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Ya’ll remember that woman who won the New York Marathon a couple of months ago? Do you know who I’m talking about?  The one who trained all through her pregnancy? Well, incase you don’t know, let me fill you in on this amazing woman.  She a runner, right? and she got pregnant and continued to train for the NYC Marathon all during her pregnancy.  Her doctor and she designed a special support belt that she would wear during her runs.  On the day of her delivery, she ran 5 miles.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

So my friend and I got into an argument over this same woman the other day.  My friend thought the woman was nuts to have done what she did.  But I am totally inspired and motivated by this woman.  She was completely supervised and monitored during her whole pregnancy by her doctor.  She wasn’t putting her baby at risk because she didn’t BEGIN the running when she got PG but rather CONTINUED her workouts with some modifications here and there.  

This woman single-handedly revolutionized pregnancy as we know it.  Which only means that if a man is EVER lucky enough to brainwash me into carrying his seed, I will have to somehow top this runner’s accomplishments.  Because Code Red plans on changing society’s view of pregnancies.  You watch.  In fact I want to get pregnant just so I can show ya’ll how it’s done.  (oooohhhh! Am I gonna get some angry emails now!) Look, I said it–I’m officially writing it down so ya’ll can hold me accountable to my promise.  I’m sick of women in this society being so stinkin pampered that they gain 65 pounds during their pregnancies because they’re “eating for two,” (which is an old school myth, by the way).  Times have changed, ladies, and it’s time for us to step up and reclaim our bodies during those 9 months and after.  You wonder why postpardom depression is so high now days?  Partly because we can’t get ahold of ourselves and do what’s right for our bodies.  Being pregnant isn’t your ticket to go friggin’ nuts and eat yourself out of a house and home.  It’s not an excuse to lay around day in and day out.  Yeah, you need rest and yeah, there are going to be tough days especially towards the end. But back in the day women used to give birth in the fields, pick up their kid and keep plowing the fields!  Holy cow!  

And when that bundle of joy pops out, get your doctor’s clearance and get the heck BACK in the GYM!  No excuses, no waiting, no nothing.  Put that kid in that stroller, lace up your shoes and start jogging, girls.  Start jogging.  I don’t care if you can only run 10 steps.  Do it anyway.  Then tomorrow, you’ll run 20 steps.  And so on.

Look, by now some of you are probably mad as hell at me.  That’s ok.  I’m used to it.  But I want you ladies fit, healthy, happy and setting good examples for your kids.  Don’t settle for being less than the best you can be.  Lead healthy lives.  Make time to exercise.  You’ll make a better parent. 

With the weather getting hotter, I’m more tuned into my and my client’s water consumption.  But the sound of cash registers ringing up water sales all over this city is enough to make my good ear go deaf.  

Why are you people BUYING water???

This is absolutely absurd.  With what we know about plastics, recycling, etc, none of us should be forking out any of our soon-to-be euro for a bottle of water.  You know what it is?  It’s just plain ole’ laziness.  Yeah, I said it–I called you lazy.  Too lazy to buy your own reusable water bottle.  Too lazy to fill it up the night before, put it in the fridge so that when you wake up, it’s nice and cold when you leave the house.  You don’t want to deal with it.  You’d rather just waste more of your money on bottle after bottle after bottle each day.  Throughout the day, here and there, you buy a bottle, and then you either forget you have it, it gets warm, you drink it, you accidentally throw it away before it’s empty or whatever and you buy another one.  Let’s just add up the costs, shall we? Ok.  A small normal bottle of water is, let’s just say for easy math, two dollars.  You need to be drinking about 10 of those wimpy bottles of water a day.  So you’re easily shelling out as much as $20 a day in water.  Don’t believe me?  Do a little experiment and you’ll see that you do.  For $20, you can buy a SIGG bottle at Whole Foods (or many other places–that’s just where I got mine) and fill it up over and over. Plus, it keeps the water so cold!  Also, for $2.39, I bought a gallon jug from K-Mart that I fill up each day.  It has a handle, a little pop-top and everything!  I even put “Code Red” on it.  

So people, reeeeally!  Let’s think twice about buying bottles of water.  Go get yourself a reusable jug and take the extra 8 seconds to fill it up each time (it’s literally 8 seconds–I just timed it).

(Yes, I did call you lazy earlier but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.  Tough love, baby.  Tough love.  That’s just how I roll).  

Boxing is full of corrupt, shady people and policies.  There are many, many things I don’t like about the professional boxing industry/sport/business.  But I’ve gotta admit that boxing has given me a life beyond what I’ve dreamt about.  It has opened up many, many doors that have lead to other doors.  (Sadly, boxing has closed some doors that I regret ever closed but that won’t be discussed here).

Boxing has also made me feel better about myself than I’ve ever felt, physically.  I’m in SICK shape through nothing but boxing and running.  I’m stronger, faster, and my body looks better than ever before.  Confidence wise, I’m much more confident as a person, as a woman.  I walk taller.  I hold my head higher.  I compete in a sport only a couple of thousand women in the world do.  I compete in the #1 toughest sport in the world and man, I’ve gotta tell you, that feels pretty good.  The all out bloody battles I’ve had in the ring have helped me get through life’s even tougher challenges.

But as cool as it is to get in the ring and fight, it’s just as horrifying to lose a fight in front of thousands, and in my case in China, millions of viewers.  Spectators sit ringside or at home (some with their cigarets and beer) and pick apart with no mercy every single flaw and mistake a fighter makes.  We are ridiculed and exploited and hung out to dry.  It’s not a team sport so there’s no one to blame but ourselves.  All the pressure, all the pain, all the glory, all the blood… it’s all on us.  And we fighters are our worse critics ’cause we’ll ponder that fight for countless nights and we won’t let it go!

You might wonder why this blog is so…I don’t know…deep, I guess.  Dark, heavy.  I’m fighting an internal battle right now about boxing.  When does a fighter retire from the ring?  How will he or she know when it’s time?  Won’t there be a peace or calm within their heart when a fighter is ready to hang them up?  I thought I would be ready to quit boxing by now.  I have such a wonderful life with SO MANY other opportunities.  But MAN!  Every time I step into a ring there’s something powerful that comes over me like a drug and I can’t shake it.  I go back day after day after day… fight after fight after fight.  I love the 5AM runs.  I love the nervous plane rides to a fight.  I love getting my hands wrapped in the dressing room and slipping on the satin robe.  The feeling that comes over a fighter when they hear the words from the promoter, “Hey, let’s go, you’re up next.”  There’s that terribly lonely feeling when your trainer leaves the ring and you’re waiting for the opening bell to ring.  There’s no turning back.  Everyone is watching, waiting, to see who will bleed the most tonight.  And there’s no comparison to having your glove raised in victory.  Few things in life feel better.

So perhaps the question remains no more.  Perhaps I haven’t yet reached the end of my rope with the boxing business.  Perhaps the only rope I’m reaching for is the one that creates a square for me to pass through and fight for my life… under the lights, under the scrutinizing stares of thousands, under my own self pressure of performing well.                

Coming from someone who makes a living training folks at a gym, this is a pretty bold title.  But that should show you that my true heart’s desire is for you to be fit, healthy and happy with yourself, not just to make money off your unmotivated butt!

Look, the weather all over the country is getting so nice.  Get outside.  Do something.  It’s so easy to get a workout right now.  Take advantage of the fact that it’s not scalding hot yet and it’s no longer the Ice Age.  It’s perfect.  Doesn’t take much–go for a run, bike ride, rollerblade or for some of you, JUST WALK.  I was in the park today and I watched people throw a football back and forth.  One couple was throwing a frisbee.  This is better than nothing, guys.  Now if you’re wanting to lose some serious fat, it’s gonna take more than just a leisurely stroll hand-in-hand with your partner.  It’s gonna take sprints, climbing stairs, longer runs (3+ miles), push ups, squat jumps, etc.. all of which you can do in a park or grassy area.  This is the part where you don’t need a gym.  Even a serious athlete, like myself staying in fighting shape, can get in a KILLER workout with nothing but myself.  No equipment needed (might need a can to puke in, though).  I take my dog on 4 mile runs every morning at 5:15AM and another 4 mile run at 6PM each night.  Yes, you read that right–twice a day.  Might seem excessive to you but I have some goals in mind and I’ll stop at nothing to achieve them.  That’s the kind of attitude you need to get.  Those runs combined with a clean diet equals weight loss.  I lost 4 lbs last week, and 3 lbs the week before.  And I plan to drop another 2-3 lbs this coming up week.  And those runs I mentioned above are only taking me about 30 minutes each.  So it’s not like I’m spending tons of time working out all day long so you can’t use that excuse that you don’t have the time.  You can totally do this, too.  

GET OUTSIDE!!!  

Before hopping on the subway this morning, I went into Starbucks for a hot cup of coffee to warm up the gray, rainy New York day.  As I was standing in line with the other poor schmucks addicted to this over-priced crack, I gazed into the glass cookie display case.  My favorite cookie, the Rainbow Cookie, smiled at me.  But as I smiled back, I blinked to clear my blurred vision.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  

Right there written beneath the cookie was, “$2.75 and 470 calories.”

Now, people, look–I do this for living.  I am an expert in the field of health, wellness, and exercise.  I studied nutrition in college.  But even I was ASTONISHED!  Even I was completely floored that, although it’s a big cookie, it has more calories than my entire lunch.  I make a point to stay on top of the nutritional value in most foods and drinks but this one totally took me by surprise.  I think it was perhaps my unconscious mind not wanting to believe that the best cookie on earth would cause me to do not one, not three…but 5 MILES on the treadmill.  5 MILES just to work off that stupid cookie.  

It was such a great eye-opener and reminder that we must be so very careful at what we put past our lips.  You wonder why you can’t lose those last 5 lbs?  Or why you’ve been jogging every night for the past 2 months and your gut STILL hangs over your waistband?  Take a look at what the heck you’re eating.  You’d be surprised…very surprised.  BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU EAT AND READ THE LABELS!!!