no more excuses

I got lost on YouTube land today. What started as crazy domino challenges eventually led to CrossFit stories. I must've watched over ten inspirational stories of people beating the odds. The above video I shared from YouTube about Lindy Wall's story was quite powerful to me. What an extraordinary story of overcoming such a challenge, and proving that everything she was being told would be impossible was more than possible. When I hear of stories like this, some even more dramatic, and others much less… it reminds me how anything is possible… ANYTHING. This video really made me think about how often I use the excuse of "I can't" and how often I hear others use the same excuse of why they can not do something. I am done with the excuses. I may not be a 20 something year old on my way to the CrossFit games next year, but I certainly will be able to do many of the things these athletes do. I'm willing to put in the time and effort so that at the end of the day I can say, I DID. What about you? What excuse are you tired of hiding behind?

day 8 of 61: sugar challenge

So I am officially 8 days into my sugar challenge! So much has happened this week to be excited about. For starters, I didn't have any withdrawals like I expected to have. I was sure I would be a severe grump but besides momentary grouchiness, usually because I hadn't eaten yet, I was pretty mellow. Secondly, I have lost 6 pounds in 8 days! I honestly did not expect much weight lost as I believe I am still in the building muscle phase of my CrossFit training. But alas, I did. I'm pretty stoked to see such a significant change on the scale with just a change in my diet.

Yesterday, on the 7 day mark, I added fruit back into my diet. During the first 4 to 5 days of the challenge I found that instead of craving crappy stuff like cookies, donuts, chocolate, and so on, I was actually craving bananas and mangos. Mind you, I haven't had a mango in 15 or so years, so that caught me off guard. My first bite into a banana yesterday was a delicious one and surprisingly, a very sweet one.

I'll be honest, I really expected this challenge to be difficult. I was so certain that I'd be craving chocolate of all kinds. I don't seem to be missing any of it. I hope the challenge remains this easy for me. How about those of you doing the challenge with me? How are you progressing? Feeling?

thinking about starting crossfit?

Next week will mark six months of doing the most intense workout regimen of my life, CrossFit. And what do I have to show for it? I'm stronger, healthier, have more energy, and I see things differently now. What I have learned in these past six months is that left to my own devices I would not have reached the level of fitness that I am currently in. The occasional stints of going for a run or attending a traditional gym to jump on a treadmill or elliptical just weren't cutting it for me. I never pushed myself hard enough to make real changes. Sticking to a healthy diet was impossible. And motivation was short lived. And so on May 30th I dragged my overweight self into CrossFit Stumptown in Portland, Oregon for my very first WOD and had my ass handed to me. After that first day I never looked back, I knew I found exactly what I needed. I may not be where I want to be just yet, but I am well on my way.

For those who may be thinking about trying CrossFit and changing their lives, here are seven things that will happen to you.

1. You will learn how incredibly out of shape you are. It is likely that your first few sessions will be scaled and/or modified to ease you in. You are likely to find yourself resting often during a WOD trying to catch your breathe and sweating out of pores you didn't know you had. You will certainly feel muscles that have been dormant for years. And you will breathe harder than you ever had.

2. You will begin to speak in the CrossFit lingo, naturally.

• WOD (workout of the day): a combination of exercises prescribed for the day's workout. These usually consist of one Olympic lift (dead lifts, back squats, push-presses, power cleans, etc), one gymnastic move (sit-ups, ring rows, push-ups, pull-ups, etc), and one aspect of cardio (running, rowing, jumping rope, etc).

• Box: CrossFit spaces are not called gyms, they are called "boxes" due to many of them resembling just that. A typical box is in a warehouse with high ceilings, concrete walls, and black floor mats. There are no cardio rooms, smoothie bars, mirrors, or machines. Simple and to the point. 

• RX: When a WOD is posted, it will have a prescribed amount of weight, reps to follow, and allotted time. If you do the prescribed weight/rep/time, you RX'd.

• MOD: This is when a person has to modify the prescribed amount of weight, reps to follow or adjust time. Instead of RX'd, you will have modified it (MOD).

3. You will get incredibly good at counting. All WODs have reps within them, for example "Cindy" consists of 10 pull-ups, 15 push-ups, and 20 air squats in AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 20 minutes. You don't want to lose track and do more than you have to or cheat yourself. As well, it becomes a mental game of counting down to the end when you begin to feel tired.

4. You will gain weight first. As frustrating as this can be, it is a good thing. Because you are engaging muscles that have been dormant for so long, they will begin to build. Muscle weighs more than fat does, so naturally you will notice the number go up on the scale. But once you have begun to build muscle, it will turn around and begin to burn enough calories that you will begin to see the numbers go down. There will be a tipping point, be patient. 

5. Your friends and family will begin to inundate you with what they "read" about CrossFit. They will find stories about injuries and rare disorders. The reality is, CrossFit is as safe as you make it. Injuries can occur, but it's not any different from other kinds of training or activities, such as running, biking, lifting weights on your own, martial arts, or any other activity engaged without proper supervision or precautions. The rare disorder you will hear about, Rhabdomyolysis, caused by people pushing themselves past their exhaustion point. It's when the muscle fibers begin to break down and go into the bloodstream and into their kidneys. This disorder is not limited to CrossFit and is in fact, rare.

6. You will notice you have more energy. You could be dead sore from the previous days WOD but you will find yourself moving about easier and lighter. You will have less fat weighing you down, and you will be breathing a lot easier. 

7. You will learn mental toughness. This is what I lacked until I met CrossFit. You will be 90% through a WOD feeling like you are about to peel over but you don't. You will find that inner strength you had no idea was living within you and push yourself to finish. This will also come in handy when seeing what the WOD is before heading to your box and seeing exercises you absolutely hate, but know you need to conquer. 

This photo was found on Pinterest.

CrossFit isn't just a "thing" you do, it is a lifestyle. I am absolutely addicted to this crazy thing that takes every aspect of me- emotionally, mentally, and physically- and then gives it back with more than I had ever had. It will only get better. 

plank challenge

I know you might think I'm crazy, but yes I want to do another challenge while in a challenge. As you may already know, I am currently on a sugar challenge (5 days in, come back for updates) and I'm doing well. But this new challenge is a physical one that anyone of any fitness level can try, the Plank Challenge. I intend on starting this 30 day challenge on November 15th and will be recording myself doing it and sharing it from time to time. I encourage all of you to join me in this, record yourself, and share with me! Let's strengthen our core together! So here's the run down of how this works…

This photo was found on Pinterest.

Are you up for the challenge? Let me know…

day 1 of 61: sugar challenge

Today marked the beginning of the end of refine sugar for me. To refresh your memory, I am doing a sugar challenge through the end of the year. The goal with this is to withdrawal from the cravings of refined sugar, retrain my brain and body in what is good sugar, and in the end have no desire for the crappy food. I put myself up on a similar challenge to give up soda years back, and it worked.

By the end of today I already begun to experience the effects of not having any sugar. My workout was a struggle, I felt weak and slow. Afterwards, a trip to the grocery store was a difficult task. I was hungry, instinctively I wanted to grab whatever sweetness I could find, even a banana. But thankfully, I remained strong enough to walk past all the temptations and grab what I needed and was out of there.

I know this will be a very long journey, but it will be a worthy one. For those of you who decided to join me... GOOD FOR YOU! Be strong. Remember it's a mental game, beat it!