Conditioning testing

Hey everyone, I just wanted to drop a note about how much I enjoyed conditioning testing with all of you on Saturday. I was impressed with how everyone hung in and pushed themselves to their limits and beyond at times. I am looking forward to having such great energy as a team this saturday. We have come a long way since January and I am looking forward to continuing our training and growth past this test. I was extremely challenged on saturday both physically and mentally when my calves continued to cramp repeatedly. It was painful, but even more frustrating to be sitting on the ground while you all continued to spar. It was then that it was important for me to remember to keep my attitude in check and to remember my affirmation. It was such a great feeling of accomplishment to be pushed so far physically and to continue to push further than we have. I truly appreciate you all and the individual contributions you have made to our Forged team. This test has been challenging for me, both physically and mentally. I have realized what it is like to spread myself too thin and have learned more about listening to my body. I have done things that I never expected to accomplish and pushed myself to do my best. Thank you all for being a part of my experience and let's bring it next weekend!

Third attempt

Nothing like writing journal entries multiple times on the final day and having blogger keep deleting them. Here is my third attempt at empathy training. I chose to be mute for my empathy training. This took some planning because I had to make sure that my staff and clients knew ahead of time that this would be happening and that I didn't have any meetings scheduled for the day. I ended up using written and gestural communication as my primary forms to get needs met, questions answered, directives given, etc. This was difficult and it became clear very quickly how much I rely on my voice. The day went smoothly for the most part, a few impromptu meetings, questions from staff and clients etc. were all able to be fielded with my alternative forms. Most people who interacted with me were interested and more than willing to participate in the challenge with me even though it extended the amount of time it took to do things. There was one person that I interacted with however that was not willing to participate and who was upset that I would ask her to communicate with me in that way. She wrote me a note that had a very angry tone telling me that it was part of my job to communicate with others. She was not willing to look at other forms of communication as alternatives to verbal interaction. I then made a professional decision to interact with her verbally so as not to strain our professional relationship. It was frustrating for me feeling as though she was very closed minded, but it was a good learning experience as well. I feel as though I got the opportunity to experience a small amount of the intolerance that people with limited abilities must have to deal with much more regularly. Overall I learned to have an appreciation and understanding on how much I rely on my ability to speak.

No added sugar challenge

Okay updating you all on the no added sugar challenge that was inspired by the corn syrup presentation that I missed. It has been about six weeks since I started and I am very glad I did. I feel like I have more energy and focus, and I have discovered new ways of eating with this in mind that are also delicious. I have pb and apples or baked apples with cinnamon instead of sugary desserts, I also have had ice cream made of only bananas and pb, and have discovered that there is sugar in many things I never would have suspected. The biggest difference is in the cravings, I have always eaten a lot of sugar and the first couple weeks were difficult but as time has gone on. It has become easier. I easily turned down some yummy smelling caramel corn at the pumpkin patch yesterday and realized the progress I have made since the start of this. I have started adding a couple natural sugars like honey and agave back in small amounts but I truly feel like this challenge has given me the willpower to make a healthy lifestyle change from here on out. I am committed to be much more aware of the things that I put in my body and how they affect me.

So I've been a little  scatter brain  lately with everything that has been happening this fall. October is a very busy month!!! It can be difficult, especially trying to prioritize what you need to do first. I find it hard to focus on just one task sometimes. We have less of a week for this test, and I can't lose that focus now. One way to help people like me who can become overwhelmed very easily, is try not to take on extra tasks for yourself. Don't say yes to do something just to please somebody when you have so many things on your plate.  Know your limits; you're in control of your life.

Metamoris

Although I'm still sore from yesterday's conditioning, I was back at Aim High to watch the Metamoris jiu jitsu  tournament.  It featured some of the greatest fighters in jiu jitsu in 8 20-minute matches that could only be won by submission.  This forced some of the competitors to change their strategy, because of the fact that there are no points awarded.  It was great to see how the competitors at such a high level fought.  Another amazing thing was their conditioning.  The last three matches went a full 20 minutes, and all of the fighters looked tired.  Overall, it was a great experience to be able to watch the tournament and to see how the top fighters in jiu jitsu grapple.

Conditioning Day

Good job testers on an amazing job on the conditioning portion of our test!  I'm glad to see that we were all able to face the challenges that were in our way.  The day started off with us pushing our limits, but as the day went on I could tell that the intensity was picking up.   With one week left, it is important that we recover and make sure that we are mentally ready for the grading day.  Great job Forged!

Conditioning

Conditioning day was difficult, but I was proud to see everyone push through to the end. Due to my calves cramping, I wasn't able to complete the last part of the work out, with the wheelbarrows and leg lifts. I felt bad that I couldn't complete that bit with you guys, but you all did great. I have to say though that sprints were not my strong part,  I mostly ran for endurance instead of speed this year. I think that's why my calves cramped up. That's something I definitely need to work on before my third degree test.