crossfit du jour

Once again I'm going to mention my fabulous guest post by V. over at I Miss My Collar Bone, if you haven't read it yet, do!

Warm Up:
Various Stretches

Strength:
Max push ups for paleo challenge (see end)
30 sit ups
40 squats

Workout:

For Time
20 Front Squat (135/95)
400m Run
20 Ring Dips
800m Run
20 FS
400m Run
20 Ring Dips

Results:
Had to work with a partner so had to go by her weight (not complaining though)
FS: 55lbs
Ring Dips: Modified with purple band
Time: 21:38

Paleo Challenge Results
Beginning
Weight: 134lbs
Waist: 34.25
Left Arm: 11.61
Right Arm: 11.81
Left Thigh: 22.44
Right Thigh: 22.83
Chest: 36.02

End:
Weight: 129lbs (down 5lbs)
Waist: 31.88 (down 2.37)
Left Arm: 11.61 (no change)
Right Arm: 12 (up .19)
Left Thigh: 23.42 (up .98)
Right Thigh: 23.22 (up .39)
Chest: 34.25 (down 1.77)

500m row:
From 2:09 to 1:57 (down 12 seconds)

Max Push Ups:
11 to 24 (up 13 push ups)

Max Deadlift:
185 to 200lbs (up 15lbs)

Sorry about the wonky measurements. Everything was taken in centimeters so I used a converter to get the inches and I'm not good at math or rounding or anything. Whoops. So there you have it, concrete evidence of a change. I'm shocked to be honest as I don't feel like I can really see it. Maybe I'll have to spend some time naked in front of a mirror to re-evaluate.. Thats not going to happen, LOL. I think its downright awesome that I've taken inches of fat off of my chest and tummy and added them in muscle to my arms and legs, not to mention visible changes in performance. O happy days!

I got some love on my last post and it made my day. This comment in particular I liked:

A little pee!? HA! I'm a nurse... I was expecting much worse body fluids! But LOVE the dedication, AWESOME workout. And that's just the price we pay... may I suggest some kegel exercises to add to your daily routine? Especially if you plan on having children some day, you will thank me later ;) <3

This was from KateRN over at Losing For Good. She put it into perspective and when I think about it she's damn right. At least I didn't poop. Crossfitters are very forgiving and understand that sometimes when you're putting out max effort your body rebels. Normally its with vomit but HEY.. Whatever floats your boat. My trainer often tells us when he's training us on toes to bar that women, especially women who have given birth, will occasionally pee doing this move, and he always stresses there is no shame in that. The man who will have to clean up the pee says its okay, so I guess its okay. But I'm going to get on the kegels anyways, just in case ;) Kate is sick right now, so if you haven't already, you should stop by and wish her well. Even if you're not a follower, good thoughts always help and maybe you'll find a new blog you like!

One last thing I wanted to talk about is L. in my crossfit class. She and M. (and W. and a lot of other people) are a huge reason why I like the morning classes, they always push so hard and are so inspiring. L. is an older lady, I'm guessing in her 60's or 70's but I don't want to ask because that doesn't seem nice. She can't jump up to the pull up bars, or even step onto the boxes high enough to get her there, so what does she do? She brings over a high box and a smaller box and makes herself steps. She can't do full push ups so what does she do? She goes off her knees. Often on longer workouts she can't add the 20lbs needed to get the bar off the ground, so what does she do? She puts her bar and two small boxes to get it off the ground. Today, she couldn't run the full 800m, so what did she do? She ran what she could and walked what she couldn't. She NEVER quits and even though she can't do everything, she does EVERYTHING SHE CAN. She is a huge inspiration and I admire her dedication. Today we were talking about the changes she's seen and she said not only can she now see muscles in her arms and weight coming off her body, but she can also see functional changes like higher energy levels at work and she has the ability to move and hang things that she couldn't before. L. is the perfect example of why ANYONE can crossfit (but I understand if you're nervous.. I think if I were to ask, about 90% of people at my gym including myself would say they had to build themselves up a bit to get the courage to join). 

The fact is that you'll never be ready for crossfit so you just have to jump in... And even though you might not be ready for it, you'll be able to do it, and crossfit will make you ready for life.

A video of toes to bar:

A grandmothers progress in 1 year of eating paleo and doing crossfit

Tim is working hard and shedding pounds, only a few weeks in

today we will do what no one else will do so that tomorrow we may do what no one else can do.






Pump Up Song: Can't Be Touched - Roy Jones

some stuff I liked that I wanted to share with the Spring Chicks

I've come across a couple of interesting tips and tricks in the last little bit and I thought I would share them. Here we go!

The blog ccoltrun.blogspot.com, has two posts that I thought were both interesting and important for everyone to know. The first post was about cottage cheese and it's benefit for people who are working out and looking for a way to help their muscles heal and build faster. As he explains, cottage cheese is a rich source of casein protein. Whereas the most common (or at least in my experience) protein supplement you see is Whey protein, which is very quickly absorbed and ideal after a workout, the casein variety is VERY slow acting. It's ideal to have a small bit of cottage cheese before bed because the slow acting protein will work to build your muscles throughout the night. Not to mention the million other benefits from this snack!

The second post on Colts blog that I wanted to share is a bit of a rant about a girl friend of his who wanted advice on an exercise program, but scoffed at the idea of lifting weights. He points out in this post that women don't have enough testosterone to become a 'hulk' by lifting weights unless they take some sort of supplement or make bodybuilding their profession. He also talks about how strength exercises targeting a problem area won't get rid of the fat there. Instead, fat burns off of the body at an even rate and so it's beneficial to work everything, so that you have an even distribution of lean muscle mass.

The next blog I want to talk about is Diary of a Junk Food Addict. It's written by a woman who is very fit, into bodybuilding and one of her current goals is to make it to the top 20 of a bodybuilding.com spokesmodel search. In other words, she knows what she's talking about. In most of her posts she gives some sort of tip or trick, and records her diet + exercise. Seeing what it takes to get where she is is pretty eye opening. My favorite post in this blog is all about motivation. She shares the ways the she gets and stays motivated. My favorite was the suggestion that you make an effort to look good for your workout, so that you feel good and confident. I thought that was a great idea, and it in part led to my goal this week to moisturize at least once a day.

The last blog is one that I started following just today. It's called DB Strength and Conditioning. The author is a professional fit person - you can read the heading of his blog if you want more details - i don't feel like typing out all of his qualifications! He is blunt but honest and interesting. My favorite post covers his opinion on the usefulness of various exercises, everything from yoga to my fav., crossfit. It's long but good. The conclusion is that everyone has to do the exercise that is right for them, because not everyone is the same. I really like following other weight loss blogs because I find it inspiring. I also think it's important, though, to check out blogs written by fit people and fitness professionals who know exactly what they're talking about because there is a LOT of bad information out there (hello, master cleanse!).

So thats the end of my linking to stuff I like post. I hope at least one person finds these links interesting and maybe even helpful!

What I've Been Doing

Back in October I started On Ramp with my local chapter of crossfit. As of about mid-November I've been doing 1 hour crossfit workouts three times a week, Monday Wednesday Friday. I'm trying to figure out how to explain what crossfit is to anyone who hasn't heard of it before. The words awesome, amazing, challenging, perfection all come to mind but they don't really help now, do they?
This is a quick little blurb I've taken from the website, but it hardly captures the amazing accessibility that is crossfit.

"CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing."

- Crossfit.com

and then there's this:

I love it. It isn't hard to commit because the challenge itself is its own reward. You'll lose weight and build muscle FAST. Theres fit, and then theres crossfit ;)