Sunday, January 30, 2011

THE muscle up

The Muscle-up is one of the most difficult movements in crossfit, along with the handstand pushup (for me). After Friday's workout I stayed at the gym for an extra 30-45 minutes to work on muscle-up progressions. (Thank you Jarrod for all your help and advice and Jeff for the support)! It made me realize how much work I need to do in order to actually acheive this muscle-up ive been talking about. It's not at all discouraging knowing I have a long way to go, but just more motivation to get my butt in the gym to keep practicing!

My goal, is to have 1 muscle up by the time I graduate in May! Thats exactly 3 months away. I have never set a time limit before on attaining the muscle-up, which has probably been the reason i have not been pushing myself. Hopefully I can keep it up- Jevon, Jarrod, Jesse: keep me accountable!!! And be prepared for a lot of muscle-up progression advice and questions :)

In order to achieve this goal I MUST work on ring-dips religiously as well as different progression techniques!

Do you have a goal? Set a time limit that you want to achieve this goal by, and get in the gym early to practice (or stay late)! The coaches love to help and watch people improve, so dont be afraid to bombard them with questions on progression techniques that you can practice to help you attain your goal! Every movement has a progression that you can start working on.

muscle-up ... here I come :)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

CHALLENGE YOURSELF!

Hey everyone-
I havnt writen in a while, and life has been pretty hectic. My last semester has just started and I am still working full-time at the Hampton Inn and Suites. I have been maintaining a semi-healthy diet and have been working out about 5 times a week, either at the Westlake Crossfit gym or at home on my own! I have been seeing some great improvements in my strength and have up'd my weights in a few work outs throughout the past few weeks! I used 80lbs on the Hang Power Cleans in a work that consisted of 15-12-9-6-3 reps and also increased my Deadlift Max by 10lbs on a 3x3 strength exercise- which means not only did I beat my 1rep max by 10lbs at 185, i did three reps at that weight!! I can't wait to see what my new actual 1rep max might be, im hoping 200#!! A few of the girls have been challenging themselves as well in the gym lately, which works great for some positive playful competition and motivation. Mackenzie beat my pull up record with 27 pull ups so now I have some motivation to put my name back on the number 1 spot with 35 pull ups :) Thats my new goal! Im a competitive girl, always have been- I love competitive sports such as basketball and softball and love that crossfit can challenge us in the same ways through working out! Im excited to see what new and exciting things I can conquer in the next few weeks- I Really need to start practicing on those muscle ups, i have been SLACKiNG!!!!! Time to get to it- tomorrow, my "goal" is to arrive at the gym at least 30 minutes beforehand in order to work on ring-dips and muscle-up progressions. My diet has been relatively decent, with a few cheat foods every once in a while. Work is my biggest weakness and it is the ONLY time i sneak in a few unhealthy food choices. Which isnt so bad, but definitly is not great either.

Today we did 5x of 20 Over Head barbell lunges and 21 burpees. I used the "big boy" weight with the 45lb barbell and was a little apprehensive when a few of the guys didnt really believe i was using that weight- although it was difficult (and my low back and legs are super sore) It felt GREAT after i completed all 5 rounds with the heavy weight.

If you want results, you have to challenge yourself. It may take you longer to finish the work-out but you are going to get A LOT more out of the workout by doing so- and trust me, it is entirely worth it after you finish. It could be hard on your ego at first to sacrafice a few extra minutes, or completeing the work-out last in the class. But it will not only build muscluar strength, but character as well. Get UNCOMFORTABLE! It was a little hard when I up'd my HPC weight to 80lbs and started using the 35lb kettle swings during the same work out and realized I was WAAAY behind the group. But afterwards it felt great, not only because I knew that I had improved enough to add weights to my bar but I also got an extremely beneficial work out in as well, no matter how long it took! Challenge yourself in the gym, and outside the gym as well.

Hope everyone has a great week!! I am so thankful for my crossfit family at Westlake Crossfit- thank you all for the motivation and friendships you have provided me!! Everyone at the gym is extremely amazing and has something great to offer, I have really enjoyed getting to know all of you.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Grocery Shopping!

So today i went to the grocery store and bought A LOT of delicious food to prepare this week! Ground beef, broccoli, fish and beef stew. I also bought bacon and sausage :\ for my breakfast and snacks throughout the week with work and school. School starts tomorrow and i am fully ready with lots of snacks- since im stuck on campus for six staight hours! Turkey meat, Avocado, Banana Chips and Apples! Yumm. I couldnt find Gluten Free bread ): So i brought whole wheat or something ... we'll see how it makes me feel. Sandwiches are so quick and easy to make for an after school snack!! Today i had 4 eggs for breakfast then completes my 5x10 pull ups and 5x10 deep push ups (rx) !! I was upset i didnt check the website untill just now, because i could have completed "Barbara" at home for my work out! But ill put it in the books for another at home work out very soon :)

After my "work out" i went grocery shopping then went home to chop up all my onions and bell peppers for future recipes throughout the week and prepared my dinner to bring with me to work [pictured below]


Sunday, January 16, 2011

competition = motivation!!

Tomorrow i will be implementing a super strict (about 90% paleo) into my diet for 7 whole days! Not a long time compared to our amazing crossfitters at the gym competing in the Whole 30 challenge- keep it up guys!! But enough to get me through, one week at a time!! I have some new motivation so im exciting to see how this will fuel me for the next couple of weeks. My lovely boyfriend is in India at the moment, who is also a trainer for Westlake Crossfit, so i will only be in the area Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning to attend the WLCF classes! But ... i have already designed my work out plan for the entire week. HELP KEEP ME ACCOUNTABLE!! School starts Tuesday and i work 3-11 M-W-F (yikes) but im planning to get some good work outs in before work on those days!

Monday i will be complete 5x10 pull ups (strict) and 5x10 push ups to work on my upper body strength! Something not extremely difficult to help ease me into the week!
Tuesday night i will be attending the 6:30 Crossfit class, and am unaware of the work outs at this moment. And on Wedneday I will be getting up bright and early to attend the 6:00am class!!
Thursday after class i am going to drive to the student REC and complete "Fran" ... Im sure people will look at me funny- but thats okay :) I have never done "Fran" before but im excited to see what it feels like ... "Frank" For those of you who are unaware is 21-15-9 reps of Thrusters (a front squat into a push press) and pull ups! I am going to try and go prescribed at 65lbs, so we shall see!!

Friday i made up my own home work out with consists of three rounds of 10 KB power cleans 5 on the right arms, and 5 on the left with the 35lb Kettle bell. Followed by 20 KB swings, 10 box jumps and 20 air squats! Hopefully it turns out well.

Saturday will be my rest day because it is basically going to be extremely busy. I have orientation at the Dells Children's Hospital for a volunteer oppurtunity from 10:00-12:00 then rushing back to San Marcos for work untill about 8:00! Sunday I work from 7:00-12:00 and then will be picking up my boyfriend from the airport .. im hoping for a mini work-out that day or a light jog, but have nothing planned quiter yet!

I will post my times throughout the week, and let you know how i am feeling! I am also buying gluten free bread at the grocery store when i go tomorrow, to see if it effects my breathing as much as regular bread. If not, i will probably bring gluten free bread for sandwhiches back into my diet .. just easier with a crazy schedule! I will let you know how it goes and makes me feel :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend.
Prayers for Jesse's journey and safety in India!! We are so proud of you.

Monday, January 10, 2011

WODbook

I just recently orderd a crossfit log book!! It includes all of the crossfit work outs located at the end of the book with a place to enter your times and weights as well. And the book also includes 6 months of designed pages for you to enter your own work outs and times!! Work outs located in the back of the WODbook include all of the "girls" such as Cindy, Helen, etc- Fight Gone Bad, The Filthy Fifty and much more- i am sure this will be a great investment and will eliminate those 5 extra minutes searching for your book at the beginning of class :)
click here to view and order! only $14.00!!!

"sometimes it takes a good fall to really see where you stand"

So I’m not really sure how to say, "I failed" then to just come out and say I ate like total crap this weekend. It’s hard to admit to a group of people that you were unable to complete something that you said you would do! Me and my boyfriend had a long discussion about this last night which really changed my mindset about eating healthy and training hard.

The famous crossfit names that you know of and the great leaders of the world have all experienced "hard work" and if you really want something, getting it is not going to be easy! Like I said in our conversation last night and in previous blogs, I am used to things coming easy and natural to me. I have never had to work hard for anything that I truly wanted, and therefore I do not completely understand the meaning of "hard work”!! But the journey is what makes us who we are, not the destination. And although I was scared of failing, giving up is not the way to handle the situation! You try hard and you fail? So what, at least you tried- that is more important than not trying at all or giving up because you’re afraid. I’m afraid of the hard work it will take to eat 100% strict paleo, and can honestly say I do not feel mentally prepared and ready to take on the "challenge" !! So my boyfriend and I, together, came up with a plan!

I was unable to participate in the challenge with the rest of the gym members because I chose to include protein powder into my post work-out diet. This took away a lot of the “challenge” for me, and was a reason why I probably acted out in rebellion and ate A LOT of sweets this weekend! NO EXCUSES. As me and my boyfriend were talking about what I wanted out of crossfit and life in general I found myself making excuses for why I believed I could not do this! If eating healthy was easy, what would I learn from doing it? Probably nothing!

So starting today I will eat healthy- This will basically consist of NO SWEETS and limited bread intake. I will not call this the "paleo diet" plan because it’s just me trying to make healthy and smart eating decisions while denying my cravings. I may eat gluten free bread or whole wheat oatmeal ... but I am going to log everything I eat in my crossfit journal and compare my workouts and how I feel with what I ate prior to my workout. If I feel like crap during my work-outs or during the day, I will try and figure out what exactly might have made me feel that certain way- when I figure it out I will scratch that from my "diet."

I’m just a normal person, and I am going to fail at things- but how sad would it be if I intentionally failed at everything by choice because I was afraid. How is that living? Its not! Try hard and you will probably succeed- but if you fail, get back up and try again! And that’s exactly what I am doing, and I hope it will only make me stronger.

I am so lucky to be dating such an extremely wise and intellectual person that challenges me to think about why I do certain things and to make me realize what exactly I want out of certain things! If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be giving this "diet" another try. Of course I will always implement the paleo diet into my eating habits, but it’s having the will power to turn away from the sweets and say no to unhealthy foods that makes us stronger. It’s the hard work!! I probably won’t update my blog every day and list exactly what foods and portions I ate day in and day out- but I will update periodically to let you know how I am doing! I want to do this diet for myself and not for anyone else, and I feel that blogging every day about what I eat might change my mindset to think that I am eating healthy to please everyone else!

You will hear abut my challenges, and triumphs and everything in between to what I have eaten and the new recipes I have had the time to cook! You will also hear about my work-outs and which foods made me feel like crap, and those that made me feel great! I hope you can follow along and use words on encouragement along the way. I’m excited to experience the true feeling of hard-work.

Friday, January 7, 2011

lacking motivation!!

I am lacking motivation, and thats really all i can say today!!

i read an article about Mikko, Chris Spealer, and "Iceland" Annie, well known crossfit game competitors, that discussed what they ate during the 2010 games and on a regular basis ... Mikko ate bread during the game and Annie eats whole wheat oatmeal for breakfast. I was extremely suprised by this because I assumed if you were a "famous" crossfit competitor you are strictly 100% paleo .. this made me want to play around with different foods to see how they make me feel during work outs! Maybe i can eat oatmeal for breakfast and perform just as good as when i dont consume any whole wheats. Who knows?

But why eat whole wheat oatmeal and bread when our bodies really arent meant to digest these types of foods. Even if they dont effect your work-outs, they can still do damage to our bodies. So why would i even consider implementing these things into my diet? Probably because its easy! I dont really know.

sorry about the lack of inspiration today!

But i am extremely proud of everyone who has been sticking to the strict paleo diet and improving inside the box! Shout out to Kayla Whalen who has been increasing her weights during the work-outs and to Mackenzie who just reached 18 pull ups. She is now tied for #2 in the gym and she is coming after my #1 spot of 26 pull ups. Although i wish her great luck ... i better start getting to work ;) good job ladies! I know their are  A LOT more of you out of their as well, so congratulations to all who have been improving inside and outside the box! Keep up the great work :)

Thursday, January 6, 2011

cheat day?

breakfast -- 3 cutie oranges around 7:00am and one cup of coffee later in the morning.

Lunch -- Chipotle bowl with double chicken, veggies, tomatoes, guacamole and lettuce.

snack -- banana chips

dinner -- beef stew chunks with broccoli with a small smoothie for dessert

i incorporated dark chocolate almond milk into my diet today ;) I actually just tried a small glad at my friends house with a side of small dark chocolate!

DAY 4

Wednesday, January 5 (DAY 4)
I got to sleep in SUPER later today, which felt awesome!
For breakfast i ate 3 scrambled eggs and an apple on the way to the 12:00 crossfit work out.
1.5.11 WOD
50 squats
40 kettlebell swings 35lbs
30 Wall balls 8lbs
20 push ups
10 Man Makers
20 push ups
30 Wall Balls
40 KB Swings
50 squats
19:23

After the work out me and Jesse went to La Madaline and both got large salads and shared a bowl of vegetable soup!

I then went to ANOTHER crossfit WOD at 3:45 with Jesse's training group which consists of highschool and college boys! The work out was the 101 push press challenge for time, and everytime you set the bar down you had to complete 3 burpees before picking it back up again! I finished in 10:41 using a 45lb bar. It was TOUGH! Afterwards we did max pull ups -- I only got 12 (I was worn out)

After an hour in traffic, i made a protein smoothie with berries and bananas and ate some turkey meat!
A few hours later i ate 3 eggs sunny side up and snacked on walnuts!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

BACON!!!

DAY 3

So for breakfast i had an egg scramble with bacon- I know what your thinking, "Its only day 3 and you've already had bacon TWO days in a ROW" ... but-- It was the last of my bacon leftover from about a week ago, and when i went to the grocery store last night, i did not purchase any bacon OR sausage!!! :) So i decided this morning, to use the last of my bacon and try to go on a binge for at least a week with no bacon or sausage -- at least not ALOT of it! So we'll see.

6:30-- 4 scrambled eggs and 3 bacon strips (chopped)
9:00-- One bowl of unsweetened apple sauce and one cup of black coffee
12:00- One big bowl of leftover chilie



TUESDAY W.O.D. (I will be doing this at 6:30)
As many rounds as possible -- 5 minutes
-5 DB cleans 20lbs
-5 Burpees
As many rounds as possible -- 6 minutes-6 Box jumps
- 6 Box jumps 18in
- 6 Ring Dips
As many rounds as possible -- 7 minutes
- 7 Hang power Snacth 45lbs
-7 Ankle 2 Bar


For dinner i had sweet potatoes, turkey meat, and broccoli

Monday, January 3, 2011

DAY 1 AND 2 -- LATE START!!

So i got off to a slow start beginning the "30 day" challenge! I actually started the "strict" diet yesterday instead of Saturday due to complications ;) Lets just say I didnt feel so hott and after throwing up all morning i finally forced my boyfriend to get me some Saltine Crackers ... and what do you know? It helped :) So if i can actually finish this challenge :\ then my last day will February 1st!! My motivation to eat 100% healthy is low for unknown reasons but i am going to try and push past that because it will only make me stronger!

Day 1 started off by cooking a HUGE egg scramble with mushrooms, onions, bellpeppers, jalapenos, sausage, and bacon! It was pretty delicious-- I attempted to make some more paleo pancakes ... but it was unsucessfull. We had a super late "breakfast" and should probably be considered our lunch because my next meal was paleo chilie which consisted of lots and lots and meat and tomato sauce! Me and Jesse made TONS so i brought some to work with me this morning to eat for lunch.

After a mini garage WOD with Jesse and his roommate Conner we all ate another bowl chilie, oranges, and an apple!
The WOD was 5x5 press
50lb, 55lb, 60lb, 65lb, 65lb (3) It felt pretty awesome, because my one rep max of presses is sixty five pounds, but i was able to press that weight five times in a row :) So obviously my one rep max should increase tremendously next time i attempt it ... hopefully !!

So now i begin day 2 -- I didnt have to make a good breakfast this morning so i have eaten two oranged and an apple! Im hoping during this challenge i can increase my vegetable intake and decrease all my fruit intake,we'll see :)

--I tried really hard to ignore my hunger and not snag some bacon from the breakast center at my work ... but i failed ): So i had a few peices of bacon to help fill me up before lunch! Around 12:00 i will have a bowl of Paleo Chilie also! So far so good, but tomorrow i will be waking up a littler earlier to get a good breakfast down before work!!

Above is a picture of the intense temptation i have to stare at everyday while working!!! Just wanted to share with all my readers :)

For lunch I ate one bowl of Chilie.
Early dinner at 4:00 -- 5 eggs

Today i did Cindy (AMRAP 20 Minutes)
5 Pull ups
10 Push Ups
25 Air Squats

I completed fifteen rounds evens and then had a smoothie with strawberries, coconut milk, water, and protein powder!! Its already 8:17 and i REALLY dont feel like cooking dinner ... looks like ill be having leftover chilie again for lunch tomorrow :)

Night everyone!!