Coach Kirstin

I'm not going to lie, every workout hurts right now. If its not pure pain in my hand, it's the nerves flaring up or it's throbbing. It's frustrating. It frustrated me enough to get in my head and make me give up last week and skip training. But I miss it terribly. Oh and I feel guilty for not training. So I'm back this week. Slower. Frustrated. Hurting. But sucking it up.

This weeks Green Grocer  delivery had a few things I wasn't sure what to do with.  Namely eggplant and butter lettuce.  Off to the interwebs I went and found a recipe for Eggplant Bolognese .  I added a few extras like the bell peppers and onions to my delivery so I didnt have to pick them up and then got the meats from the grocery store.  My boyfriend also had the great idea to add bacon, which gave us some bacon grease and extra goodness in the Bolognese.  Below is my ingredients and steps modified from the above recipe. Left over bacon fat 2 tablespoons butter 1 large eggplant peeled and cubed (approximately 2-3 cups) 1 red bell pepper cut into bite size pieces 1 small red onion, sliced (should have cut smaller) 1 pound ground beef 1 pound ground pork 1 pacakge bacon 1 teaspoon sea salt + more to taste 2 tablespoons  balsamic vinegar  5 garlic cloves minced 1 ½ cups tomato sauce  1 tablespoon dried oregano ...

I realized something today. And it may be why I do most of my training at night. Its how I reward myself.  I'm an introvert by nature.  But my job and life, force me to step out of my box and be an extroverted "type" for most of the day.  So when I get to the gym, I'm not there to talk, I'm there to recharge my batteries.   I do the thing I like least first.  Just like when I was a little kid and ate the things I didn't like first.  Like eating all of the cheerios out of the Lucky Charms first so then I had all marshmallows at the end.  So I do my strength and conditioning first.  Its not that I dislike it but its not why I'm there.  Though I enjoy seeing my improvements, I will never see leaps and bounds improvements while maintaining a my weight bracket. But with 3 pins sticking out of my pinky, my training has been limited.  So I do my S&C, maybe some pad work or bag work, but that's about it.  I don't get to do...

Some times I think I might be going crazy. That or I'm just becoming someone I hate. Right now my weight is 152.2. Exactly where I agreed with my coach to keep it. Makes going to 135 a whole lot easier. But I feel fat. Last week was my rest week. I also try and give my mind a rest. I eat without thinking and I don't weigh myself. So honestly when I step on the scale the Monday after that week, I'm always terrified what it's going to say. And this was no exception. Because in my mind, I was fat. I had seen my body evolve as it always does during a fight cycle, and I wasn't there. But I stepped on the scale and 152.2. Two days in a row. But I'm not happy where I'm at. I feel like one of those crazy chic's who is always dieting and still says she's fat. Because in reality, this is the best shape I have ever been in my whole life. But I'm still not satisfied with where I'm at. Or maybe it's my mind saying "These cuts aren...

So I have a pretty amazing Dr.  If there is a way to fix me, without cutting me open he knows it.  And really well.  And he has great "bed side manner," which is a lost art with Dr's these days.  Please check out Dr. Victor Ibrahim so he can put you back together.  He has fixed tendons in my shoulder and feet, nerve spasms in my leg, torn meniscus, general pain in my knee due to previous surgeries (and a lack of cartilage) and all without cutting me open.  So when my finger looked like this post fight he was the first one I turned to.  Well I'm an eternal optimist.  My finger looking like that means the tendons are ruptured.  Upon not being able to locate my tendons on ultra sound, Dr Ibrahim called his colleague Dr Hashemi.  Dr Hashemi squeezed me in that afternoon at 2:30 in his Arlington office.  After seeing my finger and discussing my options, he was on the phone within 20 minutes of first meeting me to get me into a sur...

That is me and my coaches El and Roland after winning my most recent fight at Barbarian FC.  That smile is relief not just happiness of winning.  When I train, I like a schedule and things the way I am used to.  I know what works for me and I will repeat it.  I learn what doesn't work and I tweak it.  I've in essence had 3 cancelled fights this year and was going on 8 months of no fights.  I was starting to worry about ring rust.  So when our head coach Jeremy called with a fight, I took it.  On 19 days notice.  I also only 5 days with my coaches before I got on a plane to spend 10 days in Montana.  Prepping for my grandmothers memorial and burial. Surrounded by family and good food.  With no for sure training lined up.  The training I could find was about an hours drive from my grandpa.  And my grandpa doesn't believe in cooking at home.  And what he does do at home is anything but helpful towards cutting weight. ...