Monday, September 30, 2013

Stronger than my husband?!?!

On Saturday my husband asked if we could do a crossfit style workout in the garage together.  Although he's still slim, he's lost a lot of muscle since we got married and has replaced it with a soft belly.  He still looks quite slim in his clothes, but I can tell a huge difference in his body composition between now and when we got married 11 years ago.

Anyhoo so we go out into the garage and since we have only a kettlebell, I came up with a workout that would use mostly our body weight. 

We did 5 rounds of:

20 jump squats

25 push ups

30 second plank

30 kettlebell swings

Half way into the 2nd round he had to stop.  He said he couldn't catch his breath and his arms and legs hurt too bad.  I told him to catch his breath and then to keep going.  I continued the workout while he sat down and watched me.  During my 5th round he got back up and finished his 2nd round and then a 3rd.  By that time he stopped and said he couldn't do anymore. 

I must say that it felt freaking amazing to see myself beat him.  Now I know that if he actually started working out on a regular basis, he'd surpass me in very little time.  For the time being, I'm going to relish in my accomplishments.  I can tell it hurt his ego a bit.  What guy would want to admit that his obese wife beat him in a workout?  After a few hours he came up to me and gave me a big hug and told me he was proud of me.  ♥  Little things like that make it all worth it.

Today was a good day at crossfit. 

Our warm up was:

20 meter bear crawl

20 meter crab walk

3 minutes  AMRAP burpees

I felt dead to the world after the burpees.  Haha

The skill set was two rounds:

7 right handed kettlebell snatches and 7 windmills

7 left handed kettlebell snatches and 7 windmills

1 minute native squat

15 kettlebell sit ups (those were freaking HARD)

10  two second squat box jumps

The WOD was an 8 minute AMRAP:

5 hang power snatches

50 double unders or (150 single unders)

15 push ups

I was able to complete exactly 3 full rounds in those 8 minutes


I'm going to make myself a paleo turkey taco salad with homemade guacamole for lunch.  I'm starving!  ;)

Friday, September 27, 2013

What a way to end the week!

I feel like whenever I blog I tend to say the same things.....I woke up and didn't want to go to crossfit.  haha  But it's always the truth.  It was a cold and dark morning and staying in my warm bed and catching some extra Zzzz's seemed much more appealing than putting on workout clothes and going to the gym. 

I guess the good news is that I DID go and got my butt handed to me on a silver platter. 

We started off with ladder drills.  This was my 1st time doing them.  They were actually kind of fun.  They put a rope ladder on the ground and we had to do various things like jump squatting on each rung, or hopping in and out of the squares etc etc. 

For the skill set we did 4 sets of 5 Turkish get-ups on each arm.  After the 1st two rounds we did four 20 second plank holds, then more Turkish get-ups, followed by 4 more plank holds.  My core, my legs, and my arms were shaking.  My muscles were TIRED!

Our WOD was awful.  I felt nauseous half way through.  Thankfully I didn't get sick.  In groups of two we did (all with weighted bar bells)

50 squat thrusters
20 walking lunges
50 overhead squats
20 walking lunges
50 back squats
20 walking lunges

My partner and I finished in 9:54

I just wanted to lie on the ground in my puddle of sweat and not move.  I'm so so so tired!!  That WOD was a fine line from my breaking point.  I could feel myself get a little teary eyed towards the end, which always tells me that I hit my limit. 

I'm going to take a long, warm, bubble bath and possibly a nap before the kids get home from school.  I think I deserve it. 

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

1st week of the Paleo Challenge is officially over


1 week down, 5 more to go with this Paleo Challenge.  My first week has been chalk full of temptations of all sorts.  All in all I think I've done great!  I miss cheese like crazy as well as half n half for my coffee.  I can do this for 5 more weeks.  It'll be so worth it when I go to Boise.  Not only will I thoroughly enjoy my food when I'm there, but I know my clothes will be fitting better and running the 5k will be easier.  I tried on a sweater that my sister gave me a couple years ago.  It's never fit, like not even close.  It was so tight I've contemplated getting rid of it several times.  I was able to wear it yesterday and it fit perfectly.  Hurray!!!! 

Crossfit is always hard, but there are days where it's hard and it feels good, and then days where it's hard and you want to die.  Today I wanted to die. 

Our warm up was kettle bell maxercise.  Basically we did several minutes of nonstop kettle bell exercises. 

Our skill set was all about hang cleans.

It was 10 sets:
flat footed clean pull
hang power clean
hang squat clean
jerk

I loved the jerks.  It was my first time ever doing them.  I must admit I did feel a little bit like a bad ass. 

Our WOD was in a group of 3:

row 3000 meters

120 burpees

I'm slowly conquering my fear of running.  It's not as hard anymore.  Rowing on the other hand suck so bad!  It's crazy hard and my stomach fat likes to get in the way, which makes it harder to catch my breath.  I wanted to quit so bad.  If it wasn't for my group/team, I don't know how well I would've faired. 


It's only 7pm and I'm tired enough to go to bed.  Unfortunately my husband is out of town working, so I'll have to stay up and get the kids off to bed in an hour. 

I'm looking forward to seeing how my body changes during the last 5 weeks of this challenge.  It feels really good to fuel my body on clean foods.  My mood is better, I sleep SO much better, and I think it's a good example for my children. 

Monday, September 23, 2013

Test workout

This was a tough weekend!  My husband got turtle cheesecake from a coworker to celebrate his birthday which he brought home.  Then we took the kids to a local corn maze and afterwards hubby and the kids shared a giant elephant ear.  Sunday hubby got a pumpkin spice latte from starbucks and ate macadamia salted caramel clusters.  AHHHGGGGG!!!!!!!!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!    The good news is I survived.  I am sorely missing my morning cup of coffee.  I can't handle black coffee, I wish I could. 

So today in honor or everyone starting the Paleo challenge they had us do a test workout.  Basically we will see how well we do today and then in a month we will do the workout again and see how much better we can do. 

Our warm up sucked butt.  We did partner line drills.  Bear crawls, crab walks, sprints, long jumps, blah.  I was tired after just the warm up. 

Our skill set was using kettle bell snatches to go right into kettle bell wind mills.  We then did some ARMBAR stretches and kneaded out our partner's Achilles.

The WOD was a 15 min AMRAP.

5 burpees

7 pull ups

10 goblet squats

I was able to finish exactly 8 rounds using a 20 lb dumbbell for the goblet squat.

I wasn't super happy with only getting 8 rounds since the average seemed to be around 9.  Oh well, I did my best and that's what I could do.  I'm anxious to see how my performance differs when I do this WOD again.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Palleo Challenge Day 2 of 42

Yesterday was stressful.  Actually beyond stressful.  I felt like I was at my very limit and if one more thing went wrong or got piled on my "to do" list I was going to throw myself off a bridge.  I actually broke down into tears by bedtime.  I won't get into all of it, you'd be bored to tears and probably want to throw yourself off a bridge as well.  The point of saying all that was DESPITE all the stress, I didn't cheat.  I kept to my paleo eating and even got in a 3.5 mile hike. 

Today has also been quite successful.  My husband got a bonus and we were able to pay off some medical bills and a few other small debts.  That felt good!  He also wanted to go celebrate by going out to dinner.  We ended up going to the Texas Roadhouse.  I was a good girl.  I stayed away from the homemade rolls with cinnamon butter, the roasted peanuts, and the cheesy bacon fries they ordered for an appetizer.  I had an ice water, filet mignon, and steamed vegetables.  I left feeling more than satisfied.  My dinner was delicious and I didn't feel deprived at all.  Two days down with forty more to go. 

My goal is to get through this 6 week challenge with zero cheats, none, zilch, nada.  My mother's birthday is coming up as well as my own.  This will be the 1st time in my life that I won't have cake on our birthdays.  It's a good thing.  I need to learn that I can handle a special occasion without HAVING to have treats. 

Things I love about Paleo......I'm never hungry.  The food is so incredibly satisfying.  It fills me up but never leaves me feeling sick or bloated.  I also love how many different fruits and veggies I eat on a daily basis.  It's fantastic! 

Things I dislike..........I miss cheese.  I also really like beans and legumes and those aren't allowed.   This time of year, as things cool down, I love a hearty soup with beans and veggies and meat.  mmmm so good. 

I'd love to be down another pant size by the time I go to Boise.  Every extra pound I can melt away is going to make running the 5K just that much easier.  I'm also flying Southwest Airlines and they have just 17in seats!  I flew to Boise in June of 2012 and I couldn't buckle my seatbelt.  I lost a little bit of weight before I went again in November and was able to just barely buckle the belt.  Since then I've lost over 30 inches and 2 pant sizes, so I KNOW I'll be able to buckle myself in with ease, but I still don't want to be oozing out of my seat onto the person next to me.  It's not only embarrassing, but I feel bad for the other passenger.  It's not their fault I'm big.  They shouldn't have to suffer for it. 

Tomorrow we're taking the kids to a giant corn maze.  Can't wait!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

feeling like a freaking heifer!

Today starts day 1 of the 6 week Paleo Challenge.  I took my measurements this morning as well as "before" photos.  I got a back, side, and front photo of myself in exercise pants and a sports bra.  I looked at those photos and immediately wanted to throw the camera across the room and smash in into a hundred pieces.  5 months of crossfit, over 30 inches lost so far and I'm still flipping HUGE!  I don't feel like I'm as fat as the pictures showed I was. 

I will wait to post my hideous heifer pictures after my 6 weeks is up along with the after photos.  I hate looking like this, hate hate hate HATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  You know those people that tell you to love yourself no matter where you are in your journey?  Well, I have the overwhelming urge to karate chop them in the neck today.  Just sayin'.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

6 week Paleo challenge starts TOMORROW

After getting pissed and cranky about the Paleo Challenge rules at my crossfit I have decided to just do my own thing.  I'll be starting my 6 week challenge tomorrow.  I leave for Boise on Halloween and that will be the day after the challenge is over.  Perfect timing!  So I won't get to win any money or prizes or even be part of the group who is recognized as being part of this diet eating lifestyle.  So what.  The truth is everything I'm doing is for me.  I should be glad to do it just for my own health and well being.  That should be my true reward.  Still trying to convince myself that money isn't everything.  *sigh*

I felt pretty good this morning despite the chaos of trying to get all three kids out of bed, dressed, fed, lunches made, hair brushed, and out the door before their buses arrived.  Sometimes I feel like I should have the The Flight Of The Bumble Bee playing in the background. 

Crossfit was a challenge today.  Our WOD was in honor of a gentleman who was killed in action while serving our country.  I believe he served with Derek.  I think it's neat that crossfit as a whole honor men and women that have been killed while serving our country. 

Our WOD was 5 rounds:

12 deadlifts

9 hang power cleans

6 push jerks 


All of the lighter bar bells were taken so I went with a bar that I thought might be too heavy and used just 5 pound weights on either side just to keep the bar off the floor......55 pounds in all. 

Surprisingly I was able to complete the WOD using 55lbs instead of what I wanted to use which was around 45lbs. 

I'm exhausted and my arms and hamstrings feel like rubber. 

I need to go to Walmart today and get myself a notebook.  I want to start keeping a very detailed log of my workouts and the weights I'm using so I can refer to it as I continue on this crossfit journey as well as keep a detailed record of what I'm eating every day.  I will take my measurements tomorrow morning and again on Halloween (6 weeks later). 

I think since today is my last day of eating nonPaleo foods, I'm going to get a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte and maybe even have pizza for dinner. Naughty naughty! 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

I want it MY way!

Finally feeling better, hurray!  I did make it to crossfit yesterday and it was great to get back in the game. 

Warm up: run 400 meters then do a partner burpee ladder.  Example:  I do one burpee, partner does one burpee, I do two burpees, partner does two burpees etc etc until we both get to 7 burpees. 

Skill set: kettle bell snatches, ab rollers, jump squats
We went over and over the proper techniques and then did 5 rounds of 5 snatches on each arm, 10 ab rollers and 5 jump squats.

WOD: This was a EMOTM (every minute on the minute) for 12 minutes:

3 kettle bell snatches on each arm and 7 up/downs (similar to a burpee)

I AM SO SORE TODAY!!!!!!!


So we finally found out the details of our paleo challenge and I'm super bummed.  Usually it sounds like if you want to participate you pay $50.  After 6 weeks the 3 people with the most impressive results get the cash prize.  I believe Meagan said last time the winner won a few hundred dollars.  Unfortunately this time they changed the rules.  It's $15, no cash prize, and the $ goes towards a bbq meal that all participants will get after they complete the challenge.

 I don't want any freaking food, I want to win $$$$$$!!!!!  I'm sorry but winning $ to me is a hugely motivating.  Eating a bbq meal is not.  I know I know I'm acting like a spoiled child who isn't getting things her way.  Still.......I'm quite frustrated.  I'm embarrassed to admit I actually felt like crying after I read the new rules.  *sigh*



Other rules include:

before/after pics
before/after weight
before/after measurements

doing a minimum of 3 WODS a week

a food log

We can partner up to support each other.  I don't really have any friends there, so I guess I'm on my own. 

I'm sure that if I can stick to 6 weeks of Paleo and 6 weeks of crossfit 3 times a week plus running.....that I'll see some decent progress in my health and fitness goals.  I could've really used that prize money. 

Oh well.  Such is life.  Time to "build a bridge and get over it".  (as my husband likes to say)  ha!

Friday, September 13, 2013

It caught up with me, party is cancelled.

I thought I was feeling better, but last night was awful.  Double ear infections, sore throat and a fever to boot.  Needless to the say the party I was going to have for hubby tonight has been cancelled along with the hike with my mother and going to crossfit. 

Man I hate being sick!!!!!!!!  It ruins everything!  :(

Thursday, September 12, 2013

BURNED THE ZUCCHINI WHILE DREAMING OF CAKE

I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and made it into the gym yesterday.  Still not feeling great, but I didn't want to miss anymore workouts.  We started off with a bunch of exercises that activated our glutes.  Our backsides were definitely "warmed up" by the end.  Our WOD was 3 rounds of

* pulling a weighted sled down the alley and then back up the alley

* 2 minute AMRAP 5 burpees and 5 sit ups

We were in groups of three.  It took our group 28 minutes and 2 seconds to complete this WOD.  I believe we were definitely the slowest of the groups.  That's ok though, we all got a great workout.  Two of the girls in my group are brand spankin' new.  It was nice not to be the new girl who didn't know what to do.  Last time I did the sleds I put 45 lbs on it.  Yesterday I used 85 lbs.  It was hard and it kicked my rear, but it was totally doable. 

Today I'm getting ready to go clean my brother's house and then I'll be getting in a run before the kids get home from school.  Tomorrow I'm going to crossfit and afterwards my mother and I are hiking Mineral Ridge....the 3.3 mile hike.  After that I'll be baking up a couple apple pies for my husband's birthday party. 

I found out yesterday that our Paleo challenge at crossfit will start Sept. 23rd and go through Oct. 25th.  I'm super excited to get on board and going 100% Paleo for 32 consecutive days.  It'll end just a few days away from my trip to Boise to visit my sister and our 5K run. 

By the way, the title of this post is what happened yesterday.  While pan frying my zucchini yesterday I lost track of time as I was looking at pictures of cake on the computer.  My food addiction still feels very much alive. 

Monday, September 9, 2013

I blame the kids.........

I'm sick.  AGAIN!  I feel like I blog about being sick like every other month.  This time I'm blaming the kids.  Every time they start school one or more of them contracts some sort of illness and brings it home to share with me.  And being the wonderful loving mother that I am, I accept their gift of illness.  They each had a dentist apt this morning so I put off today's workout for tomorrow.....at this point I'm not sure I'll actually be able to follow through with it after all.  I think I may just use tomorrow to rest and nap while the kids are at school. 

Hope you all are staying WELL.  Fingers crossed this passes quickly and things can get back to "normal"  whatever that means.  ;)

Friday, September 6, 2013

Man Makers

The last couple of days have been rough, really rough.  My husband and I have not been getting along so well.  He's super stressed about his job and I'm stressed trying to keep everything at home together.  So to make a super long story short, things have been stressful and we're not doing so well at leaning on each other when we should. 

I woke up today depressed and sad.  It was raining and super dark outside.  I just wanted to send the kids off to school and go back to bed and watch movies. 

Instead I got my workout clothes washed and dried, a protein shake made and headed out the door.  I'm always glad when I go.  I feel so much happier and stronger than I did when I woke up. 

Our warm up was to grab a partner and throw a medicine ball back and forth.  We did overhead tosses where we'd catch the ball, go into a deep squat and then toss the ball overhead to our partner.  We did a few others and then moved onto our skill sets.  We practiced Turkish get-ups.  We'd start off with a light kettle bell and then move up to our max weight.  The heaviest bell I was able to use was 26 lbs.  It was SO hard to do and my left arm, which is definitely my weak arm, felt like it was going to buckle under the weight.  Then I look over and see girls who are half my size using 50 lb kettle bells with ease.  
 
 
Our WOD was doing Man Makers.  As many as we could in 10 minutes.  This is a quick video clip of what a man maker looks like.

Video of how to do man makers


They were hard, and my whole body is dead to the world but I feel really good inside.  I'm crossing my fingers that this weekend goes smoothly.  I can't stand tension within the home.  Hope you all have a happy and healthy weekend.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Partner Up

I woke up with the mother of all migraines.  I wish I knew what caused them.  My mother gets them as well as my sister.  It was so bad I knew I wouldn't be able to make it to crossfit, but to my surprise the two Excedrin I took worked shortly before I normally leave for class.  So because I felt better, I had no excuses not to go.  I'm glad I did.  I loved the warm up.  It was two sets of 3 different movements.  They weren't hard, but they really opened up some of the different muscle groups. 

The skill set was doing 5 strict presses every minute on the minute for 10 minutes.  These were tough, but felt awesome!

The WOD was a partner WOD.  I tend to really hate being partnered up.  Mostly because I'm slow, and I feel like I drag my partner(s) down.  Today one of my very favorite crossfit peeps was back after a few months away.  I was worried she had quit or had moved to a different class.  Apparently she had surgery and was recovering.  So we ended up being partners which worked out well.  I'm always slow and because she hasn't been working out in several weeks, she was slow.  Yay for the slow peeps!  haha

We did 6 rounds (3 each) of

250 meter row

15 burpees (they had me do ten)

10 push presses with the bar

During my 1st round of push presses I had too much weight on the bar and literally hit my face with the bar as I was bringing it back down from being overhead.  I felt like a complete idiot because as I looked up from hitting my face there was Derek, watching me.  Oh how come when I do the dumbest things there are always people watching.  Hey Derek, watch how coordinated I am.  Watch me slap my face against the bar.  Watch me act like a moron.  There are days that hiding under a rock seems like a better option than going out in public. 

This WOD was BRUTAL!  Those last 10 push presses made my arms burn like crazy!

We finished in 14 minutes 46 seconds.  Towards the end of my 3rd round I started feeling a little light headed and sick.  BUT I finished and I'm so so so glad I went.  I feel so much better mentally and physically when I go. 

Tomorrow is running and Friday will be another crossfit session.  Bring it on!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Running in the rain

I woke up today to rain.  I forced myself to go running anyway.  It actually felt quite invigorating.  I can hardly believe how my running endurance has changed since I first started this program. The first week you run just 60 seconds and then walk for 90 over and over.  Those 60 seconds seemed like an hour!  My legs would cramp up and I'd get terrible side aches.  Now I'm able to run for 3 minutes at a time.  I don't get cramps or side aches anymore either.  I'm really starting to look forward to running that 5K with my sister in two months. 


I have a house full of healthy food so there are no excuses this week why I can't get my workouts in and nourish my body properly. 

Have you ever heard of  Bountiful Baskets?  It's a fabulous nonprofit organization that gives you tons of fresh produce for only $15 a basket.  You get between 5 and 6 different varieties of fruit and 5 to 6 varieties of veggies each week.  It's a great way to eat healthy and not break the bank.  You can order as often or as little as you like.  There is no sign up fees, no commitment, just good food for a great price.  Check it out!  

www.bounitfulbaskets.org



Sunday, September 1, 2013

cake, pie and donuts

I ended up not running on Thursday and wimped out on going to crossfit on Friday.  I was in a super bad mood and just couldn't bring myself to leave the house.  What is my problem?  I'm willing to bed I deal with some sort of depression issues.  My mood swings are a bit on the crazy side.  When I'm happy I'm SUPER happy....when I'm sad I'm SUPER sad...etc etc.......then again....maybe that's borderline bipolar.  All I know is I hate feeling like this but I can't afford to see a Dr. and I REALLY can't afford to be on any sort of medication. 

I ended up making enchiladas and chocolate cake on Friday.  I didn't eat the cake, but I did have a few swipes of the fudge frosting.  I even drank a beer.  Then on Saturday my husband brought home donuts for breakfast and a French silk pie to have with our bbq.  Hot dogs, pasta salad, baked beans, more beer and a big slice of pie.  Sunday (today) I had another two donuts for breakfast.  We went for a long hike in Montana and then went to a local Mexican restaurant to have dinner.  I feel physically ill......like my body has nothing buy garbage in it.  I suppose that's not too far from the truth.  I hate falling off the wagon. 

Come on crossfitcda, I need you to start that Paleo challenge.  I need to have a goal to work towards (like winning $)  and have an accountability partner.  Food has been my friend since grade school and I use it to soothe myself when I'm feeling emotionally sad, unhappy, frustrated, stressed ......you get the idea. 

Tomorrow I'm going to do my best to get back on the horse.  My house is now officially free of junk food and stocked to the gills with fresh produce.  I have got to continue taking steps in the right direction.  Tomorrow I'll be doing my running since crossfit is closed due to the holiday.