Sacrifice

So I have not fell off the crossfit wagon or the paleo wagon or the zone wagon (well maybe a little during the last few weeks diet wise) but I have just lacked total will to blog.  I think mostly it's because I haven't been making the amazing progress and quick progess that I was kinda hoping for. 

I have been awesome about my crossfitting making it to the gym at least 4 times a week usually 5 or 6 and sometimes multiple times in one day and the past week I've been doing yoga and crossfit each day. 
Yoga is awesome and it's a nice change of pace from crossfitting. 

I have come to realize a few things the past few months as I am learning to create a new priority called exercise.  Growing up my mom and I would go in phases (she still does) we would wake up early and exercise before school/work every morning for months. . .then summer would come or schedules would change and we would stop and then we'd start again.  And this is kinda how I always have done my fitness and dieting. . .until now.  I have to do this for ALWAYS from here on out, I can't skip a few days or a few weeks or a few months, and as much as I love it some days it would be so much easier to just stay home with the family.  If I ever want to achieve my fitness goals or even be "fit" I have to put in the time and the work EVERYDAY. 

It is hard making this huge change now and I didn't understand how much it was affecting my husband and son too.  I don't see them as much. I'm almost never home in the morning when my son gets up and I almost never put him to bed at night.  I think these are huge sacrifices for both of us not to mention my incredible husband that gets up with him and puts him down every day.  But I fear that if I don't sacrifice these small moments now that I will die that much sooner or my husband and son will be the ones taking care of me sooner rather than later, there is much more to be lost in the future than the moments I am sacrificing now.

If you asked my husband if it was worth it. . .I don't think he'd say yes right now but he will, and I have to work that much harder so that he can start reaping the benefits of my healthier lifestyle sooner rather than later.

Achievements:

I can do 1 pull up with a black band
I can jump up and hold myself up on the parrallel bars
I can do dips on the parrallel bars with a black band
I can do one double under
I can front squat 110 lbs.
On Thanksgiving day I ran 6 miles and did 100 burpee pull-ups in 2 hours

I am getting stronger, I am feeling stronger and I can do this!

WOD updates for the last week. . .I've been hard core!

I have a few photos to share, they're will be added soon.

Wednesday Oct 16th

As many rounds as possible in 20:00 min.
5 kipping swings
5 jumping pull ups
10 burpees
15 kettle bell swings

6 rounds!  My entire body hurts from all my other workouts, it was a sweaty one today!!!

Tuesday Oct 15th

Ten rounds for time:
15 dead lifts (#85)
15 push ups (used a black band around my waste connected to the parrallel bar to help me complete them)

20:53

I've always kinda sucked at push ups and I still do, it is intimidating watching everyone around me knock out 15 push ups and 15 deadlifts and starting on another round of push ups while I'm struggling through my first 10 push ups. . .but I'll get there. . .I'm getting stronger, I can feel it!

Monday Oct 14th (Monday was a twofer. . a WOD and a MOM's class)

1-10-1-20-1-30

Power cleans

I've stopped being so wussy with my weights and started challenging myself a bit more.

85-68-95-65-85-45

If I would have been a bit more brave my first power clean I might have made it to 100# but maybe next time!  I toughed this class out as the only girl there of 8 of us on an early Monday morning. . .talk about hardcore. . .can I just say since I've started attending the 6:30 class pretty regularly I have really enjoyed my classmates, everyone is so helpful and supportive. . .thank you 6:30 and 7:30 crossfit classmates!


MOM's

21-15-9
elbows to knees modification: kipping swings and V-ups
wall balls
1 minute plank (Owen made these easier for me by laying on top of me and crawling under me)
 THankS OWEN!

10:10

I can do kipping swings. . .I can hang on the pull up bar. . .this is a huge accomplishment!!

Friday Oct 11th

3 10:00 minute intervals of

Run 1 mile with remaining time
complete as many shoulder presses as possible
Run 1 mile with remaining time
complete as many push presses as possible
Run 1 mile with remaing time
complete as many push jerks as possible

Modified for me, I ran just over 1/2 mile since I can't run a 10 min mile.
I was able to complete
12 shoulder presses
0 push presses
16 push jerks

there were only 5 people in our 6:30 workout, usually there is about 16. . .wusses didn't want to run. . .I hadn't run since RAGNAR so it felt good to get out and run a bit, my first half mile I was just over 5:00 min.  but I gradually got more and more sluggish. . .

Thursday Oct 10th

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

Sumo deadlift high pulls (#45)
thrusters (#45)

20:31

Molly and I couldn't make it to class today so we got our own personal training session of the WOD with Eric. . .it was awesome being just 3 people getting all the attention, not to mention my own personal cheer leaders!  I felt strong and I LOVE those Sumo deadlift high pulls. . .it was a killer workout, loved it!

October STATS!

As of October 10th my STATS are:

232.4

Bust 40 -1

Waist 35 same

Hips 49.5 -.5

R Arm 15.5 -1

L Arm 15.5 -1

R Leg 27.5 -1

L Leg 27.5 -1

I was really expecting to lose a lot more doing the paleo whole30 and all but it is what it is.  I got my book in the mail today "The Zone diet"  I looked through it really quick but haven't had time to start reading yet.  But I will and I'm hoping to start the Zone diet with Paleo in the next few weeks.  Maybe Nov. 1st till Thanksgiving. . .anyone want to join me?

Total Losses since July

-12 lbs

Bust -2.5
Waist -1
Hips -2.5
R Arm -1
L Arm -1
R Leg -1.5
L Leg -1.5

Oct 9th WOD

Overhead Squats

5-5-5-5-5

yes I did it!  5 rounds of 5 reps, my heaviest weight was 63#

63# of extra weight holding it high above my head while squatting, say what you will but I'm impressed. . .just a few months ago I couldn't do a squat without holding anything over my head and now I'm adding poundage. . .that is awesome!

It's a miracle!!

I talked Adam into joining me at the Free Cross Fit intro class on Saturday. . .I failed to get photos. . .which is a shame since I don't know if I'll ever see him there again

He liked it.  I had to join him which means our little monster came too, I was able to get the workout in, which by the way was workout #5 for me last week, that's a record. 

Adam complained about his back hurting all weekend and claimed that I broke him, I just told him he needs to move more. 

I on the other hand wasn't even sore from the workout and I did the intro workout 4 minutes faster than the first time I did it and that included chasing Owen around between my reps. 

Intro workout

10 calorie row

20 sit ups

30 kettle bell swings

40 squats

30 kettle bell swings

20 sit ups

10 calorie row

My time 8:59

Adam's time 8:03

Not bad. . .now I need to convince Adam to join forever. . .he'll start working again next month so we are trying to figure out a schedule that would allow him to make it there several times a week without taking away from my workout time. . .I'll keep you posted.


On a different note.

Last week I completed my whole30 of strict paleo. . .I kinda went nuts last week with eating junk and I felt it!  I decided this morning when I wasn't feeling well enough for a 6:30 am WOD that I HAVE to go back to strict paleo.  I am playing with the idea of allowing myself free meals on the weekends but I haven't decided if I have enough self control yet.  But today I stuck to my paleo eating and already feel 70% better. . .not quite back to that 100% but I'll keep it up this week!

DEATH BY PULL UPS (or ring rows)

WOD 10/3/12

Death by pull ups

1 min 1 pull up
2 min 2 pull up
3 min 3 pull up

and just keep going until you can't complete the amount of pull ups in that minute,  I made it to 14!  My forearms feel like they are going to fall off.  I made it to a 7:30 am class after work and I was just happy to be there. . .but oh so tired!  It was my 3rd workout this week!!!! Go me!

The 6:30 class facing death by pull ups (or ring rows)

I was happy to not be alone on the rings today, so many other joined me. . .oh and did I mention I call hang from the pull up bar now. . .I know that doesn't sound like much but I wasn't able to hang when I started so that is HUGE!!!

MY WOD bruised me

WOD 10/2/12

800 meter run
21 Hand stand push ups (adaptation dumb bell shoulder press 15#) and kettle bell snatch each arm 8kg
15
9

Loved this workout, I always like it when we run, it feels like I get a break from my workout because I am such a slow runner.

But the kettle bell snatches killed my arm every time I pushed it up it would swing down and hit my arm so now it looks like I have been beaten, just battle wounds I guess.

This picture doesn't do my bruise justice but it's there maybe it will start to get more black and blue in the next few days I'll be sure to update the photo if that's the case.

The workout was worth the bruises!

1st October MOM's Workout

MOM's class  OCTOBER 1st

4 rounds of:

20 Push press 43#
20 Single are kettle bell swing 8 kg
30 meter lung with 10# weight over head

Can't remember my time but mom's classes don't count because we are chasing our kids around and trying not to swing a kettle bell in there face while doing our workouts.  But I do love the mom's workouts, smaller group laid back and no pressure, I can stop and keep my child from pulling a weight on top of himself or just watch him try and mimic my awesome cross fit skills.

However it is a bit intimidating when the 9 month pregnant lady next to me is push pressing 30 lbs more than me. . .one day I'll be that lady.

BODY FAT DUNK STATS

I got dunked today:

I knew the results weren't going to be great and that I would still be fat but I want something to compare to and something to work towards, plus it was an incredible deal!

WEIGHT  233.2

BODY FAT 46.2%

To be honest I was just happy to not be 50% or more fat!  Plus I've lost 3 lbs in the last few weeks!! I'll do a normal weigh on my scale at home next month as planned.

I do have something to compare my numbers with, back in May of this year I went to a weight loss doctor just to see if they could help me (wow the cost was outrageous!) and they did a body fat test but on a scale where they send an eletric current through your body to get some stats here are those stats

May 15, 12

WEIGHT 259

BODY FAT 52%

Not to shabby from just a few months ago!  So now I'd like to lose 45 lbs before I get tested again which should put me at about 27% body fat.  My final goal is to be at about 15% (I'd love to be in the "athletic" range for body fat percentage. . .but for now I'll baby step my way there!



What's that on my finger you ask. . . .

Here I am wearing my wedding ring. . .out and about on a regular basis, this was the best birthday present I could have given myself my birthday was the first day in over 2 years that I was able to  wear my wedding ring without it cutting off my circulation or causing me pain.  Happy birthday to me and THANK YOU PALEO!!!  My finger doesn't feel so naked anymore oh and now all those hot guys that were always trying to hit on me will know I'm a taken woman!!

WOD Wednesday Sept 26th

  5 rounds for time

50 double unders I did 150 singles

15 elbows to knee I did butt lifts or high toes on the ground

40 meters Heavy farmer carry 

My time 22:29

I was able to rush from work to make the 6:30 am class today, it was great to get the workout in before I went to bed I felt like I had so much time when I woke up!

Look back tomorrow when I post my body fat test results, I'm getting dunked tomorrow to find out my body fat percentage. . .SCARY!  This will give me a better idea of where I'm at and where I want to be!

WOD TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 25th

Shoulder Press

1-10-1-15-1-20

1- maximum press weight 55#

10- 80-90% 45#

15- 60-70% 38#

20- 50-60% 33#

And for your enjoyment here are the many faces of Shoulder presses. . . keep in mind that it doesn't look like there are weights on the bar. . .some of the there are not. . .but I'm on my last round of 20. . . 

 Getting myself psyched out to press the 55# max for the 3rd time

 So much easier without those extra 20 lbs of weights on it!

 Until about the 7th press then it gets harder

 and harder

 and harder

 and rest 

 last  few failed attempt at the 55# did it 3 times but after all those reps I was done.

In addition to our presses we warmed up with a "FRAN" workout 21-15-9 thrusters and pull ups but all with the PVC pipes as fast as we could.  And ended our workout with 2 minutes jump rope and 2 minutes plank.  I love it when sweat drips off my face and make a puddle on the floor beneath me!! LOVE IT!!!

It's official I AM AWESOME

CROSS FIT FAMOUS!!

I'm on the Cross fit Verve WOD BLOG!!!

Go HERE to see my cross fit debute.

Scroll down to "Thursday" posted on September 19th.

I am there in all my cross fit glory!!!

FIRST WORKOUT AS A 30 YEAR OLD

I have my 30th birthday over the weekend!! WAHOO! Bring it on!!!  We had some friends over to watch a back yard movie on our huge projection screen and ate a bunch of paleo friendly food. . .yum yum!  I even got a mango with a candle in it. . .picture coming soon.

It had been awhile since I made it to the MOM's workout class so I packed up my small monster and we headed on over there this morning. . .


21-18-15-12-9-6-3

Back squat 22 lbskettle bell dead lift 16kg
16:23 min.

It was hard work today especially when Owen (my small 2 year old monster)  tried to sit on the box I was squating on and I almost sat on him and almost dropped my bar bell on him. . .then when we were doing some ab workout after wards he though it would be fun to jump on my belly as I was doing hallow holds. . .not fun at all.  Oh the joys of working out with a 2 year old.  All the other moms had tiny babies sleeping away in their car seats while my son tried to shove goldfish crackers in the babies mouths and throw balls at their heads. . .soon their children will be monsters like mine!!

Owen enjoying his non-paleo cupcake on his birthday. .

 Owen has been giving me the stink eye a lot lately

 Our happy picking group that picked with us.

 Everyone exhausted from a day of picking

The monsters birthday was last week. . .instead of working out we took him ot the U-pick farm. . .I don't know if he really enjoyed it more be we got stocked for veggies in the house now. . .pictures to come soon!!

WOD Tuesday September 18th

WARM UP
1 minute each

Jump rope singles
mountain climbers
pull throughs
plank 30 sec/ superman 30 sec.

Wow that was a workout in its self.

WORKOUT

10-8-6-4-2

Clean and Jerk  45#
Muscle ups (don't have those muscle ups yet but neither did pretty much the rest of the class)
2 ring rows and 2 leg assisted ring dips = 1 muscle up.

I totally felt like a wuss today trying to attempt the "pretend" muscle ups everyone else was doing. . .but by the end of the workout everyone looks like a wuss, but we are not wusses we are AWESOME and we are STRONG!!

Can I just say I LOVE JERKS I know it took me awhile to get the movement down.  My elements trainer spent just about one whole session trying to teach me the coordination for jerks but now that I got it I LOVE them. Something about jumping that bar up over your head and feeling super strong even if it is just 45# for now!  LOVE IT!!


I have been doing other workout, just a lazy blogger and some workouts have not been my favorite so I don't blog them.  I'll try and be a better blogger and get more photos of my workouts.  Also some of my classes have had tons of people in them so it's been a bit crazy.

BIG NEWS!!!

I can do a double under with the jump rope. . .I can only do one at a time but I'll get them linked soon enough!!!

PALEO! DAY 18

I have been a PALEO eater for 18 day now.  No cheating, no sugar, no grains, no dairy, no processed foods, no legumes.

I am loving it!  I might be converted for life with occasional cheat meals every once in awhile.

My family and I went to a U-pick farm on Monday and here's what we harvested. . .beets, potatoes, corn, leeks, green beans, tomatoes, chili peppers, bell peppers, egg plant, carrots, squash, pumpkin, onions, celery, turnips. . .I'm sure I'm missing something. . .it's a lot of food and we haven't made a dent in it although we spent most of the day Tuesday, cutting dicing packaging and freezing. . .we are picking up a chest freezer tomorrow so we can fit it all so it doesn't go to waste. . .I'm set for the winter!

I never feel bloated, or stuffed, I never have heart burn or indigestion, my clothes fit better and I eat a lot of meat including BACON and I just can't seem to get enough avocados. I don't feel deprived or tempted. When I want something sweet I eat an apple or banana or some berries.  My body is happy which is never the case after stuffing my face with a pizza so it's worth never eating pizza again if I can feel like this all the time!!

STATS ARE IN!!!

As of September 7th my stats are:

Weight 236.6

 

Measurements in inches

Bust 41  -1.5

Waist 35 -1

Hips 50 -2

R Arm16.5 same
L Arm 16.5 same

R Leg 28.5 -.5
L Leg 28.5 -.5

It's never as big of a difference as I want it to be but it's a start and it's something!  I can feel myself getting stronger and firmer!!

Team "Where's Your Aspen?"

Anoher RAGNAR relay came and went, it was a blast!  This time unlike previous experiences I ran with a team where nobody knew anybody.  It was a team I put together from people posting on the Ragnar website that they were looking.  It was a great team! Easy to organize everyone did a great job running and cheering everyone else on and we had so much fun!!!

 Matt, Keith and Todd chilling in our hotel before out first run. Nice socks Todd

 Van 2 Me, Keith, Gary, Kristin, Matt, Todd

 Checking in!

 Gary finishing up Vail pass, killin it!

 First Van 2 exchange, Kristin ready to run up to 2 miles high elevation!!

 Keith waiting for Kristin at the end of her first leg

 I caught Matt mid stretch with this nice pose

 Todd Rocking his first leg!

 Gary crossing the street with his orange flag

 Todd finishing up his first leg and Matt is off and going

 Now we jump to our last legs. . .everything else was in the dark, my first two legs were in the dark, it was actually quite awesome!

 We didn't have the opportunity to support out runners because most of the running trails were not accessible to the vehicles so we're awesome on the legs we could support.

 Matt supporting Todd by dumping water down his back

 Todd running his last leg

 Todd still running

 Finish line!!

 Here they come down the switch backs, I was not willing to run, I had just finished my last leg that was 4 miles up hill in the heat of the day. . .wasn't feeling like running down a freaking mountain!

 Keith finished us off !

Keith photo bombing my double metal photo!  Wasatch back plus Colorado = Mile High metal too!!!

I averaged at 12:30 minute mile super slow compared to those I was running with but 1 minute faster than my wasatch back time!!!!  I ran all my legs, walked a few hills on my last leg and wanted to just lay down and die, my body was exhausted, I got a shower in at some point between my legs and even managed to sleep a few hours I would have to call this the best RAGNAR yet. . .oh and did I mention I stayed 100% paleo the entire relay!!!! Yeah I kinda ROCK!!!

FRAN

Friday August 31st


21 Thrusters 33 lbs
21 pull ups (modified to ring rows)
15 thrusters
15 pull ups
9 thrusters
9 pull ups

7:34 (I'm getting faster and stronger)

Molly busting out her last pull up on the FRAN workout!!

Stats coming soon!

I have weighed in and I have lost weight since the last time I posted my stats and I have measured myself and I have lost inches since the last time I posted. . .but you'll have to wait but check back soon because my new stats are coming!

SICKNESS and UPDATES

I have not given up on Cross fit of blogging, the past couple weeks have been filled with craziness of working, cross fitting and getting sick.  This week I have not be able to get my Cross fit on and I feel flabby and lazy and like my head is going to explode because of a stupid head cold.  I feel like I'll never get better since I haven't been able to take any nights off work so my body has had not time to recover.  My relay is in 2 weeks and this week I haven't made it out of the house to run once. . .so lazy and sad.

Last week I was able to make it to 3 Classes and do a hill/interval run and increased my running speed by a whole 30 seconds!!!

August 13th

MOM's workout

200 meter row
20 front squats w/ 10 lb dumb bells
200 meter row
20 presses w 10 lb dumb bells

4 times.  I don't remember my time but I think it was something like 21:53 minutes but I had to save my child a few times from killing himself and others.  It was a great work out and I was really sore afterwards

August 14th

RJ Hero workout

I LOVED THIS WORKOUT! CAN"T WAIT UNTIL I CAN DO IT FOR REALS

800 meter run
5 rope climbs
50 push ups

5 rotations or 40 minutes

My modifications for this workout:

800 meter run
10 sit to stand rope pulls (I have zero upper body strength and used my legs A LOT)
30 push ups on knees agains bench

4 rotations in 36:19 minutes

I was amazed to watch everyone climb those ropes and can't wait till I can join them.  This workout made me literally drip pools of sweat, I loved every second of it. It also made me feel better that everyone was taking breaks and making modifications to the workout by the end just to finish, it was hardcore!

August 15th

100 meters hand stand walk. . .ha ha ha I can't even do a hand stand unless I'm in a pool!

Modification

Team of 3
3 minutes wall walks
3 minutes wall stand
4 minute hand stand walk

All this between the 3 team mates, so we each did a minute of each basically. My team was awesome and they split the hand stand walk and I did some modifications.  I stood on a box instead of on my hands against the wall since my weak arms cannot support my fat a$$ yet. . .soon, very very soon I will be able to do it.  But those people walking on their hands for 100 meters, they are tough and their faces were bright red when they were done, it took them awhile to finish having to take lots of breaks but they did it!!

I really enjoyed my class that day, it was smaller than usual since the day before was such a killer workout and there was a little bit of everyone there, trainers, newbies like myself and everyone was so helpful and patient with me learning and doing the modifications. 

I thought I would be intimidated in my classes but nobody is judging everyone is just happy to be there and happy I'm there doing it too, at least they make me feel that way!

30 Days of Paleo

Being the hardcore Cross Fit athlete that I am I've decided to try the Paleo diet, the diet by which most Cross Fit athletes follow.  This did take a little encouragement from my good friends Molly and Jason Reynolds that got me addicted to Cross Fit in the first place.

Starting September 4th (the day after Labor day) we're going 30 days of Paleo. When I say "we" I mean Molly, Jason and you (anyone that wants to join us.) My husband will not be joining us, he loves grains, dairy and sugar all too much to give it up even for one day. . .wuss!

What is Paleo?

The "Caveman" diet.

No grains, No sugar, No legumes, No dairy, No processed foods, NO alcohol.

Yes lean meats, Yes fruits, Yes Vegetables, Yes nuts.

Eat until you are full of all the YES foods!

Here are some great links for recipes and more information on the Paleo diet.

Paleo Table

Every Day Paleo

Health Bent

So who's with me?  Any takers?  It's going to be awesome we'll all feel great, clean our bodies out and hopefully lose a few pounds in the process!!

Shoes make all the difference!!

After running a hole in my old running shoes

(picture to come I spaced that one)

Yeah that's right I actually ran a hole through the soles of my running shoes, I'm hard core like that!

I splurged a bit the day before my Ragnar relay in June and bought these beauties 

HOKA RUNNING SHOES 

they are awesome, I feel like I'm running on a cloud!  My feet, knees, legs, and hips never hurt after running I LOVE these things!!

Running shoes are the blue shoes on the left.

Since I spent a small fortune on these running shoes I thought I could use them for crossfit too. . .I was soooo wrong, the soles on these things are 2 inches high, I could keep my balance and felt like I was going to roll my ankle every time I did a lunge of squat so I didn't splurge so much I ran to Ross to find these beauties

AVIA tennis shoes

They are super lights weight I can feel the ground I'm walking on and I keep my balance much much better in these they made a world of difference in my mom's class Wednesday morning!  Can't believe I've lasted the last few weeks without them. . .and can't believe I ran for 4 months in shoes with a hole in the sole.