Flashing along!

New day, more studying! I’m really glad I can get some studying done on the train. Reading a huge textbook (while standing up) isn’t the most ideal thing to do. But flash cards are so simple to do while on the train. My plan has been to study from the textbook either at home or at a cafe, and then work on vocabulary/terminology/flash cards on the train.

Right now, I’m trying to catch up on Chapter 1 and 2 vocabulary before moving onto Chapter 4 and I’m making pretty good progress. I tested myself on Chapter 3 words again and did really well; and I got through all of Chapter 1 words today. I’ll test myself later when I take the train home but I’m feeling confident that I’ll remember all the words I’ve learned so far.

I also like going through all of the words I’ve already learned each day to make sure that I remember them and to reinforce it into my head, over and over again.

Flash cards really do work!

July 5, 2017

Today was the first day back to work since the holidays so I knew I didn’t have the luxury of having a lot of time to study. It all goes back to my chipper mentality to just chip away at it every day. I’m looking to spend 1-2hrs each morning – before work – to get my studies in.

As I’ve been going through the chapters, I’m understanding the concepts – which is great – but not so much with the actual terminology. So today, I pivoted to focus on learning the different terminology – starting with Chapter 3. There were about 25 terms and I surprised myself on how quickly I remember all of them.

l went at it five terms at a time. I’d go through it over and over until I understood it. Not memorizing it but actually understanding the term. Then I would take the next five and memorize those. Once I felt good with those, I would add them to the original five and test myself again. Until I got through all 25.

Good work for today. I’ll need to go back to Chapter 1 and 2 tomorrow.

You know what would be helpful? Flash cards!

July 4, 2017

Woooo! Can’t stop me now. Four straight days and counting – let alone on a holiday! I had another BBQ today so I made time in the morning to do some studying. Today, I started on Chapter 3. I have to admit that it wasn’t my favorite topic. It was all about bones. I just didn’t get the same thrill as I did from the nervous system. I know…I’m literally saying that I prefer stale bread over moldy bread haha.

Taking notes is always tricky. How much do you write down? The last thing I want to do basically copy the textbook. But it’s always hard since EVERYTHING seems to be really important. Which led me to…flash cards!

When I did my research on NASM, a lot of people said there’s a lot of vocabulary/terms that you need to know. So a light bulb popped in my head that I needed flash cards…which also meant I didn’t have to write down all the vocab in my notebook. So two birds, one stone…essentially.

I didn’t get through all of Chapter 3 but got through a good chunk! I’ll have tomorrow to finish it!

Almost done with Chapter 2!

July 3, 2017

Another day, and another chip. Slowly getting in a rhythm now. I had the whole day off so I wanted to make sure I got a good chunk of studying done today. My goal was to finish Chapter 2.

The one thing I didn’t account for was how slow some of these chapters can go. I didn’t want to just read and memorize the work. I wanted to really understand it so I took my time. I kid you not – I probably spent an hour on five pages. FIVE! I had to remind myself that it wasn’t a race and it’s better to take my time to understand the concept. Especially since human anatomy isn’t the easiest or quickest thing to learn.

I did take a “mini” break in the middle (watched Wonder Woman in between my study sessions) and I did finish Chapter 2 today!

I’m also doing much better than I expected. I scored a 8/10 and that gave me an extra oomph of confidence that I’m understanding the material.

Don’t forget the notebook!

July 2, 2017

Now we’re talking. I was able to squeeze in a quick session today. With the July 4th holiday, my day was pretty booked with brunch and a BBQ (yes..a brunch AND a BBQ – they don’t call me fatty for nothing!). But I squeezed in an hour session to kick-off Chapter 2.

I was a bit surprised. I thought I would struggle with but learning about the nervous system was really interesting. I didn’t get through a lot but I’m playing that chipping game. And chipping away I go!

Oh, and I remembered to bring a notebook to take notes!

Better late than never!

July 1, 2017

It’s been about a week and aside from ordering the course and setting up my test day, I haven’t really done much. But with the holiday weekend, I decided to get started. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of guy. Either I just don’t get started or I’ll get started and get at it hard. There is no middle.

So to keep me going, my motto for prepping for the test is to treat it as a chipper. Do something. Literally anything. Big or small. One page or 15 pages. Keep moving. Keep progressing. It will all add up! And that’s what I did.

Today, I got through Chapter 1. It was a struggle at first. I took so many breaks. I forgot to bring a notebook to take notes so I was basically just reading and worrying that I wouldn’t remember. But I got it done. It felt good. I feel like I accomplished something. Now just to keep pushing through!

And so it begins…

June 21, 2017

Let’s take this journey together. I decided to start this blog so I can track my progress and take a look back once I’ve reached the top of the mountain!

I’ve watched a lot of Gary V and I remember him saying that he does DailyVee not for the audience, but so he can document his journey as he hustles to the point that he can buy the NY Jets (boooo..go Giants!)

So I’m doing the same…so that I can look back one month, three months, one year, five years from now…to see how much progress I’d made…to see the blood, tears and sweat it took to get to the top…to remember the great and the awful times through the journey.

In case I forget WHY I chose to do this in the future, I’m going to put it here as a reminder to myself…for any time I feel stuck…or feel like quitting…on why I’m doing this.

It’s simple, really.

1. I don’t want to work in corporate
2. I love the gym, the community, and the people
3. I want to help people

It’s not that complicated. That is the core. My why. Something I care about. Something I’m passionate about. Something that I’ll look forward to every day and not dread going into work.

And with that…let’s get started!