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.