one on one: day thirty-seven

I'm back!!!! Today was my first session with Joon since November 18th! It has really been that long, between his schedule, my schedule, life, holidays, etc etc. we just couldn't make anything work. But today, we got back on it and you know what? I HURT! I'm still sore from Friday, Saturday, and Monday's WODs, than I add his session into the mix and every muscle in my body hates me and him. Oh and I have lovely bruises forming, it's been a while since that happened. Thanks Joon! Alright, so this is what he had in store for me today:

Warm-up-ish:
800m SkiErg
200m Row
600m SkiErg
400m Row
400m SkiErg
600m Row
200m SkiErg
800m Row

KB Complex 2 minutes:
1 Swing + 1 Clean + 1 High Pull + 1 Snatch
2x

Mission Test 5 minutes:
2 Cleans + 1 Press + 3 Front Squats

Ok, that warm up part was sheer torture as I hadn't done anything with the SkiErg in a long time. During the 800 and 600m sessions, I must've stopped a time or two trying to catch my breathe and shake my already sore body out. What a rude awakening that was for me. The KB work was fun and challenging. My hands have been bothering me lately, I have been trying to work on my grip work on the bar and trying to get my kipping movement down. So holding the KB today was a real pain, I had to chalk the hell out of the KB and my hands just to get through it. After a while the hands became the last thing on my mind as I could feel my muscles scream at me. A few times I hit myself with the KB and knew I'd be feeling that later, well I am. Bruises are forming and I am sensitive to the touch.

This evening I had Coach Tony check my body fat, that is the other thing I am getting back into. I am really disappointed that I gained all that I lost the last time plus some. I could blame the holidays all I want but no one forced the crappy shit down my throat. Thankfully I am back on track and will fix this situation, fast!

All in all, it feels good to be back. I will also be posting more often again and keeping everyone up to date with what is happening. Thank you again for all the positive feedback! <3

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

thankfulness

Thanksgiving is a holiday where we think about and express the many things we are grateful for. Granted we should always express our gratitude throughout the year for all that we have, experience, and the people who help make our lives that much better. But this is a great time for me to express my gratitude to a few experiences and people that may not hear it from me very often. So please take the time to read this and understand where I am coming from.

The parental units- as I should always be thankful for everything you do, and I am, this year has been an exceptionally rough one in many ways and your unlimited love and support has helped carry me through with my head held high. My love for you can never be fully expressed.

Tony & Joon- you both are two of the most influential people in my life. I look up to you guys and do my very best to sponge up as much as I can from everything you teach me. And there are not enough "thank you's" I can say to show you the gratitude I have for your kindness to me when things have gotten hard. Thank you, thank you, thank you... really there aren't enough.

To my boss- you are pretty much the best boss I have EVER had. Thank you for being flexible in allowing me to go to school and for keeping work fun.

Britt- when you approached me in class last Spring and brought up CrossFit, that sealed the deal to our friendship! Even though we don't get to hang out as much as we both would like, I am so absolutely thankful that you have been brought into my life. You're a beautiful person with such a gentle soul but I wouldn't dare get in a ring with you! ;) I promise to make a better effort to plan time for us because you are definitely someone I want to keep in my life.

Candace- you may be my newest friend but I feel like we are old buddies! I am beyond proud of you and all of your successes in such a short period of time. I love connecting with you and look forward to being challenged by you on continual basis- si?

CFST Family- there are so many of you that have in one way or another impacted my life in and outside of the gym. Whether it's helping me get a movement down, cheering me on for a PR, or taking the time to get to know me and what makes me tick. The friendships I have built in the past year and half will forever be treasured.

Experiences that I am thankful for:

- As many of you may remember my Mojo became ill this past summer and we had to make the hard decision to give him up so he could get the care he needed. But as the universe works in mysterious ways, he was given back to us and I still thank my blessings on that every single day. 

- Being accepted into Concordia University rather recently to begin working on my Bachelor's in Exercise Science is a million blessings.

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

knocking down limits

This week has been one of mini triumphs for me, both in and out of the gym. I am one more step closer to finding out if I will be attending Concordia this coming January, I should receive news in the first week of December. This is an enormous step for me, as it is the beginning of a future that can hold many opportunities for me and I am so excited about this!

As for my successes in the gym this week, I have goals that I am trying to meet and have begun working on them when I have time to spare. I have been stuck on the wall walks, only able to walk my legs up but not my hands back. One evening I decided to start working on trying to walk my hands back, at first it was just a shimmy. The next evening I tried I actually moved my hands back a step or two. The third night I gave it a go I got even closer, but that is as far as I got. Fear of falling backwards has been plaguing my mind. I also need to work on walking back out, I've been panicking and just falling to the side. This may not sound like a big deal but after almost two years of CrossFitting and only now making this sort of progress is a big deal to me.

The second thing that I accomplished was, somewhat, kipping. We had a WOD this week that had pull-ups, and instead of doing ring rows like I have the last several months, I did banded kipping pull-ups. In all honesty I had no idea if I was doing it right or not, I just moved however I felt my body would move to get my chin above the bar. I no rep'd myself a few times but still hustled through the WOD. Afterwards I asked Coach Joon how to kip and he told me that I was already doing it. Then it all made sense!

Lastly, I accomplished something that I never thought I'd do, like ever! I did my very first handstand!!! There are a lot of things I was able to do as a child and somewhere along the way I lost it all, as many of us do. After seeing my first WOD with HSPU, I thought to myself that I will always be modifying that movement. This is partly my not having any faith in myself but also thinking I am not strong enough to hold myself up. Well it took a few tries but with Coach Tony's help I did it and it was amazing and scary all at the same time. I wanted to practice them again tonight but after the FYF WOD, I felt far too beat up to even attempt it. I'll get back to it on Monday.

Tonight was also a triumphant night for me. I fought really hard, mentally, to keep moving through the suck. My quads were constantly on fire and my low back was flat out tired. And this wasn't even the hard part, the AirFit just about killed everyone. Naturally I am exaggerating here but when you do something that leaves you completely uncomfortable no matter what position you lay, sit, stand, or walk, you know it was a bad one! For this portion of the WOD we had to do 3 rounds for time, as fast as you can on the AirFit, 20 calories for the ladies and 30 calories for gents. I am impressed myself tonight by getting incredible times, times that blows all of my past times out of the water (23/32/39). All of my hard work with Joon is most certainly paying off. My biggest lesson this week and evening? That no matter what age or fitness level I am, I can knock down the limits I have set up for myself. I am able and I am willing.

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

one on one: day thirty-two & changes

The first thing you may notice is that I skipped posting about my day thirty-one of my one on one with Joon. There was a session, of sorts. There will be some changes happening as Joon and I have had to adjust our sessions for various reasons. We will still meet one on one once a week and then he will program something for me to do on my own on another day of the week. This will help me save  some time by posting about two sessions into one posting. On that note I will begin with last Fridays session:

Day 31:
Warm-up (2 rounds):
     200m Row
     10 Hollow Rocks
     10 Hip Extensions
     10 Banded Pull-ups
     10 Push-ups
     10 Pass Throughs
     10 OHS (pvc pipe)

Then,
BB Complex (20 rounds):
     3 Hang Snatches
     3 Push Press (Snatch Grip)
     3 OHS
*no shoes*

Joon wasn't there during this session but I felt pretty confident doing it all on my own. The BB Complex was with a 35# barbell and I felt good just working on my technique and feeling the movement through. After 20 rounds I was amazed by the amount of sweat I built up. I have gone from hating snatches to not minding them much at all. It's amazing how that happens. Though I promise you I will NEVER change how I feel when it comes to the AirFit... NEVER!

Day 32:
Warm-up:
     Easy 500m Row

Then,
A) For time (21-15-9):
     DB Snatches (20#)
     Jumping Squats
Completed time: 4:57

B) 10 x 5 Cal AirFit (20/10)

So for part A Joon stated that he wanted me to be in the 6 to 7 minute range. It was an endurance day and we've been working on my thresholds. He wanted me to work through the burn and keep moving. In my head I was thinking he was crazy that I would not finish it that fast, but as I promised him I would push as much as I could. The dumbbell snatches were doable without having to stop but because I am alternating arms from the ground, I am already squatting a bit. Moving onto the jumping squats was not a pleasant experience. At first I could only string two squats and half way through I managed to begin to string three squats. Every time I tried to do more I would come close to falling or I'd land straight legged. It was as if my legs were in complete control and dictated what was happening. With that said, I did push to not take such long breaks. I would pump out my three then shake my legs out and push out another three. I was breathing hard but focusing on controlling my breathes. When I finished my last set of nine, I was happily surprised with my time. I did much better then Joon had anticipated me to (though I am sure he knew I had it in me... as always). Part B of course sucked major ass! After a long break from part A, I had 10 rounds where I had 20 seconds to reach 5 calories then a 10 second rest period. But if I managed to get my 5 calories in less then 20 seconds, the longer the break would be. The first 3 or 4 rounds wasn't so bad, I was feeling pretty good. Then round 5 hit and I thought I was going to die. But I fought hard, probably the hardest I have ever on that stupid machine. My prize for completing it? An ass cramp, literally.

All in all I'm feeling pretty good and slowly getting back on a groove. Making small changes to the diet, planning some things ahead, and trying to soak as much as I can from Tony, Joon, and Emily!

Photo was taken from Pinterest.

filthy fifty

Last year December I did the Filthy Fifty at CrossFit Stumptown for the first time- it sucked. But I managed to get it done in 33:26, modified of course. It's been almost an entire year and the WOD resurfaced today. I battled with the thoughts if I should do or not since I already worked out this morning with Joon. But I really wanted to do it again and beat my time. I know the last time I did it I did step-ups instead of box jumps, did single unders instead of double, and I am not sure how I modified the knees to elbow. If I hadn't fucked up my shin a week ago I think I could've done the box jumps but jumping on a box isn't something I really wanted to do yet... not prepared for it. Tony added a twist to this WOD by adding a time cap of 35 minutes and for those doing singles, instead of 3x it was 4x. Well ladies and gents, I mustered through the workout with the intent of beating my time and I am happy to say I DID! My new time is now 33:06 (modified).

Filthy Fifty: 50 reps each
Box Jumps 20/24 (I did jumps on 3 stacked 45# plates)
Jumping Pull-ups
Kettlebell Swing 25/35#
Walking Lunges
Knees to Elbow
Push Press 35/45#
Back Extensions
Wall Balls 14/20#
Burpees
Double Unders (I did 200 singles)

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

one on one: day twenty-nine (day of boo boo)

Well todays been a painful day, and not painful in a sore from a WOD sense. But painful in a box tried to eat me for lunch sense. After CrossFitting for almost a year and a half, today I had my very first run in with a box. Not with one leg, but both legs. I was literally only two jumps away from being finished and BAM! Not a pleasant experience. My left leg took the brunt of the damage but both hit the box. Thankfully it didn't go deep to the bone but enough to expose the fascia (white meat). At first, besides the pain, there were no visual indicators that I hit. After a few minutes of trying to walk around and hold back in yelling from the pain, Tony had me lift my tights again and blood began to show up. The pain only escalated from there and it only took a minute or two for both spots to get bright purple. By this point Joon said I was done for the day and that we needed to clean my legs up. Walking for the first few hours after was rough, any jarring movement sucked. It's beginning to feel better to walk but touching the skin around the areas is exceptionally sensitive and hurts like hell, regardless of how light I touch. I hope that by Monday I will be back to WODing with no issues. Here is what I did manage to do today before my boo boo:

Warm-up:
10 min Row

5 x 10 Back Squats 100#
5 x 5 Box Jumps

This little incident will NOT stop me from doing box jumps in the future, but I am seriously considering on getting some sleeves for my lower legs. This way next time I have a mishap, besides bruised sore shins, there will be no breaking of the skin!

The photo was taken from Pinterest.

appreciation

I watched a documentary about a 13 year old girl from Holland, who has been sailing since the day she was born, wanted to sail around the world solo. I was instantly hooked to the screen and couldn't stop watching. At a young age she knew she wanted to be the youngest person to do this. She worked little odd jobs to make some money to buy a boat that she and her father fixed up. She set out on her own to find sponsors and to plan her own route. Her father at first didn't think she'd accomplish this, but she did. When she contact the school to have them give her the curriculum she would need for the next two years, that was where she hit her first road bump. Family services were called and for a year they battled with the court. At the end the court said that she is best left with her father and could continue on with her sail. She departed shortly after at the age of 14. Her name is Laura Dekker and she's an inspiration.

After watching the documentary I thought about it and how remarkable it is for such a young person to truly know what they want to do. And not only know, but then not wait until they were older to do it and work for it now. At the age of 13 I was so far from that sort of maturity, I had no clue what I wanted out of life. I am now in my 30's and I have only begun to grasp at what I want. The beauty of this is that there is no set time in life where you need to have it figured out. We all have different journeys that lead us to new and different experiences. Some start early, and others later. There are many times when I wish I knew half the crap I know now at an earlier age. How different my life would most certainly be but what would I have missed out on if I did? There is no point in having regret in life experiences. You take what has happened, you learn from that experience, and than you apply it to your future and move on.

I am feeling a lot of appreciation right now for what I do have, for what I have experienced, and for all those who have and are helping me along in my journey. I feel fortunate to be part of a place I had driven by a million times and never noticed until I looked for it. This place has been my sanctuary, a place where I have experienced a lot of growth and have made some wonderful friendships. It's essentially become my fitness family. I could go down an enormous list of some really exceptional members that continually inspire me but that would require a lot of typing and a lot of reading on your part. I do want to recognize two important people though, and that would be Coaches Tony and Joon. I think the cosmos aligned everything right up to them becoming business partners in order for me to find them. Without them, their chats, their knowledge, the atmosphere they've created and continue to feed, I don't know that I would have ever found my path. You both have opened my eyes, have and continue to teach me what I am capable of, and are so dedicated to your passions. There are no amount of words I could EVER type to share my appreciation for the two of you. But thank you for everything you do for all of us at CFST and beyond.

Feeling appreciation is such a positive energy. You can't appreciate something or someone and be full of anger and hate. If you are surrounded by negative energy and want a change in your life, find something/someone to be appreciative of and focus your energy on that. I promise you that all the people and/or things that are negative will slowly drift away. To my followers and to my random readers, thank you. Even though this blog was started for myself the feedback I get from you who have learned something from me or has been inspired by my experience continually drives me to continue. Your words are always kind and positive, and always appreciated!

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

running clinic: week one

Today was my first running class with Tony at CrossFit Stumptown. Lucky for me he has a four week (at once a week) class to help members who want to learn how to properly run. After warming up, he recorded us running and than showed us what we did right and what we did wrong. Then he had us run through some drills. I wasn't expecting too much from the first day of class but believe it or not I really noticed a difference in how my body felt as I ran. Joon has been helping me work on my endurance and agility, and I think now is a good time to let Tony mold me into a better runner. I have a bad habit of being a heal striker and I am shuffler. The drills today had me landing differently and picking my feet up. My shins are a little sore, but nothing compared to what I have felt before after a CrossFit WOD. At the end of this month I am hoping with practice I will become a more efficient runner and get started in training again for another 5k. I'll keep you posted!

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

summer smash crossfit competition reflection

If you've been keeping up with this blog than you already know that I competed this past Sunday, if not, well now you know. Being my first CrossFit competition you can imagine I went through an array of thoughts and emotions during the process. Naturally I was quite nervous leading up to the day, in fact it didn't really hit me until the day before. The morning of was hard to eat breakfast without feeling nauseous. What I was so nervous about I'm not entirely sure but knowing myself, I was probably more afraid of falling or doing something wrong in front of all the people that would be there watching and cheering us on. Because if you know me, you know that it is quite possible that I would accomplish something like that. And no, nothing of the sort happened. My nerves completely diminished the minute Megan, the gracious lady who put this competition together, went over the standards of the first WOD. Suddenly it was like I was back at CrossFit Stumptown and we were just going over the WOD that we would be embarking on. Oh, and allow me to add that the entire competition took place outside. They had the road closed off for the day and set everything up outside where there would be more room and the people walking by for the Hawthorne Street Fair could stop and watch. I didn't prepare for it being outdoors and working out under the hot sun all day, but it was a new challenge that I was forced to deal with. I competed in the Women's Scaled Division with only five other women. Here is my breakdown of thoughts on each WOD that day.

WOD #1:
     AMRAP in 15 minutes of:
     1 Power Clean 65#
     2 Over the Bar Burpee
     200m Run (which actually turned out to be 2 back and forth sprints)
     2 Power Clean 65#
     4 Over the Bar Burpee
     200m Run
     4 Power Clean 65#
     8 Over the Bar Burpee
     200m Run
     ETC ETC.
This WOD was awful. It was awful before I had even started, awful even days prior to the competition. I already knew that this WOD would be the one that I would do the worse in. First of all, running is just not something that comes to me naturally. Sure I can run, but I am not efficient at it. I don't stride well and I don't breathe correctly. This is something Joon and Tony have been working with me on. I'm still a work in progress. Anyhow, adding running AND burpees in the same WOD is like a death sentence for my lungs. I prepared in advanced and made sure to use my inhaler beforehand, and planned on just pacing myself during the run. What I didn't factor in was the HOT weather. The power cleans were of no issue, the weight is light for me and so breezing through those were a piece of cake. The burpees got hard fast with the sun beating down on my and trying to breathe over the hot black mats. In the very first sprint I took off way too fast and burned myself out almost immediately! Rookie mistake #1! Needless to say, I came in last in this event.

WOD #2 & #3:
     Establish 1RM of Overhead Squat in 8 minutes, then rest 2 minutes and in 20 minutes complete:
     500m Row
     10 HRPU (hand release push-ups)
     20 Step-ups on 20" box
     30 KB Swings 25#
     40 Sit-ups
     100 Double Unders OR 300 Singles
     40 Sit-ups
     30 KB Swings 25#
     20 Step-ups
     10 HRPU
Ok let me begin with the overhead squat, my weakest of bar movements. I only established a new 1RM on this four days prior to the competition, from 65# to 95#. My goal was to get 90# on competition day, and maybe shoot for 95#. But as I was warned by Joon, the adrenaline will push you to go all out. And so after nailing 70#, 85#, and 90# I decided to get a little crazy and go for 100#. I failed the first two tries and even called good after that. But when 90 seconds was announced as all that was left, I decided to give it one more go and NAILED it! In a matter of one week I PR'd the OHS by 35#. How does this still surprise me? I have no clue. I placed 4th in WOD #2. The 500m row was a part of the 20 minute time cap but was scored separately. I came in 2nd place with the row at 2:06. For the rest of WOD #3 I came in 5th place and I believe a part of me died out there on the asphalt that day. As much as I dreaded WOD #1, this one pretty much killed me. Rookie mistake #2 is not knowing how to do double unders yet, so I ended up wasting time doing 300 singles. You know what that means? I means I am learning how to do double unders ASAP. The rest of the WOD was hard mostly out of being tired. I'm not accustomed to pushing myself to continuously move without stopping for water or breathing breaks. I came close to not finishing it under the time cap, but I did. Thank goodness!

Final WOD:
     AMRAP in 3 minutes of:
     Shoulder to Overhead 65#
I chose to do push presses as I felt those were more efficient for me at such a light weight. Before beginning this WOD I felt that my shoulders felt pretty good, especially since everyone seemed to be complaining that their shoulders felt tired. But after about a minute of doing push presses I began feeling my shoulders burn like crazy. I pumped out as many push presses as quickly as I could go. I ended up getting 37 reps in 3 minutes. I placed 5th in this event.

Individually I did alright in most events, especially for it being my first time. I went into this competition wanting not to place last but after WOD #1 I came to terms that I would more than likely place last overall. And you know, I was surprisingly ok with this. I mean at least I signed up and knew I was giving my (almost) all. The end result was I placed 5th overall. This was a pleasant ending to my first competition. Now the bigger question is, what did I learn from this experience?

Well, I absolutely learned that I really need to learn to be a more efficient runner. So much so that I will begin taking Tony's running clinic Saturday mornings in September. I learned that I need to learn to do double unders. And the biggest lesson learned is to give myself enough credit. I am strong. I am capable.

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

one on one: day five

Todays session was hard but absolutely my most favorite session so far. I went into the session feeling pretty good, completely rested and energized. Tony chimed in a few times during the session to help give me pointers in how to efficiently sprint. I can't say that I mastered it yet, but I surprised myself with my sprint times. And it seems I can be quite consistent. So this is what I did today:

Warm-up: 500m Row
Extended Warm-up:
     2 x 50ft Skip / Reverse Skip
     2 x 50ft Side Skip

Conditioning:
     6 x 100m Row + 30 sec FLR 1:1 (Row times 24/25/22/22/21/20 - Overall time was 13:30)
     6 x 30 sec to perform 2 Burpees + 20m Shuttle Sprint w/ 1 min rest (Overall times 10/11/11/11/11/11)

Ballistic Movement:
     100 Sledge Hammer Tire Strikes (every 10 strikes perform 5 tire jumps)

I have to admit that the sledge hammer strikes were my most favorite movement of the day. Great to do something new and different. Joon says now that we've had a few sessions, from now on we will end every session with a little work on the goals I have written down and goals he has set for me. I am excited to attack my list of goals and can't wait to see myself achieve skills and improve overall!

experiencing a little fear

In a matter of 3 weeks I will begin my first term in the Fitness Technology program at PCC. I'm really excited to be starting a new chapter in my life and hopefully on the road to a more successful and happier career. I have been so busy for the past couple of months trying to get everything to fall into place that I haven't really taken a moment to sit back and really take in the gravity of what is happening around me. On top of getting everything situated for me to enter this program, I had signed up to participate in the CrossFit Open, I am still currently taking a class through PCC via online, and I am still hosting monthly fitness challenges for myself and others. I don't feel like I have had any down time where something wasn't plaguing my mind. Last night as I laid in bed I took a few minutes to clear my mind of everything else and thought about what I am about to pursue. I allowed myself to revel in the excitement of getting accepted into the program, getting my appeal to financial aid approved, and having many of my past credits transfer over. But what I did not expect was to feel fear. For a moment, and even right now, I am scared that I am making a wrong decision. Whether it be, will I like what I get out of this experience or will this hurt me financially later down the road. Finding CrossFit has changed my life, for the better, and I can not imagine not having it anymore. I like the rush of excitement when I hear the clock countdown to go, I love how my body is changing and how much stronger I have become, but most importantly, I am amazed at how confident I have become. Not just in CrossFit but in every aspect of my life. I decided to take the road to becoming a physical trainer, and hopefully later a CrossFit coach, because I want to help the other Nikki's of the world out there to find themselves the way Joon and Tony (and my many box mates) have helped me find myself. I guess my fear is, will I be able to? I suppose only time will tell but I am definitely look forward to all that I will learn in the next two years. And more importantly, I look forward to see who I will become when I am done.

measurement wake up call

Due to the insane weather we had last weekend I didn't make it in for my scheduled measurement appointment on Monday, so we did it today. On top of that crazy weather I know my diet probably wasn't that great, in all honesty I have indulged in far too many Starbucks Hot Chocolate. I do my best on a daily to eat right and to stay active. I even went out and bought the Nike+ Fuelband SE (I'll be posting my thoughts on this product later) to track my activity level and my sleeping patterns. Unfortunately my measurements, which don't lie, are telling me I'm doing a piss poor job with keeping up with my success! I did still experience some loss in inches on some areas, like my forearms, waist, hips, and thigh. But I gained in body fat percentage, neck, chest, and arm. My calves have remained the same. 

So Tony, one of my coaches, had a good talk with me. Basically this isn't good. Something is clearly going on that is affecting my body, could be dehydration, diet, or both. I'm not entirely sure what is setting me back entirely but I am taking FULL responsibility for the results. I am the only person that can enact change for me. So I have decided to fall back to the diet I had while I was on my sugar challenge, which means hot chocolates are out and cutting down on the rice, pasta, and breads (even though I only eat whole wheat). And Tony says I should've been tracking my caloric intake from the beginning, and I haven't. I will now start tracking that and probably posting it here. He is expecting a difference in 2 weeks. I have a LOT of work to do!

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

mobility, my new best friend.

So if you've been keeping up with my posts, you are more than aware that I have been struggling with some knee issues. Pin pointing the cause has been a long process of trial and error, but needless to say I have learned a hell of a lot about mobility and it's importance. We have determined that I do not squat correctly, I have been taking a wide stance with feet pointed outwardly. I took on this stance as I could not squat with a lesser stance and forward facing feet. But why can't I? Ah, and that's the question that needed answering.

So let me back up for a moment and start from the beginning. I first noticed my right knee pain during our big lifts sessions of back squats. For those unfamiliar with this term, it is when someone places a barbell on their shoulders behind their head and squats. I was squatting in the 120's when I began to notice the pain. I tried widening my stance and that helped for a while, but shortly after the pain would come again. I was sure to always roll out my Quads and ITB (IT band) after every class and ice my knees as soon as I got home. After a while none of that was helping and I began to avoid squatting all together. Then one day we had to do some lunges in class and I found out rather quickly that motion was not agreeing with my right knee at all. Now I avoided lunges. Before I knew it, I was not running, jumping, squatting, or doing lunges. This was getting out of hand!

I was getting my knees checked regularly with my chiropractor and staying on top of stretching and using my foam roller. But I knew more needed to be done. After several post class chat sessions with Joon, and on occasion Tony, I learned an immense amount of things about mobility and it's importance. I was referred to look into a book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, by Dr. Kelly Starrett. Within days Aaron and I purchased the book and began reading up on everything we could. Taking everything in that Joon would tell me into daily use on top of what I would learn from the book and from Kelly Starrett's MobilityWOD site and his YouTube channel.

So back to the question, why can't I squat correctly? It's not my knees that stop me from doing it. It's the fact that I have limited ROM (range of motion) in my ankles and my hips aren't fully open. In other words, I have a lot of tight muscles throughout my legs and my flexibility is limited. Am I done for? No. I can regain control and flexibility with a lot of hard work and investing in time for mobility work. Will I? You bet your sweet a** I will. In time I will be able to squat correctly if I am willing to put forth the effort. I have begun to squat again with complete focus on proper technique and no knee pain.

I can not stress how important mobility is, and it's not limited to those who CrossFit. If you are an athlete of any kind, or an active person who swims, bikes, runs, etc, you should really be doing yourself and your body a favor and begin mobility training so that you don't run into similar or worse complications down the road. Be sure to check out Dr. Kelly Starrett's pages, and book. The unfortunate part of becoming adults is that we no longer move the way we did as children. Many of us lose the flexibility and movement we once had. But certainly with determination and focus, I will regain something back.

This was taken from Pinterest.