I’m One Lucky Fucker

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Sissy
I woke up this morning tired; my body ached and I longed for more sleep. Without letting myself think too much I turned off the alarm and started going through the motions of my new daily routine.
 
In no time I was in the car driving to the gym to get my 3km run done for the day. Now while I was more awake, I also was more in my “head”. I started thinking:
 
“No wonder you’re tired. You’re 38 and you’ve been working out like a maniac all week. For the last 12 years you’ve been penned in a cubicle shackled to a desk and now you’re trying to be an athlete! What are you thinking?!”
 
Thankfully this defeating self-talk didn’t go on for long before I had an Alan/Chopra moment.
 
First it was Alan that came through and I thought:
 
Don’t complain; don’t blame.
  
Then it was Chopra’s turn:
 
Practice present-moment awareness in all your actions. Refuse to allow obstacles to consume your attention in the present moment.
 
Here’s where the self-talk takes a turn for the better:
 
“Are you shitting me? Ya, you’re sore, so what? You are lucky to be healthy enough to be in a position to be sore. And yes, you were a public servant who sat at your desk, but what does that have to do with anything? Get over it! You have a choice, be present in today and recognize what each day is – a gift. You are so lucky to be in this position! How many people do you know who are taking time just for themselves to follow a dream? You are one lucky fucker!”
 
By this time, I was standing on the treadmill, my legs were warming up as I set the machine for my run and I was in the present. I was sore. I was happy. I am one lucky fucker.

Lucky Fucker

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Bieber in the Present

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Sissy

Practice present-moment awareness in all your actions. Refuse to allow obstacles to consume your attention in the present moment.

Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

I thought I’d share something today that could make you smile, maybe even laugh and, most importantly, might make you reflect.

Today is my day off with Terence which meant that instead of going Fight Fit, I went to the gym for a run. I was happy to do this; I needed to work out some soreness from Monday and Tuesday and I thought a slow, steady 5 km would do the trick.

It did. I left the gym feeling tiredly awesome (that doesn`t make much sense, but hopefully you know what I mean).  Driving home I continued to listen to my running playlist and grooved the short distance from the gym.  As I pulled up in front of Gail and Chris’, the song that I consider my “guilty pleasure” come on – U Smile by Justin Bieber. Yes, it`s true, I`m a 38-year-old woman with a Bieber song on her playlist. Anyway, I decided to film me singing along with THE BIEBS because in moments like these (when I’m enjoying something so completely) I am fully in the present. I’m not thinking of the challenges that I’ll face, the only thing I am doing is “being”.

Clearly singing is not one of my unique talents…

 

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Humbled and Determined

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Sissy

Yesterday, Terence and I established my physical fitness baseline from which I will work  forward with my training. To do this, we started by completing a body composition assessment which provided my measurement of weight, body fat percentage, muscle mass, overall physique rating, daily caloric intake, metabolic age rating, bone mass and visceral fat. To say the least, it was humbling…



Over-fat?! WHUCK?!

 

The next step was to establish my training baseline. Here are some of the “highlights” from my first hour-long training session with Terence.

Round 3

 

Round 3 - Body Shots

 

Round 3 - In Action

So while the first session was humbling, it has also energized me and I ended up leaving Fight Fit more determined than ever.

When the alarm went off this morning, my first words weren’t “Fuck me!” Instead, I happily jumped out of bed, went to the gym to get in a quick 3 km run before heading over to Fight Fit to work with Terence. The session was fantastic with one of the highlights being a comment Terence made during one of our 2 minute rounds: “You over-fat? Not in my fucking reality!”

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Fight Fit

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Sissy

Fight Fit

The Club - where I'll be working my ASS off.

The Ring - where I'll be doing some ASS kickin'.

Yesterday I met with Terence to start talking about my training plan. While we never got down to the details, we did establish roles and responsibilities. Terence, the trainer, is the lead on outlining the training plan. While the fighter, that’s me, is the lead on implementing his plan. Fight Fit, Terence’s gym, is where it’s all going to happen.
 
The details will come tomorrow when I go back to the gym for my first “official” training session. In addition to working my ass off, Terence and I will discuss his plan and how I’ll go about putting it into action.
 
What we did do was spend a lot of time talking about boxing – just boxing and what it takes to be fighter.
 
Terence shared with me that boxing is a lonely sport as it’s the fighter, and the fighter alone, who puts in the hours implementing the plan.  During the implementation, a fighter’s physical and mental fortitude is put to the test.
 
When we were talking about this, I immediately thought of one word – courage. During this process, I will need to tap into all the courage that resides within me. This will be a test of my courage like no other.
 
We also talked about the “justice system” within boxing and how justice is administered in this sport. An example of this is conditioning – condition your body; condition your mind. If you break this fundamental law of boxing, it’s not your opponent who will beat you, it’s the sport itself that will punish you.
 
It’s clear to me now that Terence had already starting outlining the plan; mind you, a far more subtle version of the plan than I expected. Now it’s up to me to implement.
 

Terence and I - our first training plan meeting over a couple of pints.

 
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St. Catharines – Day 1

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Sissy
Day 1 in St. Catharines was a short one. My wake up call was when Gail and Chris knocked on my door at 1:30 pm. I guess I was more tired than I had thought. My “morning” was spent having a relaxing “breakfast” and starting the unpacking process.

That night (my afternoon) Gail, Chris and I went to Pan for a great dinner followed up my a performance by Lauren Best.

Here are some of the highlights of the night:

I was so happy after eating a delicious dinner of organic greens, I had to take a pic to celebrate feeling so good.

 

Chris and Gail

whiskey orange goodness

loving the whiskey orange

The Trio at Closing Time

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Travel Vlogs

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Sissy
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Packing…

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Sissy

Over the last several days I’ve been putting off packing; I loathe packing. I’m not sure why. I just do. I knew I had hit rock bottom when I crawled into the MASSIVE hockey bag that I had bought to transport my clothes to St. Catharines. Not sure why I did it. I was only slightly curious to see if I fit. And I did. To be honest, this act allowed me to procrastinate just that much longer. Lying there, in the hockey bag, I realized that I had pretty much lost it and had to “suck it up buttercup” and pack my fucking bags.

Here are some pics and video from today…

empty bags

 

boxing stuff was first and easy to pack

 

piles of stuff

So, it’s 10: 45 pm and I’m more or less done. I just have some odds and ends to take care of tomorrow morning before I finish loading Bonbon and then I’m off.
Happy Trails To ME  🙂
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Stronger

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Sissy
If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song.
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
 
Four months ago, when I pulled into Alan’s driveway for my first session, I was defeated. Life had been my opponent and had just kicked my ass.
 
Alan was sitting on his front step and, as I closed the car door and started to walk towards him, he smiled and jumped up to introduce himself and his family. That simple gesture of welcoming me into his life was the beginning of my healing.
 
My time with Alan has given me so much; my passion for boxing and, more importantly, for life has been reignited. Life is no longer my opponent; it’s the ring in which I will play out what lies ahead. 
 
Alan, thank you so much. I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher and friend. Thanks to you, I’m ready. My boxing and life paradigms are in place. My armour has been repaired and reinforced. My heart is fuller and I’m wiser. 
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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 MONTHS OFF

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Sissy
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Who You Calling a Sissy?

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Sissy
As a fighter, Sissy is an odd nickname to have – let alone embrace.
 
When I was little, like most little ones, I was asked my name. Unfortunately, I couldn’t pronounce my name and ended up referring to myself as CC. CC eventually became Sissy and, 37 years later, my Dad, nieces, and close friends still call me by that nickname.
 
So Sissy has really nothing to do with being a sissy; it has everything to do with a little girl who couldn’t roll her r’s.
 
I`ve now re-envisioned the story and have taken the girl who couldn`t roll her r`s and infused her with the strength I feel now so that she’s a little girl with a not so little spirit. When she’s asked her name, she asserts herself and declares, ” I am Sissy.”

I am Sissy.

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