First Crossfit workout after cancer

I met with Meagan today.  We did a 30 minute, one on one "class".  She wanted to see where I was physically.  I'll be doing several one on one classes until she feels I'm ready to rejoin the regular classes.  I was so nervous today.  I could hardly eat any lunch and I just wanted to crawl under the covers of my bed and not come back out. 

She had me start off on the airdyne bike to get the blood flowing.  I had the hardest time even getting my fat ass on the darn thing.  Literally took me 30 seconds of floundering before I was able to hoist myself up onto the seat.  As I warmed up, Meagan told me that we are going to be going at a very slow pace.  She's going to essentially be "babying" me, until I can work back up to more normal workouts. 

All I can say was what little I did today was very VERY hard for me.  My muscles felt so weak and my body felt so heavy.  Mentally I want to walk back in and just jump right in to where I left off.  That's just not going to happen.  It kills me, KILLS ME, to start back at the beginning.  I wasn't even able to finish the uber tiny WOD she created for me.  I felt to sick to my stomach I just couldn't finish.  I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, I wanted to kick my feet and throw a tantrum.  My mind is SOO ready to be back but my body is no where near on the same page. 

 

 

Finding myself at the beginning again is almost more than I can take. I feel like I shouldn't have fallen so far back down the ladder.  Somehow I should've been able to keep up with everything.  I know deep down that's insane.  I had cancer, I was on a chemo that ravished my body, and yet I feel like I somehow failed.  I can only hope that with each class I attend, that it'll get better and better. 

 

 

 

 

My best pal is doing bootcamp right now and I constantly tell her not to get discouraged, that this is all part of the process, blah blah blah.  I really need to heed my own advice.  Why is it so easy to give others grace and forgiveness but we are so hard on ourselves? 

 

 

My next class is in 3 days.  My goal until is to eat as clean as possible, take my vitamins and drink lots of water.  



1 week till Paleo Challenge kick off

I'm super excited for this coming Paleo challenge at our Crossfit.  It starts Jan. 6th and runs for 6 weeks.  This time it costs $40.  There will be two winners, 1 male, and 1 female.  They will split the moola.  The smount of money you can win, will completely depend upon how many people sign up.  I gave my $40 to Meagan this morning and officially signed up.  I was also the very first one to sign up....that's a good sign, right?  I fully plan on winning this thing!  I have the most fat to lose (female wise) in the gym, so I think that gives me a bit of an advantage.  I hope! 

I made it to the gym today and got my behind handed to me on a silver platter....or should I say, my arms?!  My arms felt like jelly afterwards and still feel quite weak and sore.  I didn't realize that I PR'd my back squat today.  115 lbs.  Still not a great number, but I was happy with it. 

Not much else to report.  I'm glad Christmas is over.  It was stressful and frustrating.  I'm just ready to get 2014 started. 

Where has the energy gone?

I haven't felt much "pep" lately.  Where'd it go?!  I'm not sure if it's the crummy sleep I'm getting, the dark winter days, the single digit temps or what.  I miss the full of life feeling I had during the summer. 

My mom called me today to let me know they had to put their dog down.  Jamaica was almost 14 years old.  I clearly remember the first day they brought her home.  She was an 8 week old black lab and my mom brought her down into my room and let her wake me up by licking me.  I feel bad for my parents, they are taking her death very hard.  =( 

I did make it to crossfit.  I really wanted to skip it today though.....it was mostly cardio.  I'd much rather lift weights that do cardio.  Cardio is great for skinny mini's....not for chunky monkey's like myself.  I suppose I need it the most though...since it's a great fat burner.  WHATEVER........I still freaking hate it. 

We rowed 1000 meters, did 40 jumping pull ups, and then had to burn 65 calories on the airdyne bike.  BARF BARF BARF! 

I finished in 15 min 7 seconds.  Definitely one of the slowest times of the day.  Drat! 

I'm going to brew myself up a cup of coffee and then maybe soak in a hot bubble bath.  My let muscles are screaming at me. 

LOVING ME SOME DEADLIFTS!

Life gets so hectic around the holidays!!  I don't know how people keep up with it all.  I feel like I start to fall behind around Thanksgiving and by the New Year I'm ready to throw in the towel. 

I made it into crossfit the day after Thanksgiving.  I felt extremely swollen due to all the salt I consumed.  I had just one plate of food, and really just normal/proper amounts of everything.  Potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, turkey, gravy and some cranberry sauce.  Nothing too extreme.  Still the next day my joints hurt and my fingers and toes felt stiff.  I was glad I got right back on the horse the day after the holiday.  I was also proud that I only had about 6 bites of pie that evening.  I used to use holidays as an excuse to not only eat bad food, but to stuff my face for days afterwards.   

By the weekend I started to developed some terrible migraines.  They were so bad that noises, smells, light, just about everything made it almost unbearable.  Because my head hurt so bad I couldn't eat because it would make me feel sick.  I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't listen to music or watch a movie.  It was all I could do just to make sure my kids got out the door for school and there was food for them to eat.  That has been my existence for most of this week.  I don't know what's causing them.  I'm guessing stress, but who really knows for sure? 

I felt a lot better this morning.  I was able to make it to crossfit today.  Hurray!  My head still hurts but it's only a slight headache.  Friday's are deadlift days, which are my favorite.  I really feel badass when I can lift heavy weights.  I lifted more than any of the girls there today.  I'm still the fattest, but it's nice to not be the weakest as well. 

We did a 10 minute kettle bell warm up.  Followed by 5 sets of 5 heavy dead lifts.  I pulled 205 lbs for my dead lifts.  My personal record for a single rep is 225, so I'm pretty sure the next time I test my limit, I'll be able to beat my last record.  205 is hard.  By the time I finished all my sets I was exhausted and sweat was dripping off my face.  They sure don't look like they are hard or that they do much, but if you research the deadlifts, they are one of the better lifts as far as results go.
Here's an article that goes into way more detail.

Our WOD was a 6 minute AMRAP.
5 air squats
5 kettle bell swings
10 air squats
10 kettle bell swings
etc etc until the 6 minutes runs out.

I used a 25 lb bell.  This was HARD!!  6 minutes sounds like it would be cake....it was not cake, it was more like torture.  Jonathan came by about half way through the WOD and told me that my squats were looking awesome.  He said my form was so much better than it used to.  Hurray!  I was ablet to get up to 25 squats and 17 kb swings before time was up.  My lungs burned SOOO bad! 
We finished off class with some cool down stretches and we were done. 


I'd really like to finish December strong.  No more sickness, no more migraines and getting in all my crossfit workouts.  Time to get in a hot bubble bath and relax.  It's flipping cold here today!  I think our high today should be about 3 degrees.  Brrrrr!!!!

Pain in the neck!

This is my neck after doing 125# back squats today.  I sent this picture to my coaches and they said I'm holding the bar too high and that I need to keep the bar lower.....basically on top of my traps.  Whatever traps are.  Derek said he'd show me tomorrow how to fix my form.  In the mean time I am freaking SORE!  Not only from all the back squats, which by the way was a 40 lb PR for me!  Woot woot!  I did 5 sets of 5 at 125 lbs.  That's a huge increase from what I have been doing. 

We also did FRAN yesterday.  I used 20 lbs more on my bar and boy oh boy did I feel it!  I woke up several times last night because every time I moved my muscles I would be in quite a bit of pain.  I'm taking today off completely to rest and recover.  Maybe I'll get a jump start on Thanksgiving preparations. 

Do you feel like because your body doesn't look the way you want that it holds you back from life?  I let how I feel about myself dictate just about every facet of my life.  I hate that!  I really wanted to wear a dress for the holidays but I feel like I'll look like a whale so I won't. In fact, because I still hate how my body looks I won't even go buy a new outfit.  I can't stand the thought of spending money on clothes that are huge.  I don't know how to love myself where I currently am and that really bothers me.  How does a person change that? 

1st ever family photos taken!

I've been  MIA for awhile now.  I developed a nasty case of bronchitis right before I left to go see my sister in Boise.  I had to cancel our 5K run.  I was miserable!  We pretty much just sat around and watched movies and talked.  Anything else hurt my lungs too much.  Even after I returned home I took off an entire week of crossfit to let my body heal. 

A couple weeks ago my husband took Friday off from work and he went with me to crossfit.  It was awesome for him to get to see what it's like first hand.  They let a family member try a class for free.  I know he wants to start boot camp soon.  He's itching to get involved in some sort of exercise and I think this will be perfect for him.  While there, we worked on deadlifts.  I hadn't been at crossfit for 2 1/2 weeks and during that time I was crazy sick and weak.  We worked on finding our 1 rep max.  Basically the most you can lift in just one lift.  My last 1 rep max was 160 lbs.  Meagan told me to not expect to lift that much since I've been gone for a long time and because I'd been sick.  I ended up lifting 205 lbs!!  I beat my last PR (personal record) by 45 lbs!  I was soo excited!  The WOD was awful.  I could really tell my endurance was way down. 

Last week I just went to class twice and this week I fully plan on going all three days.  It feels good to be back on the horse. 

So I hired Meagan ( one of my wonderful trainers) to take some photos of me and my family.  We've never.....like EVER....had family photos taken.  Every year my husband wants to and I decline saying that I'm too fat and that we can do it the following year.  This has been going on for 11 years.  Well Meagan posted on facebook that she does photography and I looked at some of her work and it was really good.  I went ahead, bit the bullet, and signed us up.  It was extremely hard for me to let someone take full body shots of me.  I hate sounding so selfish.....but all I could think about was how huge I still was.  I got our photos back a few days ago.  Meagan did an amazing job!  There are a few photos I'd like to banish forever, but instead I'm going to keep them so I can remember how I truly looked through my journey.  I much prefer the pictures from the waist up, but whatever...it is what it is.  I thought I'd share a few pictures...some good ones,  and one or two that make me feel insecure. 

 

An ass picture, really?!  BLAH!  It's like twice as big as my husband's.  On a good note, I had a couple people this week tell me at crossfit  that I was looking slimmer.  Hey, I'll take any compliment I can get. 

We also just got a 9 week old miniature dachshund puppy.  We named her Juniper.  She's a sweetie pie.  ♥

Fantastic end to the week!

Thursday was a great day.  I had three different people at crossfit tell me that they could tell I was getting smaller.  YAY!! 

Warm Up:
thoracic mobility
glute activation
Skill: ass-ist
3×10 romanian deadlift  ( I was able to do 90 lbs, much less weight than regular deadlifts.)
3×10, 1×15 BB glute bridge ( I went way heavier with this that I ever have before.  I used 140lbs)

WOD: Dels
20″ max effort sled drag, with 1:40 rest. Load up with as much as you can move quickly- stronger athletes will get bodyweight+. Repeat 8x.  (I used 135 lbs.  The most I've ever used before was about 100 lbs.)
after, grab a heavy kettlebell and swing (russian):
10 reps, 2 breaths
15 reps, 3 breaths
25 reps, 4 breaths
50 reps.
keep tech snappy and perfect, with as quick of a tempo as you can manage. (I used an 18lb bell. This was harder than I thought it was going to be.  Those last 50 swings were killer!)

I left Thursday feeling on top of the world. 


Friday was also fabulous!

Warm Up:
buddy row, get 500m each.  Teams of three.   ( I was able to row faster than I've ever rowed before.  Yay!!!!)
-rest when you get off the rower
-when a buddy transitions to rest, get 10 perfect squats.
Skill: snatch
thacker WU+
12 sets, ascending: snatch from position 2+snatch from position 1
Skill Option: KB ascendency 
one-arm swing, 10 reps
lateral swing, 10 reps
KB snatch, 10 reps.
switch sides, get 4 sets each side.
after, get 3×10 1 arm sott’s press
WOD: Hurler
20 pistol (alternating, 20 each leg) ( I did box step ups while holding a 25lb kettlebell)
then, 21-15-9 reps of

front squat 135/95 ( Used 45lb bar.....not even close to where I want to be on the front squats)

ring dip (not strong enough to do these yet, so I did pushups instead)

finish with 150x double under. ( For those that can't do double unders we were to attempt to do 50 and then do 300 single unders.  I actually was able to do 15 double unders.  15  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have never been able to even do 1 before.  I couldn't believe it! )


All in all it was a fabulous week!  I'm so thankful since the last few weeks I've felt down, weak and not very motivated.  I so needed a good week. 

It's a little chilly, but it's a clear blue sky and gorgeous outside.  Enjoy your weekend, I know I'm going to.  =)

Crushed today's workout....well kinda

Felt great this morning.  I got lots of much needed sleep and woke up feeling energized and roaring to go.  It's also a gorgeous Fall day.  Clear blue sky, a light crisp wind and gorgeous Fall colors everywhere you look. 

Our warm up was a partner medicine ball run.  We used a 15 pound ball and would throw it to our partner, then run ahead about 10 feet and they throw it back.  We did that for 300 meters and then we switched to squatting and then springing up and throwing the ball to our partner and then running ahead back and forth for the last 100 meters. 

Our skill set was a KILLER!!!  We were told to grab two kettle bells, they didn't have to be the same weight.  I grabbed a 25 lb bell and an 18 lb bell.  We went outside and started walking.  J (Jonathan) told us to raise our right arm all the way up and lock out the elbow.  We walked about 20 feet and then switched arms.  Next we held both bells up by our chins and did squats.  Deep squats and then we'd stand up, over and over for a couple minutes.  Next we held both bells up above our head and walked about 100 meters.  Then we stopped and did kettle bell swings with both bells at the same time.  My arms and lungs were burning so bad!  We then started walking again, alternating arms above the head.  Next we did about 100 meters of lunges with the bells. Finally we were told to just do a farmers carry for an additional 200 meters and then go inside for the WOD.  Even though it's COLD outside, I was pouring sweat.  I was regretting the size bells I chose.....although I was able to complete the skill set, so I guess I should be pleased. 

The WOD was done with a partner. 

10-1 reps (so we'd each to 10 of each move, then 9 of each move, then 8 then 7 and so on and so forth until you get down to 1 each. 

They gave us 20 minutes to complete it. 

The exercises were
*thrusters

*pull ups

*hand release push ups

I felt great going into the workout.  I was fast.  My partner is a gal who is fairly new and is slower than me.  Although she's stronger than me in some areas, she's also slower.  If the WOD was completed then we'd have done a total of 55 of each of the moves.  We weren't able to get the last three rounds in before time was up.  So we finished 49 of each of the moves.  It was ok.  I know I could've finished the WOD with a faster partner, but all in all it was not a big deal.  We all got in an amazing workout and we tried our best and that it what it's all about. 

They're offering a new class on Tuesday nights from 6:30-7:30 called Hearts and Barbells.  All I know is that it has something to do with lots of heavy lifting.  I'm going to go tomorrow evening to check it out.  I'm a little nervous since the 9:30 am class in my safe bubble.  I know the people that go and I feel comfortable with them now.  I'm guessing there will be a ton of people I don't know attending this new class and that makes me really nervous.  Eeeek! 

"to the pain"

Anyone know this quote?  "to the pain"   It's from my most favorite movie, The Princess Bride.

Humperdinck: First things first, to the death.

Westley: No. To the pain.

Humperdinck: I don't think I'm quite familiar with that phrase.

Westley: I'll explain, and I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to understand, you warthog-faced buffoon.

Humperdinck: That may be the first time in my life a man has dared insult me.

Westley: It won't be the last. "To the pain" means the first thing you lose will be your feet, below the ankles, then your hands at the wrists. Next, your nose.

Humperdinck: [losing his patience] And then my tongue, I suppose. I killed you too quickly the last time, a mistake I don't mean to duplicate tonight.

Westley: I wasn't finished! The next thing you lose will be your left eye, followed by your right —

Humperdinck: [exasperated] And then my ears. I understand! Let's get on with it-

Westley: WRONG! Your ears you keep, and I'll tell you why: So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out, "Dear God, what is that thing?" will echo in your perfect ears. That is what "to the pain" means. It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery forever.

Today's workout was "to the pain".  Well...........it was close.  haha

Our warm up was getting into groups of 3 and while 1 person rows 250 meters, the other two are doing junkyard dog.  We each took a turn.  I must say, that was the fastest I've ever rowed in my life!  I was able to row at a pace of 1:51.....which is a far cry better that was I used to row which was 2:35. 

Our skill set was a killer!

4 rounds

10 left handed lateral kettlebell swings

10 right handed lateral kettlebell swings

10 left handed regular kb swings

10 right handed regular kb swings

10 kb power cleans (using two bells)

1 minute native squat while holding a kettle bell

FOUR FREAKING ROUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!   Sweat was pouring off my body.  There was a disgusting amount of sweat on the floor all around me.  Everything burned, my muscles were tapped out!

Our WOD was hard as well. 

10 manmakers (BARF BARF BARF these are so hard!)

20 pull ups ( I did ring rows)

800 meter run

20 pull ups

10 more manmakers

I ran 700 out of the 800 meters.  HUGE accomplishment for me!  Especially after how tired I was.  BUT I did it!!  I kept up with the group and finished the workout.  It feels amazing!  I did cry on the way home though.  I know I pushed myself to my very limit.  Those last few manmakers had me grunting and groaning.  It took every last bit of energy I had to get them done. 

I'm not sure what exercise I'm going to get in tomorrow, but it'll be something easy going and not too strenuous.  I hope Friday's WOD isn't as hard as today's was.  OY!

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!  ;)

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. 

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. 

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.

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! 

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!

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.

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!

deep squats

I can totally feel my strength coming back after being ill.  Yay!  It kinda freaked me out on Monday when my muscles literally wouldn't work.  Today's workout at crossfit was great.  It was hard, it's always hard, but I felt really good by the time it was over. 

We did ankle and hip mobility for our warm up.  Whew, very difficult for me to do some of those moves.  Although the cool part was I was actually able to do them, where as two months ago I couldn't.  Literally couldn't.  I can feel my squats are getting a lot deeper.  When I first started my deep squats were more like super shallow ones for everyone else.  My hip mobility was awful.  I'm slowly getting my hips in good working order and am getting stronger so my squats are getting closer and closer to what they should be. 

Our skill set was stepping off a box and landing in a deep squat and then jumping up and high as we could with one strong thrust.  We also did Turkish getups and kettle bell windmills. 

Our WOD was a 10 min. AMRAP.

10 kettle bell power cleans

5 ab rollers

15 wall balls

I actually just looked at our WOD online and realized we were supposed to be doing 15 wall balls and I was only doing 10 per round....OOOPS!  Apparently I wasn't with it when they explained the WOD. 

I finished 5 complete rounds (with my 10 wall balls vs. the 15 we were supposed to do). 


Today is a busy day.  I have 1st grade open house for my daughter and 6th grade open house for my son.  I have a house that needs to be cleaned and picked up.  The 6th grade open house is from 5:30-7:00pm.  So we either eat a super early dinner or a fairly late one.  Ugh!  I should get my crap together and put something in the crockpot so I don't have to scamper and scurry to get dinner out as soon as we get home. 

Tomorrow is another running day.  Woohoo, bring it!

More owie shoulders

Today our warm up and skill set was more shoulder exercises.  Ouch ouch ouch!  They were incredibly tender after yesterday's workout. 

Our WOD was a 10 minute AMRAP

10 toes in the hole ( I did 10 ab rollers)

10 box hops

10 down/ups

 I was 3 down/ups away from getting in 5 full rounds.  (4 + 27)


I'm thankful that tomorrow is a running day and I won't have to go to crossfit.  I'm so very tired! 

Shoulders on fire!

We started off in groups of two for our warm up.  We each did 4 rounds of junkyard dog and bear crawls back and forth across the gym.  I did three rounds before we moved on to the skill sets.  I'm so flipping slow.  ARGG!  So annoying!

Our skill set was approx. 20 minutes of various kettle bell exercises.  This was literally nonstop.  I was a sweaty mess going into the WOD.

The WOD today was 50 pull ups, then run 1/2 mile, then a total of 20 kettle bell movements per arm.  We then ran another 1/2 mile and then did another 20 kettle bell movements per arm. 

I was the slowest person today but I finished.  I didn't take a modified run, I did exactly what was asked of me.  I have no idea what my time was because Meagan thought everyone had finished and she turned off the timer on the wall.  Oh well.  At this point I don't even care what my time was, I just care that I finished. 

During our kettle bell skill set a new gal had to stop, went to the restroom, and then came out and started crying.  She went outside and Jonathan went to go talk w/ her.  I felt bad.  I so know how it feels.  I wanted to pull her aside and talk with her after class, but she was gone by the time I finished my workout.  I hope she doesn't let today get her down.  I don't even know her name.  =(   Next time I see her, I need to make a point to say  hi and tell her I've had many of those experiences myself and that it gets better. 

Today's after workout protein shake consisted of coconut water, protein powder, stevia, and some frozen organic berries.  Delish!!!!  I'm loving the coconut water.  ♥