awesomesauce

Ok not really, it’s just AWESOME SOCKS!

It’s my rest day and unless I’m doing something like Whole30, I typically am not a postin! Today is different. A couple of weeks ago, I decided I wanted my own unique workout socks and was hoping others would also want the unique-ness. So I designed my own and my order showed up yesterday! WooooHoooo! Only a couple of people knew about my order and a few others via Facebook and Instagram saw them yesterday. So far I have had positive feedback.

Please know I’m just testing the waters so I don’t have like 50 pairs available but if I can make this my “thing” then the crazy sock lady I might just become. (And/or apparel) It’s whatever. I’m not business saavy. I want to do a lot of things, like COOK Paleo food for people, sell Cross-Fit inspired workout gear, help folks find their fitness happiness, etc. Only problem is, I don’t know where to start, how to start, or anything for that matter. And it’s not like I’m NEW to market here. Have you seen how many Workout Apparel Shops are out there??!!?? In addition to the MAJOR brands!!

I work full time and my kids lives are like having 2 additional full time jobs. So that leaves me with no time to develop and make AWESOMEness like I aspire. So this is my baby step. I have 10 pairs of socks left in my possession left to sell. $13 a pair. I can always order more as well! I can take PayPal or can email you via ChaseBank to take payment. Right now my only purchases are local so I’m not sure how much shipping would be. It’s socks right? Lightweight. Shouldn’t be much. But I will figure it out. With that said….AWESOME socks for sale! $13 Comment below or email me at txgrl77@gmail.com if you are interested.

For me this was a cold purchase. NO knowledge of the product or how they were constructed or how they fit. So far, they feel and fit great. It’s an Athletic sock with nice banding in the foot for support. 80% acrylic. 20% nylon. There is a nice airy mesh on the top of the foot for breathability (is that a word?). The leg of the sock is fitting but not constricting and I have big calves. I have worn them straight out of the package and after a wash. All is well. I even am wearing them all day to make sure the comfort level is up to par. So far so good.

My pictures don’t do the color justice. They are a deep PURPLE with bright NEON GREEN. Let me know if you’re interested. Thanks for tuning in for my shameless plug to sell myself! And have yourself an AWESOME day!

Get UP and Get it DONE

In all my boo-hooing, up and down roller coaster of a fitness journey, the fact of the matter is that 95% of the time, maybe more, I SHOW UP. I do the work. I strive for better. I’m proud of myself for doing just that. I’m not perfect and it’s hard to NOT want to be perfect when it seems like so many other people out there have it figured out. They probably don’t, but it appears that way to me and I’m so far off the mark and sometimes I let that get to me. I’m learning not to do that but it’s hard.

I’m just a small fleck in the fitness universe. A pixel in the blogosphere and just a mere mortal to all others. I have no superpowers or special skills. I’m a 35 year old woman. A mom who isn’t sure she always does the right things for her kids but does her best to make it work. A girl, yes, there is a uncertain little girl in me that wants the world but is scared. Scared of what, she’s not sure but the fear is there. But in the end, I’m a person who is just trying to live healthy. To be strong – physically and emotionally.

To be someone my kids can look up to. To be an inspiration to others who want the same things. And I hope that when it’s all said and done, all you folks that do follow along get that. That you all truly understand this is my small space in the world for me to cry, rant, rave, laugh, goof off, do whatever. I’m not the next CrossFit Games Athlete. I’m not your next fitness superstar. Just a girl!

Today this girl (slightly inspired by Biggest Loser) has decided to push through, to get the work done and just be the best I can in each moment that I can. Will I always be that? HELL NO. It’s hard as hell. It’s so much easier to be half ass. It’s easy to just not put the effort but I’m gonna try so much harder than I ever tried before.

I think that with that mindset it helped me get through the BOOM Box this morning. Cause guess what? It was the BOOM BOX’s FILTHY FIFTY and it was downright dirty. I’ve never participated in this and it’s been over a year since I started CrossFit-ing. Here we go!

50 Box Jumps
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45/35#
50 Hip extensions with green band
50 Wall ball shots, 20/14#
50 Burpees
50 Double Unders

So I somehow hit snooze twice, ALMOST didn’t get up. But on the third time my alarm went off, had no idea! I see the clock and go OH SHIT. I’m LATE! It’s 4:47. Uh I need to be leaving at that time. Not just now brushing my teeth! UGH. I didn’t even know the WOD. Double UGH when I saw it. Go BACK TO BED STEPHANIE! Find your happy place. SLEEP! No, Get dressed and go. You’ll be late but go. And that I was, but only like 5 minutes late. I was GONE and in a hurry. I still had plenty of time to warm up and I was wide awake by then. We went over all the movements and set up our areas. It was go time and it was better attitude time and it was don’t worry about the work ahead just knock out the reps.

Box Jumps kind of hurt this morning. It was cold and all of a sudden I didn’t feel warmed up but it didn’t take long. I really struggled with the first 15 though. After that I just knocked them out in sets of 5. I really didn’t have negative self talk or poor expectations. Surprisingly I don’t think I’ve ever done Jumping Pull Ups either so i had nothing to reference. Those weren’t so bad. I busted out 10, then 5, then random numbers but always more than 5. Done! Kettlebell swings – overhead. I was a little tired and the KB was a little cold. I typically can do this unbroken but today not so much. I did 15, 10, 5, 5, 10. I wasn’t happy with that but it happened that way. Walking Lunges is where I thought I would fall apart. My hips were burning around 30 lunges in. And negative self talk started creeping in because I knew Wall Balls were coming up and coming soon! UGH.

Thankfully Knees to Elbows, which in my case was just get Knees UP took my focus off the Wall Balls. I was actually looking forward to the Push Press and knocked out 30 and then realized this is burning. I put the bar down, rested for like 10 seconds then did 10 more, rested again, then finished. We only have one GHD so we did hip extensions with a band. You step on the band, put head through band and up and down you go like a Good Morning without the bar. This was a great relief and a warm up for those Wall Balls! YIKES! I started off Wall Balls really slow. Someone asked about burpees and I was all “say what??? did I skip that, what burpees. I completely forgot about burpees but I didn’t skip them. They were just NEXT. I just thought I’ll end it all here with Wall Balls, I won’t finish! I wasn’t getting a good rhythm either but once I did, I just took them 5 at a time. I felt like much less cry baby once I got through them and even though I was slow I was still in a good place mentally. I’m almost done. Burpees up next. Burpees party of 50! They just have to get done. UP, down, UP, down and on and on and on. Will it ever end? YES YES the end is near. 50 DUs and it’s all over. I got 30 out of the way before my forearms and shoulders gave out. Then I got 9, then 11. TIME: 31:53 GOOD? BAD? NO CLUE. But after I regained my composure I felt good about the whole WOD in general. I kept thinking I could have done this better or faster but in the end that was a hell of a lotta reps so I’m good. If I was better at Knees to Elbows I might have had an RX by my name but that’s for another day I suppose.

Wooo, we made it to Wednesday! And it’s almost March. WOW! I’m just looking forward to that time change. I need my sunshine in the evenings! And I need warm weather. So let’s hurry up on that. As always have a beautiful day and BE SUPER AWESOME because I said so!

No Words

There are no words to describe what showing up to workout does for my mindset. Even if it’s not at my very best. On Sunday I self-sabotaged and dived into the MSG cesspool of what we all know and love (ok maybe it’s just me) as the Chinese Buffet. A new one popped up near us and it was shiny and new. Why not? Right. There are so many reasons as to why not – mystery meats, mystery sauces, etc.

My stomach grumbled the whole evening, the whole night and straight into the morning. I was not up to par for some Monday morning running at the BOOM Box, SOOOOO I slept in. And I felt it all day. Granted the junk in my body had to filter it’s way through but I just was blah all day. It was noticeable.

This morning however, although I was hurting, I still showed up to CrossFit Boom. I ate my egg whites post workout, I ate my breakfast and I feel so much better. Mentally and physically the fog is lifting and I move forward. When you make working out part of your everyday it’s a big hole in your world when you skip out. Especially after some good rest and recovery.

Now I know some of you dive in, kill yourselves, you can’t move for days and by the time you get back in the gym it’s like starting over. And then you quit! Well it’s a vicious cycle I know. Just the same as eating JUNK. But you have to mentally plow through. Stick with it. Forge on. Don’t get stuck in the excuses people. I for one like to get stuck in them and KNOW this about myself already. It’s really all about self awareness and rising above what brings you down. I have learned personally since my completion of the Whole30 that I can’t be a one foot in, one foot out kind of person. I sway to much to the one foot that is on the outside. So last night, I said enough is enough and I got back on the cooking train. I made plenty of veggies to help me through the week. I have my proteins defrosting. Now I just need to get some bone broth back in my arsenal and all will be well in the world!

2/23/13 WOD
OoooEeeee, this was going to be work. And it was one of those crawl back in bed mornings. Coach could read it in all our bodies and faces. It was a drag ass start. But we finally got into it.

Skill/Strength: 15 minutes to establish a 1RM of the barbell complex:
1 Clean
3 Front Squats
1 Jerk
3 Back Squats
1 Behind the Neck Jerk

It’s been a while since I’ve done any sort of complex. You don’t realize how much it takes out of you. I wasn’t in any hurry to jump up to big weight and I wanted to really focus. I worked my way up to 95lbs. I really should have got 105lbs but I was having that whole drop under the bar issue in Cleaning the bar. And 105 is a weight I know I can do. It’s yet to be pretty, but I can Clean it. But I feel I did alright. Nothing amazeballs but I felt good.

MetCon: 3 rounds 14 CTB, 7 Snatches (full squat) 135/85#
I don’t have Pull Ups so we all know I’m not doing Chest To Bar. I choose banded Pull Ups… as if i have a choice! And Snatches. Over time I’ve learned not to dread this movement but I still have a ways to go in technique. I stuck with 55lbs for this WOD. It was a good weight for me to move quickly and still have good form. I knocked out the Pull Ups easier than I have in the past… is this Progress knocking at my door? Yes I think so! My first round of Snatches were a little sloppy. I was not keeping the bar close enough to my body. Once I corrected that I was on a roll. My 2nd and 3rd round of Pull Ups didn’t go as easily as the first round. But my Snatch got better. My forearms were spent but overall I felt good. Time: 11:01

2/26/13 WOD
Like I mentioned previously, It was nice to just show up even though I didn’t have the best performance. It was extra cold and windy this morning and everything was achy!

Skill/Strength: Pull Ups
I can’t complain. I need to get better. You can’t get better without working on it and so many of the BOOM ladies are knocking these out like they are easy or something! Pull Up land is waiting for me. I feel like I’m getting there. Still slow as a snail but I’m getting there.

MetCon: CrossFit Games Open WOD 12.5 – 7 minute AMRAP of 3 Thrusters, 3 CTB, 6 Thrusters, 6 CTB, 9 Thrusters, 9 CTB, etc.
The RX for Thrusters was 65lbs. Shouldn’t be a problem. But into my 2nd round, I had a pinch in my shoulder that hurt like bloody hell. I couldn’t push past it so I dropped the weight to 55lbs. The pain didn’t go away but I stuck with it. Hoping it’s just inflammation from the Buffet Indulgence. Again, with the Pull Ups I felt I had a little more in me than I have in the past. My shoulder however really was hindering me. Total Reps: 48 I did better last year but I wasn’t in pain last year. I took a lot of time standing around. I feel confident I could have done much better had I not taken the time to switch weight, stand around in pain, etc. I made sure to do some hurts so good mobility afterwards. Hoping that helps in the long run.

That’s it for this Beautiful Tuesday. I’m hoping this week stays strong and positive! Stay focused. Drop the Excuses and as always be AWESOME!

Finding Motivation

Yes, I am the worst sometimes at finding the bright side of things. I find myself losing the motivation and inspiration in ME more often than not. My heart and happiness goes out to everyone else who is working hard, making changes and showing progress; yet I can be my own worst enemy. We all can and I think for the most part we know that but sometimes we let ourselves get carried away. Or should I say, I LET Myself get carried away.

Clearly I am able to stay focused but I’m having a hard time staying focused CONSISTENTLY! Am I the only one on this roller coaster? What do y’all do to just focus on the good, the awesome?

Don’t get me wrong, I still show up to do work everyday, I still TRY to eat clean regularly. I consider myself a success in many things but there are days, where I just struggle. And I feel I struggle too much over many things. I don’t know how to let it go. For example, I know I could probably Snatch more weight than I actually can, but I SCARED! And with the fear comes no results. Same with the internal motivation. I’m still gonna show up but pushing myself sometimes falls flat. How do I clear all the junk in my head??!!?? If you got suggestions, solutions, etc… I’m listening!

2/22/13 BOOM BOX Morning!
I am SORE! My legs are still fried from Wednesdays Wall Balls! But that’s not the point is it? What was in store for us today?

Skill/Strength: 3RM Deadlift
Yup, gotta work hard to manage a PR in the future. I felt pretty confident I could have PR’d my 1RM in today’s work but we were running out of time and we had a MetCon that looked like we needed some extra time. Deadlifts still feeling good. Thank goodness, my hamstrings aren’t dead. Just my quads and inner thighs. Worked my way up to 195lbs and did 3 reps just fine and dandy. My grip strength was not super great but I held on. Now I’m really looking forward to a PR!

2/22/13 WOD

MetCon: 50 DU, 30 GTOH (65lbs), 40 DU, 20 GTOH, 30 DU, 10 GTOH, 20 DU
How’s that for insanity? I didn’t even warm up any DUs and didn’t realize that until it was time to go. I was more concerned in trying to AMP myself up and warm up for all those Ground to Overheads! I know 65lbs is something I can do without completely dying but 60 reps! EEEK I don’t know! I was doing alright and then my should started hurting on the way down. A pinching feeling that was not feeling good at all. If I dropped the bar I seemed to be OK, but that really slowed me down. I actually was stringing together DUs pretty well. My second round I almost did UnBroken! But I got too excited thinking I got these and screwed up! Time: 11:10

Whew! Another week down!! Spring is on the way, I love it! Time Change is on the way, even better! Baseball is here! Woohooo! Have a great weekend y’all! Be Awesome!

Wednesday Wall Balls

EQUALS NO FUN for this girl! If you’ve been around long enough, you should know without a doubt that me and wall balls might as well be mortal enemies. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 10lb ball or 14lb ball, I DISLIKE this ~~movement~~ torture. To make matters even more interesting, it’s not just KAREN (aka 150 wall balls), It’s Karen + other crap.

But before I dive into that brutality, can I get a WOOOOOO? I can’t hear you! WOOOOOO! Ya let me tell you what you are yelling for (you better be yelling) … wait for it, wait for it … a 20lb PR on my Back Squat! YA!

Today was a retest for those of us that missed last week… cough cough ME. And I was a little hesitant/scared! I didn’t want to fall in the DID NOT PR category. But I am finally making gains. I went from 145lbs to 165lbs. So excited for that and now 200lbs doesn’t seem like a pipe dream anymore. It’s a realistic goal!

2/20/13 WOD

MetCon: 12.4 – 12 minute AMRAP of 150 wall balls, 90 DU, 30 MU
Last year when they released this WOD for the CrossFit Open, I pretty much laughed. This time around for this throwback WOD there wasn’t so much laughing but more of a sigh and OH HELL. At least I have a PR for the day. Just do better than last year! Right?

Even though I am dumb for defeating myself mentally before the clock even starts, I found some sort of pace and was over half way through the wall balls before I was halfway through the time! And then that wall that I like to run into popped up and I hit it, HARD! And then I just counted myself out. It’s not gonna happen. And with that sucky ass attitude why would it happen? I had about 10 NO REPS throughout where the ball made the distance but didn’t touch the WALL! So that was wasted energy! When time was called I had 133 completed. Yes it’s improvement over the 120 I had last year but I really feel like I should have finished. Barely a month after last year’s beating we just did plain ol Karen and I finished in 14:37 so I think for sure I would have beat that time. I know there are folks who get 150 wall balls finished in half the time or LESS. One day I’d just be happy with a SUB 10 minute score!

14 days till the open and I’m at about an 80/20 clean eating situation. I haven’t made it to a 90/10 or just an all out 100% commitment. What is wrong with me? I’m getting back there though, just very slowly! Ernie says he’s committed to being strict for the next 14 days and on into the open so maybe that will help me out! I know there’s a few folks at the BOOM Box trying it out now and I hope you all are staying strong and following through. Help me to get back on it! Please!

Also, my friend Vicki shared this AWESOME video, all about the PALEO:

On that note. EAT CLEAN ladies and gents! Smile! Share your AWESOMENESS with others and enjoy the day!

Work, Rest, More Work, Breathe

Last week was hectic and as I told you all, I was worn out. I couldn’t manage to roll out of bed Friday morning so I skipped out on the Boom Box. I was feeling better by the middle of the day and decided I would hit up an evening class. So glad I did. I needed it. Working out is mostly a LOVE relationship, but sometimes it’s a Love/Hate kind of thing because when you are so worn out and you don’t show up then you feel like crap for not getting that work out in! It’s not very fun. But in the end you know you need the rest. After my workout on Saturday, I declared a do nothing kind of day. That is do nothing after the boys had baseball practice! They would be gone the rest of the day. Ernie would be gone the rest of the day. So I caught up on my DVR and slept… ALOT! It was good I needed it. On the downside, I let the cakeballs get the best of me! DAMN YOU CAKEBALLS! I made sure I cleared them out by inhaling them though. There are no more living in our house. All is back to normal. May the clean eating resume. The open is near, and although I won’t be even close to the top ladies in our region I don’t want to feel like POO when doing the open WODS. Cakeballs! Grrr 😀

2/15/13 WOD
Skill/Strength: Deadlift 3 x 3 @ 85%
I’ve never felt so good doing Deadlifts. So I’m happy to say that I feel progress in this movement. Besides my hands feeling like they are on fire, I’m not having many issues with getting the weight off the ground. Working up to 170lbs was good and doing my 3 sets of 3 were feeling really good. Hopefully a nice PR is coming up!

2/15/13 WOD

MetCon: 15, 12, 9 of Wall Balls and Chest To Bar
So I’m a little more flexible at the end of the day than I am at 5 am. So Wall Balls although brutal aren’t as bad on the hips in the P.M. My shoulders were not too happy with me in general but I got the job done better than I have been in the past. It’s the damn Pull Ups that still get me! Time 7:02

2/6/13 WOD
Oh holy crap, you want me to run when it’s in the 30s and you want me to run a mile coach! I really really didn’t want to show up to the BOOM Box on a Saturday morning to run but of course I couldn’t punk out. I’ve been progressing it is true in most things but running is not one of them. And everyone else’s progression is on FAST TRACK or something so I have to catch up with the group! I know, I know, it’s me vs. me but still. You see so many folks getting PRs and it’s great and awesome for them. But here I am not getting PRs or fast tracking it. So ya, I reluctantly showed up!

2/16/13 WOD

Skill/Strength: Front Squats EMOM for 7 minutes. 2 reps with a 3 second pause at the bottom @ 75% of our 1 RM
I haven’t tested for Front Squat in a very long time, so 75% for me was 100lbs. Coach was sure I could do more so we upped it a whopping 5lbs. By the end of the 7 minutes I could feel those 5lbs! It kind of feels good to hold the squat at the bottom for a couple of seconds. I’m not sure exactly what pauses do for you mechanically or in terms of getting stronger, but I trust they are good for you.

MetCon: Run 1 mile, 50 Power Cleans (75lbs), 30 HSPU
Running! Booooo! I started off on a slow but steady pace. My right shin is still pretty beat up so I felt that for a while with every step I took. but 2/3 of the way back my left calf and shin decided to speak up and well they were LOUD. My jog became a slow trot. It was horrible. Again another poor run performance. Something in the 11 minute mark. Everyone had been back and busting through those Cleans! I didn’t do the 75lbs, because I’m a wuss and thought I wouldn’t be able to do 50. Turns out I probably should have/could have. I caught up pretty quickly after being so behind on the run. I still don’t execute HSPU very well without being modified so I did them off the box. And that turned out to be surprisingly easy. I’m somewhere in the middle, I suppose. Which is great! HSPUs here I come! Time: 16:34

02/18/13 WOD
Whew, finally made it to this morning! It was a humid one for us, thankfully NO MetCon today! Wooooo! Eh, I do like MetCons but working on strength is fun too.

Skill/Strength: Overhead Mobility, Pull-Up Mechanics
We did some bar torture and some PVC work with Overhead Squat Mechanics. We then worked on kipping. I am tight. My upper back, shoulders and whatever else that can be tight is TIGHT! It is no fun. On the bright side of everything hurting I forget my hands hurt so I felt a little stronger when it comes to kipping. I feel a little more coordinated and hopefully I’ll get some form of a pull up SOON.

2/18/13 WOD

OHS 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
It’s been a long while since I’ve worked on my Overhead Squats. A long while. So I wasn’t sure what weight to start at and what weight I should end with. I decided to warm up to 65lbs. I was feeling good. I jumped from 65lbs to 75lbs because I was trying to get to 90lbs for my final set. 90lbs is my current 1RM. So I figured if I got that then I would be set for a nice PR in the future. 75lbs is where it got heavy though! Not really heavy but painful on the wrists. EVEN with my strength wraps But I still went on and knocked out 80 and 85lbs. Instead of going for 90lbs, I went for 95lbs. Got the Bar overhead and panicked. I hesitated just thinking about squatting and it was an immediate MENTAL fail! Ah well. Maybe next time!

As far as food goes, it hasn’t been AWESOME but I’ve had some good moments. Like I said earlier, the CrossFit Games Open is coming up fast and I need to dial it back in with my eating. I don’t want to suck at everything more so than I already do because my eating is out of whack. So I’m reeling all the slip ups in and putting my Whole30 discipline back into action. Crossing my fingers I stick with it 😀

Leave me a comment if you are interested in the Whole30 or have questions. Nutrition is key when trying to find good health and fitness. Not only does eating clean make you feel better in general it completely makes working out that much easier. As I routinely say, you NEED to make a CHANGE. Whether it’s jumping in the deep end of the pool or taking BABY steps like cutting out crazy beverages and just taking in Water. Make a CHANGE in your life. Without it you will always be stuck in your rut.

Other than that, let’s hope this Monday doesn’t end up crazy. Have a great day and of course MAKE IT AWESOME!

Wore out!

I am T-I-R-E-D! Exhausted! I think I’m just trying to cram too much in. Work is typically laid back but we are in tradeshow season so I’m extra busy and not sitting at my desk all day. Then at home, I’m trying to make a gazillion cakeballs and that’s a whole different kind of stress. It’s not bad stress but I’m staying up later and I carry all the tension in my upper back and shoulders. They are hurting. On top of the 5 am workouts, I am TIRED!

This morning was extra chilly at the BOOM Box. Where did my 50° mornings go? Seriously back in the 30s. I’m not a happy girl. I had no motivation to do work. I’m really surprised that I didn’t stay home. The workout for the day was 12.3 from last years open!

Before we started we worked on TTB and Box Jumps because that my friends makes up 2/3 of 12.3. I tried working on not reloading once I hit the ground from box jumps. But I still haven’t found those super springy legs yet. I’ll just have to fight through those pesky box jumps. And well I still haven’t found my TTB. Sigh, that’s one more thing I need to get back to working on. So close but they are hiding from me.

2/13/13 WOD

MetCon: 18 minute AMRAP of 15 Box Jumps, 12 Push Press and 9 Toes To Bar. 20″ for box jumps and 75lbs for push press. Coach T wanted us to do a weight for push press that we felt we could do unbroken. Well I didn’t think I could do 75lbs unbroken. So I went with 65lbs even tried to get away with 55lbs but that wasn’t happening. I couldn’t do 65lbs unbroken either! And it hurt. I should have warmed up more because a lot of the hurt went away with more reps so I know it’s not an injury, just tired ass muscles. My Toes to Bar didn’t magically come at 3-2-1 either. It was really a Debbie Downer kind of morning.

OUCHY!

Then I tried to break my shin on the box jumps, which I have never done before. I’ve missed and banged up right below my knee but today I went for all the marbles, drew blood and stained my NEW and AWESOME Reebok compression socks Ernie got for me for Valentine’s day. Womp, Womp.

At least they weren’t the white ones! 20″ isn’t even an issue for me when it comes to box jumps. I was not feeling it today though. Total reps: 166. When I saw Coach G after the workout he asked me how it went and I had nothing positive to report. It was bad. He asked how I did last year and I couldn’t remember. But I did look back in my posts and found this. A little more optimistic version of me who did freaking 75lb push press but only got a score of 96. Ugh. Still just made me more blah for the day! But it also reminded me after reading about Sherry, why I love CrossFit – COMMUNITY! I may be a big baby but I have a great box full of wonderful people that inspire me and challenge me even when I just want to throw a fit.

Can I get a do-over? Pretty Please? I promise I will be awesome the rest of the day! I will not think about my banged up shin anymore. I will knock out a gazallion cake balls tonight and I will eat clean! I will for sure enjoy my REST day tomorrow! Done son! Gotta regain awesome! You GO BE AWESOME as well! Happy WEDNESDAY!

Elizabeth, It WAS…

not a pleasure to meet you! For those of you new to CrossFit or have no clue as to why there are workouts named after people, mostly women or in honor of Heroes, I’ll share what I’ve found:

Many have asked, “Why are the workouts named after Girls?” Since 1953 storms have been assigned female names by the National Weather Service as a quick identification method. It is this convenient and logic approach that inspired Coach Glassman to name the original 6: Angie, Barbara, Chelsea, Diane, Fran and Elizabeth after storms.

Coach Glassman, the founder and President of CrossFit explained it further. “I want to explain the workout once and then give it a name. I thought that anything that left you flat on your back, looking up at the sky asking ‘what just happened to me?’ deserved a females name. Workouts are just like storms, they wreak havoc on towns.”

The workouts named after GIRLS are benchmark workouts. You don’t do them all of the time but each time you do them over months, years, etc, the idea or hope is that you get better. Improved fitness. They are quantifiable and create this shared sense of ~~misery~~ happiness within each and every CrossFit Box.

And today I met Elizabeth. And me no likey! I have mentioned in the past how much I love to Clean! Clean the BAR that is and today I wasn’t feeling the same love.

Elizabeth

21-15-9 of Squat Cleans and Ring Dips (135/95)

I know I can clean the 95lbs but not sure if I can do that for 21-15-9 so I dropped to 85lbs. And I was a big ol baby. More than EVER. I didn’t even want to pick up the bar. I finally did and got through 11 like a champ. And then more BABY showed up. It took for what seemed like forever to get to 21. I moved to the ring dips and used a green band. I knocked out 15 pretty quickly then weakly busted out the last 6. If you thought I was a baby for 21 I was for sure a baby for the 15. I did 3 at a time but was out of energy and slow. I mentally hit every roadblock imaginable. I felt my wrists crying, I felt my back on a sloppy rep, I felt the FOOD, the BAD FOOD and it’s side effects. And that’s all I kept doing is reminding myself of my craptabulous weekend eating and how it was affecting me. I was a headcase. Finally finished 15 and moved to ring dips. For some reason even though my triceps were spent I wasn’t having as hard a time with the ring dips. Granted I’m using a band for assistance but it wasn’t feeling super rough. Finally got to the last round and I knocked them out in in 2 sets of 3 and then in singles! I did 7 ring dips, then 2, TIME: 13:30. Coach said the weight looked easy for me and it was all mental. And I believe that to be true. But I also felt like crap. Don’t F*** up your eating folks. It sucks donkey balls!

2/12/13 WOD

In rebuttal to eating so poorly over the weekend, I was on the push for getting food prepped last night so I had food ready to eat and cook. As soon as we walked in the door from baseball practice I was Johnny on the GO. It did not help however that there was a request for Cake Balls for the boy’s Valentine’s Day parties at school. So there I am baking away and sometimes tasting! I got it out of my system quick though cause when you have a lot of irons in the fire it’s hard to focus on indulging 😀 While cakes baked, I cooked asparagus, and cut up broccoli. I put some pasta sauce to simmer. Browned ground beef. Cut up sweet potatoes and made Paleo Mayo. I was a busy bee and it was well worth it!

2/11/13 Lunch – Sauteed Chicken, Mixed Veggies, Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes and Coconut Flakes

Hope everyone has a SWELL day! It’s rainy and icky here. Perfect for staying inside and finishing those cake balls I am committed to make! But first I have to survive the traffic home that is destined to come later this afternoon! You know the drill… BE AWESOME!

No Plan = FAIL (big time)

We had a non stop weekend ahead of us and I did zero planning for food. What does that mean? A bunch of non Paleo, Whole30 frowned upon crap eating. And it all caught up with me Sunday evening. And left me high and dry in regards to getting up for the BOOM Box this morning. I went to bed late, didn’t get good sleep and knew I wasn’t going to be able to hang at the box. My brain feels like it’s been replaced with cotton balls.

You have to go into your weekends with a PLAN especially if you aren’t going to be home at all to get some good eats cooked up. I still feel really bleh and congested. Some of that has to do with the craptastic (although not even close to the NE) weather we have been having. But mostly it has to do with poor eating. Please KNOW you can’t wing this stuff. Without planning and preparation you will be in my boat and feeling like POO!

Before I fell apart and crumbled, I managed to get some work done at the BOOM Box on Saturday morning. I have a hard time remembering to take a pic on Saturdays and for that I apologize.

Skill/Strength: Kb snatch mechanics
Oh I just don’t like KB Snatch. I always bruise up my forearms. It always hurts sooo bad. But I did much better this time around. I had better control of the KB and felt a lot stronger technique wise. I didn’t do a lot of weight. I think it was just the 1/2 POOD but I really don’t recall. I just know I worked the skill a little better than I have in the past.

MetCon: 10 minutes to find a 1 rm jerk, Rest 2 min, Max wallballs UB, Rest 2 min, 5 minutes max KB snatch
So I did searches in my past posts and could have sworn I had a 1rm Jerk recorded. I could have sworn it was 100 or 105lbs. But I couldn’t find it anywhere. With that said I worked up to 105lbs 1 RM Jerk in the 10 minute time frame. PR? Who the hell knows. But I figured it’s not too bad seeing as that we haven’t really worked on Jerks in a while. I tried getting 110 with 1 minute left but that didn’t happen.

We then got a 2 minute rest before doing Wall Balls Unbroken I suck at wall balls. I was given the 14lb MURDER ball as it’s been nicknamed. When you think of 14lbs, you don’t think it’s that heavy. But when you have to throw it up and catch it repeatedly it gets heavy. I only did 14. I probably would have had 19 or 20 but I had several NO REPS because the ball didn’t hit the WALL! ARGH! It was horrible.

Time for another rest break, thank goodness! But then it was 5 minutes of MAX KB Snatch! Just go, don’t stop, don’t rest, etc. I felt I started off in a good place but I just got spent towards the end. Only managed to get about 82 reps in. I was shooting for 100 but my hand grip got me. Ah well. Do better next time! Right?

That’s all I got for ya cause I’m was in a big ol lake of FAIL this weekend. It does happen. And now how I deal with it is the real test. I do feel bleh but I had a good breakfast and will have a yummo lunch. Marching onward. Have a SUPER Monday and be awesome!

Broad Jumps are EVIL!

Whether it’s a warm up or an actual MetCon, I always find myself dying after Broad Jumps. It doesn’t help that I suck at them either. Man, you suck at everything! I hear your thoughts people. It is true but I get a little better each and every day. One day I may be able to say cause I’m awesome at Pull Ups or I’m awesome at Broad Jumps but today folks is not the day.

Skill/Strength: Deadlift 5 x 4 @ 80% of 1RM
As I have mentioned previously I am in fact feeling stronger in my Deadlifts. See I can be positive! And today was no different, I just wish my hands didn’t hurt so much holding on to that dang bar. 160lbs felt heavy at first but as I went along it was feeling pretty good.

2/8/13 WOD

MetCon: 8 rounds of Broad Jumps for 50yds, Sprint 50yds, REST 1 minute as a group
Good thing about this MetCon is that there wasn’t time or reps to be recorded. But there was plenty of pain to be had! I am not good at the Broad Jump. I don’t cover great distances and I only did decent on the first two rounds. After that it was just silly. 50yds doesn’t seem that far until you are jumping. Deadlifts then broad jumps, then SPRINTING (jogging) I seriously thought my ass was going to fall off of my body. By round 4 I was ready to QUIT CrossFit!

Eats, Ups and Downs.
So here I am telling you I was strong and doing it all right and last night I go eat a sandwich from Chick-fil-a and I’m not going to lie it was good and I savored it. I did. And just like at the Super Bowl party, it’s totally not necessary. I didn’t feel bad or anything but my stomach was not liking me this morning! TMI? Nah, it’s life people. It’s like I just want to have to say I had it. I ate the food, the bad food that tastes oh so good. And then I’m all, eh, it was good but not worth it. SUSHI is worth it though! Anyhow. Sometimes you don’t feel like cooking and Chipotle does not sound good. After much mumbling and grumbling from Ernie trying to will me out of eating the sandwich I still ate it. I don’t have any further plans to go rogue as I like feeling good before, during and after my workouts. I like feeling good all day. At the same time I can’t sit here and say I’m perfect when I am not. I want to be transparent with y’all. I don’t think I’ve ever purposely not shared anything with you all in the first place but I’m just putting it out there. I’m an open book.

See, still eating well! Chicken & broccoli, asparagus, sweet potato, avocado and kiwi!

This week I hope to be more adventurous in cooking foods. I need to mix it up. Try new things. Anyone else mixing it up? Going outside their normal routines? Got some recipes to share?

I do hope everyone has a great weekend! Might rain around here…boooo, but we’ll still make it great! And make it AWESOME!

idrankthecfkoolaid

and it's good

Month: February 2013

awesomesauce

Get UP and Get it DONE

No Words

Finding Motivation

Wednesday Wall Balls

Work, Rest, More Work, Breathe

Wore out!

Elizabeth, It WAS…

No Plan = FAIL (big time)

Broad Jumps are EVIL!

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