What I did over my winter break:  by Josh 
After finishing my last fall semester at Pepperdine, I decided to do some relaxing over break and spend more time with my family. This winter break was awesome because it was the first time in about 10 years that I got to hang out with all my cousins. I was able to get my cousins thinking about their current lifestyles and overall health which pretty much made my break that much better. I’ve always been very active and busy with school and extracurricular activities ever since I was in elementary school – meaning I was never at home and away from my siblings – and this break I made it a goal to try and get my family involved with things that I’m passionate about (i.e physical activity or PLAY). I’m excited to share that there is a high possibility of my sister joining Pepperdine Crossfit as an introduction to Crossfit!

As for my personal physical activity and nutrition, I did some sort of WOD five days out of the week but focused on my technique rather than the intensity and volume. Many of the WODs were from Crossfit.com and various WODs from Instagram posts by Chris Spealler (IconAthlete) and Crossfit Weightlifting. On the other hand, I also spent a lot of time watching videos on Olympic lifting (CalStrength, Crossfit Weightlifting) and mobility (Kelly Starrett), and I read journal entries on the Crossfit Journal website. On Friday, January 8 I will be finishing my winter break by going snowboarding for the second time hoping for redemption from last year’s flips and belly flops. To be honest, I tried to eat as clean as possible but time with cousins and family did involve cookies and chocolate from time to time along with homemade Mexican food (i.e tamales – which I will bring to the Hut if anyone wants some J ).

This winter break was very rejuvenating for me and I am super pumped up for the Open to begin! (p.s. One of my goals before I graduate is to compete in a local box competition)