101 ways to be healthy

I was searching through some websites when I came in to this one http://www.revolutionaryact.com/101ways/. Visit the website and scroll on every reason and see what happens :) I think that is pretty smart, cool and motivating.

Yesterday's WOD:

10rounds:
100m sprint
10burpees
100m sprint
10 pull-ups

Interview with Annie Mist Thorisdottir: Where hard work leads to triumph

Annie Thorisdottir-paul volting

A couple months ago when I did the nterviews with different crossfitters I admire, there was one lady that was really nice and forthcoming. She was one of the top crosfit athletes in the world( and currently the fittest on Earth) but that hasn't changed her personality. She was still wishful to take the time and answer the questions I prepared for her. Reading her interview you will see why she won the Crossfit games in 2011- the combination of dedication, hard work and talent are only few of the things that could describe Annie! And instead of writing more words that only belittle what she truely is, I will let you read what she had to say...

Introduce yourself:
 Annie Mist Thorisdottir.

How long have you being doing crossfit?
I started doing CrossFit 2 months prior to the CrossFit Games 2009

Have you been involved in some other sports before that?
I was in Gymnastics for about 8 years, then Ballet, Pole vaulting, Bootcamp and now CrossFit…

How did people around you accept the fact that you are doing crossfit? Did they take a jaundiced view of it?
I have gotten a lot of support around me, of course you always get to hear different opinions about CrossFit but none of them to bad… =)

Annie Thorisdottir

Do you have a nutrition plan that you follow? If yes, do you meet disapproval from you friends? Or do they understand why you eat the way you do?
I try to eat healthy and little processed food, have a lot of high quality protein. I’m not strict paleo since I do eat dairy products (we have a lot of really clean dairy products here in Iceland) and some grains. My friends that train understand it and the others respect why I do it.

What does crossfit mean to you and did it change your life in some way?
It means a lot to me, I found something that I love and really enjoy doing. Definitely changed my life a lot in many ways.

Annie Thorisdottir's triumph at the games

What is your favorite WOD and which one do you hate the most?
I love heavy chippers, pull ups, push ups and something with a lot of Olympic lifts. In the benchmark workouts I like Grace, Isabel, Angie, DT and McGhee. Probably my least favorite is something that involves a lot of running and a lot of MUs. =)

Is it hard for you to combine your daily tasks with workouts? And have you ever used the excuse that you are too busy to workout?
Not really I try to go according to schedule and that usually involves training…

What is your biggest accomplishment in crossfit so far?
I would have to say 11th place on the Games 2009 and 2nd place 2010 and 1st place in 2011...

Do you remember some funny story with you and crossfit?
I have a lot of them… probably the most memorable one is how I got to the games 2009. I had never done a CrossFit workout before but decided to compete at the Regionals in Iceland. I had an oral math exam earlier that same day = Stress and 2 hours of sleep so I slept between workouts! Ended up as a lot of fun though and a trip to the Games… =)

What advice would you give to the beginner crossfiters?

Try to enjoy every workout and think positively especially for the ones that you dread the most. Remember that it will only get better… ;)

The right approach to the future

Forget the past and build the present towards reaching your future

I bet that all of you have heard about Steve Jobs. He is one of the people that I really admire. Often times when I feel trapped or challenged to take an important decision I think about him and some of the things he says in his presentations. Actually right now I am reading a book about him called The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a new generation. Eventhough the book is about his life, the obstacles he was challenged to overcome and the way he coped with the hand that life dealed at him, it is also a book that will make you think a lot about the way your life turns out to be. About the decisions you make, the dreams you chase and the risks you take.

In the book Steve says that great inventors create products that are the result or the fruit of their imagination, that let them build a world, in which they'd love to live. And that is a totally different approach to life, from the one where we just try to make the past better. I know it sounds kind of fancy and probably you feel confused but I am gonna try and make it clear.

Think about something in your past. A situation that you feel like you took the wrong decision...the time when somebody cheated on you, when somebody did something wrong and hurt you! How do you feel about it? DO you wish you could change it? Have you promised yourself that you won't ever let it happen again? And when challenged to face a similar situation in the present, you rewind the time back to the past, feeling scared that you will be hurt again or make the wrong decision, and thus considering your actions towards avoiding the repetition of this past situation. 

Use your imagination

Well that is the wrong approach! What you should do instead is when a situation is challenging you, the better thing to do is stop for a while. Look at everything that is happening and ask yourself: Where do I wanna be? What do I want to happen in the future? Where do I wanna go?...Then when you find the answers to those questions you will have the destination that your hearts wants to take you to! From there on, you should use that drive, all your abilities and your imagination to build your presents towards reaching the desired future. Someone once said that when you look at the past, you may trip in the present and fall in the future! Is this what you wnat your life to look like?

Many of us belittle the voice of our hearts. Many of us think that some dreams are way too impossible, so they are not worth fighting for. And thus the defeat is  forced out of the mouth of victory! As Steve Jobs says "Every opportunity starts with an unmet need." So find the answer to the question of what is your desired future...and strive for it!

The strength of the effort is the measure of the result

"The strength of the effort is the measure of the result!"

Is it one of those days when you feel tired? Even exhausted? All you can think of is your bed and your comfy pillow? You know you have a bunch of things that are waiting on you to be done...but the desire to take a break...walk away from everything and just rest is irresistable? What do you choose? Show some attitude and get the work done or just let it wait for tomorrow?

Truth is you always have a choice, and sometimes it is only a choice of attitude! And it is your attitude which determines where you go in life...wether you enjoy your triumphs or suffer your failures!

I will tell you a story. Back in 2005, when I was living in the USA and playing basketball, I had a goal. To become the best basketball player I could truly be! Pretty tough,right? Well I did not spend my time daydreaming about it. I worked hard for it. Every morning in 4:30a.m. my alarm went off. Did I want to get out of my bed, walk 3miles to the gym and practice? Hm...didn't feel like it...but in my heart I knew what I wanted to be, and I knew exactly how I was going to achieve it-WITH HARD WORK! So I used all the will I had and got out of the bed, went to the gym and gave it my all!

Did it pay off? Well at first it felt like evrything was a waste of time...the more I did, the less I seemed to get...but in life you have to keep pushing...keep walking! You never know what is hiding behind the turn on the corner....Just when I felt like quitting, I kept pushing my hardest and it all payed off. The next season I blew everybody! I played the best I have ever played. I became MVP at the Balkan Games; I won every single award there was to be won in my country, I played pretty good at the European championship and so on...

But guess what? It did not happen, while I was sitting and waiting! It happened because I took action, I worked hard, I refused to quit! Every morning you wake up, you have a choice! To strive for what you want or to put up with being mediocre!" To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.”

Interview with Lauren Plumey-not just a woman...an inspiration

Lauren Plumey in action

In everything you do in life  you need to find something or somebody to light the fire in your heart. Sometimes that are people closest to us...and sometimes those are people that have never met us...they do not even know we exist. An year ago I started doing crossfit and there was a woman(a real crossfitter) that was my motivation, my role model. For the past year on my phone screen and on my computer wallpaper there is a picture of her.  Every ime I do not feel like practicing or I feel like eating junk I look at that picture and it gives me motivation to do the right thing in order to achieve the things that women has done. And you know what is the funny part? That I have never met her, neither has she. She did not even know about my existance till I asked her to give an interview for me. As I expected she turned out to be beautiful not only on the outside but also on the inside....probably you are wondering who she is?...Her name is Lauren Plumey and I will let her interview do the talking....


Introduce yourself.
My name is Lauren Plumey.  I am a 30-year-old affiliate owner and CrossFitter in Branford, CT, USA.  

How long have you being doing crossfit? 
I began doing CrossFit in April of 2008.

Have you been involved in some other sports before that? 
No...I was never considered an athlete in any regard.  I dreaded gym while I was in school.  However, I had been working out since the age of 14 religiously.  

 How did people around you accept the fact that you are doing crossfit?
Did they take a jaundiced view of it? I know that my friends that do not CrossFit and my family secretly think that I am a fitness fanatic.  In the beginning, my husband used to mock my constant banter of "the WOD."  Slowly, I began to persuade most of my friends to do CrossFit, including my husband.  He now owns the affiliate with me.  For those that I haven't been able to bring over to CrossFit, they wouldn't dare to say anything negative because they see that CrossFit works.  Its physical effects on my husband and I speak multitudes regarding the efficiency of CrossFit.

 Do you have a nutrition plan that you follow?
If yes, do you meet disapproval from you friends?Or do they understand why you eat the way you do?  I am a strict follower of the Paleo diet.  Most of my friends follow this diet as well (as most of them are also CrossFitters).  My Italian family thinks it is ridiculous that I NEVER plan to eat pasta again, but once again, my health (And their lack thereof) speaks for itself.  However, I never try to impose the diet on those that are not interested.

What does crossfit mean to you and did it change your life in some way? 
Oh my God..what a loaded question!  Well, first off, CrossFit made me an athlete.  I regret not finding it earlier in life.  It has taught me tenacity, and turned me into a problem solver, which I never was.  Prior to CrossFit, if things didn't come easy to me, I didn't attempt them.  Now, I ENJOY working for things.  CrossFit has also given me a healthy habit.  Through college, I made a habit of going out and partying.  Now, if I party too hard on Friday night, I can't perform the way I'd like to in the WOD on Saturday morning.  It has increased my confidence in all avenues of life and allowed me to forge friendships with like-minded people.

What is your favorite WOD and which one do you hate the most?
My favorite WOD is "The Filthy Fifty" (I love chippers), my least favorite is "JT" and the thruster/burpee WOD from the '09 Northeast Regionals (5 135/95 lb Thrusters, 10 burpees, 12 minute AMRAP)

Is it hard for you to combine your daily tasks with workouts?
And have you ever used the excuse that you are too busy to workout?  WORKOUT first WORK later!  I've called out of work to workout! I have found that, like anything in life, if it is important enough to you, you will find a way to squeeze it into your schedule.  So, yes, working two full-time jobs and training myself can get crazy, but I love it too much to make an excuse not to do it.

What is your biggest accomplishment in crossfit so far? 
 Qualifying for the CrossFit World Games two years in a row. Successfully running an affiliate.  

Do you remember some funny story with you and crossfit? 
  There are certainly a lot, but none that I am sure would transfer as humorously into text.

Lauren Plumey and her husband David

What advice would you give to the beginner crossfiters in Bulgaria?
  Don't be discouraged if it seems like you are the only one of your friends involved in this "insane fitness cult" Just as it did in the USA and Canada, it will spread like wildfire throughout the country in time.  Be patient~you will not be a CrossFit rockstar immediately.  But, like anything in life, the things that are worthwhile must be worked for.  "What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem to lightly."  True fitness is earned.

 And here is  a link to the website of her crossfit gym. http://shoreline.crossfit.com/

Help others grow

"Try hard to get what you like...or you will be forced to like what you get!"

Have you ever found yourself in a situation when a friend or somebody close to you wanted to achieve something. They put a decent amount of work, but sometimes when it got hard they tried to find an excuse why it won't happen? They let the physical pain or physical incapability of doing something, take over their mind. They let the pain the body felt, crush their mind and force them to quit. What did you do? Did you encourage them to keep on pushing or did you just let them quit...telling it is ok, and that if they do not feel like doing it, they could just walk away?

I've noticed that most people that surround you will let you quit. They won't be brave enough to tell you that you are being a baby that always whines when things are not going the desired way. Most people won't have the courage to be tough on you and make you push harder, just because they think that this will make you hate them! But is this the right thing to do? Just let the once we love go the easy way and thus never find out how great they could be?

I think that if you really care about somebody you should treat him according to what he could be...what he could accomplish! People could rarely achieve something if they do not push beyond what they think is their limit. In life you should always be able to see the beauty, ehind the ugly. You should always be able to recognize the strength, behind the weakness!  You should expect things out of people and thus you will plant in them the seed of confidence...so they could truely believe they can achieve.

NEVER GIVE UP!

As a personal trainer you should be able to see the potential in the scrawny newcommer in the gym, that looks worse than my great grandmother in shorts...the one that lacks all physical skills you could think of. The newcommer that looks unmotivated and insecure. Make sure you light the fire inside....don't let him go easy when the WOD gets hard.  treat him as he is already the athlete you wish he could. At first he will be mad at you, he will hate you...but in the future he will be grateful for the way you treated him.As Johann Goethe once said "If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be."  What do you wish for the people you care of?

A different perspective

At the end of the day you either focus on what is tearing you apart or what is holding you together!

I watched a short scene from a movie, where there was a servent who was talking in fron of a group of teenagers. She showed them some pictures. They looked kind of blurry and they were taken from really really close. She asked them to guess what was the real object in the picture. One of them actually looked pretty disgusting. It was similar to a really close view of brain, but it did not look nice at all! They tried to hit off the object, but none of them guessed it right! At the end it turned out to be....A WALNUT! Then she said that sometimes in order to see the object you should look at it in a different perspective.

That got me thinking about how life goes on. Sometimes when you find yourself stuck in a difficult situation, things look hopeless. You feel like you are carrying world's burden on your back. You catch yourself thinking that it can't get any worse and probably often wonder why this is happening to you? How did you deserve it?-you'd ask. Well the story above made me think about life and the problems we face. Sometimes when you are in the mids of the problem, it looks like it can't be solved. Looks hard...and the more you try to find the solution the deeper you get stuck in it. But hold on...don't give in to desperation...remember the servent and her pictures? Remember how the disgusting thing in the picture turned out to be a simple walnut? Well, take that example and adjust it to your life. When you face an obstacle, don't dig deeper in it, just to find yourself drained and unable to cope with it. JUST LOOK AT IT FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE!

Do you remember when we were little, how we loved to take the magnigier and look through it? Using it, you could se ethe smallest bug like an enormous tarantula! Even the smallest things, grew bigger if you looked at them through the lenses. But then...you just move the lenses away and it is still that small tiny bug it actually is. So, why are you scared now? What makes you feel that fear and insecurity? What if you are exagerating the situation just because you are looking from so close at it? Move further...let it rest! Don't stress over it and "the big tarantula will turn to a little bug", that won't scare you anymore.

When having a problem, don't give in to the negative emotions that try to overatke you! Be stronger than them....why? BECAUSE YOU ARE! Just remember that we are just a small part of the big Universe....and thus our problems are small on the background of world's disastours!

I can...I will..I must...

"Every artist was first an amateur"-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The other day I had a workout with four guys. I've been training them for the last two weeks. They are still beginners but so far they are showing big motivation, dedication and hard work. I haven't had a client so far that gave up. Most people may feel frustrated if they feel tired, if they feel like quitting put usually they push hard and finish the WOD. Well that is not exactly what happened the other day.  During the workout there was a guy(Ivo) that was working out on his own. He is an advanced crossfitter and he is pretty damn good at it. One of the man from my group, obviously felt intimidated by the strong and athletic look, that Ivo had. At first I catched "my boy" throwing glances at him,admiring his abilities. Nothing wrong with that...Then he said " I will never be able to do half of it." I encouraged him that we all started from scratch and build on it, till we became what we are now!Do you remember the first time that they showed you the alphabet, the first time they encouraged you to read? You felt a little overwhelmed...found it hard...even impossible...reading a whole book looked like a mirage... well let's turn the time forward, and find you now, sitting on the couch  reading that thick book, without even thinking about it. See how far you've came? But it was a long road wasn't it? It is the same in the gym. When you see how the advanced athletes train, you should get yourself motivated. You should use the desire to be in their place, to push you towards reaching your full potential. You shouldn't pick on yourself for not being in the same shape. You shouldn't intimidate yourself...shouldn't feel inferior...you shouldn't give in to the desire to quit!...
That is what the boy in my group did. He quit! He was doing the WOD ( 5rounds: climbing ladder of 2deadlifts;1round Cindy), when he quit two rounds before the end. He gave up on the assisted pull-ups. I told him to take a breath and finish the WOD. He looked at me and said "I can't!"...but I assured him that there isn't I can't...there is only I do not want! After he heard this he kept pushing a little bit more, when he said "Oh, I am done for today." He walked away. When I tried to encourage him to take a rest and still finish the WOD he almost cursed me and said that he won't do a single exercise anymore. At first I felt a little frustrated, because that has never happened to me before. Usually I succeed in motivating people to work hard, and finish the workout, but not this time... But then I realized, that you can't give somebody something if they do not wanna take it. He didn't want my words of encouragement...he felt better feeling sorry for himself, comparing himself to somebody that has done the same thing all his life! But that's fine! I know he will be back. And this time hopefully  he will be stronger...mentally and physically.If you ever get yourself in the same situation...remember that sometimes people don't run far enough on their first wind to find out that they've got a second!Even when the competition gets tough...when it seems impossible...keep in mind THAT IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT A FACT. IT'S AN OPTION! It is up to you what you pick!

Be the change...

The soul of an athlete can change the game...the heart of an athlete can change the world...

It is not the final destination...its the JOURNEY

Today after my favorite walk in the park, I went to visit my sister. We watched some TV and as I was surfing through the channels I saw one movie I watched a couple years ago- The Peaceful Warrior.It is a film adapted to the biography book of Dan Millman- "Way of the peaceful warrior". Ever heard of Dan Millman? If you haven't, I assure you that you've missed a lot!Dan Millman  is a former Trampolining world champion athlete, university coach, martial arts instructor and college professor, and an author of fourteen self help books. At the age of 17, he won the United States Gymnastics Federation (USGF)'s Trampoline Championship and competed in gymnastics at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles. While a freshman at  Berkley, he won the 1964 TrampolineWorld Championships inLondon.In 1968 he crashed with a motorcycle. The doctors told him he might never be able to walk. But with the determination and never ending will that Dan had...led by his love for the sport he returned ten months later.

But what I want to talk about is not his life in particular, but a scene from the movie that captures my attention and reaches my soul everytime I see it. When Dan returned from the injury the coach told him that he won't be allowed to compete in a competition for the Olympics because this way he threatened his health and even his life.  Dan was devestated. At a car-service station, he encounters an old man  who seems to know more about Dan's problem than Dan himself knows, whom Dan later nicknames "Socrates." So Dan went to Socrates and told him that he tried his best to give up gymnastics but that is the only thing he knew he loved for real. Socrate told him that no matter if they let him or not, he could still do it for himself and enjoy the sport. He said that not the gold medal is what makes it all worth it. It is not the award that gives meaning to the sport. Dan seemed like he couldn't understand it.

So, Socrate decided to take Dan for a walk in the mountain. They walked for three hours till they reached the top. During the journey Dan was really excited, he was eager to find out what was on the top. When they reached their final destination there was nothing there but a little stone. Dan was disappointed. He couldn't believe he walked so much just to find a stone!

Socrate looked at him, laughed and said " I never know what I am gonna find at the top. You looked like a child before Christmas, while we were walking and now where did all that joy go?"That was the moment when Dan actually understood the meaning behind it. It is not the final destination that makes it all worth. It is the journey itself! The journey with all the failours and the success. The pain and the joy. The expectation and disappointment. The moments of pride and shame. That is what makes the destination interesting and exciting. That is what gives meaning even to the worthless.



During your life, you shouldn't focus only on the last step- the final destination you are headed. What is more important is NOW. It is the journey. It is what you do, how you act and what you overcome on your way there! The movie ends with the words :

Where are you?

Here?

What time is it?

Now?

Who are you?

This moment!

Make sure you live in the present. Make sure you enjoy the moment right now! Focus on every detail in the present, in what you do at the moment. Do not think about what is going to happen next. How other people will react to your actions...rather live the moment! Fell it and enjoy it!


Here are some nice videos related to the movie:

There's beauty behind the darkness

“People don't do things for you or against you, they do things for themselves - it's fortune, good or bad, to be in the way”

Do you ever take a walk at night? Do you ever look up...see the sky...the clouds...and the moon..? Ever noticed the clouds passing infront of the moon? Looks like the sky is dark and there is nothing to brigthen it...nothing to light your path and lead you forward...and then after a while if you are patient enough to watch...the clouds move away...and there it is the moon-brightening the sky...and everything around, bringing the light and the hope back...ever noticed how just because you do not see something now, doesn't mean it is not there...doesn't mean that its existance is a mirage...In life sometimes there is beauty behind the darkness. It is a mastery to know there is beauty somewhere, when you can't see it with your eyes...it takes faith to believe it...takes love to endure it...
Sometimes when you are drained in your saddness...when it seems like darkness takes over...it strikes you...the moments of happiness...those we enjoy...the once that take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.

I had a birthday yesterday...just because it is your birthday it doesn't mean that the world stops for you...doesn't mean that it will be perfect...doesn't man that the pain will be absent...but when you have wonderful people in your life...it happens! They help you get up, take the dust off and enjoy the moment...help you find the strength to be thankful...for the good and the bad...for their presence...and their helping hand!

With my dad and my twin sister(we decided that if we both turn 22, we could just add up the candles.:)

Love pork stakes :)

That is wat a CAKE should look like...only fruits :)

Always happy when I am around food;)

Some of the presents and part of the surprises by my wonderful frinds!

A BIRTHDAY WITHOUT HANDSTANDS IS NOT A BIRTHDAY!;)

:)

Pay attention to your thoughts

There is one saying- "Thoughts become words, words become action, action becomes habits, habits become destiny."- that I find to be the mere truth. Yesteday I read Crystal Nelson's last blog post where I saw the video below. I think it is really well put.  One of the lecturers at a Strongman seminar in Crossfit Overload is talking about what Greg Amundson said about the pyramid that should express your steps toward sports mastery. What Greg said was that at the foundation of your pyramid is NUTRITION! It is the most important thing, if you consider reaching the top in your sports career. Next comes metcons, followed by gymnastics, weights and finally you apply it to your sport, and you are on the top of the pyramid. But if you dare to fall in the habit of eating junk, if you do not pay close attention to your nutrition, your pyramid will flal down, and all your hard work will go to waste.

Next the lecturer talks how at a bootcamp he was thinking about the nutrition pyramid and a thought popped up in his mind. Why not build this pyramid in a different perspective. Why not put thoughts and words on the bottom and build the pyramid till you reach your destiny. Just like in the other pyramid, where nutrition is the fuel to all other steps, here thoughts are the food that fuel your mind, and body. The fuel that drives your actions which transform in habits and lead you to your destiny.

Just like in the first case, if you let your nutrition slip, here if you let negative toughts overtake your mind, you risk taking the wrong road and thus ending in a destiny you wouldn't like for yourself.

So make sure you lay the right foundation on your pyramid, so you will make sure that at the end of your life, you will praise your destiny and not feel sorry for the way your life turned out to be!

The useless scale

Today's post will be dedicated to one of my best friends-Marta and another friend Kiril, but in reality it refers to a whole more people. What I wanna talk about is THE SCALE! And hold on! I bet that when you hear that word, the adrenaline starts rushing through your veins, you feel the butterflies in your stomach and the fear of that useless object starts overtaking you!

You are more than a number...YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

What made me write is a story that has to do something with both of my friends. Marta is a great looking young lady that is according to me way too thin. The other day she was on a walk when she saw a scale and decided to step on it. And guess what! Big panic! The scale showed that she was a little heavier than the last time she stepped on it! So now she thinks she is fat and she should loose weight! Deadly wrong. I won't post a picture of her, because I do not think it is appropriate, but I assure you that she looks more like she needs to pack on some weight instead of loose more!

Next let's talk about Kiril. He is tall about 6feet 2inches. He weighs about 130lbs and he conciders himself fat??? What in the world is fogging his mind??? He needs to open the fridge, grab all the food inside and eat it, so he can make sure he won't blot out himself from the face of Earth! He thinks the scale shows way too much and he should loose weight!

It is so sad to see that so many women and obviously even men measure their attractiveness through what the numbers on the scale show! Because I feel perplexed how to explain what a useless thing those numbers are, I asked my friend wikipedia and what it says is: "weight is the name given to the force on an object due to gravity." So you are trying to convince me that measuring how gravity affects your body could be comparable to the way you see yourself, to how attractive you will feel and how sexy others think you are? Hm...doesn't sound with much authenticity to me!

Let's look at it that way. The gravity on Jupiter is about ten times stronger than the gravity on Earth. That means that if you go there you will weigh a lot more than you will weigh now. Does that make you look fatter? Feel less sexy? Makes you less attractive?? NO! Just because gravity affects you in different way on Jupiter, that doesn't make you look worse! Then let's move on to the Moon! There gravity is 5/6 less than it is on Earth. So iuhuuuuu you will be a lot lighter! does that rise your self-esteem? Does it make you feel better? Well, it shouldn't! You will look just the same way as you look now. So did you see, how you could weigh yourself, and the scale could show three different weights and you'd still look the same?

Always remember-YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL

I hope that is enough to convince you that the numbers on the scale, are not relevant to your attractiveness. Nobody cares how much you weigh. People perceive objects by the way they look. When you meet somebody, they won't carry a scale with them. They won't ask you to step on the scale, see the numbers and according to them decide if you are worth being their friend or not!

I read an article that gave me some things to think about. It was said how in Playboy you get all the measuremeants of the models beside their weight! And why do you think it is that way? Because nobody cares. These girls are hot no matter how much they weigh because proportions are more important for the way others perceive you! That is why if you want to keep track on your body composition, it is way better to grab a meter and take your measures, instead of ruining your mind with the useless numbers on the stupid scale!

Think about people with chicken legs and big bellies. And now imagine a fit, strong person. Both of them might way the same, but do they look the same? NO! I wouldn't care how much they weigh! I'd just admire the second one and encourage the first one to get his nutrition right and start lifting some weights!

Don't use it!

The numbers on the scale do not matter! It is just a trick of the marketing world. It is just a way of the industry to get in your head and make you feel bad, so you will use all their pills, foods, creams and other bullcraps to crave yourself. But it won't happen. Just take that wrong invention of humans-the scale...put it in a box, somewhere in the closet and forget about its existance. Live your life and enjoy it! And make sure that you never compare your attractiveness to some useless numbers!

The more is your potential...the more they will try to break you

"All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the Dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible." ~ T.E. Lawrence

The past weekend I went to watch the Bulgarian National Swimming Championship. During competitions like this you can see everything. It is strange how competitions and life are so much alike. You could experience the whole palette of feelings in just three days of competeing-the triumph and the failure; the pride and the shame; the satisfaction and disappointment; the happiness and the pain... some people need a lifetime to experience all these feelings...and an athlete needs just an opportunity to compete...

It can be overwhelming at times to be out there, with so much going on at the same time...lost somewhere between your own expectations and other people's expectations for you! Something that I witnessed made me think of the time when I was a basketball player. At the beginning of my career I was playing at position five or also cold center. After that when I became a better player and started playing for the national team I saw what other centers looked like. They were way taller and bigger than me, and I realized that if I wanted to achieve my dreams and play with the best I had no future being under the basket. I was skilled enough to be playing at position 3(small forward). I had to work a little bit on my speed(that was the only thing I lacked at that time). 


Most coaches in Bulgaria did not like the idea to work additionally with me, so I could persue the goal of being a small forward. I was fine as a center but just in my country where I was among the tallest players. So why would they care about my future? I was doing a pretty good job now, so I had to be a center. And my dreams...they are just for me. All they cared for was theyr own benefit.


After some time of wondering in different teams I found a coach that wanted to help me become a small forward. I started getting faster and better and I was starring in every game. But that was still not enough. Game after game I was tired of hearing why I couldn't be a small forward. I remember how I scored 52points, grabbed 25rebounds, had 10 steals and 10 assists. I was averaging 34points a game, 23rebounds, and 6steals for the whole season and I was never good enough. They had their own view for things. It was just that if I was a forward I was taking somebody's else position in the national team and you know how it is with mommy's and daddy's girls. They are sacred and even if you are better you can't take their place. So till my last injury that was just the usual situation. I was helping my team win a game after game, I received almost every personal award there was out there but there was always somebody to deny my abilities. Why am I telling this?


Because that is what I see happening with one of the Bulgarian swimmers. He is really hard working and talented, and he has big dreams about his swimming career. But there are still those that out of envy or something else try to belittle his ambitions  and seed thoughts of doubt in his head. He is 25 and they tell him that he is TOO OLD to achieve what he wants! ome on? Too old? Do we live in the same worl? Haven't you already seen that nothing is impossible for the one who dares to dream..who dares to fight for his dreams? Haven't you heard about storries for disabeled people, starting to walk, run,win and so on? About people braking records after their biggest failures? Why do most people always try to discourage those that dare to achieve?


Is it out of insecurity? That is what I think! If somebody tells you why you can't, it is most likely that he is seeing the potential you have. he is afraid that you will use your abilities, and you will reach the top...that will make him feel inferior! That will make him feel a failure...just because he doesn't have the strength to dare...the strength to fight and be what he can! He is afraid to reach his full potential and that is why he'd rather you stay where you are...so you won't make him look bad! 


When somebody tries to discourage you...tries to make you quit...that should motivate you to try twice as hard, because that means you are a threat! That means you have the potential to pursue what you dream for! Go ahead and don't quit. Do not let scared people to interfere with you living the life of your dreams!

Make a choice...

Some say that the hardest thing to do in life is to make a choice...others say the hardest is not the choice itself...but learn living with that choice after you've made it! I am sometimes puzzeled which one is harder, but probably the second one! Maybe we find it so hard to make a choice, exactly because we are afraid of what comes after that...

When we are supposed to choose between two things that we really want, we weigh the pros and cons regarding them to the future...how they will affect it....will the choice bring more happiness and satisfaction or will it bring the feeling of saddness and regret...

Hard to choose,ain't it? Some time ago I read a sentence that went something like that- You are disappointed when life does not go the way you expected it...but you are actually supposed to draw your way according to the obstacles you face and learn to love them...it is like the windserfers-the waves are those that draw the path...not our intention where we want to be. It is better to discover the path, according to the obstacles you face...

Sometimes afraid of the heavy burden of choosing, we decide to stay in our comfort zone, escape solving the problem and just be mediocre. But why putting better choices until tomorrow? Every day that you are less than what you truely could be is a day you have wasted...a day you disappointed yourself... a day you just existed but you didn't live...choices are hard to make, but neccessary to make a life that was worth living!

When in doubt... ask your heart

Ever had something you felt you wanted to do? Experienced the erge to neglect all your doubts, fears and uncertainty...and just go ahead and do it?....and then suddenly feel a slap and get back to the so called "reality" where people rarely believe in the beauty of their dreams? Where people let obstacles discourage them? Where people prefer to stay in their comfort zone and spend their life just existing, because they are way too scared to experience the unknown? Where others try to belittle your ambitions and thus forcing you to stay caged behind the walls of your own doubts...

The pursuit of social approvement and commitment play a huge role when making a decision. It is in our nature to strive to believe in the correctness of our choice, after we've already made one.Actually in order to keep our thoughts and convictions in harmony with our actions or decisions, all of us tend to cheat on ourselves from time to time. There isn't a trick, that a man wouldn't use just to avoid the efforts of thinking. What makes us "cheat" are the terribly clear and purpously avoided answers that thinking would provide. There are things in life that overwhelm us and we'd much rather just not know them! ANd that is exactly what the common people do...they stay in their comfort zone, never daring the unknown, just because they suppose that what is yet to come might be overwhelming. Exactly these are the people that usually tend to try discouraging those that want to achieve something, that are not scared to take cances, fail, then stand up again and some day hopefully succeed.

If you have big dreams, chances are that you are mostly discouraged by others, than encouraged. But does this mean you should quit on what you truely believe in your heart you were meant to be? If the people from your community keep putting you down and convincing you, that your dreamed future can't be. If their oppinions start deafening your inner voice. Just step away for a second...and listen to yourself. Listen to your inner voice hidden deep in your heart. By definition this is the place where you can not delude yourself. This is the place where none of your doubts, fears, public opinions or rational thoughts can reach! That is the place where you know the truth, either you admit it or not, either you hear it or not because of the "noise", that your uncertainty and discouraging environment produce.

I suspect that what comes deep from your heart are the real and genuine feelings. And there isn't a thing that could be stronger than the pure desire, coming from within! So instead of give in to other's people opinion, and the way they think your life should be...go ahead and be deaf about their discouraging words and listen better to your heart!

I just remembered a story that goes this way:

Once upon a time there was a race of frogs. The goal was to reach the top of a high tower. Many people gathered to see and support them. And the race began. In reality, the people didn't believe that it was possible that the frogs would reach the top of the tower, and all the phrases that one could hear were of this kind:

"What pain!!! . They'll never make it!"

The frogs began to doubt themselves.

The people continued: "... What pain!!! They'll never make it! ..."

And the frogs, one by one, admitted defeat, except for one frog that continued to climb.

At the end he, alone, and with and enormous effort, reached the top of the tower.

One of the quitters approached him to ask him how he had done it, to finish the race.

And discovered that he….was deaf!

So never listen to people who have the bad habit of being negative!...the only thing they can do is steal the best aspirations of your heart! And why letting them do it...when fullfilling our heart's desires is the best way to make sure we lived a life that was worth it!

Below are some pics from todays workout:

The group practice was:
100m run
30sledgehammer hits on the tire
200m run
30 walking lunges
300m run
30 thruster push ups
400m run
30 jumps on 25'' box
300m run
30swings
200m run
30burpees
100m run

And here is a video of part of my workout:



I did 5rounds:
20swings
tire flip with a jump in and out of the tire(about 20m)
10sledgehammer hits
tire carrying(20m)
20swings
tire dragging
10sledgehammer hits
tire pushing
20swings

The positive thinking and Ivet Lalova

“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.”Strong words,aren't they? Have you heard about people reaching beyond the limits of common belief? People that look the same as others, but inside having something that differs them from the crowd! People that have a sparkle in the eyes to help them walk in the darkness of misfortunes....that have a smile to melt the devil's heart...and a will to carry them, when they feel beaten down and lost...

...an utopia you'd say, and you will be deadly wrong! Just a quick gaze in the world of sports and you will see hundreds of athletes that fit the description above. But there is one name that echos in my mind. There is one person that deserves all the best things in life and in sports...and her name is Ivet Lalova.

She is a bulgarian sprinter. In 2004, at the Olympic games in Athens her name started spreading all over the world, with her becoming the fastest white women in the world. Just 0,03sec. seperated her from the bronze medal at the games. Her future looked brighter than ever...till the day...when she broke her right femur after a collision with another athlete while warming up for the 100m sprint at the Athens Super Grand Prix. Back then it seemed like her carrer, the dreams about better results were about to fade.

I bet that nobody believed that six years later Ivet will be back stronger than ever. I remember watching in interview with Ivet, with her sitting in a wheelchair saying that "Evil things come on horse, and leave on foot". And she was right! The injury came in a second...and took six long years to cure the physical pain...and maybe the time will never be enough to make the mental pain vanish.

Obstacles like that make some people give up, forces some people to quit living and just keep existing! But unlike them Ivet Lalova knew deep inside her that she has done it before...and she can do it again. She just had to keep the vision of her dream alive, be patient and work hard to get to the place where she deserves to be. It is like a small child learning to walk. It will stand up and fall down, thousand times...but it will never give up. The child will have bruises, they will hurt but they won't make it surrender.

There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative. Obviously Ivet's attitude was positive, and in spite of the hearbreaking injury, she never lost faith that someday she will be back where she was and even more...she will be better than she was. And I think that day is about to come soon. This Thursday she won the 100 metre race at the IAAF Diamond League in Oslo.She clocked 11.01 seconds,which is her best for the season and not far from her best overall.

I can imagine what she felt six years ago...I can imagine what she went through and how hard it was to get up every day knowing that it will take a hell of a will and tons of hard work to be on the track again. I can imagine her mind wanting to quit...but her heart never letting her do it...the fight between the heart and the mind can be the toughest...Ivet has a heart that won over the overwhelming thoughts of the mind, so I am sure that nothing can stop her in the future. She deserves all the good that a person could get. I wish her to keep being the fighter she is and to never fear the future, because as a famouse saying says "I am not afraid of tomorrow, because I have seen yesterday, and I love today".

Hardships help reveal your potential

The road may have turns...it may have wholes...but when you keep sight at you final destination...you will reach it...it might take longer but you will arive there...

Ever felt like life is being evil to you? Like you do not deserve anything bad that is taking place in your life? Felt like you ran out of luck and you were cursed to spend your life suffering? Apart from where you want to be, what you want to become and with whom you want to share your life? Did you ever blame the situation? Blame the misfortunes? Wished your life was different? Benn jelous of somebody else?

Well, if you can answer with yes to at least three of the questions above,then you are wrong! Your journey through life has molded you for the greater good. It was exactly what it needed to be. It was exactly what you had to go through in order to learn a lesson that is gonna be useful in your future. If you've taken wrong turns. If you have rambled around, wondering what you were supposed to do with your life...don't bother worrying about it! This time isn't lost. None of the days or the years in your life are lost! It took every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now...the present moment. And you know what? Now is exactly the right time. It is not earlier, it is not later! You are just on time!

Don't blame the obstacles that are thrown on your way. Just like in sports, you are forced daily to endure harder and tougher workouts, in order to gain strength, and be better tomorrow.

That's what I like about life and sports. They have so much in common. In both you are supposed to overcome something that will test your limits, your will, dedication, and perseverence! But there is nothing wrong with that. You are not cursed!;)

If you are having a hard moment, probably you are thinking that you've been punished and fate is against you. But think about the basketball player, the football player or some other athlete, that is out there sweating, hurting, pushing through his limits. He might think that the coach has a grudje on him...but the truth is far different. The coach just sees his potential! He just makes sure he will help his player, to become what he could- to reach his full potential. It is just that the things worth living are hidden behind a lot of hard work, bumps, obstacles and other things you might not like facing...but if you hang on and believe, it will be worth it!

Here is just a video I watched yesterday. Watch it, because I thin my words would belittle it...

You must believe if you want to achieve

Five years ago, I remember walking in the locker room after a game. I was so disappointed with myself. I did not play up to my expectations, and I felt like I betrayed myself, my team and my coach. I went up to my locker, opened it and there it was...A quote that I had printed and put inside, to help me rise when I fall. The quote said "Never let yesterday's disappointment overshadow tomorrow's dreams". I do not know who said it, but whoever did, I think it was a brilliant thought.

Up to this day, that quote echoes in my mind, every single time I fail. Every single time when I feel I am not worth it enough to achieve my dreams. Every single time when people belittle my goals, just because I made a mistake and delayed my success.

During the last couple years I've read a hundred stroies and lots of books about different people and their lives. All of them had three things in common-they had a clear goal, never gave up, and went beyond what is considered a successful life!

And if you read this, thinking...bla bla...just empty words. I will give you an example-an example that to me is really influential and trustworthy. An example that makes you throw your doubts aside and gives you strength to fight till you get where you want to be!

Here it is...


He failed in business in '31.
He ran as a state legislator and lost in '32.
He tried business again in '33 and failed again.
His sweetheart died in '35.
He had a nervous breakdown in '36.
He ran for state elector in '40 after he regained his health.
He was defeated for Congress in '43, defeated again for Congress in '48, defeated when he ran for the Senate in '55 and defeated for vice presidency of the United States in '56.
He ran for Senate again in '58 and lost.

THIS MAN NEVER QUIT. He kept trying till the last. In 1860, this man -- Abraham Lincoln -- was elected president of the United States.

...conclusion is that you must believe if you want to achieve!

See where you are, before you decide where you want to be

"See where you are before you decide where you want to be"-Vineet Nayar

Do you have something that you dream about? Something that you want from the bottom of your heart? You are eager for achieving it! Sometimes you catch yourself daydreaming about it and actually missing the present moment.

Since early age we are taught to strive towards something. When we are yong we are often asked, what we want to be when we grow older. Thus we get lost in our goals, in the dream about our future...it seems like life turns out to be an ambition to get closer to the hypothetic future!

But is it supposed to be like that? Why not start from today? In my planning classes, we are always thaught that there are short term goals, mid term goals and long term goals. All three of them have their place in the planning process and none could exist without the other. For example the short term goals are more precise than the long term, because you could predict easier what is gonna happen in the future year. But it is harder to know what the circumstances will be after 5 years. WIth that said, turns out that the long term goals are just the frame that draws the direction of your actions now, in order to get as close to what you have in mind now.

It is the same with your personal goals. Like when you look at a map, searching for a place you want to be-you first look at point A-the place where you are now,and then track the route to point B-where you would like to be. Make sure you treat your future the same way. First find out where you are standing. Analyze your position now, because not everything that is seen can be changed, but nothing can be changed before it is seen!