A LOT can happen in a year!

This coming Wed, July 23rd will mark my one-year anniversary of joining Jerry's Crossfit Challenge.

I'm not sure if I can adequately put into words how my life has changed since starting Crossfit. I've become a part of an amazingly unique and warm family. I've grown stronger both mentally and physically. My self-image has changed and my confidence has gone up. My life is simply better: both more healthy and more happy. I don't know if I have any more words left, so I will leave you with some before and after pictures. (They go back and forth between before and after).


**Before and after losing approx 40lbs of fat + gaining mucho muscle, 26lb KB "before", 70lb KB "after"; 35lb clean "before", 55lb clean "after"

Ow, my shoulders

Jerry never fails to disappoint for his Sunday workouts! Today was all about the push. I did the express workout, and scaled to 55lbs (65lbs was Rx for women):

9 push-ups
6 ring dips (floss)
3 strict press

AMRAP in 30 minutes
8.3 rounds

The Rx workout was 15-10-5, and boy am I glad I did the express! My shoulders were already getting smoked by round 2!

We ended the class with an extra challenge thrown in - a 500 meter row, and 100 KB swings for time. I opted to do the row.

My last 500m row time was 1:58

This time?

1:54.6!

Yay!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKL3THdakZQ
Yes - it was as painful as it looked!

Fran!

On Sunday, May 4th, I hit Fran as Rxed for the first time - and managed to finish in 14:59. My Dad was in town, and he could barely watch me work out - he kept looking, then walking away, and then peeking in again. For the uninitiated, Fran is:

21 Thrusters
21 Chins
15 Thrusters
15 Chins
9 Thrusters
9 Chins

Men: 95lbs
Women: 65lbs

Today - 2.5 months later, I finished Fran in 12:10!!! I managed to shave 2:49 off of my time! If I keep this up, maybe by October I can get a sub-10!

I am SO psyched.

Crossfit and Tattoos

So - after years of thinking about it, today I got my first (and most likely only) tattoo.

What does this have to do with Crossfit? Well - as I was sitting there, keeping myself still through the burning (it hurt!), I came to the conclusion that if I had not been doing Crossfit, I would not have been able to handle it nearly as well. Crossfit has taught me how to push through the discomfort, to keep going even when I want to stop. That I have the strength to do more than I thought possible. Not only has it built up my physical stamina, but my mental stamina as well. Increased mental strength is the most powerful gift I have received from Crossfit.



Sadly, my tattoo artist has instructed that I stay away from working out for a couple of days (as excess sweat is not the best thing for a brand new tattoo), but I will be back in the blue room on Tuesday!

Running: The Bane of my Existence

I didn't get to bed until late last night, so I decided to give myself an extra hour of sleep this morning and work out on my own.

I'm not so good at pushing myself without a coach and workout buddies, so I ran 2 miles (17:45), and then I went outside and worked the L-sit hold and negative (since I can't do an L-sit pull-up yet). I figure the L-sit is the best exercise for preparing for both of my goals - since it combines core strength (Deadlift) with arm/shoulder/grip strength (pull-up). I plan to do them on my own 2-3xs a week as I move towards my 12-week goals.

Now, back to the title of my post. When I stepped onto the treadmill, it was with the full intention of running 5K (3.1miles). When I pressed "cool-down" at 2 miles, I was not out of breath, or in pain, or in any other way incapable of continuing for another mile or so. I simply wanted to stop and move on. I was bored, impatient, and antsy to just get on with it. I fight against these feelings anytime I run more than about 400meters. Sometimes they lead to feelings of anxiety, when I'm outside instead of on a treadmill (and cannot just stop). Even though running, physically, has gotten much easier for me, these feelings have not lessened. Does anyone else experience this? How do you find your groove?

Deadlift, Locker Room Etiquette, and 12 week goals

Today, for the first time in months, I got to go for a heavy single on the deadlift - I was psyched! If you recall, I hit 200lbs on December 31st, 2007. I had not attempted a max single since then. I have also lost 30lbs since then, but I'm not sure if that makes any difference.

Anyway, I maxed out at 195lbs. Pretty respectable number, considering that I don't work the deadlift nearly as often as I used to when I built up to 200lb. However, I would very much like to break 200! Jerry said my main issue is keeping core tension - which has been a running theme in CF since I began. Look like I'll be working the hollow rocks and ab mat situps on a more regular basis!

I'm participating in Jerry's 12-week challenge, where we break into teams of four and set goals for ourselves. We break them down into mini-goals, and test each week. If someone on your team doesn't make the mini-goal, then there's "Funishment" waiting for the whole team in the form of an extra workout. I'm so excited to get started. My goal is to hit 20 chins by the end of the 12 weeks. I'm on a team with Joel, Steven, and Charlie. I'm considering adding a Deadlift goal as well. What say you? 210lb by the end of 12 weeks? 225lb? I'm not sure what's realistic. Hell - I'm not even sure if 20 chins is realistic, as I've only hit 9 (with the possibility of 10, but I'm not sure if the 10th counted). I also would really like to get one bodyweight ring dip in, but I'm not sure how to break that down into mini-goals. Maybe I'll just work on that separate from the challenge.

In other news, after workouts I come straight to work. We have a small gym with a locker room and showers that I use. There's one woman who is in there from time to time, who seems to enjoy being fully naked. She's a bit... okay... very much on the heavier side - and while I think women can be beautiful at all sizes, you should also have a choice about walking into a tiny locker room and coming face to face with a larger woman, totally nude, bending over and showing off her goodies to the entire world.

Ahem - anyway - so this woman has no shame. Today, as I was standing there in my sports bra and underwear, about to cover up with my towel so I could get in the shower, she steps out of the shower (naked, of course), looks at me, and says "You're getting skinny!". Now, while I appreciate the sentiment, I do not appreciate being blatantly looked at in a locker room while I'm trying to get ready for work. Then she goes on to ask me what my secret is, and I tell her: "No secret, just good nutrition and exercise". I wasn't as nice as I could be - you should've heard my tone of voice, but she had irritated me quite a bit. Asking about my "secret" made it worse. I mentioned the Zone, and another woman came in and started saying how she tried to follow the Zone "roughly" and would eat the Zone bars all the time. I just stayed quiet at that one - I wanted to shower in peace!

Why do people think there's a secret to getting fit? Some magical trick? I'm sure I didn't give her the answer she was hoping for - which was anything OTHER than hard work. I've been getting asked pretty often about how I lost weight, and people always seem slightly disappointed with my answer. I should think people would be excited to hear that it really IS that simple. The opposite seems true, though!

Enough of my ramblings, until next time!

No pain, no gain - right?

Bruises are sexy, eh? The ones on my thighs are from hang power cleans (dropping the bar down back into the hang), and the ones on my shins are from deadlifts. Our workout today went a little something like this:

15 Deadlifts
12 Hang Power Cleans
9 Front Squats
6 Push Jerks
85lbs
5 rounds for time
28:33

I must say - I really enjoyed this work out. It was extremely hard, I could only get 3-4 front squats at a time, and 2-3 jerks (which I didn't lock out a majority of the time), but I still loved it. I predicted my death in the beginning, but shut up when Katie told me that I should either shut it or scale down. It was the jerks that intimidated me - but damnit, I got through the work out! I must say, there's something extremely satisfying about throwing around heavy barbells. I much prefer workouts like this to the met-con circuits! I hope we hit this one again! Jerry, are you listening? ;-)


Nope - not tired at all!