to spend 20-30 minutes a day and get a great strength and cardiovascular workout (at the same time)is amazing!!! I Love the intensity and it fits so well with our Body-for-Life challenge.

Today’s WOD was 4 rounds for time of 800 meter run/10 reps of push-press/20 reps of air squats/30 reps of sit-ups…I did it in 23:30.3 Jen had a finish time of 32:02.5 and Joshua did a 29:31.8 time! I went last and as soon as did my last sit-up and Jen hit the stop watch I laid on the floor about to die!!! She smiled at me and said, “Enjoy.” I lay there a few minutes trying to catch my breath and her words kept going over and over in my head…enjoy. She was right though…for 23 minutes I felt like I could puke, pass out and die. I could have very easily quit, but I didn’t! I struggled through and gave it 110%...now, as I laid there on the floor it really was time to enjoy it.  There is NOTHING that comes close to that feeling of accomplishment after doing a WOD like that. The sense of triumph is unparallel and the physiological benefits of the body are amazing also when you hit intensity levels like that.  So, enjoy I did and enjoy I’ll continue to do!!!

I remember at the seminar one of the trainers telling us that Crossfit WODS suck while you’re doing them, but when it’s over…Oh yeah…no one can take that from you!!!

So for tonight I feel at rest and ease and as Jen left me lying there on the floor gasping for air I began to enjoy the rewards of my labor.

Enjoy!

~Rob

Day 65

Another great workout today!!! It’s so nice having Jen home this week. We both had major assignments due tonight and it’s already after 1:00am and I just finished mine! I’m so exhausted, but happy I’m done!

Going to bed now : )

~Rob

Day 64

Great workout today!!!

We did a scaled version of ‘Whitten’ WOD/ ‘WHITTEN’ scaled to 11 reps / five rounds for time of 11 dumbbell swings 35 lbs-11 box jumps 23 inches-run 400 meters-11 burpees-11 wall ball shots 20 lb ball. AWESOME workout for an awesome soldier! We went and picked up a few healthy groceries afterwards and spent the rest of the day inside chilling : ) Another rainy and cold day!

All and all our body-for-Life challenge is going great! I’m actually excited about the next one cause I feel this one was more of a ‘starting point’ and the major results will be during the next!

Jen’s off ALL week so we are going to hit it hard each and every day!!!

Sweet dreams!

~Rob
                                                                      Me and Joshua

Day 63

Today was FREE DAY and we enjoyed it to the fullest. Actually, the nutrition wasn’t too bad, I did have a few beer, but otherwise not bad at all. We watched the Georges Rush St-Pierre and Josh Koscheck fight. AWESOME Fight…I LOVE it when the good guy wins!

Tomorrow we will hit it hard again!

I see a double day on the horizon!!! : )

All the best!

~Rob

Day 62

Today was long and tedious. I guess they can’t all be sunshine and joy. We got our first snow of the year and that was nice to see. Wasn’t enough to really stick, but snow none the less.

Jen was too tired to work out tonight, but I did a WOD of 5 rounds for time of 400 meter run/15 dumbbell swings 35lbs/ 15 push-press 65 lbs- My time was 16:55.5 AWESOME workout!

Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

Good night!

~Rob

Day 61

Today’s WOD was 4 rounds for time of 400 meter run/ 15 pushups/ 15 barbell thrusters 65 lbs/ 15 sit-ups (14:44:28) WOW!!! This was one of the toughest ones yet for some reason! I seriously almost puked and thought I was going to die! Even Jen and Joshua had a rough time, but we all pulled through and it feels GREAT now : )

One more day and Jen will be off for 9 days straight…can’t wait!!! Our Body-for-Life challenge is going to end on a GREAT note! Kids are well and life is good! SOOOOO Blessed!!!

Be kind to a stranger, it feels nice and you could make someone's day!

~Rob

Day 60

Today we had a great WOD planned, but Jen was so exhausted (lack of sleep) that we decided to just take a rest day. Sometimes I think it’s more beneficial to just step back and relax then to try and push through when your body is saying no. It’s still hard, for me at least, cause I’m not use to taking ‘rest’ days, but they are actually a very essential part of a good fitness plan.

So tonight we rested and are planning on getting to bed earlier!

Till tomorrow!

~Rob

Day 59

Today we had a great workout! Jen had to go back to work and I was here with ALL the kids again : ) Love my kids, but they be a handful at times! We did our own WOD today which consisted of 5 rounds for time of run 400 meter/ 10 reps 35lb dumbbell swing/ 10 reps 65lb push-press/20 sit-ups. My time was 16:48.2 Jen and Joshua scaled down a bit, but I was totally amazed at how well their form and technique is progressing. They both really pushed themselves and did an outstanding job!

Pretty tired so going to call it a night!

Sleep well tonight!

~Rob

Day 58

Today was spent cramming for a final due by midnight!!! My busy weekend schedule didn’t leave much time for studying, so have to make it ALL come together tonight!

Sleep well!

~Rob

Day 57

YES!!!! I PASSED…WWWOOOOHOOOOO!!!

So today was the second day of the CrossFit cert and I was so freakin nervous about the test! The trainers said they were running about a 74% pass rate and I thought I was going to throw-up before I started! Anyway, I did real well, passed the test and took the family out to Carrabba’s our favorite Italian restaurant! The whole CrossFit simanar experience was one of the greatest weekends of my life! I have truly learned sooo much and feel so blessed to be part of such a wonderful community of people who really care about “REAL” life fitness and GPP (general physical preparedness)

I am applying ALL of my new skills and knowledge to my daily routines and this and the other planned Body-for-Life challenges are going to yield AMAZING results!!!

One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to meet and be trained by Tanya Wagner (the fittest women on the planet) Really, she won the 2009 CrossFit games!!! Harvest, my 6 year old daughter who has Type 1 Diabetes got a chance to meet her and she was sooo excited!!!

YEAH!!!!

Keep learning and growing…

~Rob (CF-L1)
                                   

                                Harvest and Tanya

                                   Me and Tanya, yes that's Joshua in the background doing pull-up's

                                    Me and Coach Jeff (he came in 5th in CrossFit games at age 39

                                                    Me and Pat, this dude is sooo cool!

                                                   Me and coach steve form Ocean City

Day 56

This is a late ‘catch-up’ post cause I been so very busy!!!

Today was the first day of my CrossFit level 1 cert seminar and WOW…I have never had soooo much information coming in at such an amazing pace! The trainers are phenomenal and so full of knowledge. I can’t begin to express how wonderful today’s experience has been and it will take months, if not years, for all the information to process! I have never learned so much AWESOME information about fitness!

At the end of the day we were ‘given’ the privilege of doing ‘FRAN’ which is a benchmark CrossFit WOD. Fran is 21-15-9 reps for time of 95lb barbell thrusters and pull-ups! OMGoodness!!! I had to scale down to 65lbs and jumping pull-ups cause I can’t kip yet, but still almost died! When we finished there were two people on the floor, one was almost crying like a baby and the other was seriously ill. He had decided to ‘not’ scale down and had taken Dayquil or something before starting…CRAZY! He did survive though to WOD another day : )

Incredible day!

~Rob

Day 55

Tomorrow morning I go for my two day CrossFit seminar and it’s going to be a LONG two days! I’m really stressed and worried about the test! I know I’m going to learn a lot and I can’t wait to actually get hands on training, but I’m a bit nervous. I hope I do okay!

Since starting our Body-for-Life challenge in October fitness has become a way of life for me and becoming a CrossFit Level 1 trainer is the next step in my short and long term goals!

Today I spent studying for the test and decided not to do any exercise as we will be doing a WOD tomorrow at the seminar. I need to get some sleep : )

Rest well!

~Rob

Day 54

I finally feel like or Body-for-Life challenge is back on track. We got in another short, but effective, workout tonight. I hate that we have missed SO many workouts, but we have been really successful in our efforts and mentality this challenge. I count the times we have tried to complete a challenge and have yet to totally finish! Not this time…Am I disappointed that we couldn’t get in EVERY workout or missed the perfect meal now and then, yes, of course I am, but this is a lifestyle change for us and not some fad diet, nor is it just about winning the prize!

The journey is the best reward thus far and I have truly enjoyed every minute of it!!!

 I will stand tall by my beautiful wife in a few weeks and take those final after pictures knowing we have made tremendous progress and completely changed our lives. We are on the road, well on the road, to a blissful, wonderful, healthy life! There is no going back and it will only get better from here! So, call it the foundation challenge or beginning challenge or whatever…we have ALL year to get that perfect body and a whole lifetime to maintain it! This is only the first of many challenges we have planned this year and who knows…we still have 4 weeks and a lot of positive changes can take place in 4 weeks : )

Sleep wonderfully tonight and be thankful for all those who support you!

~Rob

Day 53

Great day today!!!

Woke up at 5:00am and finished a huge assignment I had due for school and even got in a good workout tonight! Everyone is feeling sooo much better and I am so thankful we all made it through! God is so good! Awesome day, even though it rained all day…still a wonderful day! Don’t ever take your health for granted!

Blessings!

~Rob

Day 52

Today was much better. Harvest made it through the night with no incidents and Nehemiah is doing much better too. The rest of us seem to be pulling thru as well! There were a couple of times I felt a bit nausea and Jen actually threw-up once, but overall I think we are on the road to recovery : )

I felt like working out to day SOOOO bad, but was worried I would live to regret it. I thought it best to wait, but tomorrow it’s on!!!

Rest well!

~Rob

Day 51

            So we are ALL sick now!!! OMGoodness…last night was terrible. Poor Harvest kept throwing up and Jen and I were up all night trying to keep fluids and carbohydrates in her. She was sooo sad. The baby was sick, Hadassah was sick and this morning Joshua woke up sick! I finally went to sleep about 6:00am and slept for a couple of hours. Jen took Harvest to see her endocrinologists and she ended up hooked up to an I.V. all day, she is doing better now and is holding down fluids and her blood sugar is stable! I get sooo scared when she gets that way…it’s actually only happened twice where she’s been this sick. At least she’s doing better.

             Now we are working with the baby and trying to get him to drink more fluids.  

Joshua seems a bit better and I and Jen are sick, but manageable. I feel like I got ran over by a freight train! I don’t ever get sick and this virus has hit us ALL hard and fast! Jen and I couldn’t eat anything this morning and finally ate a little tonight…hoping it will stay down!

I think that sleep, sleep and more sleep is what I need right now! I am so exhausted and frustrated about this whole Body-for-Life challenge. Seems like everything that could go wrong is…One thing about it though, I am still the MOST BLESSED man on this earth!!! I have the most wonderful and beautiful wife who has given me 4 of the most wonderful children a man could ever desire! I lay there last night staring at Harvest (All 4 children slept in our room last night) and I thought back to the day she went into the diabetic comma and we prayed that she would survive! That was THE WORSE day of my life, but God saved her and gave her back to us! I am so thankful… and give God ALL the Glory!!! If I have to spend every night awake in order to care for my family it would be a sacrifice worth giving over and over again!

Go hug your babies~

~Rob

Day 50

Today has been rough to say the least! This morning went really well and we got in some exercise, but tonight seems like the flood gates of stress were opened! Jen and I are both sitting at laptops trying to catch up our missed school work when Joshua walks in and tells me he cut his finger on his new pocket knife. I take one look and just know he needs stitches. Jen says she’ll take him to the emergency room and heads out the door. I start feeding the baby when Harvest tells me she doesn’t feel very well. I assure her she’ll be fine and she tells me she has to throw up. I inform her that she needs to go to the bathroom if she doesn’t feel well and she heads to the restroom. About that time I look up and Nehemiah starts throwing up all over the highchair. I grab him up just in time to go check on Harvest as she begins to throw up…needless to say it was the beginning of what is still a pretty rough night! Harvest threw up 4 times and the baby 3. I think they have a stomach bug as Jennifer and I both have felt nausea also.

Harvest is our biggest concern as she has Type 1 diabetes. If she can’t keep anything down then her blood sugar will drop to low. She is asleep right now and her sugar is stable. She has kept down some soup for two hours now so I hope she is ok now! The baby is fine and I think his could actually be from teething.

Anyway…I hope the rest of the night is better than the last few hours. Either way I’ll be up most of the night keeping an eye on Harvest!

The joys of parenthood!!! : )

~Rob

Day 49

Great day today!!! The sun was out and though it was cold it was a beautiful day and… we got to work out at the YMCA! Feels good to be working out again!

Normally after missing so many workouts due to last week’s situation I would have considered starting our Body-for-Life challenge over. I will admit that it crossed my mind, but I decided that I will not let anything stop us from finishing this challenge! So I missed a workout or two and so our nutrition wasn’t spot on every meal…this challenge is the starting point of what I plan to be a few challenges this next year and this IS a WAY of life…not just a ‘diet’ or program. This is, for me, a LIFESTYLE!

So, that being said, I have vowed to press forward and continue unabashed! Not only will I finish this challenge, but I plan on WINNING this challenge!!!

Time to sleep!

~Rob

Day 48

Today was rainy and COLD!!!

We did get in a great workout and it is so nice to be home!!! We went and got a few groceries, but traffic was horrendous! We plan on stocking up tomorrow!

My Grandpa is still doing good and seems to be getting used to being at home. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes now that we have all left and he is somewhat on his own!

Good night!

~Rob

                   PaPa with Joshua and Harvest

Day 47

We finally got back home tonight!!!

It was a long tedious drive, but I’m glad I got to see my Grandpa and the kids were able to see him. He had never even met our littlest one, Nehemiah! PaPa is stable and at home, but I’m not sure how well he’ll do…we’ll just have to wait and see.At least we got to see him and tell him we loved him!

It is soooo nice to be back in our own home and eating our OWN food!!! I have missed our workouts and healthy food more than I ever could have imagined!!! It truly is difficult to eat healthy and workout while traveling, especially on such short notice! Overall we did not fare to bad and actually had some AWESOME workouts and the food was the best we could do considering…

Either way, I’m glad to be back and excited about getting back to some type of routine. Jen and I both have TONS of school work to catch up and she has to be back to work on Monday, but we will prevail! God is SOOOO GOOD!!!

Go hug your kids and kiss your spouse…be thankful you had another day with them!

~HAPPY THANKSGIVING~

~Rob

Day 46

So today we started heading back to Maryland and it was a LONG drive! The weather was rough and rainy! We only made it about 400 or so miles before we called it a night! More driving tomorrow!

Blessings!

~Rob

Day 45

(This is another catch up post due to all the traveling and certain situations.) We had an awesome day today and actually went back to the park with the fitness equipment and Jen and I each ran 2 miles! We wanted to see how close she was to her run time for her upcoming PT Test! She was astounding and completed the run in 19:33.6!!! I ended up with a time of 14:36.4!

It was a nice day and my Grandfather seemed to being much better also!

~Rob

Day 44

Today we got in another pretty good workout at the YMCA where Jennifer’s sister works. We also had a Thanksgiving type of meal tonight with the family since my grandpa was out of the hospital. Went back to the track form the other morning and ran and walked quite a while after dinner! Decided to stay one more day and help get my grandparents situated the best way we can before heading out!

LOVE-LIVE-LAUGH

~Rob

Day 43

This morning we had the best time! We got up early and went to a local park that my sister had told us had a track and some type of fitness equipment. It was seriously the cooliest thing I’ve seen in a long time!!! People were already there and couples were walking around the track and a few others were jogging.

They must have thought we were the craziest thing they had ever seen! We broke out the TRX, strapped it to one of the bars, made a plan and begin to sprint, do pushups and exercises ALL at super speed! In about 12 minutes we were through with our workout and drenched in sweat!!! We did add in some air squats in the end, but the bulk of our workout was a blistering 12 minutes! Crazy…but it works!!! It felt so incredible good to be exercising again!

My grandpa is at home and actually made it to church this morning! He is still having difficulty coming to grips with having to drastically change his life and he has been super tired! We let him rest most of the day and hope things continue to get better! If all goes well we are planning on heading back to Maryland Tuesday. It will be nice to get back to some normalcy and our routine, but it has been nice to see our family also…only wish it had been for a better reason!

I have some really cool pictures and will update all the post once we get home!

~Rob