The day started off the same as last Friday, I missed the morning stretch to take care of some work.  There is a noticeable difference on the hikes between a morning where I do get a stretch and a morning I don’t get a stretch.  I have developed a new appreciation for stretching.  Soon to be in a Yoga class near you a large Asian Man.

8:00 AM Hike to “Ocean View”.  One thing you learn very quickly when you arrive here is that some words don’t necessarily mean what you think they do, example when a trainer says “fun” you should think excruciating pain.  “Sorbet” actually means shaved ice with mild flavoring and if you’re lucky some pieces of fruit.   On most planets when you title something “Ocean View” it normally means some beautiful overlook, and feelings of relaxation and leisure. 

The truth is “Ocean View “ trail should be called “Dirt View”.  This trail gets progressively steeper, and as the trail inclines the surface becomes rockier, you become focused on where to step, and inevitably you are only looking at about five feet of dirt ahead of you.

Our hike started at the entrance of Zuma Front Side, from there we worked our way down to a creek, and crossed over to the trailhead of “Ocean View”.  As we made the ascent to the top of the ridge the sun moved higher into the sky, bringing with it lots of rays making the rest of the hike hot.  The actual duration of the “Ocean View” hike is not very long but the trail takes a sharp upward course. 

As a result of making good time, Paula and I got a “bonus”, we reached a fork in the road with a sign, one labeled “Ocean View Trail .1 miles” and “Zuma Canyon Trail 1.3 miles”, Zuma Canyon Trail was our “bonus”.  We continued on the “bonus” for about 20 minutes when, when I started to get the feeling we had reached the turnaround point, little did I know we would have another 20 minutes of travel.   Zuma Canyon Trail is steeper than the initial “Ocean View Trail”.  It also doesn’t have any points where it plateaus; it is a consistent uphill assault.  Similar to the other trails named Zuma it seems like a route that never ends. 

At one point Paula and Zoey (hiking guide) got ahead of me, they got significantly ahead of me, so much so all that I could see was Paula’s red shirt moving through the brush.   After what seemed like an eternity of climbing, I started to imagine myself a Mountaineer climbing Everest.  I think the temperature was frying my brain, and with my body expelling every bit of fluid outward my mind was wavering from reality.   It is here that I saw a moment of hope the trail appeared to flatten out.   I was now in ear shot of Paula and Zoey, I told myself just get around the corner. 

When I turned the corner I said out loud “FUCK!”  All I could see was Paula’s red shirt continuing to move uphill.  It wouldn’t be for another 10 minutes before we reached the turnaround point.  On the way down my foot felt raw, the blood blister which had become a problem yesterday was now throbbing; it was to the point where it made the rest of my foot feel like it was on fire.  This is also the point where I ran out of water. 

The return trip back to the vans was difficult because of my foot, but uneventful.  Among all the hikes I have gone on since I’ve been here it was the most difficult.  I was able to endure and finish in good time.  This hike set the stage for the rest of my day.   I’m pretty sure by the time I got off the trail I was completely dehydrated.

11:15 AM Cardio Intervals.  I arrived late to this class because after the hike I needed to take care of my foot, and tried to replenish my dehydrated body. I drank two propels, and two bottles of water.  I also ate a couple of oranges.  I missed the first 12 minutes but was still able to get a 30 minute workout in, and I was absolutely surprised that after the warm-up I was able to work as hard as I did, my interval increases topped level 50 on the Arc Trainer during this session which is a first.  By the end of class I was exhausted.

1:20 PM PT with Sam.  Prior to this session I was exhausted.  I was wasted, dehydrated, had a red sore left eye, my feet hurt, my arms hurt, my legs were sore, and I was flat out exhausted.  I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through a session…

Sam was elated about my condition.  He told me this where you breakthrough, this is where you overcome your mind, because the body is ready to do the work. 

Warm-up involved work o n the Arc Trainer.  With the incline up to 10 and the resistance level up to 40 I was instructed to do a miracle mile.  The first 10 minutes was absolute misery, I have not felt that crappy on a cardio machine.  I did not want anything to do with any device that could be defined as “cardio”, I was interested in “bed” yet I was being told go as fast you can for the first mile.  I eventually persevered through it and got to a mile in 19 minutes. 

Today’s focus was on body resistance training.  Sam believes that for someone wanting to lose weight we should stay away from weight lifting and work on body weight resistance training.  An example of body weight resistance training is doing a push up.  You are using your body weight to work your chest. 

To be quite honest I don’t remember the precise order of exercises that I performed, and I don’t remember all the exercises we did, I was so focused on overcoming each exercise that I didn’t think beyond the time that I was working out.  I have video from the workout which was recorded by my fellow Sam student Sherri. 

This session was all about overcoming my mind.  I learned today that I truly can overcome anything with my mind.  It was a true test of will, desire, determination, and perseverance.  You will see how exhausted I am in the videos, and you will see how much I was exerting.  I don’t grunt when I work out but the grunt was a primitive response to the work.  Check out the video of me sitting on the bosu, and throwing the medicine ball, fast forward to just past half-way and see how bad I am trying just to finish

Another moment of just pushing to finish something I started.

More work that killed me.

Jump Lunge

I didn't think I could do these here.

Core Work

Finishing Here

2:30 PM Disco Jam.  This is a class taught by John, I didn’t skip it on purpose but after the session with Sam I was wiped out.  I was almost cationic.  I lied in bed in a sweat stained shirt trying to motivate myself up so I could take a shower, and go to Disco Jam.  Time kept moving, but my body was not.    I ultimately missed this class; as a result I decided rather than go to the pool where I can slack that I would do 2 sessions of Circuit Training.

3:30, 4:30 PM Circuit Training.  The consensus I becoming that this class lacks focus, and can be a complete waste of time if you are not careful.  I choose to work at my pace and not the instructors.  There is at least 10-15 minutes lost in each class to transitions.  As a result of missing my first class I chose to this one twice at an intense pace as opposed to playing in the pool.  I started at number 3 and worked up to 46 in circuit training class. 

As tired as I was the more I got my body moving, and the more I got my muscles activated the better I felt.  By the end of the class I had been able to pick up my intensity to the point that I was working at 90% of my normal pace.  How is possible to beat up your body on such a consistent basis, without feeding it, yet have the body still respond positively to the work.  I am so amazed at what can be learned here, and what can be accomplished over time.  I am ready to keep pushing, and work intensely to lose this fat. 

I have become invincible in my mind, I have become powerful in ways that I never imagined, and I am motivated to finish this stronger than when I started…

By for now…