CrossFit

Competing Everyday

That’s been on my brain as of late, mostly because a couple of months ago I received a COMPETE EVERYDAY wristband that I stare at everyday and just recently I was gifted a nifty COMPETE EVERYDAY shirt. “Compete Everday, BECAUSE I HAVEN’T REACHED MY LIMITS”. It’s perfect.

I’m sure the word “compete” is a turn off to a lot of people. It sounds like work. It sounds hard. Why do I want to compete everyday? Competing everyday doesn’t have to be tedious, it should be fun, it should be YOU vs. YOU, not you vs. that magazine ad, or the scale or you vs. anything but YOU! I look at my wristband and although I don’t always hit the mark in making myself better in my eyes, I do really have to reflect and tell myself that YES you are making yourself better. Yes you push your limits.

Some days my limits are set lower but some days they are set high and I push them. I have to remind myself that I get up 4 out of 7 mornings before the sun comes up to go kill a workout and stay busy the other 3 days. I strive for clean eating. I strive to be a good parent. I strive to better at life always. And I do. And I also tend to get lost in it all and whine and complain and whatever else but at the end of the day I do COMPETE. And certain days it’s truly an aggressive action but it’s not always aggressive; it is however wanting more, it’s wanting to be better for me, which in turn helps me to better for a lot of other people. It feels good, self-empowerment. I hear a lot of people say, “oh I’m not competitive” or “i’m passive, i don’t compete” But I’m not talking about team sports. I’m talking about life. Most people have desires and wants, and unless you come from the land of the rich, most things don’t just fall in your lap. It takes work. It’s takes want to. It takes competition. Sure I like to compete in general, it’s how I’m wired but I know not everyone is wired that way. I compete always, in my head! And sure I know how to relax and enjoy the simple things in life. It’s called balance. Find your balance but also find your drive. Find COMPETITION.

The BOOM Box was full of my weaknesses this morning and I was really having a hard time finding my want to. It’s true and that’s what inspired my ramblings. I showed up to work but was I there to PUSH? I was but I didn’t want to at the time.

Skill/Strength: 3 x 10 Ring Pullups. MODIFIED to Ring Rows. The movement is not HARD for me but I don’t have a lot of reps in a row. By the 3rd set I had to bend my knees to get solid reps in. My problem this morning was “hanging” for too long. Instead of just fighting through, I’d hang and lose power. And in that 3rd set I forced myself to push through all 10 reps. Granted they were even more modified but I think I won that battle by not stopping.

10/23/12 WOD

MetCon: 30 Pull Ups, 20 Wall Balls (14lbs), 10 Shoulder to Overhead (85lbs), 20 Wall Balls, 30 Pull Ups. All upper body. All weaknesses in my book! So coach didn’t want us using bands today for Pull Ups so MORE Ring Rows it is… at least I had a warm up session! Before we started we warmed up our STOH with Push Presses, Push Jerks and Split Jerks. The RX weight was 105 but that’s really pushing past limits and I wanted to finish the WOD! So I worked up to 85lbs which isn’t light for me but I cleaned the bar fine and felt I could at least do 10 reps right? Even after Pull Ups and Wall Balls! LOL, Yes I was convincing myself it’s doable.

I knocked out 10 Ring Rows, then 5, then 6 and then I don’t know what till I got to 30. I suck at Wall Balls and really dragged ass on those. Got to the STOH and pushed out 5 but lost momentum and dropped the bar. I sure as hell didn’t want to Clean it again but I did and decided I would SPLIT JERK the remaining 5 reps. Well I was doing great and did my 5th rep, dropped the bar and moved to Wall Balls. Coach NO REPPED me!!! ARGH. I didn’t step together and show I had control on the last rep! It was a mindless act, I didn’t do it on purpose :/ But I had to Clean the bar again and do that last REP! ARGH! NOW onto Wall Balls, I threw that damn ball up there, hit the mark but was unable to catch it on the way down. I was done! I struggled through the 19 reps left! Hahah, I ended up knocking them out in sets of 5 but it was a sad sight. 30 Ring Rows left and I could only bust out a handful at a time. Time: 11:14. Those damn WALL BALLS, I let them get in my head and take up too much time. One day I will own Wall Balls!

Food Front
In regards to FOODs, back to Paleo and Clean Eating for sure, but not entirely back on Sugar Detox. In truth most foods I have been eating are without sugar. It’s only been 2 days but I’m already feeling that much better. I know it’s a mental state as well but my body is definitely loving me more! Nothing exciting. But everything is tasting so much better!

Barbells For Boobs/#Occupy Boom
This Saturday Oct 27th @ 6pm! The workout is GRACE (30 Clean & Jerks for time). If you been keeping up with me, then you know you’re invited. I want you to come out and experience all of this FUN I write about day in and day out. If you would like to be a part of this event please visit the link on the right and donate at least $30 to mammograms in action. Even if you don’t want to participate, donations are welcome to support my efforts in raising money for Barbells For Boobs ツ! I’m still at $40 of my $100 goal. IF you can help, click here. Any amount is welcome. Thank you for your support.

Barbells for Boobs is a non-profit breast cancer organization whose mission is to provide funding through the Mammograms in Action @ Grant Program for qualified low income and uninsured women and men who need screening and/or diagnostic procedures in the prevention of breast cancer.

#OccupyBoom will follow B4B. Not sure what’s in store but I know it will be team workouts and loads of fun. Come see us be crazy!

Have a beautiful day peeps. Remember to be AWESOME. Today I challenge you to Paint something. I say this only because we got to paint pumpkins last night for the kids and it truly is fun. I suck at painting and in the end we did a lot of gluing but it’s a good time anyways. So go be creative and have some fun.

Back To It – TAKE 22

Roll Film! Hahaha, well lets hope we get it right this time around. Ernie seems to be back on the Clean Eating Road which in turn helps me to be on the right path. Although teamwork does help out tremendously, it’s true it can sabotage you just as fast. When Ernie took a moment to hang up his hat, I just followed suit and hung mine up right next to his. And it’s also true I’ve been strong and stood on my own, all alone trying to eat clean and be better. I just found that it was much harder this time around. All in all let’s just pray that I/WE can be a little better. I know I can’t go 100% totally strict or I would die! But I like to get pretty close to that mark. I started off well yesterday by making a roast. I have dinner planned for tonight so let’s keep this ball rolling and make the whole week a week of good clean food!

Starting off at the BOOM Box this morning, even though I was tired, I was ready to put in some work to make up for my craptastic weekend. With that said I also knew I was in for it due to my craptastic eating!

Skill/Strength: 3 x 3 Deadlift @ 90% of 1 RM
This ends up at 166.5lbs for me. I worked up to 165 and did one set of 3 at that weight. Since I didn’t pass out or struggle too much I moved up to 170lbs and finished out at that. Although it wasn’t easy, it wasn’t super hard either. I’ve been stuck at a 1RM of 185lbs for quite some time now. I’m really looking forward to blowing the doors off that in the near future. Crossing fingers and toes!

10/22/12 WOD

MetCon: 5 rounds of 30 Walking Lunges followed by Sprint
Thank goodness it wasn’t weighted lunges or else I may still be lying in the driveway at the BOOM Box. Once we completed our lunges it was an all out sprint for an unknown designated distance. It was far enough and it was uphill 3 out of the 5 sprints! I really did try and push myself in those sprints and afterwards my legs were nothing but J-E-L-L-O! I was sucking wind big time but I knew that’s what I was in store for. I didn’t quit though. On my last sprint I could see the shadow of someone coming fast on me and I tried with all my might to not let him catch up I just couldn’t do it. Time: 7:43

Barbells For Boobs at the CrossFit Boom and #OccupyBoom
It’s almost here – the B4B event at the BOOM Box. This Saturday Oct 27th @ 6pm! The workout is GRACE (30 Clean & Jerks for time). Come one, come all! Watch, Participate, Eat! It will be all sorts of fun and you can come see what this kool-aid is all about. All ages, fitness levels, etc are welcome. Come support Barbells For Boobs and Mammograms in action. You don’t have to be a CrossFit junky in order to participate. You don’t even HAVE to participate. Heck I was only 2 months in when I signed up last year. I had no idea what to expect but I got to learn about this rock n roll foundation as well as watch and cheer on kids, survivors, newly diagnosed women, even a gentleman who had a prosthetic leg. It was AMAZEBALLS! Seriously come check it out and see what COMMUNITY is all about. So come out if you can and if you can’t but would like to donate then please click here. I’ve raised $40 of my $100 goal. It’d be great to even surpass teh $100 mark. Thank you in advance for your support and a Special Thank you Shelley and Rose for your recent contributions ツ

Post B4B will be #OccupyBoom where we will continue the fun and have teams go up against each in friendly competitions. More fun to be had and I’m sure a lot of hardcore insanity mixed with extreme silliness! Good people, Good food = AWESOMENESS. Let me know if you want to come and hang out!

That’s it for now folks. I had to rewrite this as somehow I manage to lose my original draft. Ah well. That’s MONDAY for ya. Let’s be AWESOME this week!

CORE CRAZINESS

This morning I stepped out of SLACKERVILLE for a bit to hit up the BOOM Box. And boy oh boy did it feel good. You don’t really understand what missing one day does to you. I’m clearly a junkie to the “feel good” of a workout and feel like I lack in productivity when I don’t get work in. But at the same time that extra day of rest is NICE when it comes to feeling fresh to take on weight.

Skill/Strength: 3 x 5 Floor Press. 3 rep Max, Banded Tricep Push Downs.
Last week or whenever, we did 4 x 5 and I worked my way up to 80lbs. I didn’t fully do all 5 reps as I had some assistance. But today we were doing one less set and I was feeling good. I warmed up to 65lbs then jumped to 75lbs for my first set. Did my last set at 85lbs and no assistance… now that feels good!

We used a band instead of rope but you get the idea!

After that we did Tricep Push Downs using bands. I’ve done this exercise on machines at a regular gym but never with just a band and at first it felt really awkward but by the last set even though my triceps were dying I felt more comfortable. I don’t think I did too great, I believe I got 17, 10 and 12 for my reps. It really wears you out fast.

10/19/12 WOD

Met/Con: 3 rounds of 50 seconds on 10 seconds rest of: Elbow plank to full plank, Med Ball Sit Ups, Med Ball Twists and Superman Rocks. If this doesn’t kill your core then you are superhuman and I admire you and your ABS probably look like chiseled stone. I’m sure mine do too under the layers of flab that I’ve got going on. But this CRUSHED my core and I’m sure I’ll be trying to figure how I roll out of bed in the morning. I went through the first round feeling pretty good, but that 2nd round of plank was not easy. I tried my hardest to hit the same reps as my first round. I didn’t do too bad with trying to keep pace but I did fall a few reps short on rounds 2 and 3. Total Reps: 280

BARBELLS FOR BOOBS
YES I’m still talking about it. I will till Oct. 27th and then again maybe on Oct 29th when I blog about my weekend! I’m still not close to my $100 goal, so would you do me the kindness and donate a few bucks? Any amount is welcomed and appreciated. Donate HERE! Please and Thank you!

Last year I participated at one of the PINK BRA TOUR locations down in Belton, TX. This is where I first learned the AWESOMENESS of the CrossFit Community! All ages and sizes, working out and raising money to support Mammograms in Action. I met all sorts of people, had complete strangers cheering me on to get through GRACE (30 Clean & Jerks for time), and in turn I was supporting newly diagnosed women and cheering on SURVIVORS.

Last year’s group that traveled to participate in Barbells For Boobs!

This year the BOOM Box, CrossFit Boom, the box that gets me through the week is hosting it’s own event on Oct. 27th @ 6pm. We’ll be doing GRACE locally and everyone is welcome. You can spectate or participate. Bring your friends and family. Also know that right after B4B we will be having food and another event: #OCCUPY BOOM

The plan will be to pair off into teams of 2 and commence with #OCCUPY BOOM. Based on your Grace time your team will be seeded in a bracket. From there will will “OCCUPY BOOM” until the tournament of champions is completed. Now don’t worry the workouts will be drawn out of a hat. From there you will have a chance to negotiate with your opponents what types of scales would be fair. For example If team 1 couldn’t do pull-ups and team 2 could, they would choose a suitable replacement for team 1. Basically all you need to know is that it will be fair no matter what skill level. We will remain at the box until a team is victorious.

All in all next weekend should be a FUN time. Mark your calendars and come on out! As for this weekend all I got is football and a birthday party. I hope you all have a SUPER weekend. Enjoy this fall weather. And don’t you know it… BE AWESOME!

Welcome to Slackerville

Yup right here, my little world has become the land of slackers! So if you want to fall off the clean eating wagon, the clean house wagon, the cook dinner wagon, the write your blog wagon …. come right up. All slackers are welcome. Holy cow. The one thing I was holding on to this week was the fact that I was still hitting up the BOOM Box and today I even failed at that. I woke up, turned off alarm instead of hitting snooze and bam, I missed my workout!

The BUSY has taken it’s toll on me. And it’s been clear that it’s chipped away at me for the past couple of months and this week was just the worst of the worst. I write this and know it’s not really all that bad but when you look at how good you know how to be and what a slacker you’ve become it seems extreme. I still have clean meals, I do cook some food and my house isn’t growing black mold or becoming a health hazard – but I feel like everything is just getting sloppier and sloppier. I’ve made several claims of being “good”, doing the sugar detox and just getting my act together and I just can’t seem to find the discipline in me lately. Let’s just hope I find it sooner than later!

WODs
As far as workouts go. I’m posting Monday and Tuesdays whiteboards. I can barely remember a few hours ago so I know I can’t detail out the workouts.

10/15/12 WOD

So what you have here is some AWESOMENESS at Back Squat. I felt really good doing these at a relatively heavy weight. The opposite of awesomeness reared it’s ugly head for the MetCon. I only managed to get through minute 3! By minute 4 my right shoulder was DEAD. It HURT. I’m guessing from the wall balls because it didn’t hurt doing American style KB swings. If you didn’t make it through all 10 minutes then you had to run. My shoulder was still killing me and hindering my already slow run. It was a bad MetCon day for me :/

10/16/12 WOD

By the next day I wasn’t feeling my shoulder so much and it didn’t affect me during Deadlifts which like Back Squats on Monday, I felt good doing a relatively heavy weight. Heavy for ME that is. It feels good to feel STRONG! As for the MetCon, the Shoulder Touches worried me. I can’t do the touches so I opted for Handstand rocks. I was afraid that shoulder pain would reappear. I started off great, but about halfway through my shoulder was definitely fading fast. It didn’t get to the point of pain as the day before but it was taking a toll. My saving grace in this MetCon is that I can do DU’s. It’s my one superpower, although a weak superpower, and at least I have it. Final 7 rounds + 15 shoulder touches + 5 DUs

The 21-Day Sugar Detox – Starting OVER


Sadly, my days didn’t get increasingly better. Some days are worse than others and some days I’m super awesome. So instead of just hoping to get back on track, I’ll be starting over. I’m hoping that I start over tomorrow only because I have no dinner planned and can’t promise anything good for dinner. We’ll see and I’ll keep you posted.

Barbells For Boobs
Countdown – 8 days to go. CrossFit Boom is hosting a Barbells For Boobs Fundraiser on Oct. 27th at 6pm. So if you want to see what COMMUNITY is all about in this CrossFit world I love so much, then come and hang with us.

The B4B event is for anyone that would like to donate a few bucks and some muscle soreness. You do not have to be a member of this CrossFit box or any other in order to participate.

You don’t have to work out but you can if you want. We’re doing this for fun and to support Mammograms in Action which helps out uninsured and low income folks to get the proper screenings and diagnostic testing they need. This is a fundraiser so if you would like to donate to the cause then please click here or the link on the right and help us out! Thank you for your support. And special thanks to Jennifer over at from Wine to Weightlifting for your donation!

Moving Forward


That’s all I can do at this point. Chug Chug Chug along. Eat clean, reduce/eliminate sugars and don’t sleep in on BOOM days! Oh ya, clean house, write blog, and cook too! And for all you who I follow daily I’m sorry I haven’t been checking in… just one more item to add to the slacker list!

I hope you all have been staying AWESOME in my absence and pray I find the AWESOME in me real soon! Happy Thursday!!

REPOST: Friday I’ve Missed You


NOTE: THERE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN SOME TECHNICAL ERRORS FROM LAST WEEK. THIS POST NEVER FULLY PUBLISHED. I WILL RESUME TO MY REGULAR BLOGGING HABITS TOMORROW 🙂

Has this been an extra long week for everyone else as it has been for me? I think I’m in some time warp and although it appears I’m in real time along with everyone else, my minutes and days just drag on. But alas it’s Friday. And surely I’ll enter into real time and my weekend will fly on by!

As for the BOOM Box I was not doing any sort of flying especially when it comes to our MetCon. 2 runs that are approx 1200m with a 5 minute rest in between. They were supposed to be Sprints but as I’ve mentioned before my sprint runs out after about 50 yds. So it turns into a messy sight. I’m not a pretty runner at all. I managed to run my first “sprint” in 7:01. We then get a 5 min rest from that time and go again. Final time was 19:49, so my 2nd “sprint” was 7:48. Not bad for being a sucky runner. One day I’ll proudly claim I’m a runner but that day is not near.

Skill/Strength: Floor Press 4 x 5, 3x Max Ring Dips
So prior to the MetCon we did Skill/Strength. I worked my way up to 65lbs for the Floor Press. Each round I added 5lbs. On my last set of 5 I was at 80lbs. I had to have some assistance on the last round. I can’t recall if I got through 3 or 2 Presses before needing help. I was fighting for it, but the bar was not moving.

10/12/12 WOD

For ring dips I used the bench for assistance again. I managed to get 5, 4, 7 or something like that. I think on my last round I finally just told myself to not suck at this movement. It’s so awkward and not natural for me to do. I bottom out and stay stuck and it’s not a fun feeling. I feel really helpless but on the last set I felt that I did better.

The 21-Day Sugar Detox Sugar Reduction- Days 11 and 12
As I mentioned yesterday, I can’t honestly say I’m off the sugars completely. I’m consuming something on a daily basis out of time contraint, weakness and many other sad reasons excuses but not to the extent I was a few weeks ago. So I’m weaning myself if you will vs. going cold turkey. I’m ok with it… for now. There will be a point I know I will say to myself ENOUGH is ENOUGH but until then I will tread lightly with foods that contain sugar for now.

My half eaten, sugar free lunch: Roasted Chicken, Mashed Cauliflower, Spinach Salad with Hardboiled Egg, Bacon, Tomatoes and Olive Oil.

Barbells For Boobs
Just a small reminder I’m raising money for this great cause Barbells For Boobs. (link on the right hand sidebar) The BOOM Box is hosting their own B4B event @ 6pm, OCT. 27th The workout will be Grace. 30 Clean and jerks for time. If you would like to be a part of this event please visit the link on the right and donate at least $30 to mammograms in action. Even if you don’t want to participate, donations are welcome ツ

Barbells For Boobs Event 2011
Belton, TX

The B4B event is for anyone that would like to donate a few bucks and some muscle soreness. You do not have to be a member of this CrossFit box or any other in order to participate. All are welcome, bring your friends and family!

Barbells for Boobs is a non-profit breast cancer organization whose mission is to provide funding through the Mammograms in Action @ Grant Program for qualified low income and uninsured women and men who need screening and/or diagnostic procedures in the prevention of breast cancer. Please help me and my team CrossFit Boom in our fundraising efforts by clicking the link and setting up your donation.

Have a pleasant weekend! I hope the weather is beautiful wherever you are and that you are able to take advantage and play outside. I personally really want to hibernate but that’s a choice this weekend. Soon I hope, soon! See y’all on Monday. Until then, STAY AWESOME.

Looking Back

Today it really hit me as to WOW look at where I am compared to a few years ago, heck just ONE year ago in regards to my everyday health and fitness. NEVER in my life did I imagine myself doing Squat Cleans, Heavy Deadlifts, Clean & Jerks, Snatch, etc. And believe me, I’ve run the gamut when it comes to AEROBICS classes, Spin Classes, Jazzercise, Bootcamps, DVDs, Rec Centers, etc. I’ve been up and down in weight. I’ve given up on excercise and I’ve been a exercise junkie but I’ve never been COMMITTED day in and day out as I have been the past 20 months. I did know what a Deadlift was… Deadlifts with dumbbells, or a lightly loaded bar. I’ve done Clean & Jerks (or what I thought was a clean and jerk) as well with just a bar and not one inkling of an idea about technique but NOW I’m doing lifts that at 35 years old I could have never imagined. I’m pushing myself more than I have EVER probably pushed myself including those prime high school years. I LOOK BACK and see HOW FAR I’VE COME and I ♥ IT! I look forward NOW to see where I’ll go from here.

When I walked into the BOOM Box this morning I knew the MetCon had a heavy Squat Clean on the board. A Squat Clean weight that I’ve not reached yet. So I knew I would have to scale but I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Before we hit the workout we worked on Mobility which is always NEEDED in hopes it would loosen us up for the MetCon.

10/11/12 WOD

MetCon: 15 minute AMRAP 3 Squat Cleans (85lbs), 20 butterfly situps. For those of you knew to CrossFit speak, and I’m sure it’s not only CrossFit speak but I never heard AMRAP before CrossFit. So anyways AMRAP means As Many Reps/Rounds As Possible. So 3-2-1 Go and you just go, rinse, wash REPEAT until time expires. Don’t Stop, Don’t Rest, Just GO! You have no idea how fast 15 minutes will fly by. And I had no idea how taxing those situps would end up! I chugged along with little rest between some rounds and maybe too much rest between other rounds. I guess it all evens out and although 85lbs is not heavy to everyone, once you get get that bar moving you learn that yes it’s HEAVY but YES you can do it. It’s a great feeling even though it’s hard. There were many rounds that I didn’t want to pick up that bar.

I didn’t want to fail, I didn’t want to grind through but really there isn’t a choice. I have to pick it up even if I don’t want to. Why else show up every day, day in and day out at 5am. TO SUCK at life? Hell no! I want to get better and stronger. I want to be strong and fit the rest of my life, not just my 30s. Final Count: 11 rounds, 3 squat cleans, 12 sit ups.

The 21-Day Sugar Detox – Days 9-11
So I’m just going to call this the SUGAR REDUCTION week! I haven’t managed to have a whole day without something tripping me up this week. It’s not super uber fails but it’s not perfect either. And to me I should be doing this with no slip ups. I’ve cleaned up a lot considering how bad September was for me but I need to get better. I’m just going to keep chugging along till I do get a full 21 days of NO SUGARS. So this may end up being the 42 day Sugar Detox, hehe, but I’m not quitting. I’m successful 80% of my day. It’s the evenings that are getting me. So that’s all I have to report on the sugar detox. I wish I could be more insightful or inspiring but at this point I’m doing the best I can.

Whatever health/fitness adventure you’re on, please make sure you’re doing it for you. For BETTER HEALTH and for the FUTURE you. Not for what you once were, not for who you wish you could be, not for your spouse and not for your friends. I didn’t say not for your children because your children need you so change your health for you and your kids if you got them. And if your kids are your only reason you BETTER do it for them. Show them early that health is important.

Your body will change if you eat better, eat clean, move regularly. Your organs will love you. Your brain will brighten. You will see life in a different light. Looking back I have always aspired to be fit and some years I hit the mark and some years I was a glutenous mess. Now I’m on the right track, I still stumble and sometimes fall but I’m not down for long. Life is a daily learning process. Life is WORK. Don’t quit before you even start. Don’t let yourself give up when you haven’t even really tried. Just keep going. And while you’re going you’ll learn what AWESOME is and then you’ll NEVER want to stop being AWESOME! So go be AWESOME and enjoy life.

My sunshine is fading

As this month carries on, the sun stays with us a little less. I seriously get into a funk when the days begin to get shorter. I know I’m not whiny enough as it is, right? 😛 But soon enough it will be pitch black by 5:30pm and I’ll feel like I need to hibernate. It’s part of it, this happens every year and every year I look forward to those spring days when time springs forward. But for now I have to watch the sunshine fade away a little bit sooner each day. I feel less productive when the sun is not out till 9pm. That feeling has already crept in. Am I the only one that thinks this way? The upside is that I really want to go to bed earlier. Hopefully I’ll get some extra sleep!

This morning wasn’t hard to get up but my left eye was throbbing. Not sure from what but I considered staying home, unsure if the ache in my eyeball would disappear. Thank goodness it did by the time I got to the BOOM Box.

Skill/Strength: 5 x 3 Deadlift @ 85% of 1 RM = 155lbs actually 157.25 so we rounded down to 155. Warming up to this weight was smooth and easy. I jumped from 125lbs to 155lbs and I went from oh this is good to OH that was more than I anticipated. But it was only that first set that I felt that. The rest of the sets felt good. Coached chimed in saying I probably should have gone up to 160lbs then. I mean it wasn’t EASY but at the same time I didn’t realize that I probably should have pushed myself a little more and jumped up in weight. That’s where I don’t think forward enough. I should if I want to get better but I’m not wired that way to say, hhmm, maybe I should jump up that extra 5 pounds. Maybe because it’s 5am and my brain isn’t fully functioning. Hell my body surely isn’t fully functioning but I still feel good. I’m still moving some weight.

10/9/12 WOD

MetCon: 2 rounds of 2 minutes for 400m run 2 minutes KB swings, 1 minute rest
I seriously was thinking I will not make that 400m run in 2 minutes or less. IMPOSSIBLE. I suck at running, I suck at running more so in the cooler weather. But my first run I managed to complete in 1:45 (I THINK). It took me a minute to gain my composure and time was already ticking into my KB Swing timeframe. I knew I would have to hold on to that kettle bell the whole time and I I was doing good, 20 seconds to go and I had to let it go or drop it on my foot so I stopped for a couple of seconds but got back going to get an extra few reps. 62 reps for that first 2 minutes. The 1 minute rest was SHORT then it was back to the run. I kept telling myself you gotta make 2 minutes, you gotta make 2 minutes. I have no relevance of time when running, it always feels like forever but I managed to make it back in 1:55! But that didn’t give me much time to catch my breath. I didn’t start KB swings right away, maybe 20 seconds into my 2 minutes. This time I stopped a few times. Only getting 62. In the picture above my flash got in the way. And I was too unobservant at the time to notice. So total was 114, not 11 😀

The 21-Day Sugar Detox Days 8 & 9
Let’s just say I’m surviving. Moods are fine despite it being that time of the month… TMI? Eh who cares! But it explains the blah attitude. Better than angry attitude. I think overall I’m dealing well. Maybe all that weekend binging helped! Who knows. I keep neglecting to add that extra fat that I know I need in my meals, so I did add some avocado to my eggs and bacon this morning and wow I’m full. It wasn’t even a lot. Keep on keepin on… one day at a time.

That’s all for my Tuesday report. Also don’t forget I’m raising money for Barbells For Boobs. Please support this great cause. The link is in the sidebar to the right if you would like to donate. Thanks y’all and dont forget to BE AWESOME!

Just Breathe!

Crazy busy, hectic, non stop, rangers lose, sleepy, falling off the wagon, jumping back on the wagon, broken bones, cold weekend, cookies, BREATHE!

The WEEKEND WOD & Oly Class
The cold air blew in Friday and with that the Rangers were out of the playoffs. I dried my eye, went to bed and woke up to our first CHILLY morning in a long time. And it was COMMUNITY WOD day at the BOOM Box! Of course I was running late and in a rush, and of course I happened to freakin hit a car as I pulled in. NO MAJOR damage thank GOODNESS but damage none the less! (Sorry Jenn :/) And then it was time for a partner WOD. Not knowing what lied ahead I asked Russell to partner up with me. Boy oh Boy was I the wrong partner for this WOD. We first had a banded together 400m run. Did I mention Russell is about 8ft tall! Jokes, but seriously 6’4″ or something like that. And I’m a towering 5’2″! How’s that for a running buddy you’re literally stuck to?? FUN FUN! I just had to embrace the suck and deal with it.

We then had to do 21, 15, 9 of Step Ups and KB Thrusters with a RUN between the sets. So I warmed up with a 1/2 POOD KB (17lbs or so) and I could manage that. Those got taken up quicklike by other teams so I gave 1 POOD a go. Well I could complete the movement with my right arm and the left arm was weak! But that’s what we stuck with. After many FAILS I was downgraded to a 20lb dumbbell. RELIEF! It was now only the running that was miserable. When we came back for the sets of 15 I saw I now had a 25lb dumbbell…. sneaky sneaky Coach! That was still better than the 35lb KB! Poor Russell, I apologized about 7978798 times for being slow at the runs and for sucking in GENERAL. We came in last, I didn’t even look at the time. It was sad.

After the MetCon, we moved outside to work on buddy carries. I didn’t think my legs would hold up anyone so I didn’t try carrying anyone. Probably for the best. And I wasn’t feeling particularly light in weight so I didn’t offer for anyone to carry me either. I was pretty much OUT on any sort of carrying. Well Coach wasn’t having any of that and carried, ran, skipped and spun me in circles for about 50m! Good thing I don’t get sickly easily. It could have been disastrous.

OLY Class
Right after the Community WOD we had an OLY Class. Due to the boys’ football schedules, I’ve missed some classes. It was good to be back. I need to work on technique in a bad way. And that is all we did – Work on Snatch technique. With PVC and a 35lb bar I’m pretty confident. But once I start putting weight on, I let the FEAR creep in. The self doubt. The weakness. It’s mental. So we worked on that. Mentally letting go and landing in that squat position. Learning we could fall down and it’s not the end of the world. Learning that dropping the bar is not the end of the world. Just doing it over and over and over. I’m not anywhere near being GREAT at snatch but I felt I came a long way in just an hour this past Saturday. I understand where I was coming up short this time around. Coach had me do “close-grip” snatches with the PVC and later with the bar which is really funky and not normal feeling at all, but it definitely showed me where I lose stability. A lot of times I don’t feel it or understand where I go wrong. But I can feel it now. I can feel where I put the brakes on too soon. And at least with that knowledge it’s easier for me to work on this movement. It’s truly all technique and confidence. I’m getting there. I really AM!

The 21-Day Sugar Detox –  Day 5-7 And the wheels came off!
I did so well Friday and all day Saturday. I stayed true. I obeyed. I was strong. On Friday my cousins were eating all sorts of badness at the Ranger game but I was eating pistachios, carrots and drinking lots of water. Then Saturday rolled around and I fueled myself up properly after my 2 hour workout session. Headed to football games stayed strong despite it was perfect Caramel Macchiato or Hot Chocolate weather. But by the end of the day at late o’clock, I was still hungry and cold. I caved in for some Chic-fil-A. And not any healthy choice either. I did stray from the sweet tea but I still indulged in some sandwich yumminess. Did I hop back on the GOOD KID train on Sunday? Hell NO.

Went to our favorite butcher where I typically get a frankfurter with no bun but YES I did have a bun. And then I just went further down the rabbit hole as Ernie convinced me to make the Otis Spunkmeyer cookies that had come in from our football fundraiser. Yup ate a few of those too! All in all I had about a 24 hour relapse. It’s all good now. I shopped well for the week. And hopefully my little splurge is out of my system. It’s not that I craved the sugar, I just went off the grid for a moment. For those of you who think it’s ok, it’s not. It did do a number on my stomach. But y’all don’t want those details!

So you could call it starting over or you could call it moving on. I’ll restart my 21 days but still consider myself on day 8. I’ll just finish on the 28th instead of the 21st.

Back on Track KICK OFF MEAL!

10/8/12 WOD
And we’re finally to today’s WOD. It was so nice and cozy in my warm bed, it was really hard to get up and at em. Looked at my phone and it said 40° outside and I really wanted even more to stay in bed. When I arrived at the BOOM Box it looked like I wasn’t the only one that thought of staying in bed but I was one of the few who actually didn’t stay in bed and showed up… cough* slackersscarredofalittlecold* cough… where was everyone? Ah well. You can’t get better if you’re not showing up to do work.

Skill/Strength: 5 x 5 Back Squat at 82.5%, for me that was 120lbs. I did a few warm ups and then worked my way up slowly to the 120lbs mark. My first set of 5 weren’t too shabby. I felt good. Since it was extra cool in the box, Coach suggested I work on stretching my hip between sets. My second set wasn’t so pretty but I finished. I ended my sets strong and really fought for the last rep in each set. I felt good. It doesn’t sound like a lot but that’s some weight I’m not used to moving around and it got my heart going. It was good work.

10/8/12 WOD

MetCon: 3 min AMRAP of 5 Air Squats and 5 Push Ups, 1 min rest, 3 min AMRAP of 3 Pistols and 3 Handstand Push Ups
I left my OLY shoes on for the MetCon because I figured it would help me in my squats and pistols. I tried to fly through the 3 minutes without pause. I wasn’t 100% successful but I managed to get by with few pauses. I got 11 rounds. The next round wasn’t that pretty. I am pretty confident on my right leg with the Pistols. It’s the left leg I don’t trust. That IT band drags across my knee which is painful but it’s not the pain that gets me, it’s the idea that I feel my knee is weak and it’s hard for me to feel confident. I did work on getting full depth by being on a box but I really struggled on my left leg. With that struggle and transitioning to HSPU modified on the box, that sucked up a lot of time. I completed 4 rounds. That second 3 min AMRAP weighed me down bad. Total of 15 rounds.

I do hope everyone had a pleasant weekend. I hope you have an even better week! If you’re on the fence about The 21-day Sugar Detox, paleo, working out or whatever it is, just know holding out isn’t getting you anywhere. Waiting till tomorrow is doing NOTHING for you.

Waiting for next Monday or Nov 1 is giving you more reasons and excuses to wait till after Christmas. Just start NOW. You might fall down like I have just done but guess what? You get back up. Even if you fall down everyday. You can’t reach your goals if you aren’t even trying. Hell if you don’t have goals how are you going to get anywhere. Set some goals. TODAY and ACT TODAY. and BE AWESOME!!!

Ouchy Mama!

Mobility was the focus first thing at the BOOM Box and if you do regular mobility or follow KStar over at mobilitywod.com then you know that mobility is bittersweet. IT HURTS! but then you fell much better at some point. Today we started with this:

And I was drenched in sweat from doing this. I have such jacked up body parts and it hurt so bad good. I thought I was going to pass out from the pain on my right side. My left side was a little more tolerant or less wonky I should say but it still hurt hella bad!

After working our shoulders we worked our hips and quads. My legs are smoked I need to really up my mobility work. LIKE A LOT! I just get lazy. And now I can feel the laziness as I sit here and type in pure ache-yness.

DO MOBILITY. YOU WILL THANK ME LATER! We will all be supple leopards together!

10/5/12 WOD

MetCon: TEAM WOD 4 rounds of alternating KB Swings (1POOD) and Wall Planks. 1 round = 2 minutes.
What we have here is something that looks simple enough but in the end is KILLER. For two minutes teammate 1 holds a wall plank and teammmate 2 gets as many KB Swings as possible. But if teammate 1 freakin drops off the wall then teammate 2 must stop KB Swings until teammate one is back on wall. EL SUCKO! I started off with wall planks and in my head I thought they would be much easier. They were NOT.

We had our arms extended but you get the idea. NO FUN!

My feet kept sliding down and there’s a point where I’m just not strong enough to hold it out. I kept wanting to stick my butt up in the air instead of keeping my hips down. It was horrible. My shoulders were on FIRE! Holding for 2 minutes straight was not going to happen today. There was no rest between rounds so we had to move fast. I tried to get as many swings in as I could but I felt like I was in slow motion. It sucks when your partner drops because you lose your rhythm but it’s hard to be the partner on the wall so I’m not complaining!

Barbells For Boobs!
On another note, we all know OCTOBER is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the CrossFit Community steps up to plate with the Barbells For Boobs Tour. This year CrossFit Boom is doing a community WOD to raise money and support the organization Barbells For Boobs. BARBELLS FOR BOOBS ® is a 501(c)3 non-profit breast cancer organization whose mission is to provide funding through the MAMMOGRAMS IN ACTION ® GRANT PROGRAM for qualified low-income and uninsured women and men who need screening and/or diagnostic procedures in the prevention of breast cancer.

I will be participating with my box doing the workout Grace, which is 30 Clean & Jerks for time. It’s a great way to do what we love and raise awareness. If you would like to support this cause and support our team over at CrossFit Boom with a donation then please click the link on my sidebar or right here https://support.barbellsforboobs.org/individual-fundraising/stephhayes/. Thank you!

Also, if you are in the DFW area and want to participate with us then come on! All are welcome! It will be a blast. OCTOBER 27th, 6pm @ 7501 US 287 Hwy Suite D-2 Arlington, TX 76001, www.crossfitboom.com

The 21-day Sugar Detox – Days 4 & 5
Yesterday was the first day I didn’t have any cravings for the sweetness. This doesn’t mean I’ve made it or am successful yet, but it was a day where I truly didn’t think GEEZ I WANT SOME FRUIT. I was content and it probably because my meals, especially lunch, were more balanced. I’ve been eating a lot of chicken because that’s what we had an abundance of in the freezer but hopefully this week I’ll get more beef into my life, maybe some fish too. Last nights meal was roasted chicken with mashed cauliflower and a few carrots. I know not gourmet or even worth mentioning but it’s my blog and I’ll bore you if I choose! Hahah, please don’t run away. I try not to be boring, but sometimes I have no choice! Seriously though I did learn that for me it’s mostly mental especially once the sugar cravings truly go away. It does become a battle of the mind.

This morning I had what has become repetitive for breakfast and that was eggs and acorn squash. I have sweet potatoes sitting right next to the squash and the squash won all week! Even the kids were pretty stoked on my little breakfast. My youngest tried to sweet talk me into letting him have it. But I only let him have a bite. I have more roast chicken today with some spinach salad and MORE Cauliflower. After this week I’m cauliflowered out! I’ll have to mix it up for sure. But like I said earlier this week I was not prepared. Next week should be much better in the food variety…. I HOPE!

Hope everyone has a FREAKIN AMAZING FRIDAY and weekend. GO RANGERS! It’s do or die tonight for them.

And pray I survive our cold front and rain that hits tonight and tomorrow. We have football all day and there’s small chance it will get canceled. I’m a TEXAS girl and a wuss to the elements especially when the elements are cold and wet. So pray I make it through the weekend because the cooler weather only encourages comfort foods :/

Remember to BE AWESOME!!

DNF! UGH!

Over a year of CrossFit and today I had my first DNF – Did Not FINISH! I may have dragged ass but I have always finished. But in the end it’s better than a DID NOT START! And I did start off good this morning with the the Skill/Strength but for the MetCon I just didn’t have it in me; maybe it’s the sugar detox; maybe I’m not eating enough foods; maybe it’s the sadness of the Texas Rangers blowing the AL West Division title; I just don’t know what happened this morning.

Skill/Strength: 4 x 6 Floor Press @ 65lbs, 3 rounds of max Ring Dips
Floor Press felt good today. By the 4th round it was a struggle to get the last few reps in but I completed them without fail. It’s always a relief when you don’t get a fail! The 3 rounds of Ring Dips are not as fun as Floor Press. My shoulders are tight, my hands start hurting, I just turn into a mess. With the green band I only pushed out 10, 8 and 8. I don’t hold that in “good” standards, just bleh. Coach then had me drop the band and use a bench for my feet. I tried like 3 times and I had NOTHING. I took a few minutes to rest and then finally got a count of 3. That’s not a lot I know but after feeling helpless with a count of 0, I’ll take 3.

10/4/12 WOD

MetCon: 10 rounds of 200m Sprint Jog, 6 Pistols, 3 Handstand Push Ups, 22 min time cap. Sigh. I was done after I only READ 10 rounds and 200m Sprint. But I pretended I wasn’t and took off. It took me a whole minute to run that 200m. I’m thinking that’s pretty slow. And the rounds to follow only got slower.

When it comes to Pistols please note I did modify them by using a box to stand on and also note I have no confidence in my left leg due to my IT band and the pain it induces when I hit a certain degree of bend in my knee. I still manage to bare down and get it down, it’s just not pretty. Shoot, my right leg pistol isn’t pretty either but at least I can get better depth. After a few runs, I basically just stood on the box to catch my breath…. wasting time. Then more time wasted getting situated doing modified HSPU. I learned a few rounds in that I wasn’t doing HSPU exactly right and had to change it up. I struggled at first but finally came to terms with feeling better at doing it right. The runs just killed me. We had a time cap of 22 minutes. I finished my 8th round right around 21 minutes, I had to run still although I really just wanted to stop. By this last run, I had a side stitch, I didn’t want to run, I barely did at most points and even deferred to walking. How’s that for a DNF?!? BOOOOO.

The 21-Day Sugar Detox – Day 3 & 4
I was much better for the rest of yesterday. Last night after one of my kiddos football game, I had to go up to the school to pick him up. While waiting I know that I don’t really have much to prepare for dinner. There was meatloaf leftovers for my other kids but I couldn’t have any because there is honey in the sauce. I didn’t have the energy to cook anything so as I sat there waiting for my kid to get out I decided I would just go to Boston Market. So I did and I got their Mediterranean Salad, no cheese, no dressing. It’s a simple salad with tomatoes, cucumber, onion and rotisserie chicken. They gave me a fair amount of chicken which is nice but I really was hoping for a more hearty salad. It did the job though and filled my belly. Today for breakfast I went with a small serving of acorn squash (yummy) and 2 eggs, and for lunch I have chicken, kale and spinach salad. Probably more chicken for dinner with some veggies. I also have eggs and bacon for a snack. I still want something bad. It’s not even that I want something really bad. I just want a nectarine. Or some strawberries. Or a brownie!  I’m being strong though, fighting through and hoping this lack of energy will disappear and I’ll be back to my normal achy feeling self! I gotta start planning tonight what I’m going to eat tomorrow. We’ll be at the Wild Card game that the Rangers are playing in. And if it’s as stressful as yesterdays game I’m gonna need to be food prepared so I don’t drown my stress in hot dogs and nachos!

It’s so close to the weekend! Peace out! Be AweSOme!