Badass Women: Terry Yen

Photo by Pete Waterman

Name: Terry Yen
Age: 32
Occupation: Energy Analyst
Fun Fact: There’s about a mole of sand grains in the world!

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Fitness Routine: Parkour, running, swimming, some biking, acro yoga (just got into it this year through a friend! Super fun!), prancer-cise… (just kidding ;))

Favorite Exercise: Burpees (hate).

Why do you workout? Stress management, to build confidence in myself, to gain perspective, experience / get lost in “flow” and let’s be honest, to fit in my clothes 😀

What is one food you would never eat? Uni

Favorite place to workout: Outside (in general)

What makes you feel strong? Why? Being able to achieve something that had scared me / made me nervous or I had thought was impossible. I view strength as inner strength — anything that builds confidence in myself and that demonstrates to myself that what I can achieve is not limited by what I think I can achieve. It gives me strength to continue setting stretch goals, exploring what the world and life have to offer, and improving my mental/physical abilities, all the while knowing I can overcome all challenges hurled at me.

Name one thing that scares you: Heights.

Favorite part of your body: Hmmm this is a toughie. Being bombarded by the media, it’s easy to critique everything about my body… can’t say I have a favorite part — I like the whole ensemble!

Who inspires you? Why? My best friend’s 17-month old daughter. Her curiosity, excitement about being alive, level of engagement with everything and everyone around her, fearlessness, patience, tolerance, and ability to focus on a task without easily getting frustrated.

2016 Goals: Get more comfortable playing on rails — jumping over/on top, precision jumps, swinging/lachés, flow, etc.

Anything else you want me (and my readers) to know about you? Try everything at least once! You’re bound to learn something from the experience.

New Year, New Adventures

For whatever reason, most of us find it easier to dive into new challenges and adventures at the start of the year, rather than, say, in June. I don’t know why that is, but let’s plan out some adventures now before it’s too late and we decide not to try anything new again until January 2017! 😉

When was the last time you did something for the first time? Cliché, I know, but I stick by it. Trying new things is SO.GOOD. for us. Seriously. It’s invigorating, it’s fun, and it challenges us in new and creative ways.

There are a few different ways you can do this. As an example, a good friend of mine has decided to try a new movement thing (i.e. breakdancing, pole dancing, acro yoga, etc.) every month. Awesome, right? You don’t have to follow her exact example with the every-month deal, but I do recommend setting goals for yourself in that way. Maybe you just want to try a new activity every season. Or maybe you want to just try ONE new thing this year and stick to it once a week. I don’t know you so I won’t tell you exactly how to go about it, but I do recommend you try. Try to add a little adventure to your life.

Some of us are adrenaline junkies and “adventure” means bungee jumping, sky diving, or taking a course like stunt driving or trapeze. That’s not for everybody. Maybe you’ve been dying to learn Russian or Arabic and signing up for a local language course will be your 2016 adventure. Bonus adventure? Visit a country where they speak your newly acquired language so you can practice in person!

Here’s my 2016 Adventure List:
1. Parkour 365 Challenge You already know about this, and while parkour itself is not something new to me, doing it every single day for the next year certainly is!
2. Krav Maga I have been eager to take another self-defense course since university and I’ve heard amazing things about Krav Maga so I definitely want to check it out. I will at least check out an intro class if not sign up for regular classes.
3. Lindsey Stirling Basically one of my favorite humans ever. Hopefully I’ll get to go to another one of her shows this year. Check her out here.
4. Events. Lots and lots of events. This seems hypocritical because in my last post I told you not to have vague and abstract resolutions and here I am saying “Oh yeah, I’ll go to some ‘events’ this year.” What events, Adrienne? What are you talking about? Well, let me explain…

It is so easy to get caught up in a Netflix & Chill routine, or maybe Hulu & Commitment. Whatever you’re into, guys. The point is, STEP AWAY FROM THE SCREENS AND GO OUTSIDE. When was the last time you went to a LIVE show? Or even stopped to watch the street performers? I love stopping to watch breakdancers, and I love going to see shows because there is an amazing energy from the performers that you won’t get from anywhere else.

Here’s an adventure proposal for you: Go see a live show. Go see your favorite artist in concert. Go to a comedy show. Go see a play on Broadway or a small local theater. Go to a Cirque du Soleil show. Go to a convention for something you love like fitness or sweets.

Yes, I see the irony in suggesting fitness and sweets right next to each other. The truth is I love both of these things and I want to go to both the FitExpo AND the LA Cookie Con and Sweets Show. I went to a chocolate convention in Paris once and it was pretty much the best decision I’ve ever made. Which is why I want to go to the Chocolate and Art Show in February…

But, A, how do I find all of these awesome events near me? Umm, the Googles? Seriously, there are some awesome websites out there telling you all about events in your area. Check out eventbrite where you can search for local events and even list your own if you’ve got an event to create with their event management software!

What are your plans for 2016? How will you add a little adventure to your life this year?