My friend hosted a big luau at his house. He invited my capoeira group to come and perform. We did great by the way.  Photo below shows us, wearing white, with the hula dancers and the samoan slap dancers. haha!

Ashley and I in the roda.

After the performances and the eating that commenced.

And the last photo below was taken last Monday night. Our friend Jonny, same guy who hosted the luau, invited us over to Lake Union to enjoy the sunset.  I had such a blast! I actually went swimming in the middle of the lake at 11pm.  It’s not all the time that I get to say that. I’ve got some stories to tell my future kids.

*Photos except for the last photo are taken by my friends.

I usually use the elliptical at the gym, until I got bored. I wanted a challenge. I have been avoiding the treadmill for quite some time now. But once I tried it. I am slowly liking it.

And because it seems that I am slowly getting serious with the time and distance of my run, I decided it was best to get  better running shoes that won’t hurt my knees or shins. I kind of have a knee problem. I have no idea why, it’s not major, but I claim in Jesus name that it will disappear.

For my birthday, I had asked Nick that I would like anything I can wear to the gym, and that of course included new running shoes. I got these new babies over the weekend and test drove them last night. The one in the photo is different from what I have. Instead of it being all black and silver, I got the ones that are black and sky blue. I’ll take a photo sometime soon. But not now. The shoes are very comfortable and cushiony. Which is exactly what I need for my feet.

Let’s see where this whole running thing goes. For now, I am enjoying it. I’m mixing up my workout that way I can see the results that I want in no time.

How’s your workout going?

I guess he wants everyone to know that I love him. But don’t they all know that already?

I wore the shirt after my workout today and when I got back to work, my coworker gave me a funny look.  Yeah… I’ll shut up now.

I’m glad I got to use my Nooka Watch today.  It’s waterproof and very light.  So I was able to check the time while I was on the treadmill. Making sure that I did my crazy workout in 30 minutes then back to work.

I still haven’t figured out how to use the timer though. That way I can time my reps during workout.

Drooling over these knee tights from Athleta why do they have to be so expensive?  I just want to look grrrr when I work out.

I was reading her entry about how often we should workout and I feel that it just might work for me. I like this good break from Capoeira but at the same time I am missing it.  For now, Zusana is my inspiration. And I’m trying to work on it as much as I can. It’s pretty hard because of all the eating this holidays. I have been pretty good in terms of my diet because I have been eating much more frequently and in less amounts. My only vice is drinking coffee everyday. But a cup a day. That’s all I have.

When I get home I’m going to do the quick work out below since I got to work late and won’t have time to hit the gym. I need to go to bed earlier is what I need to do. I have been sleeping at 1am and that’s not good!

Strength, I have no problems with but I need to be able to be in the roda for long periods of time.  Especially if it’s your birthday, my professor thinks it’s the best day to torture you. What better way than to go against everyone in the roda.  So usually after playing  4 people, that’s when I feel like I’m about ready to faint and kiss the floor.

With that, I decided to change it up a little bit after I discovered a video on YouTube. This woman is intense, crazy fit… and yes has big boobs. But try to go past that boobs and butt and watch her workout.  She’s crazy and her body is something to strive for.  She works hard to get in great shape and you can see the results. If she can do it why can’t I right?

The video above is the workout that I have been doing at the gym for a week now.  The first time Nick and I did this,  we were so out of breath but it was soooo good! We actually hit the treadmill for another 20 minutes after our workout. So we did good!

My goal is not to be skinny, but to be fit.  Shave off all the fat in my body by eating right and working out. Doing more cardio and Zusana’s intense workouts.

I’ll be back to Capoeira in January. I wonder if my workouts will make a difference with how I play. I want to last in the roda and kick everyone’s butts!

Do you have a workout you want to share?

My professor was making me do the Au Malandro in front of the camera. Since my camera is a fancy one, no one really touches it unless I give them permission to. At this time I didn’t give anyone permission. HAHA! I just put it on the tripod and set the timer. And the timer goes for 10 seconds.

In this photo, you can see.. how I failed to time it right.

Au Malandro Fail