Weeks

I'm trying to take things a week at a time. It's working well so far.

Sunday: In the morning I had the Professor's hike (3.5 mile mountain hike). And then I assisted with the men's circuit training class and then the regular circuit training class after that. Then I had open weight room. After which I headed to the states for church. I've been a total ward crasher, showing up to random wards and telling everyone my interesting "story." Last week I went to the San Diego singles ward. And I always enjoy my Sunday afternoons with Amber.

Monday/Tuesday: Relaxing time with Amber and Maria. Singles' ward family home evening. Bowling and friends. Breakfast at The Yellow Deli. Wonderful.

Wednesday: Started my morning assisting the "Par Cour" obstacle course. Then I helped with the set-up for the Hydro-Fit class. Craig Stuart, the founder of Hydro-Fit, was here for the week. His classes are very full because he is a great teacher. He is also one of the main reasons I am here at the Ranch. Thanks to Mom who works for Hydro-Fit and has done lots of things with Craig, he was my connection. I also assisted with the Ranch Bootcamp class and lastly I had sand volleyball in the afternoon.

Thursday: Professor's hike in the morning. Then I took H20 Sports Conditioning and The Wave. Great classes by Craig. Thursday was Britta's last day of her internship so we went to tacos for lunch with Kevin, Marcos, and Manuel (they call it "the crew"). And lastly, I had open weight room until it closed.

Friday: I didn't have to do anything in the morning, so I took that time to work on my online class. Then I had circuit training, water polo on the noodle, and open weight room.

Saturday: It was "Saturdays at the Ranch" day. This means that people from San Diego or surrounding areas can come down to the Ranch for one day and see what it's like. So on these days, there are more classes and hikes than there usually are on Saturdays. So I had a pretty busy schedule. I taught stretch class in the morning, checked and restocked the first aid packs, Navigator program, afternoon Woodlands hike, and posting the guest sign-up sheets.

Sunday: Morning Professor's hike, assisted the circuit training class, and open weight room. Then I headed to San Diego for church. And at church I found an old friend from my recreation management classes. She just moved down to San Diego for her internship, crazy coincidence! She was nice enough to let me hang out at her place for a little while and have dinner. Once again, thank goodness for wonderful members of the church.

Monday: Me and Maria ventured to Legoland! It was so cool! There were amazing sculptures and "cities" made out of legos. There were even some pretty fun rides. More pictures will be on Facebook.

Busy?

Sorry about the delay in posts! I guess you could say I've actually been busy. But don't wory, I made up for it with pictures. Here's a day-by-day of this past week.

Sunday: I opened the weight room bright and early and then I was off on the Quail hike. I also assisted a stretch class and assisted a circuit class. A little side tangent...Kevin is an instructor and trainer here at the Ranch. He has kind of been my "buddy" or "big brother" here because he basically took me under his wing when I first arrived. And to be honest, he is one of the most "normal" staff members here so I am extremely grateful for our friendship.
After class I was able to pack up and head to San Diego. I did some research to try and find a ward that held church in the afternoon and I found a couple of options. So once I crossed the border I drove to Chula Vista and just crashed their ward. At first I think they thought I was an investigator or something...but the 1st counselor and his wife were very welcoming and happy I was there and told me to call them if I ever needed anything. Man, I love Mormons! I was also able to go to great fireside with Amber that evening.

Monday/Tuesday: I spent some time with Maria. We had ourselves a beach day. IHOP for breakfast, searching for seashells at the beach, and a little walking around the mall. Great girl time. We also baked muffins, went to a little park, and ate kettle corn at the farmer's market. There was a little boy and his dad making a sand castle next to us, I thought it was cute.

Wednesday: No hike this morning. But after breakfast I watched a "Smart Weight Training" class. This class is designed for people who don't really know anything about strength training and it gives them a basic full-body workout with instruction on form and such. I then took the "H2O Sports Conditioning" class, which I love because its slightly more challenging than the other water classes. I also attended/audited the "Ranch Bootcamp" class. We ran sprints, steps, jumps, medicine balls, abs, etc. I was drenched in sweat and my booty was sore the next day. In the afternoon I led the circuit class...all by myself! And I also had sand volleyball and open weight room duty. Here's a shot of the weight room, also known as Azteca gym.

Thursday: I had to make the breakfast announcements. I get on the microphone in the dining hall and read the paper that tells the guests to plan their departure time with the concierge desk. And then...drumroll please...I taught my very first stretch class! And they loved it...I got multiple compliments afterwards and I was very proud. And I also taught circuit class. I love that they are giving me more independent responsibility because I get more experience and I feel more important than "just the intern." I then went to the Hydro-Fit Deep water class. I also attended a nutrition workshop on eating mindfully. Very interesting. It was also Mexican Independence Day, so the Ranch had a little festival at dinner. They had a booth with artisan wine and beer, they also had hot chocolate and a dessert table complete with churros! That kind of thing is a VERY rare occasion at this facility. And dinner was a Mexican combination of a tamale, enchilada, and tostada (all vegetarian and in small portions, of course). Here you can see a bit of the setup, including the line of people off to the right for the beer and wine.

Friday: Started my morning with the Alex's Oak hike. I was the shepherd and of course, there were two ladies who hike very slow. I guess I'm learning patience. I had another circuit class and then I attended the H20 Sports Conditioning class. While it sounds so general, going to classes every day, but I'm taking in everything along the way. I'm learning new things, teaching strategies, class formats, exercise routines and choreography, and new exercises all the time. But I also helped with the "L.A.B. Circuit" class, which stands for legs, abs, and back. It's a 30 minute workout with about 10 stations that focus on legs, abs, and back. And lastly I had open weight room and then I locked it up for the night.

Saturday: This morning I was the shepherd for the Professor's hike, a 3.5 miles mountain hike. And surprisingly we had a group of very quick hikers. It was also a great hike because it was slightly chilly and overcast, which happens very seldom (picture below). But the clouds never last, they are always gone by 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning. Sometimes I would just like a rainy day, ya know? But after the hike I posted the new week's schedule and posters around the resort. I also taught a circuit class and had open weight room duty. For lunch I went out for tacos with Britta and then later I went to a movie with one of the instructors and returned to the Ranch for dinner. That makes 7 weeks down!

Polo

Friday morning I was shepherd for the Alex Oak hike (picture of me at the Oak tree below). At breakfast, I made the morning announcements over the microphone in the dining hall. Good thing I'm not microphone shy! Then I went to the Hydro-Fit Wave class, which is a shallow water workout. In the afternoon I had "Water Polo on a Noodle" duty. I set up the equipment, lead the activity, give instructions/rules, and keep score. It's entertaining. Afterwards I swam a few laps and got a little sun.

Today was a pretty good day. Saturdays are the arrival and departure day here at the Ranch. So we say goodbye to a lot of people and then welcome a bunch of new people. First thing this morning I was the shepherd for the Woodlands hike (the easiest of all the hikes). Then I assisted the Circuit Training class. After lunch, I was scheduled for the "Navigator Program" where guests sign up to meet with a Fitness staff to kind of schedule out their week and ask questions and what not. I like when they actually give me a job that actually requires some knowledge and experience because I feel more valuable. And once again, I had water polo duty, but there wasn't enough participants to actually play a game. This evening, two other instructors and I went out to La Mision, a local restaurant. I ordered the carne asada and it was delicious! Complete with guacamole, tortillas, beans, rice, and an enchilada...not to mention a Diet Coke to top it off. Perfect. And when I returned I had to post the guest sign up sheets for the week. Sign-up sheets are for classes that have limited spaces and/or equipment, so the guests have to sign up in advance.
6 weeks down...8 weeks to go!

Blackout

I had full intentions of updating the blog last night until a major blackout swept the southwest. Areas of San Diego, Orange County, Tijuana, and others were without electricity for most of the evening yesterday. But let's catch up.
Monday and Tuesday I had off, so I went to Valley Center to spend some time with my girls. Amber, Maria, and I took an adventure to the little town of Julian where we ate pie, shopped in the little stores, and just enjoyed each others company. Afterwards we went to a BBQ/pool party followed by some self-serve frozen yogurt that evening. Tuesday we made waffles for breakfast, painted nails, and watched Grey's Anatomy. Then I went with a friend to Oceanside beach and we saw a movie and got dinner at Rubio's. Yum!

Wednesday back at the Ranch I had open weight room duty first thing in the morning. After lunch I attended a nutrition presentation about reducing and managing stress via your health. And then in the afternoon I audited the "Nia" dance class...once again, not my favorite but it wasn't as bad the second time. I was also scheduled for sand volleyball, but only one person showed up, so no volleyball. And once again I had open weight room, so I worked out to pass the time.
Thursday I was the leader of the Quail hike. I was even the main leader, who leads the Quail 2 hike, I'm movin' up in the ranks! I then attended a stretch class, followed by a yoga class, and then I headed to the pool for the Hydro-Fit Deep water class. After lunch I attended a nutrition presentation about grocery shopping for people who want to lose weight. Then I had a one-on-one time scheduled with one of the instructors to practice my teaching for the Cardio Muscle Blast class. Shortly after this, the power went out, and the last few days have been extremely hot (high 90's) and it was miserable without the fan.
But here's your Ranch picture of the day. Friday nights in the summer they serve dinner around the central pool and have a live band with dancing. Friday is also the only time they serve wine and beer.

Oh, Mexico...

It's back to the "grind" in Mexico. I know, I know, I have it pretty "cush" here...but it's not all it's cracked up to be somedays. I flew into San Diego on Friday and then I drove back to the Ranch Saturday night because I had been told that I had Saturday off. But I pick up my schedule last night on the way to my room and I was supposed to work...oops...too late now. Luckily, I was only scheduled for things like open weight room, and a couple other things that weren't highly requiring of my presence. I feel bad that I missed my shifts, but I also wasn't informed correctly and I can't really do anything about it now.

Today I had the Quail hike, I was leader of Quail 1 and I had some quick hikers, which was nice to be able to zoom through the easy hike. Then I audited the "Nia" (Knee-uh) dance class. Nia stands for Neuromuscular Integrative Action. It's kind of an African-based, low-impact dance that is supposed to be somewhat therapeutic. Honestly, I found it extremely strange and I didn't really enjoy it. There was a lot of "feel what your body wants to do" and strange flailing of the arms and such. Not my style. Afterwards, I attended the "Release and Mobilize" class. This class uses tennis balls to massage out tension and trigger points on the body. I had only heard rave reviews about the class from guests, so I thought I'd try it out. Once again, I have to be completely honest, I didn't like it. You just rub your muscles with a tennis ball, and I don't really think that's worthy of an entire class on it's own. Am I being too critical?

This afternoon I audited Zumba. I haven't been teaching Zumba these two weeks because there is a guest instructor here to teach it. So I went to her class today and it was pretty fun, pretty simple (it kind of has to be for the guests here). Every Zumba instructor is very different in their teaching, choreography, and their style...so its interesting, because my class is very different than hers. Then I had open weight room duty, so I did some lifting. And then one of the instructors was doing a private training session so I stayed and observed a little to get ideas, increase my knowledge, and learn from an experienced professional. That's what I'm here for, right?

Since I still have my usual days off (Mondays and Tuesdays), I'm heading up to San Diego in the morning for a girls' day with my Amber and Maria. Awesome!