Testing the Waters

I finally went out and had a post Whole30 NON-COMPLIANT dinner at a local sushi buffet restaurant. And my biggest feat was steering clear of the créme brûlée! I had fresh strawberries instead. I managed to eat rolls that seemed more plain, not too many fancy sauces. And I ate less than a cup of white rice with some hibachi style chicken and steak. My concerns were what the ramen soup broth was made of and what makes squid salad so tasty. But nothing sent me into a spiraling madness. No headaches, no stomach aches. I woke up with a more than achy wrist, so something caused inflammation but since I didn’t reintroduce just ONE non compliant thing it will be hard to pinpoint. Other than that I don’t feel like I’ve opened any doors that can’t be closed. I even managed to get a cakeball order finished without licking a spoon, spatula or even my fingers! No sample tasting for me! WILL POWER folks!

Made a bunch and didn’t even taste one!

Quick FOOD recipe – Cabbage Hashbrowns
So I was scouring the internet to find a recipe for shredded cabbage and low and behold I did find one. I don’t have the site but I just briefly skimmed it and had the gist of it. It’s like the Veggie Latkes I’ve shared in the past but so much easier.

You need ghee or coconute oil, cabbage, leeks or green onions, salt, pepper and one egg (maybe two). Depends on how much cabbage you have.

2/5/14 Lunch with Cabbage Hasbrown!

I bought shredded cabbage, but you could just cut and shred a full cabbage. Heat up skillet and 1 TBS of cooking fat. Put shredded cabbage into a large bowl. Put a hand full of leeks/green onions in with the cabbage. I had a lot of cabbage so I made two separate bowls, thus needing two eggs. Add egg. Add salt/pepper and whatever else you think you might like to spice it up. Get your hands in there and mix it all up until everything is well coated with egg. Take a handful of the cabbage mixture and lay in skillet. Press it down a bit with a spatula into a circular shape and let cook 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook another 3-4 minutes. Plate it and serve. Great with ANYTHING in my opinion. Breakfast, lunch or dinner! Servings differ on how little or big you want your “hasbrowns” to be. I used an 8″ skillet, so my hasbrowns were large. It made 4 with what I had.

2/6/14 Boom Box
I was driving into work as it started snowing. We don’t do well in cold temps as it is, then add frozen crap falling from the sky and all hell breaks loose. I wasn’t even halfway to my j.o.b. and I was still sitting on the highway. For 30 minutes, going pretty much nowhere. When I finally reached an exit, I blasted off and headed back home! Then I realized I could possibly make the 9am class and I did! Whew! Get it over with!

Strength: DL 5,5,5,5 by feel
By feel! It felt heavy! The whole time. I worked up to 205 but could only bust out 3 before I lost all my grip. I’m convinced the bar is WAY heavier when temps are below 20°!

2/6/14 WOD

MetCon: 3 rounds of 9 Burpees, 12 Box Jumps (step down), 15 Thrusters 45/35
I wasn’t dreading this workout but I didn’t move very fast my first round. I think I did better for rounds 2 and 3. But in round 2, I missed the box. That scares a person. So I took some time, too much time, just staring into nothing. But I’d rather be safe than sorry. I need to be right in the head so I don’t mess up again and potentially hurt myself. Ah well. As for Thrusters, I wasn’t sure if I could do them but when I tried one there was no pain. Granted, it’s only the bar at 35lbs but it’s better than nothing. And 35lbs was RX. So yay! (maybe that’s another reason my wrist is a little achy though) Time: 8:08 RX

2/7/14 Boom Box Test Day

Mobility: Shoulders!
This was a long overdue session. I needed this.

Skill: MU
I was the only one and MU wasn’t happening, so I got to do some more warmup and mobility. Realized I wouldn’t be able to do OHS in the MetCon as well, so that was good. I don’t need more wrist issues. I strugged with just the bar. Maybe it’s cold. Maybe it’s the Japanese food that caused too much inflammation. I don’t know. But the bar was not comfortable overhead.

2/7/14 WOD

MetCon: Open WOD 11.4
WOMEN – Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
60 Bar-facing burpees
30 Overhead squats (90lbs / 40kg)
10 Muscle-ups

I don’t think I defrosted until half way into the workout. Damn it, it’s cold. I’m pathetic. I was hoping to complete the burpees in less than 5 minutes. Had I shown up at 6pm instead of 5am, then maybe it would have been possible. I was moving so slow. I finally finished right under 6 minutes. Then instead of OHS, I did Overhead Presses with the Multi-Grip bar. I did sets of 5 because my core is toasted from all the situps on Wednesday. I didn’t think I would make it to Pull Ups (mod for MUs) but I had like 20 seconds left. So by the time it took me to get a band on the bar, time was up. Final: 60 burpees, 30 Overhead Press

That’s a Wrap!
If you live in DFW and want to check us out for FREE, we have a 9am Community WOD and a 10am Yoga class. Crossfitboom.com! Come out already. You know you want too!

Other than that, have a GREAT weekend. Do something fun! Make someone smile. Eat Clean. Train Dirty!

Monday Not So Fun Day

I’m not entirely sure how I missed Thursday and Friday workouts last week but I did. My body just needed the rest I suppose. I had a stressful Friday and pretty much that led to binge eating all weekend. And it’s not like I dove into a gallon of ice cream, nor did I eat a whole lot but it wasn’t good either. I also decided that a garage sale was in order. So that left me on my feet all day for two days. MY FEET ARE DYING!

Walking into the BOOM Box this morning was a big debate for me. I could wait till the evening or just knock it out ASAP. NANCY was on the board! UGH. Running and OHS! I chose to knock it out this morning because it’s a big Texas Rangers game tonight and I don’t want to miss it!

Strength: Back Squat 5@65% 5@70% and 5@75%
This is the first time doing percentages with my new 1RM and it wasn’t too bad! Granted the percentages were light but doing 5’s isn’t always fun. I felt good. My hips were a little creaky but overall I was glad to put in the work.

9/30/13 WOD

MetCon: Nancy – 5 rounds of 400M run and 15 Overhead Squats
I had already showed up with the mindset to row instead of run. My shins, ankles and feet are tore up. I did do some mobility work and after Back Squats I was feeling much better. Coach T asked if I was going to run and I said I might as well. And for the first time in a long time I think I had a better time for a 400m run. 3 minutes. I know that’s not fast in any sense but I actually ran for a little bit and my shins weren’t dying. Still hurting but tolerable. It’s when I got to Overhead Squats that I fell apart. The weight is 65lbs. Not heavy at all! But after 5 reps, my right wrist was dying. It hurt to even grip the bar. So I dropped to 55lbs and it was still a NO GO. I have a hook grip on the bar and Coach told me to release that grip and to try letting the bar roll back onto my fingertips. This was a hard task. I’ve fought so hard to learn to be comfortable with a HOOK GRIP and now I’m letting it go. My brain was confused. I finally finished out the reps and went out for my next run. My wrist was in pain and I didn’t even want to walk but our time was limited and I needed to move. I did do more walking on this run but the running part was faster than my typically trot. Maybe it was the cooler air or maybe I’m finally shedding some weight. Either was I didn’t dread running near as much today. My second round of OHS was better than my first but I was at a light weight and I had just rested. Knocked out 10, then struggled with the 5. My third run was probably better than my second run but my OHS were done. I couldn’t find a happy place for my wrist. And then I DID for the last 5 reps. My goal was to get to that happy place for the 4th round. Finally, UNBROKEN. I should have gone unbroken the whole time, but that wrist o’ mine. It hurted! It was after 6am and I had to go. Today was a big ol DNF for me. Womp Womp. But I will run into Nancy again and she’ll know what I’m really made of. Time: DNF, finished 4 rounds in 25 minutes or so. Not real sure.

Barbells For Boobs
Hey, Hey, Hey…. PLEASE donate to my B4B fundraising page to support Mammograms in Action. Barbells for Boobs is a non-profit organization that provides funding to pay for breast cancer detection services as a last resort for thousands of people who don’t qualify for assistance elsewhere. Their aim is to help anyone that needs it, anywhere, whether they are male or female, no matter what their age or situation in life.

You can find my page here: HELP SAVE BOOBIES. No amount is too small. And if you aren’t able to donate at this time, please share me with your friends, co-workers, business owners, etc. Thanks in advance for your help and support.

That’s all folks!Keep on keepin on! Don’t give up! Don’t Quit! Be a healthier you. Even if you fail, get right back up and keep doing work!
And as always be AWESOME!

The Scale Does Not Define Me, The Scale Does Not Define Me

The Scale DOES NOT DEFINE ME! It’s so hard. It really is soooooo hard to look at a scale and not make me turn into a calorie counting, starve myself nutcase. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the scale. CrossFit has really helped me drop most of my issues with that silly little contraption, but as with any obsession/addiction it still haunts you every now and then.

A few months ago, I did weigh myself and I was not happy with that weight. I told myself enough is enough. Getting fluffier was not an option. And guess what I got fluffier. I woke up at 5:20 this morning and dragged my fluffy ass to the scale. WHY would I torture myself? I can clearly see and feel that I’m not down to the weight I want to be. I don’t really have a “goal” weight but I know the weight I’m at is too much. But WHY are you weighing yourself cause it’s only gonna make you cry?

Welp. The WOD for the day was working on Overhead Squats. We had ten 1 rep attempts to get heavy. If we weren’t able to squat our weight we’d have to run 1 mile. Seriously? My last OHS for 1 rep was 90lbs. I didn’t want to weigh at the BOOM Box out of shame and embarrassment. But here I go to the world – My weight is 168lbs. Yup. I did it. I shared it with the world. I’m 5’2 folks! I’m short. I’m chunky. The upside is that more mass moves more weight (at least that’s what I keep telling myself and the scale does not define me). It’s bittersweet. A year ago I weighed around 135lbs. I’d much rather be at that weight right now. But I am not. I’d also like to be running an 8 minute mile again. But I am not.

So what’s a confused girl supposed to do? Starve herself. Start counting calories? Do triple workouts? UGH. This girl just wants to hide. But I can’t. If I were 300lbs I might qualify for Extreme Weight Loss. Chris Powell would help me find out why I turn to food for comfort. But I don’t have that much to lose and I don’t really turn to food for comfort. I just think it’s tasty! And I’m addicted to sweet tea. I think CLEAN food is tasty too. I have no problem eating clean, I just have a problem cutting out all the bad stuff. I always let it slip in and it’s mostly on the weekends that I sabotage myself. So just QUIT doing it, right? Well that’s the plan for this MOMENT in time. I just hope that come Friday, Saturday and Sunday I do just that. Sigh.

8/21/13 WOD

Enough poor me talk. I’m still alive. I’m still relatively healthy. And I’m still showing up to the BOOM Box even when I don’t wanna! So you already know it was all about the OHS squats. After a crazy, exhausting warm up. I was ready to just call it a day or start my run, because I knew I wasn’t squatting 168lbs. I KNOW that! Needless to say we still had to do the rep scheme. 1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1. 90lbs is my previously recorded OHS. I’m not sure when that happened but sometime before Feb 2013 and sometime after Sept 2012. Overhead Squats used to be my nemesis.

With time, they are more of my friend. My wrists aren’t so puny anymore and although any large amount of OHS work will still cause some pain and havoc, I am much better. Knowing that I’m heavier, I know that I will be able to move more weight. I just wasn’t sure how MUCH more weight. So I set myself up for my 1RM of 90lbs to be my 5th attempt. Just in case I wasn’t that much stronger! Looking back, I wish I had made that my 2nd or 3rd attempt. I also wish we had more time to get the 10 reps in. I only made it to my 9th attempt before time ran out. If I didn’t have a J-O-B to get to, I would have definitely tried for the 10th attempt. But nooo I had to run that mile. So anyways, when going for a heavy 1 rep, one does not simply just make big jumps in weight. There’s a process… mental and physical. But sometimes that process needs to be pushed aside. Should have, would have, could have … I know. I just wished I had gone bigger. I had my 10th attempt set for 115lbs. Time was up at the 9th attempt. So I jumped right in and did 115 like it was a piece of cake! UGH I wish I had more time. I’m thinking at least 130, AT LEAST! None the less, I will take a 25lb PR. Grant, if you’re reading this I finally rang the PR bell. I know I’ve been resistant to ringing it but I felt good with the OHS PR.

As far as the run goes. My worst 1 mile EVER in the history of me running miles. 13:08. 2 years ago my 1 mile was 8:08. How am I getting so much worse. 2 1/2 years ago at my worst physical shape I managed an 11:40 something mile. So ya, my dread for running has to change. I’m not happy with the poor running so I HAVE to work on it so I can at least find some peace of mind in how fast I can run a mile. I’m not striving for a sub 6min time but getting back the 8’s would be helpful.

So LEAN out, RUN faster and figure out Pull Ups. That’s all right? Shoot me now. Hopefully the leaning out will boost the other two goals. Hopefully! Well it’s HUMP Day and I’m not happier than a camel, but I’ll manage! The scale does not define me. Make it a good day and remember to be AWESOME in all you do.

Squirrel

I finally beginning to like where I’m at right now. The brain fog is clearing and energy levels are up. And I’m so excited for feeling great that I want to share everything with y’all but it’s not cohesive (cause I’m scatterbrained) and I don’t know where to start!

Reading other blogs, catching up on favorite sites, reading new articles about health and fitness are exciting again. When I’m poor poor petri, sometimes diving into all of that is more depressing and it’s easier to just ignore, ignore and ignore. Why? Because then I don’t have to feel bad about myself for being a loser. It does the opposite of motivating. But when I’m feeling good, I’m FEELING GOOD! Everything is exciting again. The light is ON! So I know that I’m probably annoying to those sitting on the couch. Those putting it off till tomorrow or MONDAY cause they messed up yesterday. And annoying I will be. Cause maybe one of you sitting on the sidelines will have that AHA moment. And if it’s just ONE then I’m okay with that. And maybe those of you already doing work but getting tired will find some new hope or outlook. And then maybe some of you just LOVE me so much you just read to read!

Where to start on all my randomness.. how about… Who watched Extreme Weight Loss last night? Mike was insanely awesome. One of the BEST participants ever. I wanna be like Mike. He got to 10% body fat! He did the work and didn’t complain or make excuses. Sure it’s not DRAMA made for TV but it was good to see someone go in focused like that and KILL it.

Also, on one of the morning shows here in DFW, a radio host proclaimed her goal of destroying CrossFit! Really? She says it ruins marriages and wanted people to call in to tell how it did ruin their marriage. Only two of the callers said it put a strain on the marriage and the other few could only proclaim it’s AWESOMENESS. If I were a caller-in kind of gal I would have probably chewed her butt out. I mean seriously? Someone having a passion for being healthy is ruining marriages. There is something much deeper than CrossFit ruining that marriage if it’s being destroyed in any sense. I know more married people and couples that do CrossFit together than anyone who is losing their relationship because of it. Totally crazy. I just have no other words.

This article is great: 3 Reasons to Get Upset About CrossFit

I also came across this Catalyst article encouraging women to lift. Some of it’s not me but I get where it could encourage women to start on it already: 10 Things New Women Weightlifters Should Know

Speaking of lifting. Since I started CrossFit, I learned I actually liked lifting. I had never really LIFTED weights other than dumbbells and whatever machines are staples in big, i barely went, walk past weights, drain my bank account gyms. But some days it was a chore and not fun. I had to do it because it was programmed but I wasn’t necessarily enjoying it. I have found the past couple of weeks I am really ENJOYING all of the strength work we do. I’m feeling super awesome about it each rep, set, etc… I ache less and when I do ache, I just mobilize more. But I’m feeling SOLID when I lift. Not weird or awkward. I’m even enjoying Overhead Squats which in the beginning were so miserable to work on. If only I could get some good feelings about Snatching! UGH that lift drives me BONKERS!

In other news, I’m even considering signing up for some competitions. My running endurance sucks but hopefully running isn’t a major thing in anything upcoming. One of my boxmates, Mel, suggested one but we found it had PULL UPs, so instead of just finally buckling down and working on PULL UPs we passed! LOL, such beasts we are! In all reality I need to make that a goal but for now I just wanna compete. So there are a few events in the near future and I’m hoping to throw myself out there. It’s been a year since the last time I competed. It should be fun, no, I know it will be fun. My blogging friend over at Wine to Weightlifting had a great post: 8 Reasons You Should Compete in a Crossfit Competition. Since I have already competed, I KNOW why I should do it again. But it reinspired me to actually want to do it!

And to finalize my random thoughts for today, My WOD yesterday, I KILLED IT! YAAAAA! It wasn’t like I was #1 on the board or anything but I was at least up there and with an RX!

8/13/13 WOD
TABATA Row (the goal is 1000m)
I’ve done TABATA a lot of things, but never a ROW! Should be fun. And I did find some fun in it. I’m not a good rower. But unlike running, I want to be a better rower. I do! I find some peace in it, maybe the same kind of peace that runners find in running. And I just want to be good at it. So I’m trying and I’m finding I am getting a lil better. Not leaps and bounds better, but I’m figuring out a rhythm for my OOMPA LOOMPA self. I didn’t get 1000m but I got 784. So I wasn’t horrible but I really wanted 1000m!

8/13/13 WOD

MetCon: 4 rounds of a 3 min AMRAP of 24 DU (mod is 12 Burpees) and 6 OHS (95,65) rest 1 min between rounds

Super Powers Activate! Double Unders. Yup, my super power. That’s the one thing I do at the box where a good chunk of folks are impressed. And I’m not SUPER GREAT at them. There are folks far more superior in our box and out of our box. But for where I stand in the world of CrossFit I’m at a good place. I want to share my super power but it’s definitely something you have to figure out on your own.

FOUR – 3 minute AMRAPS. I wasn’t sure how that was going to play out. 3 minutes isn’t a long time but it’s long enough to get work in. I just wasn’t sure where I would fall in. I was determined to go RX on Overhead Sqauts. The weight wasn’t super heavy but I figured between that and DUs my shoulders were going to fade fast. Plus Coach wanted us to do the OHS UNBROKEN so I had to will myself to stay strong. And it worked. After each set of DUs, I took a little bit of a pause so I could catch my breath, then I’d get right to it. I wasn’t popping up and down like an Elite athlete but I was getting the work done. Slow and steady. It felt like all of my first reps were wonky but once I got set, the rest of the reps were more stable. I had a mean face on. See pic below. I’m just in the background but it’s a look of determination and focus.

Stole this from Noah. Thanks!

I wasn’t going to FAIL. I’m pretty sure I’d be scared of me if I saw me! This wasn’t a walk in the park for me but for once I wasn’t doubting myself or wanting to quit. Final: 9round + 4 DUs

So there you have it! TWO days in a row of blogging. Is this my comeback back to back post? Eh, I don’t know about that. But like I said, I’m feeling better again and that’s always a good thing FOR EVERYONE around! I tried not to be too long winded in my randomness. And as I typed away I started losing some of the floating thoughts. Probably a good thing for today. I hope everyone is having a Happy Hump Day! Go out and share your AWESOMENESS!

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.

Work, Rest, More Work, Breathe

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

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

2/15/13 WOD

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

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

2/16/13 WOD

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

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

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

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

2/18/13 WOD

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

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

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

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

Mission Accomplished!

If you’re new to reading my blog or just don’t ever finish it all the way through then you won’t know I’ve been trying to raise money for Barbells for Boobs. I didn’t set a super lofty goal but I wanted to raise $100 for the B4B event we are having at CrossFit Boom tomorrow at 6pm. Low and behold a few folks stepped up to the call and helped me out. I am very thankful to you all! I’ve given you all shout outs on Facebook but THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN: Shelley, Mel, Shawn, Sherrie, Rose, Jill and Jenn!

If you are in the DFW area and would like to spectate or participate tomorrow at 6pm, then please do. Check us out at CrossFit Boom or find our team link here to donate. Help our team raise as much money as possible for B4B!

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

#OccupyBoom
Like I’ve been telling you all, right after B4B is completed we are going to have some friendly WOD throwdowns! It will be a lot of fun and we will have foods to eat! BYOB(eef) or any other protein you’d like grilled up. Not sure how long we will go but it’s sure to be a good time!

Today’s WOD
It was a lil chilly this morning and hard to roll out of bed but once you get movin in the BOOM Box you warm up pretty quickly.

10/26/12 WOD

Skill/Strength: 4 x 5 Good Mornings 55lbs
I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever perf0rmed this with PVC pipe during a warm up session. Today we warmed up with the bar then added some weight. Overall this felt alright. I don’t think I ever had bad from and we went through our sets pretty easily. My left hamstring wasn’t too happy by the end but nothing serious.

MetCon: TEAM WOD 100 Back Squats OR 75 Front Squats OR 50 OHS @85lbs with 2 Shoulder to Overhead EMOM
My partner and I clearly wanted to do the Overhead Squats due to less reps, but it is a little more difficult movement. After some warming up and putting weight on the bar, we opted for Front Squats. We both had to do the same weight so we ended up at 65lbs. I got 20 knocked out in the first minute and did the first two Push Presses. We were able to rack bar before switching out which was nice. It was great to have a little rest. We ended up with a time of 3:56. I think Coach was surprised we all finished rather quickly so we had a POPWOD. POPWOD???!!!???? This is new to us what ever could it be? Well he had us get the bar up into a overhead position as if you were doing an overhead squat.

We then had to do lunges in place for 50 reps, per person. I’m not the best at lunges. Pair that with awkward overhead position, I was a little scared! 3-2-1 GO – I got this! It wasn’t near as hard as I thought it would be. My legs were a little JELLO-like towards the end. We broke our sets up into 2 sets each. Time: 4:05

It’s FRIDAY! WOOOOO and it’s COLD – BOOOOO! (cold for me and my wussy Texan self) If you can come out tomorrow evening then please come out! I would love for y’all to be there. Other than that, have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND and make it super AWESOME!!!

Double Tall Non-Fat Caramel Macchiato

That would be my middle name if A. I had money and B. it were paleo. I think once upon a time even though I still didn’t have money I was pretty regular on that exact drink. Heheh, I THINK, what am I saying?? I KNOW I was a Starbucks junky. I’m sure there’s some goofy chart out there that tells me what my personality is based on my Starbucks happy coffee. Now my caramel macchiato is just an every now and then kind of beverage. And this morning was one of those mornings. I was rushed to get out of the house, so nothing substantial for breakfast and I was really happy with my Overhead Squat at the BOOM BOX this morning. I’m sure you couldn’t tell at 5:30 but inside I was pretty stoked and feeling good about it. So I thought what better than to reward ME!

Skill/Strength: OHS 3 x 5, get heavy. Ahhh, me and the OHS. This incredibly awkward lift has had me going bonkers for some time. And today I actually felt like I was doing something right! HOORAY for small wins ツ As I worked up in weight my wrists were really taking a beating. I had warmed my way up to 75lbs.

For those of you new to the blog, this is not me. Just a nice pic of someone doing the OHS ツ

It was at 75lbs that I could still do the movement but my wrists were going fast. I wear Strength Wraps which do wonders but even the OHS is a hard one to defeat. It didn’t help that at some point in the week I bruised my left palm which made my grip feel weird. Since my wrists did hurt so bad, Coach suggested I narrow my grip and not have my hands so wide out on the bar. This isn’t NEW news but suggestions that get lost when it’s not an everyday thing. OH MY it helped tremendously at 85lbs! There’s still pain but it is much more tolerable. My last go at 90lbs wasn’t a walk in the park but I feel like I’ve come a long way with this lift. My 1RM is 90lbs and for me to do 5 reps at that weight makes me feel GREAT. I was much more stable, my wrists weren’t completely dying and I was getting depth. Maybe this isn’t my least favorite lift anymore!

9/13/12 WOD

MetCon: 4 rounds of 25 air squats, 400m sprint, BUY OUT 100 butterfly sit ups
RUNNNING! NOOOOO! Actually it’s supposed to be sprints but that’s laughable when you’re talking about me SPRINTING 400m. I can do 50/100 but past that I don’t have any SPRINT in me. I’m happy to just have a jog sometimes. But the work has to be done regardless. I flew through the first round of air squats knowing I wouldn’t be able to keep that speed after running the next rounds. And since I am not a sprinter per se, I used the run to think and work on running technique. Maybe that helps out in the long run, maybe not. I was right about slowing down on the air squats after running! It sucked but I just battled through the best I could. Round 2 was the worst for me in regards to resting/stopping. I shouldn’t have ever stopped doing squats, they are so easy to do, but I did. I finished the air squats and runs around the 12 minute mark. Yup that’s how bad I am at 400s! I blazed through 35 sit ups then had a big slow down. I then proceeded to do 5’s and 10’s the best I could. when I got to 75 I just focused on one at a time with no break and focused on moving at a slower pace with no pausing. Time 15:48

Have a relaxing and lovely day folks. Don’t forget to be AWESOME!

FRIDAY – WOOO!

This week was draining. I’m so glad it’s over. I’m now left with an infrequent but still obnoxious cough but I’m feeling almost back to my normal ol’ crybaby but not sickly self! (NOTE: I clearly don’t care about my grammar, which means I guess I do since I’m pointing it out but too lazy to rewrite, so I just keep typing).

I went to bed later than I had hoped last night and at some point turned my alarm off instead of snooze. I was not destined to sleep in though, Ernie managed to be up and moving for the morning and woke me up 5 minutes before I had to leave the house!

Skill/Strength: 2 RM Heavy Snatch. Currently HEAVY for me is a mere 65lbs, which isn’t really all that heavy. I mentally FAIL every time I add weight. I’m halfway to overhead and that’s it I’m done All I HAVE TO DO IS DROP! DROP UNDER THE BAR! It’s supposed to be simple. Yet, I make it hard. Sigh, I have no clue.

08/17/12 WOD

MetCon: 5 min max reps Overhead Squat (90% of 2RM Snatch weight), 5 min rest, 5 min 1 RM Snatch Deadlift. I almost forgot to mention it was time to test drive my new OLY shoes. And let me tell you, this was the easiest time I have ever had with OHS! My wrists are still a wreck but with my lower half stabilized I was able to take on the wrist pain for a little longer. In 5 minutes I completed 34 OHS. Not stellar but not bad either. After our 5 min rest we proceeded with Snatch Deadlift. All this means is that you grab the bar as if you were going to do Snatch but only Deadlift the bar instead of going overhead with it. I worked my way up to 155lbs. I couldn’t get the bar up at 160lbs. I wanted to but I couldn’t get that dang bar to budge! I felt pretty good though the whole time. Sometimes when I deadlift in general, I can feel my hip, hammy, glute all jacked up on my right side.

Snack Tip: I know I’m not the only one to ever think this and I feel like I may have already shared this tip but here you go AGAIN if this was already mentioned and either way maybe someone will say “OOHHH I didn’t think to do that” but I’m sure most will say “DUH, Been doing that forever.” And my response to that is “I KNOW, I’ve been doing that forever too but I thought I’d share anyways.” WOW, I’m a little crazy today but I don’t like to edit and delete so you get me and all my weird. SOOOO KIWI. Don’t mess with peeling the furry skin of it and then having to risk that you missed one little hair and it bites your tongue and have a sucky KIWI experience. Just slice off the top, get a spoon and dig in. Saves on time and mess and well it’s fun. So ya. Eat more KIWI!

Europa is TOMORROW! ARRGHHHH!!!!!!! I’m anxious to see who our competition is and how many spectators come to watch. I think when we get to the convention center I will have more peace but until then, I just try not to think about it at all to keep my sanity!

It’s FRRRRRIIIIIDDDDAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY! Now GO & BE AWESOME this weekend!

UUMMMMMMM……….

It’s not that I have writer’s block this time around, but it’s been a busy weekend and I don’t even know where to start. Do I start with today and go backwards or start with Saturday and move forwards? These are the silly little chores that burden me in regards to blogging! What’s my title going to be? Witty? Dull? Straightforward. ARRGGHHH! I’m not a great writer as it is and then to add the other things, it can make one go bonkers. But at the same time it gives me peace. A creative outlet of sorts to get my thoughts straightened out and something for me to reference in my CrossFit/Paleo/whatever you want to call it journey. Also hopefully I provide some sort of “FIT”spiration to you the readers; that if someone as plain and simple as myself can muster up the energy and discipline to work hard consistently and eat clean that you can too. You just have to want it bad enough. I know I do want it!

Which leads to me to today’s WOD. I’ll summarize the weekend afterwards ツ I was dragging more than normal this morning because we were at the Ranger game till later than expected and we left before the game got exciting! They went 13 innings. Thank goodness we left though because I was spent. So spent I almost didn’t get up in time for the BOOM BOX!

7/9/12 WOD

Skill/Strength: 3 x 5 Back Squat +5lbs from previous week. Well I didn’t do Back Squat last week so I added from the week before. Today was 3 sets of 5 at 110lbs. After working up to that weight I was already done! So I struggled on my last reps. I always feel so weak when I struggle so much at a lighter weight. I shouldn’t think that way. My max is 145 and that’s 1 REP…so ya I know but geez I still feel like a weakling!

MetCon: 21, 15, 9 of Overhead Squats (OHS) and Shoulder to Overhead (Push Press for me). The prescribed weight is 65lbs but with my weak ass OHS I went with 55lbs. And it’s weak I promise. My wrists are not made for the OHS at all. And my shoulder flexibility is worthless. I was not looking forward to this at all. And I can tell you that for me it was probably one of the worst MetCons that I have endured. We broke this down into two groups, thank goodness, so we could have a counter. Thank you Martha for counting. I wouldn’t have made it otherwise.

Not me of course, but a good example of OHS.

I don’t even remember how I broke up my OHS for the first round. I think I started off strong with a good number like 10 but then fell apart and knocked them out in 2’s. My wrists were fried and I still had PUSH PRESS to go. I struggled with the first 21 BAD! By the 15’s of the OHS I tried going in 5’s but that didn’t work out so well. I definitely felt better this round and Coach was there in my face so I had a little more to prove and push through. I did the 15 PUSH PRESS UNBROKEN!!!!

Again not me but I figure not everyone knows what all these movements are and pictures always help!

I felt like super woman because my wrists were just losing life and I just blazed through those 15. Only 9 of each to go and I just didn’t know if I could get those OHS completed. I wanted to cry. I knocked out 5, then 4 and saw I was at 9:40 on the time. I tried to get the bar up and move to make it under 10 minutes but I was 5 seconds too slow. Time: 10:05 I then laid (rolled around like a loonball) outside for a good 5 minutes, chugging water, hoping not to die. Although I struggled I felt accomplished. It was tough but it was a tough I needed. I always feel a little more badass when we do MetCons like this.

Weekend Wrap Up
Started off my Saturday morning at the BOOM BOX. Besides work this place gets a lot of my time! It was paint Kettle Bells day. The last time we did this was right before Easter and they were all cute and pastel but that got old fast! So this time we were doing Patriotic KBs, for the 4th and maybe even for the Olympics. I showed up mid painting, so I just stood around, watched and took pics.

Our Patriotic KBs ツ

Triston getting his paint on!

Josh showed up with some Spray Paint skills!

Travis and Kristen trying to find some other letters that we could could “make” look like b’s and o’s for BOOM!

Grant AKA Coach preppin the KBs.

Sherry getting the letters on before the painting begins.

Once everyone else started arriving we got to warming up. We had no idea what was in store for us but it ended up being a WOD I liked. 10 min AMRAP of Power Cleans (my fave)! For this AMRAP we partnered up and were told that we would do 5 cleans each and alternate for the 10 minutes. And then we were told that 5 cleans equaled 1 REP. I was partnered with another Stephanie AKA Briggs and we were set up to do 65lb Power Cleans. I said I love POWER CLEANS but I wasn’t sure if I’d love this AMRAP. My form got sloppy every now and then but for the most part I felt good. I have some bruises on my collar bone, chin and upper thighs. I look like I’ve been brawling. Thank goodness it’s only with a barbell! Briggs and I killed it with 33 reps which in turn ended up being 165 power cleans! And I still had the OLY class afterwards!!!!

OLY Class
We worked on Clean & Jerk and Front Squats after some much needed warm up on the PVC. For the Clean & Jerks we worked at 75% of our MAX. So I worked at 70lbs. We had to do 3 x 1 and take our time. Coach took some video of my first attempt and showed me where I could improve on form. I was already spent from the week’s work and from the power cleans but I took note and corrected. It helps to watch yourself and have someone show you EXACTLY where you went wrong. Most of the time I know something is off but I can’t pinpoint it.

After our Clean & Jerks we worked on getting a Heavy Front Squat. From there we would do 80% of the weight and do 3 x 3. I ended up at 125lbs for my heavy and did my sets of 3 at 100lbs. I was so glad when that last set was done. I was starving and ready to vegge out FOREVER!!! All in all good work put in and I feel stronger and better!

In other news:
We went and saw Savages which I thought was a good movie. I hate to say GREAT because then everyone will tell me how great it wasn’t. I liked it. I like those kinds of movies though. I was entertained! Got my pre-vacay pedicure and then I was out. I was passed out before 8pm! And I slept till 8am! That was a much needed sleep!

Not gonna lie, my eating wasn’t great the past two days. I’m on vacation brain. And it’s still not just crazy out of control but I know myself and I know I’m not sticking to what I know best lately. And that’s clean eating! Two Mondays in a row now that I’ve sabotaged my weekend!!!!! I know I will try to eat clean most of the time I’m out but I also know there are some things I won’t be able to pass up. We stay pretty active on vacation so besides maybe having some post eating ickiness I should be fine in the weight department, it’s just a horrible feeling that here I am trying to be the good example and I’m failing all of us

Also if you don’t watch baseball or keep up on sports you should check out the reaction to a GINORMOUS THUNDER/LIGHTNING crash that hit at the Rangers Ballpark last night. We were there and it was insane!

So that’s all folks. It was a busy weekend and I’m hoping this week flies by! Have a reMarkable Monday!

idrankthecfkoolaid

and it's good

OHS

Testing the Waters

Monday Not So Fun Day

The Scale Does Not Define Me, The Scale Does Not Define Me

Squirrel

Why I (still) CrossFit

Work, Rest, More Work, Breathe

Mission Accomplished!

Double Tall Non-Fat Caramel Macchiato

FRIDAY – WOOO!

UUMMMMMMM……….

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