CrossFit

Yay for Fridays!

This week has been one of those weeks that I’m just grateful I survived and I managed to refrain from hurting anyone! Work was chaotic, home was a mess (still is), kids are full speed ahead with baseball and workouts were brutal but I made it through. So YAY for Friday. And if I still drank alcoholic beverages then I’d say HOORAY BEER! I still love saying it though.

Today’s WOD was a modest workout at first glance and as always an absolute beating by the end. The skill/strength was Backsquats at much lesser weight than we typically would do. It was just enough to feel like you got some work in but not so tough you think you might black out before you get the weight up. It was a good friday skill/strength. 5 @ 85lbs, 5 @ 90lbs, and 5 @ 95lbs

2/23/12 WOD

The MetCon was not a load off our shoulders though. 20 step ups on 20″ box (10 per leg) HOLDING a 35lb plate. The 35lbs isn’t super heavy but it’s awkward to hold and well awkward to hold. I thought I could hold it on my head but everytime I stepped up it would bounce just enough to repeatedly beat me and it hurt. So I stopped. Carrying it on the shoulder or with one arm was a no go for me as well. My only option was to hug it and hold on the best I could. I have bruises to show for it. The deficit deadlift wasn’t too heavy so that helped, just those darn step ups and the dumb plate! Hahah. Got a great workout and feeling good now that it’s all said and done.

Tomorrow is funday Saturday (free OPEN WOD) for anyone interested. And anyone who is participating in the CrossFit Games Open can get their burpees judged as well. I’m glad I’m done with WOD 1 although there is a small voice saying do it again… it’s a sick and twisted voice obviously but I think I’ll pass. I probably would only get a few more in OR maybe a few less. I’m good where I’m at for now since I’m just doing this to gauge where I am in the grand scheme of crazies such as myself! www.crossfitboom.com

It’s also a weekend where I’ll do my first Advocare co-hosting mixer party thingamajig. Send good thoughts my way please 🙂 We are kicking off a 24 day challenge. A great way to get a boost on weight loss. I hope to share with you the results for those who participate. So stay tuned for before and after pictures. If you’re interested in participating and your not local then just go here: https://www.advocare.com/110211817/Store/ItemDetail.aspx?itemCode=99038&id=A&flavor=1

Take measurements of yourself before you start and then also at the end of your 24 day journey. Keep notes of how you feel and what you weigh. Take a picture as well if you’re so inclined. Who knows there may be a prize (I have to work on that though). If you do order I don’t recommend the chocolate flavor in the meal replacement shakes. I LOVE chocolate and I do not love this particular chocolate. Berry and Vanilla are good.

Anyhow…. that’s it for today. It’s going to be a GO GO GO weekend with no stopping over here. I hope y’all enjoy your Saturday and Sunday. Smile, have fun, be GOOFY!  Happy Friday!

CrossFit Games Open – BURPEES!

Hello Hello and welcome to my discussion of the 2012 CrossFit Games Open WOD 1. The WOD was released yesterday at 7pm CST and it was a little surprising that it was a 7 minute AMRAP of burpees. BURPEES! I don’t know anyone that likes em but I know anyone can definitely do one or two.

There appeared to be an online slew of sarcastic remarks in regards to the WOD but I really didn’t have a problem with it. They set a standard as with anything else and you just gotta kill it. For those of you that think it’s easy then YAY you. Finish first! Be the best. Don’t trash what’s put before ya. It’s not going to get easier. Although burpees are no FUN I think it’s a fine opener to the GAMES. It’s 7 MINUTES OF HELL! At least I feel I can compete and not come in last!

The BOOM Box is going to have a set aside time this Saturday to do the WOD but we were fortunate enough to get it first thing this a.m. WOOOO! I didn’t have a plan at all. I just knew I had to go. The standard is extend your arm over your head, measure 6 inches above that and set a bar, rings, tape, etc. at that point. You have to hit the target every time. EASY BREEZY? RIGHT? NO!

CrossFit Games WOD 1 2/23/12

Last night I watched a video of Katie Hogan and she got 91. In my head the whole time was a broken record playing “Katie Hogan made it to 91”. “Katie Hogan made it to 91.” Nevermind the fact that Kristen Clever did 124 or something like that! Ha. I just thought 91 is achievable. But I burned out pretty quickly even though I felt I was at a good pace. 7 minutes feels like forever. FOREVER!

I managed to knock out 74. I was up for 75 but the time was up before I hit the target so it was a NO REP!

That’s it! WOD 1 DONE! Yay, I’m glad the anxiety is over on what it would be, how I would do, etc. I know I’m not a firebreather and mentally I just wanted to do more than 50. Mission accomplished. We’ll see how the rest of the world does 🙂

Now onto other things such as shopping for new clothes. I don’t mind getting new stuff… I LOVE new stuff but I really don’t like shopping for new sizes. I should be ecstatic because I’m smaller (Sizes 8-10 to NOW 4) than I was the last time I went shopping (YEARS AGO, literally). But I had a hard time finding the right “fit” 😦 I finally had enough of looking like a bum everyday with baggy pants and then I get to the stores and all I leave with is two pairs of pants and frustration. And forget tops. I guess I’m just not trendy enough or willing to “show” my imperfections with all these tight fitting styles. I feel like a HOT MESS … super OLD ladylike and it sucks.

I definitely took a few steps backwards in the confidence department after staring in dressing room mirrors and trying on a slew of cute but not for me clothes. Ah well, so is life. I just gotta keep at it, work hard, eat clean and not look in full length mirrors! I joke, kind of. Sorry, it’s just the old me starts to chime in and I let her get the best of me.

It’s Thursday! Although I keep thinking it’s FRIDAY, which is the worst thing you could ever do to yourself! Enjoy your day. It’s gonna be like 82° here so it’s going to be BEAU-TI-FUL!

Holy SLED PULLS Batman!*$%#*!

I’m a scatterbrained crazy today so I truly apologize in advance if my writing is more nutso or stranger than ever. I don’t even know where to start but I know I’ve been slacking and behind and blah blah blah. That’s what the sickness does to ya. It takes you OUT and now I feel like all I’m doing is playing catch up and I’m NEVER going to catch up! And when this momma bear is down the whole freaking family goes down! I thought they’d pull it together. But I was wrong. Eventually things did happen but it was a mess. Everybody sleeping in, nobody cooking foods, the ship fell apart! ARRRGGHHHH!

So let me start with today and go backwards. Or at least I’ll try to stick with the sloppy in my head outline, no promises people 🙂

Tuesday BOOM BOX was a punch you in the stomach, kick you while your down, lie on the ground wishing you were dead kinda of WOD. Why you ask? Because SLED PULLS are horrible. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that I’m not fond of the sled and the pulling of weight, and I can assure you that without a doubt I truly wish I never had to pull another sled again. I am worthless!

2/21/12 WOD

We started with a skill/strength of 3 RM (rep max) of push press. I managed to get up 85lbs. The third one wasn’t pretty but I got the job done. I proceeded to 95lbs and really thought somewhere deep I would pull it out but I only got it up like 2 inches if that. An extra 10lbs gets heavy FAST!

Now the SLED PULLS! The MetCon was 6 rounds of 10 Plyo Pushups, 50yd Sled Pull (Sled – 26lbs, Plates – 60lbs = 86lbs!). We have 2 sleds and 5 of us were there this morning. So we just took turns. Each round for time. We did get a 60 to 90 second rest between rounds. It wasn’t long enough!

You get the idea of what we did. One hand on ground, one hand on plate, do pushup then pop up and alternate hands, do pushup, repeat for 10 pushups

What I should look like while pulling sled! This kid has got it down!

The biggest issue I had was at the turnaround point coming back. The parking lot has the slightest incline which felt like a mountain. You wouldn’t even realize there’s an incline until you’re trying to drag something behind you. My times were :56, :55, :58, 1:14, 1:12 and 1:00. Best time goes on board and all I got was :55. I’m slow at push ups and dragging things! I was winded, ready to die, huffing and puffing but now that I’m done, showered, fueled… I FEEL GREAT. So albeit I am at odds with the sled, I do feel good. What can I say? I enjoy torture :/

Yesterday was a little nicer to us. Although OHS are tough. My wrists are weak and fragile and I have a hard time holding weight over my head and keeping balance without feeling like my wrists are on fire. I am getting stronger and better at these but WOW it takes a toll.

2/20/12 WOD

Our MetCon was a nice little TIMED 1 mile run… or so we thought! LOL! Instead of running laps up and a down a hill for a mile which is our typical M.O. we chose to take a longer route. Well our route wasn’t quite exactly 1 mile. In my head I have no idea what a mile feels like. I just know it was cold and windy. So I’m running, hit the turnaround point and just keep running… right into the box and I see 6:21 on the clock! WTH? There is no way I’m that fast! Hahahah… I looked at everyone like this is a joke right? And it wasn’t a joke it just wasn’t a MILE that we ran. Ends up that we ran 1200 M. So I was on pace for what I would run anywhere between 8:06 and 8:30. Not bad for what I consider miserable conditions. Inclines, Wind and Cold! I’m a wussbag I know!

I got my workouts covered so onto the weekend. Saturday was a hot mess of drizzle, rain, wind, cold, etc. Fortunately we spent our time inside the DEATH STAR (aka Dallas Cowboys Stadium) for Supercross. It was unfortunate that it was too icky to walk the pits but we had a good time and I ate plenty of NON PALEO foods. Shame on me. It wasn’t even “GOOD” but I was hungry and didn’t want to go to car for our “packed snacks”. We did happen to win our tickets that morning, well Ernie won the tickets. He won 6 total over two days. But the ones we won that morning were pretty good seats. A very cool underwear company FREEGUN UNDERWEAR had a contest and Ernie won! Between the two of us we tend to win some cool stuff. It makes life a little more fun that way 🙂

Yup we're CHEESEBALLS and ROGUE all at the same time! THANKS FREEGUN!

Besides our errand running, that’s it folks! That’s all I got. Oh and in case I haven’t pushed SHARED Advocare … I sell the stuff. I like it, I use it daily, and I can give you more info if interested. I even got cool little wristbands to rock out.

Believe Begin Become

It’s MARDI GRAS! Happy FAT TUESDAY y’all! I won’t be partaking in the joyous foods and beverages  but CHEERS to those of you that do 🙂 Have a few for me!

Magical Brooms and Manic Mondays!

Yes it’s MANIC. Rain, cold, no foods to eat for lunch, traffic, etc…!!!

And then the broom and it’s mysterious ways! Ok so the Magical Broom isn’t a long story but as one my kiddos was sweeping the floor this morning he went to lean said broom against the chair for a moment and then he realized that it wasn’t leaning on anything! It was cool and creepy all at the same time. I knew that if chairs started sliding and stacking on each other then we would be OUT of there ASAP! I don’t need a poltergeist remake!! But that was all. Just a magical broom doin it’s thing 🙂

ARE YOU SERIOUS?!? MAGICAL!

As far as the weekend went it was funday Saturday at the BOOM BOX! And the Throwdown Challenge I agreed to do with my coach. I didn’t participate in the Team WOD so I wouldn’t burn out for the challenge WOD but I helped my oldest son, Jonas, count his reps with his WODmate Jeff. They did very well! I was surprised at his effort and proud of him for pushing through. Also my 10 yr old managed to knock out some kipping pull ups on his own, even managed Chest to BAR! He’s gonna be a future CrossFit GAMES BEAST! proud? YES envious? INDEED!

Now it was my turn. Grant did RX and I went scaled. I hung on pretty well at first but fizzled fast! I failed to take a picture of the boards but it was a 2 part WOD. First part… Death by Push Press/Burpees! Push Press on the minute followed by burpees. If you haven’t been following along. Death by ANYTHING means do 1 rep on the first minute, 2 reps on the second minute, 3 reps on the 3rd minute and so forth. Go until you can’t complete all the reps within the minute. So we had a deadly duo of burpees and push presses! I managed to get through 7 1/2 rounds. I finished my 8th push press but no time for 8 burpees! To be honest I’m not sure if Grant finished his 8th round completely or not! I was DEAD! And we still had Part 2! WE got a 10 minute rest then it was time for 6 rounds of 5 squat cleans, 10 pullups and 200m row! We alternated rounds, so each of us did 3 rounds. I feel I killed the squat cleans at 65lbs. RX was 85 but I had done 65lbs with push press instead of the 85lb RX so I just stuck with the lighter weight. Pullups though KILLED ME! Seriously and I had bands. I hate feeling so weak. While one teammate was doing the round the other teammate held an L-Sit for as long as possible for max time. Each round we held one max hold. After that you could subracted that time from your overall finish. I believe we had a time of 10:59. It as a good effort. Hopefully next time we do a challenge like this I can really do RX and kill it! It was definitely nice to put in some work but I felt my shoulders hating me all weekend!

Before I get to this mornings WOD I just want to give another shout out to Burgandy Pasture Beef! We went out there Saturday afternoon. They are so friendly and welcoming 🙂 It’s nice for us to get away for that short little trip and shop for quality foods. Sam has been there everytime at the counter to take our order. She knows Ernie by Pork Belly Ernie because we had special ordered the first time we visited. It’s kind of funny and I like his new nickname. I feel awful but I can not remember the other ladies names that are there. They educated us a little bit further about the meat butchering process and we hope to take a tour in the Spring if one becomes available. SERIOUSLY if you have a little time head on out to Grandview, TX and check them out! Their beef is wonderful and they also offer chicken, pork, lamb and a few other items such as farm fresh eggs!

Now I had mentioned my shoulders were hating me and this morning they were still feeling the same but it is what it is and I had to push through. It was cold and rainy on top of that but I still had to get to the BOOM BOX. After our warm up we proceeded to Front Squats 3, 3, 3+ at 80%, 85% and 90%. I managed to knock out 18 reps on the my last round! Wooohoooo. My legs could have handled a few more but my wrists determined otherwise.

02/13/12 WOD

The MetCon was a nice little sample of Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls, Push Press (ARGH) and Back Squats – 2 rounds of 1 minute of each and 1 minute of rest after all three movements max reps. 65lbs for me. I went a little too quick like on the SDLHPs and wore out pretty quickly. Then I had to quickly transition to Push Press. It wasn’t pretty but I hung on. Back Squats were a little less taxing and a much needed break for the arms/shoulders. ROUND 2: I timed out my SDLHPs a little better and got a few more reps than the first round. But I was wasted for the Push Press. I knew I had to kill the Back Squats to give me any decent rep count. And I did alright as I matched my 1st round number of 42 reps. I wasn’t at the top of the whiteboard but knowing I couldn’t get those push presses cranked out I’m ok with it. I put in work and that’s what counts!

It’s a-rainy/drizzly/miserable here! But I saw it should warm up a bit in the next few days! Hope everyone has a MARVELOUS MONDAY and not a MANIC one! I have quite a few things to do tonight for kids VDAY stuff. Hopefully I get it knocked out super ninja fast!

Feelin Fine Friday!

Yesterday afternoon and into the evening I wasn’t feeling so fine. My stomach was a grumbling and I was just feeling like crapola. I don’t know if I was fighting some bug that was trying to make a home within me or what. I didn’t eat anything out of the ordinary but I knew I was blah. So instead of coming home and getting to whipping up some fab dinner, I went straight to the couch! I was down and out for a couple of hours but once Ernie got home from the box and we got some fuel I got to feeling a little better. After a semi good night’s sleep I was FEELING MUCH BETTER!

2/10/12 WOD

And today’s WOD was a team effort so good thing I was feeling better. It’s not as OK to let my teammate down. If I let myself down I can deal with it on my own. I don’t like dragging others down though! LOL.

We started off with backsquats. I knocked them out alright but nothing super exciting or beastly. Moving on to the MetCon. Sled pulls and sprints! I’ve expressed how sled pulls and I don’t get along so well. But I figure the shorter distance would be ok. And for the most part it was better than I imagined in my head. But they do take a toll on you. Mel and I finished 3 rounds of sled pulls and sprints in 3:38. I’m thinking we did alright 🙂 But wait there’s more…BONUS ROUND relay.

We lengthened our distance (measurement unknown) and it was so much further than 100 ft! 3-2-1 GO and whaddya know Josh (opposing team) is standing on my sled. I went 3-2-1 NOWHERE! It was funny for a minute, maybe less, heheh as I yelled out I HATE YOU! LOL! I’m not nice! He finally jumped off and I felt I had some good speed. It was the turnaround point where I think my butt fell off and I wondered at what point did this flat parking lot get a hill! Mel and I took the win despite the cheating attempt.

I’m so happy it’s Friday! Tomorrow is a open box FUN DAY Saturday at the BOOM Box. Hopefully we’ll get a good crowd. If you’re in the area come on by to check it out. 9am! www.crossfitboom.com I’ll also be teaming up with my coach for an online WOD competition. I’m sure he’s not to stoked that pullups are part of the WOD and as of right now I don’t have a full on pullup :/ Ruh-roh … Anyone got a magic pullup pill or potion?

Hope y’all enjoy your weekend. Make wise eating choices…. the weekends are the hardest for a lot of us! See ya on MONDAY if I survive the weekend!!!

Pullups and Wall Balls, What Did I DO to Deserve this?

I’m convinced I must have pissed off my coach. LOL! I know this might be someone’s DREAM WOD, but not mine! I promise! Okay seriously I know it’s about me (or is it?) but the workouts have been geared toward a lot of my weaknesses which is great because I need to get stronger but REALLY? Pullups and Wall Balls together in one MetCon and that’s it? It’s punishment, it has to be 😀

2/9/12 WOD

So as the white boards says… 3 rounds, :30, 1:00, and 1:30 then 1 minute rest. WHAT THAT MEANS is 30 seconds of pullups, 30 seconds of wall balls, 1 minute of pullups, 1 minute of wall balls and 1:30 of pullups and 1:30 of wall balls! And 1 FAST minute of rest. Yes I’m still doubling up on band assistance for my pullups but I can clearly tell I’m getting stronger due to the fact that my first round was pretty good in my opinion. It may not be great after the rest of the day and everyone else shows up on the board but hey I was feelin good! Then round 2 happened and well I sucked! My arms/shoulders were on FIRE. Wall Balls were horrible, SUCK! Since I can not do pullups, I said I would do RX wall balls. We don’t have a 14lb med ball so RX for me is the 10lb ball at the higher wall marking (10ft I believe). I had so many no reps it wasn’t even funny. But by the 3rd round I picked it back up a little and had a better overall rep count for that round. Total: 153 … Still wondering why I’m being punished! Jokes, Jokes, I’m just being silly. It was a good WOD and I needed it.

Prior to the insanity we worked on Split Jerk. Amazingly I feel pretty good doing it. Right now it ranks as the MOST COMFORTABLE lift I’ve done. It feels right. I always feel awkward doing all the other lifts. So for now I will state I like SPLIT JERK! Hahah, that may change but ah well.

Our hoodies also came in so I was happy to get mine and rock it out today. Hell ya! I love it 🙂 (pssst… the boom bear is my contribution to the art 🙂 so OF COURSE I love it)

BOOM!

That’s really it for now. I have yet to make anything special for Vday and the kid’s classes. I have a few more days before I commit to sugary badness or paleo-ish goodness! Oh ya on another note, Ernie cooked his first chicken! Reluctantly! of course but he did it and it turned out fantastic. That’s how easy it is y’all… ERNIE CAN DO IT! Hehehe. JOKES again 😛  I think he’s found a new job in the kitchen! Hehehe, I know he’ll say NO but a girl can dream right?

Is it spring yet? I know we’ve had some mild temps lately but I’m ready for long sunny days. Have a bad to the bone Thursday.

FANTASTIC! from Being Primal

ROCKIN IT OUT 1 YEAR LATER!

I’ve only been blogging for a couple of months but I’ve been on my fitness and good health journey for a year now! It was this week ONE YEAR ago that AJ Tucker from iChooseFit bootcamps called me up and told me I had no more excuses! There was a location practically in my backyard and it was my time to get moving.

iChooseFit

That phone call couldn’t have come at a better time. I had lost my mother a few weeks before that phone call. I was a hot mess of overeating and drinking a few too many alcoholic beverages. I was a round butterball standing at 5’2″ tall and about 160lbs. I know I wasn’t 250lbs but I was on my way there. I’ve had my roller coaster with eating right and getting fit since I had my first child almost 13 years ago. But I was in a bad spot getting worse at this point in my life. I was supposed to start Feb 7th but there was a ton of ice that week and I had other “excuses” pop up. It was actually Feb 14th that I started working out but it was this week a year ago I prepared myself to kick my own ass!

A year ago! Look at those chubby cheeks!

I’ll be honest the first two weeks of bootcamp were tough but I was still coming home and eating too much and having the occasional cocktail. After that first two weeks I had not lost a pound (even gained a pound if I remember correctly) and I was furious with myself. Why put in all the hard work at 5:30 am and NO RESULTS. I knew I had to change it ALL up at once. Jump in the DEEP END of the pool and get to work. And so I did. iChooseFit wasn’t only about getting your butt beat down it was about nutrition. There was a FoodCamp program included and I got all the info I could and I got to work. I got serious. I went shopping for good stuff, jumped in with Advocare and got my head on right and my tail into gear. In the first week of the program “shakedown” I lost 7lbs! HOLY SHIT! Are you kidding me? Who is this girl? I didn’t know her but I was already liking her. I’ll never forget I could barely do a pushup without falling to my knees and after that week I had lost 7lbs I was doing KNEE PUSH UPs. AJ was going on with some cadence about how you grew so it’s up to you to move it, in regards to weight. Then all of a sudden I hear “Stephanie, Get OFF your knees!” It was all nice and sweet in the cadence but it was serious. I surely thought that couldn’t be me he’s referring to (there’s at least 5 Stephanie’s enrolled) and sure enough he was talking about THIS STEPHANIE… he says you’re 7 lbs lighter get off your knees and do regular pushups and SO I DID and from there on out I did regular pushups to the point where I HAD to drop to my knees.

I never stopped pushing myself from that point! In 3 months I lost 20lbs! I was stoked! And maybe I was a little too stoked! I started eating a little more, indulging a little more and even though I was working out like a crazy person I started to feel like poo again. I would gain some lose some, gain some more, lose some more but just hovering. I had got myself into a funk of sorts. I needed another kick in the butt and I just wasn’t able to do it myself.

This was about the time I started CrossFit in August. CrossFit Boom to be more exact. I had met my coach, Grant Coomes, at a CrossFit challenge in Dallas. It was soon after that he opened his box and Ernie signed up. It was only a couple of weeks after that and I was “trying” it out. I was excited for something new and the competitive aspects of it all but I was hesitant because it involved a lot of NEW movements and a lot of learning and I wasn’t sure how competent I would be! I can’t even begin to tell how silly I was in thinking such things. As with anything you train, you learn and you practice. Baby steps! Before I knew it I was doing olympic lifting, slinging around kettlebells and doing “dirty girl” WODs. I even entered my first “competition” (for beginners that is) only 2 months after my start date! I didn’t KILL it but I came in 26th out of 50 women.

2 months in.... FIRST Competition... WODAPALOOZA

I was feeling better than ever, stronger than ever and started dabbling in the PALEO world. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve changed in the past year. And thus my blogging commenced. I should have started a year ago but I knew myself and I was a mess. I would try something for a few weeks then quit. I was a binge worker outer. But a year later I feel confident I am no longer that person. I’m an ATHLETE, in progress still, but an ATHLETE none the less!

I can’t say that I didn’t know this was in me because once upon a time in a land far far away I was a tiny little athletic thing. But I hadn’t been there in such a long time. I’m a different person now for certain with goals and long term thoughts of good health. Back then it was just who I was, a kid, ignorant to what laid ahead of me in life. I can’t say that I’m that much more knowledgeable now, haha,  but I have 3 kids I want to LIVE for and that I want to lay the foundation for them. I want to be around for their kids and be the baddest grandma in town!

So now I’m a good 30lbs lighter. I still fluctuate and probably always will. Right now it’s between 30-35lbs lighter. But I’ve truly learned to not let the scale lead the way. Sure mentally I’d like to lose a few more lbs. I’m only 5’2. And sure I’d like everything to be rockin but the fact and truth is that I’ve had 3 boys and I didn’t take care of myself like I should have but I’m on the right path now. It doesn’t happen overnight. I do know I feel strong. I don’t weigh everyday, not even weekly. I know I’m putting good things in me and I’m taking time to work on my physical self. With that comes confidence that helps me work on my mental and emotional self! It’s a WIN/WIN!

I know this wasn’t a workout update or a food update…. just a personal one to let you know, YOU CAN DO IT TOO! I wasn’t already skinny, getting skinnier. I wasn’t healthy and just dialing in on better health. I was and still am a regular girl, lady, woman….whatever, hahaha, I still call myself a GIRL. Life hits me hard sometimes but I know I can take it on. I have a great family. I have great support systems in both iChooseFit and CrossFit Boom. I’ve met a lot of like minded folks who inspire me. I FEEL GREAT. It’s a good feeling. Find your path. Find buddies. Find HEALTH! Live life. Don’t sit on the sidelines watching it go by. Don’t just WATCH the reality weight loss shows or READ the blogs. DO SOMETHING. MOVE YOUR BUTT! I promise you’ll feel better. You can see on my About Page my befores and afters. I don’t take many pics cause I’m still critical of myself in picture form! I’m working on it. But I did snap a shot of me today.

2/8/12 ME TODAY!

Have a super great Wednesday. Half way through the week. Start NOW, not later. Move NOW not tomorrow. Live TODAY!

Busy Busy and What I Think is a Better Attitude!

ARRGGHHH!!! That’s what I want to do, like in Garden State where they all just yell. I’ve been swamped with work, busy at home, cranking out some freelance work and just going bonkers. I NEED a vacation! STAT! I need Ford Escape Routes to CALL me and Ernie up and say HEY YOU’RE ON! Let’s go… pack your bags. But until that happens I need to play catch up on this ol (errr, still relatively new) blog of mine.

Oh the weekend. I finally slept in till a whopping 8:30 am on Saturday and Sunday! Woooooo! Go ME! And I finally finished The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo. Took me longer than I had hoped but I finally finished. For those of you who don’t care I’m sorry. Just doing a recap! Hahah, Get OVER it! We trekked out to Grandview again because our PORK BELLY order was ready and decided it was a good day for a field trip. We picked up some more meats as well. We were saddened that they were out of eggs, but I suppose that will happen. I didn’t take any pictures because frankly when I have 3 boys, Ernie and my Dad I just forget to do anything. We ordered burgers (sans bread) and they were delicious. We had a little fiasco where I thought I lost my debit card but I won’t get into those details. It was a big OL THANK GOODNESS my dad was there to pay for our order! We also made a stop at Rosey Ridge Farm to pick up more milk as well as some butter I ordered at the last minute. The boys had hoped there was a pig on the loose but he was where he belonged. They did however get to see a GINORMOUS turkey! He was big and very curious about us but he kept his distance. I bet he would be a tasty dinner! Again no pictures. I should have taken a picture of that beautiful turkey!

The rest of the weekend was just busy. Nothing else exciting to report :/

2/6/12 WOD

I do believe that I started this week out with the better attitude like I had talked about last week. I Showed up to the box yesterday morning tired as all get out but physically rested nonetheless. Worked the OHS (overhead squat) and hit my 5, 5, and 5+ which ended at 10 reps! Woooo. Granted the weight isn’t amazingly heavy. Worked up to 55lbs. My shoulder flexibility has greatly improved. My only downfall now is the flexibility on the insides of my wrists. The wide grip on the bar combined with the weight really puts a strain on the insides of my wrists. But I did get a little better overall.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the MetCon at first glance. Holding a pullup for 1 minute! YOWSERS! That was not easy. So every time you drop you get a point. The idea is to have the least points. I didn’t do so horrible. Just on the PULLUPS. I didn’t drop once on the pushup hold and I only dropped a few times on the LSits. There was a collective sigh of relief at the end of the last round. It was a painful morning!

Nothing fancy for dinner. Roast chicken, brussel sprouts, and broccoli. I did however take note from my co-worker on what to do with the broccoli stems.

Broccoli Stems Marinating

It’s not entirely PALEO but pretty darn close. So you take your stems and clean them up, Peel them like you would a carrot the get rid of the hard exterior. Chop them up, put them in a bowl, pour a little bit of sesame oil, vinegar, minced garlic, salt and a lil sugar. Toss it all around. Seal it up and put it in fridge. I used Apple Cider Vinegar because that’s what I had to use. This morning we opened it up, I let my 12 yr old try it out and he was very receptive to it. He said it tasted very Asian and it was good! My 9 yr old… eh not so much the same reaction. Ah well! Can’t get them to like everything!

Could have been a little more "RED" Velvet Whoopie Pies

But they were excited to try the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies I found over from the good folks at Health-Bent. They have some pretty awesome recipes kickin over there. Check them out! These sweet treats are Gluten Free but not entirely on the Paleo list of things to eat! If you’ve been following along I’ve been testing out recipes for the kids Valentine’s parties. Although my children appreciated the little snack and gobbled them up like there was no tomorrow, they came to a census that kids at school may not be so excited. They told me “we’re used” to not eating so much sugar, so it’s good to us! LOL, it’s true. If you are a sugar junkie…it may not be as delicious as it is to us. It was a fail for Ernie however. Too dry he says. Like I said, I can’t win everyone over. So 4 out of 5 enjoyed them. That’s pretty good in my eyes. I have one more “treat” to test before I just throw in the towel and make cake pops or something! LOL!

2/7/12 WOD

Finally I’m to this morning. Almost caught up now! Skill Strength consisted of Pistols. Damn YOU PISTOLS! One legged squats are what we call pistols and I do not like them. I have nothing else to say on the matter. Moving on the the MetCon…I wussed out and didn’t do the RX of 1.5 pood. I feel I could have Goblet Squatted fine (at a much slower pace) but I had more trouble just picking that darn Kettlebell up … UPSIDE DOWN. So I went for the lesser weight. 400m run, 20 Goblet Squats, 400m run, 15 Goblet Squats, 400m run, 10 Goblet Squats, 400m run, 5 Goblet Squats = 11:08. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th runs were HARD and I’m a wussbag! Go figure.

There ya have it. Missed a day but all caught up now. It’s Tuesday. Come on FRIDAY where ya at? Come on Ford Escape Routes, Give me a CALL! See ya’ll tomorrow!

It’s Friday I’m in Love

TGIF! I never thought this week would end!!!! Yesterday I was declaring a week of SUCK and despite the dreary rain, today has started off really well. I had a better attitude this morning at the box, got out of the house at a decent time and HWY 360 northbound played nicely – Besides the typical work woes… woohooo it’s FRIDAY!

Todays WOD was a lot of legs. Back Squats for skill/strength and Squat Cleans for the MetCon! Yowsers! Much needed break from all the upper body. I was feeling strong in the Back Squats, really focusing on the little things. It was a 5, 5, 5+ session. 100lbs, 110lbs, 115lbs. On my last set though I got stuck at the bottom on my 4th rep. ARGH. I finished with 5 and not +anything. Ah well. I still moved the weight. And I didn’t let it stick with me for the rest of the workout! So that’s an improvement 🙂

MetCon: 2000lbs of Squat Cleans! Say what? So the idea for the MetCon is pick your weight and do reps that add up to 2000lbs. For example if you squat clean 100lbs, you need to push out 20 reps. I chose 70 lbs because I felt that was doable both in weight and reps without being easy and also not becoming impossible. 29 reps was my end goal and I completed it right at 5 minutes. I knocked at 10 pretty quickly. Then proceeded to 5 reps at a time. It wasn’t easy and I was left breathless. I don’t think I’ve ever done that many squat cleans but once I got a good rhythm and better form I felt pretty good about it all. I’ll be feeling it in my lower body later today and all day tomorrow I’m sure! But I finished my BOOM Box week STRONG and less whiny!

Tomorrow is field trip day. The pork belly we ordered is in and I need to go pick it up. Probably will add a few items to the order and take the kiddos along so they get a chance to check it out. Maybe even buy them a couple of burgers as well 🙂 And if I’m on top of it I’ll try to take more pictures! LOL, I’m forgetful as you probably should have figured out by now.

Have a rockin weekend! Push past your limits, go outside your comfort zone, do something new, and have fun!

Snooze + Infinity!

Holy cow I did not want to get up this morning. Knowing Wednesday has become my rest day, I still wanted to get up and get the kids some almond flour pancakes going. I however slept in till the last possible minute I could possibly sleep and still get ready and get to work on time. I really could have slept a few more hours. I wanted to badly, so much I was ready to call in sick or something! LOL. I didn’t though and I rushed around like a maniac! Fortunately my kids are old enough to fend for themselves and even help their slacker mom out.

Obviously not my kids but I'm sure they feel like this when I'm running late!

Speaking of slacker and since I don’t have much to report, here are some interweb stumblings I thought I’d share 🙂 And then I have treats to share as well!

With that said, I found some before and afters of random strangers to hopefully motivate anyone into pushing themselves outsided their comfort zones!

N0w that you have inspiration to LOSE weight I will tempt you with PALEO-ish goodies! Ha, I’m cruel like that. It’s true I have a sweet tooth and I have kids that I like to share my sweet tooth with. Now I can be really good and just go without but I like to provide some sort of treat during Christmas and Valentines and maybe even a little bit at the end of the school year. I’ve always provided some homemade treat and I’m trying to cut out the glutens, processed crap and whatever else there is to making desserts. It’s hard, as we aren’t meant to consume junk, but it’s so easy to make and buy. But I am trying and that is why I have treats on the brain. Earlier I made those yummo NO BAKE treats and they were a hit. So I found these PALEO-ish treats from Paleo Parents. And I was hesitant at first because I’m a choco-junkie but they are DELICIOUS! And definitely fall under the DON’T MAKE EVERYDAY list! Only cause I’ll eat them till I explode.

SNICKERDOODLE WHOOPIE PIES

Ready to Mix and Bake 🙂

Ready to Bake

Finished Snickerdoodle Cookie

Snickerdoodle Whoopie Pie

There ya have it… A good treat but not an everyday treat. I have a couple more recipes to try out before Valentine’s Day then I’ll probably go on a sweet treat hiatus. I need to get back to eating with less sugar in my life 🙂 But I’ll definitely be trying to whip up some good savory meals!

Happy Wednesday Folks! I’m glad it’s my rest day today… I NEED IT. I hope you are getting your rest in as well!