Putting in the WORK

I know, I know. I had this super duper I HEART CrossFit moment then I’m not posting again for a whole week. I don’t know where time goes but I’m here, I’m still putting in the work. Still showing up at the BOOM Box. And I’m still crying like a little baby when RUNNING pops up on the whiteboard.

So have no fear. I haven’t fallen into a giant hole of depression. I’ve just been busy! And just like everyone else, I can make excuses or I can find solutions. I encourage you to find solutions. I encourage you to find good health. I encourage you to get active. When Biggest Loser was airing I would always get teary eyed and happy for the folks. Now I’m on the Extreme Weight Loss season kick and to me it’s more inspiring but maybe only because it’s focused on one person.

And you get to watch their individual success and struggles… each person is so GUNG HO the first 90 days. They are amped. Then like most folks, it gets old, it gets harder, it gets complicated. But they have to fight through and they still have to put in the work. Chris Powell, in my opinion, is a great motivator. He can’t go run the miles for them though. Sure he can send them on wonderful trips when they hit goals but he can’t put in the work. I wish I could be the person that could surprise you with cool gifts and prizes. But I can not. I can give you a virtual HIGH-FIVE and a lot of woohooos and way to go’s! And really that’s what most of us need. We need a support system, someone to hold us accountable. And you need to find a reward system that doesn’t involve “cheat meals” or food in general. So if no one is on board in your personal life to help you change then chat me up and I’ll cheer you on. Or find an online community for that extra inspiration or an online buddy with your same goals. You may even find someone in a bootcamp, fitness class or running club. But you have to put yourself out there. You have to make yourself vulnerable. In the end it will only make you stronger.

In my roller coaster world of fitness, I’ve had friends, co-workers, etc… to help kickstart goals and in the end a lot of them wandered off (me included). We’d all start of strong and just disappear into excuses. When I finally made that decision to start my journey and not look back, I realized it relied all on me. No one else but me. I told myself I wasn’t going to let some workout kick my ass then go eat like crap. I started bootcamp with NO ONE. I didn’t know anyone there. I didn’t have any friends that wanted to show up at 5 am to workout. It was just me. I made friends and we shared in the same soreness and same results. It became fun. I started a food plan and all of our fast food habits and busy schedule didn’t mesh with it. So guess what I carried a cooler bag with me EVERYWHERE! It’s all possible. I found a support system in that group of bootcampers. My family realized the work I was doing and they jumped on my support team. So go DO WORK people! It will all fall into line once you make that decision to become a healthier you!

And now for what you all have been waiting for…. my Boom recaps! Hahah, ok so maybe you don’t care so I’ll keep it short and sweet.

7/11/13
TABATA Push Ups / Sit Ups
TABATA anything sucks. 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest for 4 minutes of any movement. For us it was Push Ups and Sit Ups. I started off way too strong on Push Ups with 15. And I dropped from there on out. I believe I finished with 7 Push Ups in the last 20 seconds. UGH. As for Sit Ups I didn’t go all out for the first round and I can’t remember how many I did do but I know I ended up with 9. But I stayed pretty consistent in the 9-11 range.

MetCon: 12 Min AMRAP (get as far as you can) 40 Thrusters (115, 85) 6 Rope Climbs 20 Thrusters 3 Rope Climbs 10 Thrusters 1 Rope Climbs
I was thinking I would not survive. I went with 75lbs on the Thrusters, not know really how long it would take me to get through 40 and if I recall correctly I did them all in just under 5 minutes. Not stellar but I really suck at Thrusters so I was happy with my time. No such happiness for Rope Climbs. There is something in my brain that says if you loosen your feet to regrip the rope then my hands are automatically going to let go too. I know in reality this won’t happen but my hands stay on the rope in a death grip. So much that my hands were sore for days. So I only got 40 Thrusters in.

7/11/13

7/12/13

Strength: Front Squats 5@60% 5@65% 2×5@70%
Finally being in attendance on several front squat days has made life easier on me. I think I’m actually getting better now. Duh I know I’m getting better. Just have to show up consistently!

You can barely see the 75 but that’s my 1RM for Snatch!

Skill: Power snatch positional breakdown Metcon Power snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1
Same with Snatch. I’ve been present on days where we work on this movement and I’m getting a little more comfortable. I’ve always had this fear of dropping under the bar. I know, I have a lot of fears! I’m a headcase. I was stuck at 65lbs FOREVER because I’m scared. Finally for the CrossFit Open I was able to manage a handful of 75lb reps. But that was the last time in a long time I worked on that number. Today I worked up to 75lbs and made it official that I have a 75lb 1RM. I can get the bar up no problem. But dropping under the bar a whole other story. I need clear the fear and start getting that weight up!

7/13/13 Community WOD

We rarely know what rabbit Coach is going to pull out of the hat on Community WOD days and this was no different. He had has get in groups of 3 and handed out a chipper! Woo fun! NOT! Between the 3 of us we had to do 210 Wall Balls, 150 Over the Box Jumps and each Row a 1K. So if you know me at all, I suck at Wall Balls. I say it’s a short person issue but it’s just really a “ME” issue. Then I’m literally frightened to jump completely over the box so stepping over was acceptable. Then it was time for the row. Can I blame being short keeps me from being awesome at rowing too? I opted to Row the whole 1K without switching it up with my team. It was miserable. But I’m determined to get better at it. I can’t despise running and rowing. So I choose rowing! I know we finished under 35 minutes. I just don’t know the exact time. 33:34 or 34:33. Something like that. It was a beating 🙂

7/15/13

Strength: Squats 8@65% 8@70% 6@80% 6@85%

For real, we’ve been doing a shit ton of SQUATS. It’s good for me I know and I’m making it through but the reps and the percentages add up. And I’m surviving! PR I can’t see you yet but I know you’re there!

7/15/13 WOD

MetCon: 3 Rounds 12 DL 135/95 9 Power Cleans, 6 STOH, 3 MU (Scale is x3 dips)

It was a tough decision on if I wanted to RX or not. I’m still not 100% in regards to killing it. My wrists were a little sensitive and well I’m a baby. I went for 85lbs instead of the 95lbs. I always check with Coach first though. He’s pretty good at making sure we’re going to get work in and gauging our performance. So 85lb Deadlifts were so “light” and I thought Power Cleans would be too, but they felt a little heavy this time around and for 9 reps it wasn’t like it was 21 reps. Shoulder to Overhead was where I wasn’t sure how I would hold up. I know I didn’t want to drop the bar but I know the longer I hold it in a front rack position the more likely I am to fail. So pacing myself had to be key. I probably took too much rest in the cleans by dropping the bar too often but I really didn’t want to fail at STOH. I did scaled dips with a band and no matter what , your shoulders will fatigue! Time 11:30

7/16/13

3 rounds 800M sprint 150ft OH Lunge W/bar Rest 5 min 2×500 m row (rest as needed) aka HELL ON EARTH. Or at least that was my take on it.

1. I don’t like running. 2 My dislike for running has made me get worse. 3. I don’t like running.

Good runners probably run a 3 minute 800? Great runners probably run it in 2ish minutes? I’m not sure but sucky runners do it in about 5-7 minutes and mostly cause I was walking ! It was horrible and I’m not just saying that to say it. I KNOW I am horrible at it. And I do zero things to make it better. So I knew I had to do better at the LUNGES. And these were not going to be easy. I started off with a 45lb barbell. I made it almost halfway without stopping. My shoulders were dying. I then made several stops to the end. For the second round of Lunges I dropped to the 35lb barbell. With this weight I made it halfway without stopping! Great success! I then made it to the end with only one other stop. And for the 3rd round I again made it halfway without stopping and then finished without stopping! I knew I was dragging ass for the runs and had to make up for it somehow. After resting it was time for those rows. And it was too late to try to find a happy place. My upper body was smoked, my lower body was smoked. I was content with a 3 minute 500. I’m just glad I finished! Time for runs/lunges: 34:30.

7/16/13 WOD

7/17/13

Warm-up: 50 n 50 GHD, Yoke Push 50ft x 2

Booooo GHD. And didn’t have time Yoke Push… HOORAY!

Strength: DL 5RM

I was excited for Deadlift day. Way better than HELL ON EARTH day. That was until I got warmed up and started putting weight on the bar. I could feel my hamstring on my right leg. It wasn’t a horrible pain but it was enough to tell me to not push myself into injury. So I worked up to a 185lb 5RM. I know I could do more but I didn’t want a bum hammy. So I laid off and took it for what it was.

7/17/13 WOD

Skill/Metcon: If you are able to do the following movements you will go ME for the minute. If not you will work the skill of the move for 4 minutes straight. EMOM 20 Odd-PU/MU Even-Pistols

Yup it was all skill work for me. I am no bueno on the Pull Ups or the Pistols. WompWomp!

And there ya have it faithful readers. That’s my week! Go forth, get moving, eat clean(er), and BE AWESOME.

Why I (still) CrossFit

Slightly inspired by the video (below) I watched this morning, I decided to talk about WHY I CrossFit and why after 2 years it’s still something I want to do pretty much FOREVER. Not to mention that there are articles popping up left and right on steps to begin CrossFitting or the do’s and don’ts of CrossFit or why you SHOULDN’T CrossFit.

I watch this sport exploding yet there are still so many folks out there who don’t have a clue what it’s about. I’ve seen the positive reports and the negative reports. I’ve seen people show up for a workout and are never to be seen again. I won’t say I’ve seen it all because I’m just a busy mom living in her small part of the world. But I will say CrossFit can be for everyone.

What is CrossFit? It’s weighlifting. It’s cardio. It’s gymanstics. It’s body movement. It’s eating clean. It’s EVERYTHING!

I don’t remember all of the details of my first workout mostly because it was about 2 years ago, but I went to a free CrossFit Boom Community WOD with Ernie (who had been going for a couple of weeks already). We did Kettle Bell Swings and Thrusters for 21-15-9. I don’t recall if we had a time cap or what but I remember it kicking my butt! I had no idea what a Thruster was. I had no idea what going below parallel was. I just knew it was kicking my butt and here I thought I was in pretty good shape. I also knew from that moment on I wanted to swing kettle bells and lift barbells. I had no idea what was in store for me but I was ready to take it on.

The EARLY Days!

The following weeks were all about learning how to properly lift weights and properly do a whole bunch of other movements! Mechanics, mechanics, mechanics! I didn’t know then but I do know now that not all Boxes (term for the CrossFit Gym) are created equal but I felt fairly confident my Coach had his head on straight and was there for the love of CrossFit. He was educated, he was eager and he taught us well. He was there to make sure we did things properly to avoid unnecessary injuries. He was there to make sure we were having fun. As for me I was seeing improvements, I was seeing myself get stronger and yes I was having fun. I was ready to take on the world. So much that I eagerly signed up for a charity event called Barbells for Boobs and even more so that I signed up for a competition only 3 months into my CrossFit Journey.

It was at Barbells for Boobs that I first witnessed the awesomeness of the CrossFit COMMUNITY! All of these folks coming to workout to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer. The workout was “Grace” – 30 Ground to Overhead for time. I was so nervous. I had never worked out in a situation like this. And boy did it suck. But the whole time it was sucking, so many people were standing around cheering me on. But not just me, EVERYONE! It was so rewarding to finish and to watch all the other heats start and finish. I saw the fittest of fit, finishing in insane times, I saw the newbies such as myself just trying to push through. I saw young, old and everything in between. And that was just the beginning. From competitions to visiting other Boxes in different cities – CrossFit is a Community that can not truly be explained until it’s been experienced. It’s a supportive community that shares the same success and failures as you do. We all experience the same highs and lows. We all see that we have similar strengths and weaknesses. It doesn’t matter at what stage in life you start CrossFit, we all share the same insanity.

Struggling with 65lbs (2011 B4B)!

85lbs EASY! (2012 B4B)

And two years later I STILL love to live in the CrossFit world. There are ups and downs but I’ve never been bored or plateaued. I’ve been lazy and tired but that hasn’t stopped me. I’ve watched extremely fit people come in and just kill it and I’ve seen first timers have that look of defeat in their faces. No matter what level of fitness they are at they keep coming back. All for different reasons, of course, but they keep coming back. For me there was a small pipe dream that I would become some super athlete and be a 30-something CrossFit phenom but in reality I just want to be healthy and strong. And after two years I’m not some bulked up SHE HULK. I’m still an average mid-30s woman. I don’t dedicate my life to working out because I have too much other shit going on. I don’t live at the BOX but I’m pretty sure I would if I could. The Community at our Box has only grown. We moved into a new and bigger facility. We form bonds and friendships at the BOOM Box. We support each other through and through.

NEW BOX, BIGGER FAMILY

After last night’s workout which included fear, stress and lack of want to, I realized that no matter what I’m going to finish the workout. Sometimes my strategy is more relatable to a mouse up against a bear, but sometimes I’m the lion in the field of lions. I had to work on rope climbs… scares the crap out of me. Like seriously. Why do I want to climb a rope that’s not even that high although it seems like a mile up there? I don’t but it’s all part of conquering fears and becoming stronger physically and mentally. Then we went onto 10 rounds of Rowing for 250m and 5 Overhead Squats. It sounds eh. But it was HOLY CRAPOLA. I scaled to 65lbs for the OHS and it’s a good thing because after about round 3, my legs were not a great source of stability. Strangely though I felt better rounds 4-9. Then went back to wonky for the last round. OH WHY AM I NOT A GOOD ROWER?!? But I finished as I always do – sometimes first, sometimes last … but I’m not quitting! Time 19:52

7/9/13 WOD

And for those of you wanting to be pretty and cute, well there’s that as a bonus from the hard work and clean eating, but I’ve taken away so much more. I leaned out quite a bit but never to where I “thought” I wanted to be physically. The way magazines and TV idolize super skinny women. I realized really quickly that’s not so important anymore. While I don’t like my current state of fluff – I’m not as hateful to myself as I once was in the past. I know my strengths. I know my weaknesses. I know I can lift heavy shit and I know I will get back to a good place. I’m sure a lot of women can relate at the discomfort that comes with body image. The scale was OHHH so important to me for entirely too long. Weighing day in and day out. Counting calories. Stressing over foods and how many calories I’ve burned. With CrossFit I’ve learned to let go. Two years later I’m still a work in progress. But meeting goals and doing things I have never done trumps the extra jiggle or dimples I have. I’ve learned to love me, still learning as I have setbacks every now and then but I don’t cringe at my imperfections. It’s what makes me … well ME!

CrossFit is more than getting your daily exercise in. It’s learning to have a mental force to push you through anything. It’s pushing your body past it’s limits. It’s forging friendships with like minded people. It’s family.

So if you’re scared of giving it a go. DON’T BE! If you’re afraid you’ll become a sheMAN or the HULK if you’re a dude. Don’t be! If you’re afraid you’ll get injured. Don’t Be! If you want to be strong, empowered, fit and part of a great community then just TRY CrossFit out. There are boxes popping up everywhere. Most let you check them out for FREE to see if it’s something you want to do. Don’t feel obligated to go to just one and stick with that one. If there are several try them all out. And what you put in is what you get out. Hopefully you find a great Coach that will push you and not let you slip through the cracks.

Back Squats FOREVER!

First off, let me say HI to all the new followers! HI! I don’t know how you found me but I appreciate the likes and the follows ツ

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! It’s been a busy past couple of days and with the holiday weekend, I did not have time to get to any blogging in. But I did get some workouts in. I did get some good and not so good food in me and we FINALLY did a proper grocery shopping trip! Wooooo. High Five!

And Ernie is finally back to getting his ass in gear! Thank goodness for me because it’s so much easier when you have your support system back! For so long I’ve caved to his non Paleo, non CrossFitting ways! But now that we are both back on the same track I hope the failures will be less and less as time goes on! We’ll be back to our old selves in no time!

7/3/13 Boom Box
This was a “BEAR” of a work out and just an overall butt whoopin. It’s been a while since I’ve done bear crawls and lets just say my hips and shoulders were not happy!

7/3/13WOD

WarmUp: 400m Run, 30/30 GHD

Skill/Strength: Max Effort Ring Dips, Work Up to 50
My rotator cuffs are dead to me. They don’t support me in the bottom of a ring dip and it seems as if I will never master this movement. Does anyone have some fresh shoulders that I could borrow?

Not me in this pick but this is what I look like doing modified dips with bands.

MetCon: 2 minutes at each station of Max Distance Bear Crawl, Max KBS 1.5/1 POOD, Max Burpees, Max Bear Crawl. 30 seconds of rest between stations.

30 seconds is NOT enough time for rest! Holy geesh. On my first round of bear crawls I probably got 6 lengths of the box. Not great in my mind but battling hip failure, burnt out shoulders and a touch of dizzy was NO Fun. Moved onto Kettle Bell Swings and hot damn, my right hip was ready to explode. FIRE! I was pretty much done for by the time Burpees came along. I don’t even remember what I got but it was far less than what the healthier version of me would have completed! One more Bear Crawl to finish it off and I only got 4 lengths in. UGH! Total: 66 but I did it RX. Hahahah It counts!

7/4/13 Boom Box

It was Murph Day and I was going to show up but wasn’t sure if I was going to workout! In the end I was just a spectator. I had no want or drive to do the beast of a workout. But it was inspiring to watch everyone else. In the past on big hero WODs people tend to pair up and work together. This time around everyone went SOLO. It was amazing and I was super impressed by everyone’s determination!

Post Murph we had a little came of Wiffle Ball which turned out to be really fun. I wish more folks had stuck around to play. Maybe another time. So I did get a little sweat and fun in after all!

Food Note: I found some Kale Chips at Eatzi’s that turned out to be pretty tasty. The ingredients were clean and organic. The only downside to hardcore Paleo eaters was that there were Chickpeas in the ingredients. Other than that they were great. A little spendy but a great snack and beats junk food alternatives!

7/5/13 Boom Box
Friday was pretty much a day of lazy for us so I was suprised when Ernie was all let’s go up to Boom and workout! I was definitely ready to go but at the same time secretly wishing we’d just stay home!! Of course working out always feels great when it’s done so I’m glad we went.

7/5/13 – Had to steal this off instagram so it's not the best quality

7/5/13 WOD – Had to steal this off instagram so it’s not the best quality

Skill/Strength: Front squats; 5@60%; 3×5@70%
It seems that Front Squats don’t come around much and if they do I miss out on those days. They aren’t my favorite squat either but I felt good working. My last tested 1RM from who knows how long ago is 135lbs. So 80lbs and 95lbs didn’t sound heavy. By the last set, 95lbs felt heavy.

MetCon: 7 rounds of 2 minute AMRAP 30 situps, ME DU, Rest 1 min
Situps and Double Unders. Should be a win/win right here. I started off strong with the situps but the DU’s weren’t really working in my favor for the first round. I was tripping up a lot on the darn rope. After the 3rd round, I just was stuck at a slower pace for the situps. No matter how hard I tried to bust them out I was finishing around 50-58 seconds. Leaving me a minute to get max DUs! I stayed pretty consistent with the my DU count having only one really off round. All said and done I completed 333 DUs and was smoked! My calves were JELL-O on Saturday.

7/8/13
We took the weekend off so it was nice to have a little break but I definitely need to be putting in the work. Unfortunately my mindset for the Monday workout was not liking all the Back Squats that were about to go down!

7/8/13

Skill/Strength: Squat – 10@60%; 8@65%; 6@70%; 6@75%; 6@80%
WoooWeeeee. That’s a lot of squats on order. And everything just felt so HEAVY! Coach wants us to get STRONG!!!! Of course it’s what I need but just seeing it on the board makes me want to go home and sleep. I started at 100lbs and worked my way up to 130lbs. Even though all the reps can be intimidating it felt really great to finish strong.

MetCon: 10 minute AMRAP of 6 Deadlifts (225,155) and 6 HSPU or 3 Wall walks
Coach had us work up to a weight we were comfortable with for Deadlifts. My 1RM is 225 but multiple reps for time after all of those back squats was going to have to be less than 155lbs.I got to 135lbs and that seemed to suit me just fine. It was Wall Walks that I feared. I don’t have Handstand Push Ups down so I had to default to the Wall Walks. I have only ever had to do this movement one time before and it made me nauseous and dizzy. We only had to do 3 so I figured I’d survive but I wasn’t looking forward to it.

I moved the weight pretty nicely, and I thought I should have done RX but after a few rounds I was grateful I stuck with a slightly lower weight. The Wall Walks took the life out of me. My recovery time was slow. I couldn’t get to the bar fast and it took me forever to pick up the bar. Final: 6 rounds + 1 Deadlift.

Grocery Field Trip
It’s been so long since we’ve headed out to have a proper grocery trip so we decided to go big and drive to the ginormous WHOLE FOODS in Dallas. The one in Arlington is sufficient but it’s tiny and part of our regular routine. Going the Park Lane location was a fun little field trip. We didn’t spend hours strolling around but they seem to have a better selection of produce and meats. We stocked up for the week excited to be back on it.

So far so good. We’ve been cooking, eating our cooked food and feeling good. As I’ve mentioned before it’s amazing what a couple of days of all goodness will do to your body. My achy IT Band/Knee are no longer achy. My sore tight wrists are no longer sore and tight! It just feels good to feel good. Now I wish my muscles would just bounce back faster. With time I know they will. I’m just a big baby!

It’s Tuesday folks! What have you done to make a healthier you? Eat healthy fats? Drink more water? Get that body a movin? Let’s go.

Have a super day and don’t forget to be AWeSOMe!

Hello Again

Today’s post isn’t a recap of what I did at the Boom Box or of what I ate or how I’m winning/losing in my battle to get back to fit. It’s more of a refresher as to why I’m here, who I am and to say HI to the new folks following. So HI everyone. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for sticking around and dealing with my ups and downs over the past year and a half.

I had made “GET HEALTHY” a priority for myself in February 2011 and that’s just what I did. I knew I was at a pivotal point of becoming another OBESE person of society that made excuses to justify my non existent happiness. Because if I said I was happy then everyone including myself should believe it, right? WRONG. I needed to shift my poor thought process and change! And CHANGE I did. I was the poster child of doing work, eating healthy and sticking to the plan. Even though I had met goals and was a leaner version of me I was burning out and losing interest.

Then I found CrossFit. For years it was a mysterious thing to me. I’d hear about it, go online and look it up but it was all gibberish. A foreign language with weird numbers and abbreviations in the workouts. I stayed away, never calling or inquiring more because it surely wasn’t something that I would understand. And if I can’t understand it then I will FAIL at it. But low and behold a BOX by the name of CrossFit Boom opened 2 miles away from me. My boyfriend Ernie found out about it and signed up. For someone who despised working out but kept going back had me intrigued. He was miserable and committed all at the same time. A few weeks later I was “trying” it out and was hooked.

I started changing Mentally and Physically. I learned that I just wasn’t persistent at working out. I learned I was strong. I learned I was tough. I was getting better and I could measure progress. I was lifting weights and not turning into a SHE MAN. I was doing things I had never thought possible. It was empowering.

A couple of months in, I was trying to keep logs of what I did via online sites that allowed you to input the workouts but it was too much of a hassle so I started blogging. And guess what? Having a conversation with myself online was perfect for me. And here I am.

You’ve seen the highest highs of me and the lowest lows. I’m in one of the lows right now climbing my way back up but it’s all part of my everyday journey. I want to speak to the one or to the thousands of folks out there struggling. I also want to be a part of the community of Crossfitters out there because we can all relate. And I want to speak fitness and health in general to anyone willing to read about my journey. Even if you think CrossFit or Paleo is insane! I’m not here to be your mamma, I’m here as an example.

Over the years, people ask me what I eat, why I eat the way I do, etc. And like a broken record I tell my story. And even though it feels as if I’m speaking to a brick wall day in and day out, I will still be that broken record. There’s been several occasions where people have physically seen me change, they know EXACTLY what I have done to get here but still don’t believe. A few months down the road they buy into it all and are preaching to me as if I had never shared my story with them. But you know what if I was the ‘bug’ that was in their ear that had them intrigued at one point, I’ll take it. Then there are the other folks, that gather all the info, seemed interested but still don’t want to change. They say they do but nothing happens. I can’t make you change, that has to come from within. You have to light that fire from within you.

At the end of the day I just want people to find a healthy path in life. To be able to enjoy their families and enjoy being active. We weren’t made to sit around in front of tv. Hell we weren’t made to sit at our desks either but we’re a conformed people and that’s part of it. So when you have 30 minutes or an hour, I don’t care if you have 10 minutes – Take a walk. Get some fresh air. We get so wound up with gizmos and gadgets and instant gratification we forget there’s a world out there that’s to be enjoyed.

If you’re sitting there, reading, saying “ya right” whether it be sarcastically or hopeful, then I’m talking to you! I wish everyone could know what “feeling” great on the inside and out feels like instantly but I can’t. It takes work. It takes time. And as with anything, once you start doing it, it’s not such a chore. It becomes part of you. It’s your lifestyle. Ya, Ya, I can almost here the sighing and see the eye rolling. LIFESTYLE is such a buzz word I know. But it’s so true. It’s not a temporary thing. It’s an everyday thing.

Even in my the midst of my chaos I haven’t completely abandoned the “newer” me. I still have the foundation that I built for eating clean and putting in physical work for my body. I did let the busy drag me down. I have eaten like crap. But I still make efforts. I’m six months off the EATING CLEAN TRAIN but I still show up at the box even thought the saying goes “you can’t out train a bad diet”. I could say SCREW IT. But I don’t. And if have 5 Mondays where I start over or 20 Mondays where I start over – I’m still getting back to it. And let me tell you that’s a mental battle. I know it is. I’m not saying it’s easy breezy. Once you fall down the rabbit hole it’s tough. I’m there right now. I can barely walk right now. Not because I was trying to kill myself but because I was MIA for two weeks. I pushed hard because I needed to mentally do it for me. I’m not broken, just sore. But it’s that sore that makes most people quit. The sore that says “why the hell would I do that everyday”. Well I won’t be THIS sore everyday. And in a couple of months when I’m back on track and my body has changed from being fluffy to being lean again then I will KNOW it was worth it. And I’m not going to quit.

So don’t quit folks. And if you haven’t started…. START. If you fall down, GET UP. If you fall down again, GET UP AGAIN. Commit to 30 days of eating clean and moving. Shoot commit to 10 days. Do one push up and one sit up a day. Add one rep to each day. So on day two you are doing 2 push ups and 2 sit ups and on day 3, it’s 3 push ups and sit ups. Just keep adding. Walk up and down your stairs 5 times. Do 50 jumping jacks. It really doesn’t matter. Just start moving. And move everyday.

And since you’re committed to moving now, put down the burger or the pizza. Don’t go for the cookie or the ice cream. All of the foods we eat that are part of the Standard American Diet aka SAD are killing us from the inside out. It’s inflamming our insides. Killing our joints. Suffocating our organs. But it’s so tasty you say! Life is short, I shall enjoy it and I shall consume all the fatty fried, sweet and toxic foods! There are food scientists out there that use chemicals our bodies aren’t meant to ingest to make that food oh so tasty. And we say bottoms up. And we feed it to our families. And then life becomes really short when we get oddball diseases. Even if you don’t get something life threatening, you are plagued with sickness. You write it off. I’m wired this way. It’s genetic. It’s allergies. I’m destined to be a sickly person. WRONG.

But everything in moderation is fine, right? The problem is WE as people LIE to ourselves as to what MODERATION looks like. WE may tell ourselves we ate 3 cookies but in reality we ate 5. But it’s ok cause you don’t eat cookies everyday, right? And it’s true you may not eat cookies everyday, but you probably eat something bad for you EVERYDAY. It adds up. I eat salad everyday. But do you put 5 tablespoons of dressing on it too? Low fat, no fat, it doesn’t matter. The less fat in it the more chemicals to make it taste good.

OR just maybe you aren’t eating enough. Once you are eating less than what your body needs to function, your body goes into starvation mode. Your BODY HOLDS ON TO YOUR FAT when it’s not sure of what to do. Your body needs to store fat, aka energy. Just in case! Then you splurge on a bunch of fatty foods and your brain and insides don’t know what the heck is going on. There are mixed signals going on everywhere. Your body is in chaos. And it’s a vicious cycle that goes on hour to hour, day to day. You are destined to hold on to your extra layers if you continue to starve and splurge, then starve again.

So I ask you to cut the junk. Start moving. If you already do those things and you are on your path to good health then share your story with just one person if you’d like or a hundred people. I’ll share your story if you don’t want to yourself. And don’t get defeated if the one person doesn’t “hear” you. Just stay positive and keep walking your walk. That’s all I can do. If I have zero readers or 1000 readers – I keep walking my walk. There have been many detours, distractions and other things that have made my journey unique but I still stay on path the best I can.

Whew. Like I always say when I have a post like this …. I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. I have never had MAJOR ILLNESS or LIFE THREATENING situations. I can only share what I have learned and what I do for me. I really don’t think “eating clean” can hurt you. I’m not suggesting some weird supplement or fru fru thinking. But I am just another person. I have not had weird growths, mutations or sickness come upon me from cutting out processed foods. Please consult with your doctor if you are experiencing negative side effects.

Other than that. YOU KNOW THE DRILL….. BE AWESOME!

My Muscles Are Crying!

Day 1 (again) of getting back to it and my muscles are hating me right about now. I was already feeling a little grumpy after cutting out sugar. Imagine that. Not even 1 full day in and I could feel the sugar monster. And I promise you the temptations were in full force all day with the offerings of cookies and snacks. But I steered clear, which lately has been hard to do. So I am feeling confident that if I can turn away the treats that my mind is in the right place! Too bad it’s taken me 30lbs of extra fluff to get back to the right head space. But alas I’m there.

For dinner I thought I was going to have Freebird’s for dinner but Ernie “accidentally” passed it and we headed straight to Piranah’s – YUM! We had sushi and sashimi with some rolls that had special (sugar laden I’m sure) sauces. But I didn’t eat my weight in the stuff so I felt fine. No extra joy or misery. Just some good fish! Other than that I managed very well on the food front. Even got some sweet potato cooked up to eat post workout. Along with some ham for that protein. I’m not a huge fan of protein shakes and the ones that are good are filled with a bunch of crap so I am going to try to just bring the foods I need to eat to each workout. I may end up with shakes in the end but for now real food post WOD is my goal.

7/1/13 WOD
I was pretty anxiety ridden headding back into the BOOM Box. Two weeks feels like an eternity when it comes to getting under the bar. I was scared of Back Squats! Well not scaarrreeeddd, but really nervous.

Warm Up: 30/30 GHD
I’m not a big fan of the GHD, makes me dizzy and nauseous. Bleh! Anyone else have this problem? I know it’s good for warming up and stretching out everything but it is not a favorite of mine.

7/1/13 WOD

Skill/Strength: Squat – 10@60%, 8@70%, 6@75%, 4@80%
Well, well, well. That ended up being 100lbs, 115lbs, 125lbs and 130lbs. Typically our rep schemes are 5, 3, 1 or 5, 5, 5 but this 10, 8, 6, 4 just seemed like a kazillion squats! And I’ve not been squatting or doing anything really so I know it’s going to suck! Just warming up my legs were questioning what the hell was going on. By the time I got into my first set of 10, my left IT band and left quad were seriously hating me. I had to decide was this stop working PAIN or just shock and awe PAIN. In the end the burn was more of a HEY YOU MORON what are you doing to me. I seriously wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through. Believe it or not the fight or flight switch kicked in and the FIGHT won. I really really did not want to jump to 130lbs. And really that’s not super heavy. My 1RM is 165lbs. But after 24 reps of building up to this 130lbs I was on the verge of quitting. Once I got under the bar I knew I couldn’t quit. Slow and steady I knocked out the last 4. I pushed through and although my legs would leave me if they could I’m still here and I finished.

MetCon: AMANDA – 9-7-5 of MU and Squat Snatch 135/75
Doh! My legs are already dead and I’m supposed to do Squat Snatches! OH lawdy! I quit CrossFit now! Hehehe. Ok I didn’t quit but those thoughts did go through my brain. I’ve never met Amanda and she was no fun. I know my legs are complaining from all the squatting but my forearms, my shoulders, my lats, my traps… you name it! It’s all sore. Added Bonus I sit at a desk all day everyday. The excruciating pain that comes when I get up or sit down is pure BLISS!

But Back to AMANDA! So if you know me at all, I’m not anywhere near getting a Muscle Up! Not close at all! So I had to resort to pull ups and by the way I don’t have pull ups either! So banded pull ups it is! The nice thing about pull ups this time around is that my hands and shoulders are really rested. So I was able to get through these much easier than I thought. Maybe that 2 week break helped out a little bit! After 9 Pull Ups it was on to 9 Squat Snatch. I was hesitant to even do the bar since it’s been a LONG time since I’ve done a Squat Snatch. At first it was really awkward but I got into a nice groove. I only went for 55lbs. Probably could have done 65lbs but 75lbs would have been the death of me. I feel like not KILLING myself was the best option. 55lbs was no easy task but I could string a few together so I was happy with that. Time: 6:40

So I survived my 798797th Day 1. Hopefully I don’t have any more Day 1’s and/or have far less of them. I know it’s not about being perfect and I know it’s not about being boring and banning all junk. Life is life and life happens, but I have really let my habits go wayward. And it’s a struggle to get back to good health all the time. Speaking of HEALTH. I ordered a basic blood panel aka E-CHECKUP with Wellness FX. They had a special not too long ago to get a free one done at the nearest LabCorp. So I took them up on their offer. I ended buying another one for a follow up. So $25 and I get two e-checkups. With this basic checkup 25+ biomarkers are measured including a basic lipid panel, complete blood count, glucose, and thyroid. I know I could just go to my Dr. or whatever but this seems so much more simple and I didn’t have to deal with insurance or getting billed later. Naturally I wait till the day it’s about to expire to get my blood drawn. Wellness FX says it takes 3-5 days to get the results which are uploaded to their website. Low and behold I went Friday for the blood draw and by Monday (yesterday) afternoon my results were in! Woooo. Overall everything was in the GREEN and not the RED except for my Triglycerides and Glucose. Those were in the ORANGE! So better than BAD but not GOOD. Granted I’ve been eating like shit so it makes sense. I’m hoping with all the cleaning up I’m doing that I’ll have everything in the green when I do a follow up in 3 months. Wellness FX offers a physician consult over the phone, but since I feel like I can clean up my negative areas pretty quickly I’ll probably pass on the consult. They also offer more extensive labwork but at prices I can not afford at the moment. Originally I was concerned my Thyroid was out of whack because I am so cold when the average person is melting. But the thyroid levels they checked were in the green. That’s not to say I don’t have other crazy thyroid issues but for now I’ll stick with GREEN is good. And my bank account can’t afford otherwise!

That’s it for this pleasant July day in Texas! We are actually experiencing a cool spell with temps in the 80’s! Last week 100’s while we are in a week long World Series but this week when we have nothing it’s “cool”! Geesh! I’ll take it though 🙂 Have a super day. Be AWESOME and start something new in your life. A new activity, exercising, eating clean, playing with your kids instead of just watching them play! Do something fun!

Mission: Recommit to FIT

Cheesy I know but I am on a mission. And it’s about finding my fit again. It’s been over 2 weeks since I’ve last touch based with you all! And it’s been a blur. I started off so well at getting back on track and then it all became a roller coaster of eating good, then eating bad. Up, down, up, down. Last week was a total fail of getting to the Box as baseball consumed our every fiber. My desire to eat clean flew out the window.

So with the slowing down of baseball, I hope to regain my dedication to juggling the hectic life, eating clean and working out even if I can’t make it to the Boom Box. I will, I MUST stay active but more importantly I MUST EAT better. Part of my brain wants to go balls to the wall and do a 21 day sugar detox but part of me thinks that’s not such a great idea. So I’m just gonna go with as little sugar as possible for now. Eat clean, eat paleo. If it turns out I cut out sugar completely yay me! If not, then the reduction in general should be a WIN regardless.

So hopefully I’m back for good. No more absences/hiatuses/etc. Back to finding my happy place with paleo, clean eating and CrossFit. Back to integrating it all into the crazy schedules and back to having a plan. Being prepared.

I don’t have anything super awesome to share other than the fact I must succeed at this recommitment! I should be back at the BOOM Box this evening. Debating on signing up for the OLY class since it’s now available at a time slot I can attend. We’ll see. Baby steps 🙂 I started 2013 strong but have let the past 6 months bring me down. Here’s to hoping I finish 2013 like a beast!

For now enjoy your week. Happy JULY! Don’t forget to be AWESOME!

I see the LIGHT

I’m slowly but surely climbing out of my dungeon of laziness and lack of motivation. It’s been 4 days of cutting out the crap, showing up consistently at the BOOM Box and just keeping myself motivated to stick with it and not give in to the chaos that is my life and any random excuse my brain creates.

It’s been really sad to see poor numbers on the whiteboard for me. It’s part of it though and lesson hopefully learned. In a few weeks I hope to reset some goals since right now my only goal is just to get back in the swing of things and not let the “busy” trip me up. Since I’m still not back into cooking, ugh the sound of that just makes me bleh, I have been eating protein/fat filled salads, Boston Market (I know not ideal, but BETTER) and My Fit Foods! I was introduced to MFF down in Austin at the Fittest Games as they had sample foods for everyone. Rather tasty and located what seems like everywhere in the Austin area and nowhere in the DFW area.

My Fit Foods – Las Colinas

And while that’s not true, because there are several in the DFW area there are just not any in my neck of the woods. I did very little research though because at the time I was cooking all my food and there wasn’t a NEED for pre-made foods. Since my gluttonous adventures have created this lack of drive for cooking, I needed something better than Boston Market and Chipotle. Don’t get me wrong Chipotle is good but I tire of it really quickly. So MFF offers pre-cooked meals in many varieties and has two locations rather close to my job. So I decided to venture out to the Las Colinas location and find me some good food.

The good thing about MFF is that most of their foods are gluten-free and they are made fresh daily. Score! And while they aren’t 100% PALEO, they are very close. They do offer beans, rice and potatoes in some of their meals but there are plenty of meals where those things are cut out. I’ve also read brown sugar and agave on some of the labels. But if at the end of the day those are the worst things and in small amounts, I have to give them an A+ for providing fresh, healthy foods. When I walked into the Las Colinas store, I was greeted rather quickly by one of the employees. She was quick to share with me what they had to offer and that they received deliveries twice a day from the Southlake store kitchen. She broke down that there are small, medium and large portion sizes and that I can order online, work with a nutritionist or just show up randomly and get whatever foods were in the store. You can take your food to go or have a seat in their shop and pop your meal in the microwaves there. They also carry supplements, snacks and a few other items I didn’t really take note of.

I decided to go with a dinner meal called Better Beef & Broccoli. This had a good serving of sliced beef served on a bed of Broccoli, Carrots and Cabbage. It came with a side of wheat free soy sauce and YES I did put it on the food. I know SOY! But again it wasn’t a ginormous amount and I didn’t say I was perfect just yet! Overall it was flavorful and filled me up. Cost was $8.50.

Better Beef & Broccoli – There are veggies under there. I had already ate a few bites.

Although that may be high price to a lot of folks, I can say that it was whole healthy foods. There wasn’t a mystery to what might be in the sauce or how the food was cooked. And if I’m going to be lazy at least I know I’m getting something good for me. Sure I could spend $5 at a fast food joint and get stuffed, feel like crap and save $3.50 at the moment. But who knows what that JUNK is going to cost me later on down the road. It will surely be more than $3.50! In addition to my yummy beefy lunch, I picked up a snack that caught my eye – Living Raw Darkest Cacao Truffles! If you like the dark chocolate, then these are a winner! The ingredients are simple and clean. There was some sneaky AGAVE in there but back to my statement earlier, if that’s the worst in tiny amounts then I’m gonna be ok with that. In a few weeks, I may be sugar free but for now, it’s baby steps! They were rich in flavor, tasty and a good simple snack.

YUMMO!

Overall my first full impression of MFF is a win. So I went online, signed up for MFF rewards and earned a $5 off coupon. WOOOO! So I dropped in this morning to the Southlake store as their hours are 7am to 8pm and picked up Breakfast, Lunch and a Snack. I have only tried the Breakfast as I write this and it consisted of Turkey Sausage, Sweet Potatoes and Egg Whites.

I was weary at the eggs just by looking at them but I made the purchase so I ate them. And they weren’t my favorite but they weren’t bad either, give me some YOLK! I would most likely add some salsa to them should I buy this breakfast again. The sausage links were flavorful and tasty. The sweet potatoes were good as well. Again some agave in the ingredient list but nothing was overly sweet so I’m not sure where it came in. These are great meals for those who lack time or culinary skills. If you’re going full on Paleo or Whole30 this isn’t the best place. But if you’re trying to just start over (cough*ME*cough) or just trying to work your way into healthier eating I’d say try it out. I’m anxious to try out the Pork and Butternut Squash I bought for lunch!

MFF has locations in Arizona, California, Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. They say on their website they cook 362 days out of the year which means a whole lot of of fresh food. They don’t deliver so if you aren’t close to one, I’m sorry.

BoomBox WODs

So I’ve shown up 3 days in a row now! FINALY, WOOOOO! And it seriously feels like I’m new to everything again without the awkwardness of using a barbell. I’m slow, I’m beat down and I’m draggin ass. But at least I’m there hoping to shed this extra fluff, get back some of the strength I’ve lost and start PRing like a bad ass mofo! Hehe, ok I’ll just be happy to remove the fluff!

6/11/13 WOD

Warm-up: 30 GHD Sit-ups/hip ext, 100 single jumps, Quad roll out
So I’ve previously stated I BARELY am able to get there by 6pm, so I missed most of this pre-warm up. I did get 100 singles in. We still do a group warm up after this so I’m all good.

Sprint: 3 x 30 yrds
Yay sprinting, my favorite Uhm NO. But 30 yds is short so it’s ok. What wasn’t ok was feeling like a horse prancing around since we worked on running technique. And boy oh boy did I feel awkward. It’s much needed focus but I felt like I was at the rodeo! Maybe one day it will all click for me and I’ll become this fabulous runner. Hehehe. I said MAYBE.

6/11/13 WOD

Metcon: 4 rounds of 8 Hang Squat Clean to Thrusters 135/95#, 16 KBS 24/16kg, 24 DU, Rest 1 min
Thrusters – ARRRHHHHH! I love a good clean but add a thruster to it and I’m out. I only worked up to 75lbs for fear of dying during the WOD and that was an ok decision. I was definitely struggling in the end. The Kettle Bell Swings weren’t so bad except my back kept cramping up. So I only did 2 rounds UNBROKEN. Double Unders were a walk in the park. And the 1 minute rest flew by way to fast. I really slowed down overall in the 3rd and 4th rounds. Those Thrusters were a BEATING. Time: 13:46.

6/12/13 WOD

Skill development: MU, HSPU
More weaknesses! Muscle Up development went better than it has in the past. I have sucky shoulders so popping up and getting my head through was really weaksauce. But I did gain some ground on the whole using my hips part. Something similar to below:

As far as HSPU, I think my added heaviness scares me in going down to the ground. Kipping was not my friend so I had to opt for dumb Tiger Push Ups for the MetCon. Those are miserable and I suck at them.

Tiger Push Up – head to ground and back up, straighten arms. Keep heels down as much as possible.

Metcon: 5 rounds of 1 min HSPU, 1 min no leg wall-balls 20/14# -then- ME Muscle-Ups/C2B
I just stated I suck at Tiger Push Ups. And we had to do 1 minute of them! By round 3 I was struggling getting back up. As for no leg wall balls. I thought these would be a breeze but boy was I wrong. Wall Balls are EVIL in general so I figured if you don’t have to squat they have to be a little less evil. And for the most part they are less evil. The hard thing is when you are fatigued your body wants to utilize the legs. Well you can’t do that when it’s a NO LEG WALL BALL. Shoulders get smoked super fast. Back and forth between the push ups and the wall was a butt whoopin.

At the end of five rounds we had to go straight into Max Effort pulling movement. MU’s, CTB or ring rows for my less elite self. Ring rows I like but I was dead and I wasn’t really focusing and I dropped after 12 reps, not realizing I couldn’t start back up. WOMP WOMP. So I finished with 118 reps of HSPU and Wall Balls + 12 ring rows.

Right now my body hates me but will soon be loving me all over again. And guess what it’s almost FRIDAY! Chuggin along with little to no hiccups. I’m getting back to the good things food related. Fighting through on my WODs. It’s nice. Energy is up and down still, but it’s only DAY 4. But more ups for sure. It’s so easy to forget how good it feels mentally and phsyically to be back in it. It’s SAD how easy it is to justify and accept the tired, bloat and misery. Hello ‘MERICA. Get your ass in gear. Eat Clean, Get Moving and BE AWESOME!

On the Awesome note. I found AMRAP4Life and they say they are focused on building a community of AWESOME people. How perfect is that? So check them out: https://www.amrap4life.com/?i_uid=2512. Sign up if you’re interested. Find me and friend me.

I know I could have probably split this into three posts: one review, one recap and shared AMRAP4Life, BUT who has time for that! You get a lot at once. And sometimes NOTHING at all. Thank you all again for sticking with me. In my good times and depressing times. I’m working my way back to the good. Have a great Thursday and be AWESOME!

Trying

So my gung ho declaration of getting back on track went strong for 2 days. Then my car died and I missed a work out. Then I had a mental breakdown due to my car dying and there went another missed day at the BOX. And then (think Dude, Where’s my Car, Chinese restaurant lady) baseball took over friday and saturday. And then and then and then and then! UGH.

So we cycle back to a new week and I’m pulling myself out of the pit of my depression and yesterday began Day 1 of eating clean. It wasn’t a perfect clean but it was 95% on point. Which is 95% better than what Wednesday through Sunday! This morning as part of breakfast I go with two tablespoons of Almond Butter and what do I read on the label? SUGAR! NOOOOO. Ok Sugar is not going to kill me instantly but it’s not CLEAN eating. I was surprised that this particular brand that I’ve purchased before has sugar in it! I figured all of this brand was sugar free. Doh! I just grabbed it off the shelf thinking it was good to go. That’s Wal-mart for you! It was a small jar and it’s so much better than what I’ve been eating so I’ll get through it and be more mindful for the future.

Now if I can just get past 2 days and even through a whole weekend! Then I know I’m getting somewhere. At least I haven’t completely fallen off the CrossFit train. Showing up, although sucking at life, is still better than not showing up. Keeps me connected and definitely shows me how hard it is to eat like crap and perform well. Cause I’m not performing well at all! In 9 days I’ve worked out 3 times. Out of those three times I forgot to take pictures for 2 of the workouts. One more thing to add to the list of eating like crap. The brain fog takes over and I forget everything! SMH!

Nice salad full of protein and fat!

6/3/13 CrossFit Total
Yikes! My first dedicated day to getting back to it and it’s CFT! I haven’t worked on anything consistently. I’m not even sure I’ll hit my 1RM on these movements. What’s CFT you ask? It’s comprised of 3 lifts. Back Squat, Overhead Press and Deadlift. You do 1 Rep Max of Back Squat, Press and Deadlift. You get 3 attempts at each movement to get the biggest lift. You also get a time frame of 15 minutes per lift. Then you add up your lifts to get your CFT. Like I mentioned and as you all know due to my lack of blogging, I have barely been showing up. I have been eating like crap and there is no consistency in any of the mentioned lifts! Sigh! I have to just relax and let it be. It is what it is and I can’t change that.

6/3/13 CrossFit Total

15 minutes goes by really quickly to warm up and get those 3 lifts in. In my warming up for my Squat the bar felt heavy and I just couldn’t picture myself hitting my 1RM and guess what I didn’t! I got to 155lbs which is 10lbs off. Booooo! Next up Press. I was looking for a PR because I’ve been stuck at 75lbs for what seems like forever but NOPE, NO SIR, NOT GONNA HAPPEN. At least I made the 75lbs or else I probably would have cried. Deadlift, last but not least and the only lift I had any confidence in for the day. There was quite of a few of us in class so I had to wait around for plates. Which ate up a lot of my time. So I only got 2 lifts in but guess what? I finally PR’d a lift! 225lbs. That’s a 10lb PR and I’ll take what I can get!

As for the last time I did CFT back in August…I went from 400 for my total to 455. It’s a PR which is nice but I know it should have been much bigger than that!

6/4/13 WOD
Warm Up: 30 GHD Hip-ext, 30 GHD sit-ups, Shoulder mobility
Missed this as I drove up right as class was starting

Skill/Strength: Hand Stand Walk Practice
This was so easy in my former life. I can hold a handstand but not for long so walking is out of the question. I will have it back one day I know it!

METCON: 3 rounds for time of – 12 Burpee Pull-ups, 7 Power cleans 185/115
Seriously? 3 rounds is quick is what I kept telling myself when the voice in my head was telling me to stay home. And I love me some Cleans and it’s been so long. So there I was trying to figure out how I was going to scale Burpee Pull Ups. After the burpee, I had to jump up onto stacked plates and do a jumping pull up. Those were pretty miserable but even more so after heavy Power Cleans. I went with 95lbs which again is HEAVY when you’ve been a slacker. And doing burpees after that was a butt whoopin. I made it with a time of 9:41. I survived!

6/10/13 WOD
Skill/Strength: Front Squat work up to a heavy 3
Now I really haven’t done any Front Squat work in months so I was scared what HEAVY would be for me. Turns out my heavy was 125lbs. Which is 10lbs less than my 1RM. So that’s not too bad. I haven’t had too much strength loss there.

METCON: 8 min AMRAP of Run 200m, 20 HR PU, 10 Push Jerks 145/100#
-then (no rest)- 3 min ME Lateral Burpees (over bar)
I can not tell you enough times how poor eating can ruin everything. I struggled running 200m! That’s just crazy talk! But it’s true. I was so beat down after running the measly 200m I just wanted to lie there and not do the Push Ups. As for the Push Jerks, I went with 85lbs and although they felt good I had my umph in my try. So I did 2 or 3 at a time. Physically it felt good to get the weight up, mentally I was in a haze. I only managed to get 1 full round in with a run, 20 HRPU and 3 Push Jerks into the 2nd round. As for burpees. I went as slow as I could without just completely quitting. I managed to get 24 in 3 minutes. HORRIBLE!

So that’s it for now. Day 2 of clean eating (sort of)! At least I’m making the efforts I suppose. If I can figure out kiddo scheduling tonight I should be hitting up the Boom Box tonight. I guess that’s it for now. I’m trying my hardest to find my way back to AWESOME. So go ahead and be AwEsOmE for the both of us! Thanks and Happy Tuesday!

Still Here

I know you all are just crushed wondering what has happened to me. Where did she go? I can’t go on without her! Right? That’s how it is? I KNEW IT!

Don’t worry faithful readers. I’m still here. The chaos still has me but I see light at the end of the tunnel. Baseball and end of school year events has taken me off any sort of routine. And it definitely has all my happy healthy habits obliterated. But I plan to get back onto blogging, eating clean..errr better, and consistent BOOM Box check ins next week. I haven’t worked out since last FRIDAY and it’s killing me. I’m hoping that I can drag my butt back out of bed EARLY to get a workout in because I can’t make the evening slot! PRAY FOR ME folks, PRAY FOR ME!

If you get a blog post tomorrow it’s because I got up for the 5 a.m. class. If I don’t blog tomorrow it’s cause y’all didn’t pray hard enough! JOKES, it’s because I’m a lazy bum. But that all changes very very soon!

I did want to let you all know I’m still here and although it appears I’ve given up my paleo crossfittin self, please know I have not. She just got lost for a little bit.

Have a great day! And a great weekend if I’m not here tomorrow. And if you’ve forgotten, GO OUT AND BE AWESOME!

Where does TIME go?

It’s been over a week since my last post! WTH? Where does time go? Just being a busy bee in my neck of the woods. Took a couple of steps towards the clean eating then took a couple of steps back AND then 2 steps forward and now we’re dancing! Still stuck in food limbo but also still making it to the BOOM Box when life isn’t getting in the way.

It all boils down to the fact that I need to get back to the 5am slot. Because if life happens, something comes up then I can’t make an evening class and I’m screwed.

I’m not complaining… these are 2 out 3 (kiddos) reasons life gets hectic. They make my heart smile!

Which was what happened to me on Wednesday. But the evening’s are sooooooo nice. I’m awake, more limber and in a better mood! If I don’t get back into my old Paleo/CrossFittin self, I’m gonna have to buy all new clothes. I’m back to FAT KID status and as much as I don’t like it, I’m just as a happy as as an antelope with night vision goggles sitting in my fat kid corner! Ok well HAPPY is an overstatement cause I am not happy but then I couldn’t steal that line from the Geico commercials!

I’m sure most of you are yelling at me to SHUT UP and just get back to it and if you’re not please start YELLING. One foot in, One foot out… it’s not working. It never will with me but holy geesh I’m just going in circles.

Fortunately I am still showing up at the BOOM Box and I know the saying goes you can’t out train a bad diet. But at least I’m still training?!? Right?!? Well I have a couple and only a couple of recaps for the past week.

5/16/13 WOD
Skill/Strength: Push Press 3, 3, 3+ @ 70%, 80%, 90%
Everything in my upper body has been taxed and the poor eating has left me with poor recovery. But I still fought hard for barbell. Worked up to the 90% which 85lbs for me and I managed 5 reps. Although I wanted more reps, my shoulders were saying NO MORE.

5/16/13 WOD

MetCon: 3 Rounds of Bar MU, 8 KB Snatches 55/35lbs
Instead of Muscle Ups, I did 3 rounds of 8 pullups. Still sucking at the Pull Ups left me with a much longer time than I had hoped. I didn’t work the 35lb KB and went for a smaller one. My left arm struggled but my right arm was a champ. Time: 9:56

Midline: 3 x Max Effort Sit Ups in 60 seconds with 45 second rest
My first go was 34 sit ups, then it dropped to 30 then to 29. Not too bad I suppose. I was still breathing hard from the MetCon!

5/18/13 OPEN BOX PARTY
We had a nice little evening soiree Friday night where there was working out, hanging out, food and prizes. I showed up to workout. Little did I know there were few there that were up for the whole working out idea. I guess they all already showed up for a class earlier in the day but still. Fish out of water for me It did weigh to my advantage though as we had a WOD to wonderful tickets to the Texas Rangers game. Primetime section/seating!

Hmmm, there are quite of few pics of me in this dead person pose.

WOD: Complete 50 Jumping Air Squats in 90 seconds, 40 Double Unders in 90 seconds, 30 HR Push Ups in 90 seconds, 20 Burpees in 90 seconds, 10 DL 205lbs for the ladies. Whichever male and female that could make it through won. And if more than one made it through then Coach added items like Bar MU for the guys. For us girls though, my superpowers of DUs came through for me. I got all the way through 16 Burpees. I was pissed I couldn’t get 20 in 90 seconds because in the past I have completed 24 in 60 seconds. You know it’s coming “FAT KID” in the house! Not sure I could do 10 Deadlifts at 205 in 90 seconds but I didn’t get the chance to try. I did however make it the furthest through the ladder and WON the Ranger tickets!

Post WOD we had some yummy burgers from Farm to Fork, lots of good fruits and veggies. It’s nice to hang out with all the BOX Buddies! I vote for more BOOM Box events!

Love these folks!

5/20/13 WOD
Strength: Deadlift: 3, 3, 3+ @ 70%, 80%, 90% of 1RM
Deadlifts were a little heavy this time around. I was getting through them ok but mentally I was ready to tap out. On my last round I wasn’t feeling it, HOPING for 6 reps and that’s what I did. My grip was falling apart fast and I just didn’t have the will power to go for more.

5/20/13

MetCon: EMOM for 12 minutes 5 HSPU (odd), 8 Pistols total alternating legs (even)
Everything was modified for this. It’s like doing downward dog push ups, well kind of. Your arms aren’t as far out in front of you and your heels are against a wall. But that inverted position is similar. And I did Pistols holding on to a bar for balance. My left IT band still plagues my knee bursa so that really sucks (HURTS LIKE HELL). Each minute I ended with 20-30 seconds to go but the humidity here in TX has got my number. I was drenched!

5/23/13 WOD
Skill/Strength: Band Sprints 50ft x 8 rest 30 seconds; Flying Sprints 50ft x 8 rest 30 seconds
We all know I don’t like running but 50ft I can tolerate. I don’t mind sprinting either and when it’s just ME working out even better cause no one is there to smoke my ass! Flying sprints felt like I was really flying after doing 8 rounds of sprints with a band and person dragging me down! Again the humidity is killing me. I know it takes time to acclimate but I was soaked through.

5/23/13 WOD

MetCon: 3 rounds of 40 Double Unders, 20 Ring Dips
I’ve been having DU chaos lately. It’s like I don’t know what to do for a second. Eventually it all comes back to me but each round I started off really poorly. With mutliple attempts and fails. After 3 or 4 no reps I’d finally get a rhythm and do them unbroken just took too long to get there. On my last round I only did 15, 15 and 10. My forearms, shoulders, triceps were fatigued and it was painful to just hold onto the rope.

As far as Ring Dips go. I was horrible. I did start off alright but fell apart quickly. My triceps kept cramping up so everytime I’d set up it was misery. I was using the green band for assistance and was only knocking out 3-5 at a time. That made my time out to be super slow. Ah well. Once I get out of FAT KID mode I should do much better. Time: 9:26

There’s a COMMUNITY WOD tomorrow if y’all are in the area. 9 am. Be there people. Come see our new home.

If I don’t see you or hear from you this weekend then have a good one. BE SAFE. Say thanks to our men and women that serve our country. Take care and of course BE AWESOME!!!!

idrankthecfkoolaid

and it's good

CrossFit

Putting in the WORK

Why I (still) CrossFit

Back Squats FOREVER!

Hello Again

My Muscles Are Crying!

Mission: Recommit to FIT

I see the LIGHT

Trying

Still Here

Where does TIME go?

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