Shhhh...I Joined Crossfit...

So, recently I bit the bullet and I joined Crossfit…and I’ve sort of been keeping in on the DL.  I wanted to share why with you today.

Before

I actually used to secretly despise it.  Well, if I’m being perfectly honest, it wasn’t a secret.  Please know that it wasn't the sport itself but the weirdo self-proclaimed Crossfit ambassadors who just wouldn’t shut up about it.  You know the ones I’m talking about.

Source

And to drill down a little bit more, it’s not even the people who wouldn’t shut up about it – it is the cult members who feel it is the ONLY way someone can get fit or lose weight.  Guess what people?  It’s not.  There are some people out there with a definite arrogance about Crossfit and quite frankly, it’s annoying.

The second thing that bugged me about those die-hard Crossfitters was their obsession with Paleo.  Again, nothing to do with eating Paleo itself, but more about the smugness of those touting that it is the ONLY way to eat healthy or lose weight.

I will say this:  Crossfit is a sport, just like lots of other sports.  There’s running (my first love), walking, biking, Zumba, basketball, soccer, swimming, hiking, dodge ball…lots of people love these sports.  Lots of people get healthy doing any of these activities.  Paleo is an eating plan, just like lots of other eating plans.  There’s Weight Watchers, the Blood Type Diet, Atkins, eating clean, gluten-free, macrobiotic…lots of people lose weight successfully by following a healthy eating plan.

Truth:  86 of my 90 lost pounds are gone due to eating better and getting my butt off the couch.  

I didn’t follow one plan, but many, and found what worked for me in that moment in time…MANY times what worked for me, didn’t work for long…so I had to switch it up and do something different.  Bottom line:  eat healthy; get moving; be okay with switching it up.

After

Back to this whole Crossfit thing.  Yep, I (reluctantly) drank the proverbial Kool-Aid and I signed up.  Am I ashamed?  Hell No.  Do I feel like I have to explain myself?  Well, kind of.  JUST because of what I wrote above.  I want to separate myself from all the crazies!  Again, I am in NO WAY bashing Crossfit, but I want to assure you, I will not become one of THOSE people.

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So, if I felt so strongly about it, why DID I join?  Well, for a few PERSONAL reasons.  1) A year ago I hired a personal trainer, and she proceeded to kick my ass and made me love fitness even more than I thought I could.  She stole my healthy, fit heart.  She is also a Crossfit coach; and 2) I was ready for something new, to change up my workouts and wanted to do more strength training. 

I’ve never done any type of lifting – well, except food off my plate and into my mouth, ha!  – and I wanted to learn.  I’ve been wanting to learn how to lift properly for about 6 months now and while I am also a member of a big, national gym, nobody at that gym wanted to take the time to show me how to lift properly.  Yes, there are weights there, and seemingly there are “trainers” there that are supposed to have the knowledge to train us, but after numerous attempts asking for assistance, no one ever would.

I had heard about the Crossfit culture (the one that is encouraging and supportive) and it appealed to me.  I don’t think that every “box” (what Crossfitters call their gyms…I seriously cringe a smidge when I use that word because it’s so…well, Crossfitty) is the same, but the one that I have joined is great.  There are many reports of how the mentality of Crossfit is all about more…more weights, more squats, more burpees…more, more, more...but this particular box, Iron Musket Crossfit, is not like that.  AT ALL.  I have encountered the most caring, encouraging, certified trainers that I could have hoped for.  They watch us like hawks.  “Jenn, no more weights for you, you were struggling on that last squat…” or “You’re done; rack it.” Which means, put the damn weights down, now.  I feel like they are watching out for us.  I never felt like that at my other gym.  There’s comfort in this.

So what I’m here to say today is that I’m a proud Crossfitter.  It is what I was looking for in the next step of my journey and quite frankly, it’s just fun.  I look forward to seeing what the next workout will be…I love challenging myself in ways I didn’t even know I could.  If you’ve been following along on my journey this is not at all news to you.  I love hearing people yell my name in encouragement and I love encouraging my fellow boxmates…I’m not even sure that’s a word, but that’s what I’m calling them.

Oh, and the whole Paleo thing?  Haven’t heard a word about it at the box.  Nada.  Not sure if that means they are saving it for a later date or if they are of the same mindset as me:  eat healthy – enjoy life.  I’m really hoping that’s what it is.  I’ll keep you posted.

What I’d like to impart to you today though, is this:  Just do you.  Whatever makes you happy, and brings YOU joy, do it.  Just don’t put others choices down – what works for you, may not work for me and vice versa.  Isn’t the goal to get healthy?  That’s my goal…and I’ll be here to cheer you on – whatever YOU decide to do.

Catching Up.

Hey there!  It’s been a little bit since I posted and I’m going to be better about that, I swear!  It’s just that sometimes I don’t have a whole lot that is new to report so I don’t really feel worthy of taking your time, ha. 

The only NEW news that is going on is that I finally drank the kool-aid and joined Crossfit.  Is it weird that I have been sort of keeping it on the DL?  I don’t know if that’s just because EVERYone is joining or at least talking about it…I have no idea.  The reason for me, though, is that I just wanted to be challenged; I was ready for something new.  Most of you know now that I am obsessed with fitness, I really do love it…I am surprised at how easy that part of this healthy journey is for me.  I always make the time to work out…I just feel good doing it and it makes me happy, so I do it.  But I like to switch things up; I like trying new things and that’s what Crossfit is offering me, right now.  I want to learn proper lifting form and I want to challenge my body to try new things and get strong.  That’s what my focus is on right now:  getting strong.  I don’t want to get to my goal weight and have only lost weight – I want to be healthy all around.  My current class is Exercise Physiology and I am learning SOO much about how our bodies perform and react to certain types of movement and how it functions.  It has really made Crossfit so much more interesting from a physiological point of view.

Stay tuned, I’m sure I will have lots more to share…but I promise not to bombard you with all things Crossfit because let’s be honest, that’s annoying.

Another thing I’ve really been focusing on is clean eating…and by that I don’t mean any type of “plan” but just trying to incorporate more whole foods, reducing sugar intake; getting back to basics.  My next class is Nutrition and I cannot wait to get into it and learn more.

One last thing to share, and if you follow A Healthy Makeover on Facebook you’ve seen this pic, so my apologies for the redundancy…recently I celebrated my 43^rd birthday so I decided to look back and see if I could find some pictures from 10 years ago and I found this lovely piece of goodness.  Birthday’s are great to reflect and it was nice to look back and see how far I’d come.  I spent ALL of my 20s and 30s overweight.  I am so happy that I finally made the decision to stop the regret cycle and actually do something that I’d be proud of.  I just can’t spend another 20 years of my life as an obese person.  I wonder if I even had another 20 years?  Pretty scary.

Respect Reality

Hey there!  It's NSV Thursday and time to link up with two of my favorite ladies, Katie and Ashlee!

This week, I just want to talk about something that I think about all of the time and after reading some of my favorite blogs this past week, this might be of some help to others, as well.

If you get a chance, check out this article from US News & World Report.  It's called The Most Important Skill for Weight Management.  The article really hit home for me and the summary is that life happens and no matter what your best efforts are in healthy living, sometimes life is going to throw you a curve.  The only way to be successful in your healthy lifestyle is to Just. Keep. Going.

For instance, last weekend I PRd my running distance and ran 6.83 miles.  Then on Sunday, I biked over 15 miles.  I felt amazing; like I could move mountains.  I was a little sore but overall feeling pretty damn good about myself and my efforts.  I'm constantly amazed at what my body can do, so I'm constantly pushing the limits.  Constantly.

Then came Monday and my Crossfit session with my trainer.  My workout consisted of a warmup:  1 lap (.75 miles), 50 high knees and 20 squats.  Done.

The workout:

Run 1/2 mile
20 burpees
60 lunges
1 min plank

Run 1/2 mile
80 backslap jumping jacks
50 air squats
10 pushups
1 min each side, side planks

REPEAT

Cool down.  Which I didn't even get to.  Because at about lunge 35 of my first round I felt something tighten and almost snap in my left quad.  Did I stop?  Nope, I grimaced and I plowed on.  And guess what that got me?  The same feeling in my right quad.  By the time I got to the final round, I could barely walk.  But I effing did those MFing runs, squats, jumping jacks and planks. 

I finally let on how badly I was feeling and I was given the stink eye from my trainer as well as the stern instructions to take the next few days off.  I sorta gave her the "yah, as if" look and she told me about how being strong was not just about what your body could physically do and how hard you could push yourself, but that it is also about being mentally strong enough to say when enough is enough and to rest.

I have plowed through injuries before and ended up not being at my best for longer than necessary.  I'm learning that I need to know when to quit; I sure as hell don't want to be out of commission for longer than necessary.  But mentally, I'm not at the point where if that happens, I'd be okay.  In fact, I FEAR the possibility of not being able to work out and push myself physically; I have literally  become addicted to working out.  I'm not even ashamed, in fact I'm pretty damn proud of that fact, but still...

This sort of disturbs me and this article, which my trainer shared with us, really opened my eyes.  What would I do if something happened that sidelined me for a long period.  Do I have the mental strength to pick myself up and dust myself off and deal with it?  I don't know.  I'm still a little upset with myself when I overindulge for no apparent reason like on a random Thursday vs. at a special event or holiday.  The article states:

"Instead of being frustrated that your weight management 

or healthy living strategies are affected by reality, 

try to remember that your best efforts vary. 

The best you can do over the week of Passover or Easter is undoubtedly less 

healthful than the best you can do the week after. 

If your goal is your best, you'll never fall into the trap of repeatedly letting yourself down."

I have some work to do.  I am going to try to remember this and to keep this at the forefront of my healthy lifestyle.  I will continue to try my best every single day.  Whether or not I'm successful is up to me, but tomorrow is another day and another opportunity to continue with this amazing healthy life I'm not only enjoying now, but hope to enjoy for the rest of my life.

So my NSV this week was just one:  I did not stress about not working out the last two days.  In fact, I actually won't be able to work out again until Saturday.  But I'm not stressing.  

I have to admit...it feels pretty good.

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Workout Wednesday July 17, 2013

Hello lovelies!  I'm back!  I feel like it's been forever since I posted but it's not for lack of trying...have any of my fellow bloggers been bitten by this stupid Google bug??  Seriously!?  I could not post for like 5 days and it was irritating as hell!  I literally shouted to all of you, "I'm STILL HERE!"

So, work out wise, I have really stepped it up and quite honestly, I can tell you that the changes I've made have seemed to make a huge difference in both my endurance and my strength...AND I think in just a few short weeks, I'M starting to notice the changes myself...



I know, right?!



It's this whole strength-training, shit - guess what?  It works.

For the past three weeks, I've been incorporating 3 strength training sessions into my workout week and I swear that has made such a huge difference.  Plus, I love that it's such a change to my cardio life.  In addition, I'm running 3x a week and, because I just love it so much, I take Zumba on Saturdays.

My Movestrong class continues to be so much fun; I love not knowing what we're going to be doing and get excited when we arrive to find out.  Saturday, this was our layout:

The workout consisted of 1 minute intervals of each:

1) Kneeling hamstring curls - those were harder than they looked.  Basically felt like your hammies were cramping the whole time.

2) Step up/downs with dumb bells on the three boxes

3) Ringed step jumps - I have no idea if this is the real name, but basically you put your foot into the ring, then using the other one, jump up and down off the step platform.

4) Flip the 165# tire back and forth - that's my fave!

5) Thigh crunches

6) Squats holding the 15# ball overhead

We did all of this twice and then,

7) We finished with plié squat intervals with 15 - 30# dumb bells - 2 sets of 10 reps

In between all of these, we did 30 seconds of squats and plié squats.  I'm pretty sure we did over 500 squats.  Then I followed it up with Zumba.  It was a great workout day!

My Crossfit trainer, Vanessa is amazing.  I seriously have a girl crush on her.  #dontjudge  She's hot and fit and funny - all things I aspire to be.  She is training our group for our Blood & Guts run in October and she basically has been putting us through tons of drills to work on our endurance and agility. I absolutely love Tuesday's trainings and I always look forward to what she's going to have us do.  Last night we did jumps, belly crawls, balance beam work, ice skaters and jump squats.  And, she's started throwing in some "penalties" for not being able to perform.  For instance, if we fell off the balance beam, we had to do 5 burpees.  No burpees for me, thank goodness, because they effing suck no matter how hard I try, I cannot do them gracefully. 

I think the thing I really love about these trainings is that I don't have to think about it.  I just show up and they tell me what to do, correctly, and I just go to it.

The rest of my workout week has been spent running; I am really loving my morning run especially since it has been so freaking HOT (we're talking humidity in the 90s even at 5:30 in the morning!) and my time has been improving:

71 degrees and cool...happy face...

This was this morning...pissed me off that I had to cut my run short, but it was SOO hot...like I was running in water, blah...

77 degrees and oppressive...yucky face...

The rest of my week will be bittersweet, our dear friends are moving to Colorado and I'm going to miss them so much!  I cry every time I think about it...she's been my gym rat buddy for my entire journey and things just won't be the same without her.  I promised her that I'd continue on without her here, though and we'll definitely be keeping each other in check!



Me & My Maria - March 2013 - Prison Bus Limo...cuz, that's how we rolllll...


Don't forget to check out this week's healthy recipe at A Healthy Makeover.  Make your own blackened seasoning - so much better tasting than any mixes you'll get in the store and no weird fillers!

http://ahealthymakeover.blogspot.com/2013/07/blackened-seasoning.html

Workout Wednesday

 

Hey Heyyy!  It's time for Workout Wednesday with Skinny Meg!

 

The past week seems like such a blur and I know exactly what I can attribute it to:  morning workouts.  Now, if you don't know me, let me tell you a little bit about myself...I'm not a set-my-alarm-and-workout kind of girl.  I love my workouts but I will do them in the afternoon and that's been fine for 20 months into my journey...thankyouverymuch.

 

But something clicked last week; I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep so I decided to lace up and run.  And I fell in love.  After my workout, I just felt amazing.  I began to think about the potential possibilities of the things I could do after work since I had already gotten my run in...This morning workout shizz?  I'm digging it.  I know, I know, I'm SOOO late to the party, but better late than never, right?

 

So, back to my blurry week...

 

Friday

I ran 2.7 miles (38:50)

 

Saturday

I finally made it back to Zumba after 2 months!!  It's my first love and is probably responsible for 1/2 of my weight loss - I've missed it but I've been trying to get in as many runs as I can so it felt great to be back!  I followed it up with a sesh on the treadmill for 2 miles of sprints/jogging intervals.

 

Monday - (this one was earlllllllyyyy...4:50am!!  Um, in case you were wondering, even in the Summertime, 4:50am is dark!) 

I ran 3.51 miles (51:18)...and sweat my mother-lovin arse off!!  It was 72° and HUMID...look, proof:

 

 

Pretty sweat bib...

 

...and THEN, I went to the gym after work for a MoveStrong session.  This week we worked on a lot of arms and core.  This is also when I hurt myself getting off the parallel bars...hubby said, "Everyone knows the routine's not over until you nail the dismount."  Yah, all my dismount consisted of was a buckled elbow, subsequent jamming of my shoulder and thumb, and finally, a punch to my own head.  #graceful

 

 

My whiny Instagram Selfie...

 

Tuesday - A few of my friends and I hired a certified Crossfit trainer to work us and get ready for our Blood & Guts run in the Fall.  PS:  This would not have been my first choice for an obstacle run...I'm more of a Flowers & Butterflies kind of girl.  Anywhooo, I couldn't wait to get started and I was even more excited after I met her.  She's wonderful!  She was knowledgeable and made sure we were always using proper form and most importantly, she was positively encouraging...no Jillian Micheals here, you get me?  Flowers & Butterflies...flowers & butterflies.  Our work out consisted of a 7/10 mile run, then back to do 40 overhead weighted walking lunges, 20 bear crawls (hated to love these), 20 jump squats, then 10 push ups...and in between each we ran 200m...then we did it all over again and ended with another 7/10 mile run and stretching.  I cannot wait to go back next week!

 

Wednesday (Today!) - I ran 3.02 miles (43:48).  This morning was PAINFUL...it might not have been if I had gone to bed at a decent time.  But I didn't...I went to bed at midnight and woke up and 3:30am in pain from my jammed thumb and shoulder and couldn't get back to sleep until 4:30.  I literally rolled out of bed at 5:30 and threw my clothes on and did it.  It was absolutely the last thing I wanted to do this morning so that's why I did it.  Although I feel exhausted...I am so super proud of myself for not ignoring the alarm and getting my ass out the door.  I'm winning, y'all.

 

 

Hilly + 4 hours of sleep but I was out there!

Don't forget to check out this week's recipe at A Healthy Makeover!  If you're looking for a dish to bring to tomorrow's 4th of July BBQ, this is the one!!  Corn & Black Bean Salad - Always a hit!!  Happy and safe 4th to you!!