This is what your brain looks like on 16 hours of MAT

I just finished up with the first of three modules for MAT jumpstart. For those of my fitness industry challenged friends.... you know who you are... MAT stands for Muscle Activation Techniques.

I have been learning to identify and correct malfunctioning muscles, whether from overtraining, injury or just lack of use, (muscles that have shut down); and I am gaining the tools to turn them back on, so to speak, so that now when I train a client, they can do the work correctly with all cylinders firing. It has given me a brand new meaning to "functional exercise".

What an amazing weekend. Long. We started Saturday morning about 8:30 and finished about 5:30 and started again at 8:30 on Sunday and went till about 6:00. There is nothing quite like the sight of a bunch of personal trainers hammering around on each other to try to find weaknesses in the other. Especially when those trainers work together everyday! About half of us were women, so I can't blame it all on testosterone, but whatever was filling that room was it's equivalent.

On a more serious note, I learned so much. This stuff is so amazing. It was as if I had to remind myself a couple times that it's real, it's not voodoo. Our instructor was a guy by the name of Kevin Dunn. He was awesome. He is a PT and also an MAT specialist. I don't know how old this guy is, (I'm probably older than him), but still, I want to be him when I grow up!!!

So there are two more modules. This time we did lower body. Next we will do trunk and spine and then upper body. One will be in August and the final one in September. 4 weeks will go fast and I want to have this stuff down before we start the next one, so I will be looking for guinea pigs y'all.
Anyway, I am so glad I decided to go ahead and start training before I finished school.This weekend totally cemented that decision. I LOVE MY JOB!!!
I hope you all had a great weekend. Long post are okay when you've been on a sort of blogging sabbatical. Right?

Stay tuned, Pictures of my weekend to come soon!!
See ya friends.

What do you think?

Faith, Love, Morality, Hate
War, Laughter, Joy, Pain
Lies, Hope, Freedom, Despair
Grace, Beauty, Degradation, Fear
Isolation, Strength, Rejection, Strife
Insecurities, Casualties, Compassion, Life
-Unknown

Need Your iphone Now?

Saw this article today.
Helpful hints for others like me, who are dying for the iphone, but contractually stuck in a stupid contract with a phone that can now only be seen as unworthy.

Check it out here....

http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2007/06/iphone_howto

Quote of the Week

In light of this seeming to be the week for me putting my foot in my mouth and being a sort of self-inflicted, misunderstood rogue; I thought this was an appropriate quote of the week.

enjoy.

I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

Robert McCloskey, State Department spokesman (attributed)

Sharing Grace

New images of my wreck I recieved from my lawyer last week.

I just wanted to continue to share God's amazing grace.

I want to always be a testament to those who need it that He will always take you back!

Processing

What a week! First the Willow Creek Arts Conference and then Operation Helping Hands at GCC. Jesus showed his face to me all week long and I am in a spiritual euphoria.

I have a 5 page research paper due on Thursday, I haven't been able to even make a keystroke for today. I have just been processing my last 5 days alone in the house, which doesn't happen often, and my brain won't quit.

First the Willow Conference. It was such an awesome experience. My buddy Zach Montroy told me a while back that it was possibly at the root of him going into to ministry to begin with, and I can see why. It was humbling, and inspiring, and fulfilling and about a dozen other adjectives that I won't bore you with. Basically, life altering.

Some of my take-aways.....

Seeing David Crowder Band live was awesome. I love them and was shocked when I saw them. I didn't know until they were on stage that they were going to be there.

Attending New Community, (Willow's mid-week service) was so much fun. I am from podunk Indiana and have been to very few services of that magnitude, and it was very fantastic, (in the dictionary sense of the word), to stand there and praise God with David Crowder Band and probably 6,000 other believers. I made a memory. That's for sure.

I attended four really cool break-outs. I got a lot from them all. Probably what I am most excited about, however, is the last one I attended, which was a weekend at Granger. I got to see a media clip in that breakout of a woman's story that I was so inspired by that I plan to quickly turn it into a short story and hopefully a future script for GCC. (we'll see about the latter, since I seem to be struggling with screenplay genre of writing)


....hint, hint Tom Cox. If your out there, I could use some help!


Then there was OHH. What can I say. There are no words. When I laid my head down to sleep Saturday night, I knew in my heart that without a doubt, my Father was smiling. There isn't anything else to say, ya know???? That's what it's all about. What an awesome feeling to know that I played a part in putting that smile on His face. If you picture it literally. You can't help but smile too.

All in all, a week worthy of taking a day off to process. Back to life tomorrow though. Writing an A research paper usually requires doing at least a little research.

Oh, by the way. Personality tests came up during dinner after the conference on Thursday. I hadn't taken one in a very long time, so while vegging today, which for me means sitting in front of the computer for 5 hours, I took one. I am an iNFj. I don't know exactly what that means yet, but I understand that only 1% of the world are this type. Might I just say, before anyone else does... that explains a lot!!!! lol.

have a good week friends!!!

10 Things I Learned While Training To Be A Trainer

1. Training to be a personal trainer requires more athletic stamina than actually training does.
2. I really am not 25 anymore, as I frequently pretend to be.
3. There are some challenges one can face where espresso is really not your friend (my heart
rate jumped to nearly 200 today).
4. God really does have a sense of humor (For today I was reminded that I actually prayed for
this).
5. Contrary to my longstanding opinion, there are actually situations in which exercise
really doesn't make you feel "good".
6. Personal Training is really more about sales than about training, (ironically the one job I have
intentionally avoided my whole life).
7. I'm tired
8. I'm sore
9. I may be dehydrated
10. I LOVE MY JOB!!!!

Ode to the Peeping Blogger

Oh ye with the quiet keystrokes and the probing eyes.
Why oh why do you wear your disguise.

I share my thoughts, I lay out my life
These treasures of mine I offer to you
But I would love to hear your thoughts,
Know your life and learn your secrets too.

So when you drop by my site.
My little corner of this world.
I really hope that you just might
Give leaving a comment a whirl.

dedicated to all my friends who begged me to start this blog and then refuse to comment on my posts. i love you.... but you know who you are.....

Blake Lewis For Idol

My official Banner!


"BLAKE LEWIS FOR IDOL!"

He did awesome tonight! That is what I call talent! Go BLAKE!

Feel free to diagree with me,........ZACH!......., But I think he was incredible.

Quote of the week.

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

-Jay Lenno

I couldn't have said it better myself Jay!