My December was mainly devoted to healing and family time. I mentioned in my last month's blog that I had injured my pinky finger and that my dog had needed extra care due to his health and age. He ended up passing on December 3rd after a long life of 14 years and 11 months. I believe in things happening for a reason and that the timing of my injury, which resulted in less training time, coincided with the extra time I needed to care for him and grieve after his passing.
The first couple of weeks of the month I was doing more weight training, since my pinky finger wasn't healed enough to grapple. I was only able to do certain drills that don't require my hands. I scaled my training back since I was exhausted from grieving for that first week as well. I often preach about consistency, since it has helped me so much to keep towards my goals and health. So when I'm not 100% physically or emotionally, I still continue even if it is not my full capability.
After the first 2 weeks passed, I was able to grapple in class with my fingers taped. It felt so good to be grappling again and working to get my cardio up to par again. I was able to keep up with jiu jitsu over my Christmas vacation back east as well. It was a great week with a lot of family time, training, and awesome pizza! I encourage balance with fitness and nutrition for others and myself. I allow myself treats when I want, since I do keep consistency with my training and nutrition. As a result, I don't ever feel deprived yet don't want the treats all the time either. I truly enjoy eating healthy, since it makes my training easier and my everyday happier.
What I did over the holidays was eat my staples throughout the day and only have meals that are not the norm a few times throughout the week. When I keep this balance, then it is easy to get back on track and also isn't far from my usual days. I felt very refreshed after a week off from work and plenty of social time with close friends and family. It was very much needed after the past few months and made such a difference for me emotionally and physically.
I'm looking forward to competing again in 2016 and setting new goals. My first tournament of 2016 is at the end of January at Gracie Nationals. I plan to compete at least five times this year. I love that fresh new feeling that the New Year brings and the vision of accomplishing new goals. I will be talking in detail about my new goals in next month's blog. Look out for my resolutions/goals along with all the other Team HMB athletes on the HMB website! Happy training!
-Jennifer Dietrick