A year has passed

The blog thing is hard to do. I am not very good at talking about myself and trying to make up topics to talk about. I am going to try to post more. Im going to try for twice a week. We will see how it goes.
A lot has changed in the last year. I am now going to SDSU for nutrition. I am slated to graduate in spring of 2020. I cannot wait. I am not a huge fan of school and I want to get it over with as soon as I can. It will be another 6-9 months after that when I will be doing an internship. Then a few months to study, and time to take my Registered Dietitian test. I cant wait to get that completed in order to be able to continue to follow my dream to be a personal trainer.
On that note though, I am well on my way. Not only am I over half way done with school, I am a certified personal trainer. I did my training program through National Association of Sports Medicine, or NASM. It took me almost 7 months to complete the certification, but I am complete with it. One less stress that I have to worry about.
I am in the process of setting up my own company, Patriotic Fitness. Which happens to be my screen name on instagram. @patriotic_fitness. Please give me a follow and invite anyone else who is interested in fitness to follow me as well. I post a lot of fitness things that can be copied and used on  your own to do your workouts.
Until next week, back to studying!

Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it. --Charles R. Swindoll

Its been a long time

Hey everyone, its been a long time since I last posted. I got a bit discouraged by the fact that I was not making any real progress so did feel like there was anything for me to write. An update for everyone. I just finished another semester of school on my way to San Diego State University to study food and nutrition as well as fitness. I just took Anatomy and Chemistry. Still doing prerequisites, so it isn't really anything that I am super interested in. I did like anatomy. Learning how the body works and what things do what was actually quite interesting to me. I have already taken things that I have learned in that class and applied them to my daily life. On Monday my summer class is starting up. Microbiology. I am not looking forward to having to learn everything in 8 weeks, but it has to get done in order for me to stay on track to transfer as planned in Spring of 2018. I am sure that some of the things I learn in micro will be able to be applied to life. Just don't know what yet.
As for the physical side of life. Things are about the same as the last time that I wrote. I still struggle with my leg workouts. I know that I am getting a little bit stronger in my legs, but no where near where I want to be. I still have issues with my dorsiflexion, or drop foot. I think along with working out all the time, I need to start doing yoga. I think if my flexibility was better, I would have a greater range of motion and be able to use my muscles in ways that are lacking, in order to fully build back the muscle that I lost.
A HUGE thing that I have to say, I just underwent stem cell therapy. Therapy is a bit of an overstatement. It was just a series of IV's that put the stem cells in my body. That happened about a month ago. The doctor told me that the results probably wouldn't be seen until about 6 months after the injections. It takes a long time for the stem cells to adapt to my body and the needs that I have. We will have to see how it all goes. I will definitely try to write more and keep everyone updated on any progress that I have. I am very hopeful that this will all work out, but there is always a chance nothing will happen. Thats okay, I had to try anything that I could.
I will try to go into greater detail about how the stem cell treatment actually went in another post. Time to get back to the grind!

Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out. ~John Wooden

Busy, busy, busy

Oh man, I have been busy lately. Ive had lots going on with school and my training to get a service dog. Most of the times have been enjoyable though. Especially the time I get to spend with Lisa. In case you guys don't know, she is my girlfriend. Yes, someone actually puts up with me!
School is going pretty good. My biology class has been the hardest because my teacher isn't the best, but I am making it through. These are still just pre-requisite classes for my actual major. Although, I am taking a nutrition class that I am loving learning all the basics. It has been a great experience so far and I am looking forward to learning even more!
Training with Manny has been great! He is such a great dog. Sometimes he has trouble listening because there are so many distractions around him, kind of like me I guess you could say. We went to the dog park this morning so at the moment, he is passed out on the floor. I am going to give him some time to rest before we train for a little while. He has been helping me not have to use so much of my energy on the little things. He helps me pick things up off the ground, and while walking he has been helping me balance and stay on a straight path. I am not sure if it makes sense, but he is definitely helping me out. He has a dog bed that I think I am going to build him a little hutch for. That way I can store all of his toys and treats where they will be organized.
There hasn't been much going on with my house lately. I have actually not been spending much time around the house. I am here for homework and to sleep sometimes. Otherwise I am out and about doing things. It is fun, but I do like being in my own home because, well, its mine! Until later.

Nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. ~Anonymous

So far, so good

Well, its been two weeks of school and so far its been going well. At the beginning of the semester I was signed up for three classes. I signed up for a biology lecture/lab, sociology, and food and nutrition. For all the classes, I signed up online. Through the school I am going, to the online registration is supposed to only let you sign up for the classes that you are "qualified" to take. This means that some of the classes have requirements to take before you can enroll. Well, the friday before classes started I get an email from the nutrition professor saying that I do not have the requirements to take the class. Normally, I would not be able to even enroll in the class without the requirements completed, but this time it let me. So the professor told me that I was dropped, so I went to the counselor and signed up for a statistics class, that way I am still taking three classes. Well, the tuesday after I started class I get an email from the nutrition professor saying that because the system let me sign up, that I would actually be able to take the class. So, now I am in 4 classes. Lucky for me, only the biology class is in seat. All the other classes are online so I can usually knock out all of the work in one day, and not have to wait to complete everything. I have to admit though, I am a bit worried that I am going to get overwhelmed with the work later in the semester. We will see how it all goes though. I hope that I am not going to be too busy with school to still be able to workout. The weekend I should have off because I will finish all the schoolwork by friday. Ill keep everyone updated about how its going.



I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. ~Thomas A. Edison

Back to school

Well, I have been off for about a month from school, and its time to start back up. The fall school term starts on monday the 22nd. I will be taking a bio class/lab and two other online classes. I am working on my prereqs to do nutritional science. I am going to transfer to San Diego State to get my undergrad in that subject. I am hoping to be done with everything within three years. We will see how that timeline hold up.
I just finished my associates in general studies. I still have a few general education classes to take, which I am not too excited about. All those classes are are studies that I don't really care about. That is the problem with general studies, they are useless after school. It is true that some of the classes are used for certain degrees, but not mine. I think the education system is a bit screwed up. You should only take the classes that apply to your degree. There is no reason that I need to take a world politics class to get an undergrad in nutritional science. But, I guess I just have to grin and bear it to get to the classes that I am actually interested in.
I am taking an intro to food science class this term. I am looking forward to learning all of these things. Not just to make a career out of it but I want to learn it to apply it to my life as well! I may workout a bunch but I do not eat the healthiest and I want to change that. I need the knowledge to be able to apply that to my life. Transforming my body will help to show my future clients that it really does work. I am really excited to get started!

The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny to do, and then do it. ~Henry Ford

Montana!

Sorry everyone, forgot that I said I was going to post about my trip to Montana with my girlfriend Lisa and her family. Been pretty busy lately.
Lisa and her family were gracious enough to invite me to their family reunion that they have every year at their place in Montana. It was fantastic! I had soooooo much fun. It is the first time that I have ever been to Montana and I hope to go back because the place it truly amazing! We went for a week, Thursday to Thursday. We got in a day earlier than everyone else so we had some time to tour around ourselves. The house the have is a bit away from everything, which is truly perfect. We got in at midnight on Thursday and got to see the night sky without the light pollution of a big city. I have see a night sky with, literally, zero light pollution. When I was deployed and the ship I was on was running dark at night, the sky is truly amazing. You can actually make-out the milky way with your naked eye. That was the same way at the house in Montana. It is so amazing and I absolutely loved it.
The next day we slept in a bit because, hey, its vacation! When we got up we went about 5 miles up the road to a spot on the Bitterroot River (it actually runs right by their house) and brought some inner tubes. We parked the car and got out and floated down the river. It was so nice and relaxing, just the two of us hanging out, talking and smiling. As we got close to the house we saw some of her family getting there. We stopped on the shoreline for about 5 minutes and said hello, then floated the rest of the way and hopped out of the water. The river was so nice and cool on a hot day. We walked up to the house and prepared to go get the car back. It was great!
The next day more of the family came in and we had a great relaxing day hanging out and welcoming more family members in. There wasn't too much that went on that day except for everyone getting settled in. On Saturday, everyone that was there went to the artists farmers market to hang out and shop. I didn't shop but most of the other people did. It was nice to walk around and see the crafts that people had created. More of the family came in mid day and we were able to meet up with them for lunch before heading back to the house to relax and help the "newcomers" settle in. That night we had a great family dinner with awesome conversation!
The next day we didn't have too much planned so it was a lot of conversation and joking around at the house. I was able to make it to the gym that they have about ten minutes from the house. It was a beautiful gym and I had a great workout. Then went back to the house and got some lunch and did a little reading while relaxing on the porch outside. Later that day more of the family showed up! there was only one more day where people were going to get in. The total of family that was there was 23 people, I believe.
On Monday we drove into Missoula to a white water rafting company. They drove us about an hour away and dropped us of in the river to get going. It was so much fun! The full trip was 11-5 and the distance on the river was about 12 miles. The rapids were awesome but the wind was crazy that day. Normally the river would propel you down but the wind was stopping us in place. If we weren't paddling we weren't moving. It was such a great time though. After we got out of the river we went back to the house where the last of the family had gotten in. Another family dinner that night. I love the family dinners, sitting around talking about everyone and everything. It made me so happy to hang with them.
Tuesday ended up being a golf day for most of the guys. That was the first time I had ever played actual golf. I had hit the driving range a few times before but never played actual golf. I, of course, wasn't good at all, but it was great to spend time with the guys making jokes and learning to play correctly. we all got finished and went back to the house to recover from the day and another fantastic dinner!
Wednesday was another first for me. We went fly fishing!! I had practiced with Lisa's dad a few days prior but was still terrible. The guide on our trip really helped me out with the things I wasn't really understanding with the casting.  I was able to catch a few fish on the trip down the river. We stopped for lunch half way through and talked about everything with our guide. Oh, forgot to tell you, it was Lisa, the guide, and me in the boat. Lisa is a phenomenal fly fisher. I was watching her, trying to get tips on how I should be fishing. Side note, Lisa is incredible at all the things that she tries. Its amazing to watch her do her thing. Back to it. the biggest fish I caught through the day was about a 7-8 inch fish. It was so much fun. Right as we got to the boat pull out i cast one last time to try my luck. Guess what?? I caught a 16 incher at the last second. It was so cool!! I had so much fun that day and I appreciate it so much that they invited me to go!
On the last day, we just spent our time hanging with the family and reminiscing on the week that had just passed. It was such a blast and I had the best time with everyone there. I can thank them enough for letting me join in the festivities. My girlfriend and our family are absolutely amazing! They are all so loving and giving. I felt so welcomed by all of them and I appreciate it more than I can say. Off to my day now! Keep on keeping on!

Trust because you are willing to accept the risk, not because it’s safe or certain. ~Anonymous

Been a long time

Well, its been over a year since I have posted a blog. I have had some personal things that have been going on that have prevented me from writing. Those are over and in the past and its time to get back to this.
An update on me in the past year... I have been going to school for a while now. I was able to finish my associates degree and I am now working on my prereqs to get in to San Diego State to get a degree in nutritional science and fitness specialist. Just one more step on the road to become a personal trainer/nutritionist. I am starting to get into the classes that I am actually interested in learning. As I have said before, those general education classes are really boring. I was not interested in any of the information so I was just trying to get through them the best I could. But now I am getting into the good stuff. I just finished a summer school class that was an intro to exercise science. It was pretty cool and some good information to learn.
Besides school, I have been working on my rehabilitation still. It is definitely not an easy road but I am continuing on it with the help of my wonderful girlfriend. She pushes herself just as hard as I do and it is an inspiration to me that keeps me going. For a while I was training to compete in crew at the Paralympic Games in Rio this year. They were in desperate need of a rower in the trunk and arms classification. Let me explain, there are three classifications of adaptive rowing. There is arms and shoulders, trunk and arms, and legs, trunk and arms. Arms an shoulders are for the people that are unable to support themselves with there trunk muscles. They get strapped into the seat and row with just their arms. Trunk and arms in for those that have a substantial weakness in at least one leg. That is the classification that I was going for. Leg, trunk and arms is just like regular rowing except not as much power as the other professional rowers. Well, I was training for about two months thinking that I was going to qualify for the trunk and arms because of the deficit I have in my left leg from my spinal cord injury. As it turns out, I have too much strength in my legs so I was unable to compete in that classification, which was the only one they needed a team for. I am not upset at all that I did all that training. It was fun, and a great workout after all. I was a bit bummed that I wasn't going to compete, but thats okay. It was a great experience.
I am reading a book called "Original Strength- Pressing Reset". It is all about taking your body back to its infant stage of fitness and working from there. I highly recommend it to everyone. One of my therapists, John, recommended it to me. I was a bit skeptical at first but after reading the book I cannot wait to get started resetting my body. I hope that it will help me overcome a lot of the issues that I am having from my spinal cord injury. I don't think it will, but that won't stop me from trying! I am going to make my girlfriend Lisa work through it with me. I think it will help both of us out tremendously.
Thats a bit of an update from me. I will post another tomorrow or Sunday to tell everyone about the fabulous week I just had with Lisa and her family in Montana. Until then, keep pushing!

Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out. ~John Wooden