Showing off the Goods

It's Sunday, March 31st and I am letting the world see my private... Blog that is. I've decided that the things I do should be shared, not like the backwash in a sport team's water bottle, but more like the inspirational motivating sharing that gets people off their ass and helping others.

 If anything, I hope that this informs my family of what I have actually been up to. The look on their faces when I try to explain my life tells me they actually have no clue what I do, but I can tell they care, A LOT.

For my friends this is one way to have a phone conversation... me doing most of the talking. I have lost touch with many of you and if you still want to know what's going on you can stay updated here.

For the rest of you... stop stalking me creepers. Just kidding, follow along and let's have a good time. I will be posting about important topics such as global warming, foreign policy, and immigration laws. NOT!! 
Even though they are all important topics you won't see them here. Be on the lookout for training videos, travel stories, recipes, and an inside look for what it takes to compete on a high level.

A Fiesta and four rugby players head to Atlanta....

Eagle Olympic Training Center

Atlanta, GA

This past weekend 4 of us traveled together from Raleigh, NC to Atlanta, GA. We started the trip by packing up my Ford Fiesta which is still lingering with the smell of cleats and grass. With little sleep on Friday night we hit the field at 8am to find that a monsoon had hit and two inches of standing water covered the fields. We ended up in the Life University Basketball Coliseum and did not waste any time getting into the fitness testing. First up, the 70m Shuttle, Broad Jump, 5-10-5 meter agility test, and 5 rep max Front Squats. After this session, we hit the fields and slipped our way through the first ground session where multiple times I was put up against some of the best props and forced to take them to the ground as quickly as possible with the hopes that it resulted in a positive tackle. It went well... just ask my neck and shoulders.

We ended day one with delivery Thai food and The Breakfast Club. Watching a Brat Pack movie is exactly how high level Rugby players prepare for intense competition.

The second day we started off with the Bleep test. One of the most grueling fitness tests (besides the death flop). I surprisingly increased my score from a 12.1 to a 12.7 and was very excited to see such an increase! Maybe I'll thank some of those CrossFit Open WODS for boosting my suffering threshold. It's still raining on  this second day of training but that won't keep us off the field. We worked on defense and double tackling, which resulted in a cracked nose and a black eye but a tackle I won't forget for quite some time!

This was a great camp and everyone worked extremely hard. The eagle pool is being cut from 120 people to 80 people and I'm eagerly waiting to see if I made it through to the next camp in April. All of this for a shot to make the traveling squad for France in June. I've been searching for a cute little hat to wear when I land in France, because my only perception of the French is that... they wear hats...

The Start of 2013 CrossFit Open

13.1 and 13.2 have been awesome thus far! Not only fun and challenging but seeing other surpass their goals makes you pumped out of this world.

13.1 ended in a score of 155 where the 100lb snatches became very difficult very quickly. 13.2 was definitely my cup of tea. I imagined in my head that I was playing a half of rugby sevens and I went all out for 10 minutes gaining a score of 275. I was stoked to get that score but then quickly realized that the highest score was 383! Sam Briggs really killed it, she is currently beating both men and women by 20+ reps!

Now that I am recovering from the crazy workouts this week I have my sights set on the Olympic Eagle Training Center Camp in Atlanta, GA this coming weekend. While I would love to have some green beer with the rest of the leprechauns, I'm afraid I will be keeping clean and reloading the machine.

Today's Workout:

Starting off with mobility I will be getting some band work in and really trying to loosen the hips from all the box jumps Thursday. Quality time with the foam roller and activating the Glutes with some bridges and core work using static planks and L-sits.

Long slow run planned today with the coolest pup I know (the Rue Bug, you will get to know her soon) and finish off with 5x3 Front squats and Hand Stand Push Ups.

Fun for this evening is catching the UFC 158 GSP (my favorite fighter) vs Diaz!

Its a good time to get better. Now go get it.

It has begun...

I've decided to start documenting my life. My crazy journey to becoming the best.

Buckle up for a front seat to the workouts, games, and competitions I will be taking on to prepare me for the 2014 World Cup USA Rugby Team.

I'll be posting about my experiences, training secrets, motivation, and my travel around the World!