Ezekiel 25:17

 "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!"

Today, my sister was riding her bike when she was hit by a car that ran a red light.  Luckily she is ok except for a bruise.  The police came but did not even give the driver a ticket or anything!   This is unacceptable.  If anything were to happen to her or someone that I love then there would be serious consequences that could result in the person who inflicted the harm to pay the ultimate price regardless of "law".

The above quote means a lot to me as it should to you as well.  We need to help each other now as we did when the world was a darker place because there still is evil out there.  Or at least negligence which harms people too.  Regardless of your beliefs or lack of beliefs in a Christian God, we need to follow moral laws and punish those who break them.  Or else great vengeance and furious anger may be inflicted...

Training

Thursday

Muay Thai Kickboxing for 5 x 3 min rounds on thai pads with 1 min rest

Friday

Heavy Bag for 6 x 3 min rounds with 1 min rest

Saturday

·       Heavy Bag power punches for 6 x 1 min rounds working combos with 1 min of ring plank to rest

·       Strength 

o   Front Squat for 1,1,1,1,1

o   1-Arm Dumbbell Side Press for 1,1,1

o   T-Bar Row for 1,1,1

o   1-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press for 3,3,3

o   Strict Pull-Ups switching grips for 6 x 10

Sunday

Mountain Sprints for 10 x 30 seconds with 90 second rest

Monday

off

Tuesday

Mountian Biking for 45 minutes

Rugby game for about 50 minutes

What to do in Rio? Part 1

I am leaving for Rio in 10 days to volunteer with children from favelas (poor shantytowns) who are at risk for being involved in drugs and gangs.  I will be there to help teach them English while keeping them engaged in surfing.  They will also learn how to repair surf boards so that they can gain income for their families.  It is a great opportunity to make a difference in these kids lives.  Some of these kids parents have been killed by gangs. I will do my best to get these kids interested in surfing and teach them as much English as I can while being a good mentor.  Watch the below video from the movie "The City of God" to get an idea of how much at risk these kids in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro are.

 

Adventures
While in Brazil, I am also going to take advantage of all the fun extreme adventure that can be had in extreme sports, nature, and nightlife. 

Surfing/Windsurfing/Stand-Up Paddleboarding

Hang Gliding over Rio

 Mountain Biking 

Training
Monday
Tabata 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest
Jump Rope Sprints for 8 rounds
Ring Pull-Ups for 4 rounds
Ring Rows for 4 rounds
Ring Push-Ups for 8 rounds
Tuesday
Strength
Back Squat for 5,5,5
One Arm Dumbbell Side Press for 5,5,5
Metabolic Conditioning for 3 rounds
Weighted Chin-Ups for 3 reps
Stair Sprint for 1 minute
Weighted Dips for 3 reps
Rowing for 1 minute
Wednesday
Speed
Track Sprints for 5 x 200 meters and 5 x 100 meters

HAPPINE$$?

 

Money can buy happiness -- if you spend it on others, says Harvard Business School professor Michael Norton.

Can money buy happiness?
Yes, if you spend it on other people, says Michael Norton, an associate professor at Harvard Business School. (H/t Business Insider.)
Norton said at a recent TED talk that spending money on yourself does not make you happier, but spending money on others -- no matter how it is spent, or how much -- could improve your mood.
"If you think money can't buy happiness, you're not spending it right," Norton said. "You should stop thinking about which product to buy for yourself, and try giving some of it to other people instead."

read more HERE

 Fitness

Wednesday
Kickboxing using thai pads for 4 x 4 minute rounds with 1 minute rest (btwn rounds)
Thursday
OFF
Friday
Heavy Bag for 5 x 3 minute rounds
Backpacking with 45 lbs pack for 1 and a half hours through mountains
-  while using Pimsleur language learning system - Brazilian Portuguese

Buddhism

Angkor Wat - Cambodia

Today myself and a friend visited a Cambodian Buddhist Temple where we were able to meet with an experienced Buddhist Monk who talked to us about Buddhism focusing on meditation practices and the recycled never ending life that Buddhists believe.  He was very kind and opening to us.  He then invited us to come see a Angkor Wat, 7 wonder of the world in Cambodia, with his fellow monks at the end of the year 2012.  He also offered us to come back another time and he told us of the tradition of common people bringing monks food to eat.  You can keep feeding ducks...  We initially met two monks outside of the temple who were not very willing to let us inside or talk to anyone.  But with persistence and not taking no for an answer, we were allowed to talk to the leader monk and get closer in our journey to reach Nirvana. 

 

I keep learning it again and again like a brick being thrown down from the top of the empire state building at my head, that the old saying is true, "Ask and you shall be given what you seek, and ye shall find, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you."  Hoping, wishing, and praying will do little until you go out there and work and ask for what you desire.  Whether that's a second interview to the job you have been shooting for or a date to Prom with that cutie in Physics class.  ASK!  Or better yet ask multiple people.  Show how much you want it and you will be given the opportunity to gain what you desire.  PERSISTENCE!

Fitness

8 and 1/2 mile run 

Learning

 

Currently, I am teaching myself through audio how to speak Brazilian Portuguese.  I wish it was as easy as downloading a computer program. Over the last several months I have come a long way in my martial arts abilities through intense and time consuming training and have obtained the confidence to defend against an attacker on the street with or without weapons.  In the next week I will be given instruction on windsurfing, stand up paddle boarding, and handgun marksmanship.  For this I will be sacrificing time, money, and effort.  Learning is hard!   What if it was as easy as it is in the Matrix? 

Tim Ferris - Smash Fear, Learn Anything

Sunday

Mountain Sprints for 15 seconds and 30 seconds rest for 10 total sprints

 

Monday

Strength Circuit 1

Anderson Squat for 5x1 (sets x reps)

Weighted Pull-Ups for 5x1

One Arm Dumbbell Overhead Press for 5x1

Strength Circuit 2

Back Squat for 3x5 

Weighted Chin-Ups for 3x5

One Arm Dumbbell Bench Press for 3x5

Kickboxing on thai pads for 5 rounds of 3 minutes with 1 minute rest 

Inspiration Video

COURAGE

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” C.S. Lewis

I watched a movie the other day. It made me think whether or not I would have the courage to stand up for what I believe, and what I stand for, even in the face of death. It’s easy to say we think something, believe something, and would do something. But would you? Would I? 
Courage isn’t thinking about doing something but being too afraid to follow through with it. Courage is action in the face of fear. A life isn’t lived if fear isn’t faced. Conquered. Controlled. A life where fear wins each and every battle isn’t much of a life at all. Back to the movie…
READ MORE: HERE

By Chad Howse

 

Monday
Strength
Super Squats for 1 x 20 (breathing deeply)
One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Press for 5x3 (sets x reps)
Metabolic-Conditioning (Met-Con)
4 rounds (as fast as possible)
250 meter row
25 true push-ups (chest to deck - lockout elbows)

 

Tuesday
5 K run with 20 lbs weighted vest

Boxing on Heavy Bag and Body Snatcher for 20 minutes 
Grappling for 1 hour working on chokes

Going to RIO!

I am going to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this summer to volunteer with children and create my own adventures.  I will be embarking on a quest to try new things (EXTREME THINGS), meet new people, and see amazing places.  I'm basically gonna do EPIC SH*T!  I am communicating with a man who leads excursions in the Amazon Rainforest.  Brazil is a dangerous place but if I stay smart by avoiding unusual areas and I don't walk around alone while blending in the best that my goofy 6 foot 2 inch WHITE BOY self possibly can, then I should be ok.  If worse comes to worst then I can use my Mixed Martial Arts skills and Urban Defense training to open up a can of woop a** on anyone who makes the mistake. 

My program - SURF GLORIA

In this project volunteers get to enjoy the beautiful Brazilian beaches that Rio is famous for, whilst volunteering. The main goal of the placement is to assist youth from low income communities (favelas) by making surfing accessible to all and awakening their interest for this healthy and enjoyable sport. Consequently, you can help remove them from the streets, motivating them to take part in a physical activity and inhibiting the use of drugs. This project hopes that in the future those youths who benefited from the surf school can continue their work and pass on what they have learnt to benefit the next generations. This project also teaches the children about the importance of the preservation and protection of the environment, passing to the students the importance of the ecosystem in our lives. Along with surfing classes, this project works with the repair of the boards, enabling the students to learn how to generate an income by fixing surf boards. Volunteers also help the children with informal English lessons, helping with warming up and stretches, and supervising the children in the water. A volunteer does not need to know how to surf to participate in this project; you can learn how to surf in the process of helping out. However, volunteers are required to know how to swim

  

 Brazilian Beach Volleyball Fight for Gold

 

The "supermoon" appears behind the Mare shanty town complex in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, May 6, 2012. The moon was the closest it will get to the Earth this year _ and appeared 14 percent larger because of that. At its peak it was about 221,802 miles from Earth. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Exercising around the world - THE ARTICLE

Fitness 

Saturday

Strength Training

Back squat working up to a 3 Rep Max

Weighted Pull-Ups working up to a 3 Rep Max

Front Squat to low pins for 3x3

 

Sunday

Sandbag STEEP Hill Sprints for 12 x 30 seconds sprints with 1 minute rest (40 lbs sandbag)

DISCLAIMER: I also fell on a rock and gashed my knee pretty badly and got weird looks from people as I ran down the mountain while I bled profusely with my sandbag on my shoulder.  

Quote of the Day

"Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind and I like to write standing up."
Ernest Hemingway

How to Live Vicariously through Yourself - NERD FITNESS 

ANY WHERE FIT

No time to workout? No excuses! While studying, emailing, researching flights to Brazil, and watching weird videos of cats, I was able to do a strength workout in my apartment.

Minimalist Training - Check out ANYWHERE FIT
Wide Stance Handstand Push-Ups for 11 reps (wall facing)
Close Stance Handstand Push-Ups (10 inches) for 1,2,2,1 reps (wall facing)
Weighted Pistols (one legged squats) for 1,1,1,1 reps (per side) with 50 lbs kettlebell
Double Kettlebell Swing for 7,7,7 reps with 2 x 50 lbs kettlebells
Lever One-Arm Push-Ups for 5,5,5 reps per side

To find out how to work your way up to the highest standards of body-weight mastery, even from the lowest standards, get a copy of CONVICT CONDITIONING

What is Adventure Racing?

 

Jon Marziale (left) and Ben Chera [that's me] (right)

Adventure racing (also called expedition racing) is a combination of two or more endurance disciplines, including orienteering (if an orienteering map is used) and/or navigation (when non-orienteering maps are used), cross-country running, mountain biking, paddling and climbing and related rope skills. An expedition event can span ten days or more while sprints can be completed in a matter of hours. There is typically no suspension of the clock during races, irrespective of length; elapsed competition time runs concurrently with real time, and competitors must choose if or when to rest.

Sunday - April 29th 2012

The Savage Adventure Race - 6 hours

Mountain Biking

 

Canoeing/Kayaking

 

Trail Running

 

 Other challenges!

Wild Racers - Adventure Racing World Series from NothinButShorts International on Vimeo.


Monday 
Off
Tuesday
10 true push-ups every minute for 20 minutes (200 total true push-ups) chest to deck and elbows locked

Find an ADVENTURE RACE near you HERE

For more info on What is adventure Racing?