day 60 of 60: sugar challenge

The End.

It is the official last day of the sugar challenge for me and my last weigh in was this morning. The result? Well surprisingly I lost another 3#! I say surprisingly because last Friday I got hit with the Flu and have been home sick all weekend couch bound. Today was my first day out of the house to go to work for a few hours and I really wasn't expecting to see much of a difference on the scale. Now I know the loss could be contributed to having been sick and not eating a whole lot, but I know it could also be that I've reached a point where my muscles are burning enough calories on their own. It could be one or the other, or more probably a combination of the two. Either way, I'll take it. I've lost more weight than I had expected to during this challenge. I'm pretty stoked!

Total weight lost from November 1st thru December 31st is 17#. I averaged a loss of 2.125# a week, but in reality that is not how it unfolded. I suspect I will reach my first weight goal in mid-January. If I keep up with my current success I will reach my second goal weight in one years time. Sooner if I am ambitious. I will continue to track my weight loss on a monthly basis as I will continue to keep a cleaner diet and not bring refined sugar and unbleached enriched flour back into my regular diet. This wasn't a temporary thing, it was the road to a new way of life!

I do want to take a moment to thank my wonderful partner, Aaron, for his encouragement and support during all of my challenges and on my road to making a better me. You make me stronger and stay on track with your positive words. Thank you my love.

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

day 54 of 60: sugar challenge

I had an exciting Christmas Eve weigh in!! I had not expected much of a loss, I was shooting for maintenance. But this morning I weighed in 3# less than my last weigh in. WHAT! Yes... I am so excited. This obviously proves the lack of working out two weeks ago is what inhibited any loss in last weeks weigh in. I am now officially 10# away from my first goal!! Give me a moment as I do my happy dance. :)

So in one weeks time I will be doing my last weigh in for the sugar challenge, as it is coming to an end. The end result of this challenge thus far? I will not go back to eating refined sugar on a regular basis, if at all. I have seen too much progress and feel too good to want to put much of that crap back into my body. I will, however, begin a monthly weigh in on the last Friday of every month to keep record of my progress with my continue healthy eating and CrossFit workouts/monthly challenges. So stay tuned!

day 50 of 60: sugar challenge

Alright, so I had my weigh in this morning and I managed to lose the 0.5# I gained last week but that is all. That is ok. As I suspected with the reintroduction of beer into my diet and having a couple of outings that involved drinking and the lack of working out last week, this was bound to happen. I also know that I should not always expect a weight loss as I am still building muscle. What I should be happy with is that I am able to maintain my weight at the very least.

In 10 days will mark the end of this challenge and my 7 month CrossFit anniversary. A lot has happened for me between the two. I have lost more weight than I had expected to see on the scale in the past 50 days, and in the last 4 to 5 months I have really noticed the changes in my body. I know that if I keep up with eating right and training hard I will achieve my fitness goals. I know I am on the right track. :)

sugar challenge still going strong

I realized that I never posted about my weigh in last week. Probably because I was a tad bit disappointed with it. I gained 0.5# during that week and I know I can attribute that to the introduction of beer back in my diet as well as being out of CrossFit for a full week due to my knee. But that is alright, it was a slight increase and not the end of the world for me. I am not drinking beer everyday, just had a couple of events I went to. Plus I have gone everyday this week to CrossFit. I expect a better outcome in my weigh in this Friday. Stay tuned…

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

plank challenge ended

Today was the last day of the 30 day Plank Challenge, which I unfortunately was not successful in. A combination of the challenge calendar being far more advanced than I had anticipated and my right knee being a bit of an issue. But that is ok, I will be better prepared next time the plank comes back around. I will now go off and enjoy the rest of my holiday season and join in another challenge in January… the push-up! Interested in joining myself and some of my friends? Check out Challenge Me Fit and let me know if you are interested. The more, the merrier!

out of commission

So after a kick ass WOD on Monday and RXing for the second time ever, yesterday I managed to hurt/injure myself. While at work, I was walking and suddenly decided to shift right. I don't know exactly what did and did not move, but the next thing I knew I felt a pop in my right (already bad) knee. I felt an extreme sharp pain, and much discomfort almost immediately. For about a minute I couldn't move it, afterwards I couldn't stop limping. Thankfully I work for a chiropractor, so my boss took a look at it right away. I don't think he was able to get a whole lot done as I could not help but tense up and guard my knee. He believes I strained my meniscus.

Later that evening I still went to my box and Coach Joon helped me with some mobility stuff. I rolled out the Quad, Hamstring, and Calf muscles of my right leg and then used the VooDoo Straps. Torturous straps is more like what they are. But oh lord did those straps help. By the end of class I was no longer limping. I'm still extremely sore, mostly from Monday's WOD, but the right leg feels like it took a beating. My knee still has some discomfort and on occasion with the right movement I'll experience a sharp shooting pain. I'm giving myself until Monday before attempting another WOD. I hope for a speedy recovery!

rx'd for the second time

Tonight for the second time in my CrossFit experience I have RX'd a WOD. What that means for those of you who are not familiar with that term, is that I did the prescribed weight and workout. This workout tonight has shown me that I am getting stronger and more willing to assert myself.

The WOD this evening:
A: Snatch Push Press- work to a heavy single.
     Then perform 5 sets of 3 reps @ 80%

B: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
     -Thrusters 95#/65#
    *100ft Bear Crawls after every set of thrusters.

Now I typically avoid bear crawls, as well as crab walks, inch worms, and anything else that asks for you to put any sort prolonged pressure on your wrists. I am a massage therapist by trade and preserving my wrists are important. These sort of movements tend to wreak havoc on me and so that is why I avoid them. But when I saw the posted WOD this evening and knew that a 65# thruster was doable for me, I was frustrated that the bear crawls would be the thing to keep me from RXing. So I made a decision to go for it this evening. And I did it! I did 65# thrusters and 100ft bear crawls. I felt like throwing up for most of the workout and I kept seeing stars after doing bear crawls. Not to mention that my wrists weren't feeling that great half way through it. No worries though, my wrists are fine now, I didn't throw up, and the stars are back in the evening sky. I did my WOD in 27 minutes and 45 seconds. Definitely not the best time of the night, but I really could care less!

I do want to take a moment to give a shout out to an incredible woman, Ms. Alisha Howard. This evening she did the same WOD as I did, but accidentally put 5 extra pounds on her bar and did 70# thrusters. It was pointed out to her when she was already half way through the WOD and like a CrossFit beast, she kept going with it. Even though she was the last one to finish the WOD this evening, she is my hero for the day! She didn't give up. And she didn't take those extra 5# off… WOW! Good for you girl! Brag away…

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

8 steps towards your resolution

The new year is fast approaching and I know many of you, as I do, create a resolution you are adamant on fulfilling but sadly rarely ever comes to fruition. Why is that? Well I am no expert but from past experiences I think it has a lot to do with having too high of an expectation on ourselves. Sure, it is a great idea to want to do better for ourselves, I wish everyone would. But if you haven't already begun baby steps and stuck to it, how do you expect to achieve such large goals? Granted, I know there are some of you out there that are super-human and get shit done! Kudos to you. But for the vast majority of us that is not the case. So here are 8 steps to start now towards a healthier and happier life, so you'll be successful with your new years resolution.

1. Think positive and have gratitude. Sure we all have something about ourselves we aren't happy with but getting down about it isn't going to help. Be thankful for what you have and for the things about yourself you do appreciate. Be positive that you'll overcome your dislikes. A positive mind has positive outcomes.
2. Sleep. Let's face it we don't get enough shut eye. While some of you may only need 4 to 6 hours of sleep, others may need 6 to 8 hours. Know what you need and respect your body enough to have it.
3. Drink water. I know many of you think you drink plenty, but the fact is most people don't drink enough water. Replace that third cup of coffee with a glass of water instead. Put down the soda can and have some water instead. Your body will thank you.
4. Develop healthy eating habits. I know not everyone wants to do the Paleo diet, I'm not fully on board either. But you have to admit you don't eat as healthy as you think you do. Add more fruits and vegetables to your daily diet. Cut back on the refine sugar (or do like I am and cut it completely out of your diet). Small changes here and there add up to big changes.
5. Be active. Ok, so now you're an adult and you've been busting your ass all day at work and all you want to do is go home, sit on your couch with a beer in hand, and veg out. I don't blame you, there are days that is all I want to do and I do it (minus the beer). But keeping a sedentary lifestyle will lead to a very unhappy golden years. Get up and do something. At the very least do 30 minutes a day of physical activity. 
6. Stretch/mobility. You know how flexible kids are in the way they move around? Well we lose that as we age, unless you're a super-human (or a gymnast). Regain some of that flexibility.
7. Do something you love. When you focus on an activity that makes you happy, your stress level drops. 
8. Laugh. Do this every day, it is so good for your mind, body, and soul.

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.

day 33 of 60: sugar challenge

I'm not going to lie, I was a wee bit nervous to weigh in this morning. I was certain that I'd see a one to two pound gain on the scale. But I didn't. I actually lost a pound. Not a big loss as I really wasn't expecting that, but pretty happy with a loss of any kind! A little over a month into the sugar challenge and I'm convinced I made the right decision. I can not express how good I feel, internally. I feel like things are beginning to function better. It's amazing how well your body will treat you when you treat it well. If I were you, I'd rethink the refine sugar...

the holiday aftermath

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now on to the Christmas festivities. I intentionally started the sugar challenge on November 1st for two month so that during the holidays I would have an obligation to stay on it and not splurge. It's not an uncommon thing for us to overeat during the holidays, with there being a lot of yummy stuff in every corner we turn. I'm proud to say that I barely fell off the wagon this weekend, I stayed on my challenge. I skipped dessert during Thanksgiving, and have yet to eat anything with refined sugar. However, I did cheat Wednesday evening and had a beer three days before I was allowing it back into my diet. I hardly think that will hurt me. And with the weekends schedule being thrown off a bit, I had one too many chocolate milks. Again, I hardly think that will hurt me. December 1st was the day I was allowing wine & beer back into my diet, in moderation. Last night I attended a concert and had just one beer. I know I will have to be strong with the rest of my diet if I don't want the beers to effect my weigh ins. Speaking of which, this coming weeks weigh in will be on Tuesday, after that they will resume on Fridays. I am not expecting a large loss at this weigh in, but I am hopeful.

Last Friday I went to a class since I missed out on Thursday and knew I'd be missing another one this coming week. At first glance at the board, the WOD looked fairly easy. But the thought was short lived, the WOD aptly named 12 Days of Christmas, was going to be a torturous one and it was!

WOD:
1. Power Snatch ?/65#
2. Ring Dips
3. Burpee's
4. Pull-ups
5. Toes to Bars
6. Push-ups
7. Air Squats
8. Jumping Lunges (though I did Push Presses @ 65#)
9. Box Jumps
10. Wall Balls 20/14#
11. KB Swings
12. Thrusters ?/65#

Now do you remember how the 12 Days of Christmas song goes? It starts of with one, then it is two and then one, and so on. That was pretty much how the workout went. We'd do one first, then do two, one, then three, two, one, and so on and so on. It wasn't too terribly bad until I hit #8. Adding push presses into the mix was brutal, and then #10 with the wall balls, and then #12 was the ultimate killer. By the last round I had to remove the weights off and just use the 35# bar. Today is the first day that my pec's aren't killing me. I swear Tony had to have laughed his ass off as he wrote the WOD that morning!!

How did you fair with the holiday aftermath?

This was taken from Pinterest.

wishing everyone a happy thanksgiving weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful day with full bellies, big smiles, and lots of family time, or however you decided to spend your day. This year we opted to dine out as I assume no one really wanted to cook. I honestly didn't mind as I didn't want to cook either or deal with having a lot of leftovers that I really don't need. Plus, you are not able to overeat by getting seconds or thirds, and maybe for some fourths. I passed on dessert, but did allow myself a delicious glass of wine with dinner. We had good conversation and ended up playing a fun little game at the table. I love quality time with great people. I am thankful for all of the people in my life, old and new. And I am thankful that I have the ability to do the things necessary to take care of myself. Cheers to you all!

This week there will be no weigh in, though I am certain I probably maintained the same weight with very little gain or loss. I will resume weigh in's next week. Only 32 days left in the sugar challenge and 16 days left in the plank challenge. Don't forget, if you want to join in on January's challenge, head over to Challenge Me Fit and vote!!

Now to do some burpee's… NOT!

knee pain & the plank

Ok, so I'm 13 days into the plank challenge and we've made it to the 1.5 min hold. This is proving to be more challenging than I anticipated. Not so much the plank itself, I knew it would be a challenge… that's the whole point of a challenge. But I didn't factor in that my knees would potentially be a problem, and they are. For a while now my knees have been a source of some discomfort, so much so that I have had to modify or avoid some workouts at my box. This is utterly frustrating to me. I just want to be able to do or try to do what everyone else is doing in class. I'll admit, it makes me feel like a pansy. I have been working on an array of mobility work to help my knees and the surrounding areas, as well as strengthening other muscles, and practicing proper form in other movements. Some days my knees will not cooperate with me and other days I feel like I can climb a mountain with no issues. I'm trying to remain positive and continue to work on what needs to be worked on. But I'm not going to lie, the time it's taking for things to change is frustrating me and mentally draining me. I have little to no patience.

As for the plank, I am not able to hold it for a minute without going into a modify hold. Even if I try to ignore the pain, which I know I shouldn't, I can't. So in lieu of giving up, I will modify the challenge so that I am still able to participate. I will begin to hold the plank for as long as I can until the pain sets in, then I will rest for 30 seconds before continuing on. The time is only counted when I am in a plank position. I encourage anyone else who is participating in the plank challenge to modify the same way if needed. I will not allow my knees to defeat me. This is all just temporary and it will pass… plank on!

a change of the name

So you may have noticed that this blog's title changed from My CrossFit Journey to Nikki's CrossFit Journey. The decision to do this was with the discovery of other blogs with the same title. There isn't any legal issues with it, but I'd like to set myself apart as much as possible. And since this blog is beginning to get more attention from outside of my circle, I wanted it to be obvious who "my" was. Me!

And to everyone whose taken time since the beginning to read my blog and become inspired/motivated by it and supportive of me… Thank You.

fighting through the wall

So in yesterday's post I was all excited about losing 3.5# that it slipped my mind to share how my week went that led to that wonderful loss. I have noticed that my diet has slowly changed without consciously trying. It's interesting to realize that when you begin to work your body hard, it will ask for the appropriate fuel that is needed. I still haven't experienced cravings for the sugary weaknesses that had a hold of me for many years. I'm so thankful that I have overcome that. Now as a reminder, I am not giving up ALL sugar, I'm giving up refined sugar. What I also have been conscious of is how much natural sugar I am taking in. My fruit intake has increased, but not excessively, more like to a healthier level. Other than fruit, the only other thing I ingest with some natural sugar in it is a 1% chocolate milk. It is reserved only for after a workout and I know dinner isn't coming right away. It helps hold me over until dinner time. I have tried to minimize how much I drink of it though, and I notice that the taste for it isn't as strong as it once was.

What I do think contributed to my big loss this week is that I really paid attention to my body. I fed it more protein, more green, drank plenty of water, and made sure I stayed on top of my vitamins. I also began to focus more in class at CrossFit Stumptown. Both coaches have told us many times that when we hit that wall where you feel like you can't go on anymore, do five more. So three times this week I focused on pushing myself in that way. And the results? I finished 1st in one class, 2nd in another, and had the most rounds in another. What I noticed I did in those classes was that I pushed myself beyond that wall. When I began to feel tired or weak, I pushed. I didn't linger in between reps or movements, or took my time drinking some water. I went from one movement to the next with controlled haste, I only sipped water, and I kept reminding myself of the goal. I'd use a time I wanted to beat. Or a person I wanted to stay ahead of. It's 90% mental in my opinion. When the side stitches began and the breathing got rougher, that's when I knew I hit my wall, so I focused on five more. I believe that extra effort and my improved diet played a major role in the 3.5# loss this week.

And the result of having lost 10.5# in three weeks? Well for the first time in I'd say six or so years, I was able to try clothes on a size smaller. For a woman whose been overweight for some time now, this is an enormous achievement. I can't wait to see what next week will bring…

day 22 of 60: sugar challenge

Oh. My. Goodness. I am not sure how to react to my weigh in today. Should I jump up and down? Scream with excitement? Do cartwheels? Wait... I can't do cartwheels... yet! Ok ok... so this week I lost a total of 3.5# adding to a complete total of 10.5# in three weeks. How?! I mean awesome, but how?!

               :::BREATHE NIKKI:::

Ok, I am better now. I am feeling pretty happy with this development. I honestly thought the weight loss would slow down to a pound a week, which would be awesome, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd have a large loss like this week. Maybe this will be the last of the large losses, and that is ok. But apparently whatever I am doing is working... and so I shall continue with it.

stay hungry

Twice this week I did something that I had not expected to do at this point of my CrossFit experience. Earlier this week I posted that I PR'd my deadlift and as well as completed a WOD before anyone else in the class, a first. This evening I managed to finish ahead of the class once again. I am not sure what has gotten into me or how I am accomplishing all of this. I suppose it could be that I have dedicated myself the past six months, I am getting stronger and more confident. But I am not entirely sure what is the cause or how many more times I will repeat this. All I know is that I am feeling pretty damn good about myself right now and look forward to seeing what other achievements I accomplish.

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

day 4 of 30: plank challenge

Today was day 4 of the plank challenge and the last of the 30 seconds. Tonights plank was a bit of challenge due to having just had an intense workout only an hour before. I had to be reminded to breathe. And what you will not see in the video is how much my arms are shaking. However, my form has gotten better (butt is staying down). Whenever you see me arch my butt up and shake my leg, it's due to having some knee problems… bare with me, I do add a couple of seconds to the plank to make up for it.

breaking personal bests x2

Tonight was an incredible night for me, and well for many of my fellow CrossFitters too. The WOD for today was as follows:

1 RM (rep max) Deadlift
Then for time:
30 HSPU
40 Pull-ups
50 KB Swings, 53/35
60 Sit-ups
70 Burpees

This photo was found on Pinterest.

So first let me begin with the deadlift, which happens to be one of my favorite lifts. The last time we had to find our one rep max, which was about 3 or so months ago, I lifted 175#. I was pretty proud of myself and super excited. As we worked on all of our lifts, during the last month I noticed I began to struggle with the deadlift. I couldn't repeat my one rep max or even lift close to it. When a WOD asked for 155# deadlifts, it was a constant struggle. So when I heard we would be working on deadlifts today, I wasn't feeling very confident. I started out with a lighter weight- 85#. I slowly increased the weight until I made it to my previous one rep max, which felt surprisingly good. I bumped up to 185#, then 190#. I was feeling pretty pumped over this, but then my coach Joon said to me "you're still standing, it wasn't heavy enough." I momentarily thought he was crazy, especially when he suggested I try once more at 200#. I just smiled and stood there shocked. But then I figured what the hell, I can attempt it and what's the worse that can happen? I don't get it up. So as I loaded my barbell up with some more weight, I began to think about the things I read in the "Becoming a Supple Leopard" book by Dr. Kelly Starrett. He stated to torque your feet externally without actually turning your feet. As well as being reminded by Joon to drive with my heal. So I walked up to the barbell, got comfortable with my stance, lowered by butt down and grabbed a hold of the bar, and breathed. With much focus, I drove my body upward while many eyes were on me, and before grasping what I had just done I was already lowering the bar down. I just about lost my shit and jumped up and down with excitement! I went from my max being 175# only 3 or so months ago to and increase of 25#!! This definitely was the most amazing feeling. Many of my CrossFitters this evening got incredible one rep maxes, there was definitely something in the air tonight!

As for my other personal best, I managed for the first time to finish a WOD in it's entirety before everyone else in class. It's not necessarily a big thing, but for a chipper WOD like tonight, it's kind of a big deal. I tend to puss out and take many breaks when our workouts are body weight sorts. I don't know if it was the high off of having a rad PR or having flushed refined sugar out of my system, but I was feeling like superwoman. I busted through the workout with speed and a finish time of 14:14. It was certainly a good night...

day 1 of 30: plank challenge

Today a few of my wonderful friends and I began our journey in a plank challenge. The last time I worked on doing the plank, which was about two or so years ago, I was able to hold it for a little over a minute. And now, well not so much. I've asked all the friends that have decided to join me in this challenge to record their first and last day, and if possible a few in between. At the end of the challenge I will collect all the video's and create a video montage, but for now, I will just post my weekly attempts. Today's attempt was to hold it for 20 seconds. I learned pretty quickly that I wasn't as flat as I felt I was… as you will witness.

I held the plank for 21 seconds, unintentionally. My way of dealing with discomfort or uncomfortable situations is to laugh, clearly this will be a very long 30 day challenge for me. 

Others doing the challenge with me:

Darci

Denisa

Robin

Christopher

Tonya

Todd

Ashley

Proud of you guys… get those video's to me!

day 15 of 61: sugar challenge

I am officially two weeks in and have lost a total of 7 pounds already! If I average a pound a week I will lose about 15 pounds at the end of this challenge, that would be awesome. I still have not had any cravings for refined sugar, which still surprises me. No weak moments and no cheats. Another thing I was expecting to happen was feeling my blood sugar drop often, but that has not happened.

Overall, I am feeling pretty good. I have plenty of energy and definitely feel a difference in my performance. I had already switched out my white rice for brown and white bread for 100% whole wheat, but was still eating "enriched wheat flour" pasta. Due to this challenge and wanting to stay true to it, I switched that out for the 100% whole wheat. Thankfully Aaron is more than happy to help with the change. I feel blessed to have such support from him, family, and friends. I truly feel that I will be successful.

reliving a childhood activity

Do you remember when you were a kid how you felt almost invisible. You were always up for a challenge, and nothing ever scared you. We did cartwheels without a second thought, hung from monkey bars behind our knees, jumped down off of something high… and nothing happened to us. Sure we got the occasional scratch or bruise but we always recovered rather quickly. Now some 20 something years later, have you attempted to do any of those things? Maybe for some of you nothing has changed (freak!) but for most of us it has not crossed our minds. Think about it. Would you do a cartwheel right now if you were asked? Would you do a headstand if asked? Would you really? (Liar!) One of the gymnastic movements that you will find in a WOD regularly is a Handstand Pushup (HSPU). If you watched any CrossFit competitions you will most certainly have witnessed this. The first time I went into class with that in a WOD, I remembered shaking my head thinking there was no way I was going to do that. I won't lie, I was scared and intimidated. I'm not afraid of being upside down, I'm more afraid that I would hurt myself. So instead of even trying, I opted for the modified version. The first level is doing a tripod pushup, I mastered that rather quickly and that's basically all I would ever do.

Well last night the HSPU reappeared in a WOD and in my head I pretty much resolved to continuing the same modified version I have been doing. Except I wasn't expecting our coach to go into a little speech about pushing forward and trying something new. Crap! So after setting up my space for our workout I asked Joon how do I begin to learn to do the HSPU. Well the first step was to just be comfortable being upside down. Let's face it, the last time I did anything like that was probably the 4th grade! So he showed me what to do, and I knelt down and attempted it a couple of times. I was so scared. What was I so scared about? I think part of it was fear of hurting myself and part of it looking foolish. But I got much encouragement from my fellow CrossFitters, and so I tried one last time. Only this time I managed to get on my head and feel my butt hit the wall behind me. I did it! Next step was to straighten my legs… did it without hesitation and stayed in that position for a bit. It wasn't so scary being upside down. But the next step was to go into it with my arms locked out. It should look something like this…

This photo was found on Pinterest.

My coach and a fellow CrossFitter stood on each side of me, ready to catch my legs and help me up there. I made two attempts but each time I believe I chickened out. Hey, it's ok. I'm just excited that I took the first step in trying. It is something I will most certainly work on. So in the meantime I have upgraded to a new level of modified HSPU, and it looks like this…

This photo was found on Pinterest.

I managed to do these without failure. I'm excited to keep making improvements, and most certainly can't wait until the day I can do a handstand without any fear or assistance!

only 2 days away from the plank challenge

So in two days I will be participating in a 30 day plank challenge with some friends. If you missed the posting with what the Plank Challenge entails, go here. This evening I had a breakthrough during my class that made me realize I have gotten pretty strong in the last few months and I think I may be successful during this challenge. We shall see. I want to thank the following people for joining me: Denisa, Tonya, Robin, Darci, and Christopher! It's not too late for anyone who wants to jump on board.

This photo was found on Pinterest.

finding dysfunctions and learning mobility

So I am six months into this crazy thing called CrossFit and I can honestly say I feel amazing! Now it doesn't mean it's not without some pain and discomfort. Sure in every class there is something that I may not be great or good at, so it only makes me want to push harder, try harder. The thing I have been learning along the way though, is that you learn very quickly the dysfunctions of your body. All the things you've been doing wrong will come into light as you begin to learn how to do correct movements. In the beginning its not so obvious, these dysfunction, and depending on how often or hard you workout you may never discover them. I've gone from a 2-3 time a week person to a 4-5 time a week person, as soon as that became consistent I started to feel many dysfunctions. First one popped up on my left elbow with some tendonitis. At first I believed it was from an old injury from several years back, was sure to ice it after lifting heavy and stretching it out. But the pain and inflammation never went away. This is when a coach brought to my attention that it's more than the joint, it's the muscles that attach to the area. A lightbulb went off, my triceps and pecs were exceptionally tight on that side. As soon as I started getting regular massage work and chiropractic adjustments done to the areas, things started to change. Don't get me wrong, it didn't magically go away and it is not likely to be gone anytime soon. My joints and muscles are having to learn whats right and whats wrong, I'm having to watch my movements as I lift heavy weights above my head. I can always tell when I used bad form, the area around my elbow will begin to hurt. It's better though, and I'm still learning.

The second dysfunction that popped up was my knees, primarily the right one. Now I explained this one away with having had torn ligaments in my right ankle 3 or so years ago. Figuring things are tight and that is probably why I am feeling it in my knee. But as time progressed and the left knee began to bother me as well, I sought out help. The collective minds have given me an array of things to work on, but each one have come to the same conclusion. I have a lot strengthening to do for adductors, gluteus, and hamstrings, as well as a lot of tight fascia that needs to be worked out. But the biggest thing that has come into play is learning that I need to start all over with my squats. Because from the get go I was unable to do a squat with my feet facing forward, I had started to do them with my toes slightly facing outward. It didn't become a problem until I began doing heavier back squats. Now doing a simple air squat or lunge is absolutely painful. 

One of my coaches brought up a book to Aaron and I to look into. Aaron had heard about this book a while back and read up on it. But after much conversation with Joon, we decided to purchase the book, "Becoming a Supple Leopard" by Dr. Kelly Starrett. It's highly recommended for anyone who is heavy into working out and/or sports activity. It teaches you proper mobility. We've only just started reading it but have already put much of it to good use. Tonight I began the process of properly doing squats with the assistance of a resistance band to hold onto. I have a lot of work to do with my legs, as they get more toned and stronger, they'll need more rehab. But I am certain that all my hard work now will pay off later down the road. 

What is something you do for mobility?

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!

the gorilla takeover wod experience

So as you may have read previously, I volunteered over the weekend at the Gorilla Takeover that my box and another box hosted at the Portland Expo Center. During my time there I was able to watch all the WODs that the athletes had to compete in. Let's just say I did not envy them, but somewhere in the back of my head a thought popped up that maybe our coaches would torture the rest of us with the same WODs. Come Monday things at my box went back to normal and our WOD for the day was Cindy, AMRAP in 20 minutes of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats. I breathed a sigh of relief, and busted out 11 rounds, 5 pull-ups and 3 push-ups (I progressed since the last time I did it). My relief was short lived though, coming in Tuesday evening I found that we were going to experience WOD #1 from the Takeover. And it didn't end there, Wednesday we also experienced WOD #3. Needless to say, between these two days, my body is sore and I believe I'm feeling new muscles again!

The Gorilla Takeover WOD #1
500 meter row then...
21-15-9
Thrusters 95/65
Box Jumps 24/20
(TC 10:00)

The Gorilla Takeover WOD #3
4RFT
10 Alt KB Snatches 53/35
25 Yard Farmers Carry 140/100
2 Rope Climbs 15'
25 Yard Farmers Carry 140/100
(TC 10:00)

Scaled Version of WOD #3
4RFT
10 KB Swings 53/35
25 Yard Farmers Carry 100/80
2 Rope Climbs 15' or 8 Mod Rope Climbs
25 Yard Farmers Carry 100/80
(TC 10:00)

For the first WOD, I modified the thrusters and did push presses at 55# instead due to knee pain. And I did step ups instead of jumping. I finished in 10:30. For the third WOD I did the scaled version with the modified rope climbs and for the first time did my KB swings with 35#. I finished in 14:12. I am unable to raise my arms over my head. I feel wimpy and like a beast all in one! Unfortunately because my arms feel pretty worthless, I will not be attending today's class. And I'll be completely honest, I'm ok with missing WOD #4!

The Gorilla Takeover WOD #4
60 Double Unders
50 Wall Balls (10'/9') 20/14
40 Burpees
30 Weighted Sit-ups 20/14
20 Alt Pistol Squats
10 Handstand Push-ups
20 Alt Pistol Squats
30 Weighted Sit-ups 20/14
40 Burpees
50 Wall Balls (10'/9') 20/14
60 Double Unders
(TC 25:00)

So now having the opportunity to experience what the athletes did this past weekend gives me a whole new appreciation for what some people can do. Our bodies are so capable of amazing things, with the right training, nutrition, and mental preparedness... we can achieve anything. This whole experience solidifies my effort in my sugar challenge. Because if I want to be able to do what these athletes did by next year, I have to be on top of my game.

This photo was found on Pinterest.

q & a: "why do you talk about CrossFit so much?"

From time to time I've had friends, acquaintance, and strangers ask me questions related to my CrossFit experience. I give my answer, but more often than not I wish I would have had more time to think about the question before answering. So I decided to start adding the questions I get related to my CrossFit experience, everything from the fitness to the diet and everything else in between, and my answers here on my blog. So if you ever have a question, please ask by using the "contact me" form to the right of this posting. So on to the most popular question I get...

Q: "Why do you talk about CrossFit so much?" -various people

This photo was found on Pinterest.

A: Simple. I drank the Kool-aid. Ok no, seriously there was no drinking of Kool-aid- that would be bad, too much sugar! But why do I talk about it so much? Well, for one, I'm extremely excited about it. When something good, positive, rewarding, exciting, (you fill in the possible word) happens to you, you want to share it with the people you love. Right? You got that dream job. You met an incredible new person. You won the lottery. You get the picture here. This situation isn't any different. I found something that makes me happy, that makes me feel good, and in a short time has proven results with all the hard work I put into it. And yes, usually with all new things that happy feeling tends to fade and you don't really care to talk about it anymore. Unfortunately for those of you who are tired of hearing me talk about it, it has not faded. And it won't. Why? Well, its an ever evolving thing. There will always be something that I am getting better at. There will always be something I finally did that I couldn't before. There will always be a PR. There will always be new results. Why wouldn't I want to share this with you? Granted, any of you who are reading this right now must enjoy it or you wouldn't keep coming back. I can only hope that some of you will be interested in a tasting the Kool-aid. Ready for a change?

the gorilla takeover

This past weekend Aaron and I volunteered at The Gorilla Takeover, a CrossFit competition hosted by CrossFit Stumptown and CrossFit Mt. Hood. It was open to Scaled and RX, as well as Teams and Individuals. The closest thing to a competition I had ever seen was this past summer when I watched the CrossFit Games on ESPN. It was exciting to watch that, but I have been continuously told that it is a much different experience being at a competition. One of my coaches at Stumptown had commented one evening leading up to this past weekend that after witnessing a competition like this, most people who never competed will get a bug to want to compete. Now I understand what he means... but more on that later.

Several of the athletes at the Gorilla Takeover were from my box. I was excited to be able to support them as they competed. Watching many of the athletes from all over the Pacific Northwest was a lot of fun. What surprised me the most was seeing athletes of ALL ages and sizes. What I mean is, we had athletes as young as their early 20's up to 40+, and not all of them were toned and ripped. It goes to show you, anyone can do CrossFit, and not everyone's goal is to have a rock solid body. The goal is to be healthy and fit- and that comes in all shapes and sizes.

Carly from CrossFit Stumptown

The competition was a 2 day event. The first day consisted of WOD 1 - 3. The second day consisted of WOD 4 and then the Final WOD. All teams and individuals did WOD 1 - 4, and then the Top 10 in every division made it to the Final WOD. The first day I did a lot of running around, assisted with moving equipment around in between WOD's. For one WOD we literally had to move 25# and 45# weights back and forth between every Heat, there were over 10 Heats! Needless to say, I got a workout in without even thinking about it. We arrived close to 8 am and didn't leave until a little after 5:30 pm. The second day I didn't run around as much as the previous day, which was good, I was exhausted. It gave me more time to sit amongst the other volunteers and guests and watch the athletes compete. Some  would finish the WOD's efficiently and with very little struggle, and others struggled, some didn't finish. The one thing I noticed though, no one gave up! It didn't matter that they still had 10 more Wall Ball's before moving on to 80 Doubleunders in less than 2 minutes. Even when an athlete knew he or she wasn't going to finish before the time cap expired, they kept going until the buzzer rang. That is some dedication. What was even more inspiring to witness,  was when one athlete was left, all the others that had finished would surround him and her and motivate said athlete to keep going. There are NO egos in the CrossFit world. There is no mentality that "I am better than you." It's a community of people who care about each other, and will help each other to push when we feel like we have no more to give. Many of the men and women this weekend PR'd in their Deadlifts, they fed off the energy that surrounded them. To see the excitement of the crowd cheering on the athletes as they did incredible things- oh how inspiring it was to be there and to share in the moments!

Going back to what I stated earlier about competing. The bug bit me. I definitely became inspired and motivated to prepare myself for a future competition...

and the countdown begins

This photo was found on Pinterest.

In a matter of 8 days I will begin my sugar challenge. I have sort of started the process of slowly weaning myself off of certain things, but the real drop of all sugar will be in just one week. I am nervous, but excited for this healthy change. I know with dropping the sugar I will begin to see bigger changes in my performance with WOD's and in life in general. I have never been more motivated and focused. So whose with me?

bye bye sugar

The typical diet of a CrossFit athlete is following the Paleolithic diet (also known as the Paleo diet or Caveman diet). This consists of contemporary dishes such as fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, eggs, veggies, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts. There is no room for grains, legumes, dairy products, potatoes, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils. If you are interested in learning more about the Paleo diet, start here. I won't go into deep detail about it as I am still learning about the diet myself, and have not fully embraced it. I'll admit, there are a LOT of things I'm not willing to give up... at least not yet.

A few years back, about 6 years or so, a few co-worker and I used Lent to give something up. We agreed to forgo said addiction for 40 days and 40 nights. Some gave up cigarettes, some potatoes (of all kind), and others gave up alcohol. I chose to give up soda. The first week of this challenge was the hardest, I was a raving bitch. The headaches were constant and horrible, and the cravings were awful. But I didn't falter, I pushed through it and around week 3 I started to feel normal again. The cravings weren't as intense or as frequent. That was around the time I learned that it takes us around 21 to 28 days to form a new habit/ break an old habit. By the end of the challenge, I no longer craved soda and tasting it for the first time was not a pleasant experience. I have fallen off the soda wagon a couple of times but for the most part of the last 6 years or so I have been soda/caffeine free. The result, I felt better and lost about 15 pounds in 2 months. :)

About 4 years ago I tried going vegetarian for a month, this was not as hard as giving up the soda. What spurred me to try this was reading about how it takes our bodies anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to digest red meat. Worse, is that it's for 4 ounces (the serving size an active person should be eating, sedentary should eat less) but most Americans eat anywhere from 6 to 12 ounces a meal, and are sedentary. This means that it is taking your body about 2 to 3 days to digest that one chunk of red meat, and if you are anything like most Americans, you eat red meat 4 to 6 nights a week. That's NOT good. I had decided to start cutting back on the red meat and increase my white meat intake. But to start this, I wanted to give my body time to clean itself out. I can not express how amazingly good I felt at the end of that month. The day after that challenge I was ready to have a nice big burger, that night I was so ill. Not my brightest idea to say the least. I now only consume red meat 2 to 3 times a week, sometimes less. I consume more white meat & fish.

So knowing that I have given things up successfully and survived to tell about it, I have decided to put myself up to another challenge. I read a great posting on one of my favorite blogs, The Box Magazine, about refined sugar- "Grinding Against the Sugar Monster". Out of all the things I have curbed in my daily diet, sugar is my biggest weakness. Some days I am strong enough to avoid it and substitute it with someone healthier but most times I give in. It is probably the biggest hinderance in my diet and training. I have goals I am working towards and I want to be as successful as I can be, but the one thing slowing my body down is the refined sugar. So I have decided that starting on November 1st I will cut out all alcohol and refined sugar through the end of the year. On December 1st I will reintroduce wine & beer in moderation. This will probably be one of the hardest challenges I put myself through, more than the soda challenge. My hope is that when 2014 rolls around, I will no longer crave sugar and can do without. I'd like to continue to change my daily diet to a healthier one so that my body is in optimal running condition.

There are many things that are fine in moderation, such as alcohol, dark chocolate, etc etc. The problem with the American mass, we don't do anything in moderation. We consume, and consume, and consume, and then wake up one day wondering why we are riddled with illness and disease. I refuse to allow myself to reach that point. I want to start off 2014 on the right foot!

So who else is up for the challenge? I dare you to join me...

This photo was found on Pinterest.

to push or to stop

Tonight was probably the first time I came close to crying during a WOD. Not because it hurt or I was tired, which both were very much true, but because I was struggling with a physical and mental battle in finishing. My mind said I could do it, just do it. My body, not so much. Here's the thing, regardless what activity you do, it's good to push yourself. You are never going to excel or proceed to the next level of your training or sport if you don't push yourself. But knowing when to push and when to back off is key. My legs are strong, I can do lunges. My knees on the other hand have been a source of some pain lately. I've been given several theories of what is going on. I'm working on them. Sure my Quads were burning, that sort of pain I can muster through. The sort of pain I was feeling in my knees ran deeper. I struggled with how far to push myself before I backing off. We had to do 7 rounds tonight, I only completed 5 rounds. Not my proudest moment. But it's a matter of only doing 5 rounds and resting up, or doing 7 rounds and possibly injuring myself. Remember to always pay attention to your body, it will always tell you when to stop. Time to ice and rest...

and onward I go

I can not express how happy I am to be a functional person again. It still amazes me that a common cold can knock someone off their game in the degree that it does. It took me 2 weeks to completely recover, though I still have a very mild cough, it no longer inhibits me from doing things. Yay! But what does all of this mean? Ohhhh, what it means is that after not working out for almost 2 weeks, I am now experiencing muscle soreness like a newbie. Ok, maybe not that badly but my Quads were certainly feeling it. I attempted to return to CF Stumptown last Thursday and successfully finished the class but felt like crap afterwards. Decided to not go Friday as I had been wheezing all day, which was a bummer since the class did the "300" WOD! I returned this past Monday and got to experience the Rich Froning's "Sally Up" Challenge. Oh. My. Goodness. I think someone pissed Tony off enough that he felt that he had to torture us. What the challenge entails is a particular movement that you follow along to Moby's "Sally Up" song which runs almost 4 minutes long. At my box our challenge was doing the Push-up Challenge rest for 2 minutes then do the Back Squat Challenge. But that's not all. For every time we took an unscheduled rest (meaning not going down when told to or going up when not told to) you had to add 5 Burpee's at the end of our total challenge, with a maximum of 50. But so you can completely understand what the challenges are, I found a couple of video's of people doing what we had to do... please watch.

Push-up Challenge

Back Squat Challenge

Needless to say, after attempting these two challenges the majority of the classes had to then do 50 Burpee's. And if you know me at all, and have been following me regularly, you know I detest Burpee's. I, sadly, had to do 50 of them. Whimper. 

down with the sickness

If you're a Disturbed fan, you probably started singing the song after reading the title to this posting... you're welcome! If you have no clue what I am talking about, move on...

So I haven't been to a CF class since last week Tuesday. I caught whatever bug Aaron brought home and was suffering from. All attempts in avoiding the bug were pointless, I still got sick. I'm out of the worse of it, I'm actually functioning well but my energy level is still not 100%. Climbing the stairs into my home is an exhausting experiencing. And lets not forget the rawness of my throat from all the coughing, it's terrible. The last time I took this much time off of CF was after a spider bite on my calf became infected and I was ordered to stay off my feet from my doctor. And trust me, that was no exaggeration. This is mental torture for me. I miss the coaches, the friends, the challenge, and the feeling a sense of accomplishment that I survived a WOD. I'm think I probably won't make it back in until Monday of next week. Sigh.

I have to look at it with a positive outlook, maybe I got the sickness out of the way for the winter?

a one year project

Since May I have been taking a monthly photo, anterior & lateral views, of myself to keep a photographic log of my progress with CF. I didn't really put much thought into it, just did it as I thought it would be cool to see a before and after. But after a little chat with Aaron, I decided with his help, to take a photo every night that I go do CF for one year. This way at the end of that time frame, when I put all the photos in chronological order and have it play back to me, I can actually see a moving image of how my body has changed. So we started this project on Oct. 1st, 2013 and it will end on Oct. 1st, 2014. At that time, I will post the time lapse of the photos for all to see.

Another project that will probably take a little longer than a year, hopefully not to much longer, is going back to school. My goal is to go to PCC and get into the Fitness Technology program, with the possibility of attending PSU afterwards to work on my Bachelors. The PSU part is a maybe, but the year program at PCC is definitely a desire. My end goal is to work on getting my Level 1 Certification in CrossFit and become a Coach. Granted, I don't want to become a Coach until I have achieved success for myself. But I am well on my way...

whoa! these muscles are getting stronger...

Last night's WOD wasn't anything spectacular. We've certainly done harder and more intense WOD's before. But it was one of those nights where we'd get through it quickly and capable of doing the majority of it with minimal modifications. What was unexpected was how much I'd be able to notice how much I have improved. I would have never imagined the simplicity of this WOD would help me gauge where I am after 3+ months of grinding it out. So you understand what I mean, we had to do this: Strength first, Tuesday nights are dedicated to the Press. I am happy to announce that I was able to Press more #'s than last week! And then the WOD was AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 12 minutes of 12 T2B (toes to bar), 12 HRPU (hand release push-ups), and 12 Air Squats. That is all. It's something just about anyone can do.

I haven't got the core strength quite yet to do a true T2B, my modification is facing a wall and raising my feet as high as I can. I typically pick a spot (or hole) on the wall and aim my feet at that. I try to do this particular exercise at the same bar each time so that I can gauge how much higher I am getting than the previous time. Last night I was feeling a tad bit under the weather, and as I arrived to class I contemplated turning around and heading home instead. But I decided to grind it out, and my coach, Tony, said to just take it easy- so I intended to. The problem with CF WOD's are, no matter how much you try to just focus on yourself and do what you can do, you always look to your neighbor or someone else near by and want to stay pace or go faster then them. I don't know if this is necessarily true with everyone, but it is for me. Maybe it's my competitive nature. Anyway, I tried to keep pace with the girl next to me (which so happens she and I have a mutual friend outside of CF). When doing the T2B I found that the spot I kept hitting on the wall was about an inch higher than the last spot I hit the previous time we'd done T2B. You don't understand what a big deal this is for me. My feet are literally reaching above my waist, no longer parallel. I almost jumped off and did a victory lap over this! And to add to my excitement, I was able to do 6 or more at a time before stopping for a rest. Another feat!

Moving on to the HRPU, I found myself being one of the first people moving on to this move. Don't be fooled, I'm in no way stronger and faster then my CF companions. Having done a MOD for my T2B allowed me to move forward quicker. The rest soon caught up and either stayed paced or passed me. I am unable to do a proper push-up. It's something I have been working on for some time now and it's slow going. I do what they call "girl" push-ups, where instead of being on my toes, I am on my knees. Doing HRPU this way is still fairly hard though. To do a proper push-up you keep your back straight, not allowing any sway in your back or you butt to lift higher. I can do this without going all the way down to the floor, as I am still not strong enough to lift myself completely back up. But with HRPU, you are required to go all the way down to the floor, release your hands off the floor, and then lift yourself back up. Eek! Unfortunately for me, there is some slight sway back in my movement. I'm working on it.

And then on to the last movement, the lovely Air Squats. When I first started CF, my squats were extremely weak. A true squat would have your thighs going below parallel with the floor, I was doing above parallel. In CF you'll quickly learn that in many of the exercises you do, there is some form of squatting almost always. Seriously. In the beginning I hated this, my Quads were always sore and my knees constantly hurt. (Later I learned I need to stretch more afterwards, and now the Foam Roller and I have become best friends.) Anyway, I noticed my squats were improving when we worked on our Back Squats. And most recently when I did a 140# Back Squat and found that I went below parallel I was shocked (and wanted to do backflips... and if I knew how to, I would've). So last night, when it was time to grind out the Air Squats, I found that I busted out all 12 squats without stopping for a rest (like I had in previous WOD's) and I was doing them pretty quickly. When I was back to my T2B, I again was one of the first ones to be up there.

I find that I am beginning to keep pace with some of the stronger CrossFitters, even the ones that do the WOD's RX (prescription, opposed to MOD, which is modified). My movements are becoming more fluid and stronger. I feel stronger. And all this in a little over 3 months. :) So for those who are curious, I finished my WOD in 6 rounds + 5 T2B in 12 minutes. I had one round more than the average round! Now just to master the PU and T2B...

a body & mind of change

You know in any new activity we do, whether it be a new hobby, job, sport, etc etc, we go through a phase of change. Good or bad, something within us changes. We begin to learn about said activity, we strategize, we ponder, we try and practice. We are in the process of expanding our minds, opening new doors, even when you don't see it that way. We are forever evolving beings, we never remain the same. We all know this, it's not a new scientific find, but how often do you actually contemplate the fact that you are not the same person from yesterday? Sure, we can sit and think about the person we were 10 years ago, even 5 years ago with the person today and see how different you've become, however subtle or great. But have you ever noticed the changes from day to day?

I've been consciously paying attention to that lately, with myself. I was curious to see how I differ from the previous day or two. I'm in a great position to observe this as a lot around me has been changing in way of job, sport, relationship/lifestyle. I find with my new job, even though the actual position I hold is exactly the same, my frame of mind is different. I am happier. Because I feel this sense of happiness and calm, I find that I am even more engaged in my job than I was at my previous place. I found a hunger to want to learn more, understand more, study more. This thought process changed in a matter of 3 days! THREE DAYS! Recently one of the coaches, Joon, at my box was correcting a lift I was doing. I was struggling with getting the bar up on my shoulders. After giving me a few key points and then watching me get it wrong a couple of more times before figuring it out, he commented that I am stronger than I think I am. And I think he is right. After I got the lift right, the amount of weight on the bar didn't feel as heavy. Shortly after, Aaron stated to me that I am lacking confidence in my lifting. He may be right. I know I can lift, and I have been making progress with breaking my own records, but I definitely hold some fear. Because of Joon and Aaron's comments, my thought process has changed. Why am I afraid? What am I afraid of? I've turned my internal conversation around.

My body is different from the one that walked into my box 4 months ago. I haven't lost a ton of weight, or gained massive biceps. These changes are more subtle but to those who are paying attention, are noticeable. I don't recognize my legs in the mirror anymore. These legs still have a ways to go before I'd say they are in prime fitness condition, but they aren't the blubbery mass they once were. It's a strange phase I am in. I use to daydream of having the legs of some of Hollywoods hottest leading ladies, slender yet fit. And now, I look at ladies like Katie Hogan and those are the legs (and butt) I aspire to have. Witnessing the change in my Quads and Calves (as these are the most noticeable) has been awe-inspiring. My legs are beautiful.

Change can be good. Living the change, being aware of the change is even better. Be a part of your ever growing body & mind. Love yourself enough to aware of all of it's possibilities...

breaking PR's & rest days

Twice this week I broke a personal record, Deadlift and Push Press. I couldn't be more pumped over this! With the Deadlift I lifted 20# more than I had 3 weeks ago. That's a pretty large progress in such short time, I think anyway. But it makes me wonder if I was capable then to lift the extra 20#. Could I have progressed THAT much in 3 weeks? I'm not sure. This is a question to ask the coaches (I'll come back with an answer). As for the Push Press, I lifted 5# more than I had 10 days ago. Now that is progress I can comprehend. I'm amazed by how much weight I can move around in forms I had no idea I could do.

This photo was found on Pinterest.

So today I decided to take a rest day. Lately I have been hitting the box 5 times a week, typically Monday thru Friday. Yesterday, even though I managed to do 5# more in my Push Press, I noticed that I was not performing well. I don't know if it was because I was tired or sore, which my low back was from doing the Deadlifts the previous night. I gave the WOD last night my all, but I didn't feel like it was my all. Today I've been struggling with more soreness in my low back, possible shin splints, and heavy eyes. I'd say those are strong indicators that I take the night off and give my body the necessary break it needs. Remember, regardless of the activity you do, give your body a chance to recover and nourish it well.

"Continuous effort- not strength or intelligence- is the key to unlocking our potential"- Winston Churchill