Days #3 and #4: My Arms/Shoulders HATE Me!

"You don't know what you've got till it's gone", says Joni Mitchell... and boy was she right! I know this because today I can't move my arms. I do a lot of things with my arms, include WALKING, which is sort of weird when you can't swing your arms! Yesterday I did six miles on the treadmill holding my arms up in a face-blocking position holding 1-pound weights. No.... I did NOT make it the ENTIRE six miles, because I had to put them down for a few seconds every minute or so. But just when I thought yesterday was about all my arms could take, this morning happened. I woke up extra early to head up to Eastham, where I spent 45 minutes doing nothing but punching. About a billion (give or take) jabs, crosses and hooks later, I couldn't even lift my arms up to drive back to Orleans! But as my girlfriend often suggests, I walked it off.

Today was TRULY the first day I was tested and pushed. I was punching at moving hands, listening to my boss and trainer, Barbara, who will be in my corner telling me what to do during the match, with sweat pouring off my face, not allowed to stop. Jab, jab, cross, hook! Jab, jab, cross, hook... more times than I can count. And she's got just about the fastest hands on Earth, so often times she would pull away my targets and come at me with a counter punch. Of course, she didn't HIT me ha ha! Or I might not be writing this now :) She just wanted to let me know when I was keeping myself open for a free shot for my opponent. I learned A LOT... I sweat A LOT! At one point I looked at the pads on her hands and saw they were all wet. I thought, "where did that come from?" And then I realized the sweat was coming off my head, onto the gloves and transferring to the pads. Um... gross! But awesome, just the same. I earned every bit of pain I am currently feeling and I love it!

I took a quick cold shower, jumped into a 104 degree hot tub, took a nice long shower and worked six hours. I also went food shopping for my new diet. If you know me, you know the word "diet" rarely seeps from my mouth, unless it's "I don't diet" :) But I have a goal and this is how I reach it. So what can I eat?: Egg whites/dry toast and fruit for breakfast. Some combination of chicken or fish, potatoes or rice and vegetables for lunch and dinner. I have to drink two protein shakes a day, drink a gallon of water (which I already do) and take a few vitamins/supplements along the way. ZERO alcohol. Not a cheap food bill! But when I am a lean, mean, punch-broads-in-the-face machine... it will be well worth it! Big love to my wonderfully amazing girlfriend, Chelsey, who is excited to help me stick to my diet and has been nothing short of perfectly supportive! (even though she tells people I am training to be a cage fighter ha ha ha!) Go me!