you are not alone

Today I burst into uncontrollable tears while driving to the beach.

It was happy it was sad it was cathartic.

I have so much to appreciate in this world and that all came crashing down on me in the 5 minutes it takes to get to the beach access nearest my apartment. I have my health and a job and people who love me and people I love.

I was afraid, almost to the point of reclusion, of feeling alone as the days approached for me to head to Florida. Yes, that does sound backwards, but it’s a defense mechanism for myself…if I shut people out I can’t get hurt or miss them, right? Our brains and logic are so messed up. Everyone said “you’re not alone” but I didn’t truly hear it until this morning. I’ve been in touch with at least one member of my tribe (most days multiple) since being gone and I know they’re all right next to me. Holding my hand, holding my heart and shouting “snap your hips!” with every swing I do. And my tribe is growing here too. What a concept.

A letter from a 5th grader recently reminded me “my life is awesome” and it’s so true. I’m writing this lying in the sun in mid-October. I mean, come on. A couple of my buddies took to their blogs to make a list of gratitude recently and it inspired me to do the same, but it hasn’t manifested until now. So I’m just going to take a moment to share some of my gratitude. I’m grateful for my mental, physical and emotional health. A job. A roof over my head. My mom and dad and brother. Knowing where my next meal is coming from. The MFF clubhouse and all its inhabitants. My incredible friends. The sunshine. Health insurance. The invention of the airplane.  The baristas at Empire Coffee in Manhattan. My desire to know more, feel more, understand more. My aunts. The ability to laugh in the face of defeat and say “what’s next?” Morning podcasts and the auto function on the coffee maker.

It’s by no means comprehensive, but we’d be here all day. Most days I finish my meditation practice with gratitude and am surprised by the things or people or thoughts that come up and am reminded constantly that there is a never-ending list of things to be grateful for. That’s a really strong pillar to lean against when you think the world is coming down around you and you’re alone.

It’s not and you aren’t.

Swing update:

10/15 AM&PM: 

15 x 11 sets = 165

10 x 10 sets = 100

20 x 2 sets = 40

= 305 x 2 = 610

10/16 AM:

15 x 14 sets = 210

10 x 11 sets = 110

PM:

15 x 10 sets = 150

10 x 10 sets = 100

320 + 250 = 570

10/17 BEACH SWINGS!

15 x 14 sets = 210

4 x 10 sets = 40

210 + 40 = 250

I forgot my gloves for the beach and I blistered up my hands pretty good and then also went paddleboarding so…rest is the name of the game for a day or two. SO CLOSE TO HALF WAY!

4,445

5,555 to go.

Let’s do it, team!

Baby’s First Kettlebell

Hello, world!!

I’ve arrived safe and sound, free of Hurricane Matthew in Southwest Florida.

Life keeps on happening and as a result I’ve fallen a little behind on my swings. I will do a few 500 days to play catch up and all will be well in the world!

First I want to give a HUGE shoutout to Caitlin at Anytime Fitness…who, upon some recent internet stalking, I just discovered is a Bikini Athlete…get it girl. Caitlin let me come in for a few hours to swing a bell while I waited for mine to arrive.

DID I MENTION I BOUGHT A KETTLEBELL?!

Here’s where we are after birthday swings:

Board a plane and arrive in a town where you drive everywhere so your hips are less than happy.

10/10 at Anytime Fitness (Tip: If you never ask, the answer is always No. I went into AF on Monday and explained my relatively unique position to Caitlin who so graciously without a second thought handed me a waiver and pointed me to the kettlebells.)

My typical rocking, TRX shoulder mobility, squats and crawls between sets stands for each of the days listed. 5 minute rest after completing 5 sets of each.

On the minute alternating sets of 15 & 10 x 15 = 375

10/11 at Anytime Fitness

15 x 15 sets = 225

10 x 15 sets = 150

2 x 40 sets = 40

225 + 150 + 40 = 415

10/12 with my new kettlebell!! At home…like this:

PROTECT THE TILE!

AM:       15 x 10 sets = 150

 

10 x 10 sets = 100

PM:        15 x 12 sets = 180

150 + 100 + 180 = 430

10/14 at home:

AM:       15 x 13 sets = 195

10 x 10 sets = 100

20 x 3 sets = 60

PM (Like this after a quick Marshall’s trip for some hand and tile protection):

15 x 15 sets = 225

10 x 1 set = 10

195 + 100 + 60 + 225 + 10 = 590

 

SO!

300 + 300 + 500 + 90 + 375 + 415 + 430 + 590 and a surprise 15 swings I didn’t account for on my birthday (fitness dementia is really real) brings us to:

3015!

6, 985 to go

My hammies are a little tight, my left hand is a little sore, but overall I’m a feeling really good. A couple girls I work with were inspired by my arms to start working out so I feel really great about that! (Insert muscle arm emoji here.) I’m on the road again and the fitness tour is in full force. Look for some kettlebells on the beach soon.

Another shoutout to my swing-mate Geoff Hemingway for our daily check-ins and advise on helping my hands. Thanks, buddy. You’re the best.

So much love and gratitude. Thanks, always, for indulging in my journey with me.

xx

 

Day 6, Birthday Swings!

Today was a much lighter day, but I was still able to knock out a few swings for my birthday in Ninja Essentials.

5 x 3 sets = 15

20 x 3 sets = 60

15 x 1 sets = 15

15+60+15=90

8,810 to go!

Tomorrow I travel out of state and look forward to getting my hands on a bell asap. There will definitely be some 500 swing days coming up as a play a little catch up. I look forward to exploring the movement pattern and my how my body responds to this volume.

Soft tissue and mobility work is serving as my sweet sweet lover through all of this. Don’t take any of that for granted, friends.

Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here’s a video of me doing a few swings. (This is for my amazing mom who asked “what’s a swing?!”)

Day 4! 500 Swings.

No swings were done yesterday. That’s life.

Today looked like this:

In Superhero Strength at Mark Fisher Fitness I did

5 sets of 13 = 65

I came back later in the afternoon for some 10/15 alternating sets.

I didn’t do the math before I started swinging….I highly recommend against this. Fitness dementia is real, people!

15 sets of 10 = 150

19 sets of 15 = 285

For the most part I did the first 10 sets on the minute with some cross crawls and rocking in between.

*Hydrate, watch a puppy video, crawl for mobility and wrist release. ~4 Minutes*

Last sets were done for the most part on the minute or 1.5 minute interluded by body weight squats, rocking and some TRX shoulder mobility.

I started at 4:33 and ended at 5:18 with some short social breaks worked in here and there.

65+150+258=500

8,900 to go!!!

Stop 3: Janelle Pica’s Primal Strength Training; Pittsburgh, PA

Whoa. The theme of the week with Janelle:

You are stronger than you know.

Janelle came as a suggestion from Molly Galbraith who is the co-founder and owner of Girls Gone Strong. I had fallen head over heals for Molly and the GGS team after the interview she did for the Women’s Strength Summit I mentioned in my first blog post. My love for her was driven home after her March 2016 appearance on Kevin Larabee’s Fitcast Podcast. (If you aren’t a full-time listener I highly recommend!)

As I meandered through the Southside of Pittsburgh taking in the beauty of the brick work and bridges I’d just crossed to get there (literally and figuratively/emotionally) I strolled right on past Janelle’s kettlebell lair on the corner of 9th and Carson before realizing I was lost and had to call her to bring me home. There wasn’t a sign out because she was in a brand new, unfinished studio as she was in the midst of rebranding herself and her product.

I walked in a little nervous, but a lot excited. It hit me how cool it was that the universe brought the two of us together as we were each setting out on new journeys in our lives. Separate, but so interwoven. Me: Fitness. Her: Rebranding, A New Company, A New Location. We both have this little flame in our hearts that we stoked all week and continue to do so as we touch base at least once a week. Janelle is responsible for planting the seed of launching #MalsFitnessTour as a blog. It hadn’t occurred to me that any part of unearthing my passions could have any affect on someone else, so I put that little nugget of a suggestion away and got to pressing.

J:”What do you overhead press?”

M:”Eh…I don’t know.”

J:”Here, try this 12kg ‘bell”

M:”I don’t know…”

J:”I do…press on!”

Our first workout was titled “Simple and Sinister” and damn was it accurate. After 15 minutes of Turkish Get Ups (TGU) and 10 minutes of single arm swings, homegirl still wanted me to do planks! But I thought “I have to finish this. I didn’t show up in the South Side of Pittsburgh because I wanted something easy, let’s do this.” She planked alongside me and we hugged before I set out for work stoked about our next session together.

INTERLUDE: PITTSBURGH IS OUTSTANDING

I fell in love with this place…I attended the adorable farmer’s market in Market Square and made this beautiful salad for lunch three days in a row.

I found the GNC headquarters (And all of their employees were just as nice and helpful as the ones in NYC and that makes me very happy because customer service is so important to me (Please refrain from telling me all the reasons you don’t think I should shop at GNC)):

I watched hockey alone at a cool bar and met some new friends and ate DELICIOUS fried pickles!

Pittsburgh rocked.

Now back to Janelle, our next two sessions were literally mind blowing. I’d never tracked how much weight I moved in a workout and this was something we did and while I wouldn’t want to do it always because I’m the type of person who would obsess over it and it would become an unhealthy practice, but it was absolutely enlightening and EMPOWERING to explore with Janelle. My roommate said “Talk to me when you hit 3,000.” That morning, before 9 am I had moved 5,520 pounds. Needless to say, I felt like I could take on the world.

Our rest periods were peppered with conversations about how to set up her brand new studio. I got to witness decisions made for Janelle Pica’s Primal Strength studio. “Which wall do you think the Britney shrine should go on?” “Which wall feels more comfortable to face?” “Did I tell you about the old pizza shop that used to be here, look at these ceiling tiles?!” “The lights over there decided to work today.”

Saturday came in a flash and she had decided to do my workout with me because it would be her only chance to workout that day. We ended our hour together with heavy swings…half way through and I went to grab a 26kg ‘bell to up my weight a bit…after we were done Janelle noted my choice of a 28kg and I just laughed in awe as she looked at me and said “You tell Mark Fisher you got stronger here in just three sessions!” We rocked out with a farewell photo and a serious “until next time.” I’m so grateful for technology because I miss this woman and all these phones and apps and communication options let me talk to her whenever I want! What an unexpected connection we shared and I can’t wait until we’re in the room together again pressing away.

A year ago I never imagined my life to be quite what it is now…I’m making friends and connections like never before who are all strong mentally, emotionally and physically. These are people who lift me up and hold me to higher standards and I think that they expect the same from me. I want to show up for people how they deserve to be shown up for and make sure they know that they are capable of more than they think. We don’t know our limits unless we press them and as we do we grow and our limits expand.

Push yourself today, pat someone on the back and push them to be their best self. We grow from the discomfort, lean into it and see what you learn.