Here I go....again.

                                              Watch this video before you read on, please.


Hi everyone!
I am starting this blog to document my weightloss and strength training progress and getting altogether better health. For some of you this blog, especially this entry, will be a repeat of some things you already know. I hope you still join me in my journey back to better health. For the rest of you...Hang on for the ride :). I want to start just by telling you a little bit about myself.

Most of my life was spent being raised on 100 acres in the south hills of Reno, NV. I explored just about every inch of those hills  - on horseback, in 4 wheel drive vehicles, on a bike, and by my own power. I was a very active kid. I did martial arts, skied competitively, and played sports. When I was 16 I trekked to the top of Mt. Rose, a local mountain in the Eastern Sierra Nevadas area with a summit of 10,777 Ft. by the way....I'm in a wheelchair. I was born with a birth defect called Spina Bifida causing paralysis from my knees - down but, as you can see, it didn't stop me. at 19 I officially moved out on my own, and that is where the trouble began. I sustained an injury to my left shoulder, I stopped skiing, and altogether wasn't as active. I met a woman a few years later and we would marry in June of 2009. I started to get very upset with my lack of physical ability. I had once been the fastest thing on a sit ski (okay, not really, but a boy can dream, can't he? :) ) and now it hurt to raise my arm in the wrong position. My uncle - in -law opened up a gym, Crossfit initiative, and I was encouraged....so I started to go. The first 4 weeks consisted of an intro just to get me used to the workouts and then I was to go into the regular classes...well, I failed. I finished my intro 4 weeks and then quit. My job was stressing me out, the wife and I were down to 1 car, and everything seemed to be fighting against us...but I realize now those were just me trying to justify my fears and not go back....and thus, the title of this blog "what is YOUR excuse?" cause, ya see...I am back at Crossfit initiative. I talked to my uncle, who gave me a killer deal on it and I couldn't refuse. I had to do it this time and not give up. I had to do it for me, for my wife, for my sanity. I've been internalizing a struggle for some time about not being able to do the things I used to, especially now that I would love to share those experiences with my wife. I want to ski with her, hike with her, and just be healthy with her. Part of my goal in writing this blog is to keep myself accountable...to my wife, to my family, to my uncle and others at the gym and to myself. I need to be proactive in attaining health again and part of that is trying to get my thoughts, fears, and struggles down into this blog. I will no longer find excuses to not be healthy for me and my wife - I REFUSE to use excuses. Money may be tight sometimes, time might not be on my side, and lifes many struggles may arise, but there is always time to get back into better health. I once was told that time is not found, it is made...if you want to do something bad enough, you will make the time to do it - be it working out, or eating right, or cooking at home, or spending more time with your spouse and family, or spending more time with God, you will make time. NO EXCUSES!