Author: Estifito Murcielago

I am a graduate from the University of Southern California with a Master of Public Policy. I work full time for a Southern California Private Investigations firm as a Security Operations Manager. I love policy, politics, sports, and my beautiful wife. My hobby is writing, and this is the fruit of that labor.

Challenging my flexability

On By Estifito MurcielagoIn Lifestyle & SportsLeave a comment

Earlier this week my wife started a subscription to MyYogaWorks, which I promptly broke in with a 20-minute session. It wasn’t my first time doing yoga, but I can almost guarantee that I could count each time I’ve practiced yoga with one hand (maybe two fingers). Nevertheless, I’ll call this my “first time.”

For those unfamiliar, MyYogaWorks is an online yoga studio, where instructors go through their sessions on the web and you, the viewer, follow along. The instructor generally has a few people in the class to demonstrate each pose or movement while they glide through the studio describing the actions and feelings you should experience; my instructor was Melanie Lora Meltzer.

I’m going to challenge myself to do each of Melanie’s classes on the site – attempting one to two per week – she has to 118 sessions, to date. Some of the videos are under ten minutes while others can be longer than an hour. The difficulty may be finding the time to accomplish the longer sessions – but I recall a great and inspiring section of George W Bush’s memoir – Decision Points – when he said, if it’s important to you, you’ll find time for it (which is how he explained his ability to workout daily while his time as POTUS). Additionally, to make matters a bit more difficult, I still plan on hitting the gym as I normally would, I do not want to supplement this for weight training.

I’ll keep you posted along the way, wish me luck!

What makes a home?

On By Estifito MurcielagoIn Lifestyle & SportsLeave a comment

Every so often (we try for once a week – but it’s probably closer to twice a month) my wife and I take a stroll from our small two bedroom apartment in Pacific Palisades and hike to the beach with the dogs. It’s a nice walk, the weather is so temperate, and seeing the ocean never gets old; we’re incredibly fortunate to be where we are in our lives.

The walks are great, but there is an eyesore; there are increasingly bigger and gaudier boxy homes replacing small single-family dwellings in the community. This is an internal conflict for me: on one hand, I’m a firm believer in the free market and individualism – I’m a libertarian at heart; however, I’m also disappointed in the direction some of these developers and eventual home buyers have taken.

These giant homes just don’t jive with my vision for the world, which, doesn’t necessarily mean my vision is the right one, but it is mine.

All this is to say one thing, I recently found these modular homes made by MADI – an Italian home manufacturer – and they brought a smile to my face. I don’t think every home on the planet needs to look like this, but I generally enjoy the idea that a home can be nice, energy efficient, spacious, and compact.

When I walk through neighborhoods in the LA area, I often wonder, what about a backyard? I see kids kicking a soccer ball on sidewalks because there is nowhere else for them to play – that’s not for me. I know my vision is shaped in part by the lifestyle of my childhood, which included a large backyard during the school year and a 150 plus acre farm when I wasn’t confined in “town.” However, the thought of my future children needing to kick a ball that skids across a paved sidewalk or back alley because there is no yard or field to let their wings spread is disheartening.

I think we can do better than “keep up with the Jones’.” However, it feels like my opinion is not only mine – especially as those in my generation seek out jobs not for the material paycheck but also for the social connection they feel with the organization – whether that’s the direct mission of the company or it involves their company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives.

That’s my two cents for today.

How I keep it consistent

On By Estifito MurcielagoIn Lifestyle & SportsLeave a comment

Let me first say, I’m not a certified trainer or a fitness expert; however, I love going to the gym. If I could ever offer advice about fitness, it would be to find a small handful of experts you trust – don’t look for the person that posts the best youtube videos, look for the person that is the most helpful and trustworthy. Second, I, like many, struggle with consistency in the gym, but over the past five months, I’ve hit a nice stride. I’m going to share the things that have helped me with getting my behind to the gym, and things that have helped me stay intense without feeling burnt out.

Make it a routine

It’s very cumbersome and annoying to hit the gym if you have to go out of your way to do so. That’s why it is so important to ensure your gym location is super convenient: close to home, close to work, or somewhere along the way. I like my gym close to home. I get out of the office a bit earlier than most, and it makes it easier to beat traffic if I get home and then head to the gym. For my wife, it’s the opposite, she beats traffic if she goes to the gym before she heads home, so it’s important to her that the gym is close to work.

Vary it up

You have to switch up your routine, which makes it NOT a routine. In my experience, if I am doing the same workout for more than 5 or 6 weeks, I am exhausted. I try to change my workout plan every four weeks or so, but I don’t necessarily put a timeline on it. If I find a fun routine, I stick to it a bit longer. I do stick to a core set of exercises that I feel comfortable with performing, but I enjoy varying up the structure, and reps. For example, right now I’m focusing on more high rep work, however, I think the next plan will focus more on low rep circuit training with supersets and a greater volume of sets. Keeping my workouts fresh and new help me stay motivated.

Gradually increase intensity

My tendency is to dive headfirst into the gym, but that can be a mistake if you’ve taken some time away. It’s important to ease yourself back into fitness. Your muscles, joints, and body overall are no longer accustomed to taking the beating that is running, cycling, or lifting weights. Start small, but over time, push yourself to new limits by increasing the intensity. That doesn’t mean you can’t take a day or week of light training here and there, that can be a nice regroup for your body. However, I find that pushing myself to new limits only generates more drive and passion for improvement.