Social Workout

My Body

Brett Hoebel on Capoeira and Garbage Fitness Products

We heard about Brett Hoebel through L.A. super trainer Elizabeth Ordway who gave Hoebel top marks. Hoebel made his name at Equinox in New York with urbanmotion, a class that combined capoeira, kickboxing, and house music. He's since gone out on his own, and attracted a crowd of celebrity clients including Karolina Kurkova, America Ferrera, and Veronica Webb.

I've always been an athlete. I was just naturally good at sports. I could throw a ball straight before any of the other kids. My mom put me in gymnastics when I was two. I always loved to dance. There's just been that movement in me. But I had a wheat allergy and started to gain weight in fifth grade. We moved from New Jersey to California, and I had no friends. But we walked past this karate dojo everyday. There, they don't care how heavy you are, how skinny you are. You come in, you're respectful of the rules, you'll be rewarded. I really excelled. I went to all the classes, and got into sparring. That got me hooked and gave me a lot of self-confidence.  

In 9th grade I decided I didn't want to be the last kid to ever go out on date, and I also tried out for varsity teams, so my training tripled. I weighed in 150 for football, then wrestled sophomore year at 120. I was in ridiculous shape. That changed my life in a good way. The secret is inner strength. You can come up with crazy exercises, but if you want to change your body, your'e going to have to change your life. I call it chatter, that voice in your head that's like "I'm too tired, I want to quit." You have to turn that off. That kind of mental strength, knowing you're not going to quit, that's what does it.

The Accidental Feat

Ever since I gave up soda this month, staying off caffiene has been surprisingly easy.  I don't often have coffee, mainly because there's no Starbucks on the way to work and I'm a coffee snob.  So much to my surprise, I was on day 6 of no caffiene when I realized, holy crap, I've almost accomplished my first feat!  All it took was one more day of doing what I was already doing an

In Short

October Men's Health in 299 Words

You can totally overdose on fish oil. Don't water down sorrows, whiskey or pancakes. Saccharine leaves a metallic aftertaste. Some poultry producers inject salt into their chicken's breasts. Swimming's boring. (Hint: Old pantyhose wipes deodorant marks off clothes.) SSRI's make a man's sperm bad. Hubbard squash is warty-looking but healthy. Mice given acetic acid gained 10% less weight than mice who weren't given the acid. Women like men who don't have lots of chest hair. John Besh cooks excellent beans and rice. People lift more weights when other people are watching. A picture of seared steak looks like wet brains. Eat Breyers not Dove! Overcome any obstacle!  Be a Better Dad! Matthew McConaughey is sultry in a white button down, top button undone. Okra is in. Six pounds of sausage online is $30, plus shipping. Fencer Jason Rogers says indecision is bad. Flip up the collar of your pea coat—you'll look like James Dean. Maintain your mane. Caffeine and TV and cigarettes are bad habits. Ginseng, grilled salmon, cayenne peppermint chewing gum, half an apple, a shot of espresso are good, good, good! Soda, coffee, tea with milk, diet soda are bad bad bad! Whiskey is bad!

Workout

Off The Wagon

1. Finished the Alt.Healthy.Fast. Advil cleared up the caffeine headaches, but it was beyond frustrating not feeling awake for most of the day. So I am welcoming tea back to my life, and later will work on that bottle of wine in my fridge.

Workout

Temperance Week Begins

Ran! Still a bit short of two miles, but I'll work on speed when I finish the C25K set on Tuesday. It's all about the tick.

I mostly drink tea, but the prospect of a week without it is worrying. So I've been tapering off and trying to embrace the mental fog. Today is the official start of alt.health.fast a/k/a Temperance Week.