GOATs and an Upper Body Workout

After a roller coaster of a Superbowl I will have to grudgingly admit that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are the greatest quarterback/coach combination in NFL history. A friend of mine at work is a fan of the Falcons and in a response that only a true fan can love he said, "I am going to have the Falcons be my pallbearers at my funeral.... that way they can let me down one last time."

This morning is the first overlap of my two jobs: Package handling at UPS in the morning and Personal Training in the afternoon and evening. I am going to workout at home today and do an upper body workout to let my legs that ran 20 miles yesterday a rest!

Warm-Up:
Jumping Jack, 50 repetitions
PVC Passthrough, 20 repetitions
PVC Wraparound, 20 repetitions
Weight Training:
Pull-Up, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Bench Press, 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Military Press, 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Biceps Barbell Curl, 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
Mobility:
Banded Shoulder Stretches

Have a Great Day!! 

Barack and the Workout

I am going to miss Barack. I am not going to go into political views here.... there are opinions all over the map about this guy. One thing that I would challenge anyone to argue is the fact that President Obama has handled himself with a lot of grace, poise and dignity. I have been very proud to call him my President.

Warm-Up: Perform each exercise in order to warm-up.
Row, 250 meter 
Pistol Squat, 5 repetitions with each leg
Hand Release Push-Up, 10 repetitions
PVC Passthrough, 10 repetitions
V-Up, 10 repetitions
High Knees 
Butt Kicks
Handstand Hold, 30 seconds
2-3 Minutes to Stretch
Metabolic Conditioning: Perform each exercise in order to complete a round. Do as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes.
Power Snatch (95#/65#), 5 repetitions
Pull-Up, 10 repetitions
Ball Slam, 15 repetitions
Rest, 3 minutes
Then 5 Rounds of each: 
Plank, one minute
GHD Back Extension, 10 repetitions

Have a Great Day!!

Reflections on Finding a Job and the Workout

I have said, time and time again that I have been truly blessed with a life of jobs that I have absolutely loved. Not all of the work I have done has been glamorous or exciting (i.e. construction, sorting UPS packages...) but I have really enjoyed them either for the actual work (i.e. raft guiding, working various jobs for NOLS....) or for the camaraderie.

I have been looking for work in our new home of Chattanooga since we found out we were coming in March. Once again I have found opportunities for employment that it seems like I will really enjoy. Again, I recognize that I am very fortunate that way, a lot of people do not like their jobs at all. This was my first real job search in over 15 years and there are a lot of great things out there. There are a few things out there that are not so great as well. Here is what I found....

The Good:

• 1) The Search Engines out there for jobs are awesome! Indeed, Linkedin, heck even Craigslist all make it easy to find a job that you are looking for. I checked a slew of sites everyday looking for jobs. Patience and persistence is the key.
• 2) Filters are clutch. Though I liked looking at all the jobs that were available to me (i.e. "Managing a doughnut shop?! Awesome!") filtering out the ones that were not appropriate or had been posted for a while was very helpful. Otherwise the volume is overwhelming.
• 3) There seem to be jobs out there! I ended up sorting packages at UPS until a job that I really wanted came around. Taking a job while you look for your next career is okay. I actually really liked the people I got to work with at UPS even though it was a pretty brief stint.
• 4) Technology has made it so easy to take care of all of the paperwork, background checks, etc. once you are in the door at the new job. That saved me a ton of running around.

The Bad:

• 1) Job hunting has become very impersonal. Though I applied for dozens of jobs I was contacted by very few of the places that I applied to. Only two employers contacted me to say "Thank you for applying, we have chosen another applicant." I recognize that some places get inundated with applicants, but still.... a one sentence e-mail politely saying, "Thanks but no thanks" is all that I would really expect. I have no idea if anyone even looked at three quarters of the applications I turned in?! At times this was discouraging especially when I applied for a job where I thought I would be a strong candidate. Don't let this derail you!!
• 2) Reference Checks. I got a text from my last supervisor yesterday out of the blue. After catching up for a bit I asked a simple question since she was one of the references that I had listed on every application: "Has anyone contacted you regarding my references for any of the jobs I have applied for?" "Nope." Now, I recognize that there are times when people interview and meet a person and there is just that feeling that they would be a good employee and they do not feel they need to check references. I get that. If that is the case, do not make me fill out a reference check sheet?! And if it is not the case, check my references damn it! You may find out that I would be a great employee!!

That's all I've got for now I will keep you posted on how the new opportunities pan out.

Warm-Up: Perform each exercise for one minute each to complete a round. Three rounds. No rest between rounds.
Heavy Rope Whip
PVC Passthrough
Weight Training:
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press, 3 sets of 6-10 repetitions
Diamond Triceps Push-Up, 3 sets of 15 repetitions
Seated Dumbbell Side Raise, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Dumbbell Triceps Extension, 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
One Hand Kettlebell Clean & Jerk, 5 sets of 4-6 repetitions
Triceps Cable Pushdown, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Core Work: Perform 35 repetitions of each of the following exercises. No rest between exercises.
Flutter Kick
Lying Heel Touch
Lying Knee Pull-In
Lying Leg Lift

Have a Great Day!!