i'm moving!

Hello Everyone!

As you know this blog as been around since 2005. Though these days my blogging life has been unpredictable, I still want you to know that I intend to maintain it. After some major soul searching, I decided to consolidate all of my blogs. Therefore, this fathlete is re-locating. My new site will be here (http://fiercefathletechronicles.wordpress.com/).  As you can see, I've imported the material from the original site and simply re-located it. Please note that I'm not shutting this site down. I'll leave it up because I'd never remove my home. However, with gmail and blogger merging, I wanted to make things simple and make the switch to wordpress. I do hope I see you there:)

Celebrating EVERY body,
the fierce fathlete

life after CrossFit (part I)

I know it's been a while and I've had a few false starts on this blog. However, I think I'm ready to start posting consistently again. So here it goes....

Since leaving the San Francisco bay area and starting my new gig in Phoenix, my workout life has been pretty inconsistent. After moving to Phoenix, I learned the hard way that finances wouldn't allow me to sign up for a local gym. Therefore, I decided to just workout at home. fathlete confession: working out at home doesn't really work for me. Though convenient, I will always find a way to slack off.

This summer, I decided to give working out at home another shot. I was actually doing okay for a few weeks. However, I realized that I'm the type of person who needs to go somewhere to workout. Thing is, I'm not big on your standard globo gym. I like specialized programs, which is why CrossFit worked out so well. Thing is... I am not ready to go back to CrossFit (more on that later).

With that, I decided to commit the ultimate CrossFit sin... I signed up for summer classes at a local dance studio that specializes in Zumba.

Yup. That's right. I Zumba.
Judge all you want, CrossFit snobs!

There was something about the vibe at Yenis Dance Body & Soul (located in San Bruno, CA) that just suited me. I wanted to something that wasn't CrossFit, something that kept me moving and interested. Zumba fit the bill. I had a great time at Yenis Dance Body & Soul and would love to go back during my breaks. (Yenis, if you're reading this, temporary, short-term memberships would be an awesome option! Please consider.) Training at Yenis Dance Body & Soul was a refreshing departure from CrossFit. No timers. No competition. No lululemon. No fat hating or shaming (again, more on that later).

Now that I'm back in Phoenix, I decided that I wanted to continue dance. As luck would have it, Joyful Yoga (located in Chandler, AZ) has what I'm looking for. The added perk is that I get to do yoga! I signed up for a trial month today and took a Zumba class, followed by Restorative Yoga. I'm glad to be training in something again.

I have more to say, but I'll save it for future posts. For now, I'd like to say that yes, there is life after CrossFit:)

Celebrating EVERY body,
the fierce fathlete

why it's okay to be fat

Celebrating EVERY body,
the fierce fathlete

Hot & Heavy

I just wanted to send some kudos to Virgie Tovar, the editor of the upcoming book Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love, and Fashion. It comes out late October, so reserve your copy today!

To celebrate the release of this amazing and much-needed book, Virgie is introducing 50 Days of Fat Ferociousness. For fifty days, Virgie will be introducing you to fifty fierce women who unapologetically love their bodies. I was so honored to be part of this list of fifty amazing women. I was Day 48:

Thank you SO MUCH Virgie, and all the people who "liked" and left comments on Facebook on my day. It is truly an honor:)

Celebrating EVERY body,
the fierce fathlete

phoenix life

Technically, the phoenix is a mythical bird that symbolizes rebirth and renewal. After some thought, I realized that after finishing the Ph.D., it was only appropriate that lady fate would lead me to Phoenix, Arizona. That's right. I'm currently residing in Phoenix and am lecturing at Arizona State University in the Asian Pacific American Studies Program. Though it's not a tenure-track job, it's an excellent opportunity and I am so lucky to be here. Granted, being away from the people I love has its rough moments. But like the mythical phoenix, my time here is part of my rebirth and renewal. It's a stepping stone to where I need to be. With that, I need to indulge in the process.

A lot has changed in my life. With that, the trajectory of this blog will again, shift. I haven't sorted out the nuts and bolts of it all. For now, the posts fill focus less on health and working out. Instead, you'll see more about me and what's going on in my life. Not that I'm completely brushing off sharing my health adventures with you - I'm just not doing a lot in that area lately. Since we're on that subject, I'll give you the quick and dirty about that part of my life.

Over a year ago, I officially left One World and CrossFit because I re-located from Union City to South San Francisco. From there, I joined Club Genentech and took classes and worked out on my own. It was a good move for me because I was getting frustrated with CrossFit and I thought it was time for me to bow out gracefully. Now that I'm in Phoenix, I decided that I really don't want to deal with the whole gym scene at all. Therefore, I treated myself to P90X (yes, much to the dismay of many CrossFitters... and you wonder why I left). I do that and other at-home exercise routines. You may not realize this, but my first foray in exercise happened at home, using some Kathy Smith exercise tape (the one where you use resistance bands). I used to wait til everyone was asleep and I'd sneak downstairs and exercise by myself. I guess you can say that I'm going back to that. It's not CrossFit (in both positive and negative ways), but I'm actually enjoying it! I'm waiting for this blazing hot weather to cool off so that I can go running again. Rumor has it that by late October, I can develop a running routine that can carry me through the spring time. Wa-hoo!

I know it's been a while. I promise I'll post regularly from here on out. For now, I just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive and well. This blog will live on, its soul is just being re-vamped.

Celebrating EVERYbody,
the fierce fathlete