Cheating

From February 14 through February 25, I was paleo. I ate meat and veggies and nuts and dates (a lot of dates. I love dates. Seriously, go get some dates. They're delicious.) In that short time frame, I managed to lose 3 pounds. Bonus! It surprised me because I never lose weight. But this was also a very specific time frame. Why didn't I just do it for a month? A very special friend had a very special birthday on Saturday and the partying was planned well in advance. It's OK to allow ourselves a cheat day once in a while, right?


So last week my very special friend asks about cake, specifically who makes the best cake. We both realize that we like cake made from a box. I can do that! So that's what I did.

This became a problem.

So we go to the wineries for the afternoon. Everyone has a piece of cake; some have two pieces. Great! I'm still left with well over half a cake. I promise to wrap up a piece for the birthday girl and for another special friend who will be joining us later. Done!


So then later comes and I leave the cake in the car. I manage to remember to give our other friend her piece(s), but leave the rest in the car. Oops.


So I find myself Sunday morning with half a cake. I think, I'll just wrap this up and give it to the people at the board meeting I'm going to this afternoon. And I wrap it up. And forget it on the counter.


So then the Oscars come on and my plan is to sit and stare at the TV and my laptop all night. I don't want to cook - I have cake! I ended up throwing out some of the cake because it was too delicious and I couldn't look it over anymore. I ended up being seriously disappointed with the academy (Banksy! Fincher! Come on!) and overloaded with sugar.


I also gained back all of the weight I had lost. This is why I don't own a scale. I'd be on it every day. I know I can lose that weight again, but these setbacks kind of suck. I want to win this challenge and I have to kick it into serious overdrive this week in order to do it.


It doesn't help that I'm going to this Winery Run on Sunday morning, where we run for an hour and we're rewarded with mimosas and waffles. But the waffles are gluten-free. That counts for something, right?

The Uniform

The bad ass Crossfit women's uniform - sports bra, short shorts, and knee highs

This picture was taken from today's main site post. This is the ideal for many of us Crossfit ladies. 

1. She's confident enough to wear that
2. She looks amazing
3. She's doing pull-ups, which make her look even more amazing!

The women in our box don't wear this kind of outfit. It's mostly old t-shirts, yoga pants, nike capris, or whatever didn't smell really bad. I would like to change this. I would like to make Eugene Crossfit more bad ass. BUT I'm not confident enough to wear something like this - YET. 

First, you have to own it. Not just own the clothes themselves, as in buy them and put them in your dresser, but feel good wearing them. I like wearing costumes and I often go all out. But if I'm going to wear something like this, I can't feel like it's a costume. It's just what I threw on to go work the hell out.

Second, and most important, is that I don't want to show up looking like this:

Nobody wants to see this

I love Britney, but this was kind of a train wreck. I know, I know, most of us would look worse than this in this outfit. But we're not up there onstage at the VMAs, are we?

Why is this coming up now? I have a gift certificate from Lululemon coming in the mail. I could get more capris. Or I could get something ...new. And maybe if I start dressing the part, I'll start acting the part. Could I RX more workouts in short shorts? Is this really a mental thing?

Britney could do some Crossfit. She'd show up in the right outfit. Me, I'm getting there.

Losers

I admit it: I watch The Biggest Loser. It's a terrible show. At its heart, it means well. Actually, the more I think about it, it doesn't. Its goal is for really obese people to lose weight. Good! This needs to happen in epic proportions here in the US. Unfortunately it's like every other reality show in that it kicks someone off every week, even before they're ready to do it on their own. Not great. 


But we really know what the show is, right? (shh....it's a 2 hour commercial disguised as an inspirational weight loss program) I didn't watch the first few seasons, but I'd like to imagine a time when trainers recommended whole foods and a healthy lifestyle with less stress. Not anymore. This show is full of product placement. I hope the contestants get paid for all the advertising they do. If they don't, they should start a union.


A few weeks back, I realized that The Biggest Loser could never hire a Crossfit coach to whip their contestants into shape. A Crossfit coach would never say, "Wow, you've had a tough workout! You should replenish those calories with this yogurt whose second ingredient is High Fructose Corn Syrup" or "That was a tough workout! Why don't you chew this gum so you don't feel so hungry!"


I've seen a couple articles today about healthy eating and fitness, one in which addressed Bob Harper personally. My favorite quote comes from Rob Wolff, who speaks the Paleo gospel.

"Does anyone remember the product for which Wilford Brimley was the spokesperson years ago? Right, Quaker Oats. Does anyone know what Wilford Brimley now promotes? Diabetes testing supplies."

The Biggest Loser is all about promoting products: water filters, storage supplies, processed foods, their own fitness line. They really have an empire now! I just tried searching for nutritional information on their own food line, but got incredibly frustrated and I have things to do today. In other words - I have no idea what goes into their products. But they are making a lot of money. My hope is that they're not pumping their consumers full of more sugar, which leads to more sugar, which leads to...


I came across another blog post today that talks about the C word - Cardio. I used to do a lot of Cardio too. Now I can't say the word without laughing. Women's magazines are terribly misleading in regards to weight loss. Do more cardio - lose more weight! Do "strength" training twice a week! (with what, 8 pound weights?) This blog post isn't perfect, but it does address a lot of the misconceptions women have, i.e., more cardio will help you lose weight. You need to lift weights to lose weight! It's that simple! It's scary but it has to be done! 


I know I've become a snob since joining Crossfit. I know I try to push it on people. Why? It works! I see it every day. I've seen it in myself and everyone around me. I used to be that person reading a magazine on an elliptical machine, just an endless cycle of magazines and ellipticals and wearing the same pants size for years. It doesn't have to be that way. 

Numbers

I don't own a scale. I don't measure my happiness by a number on the scale. BUT sometimes it's nice to be reminded of how much progress I've made, and numbers are a good way to measure that.


When I started Crossfit, I weighed 153 pounds. This was 153 soft pounds. Not a lot of muscle. When I started Crossfit, and changed my eating habits, I lost 7 pounds in the first 2 weeks. Not bad! But that's indicative of any major fitness program. If you truly change how you move and what you eat, of course you'll lose weight! I lost more weight slowly, but it wasn't my motivator. I needed smaller jeans, smaller shirts, and something I never thought would happen, a smaller bra. 


My first few weigh ins actually took place at a doctor's office, for various reasons, but then some time passed when I didn't weigh myself. When I wanted a reminder of my weight, I'd go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and step on a few of their scales to see where I landed. I've been in about the same range for over a year ...138-141. That's fine. My goal weight has always been 135. That's what I think I should weigh considering my body type. I could lose a little more weight around my midsection, but other than that, I'm pretty happy with how I look now.


So then we start a new challenge at Crossfit - Spring Leaning II. This involves some pictures, a brutal workout (Angie), and a weigh in. I went to the 5:30pm workout last night - after teaching all day and snacking on the drive home. I wasn't expecting anything - just the normal high 30s, low 40s. Then I looked down - 136.4! What? Where did that come from? I nearly high-fived my coach! 


But what surprised me more than the number was my reaction to it. Do I feel any different at 136? Do I look any different? Why was that number so important? And why do I want to get to 133 now?


I heard that other people liked that scale too, which makes me wonder about its accuracy. Would I be as happy if I stepped on another scale and it said 138? 136 was the lowest number I've seen in .... I'd say 10 years. This number shouldn't matter, but for some reason, it makes me feel better about what I'm doing and gives me incentive to do better. I'm just happy I don't have a scale in my house  so I don't have to look at that number every day.

Finally - A Goal Realized

I don't like running. I think running is a good way to measure how much I've improved fitness-wise. I've been doing a lot of running this past year, just to see what I can do. I finished a half-marathon on my feet. I didn't run a lot of it, but I finished. I've done a lot of 3-5 mile runs. It's not a problem anymore. But I really haven't seen a lot of improvements in my times since I got 29 minutes a year ago in a 5K. But finally, FINALLY, I beat that time this Friday.


I woke up that morning and thought that I needed to do a longer run before my 4 mile race today, and that I needed to finally beat that 29 minutes. I went to Crossfit Friday afternoon, got out of my car, hit start on my watch, and started running. No ipod. No partner. Just me and that clock. A minute improvement would have been fine. But I didn't beat it by a minute. I beat it by TWO!!! 26:50! That's huge!!! That's an 8:36/mile pace! Me! When I started Crossfit, my first 5K time was in the 33 minute range. I'm getting faster!! Woo-hooooo!!!


So today was the Truffle Shuffle, a benefit for Committed Partners for Youth. A lot of people come out for this race; it's a pretty great event. It's a 4 mile run. Last year when I did it, it was the longest I had ever run, and I did it in 39:28. I was pretty happy that I did it in just under a 10 minute mile. Today I ran it in 36:48. That's a 9:01 minute mile (my Garmin said I ran 4.08 miles). I really felt like walking during mile 2 - I had a terrible stitch in my side. But I kept moving. Something about numbers keeps me moving. I want to get a smaller number than the one before. So I keep moving.


Now I'm pretty worn out. I'm not even going into Crossfit tomorrow, and I always go in on Mondays. (OK, maybe I know what's coming on Tuesday). But I will take a much needed rest day, then this weekend I'll try to run a 6K in under an hour. No problem.

Waking Up

Many elements contribute to overall fitness. Diet is just as, if not more important than exercise. Hydration and recovery also factor into overall fitness.My problem lately has been sleep. The problem started in early December. When school ended, my schedule became way too flexible and I started staying up late* and sleeping in later. Generally I can go to bed between 10 and 11 and wake up at 6:30. When I don't have a set schedule, I go to sleep and wake up when I please. Strike one.

Then the sheets came.

My mom got me new sheets for Christmas. I loved my old sheets. I got them on sale at Macy's a long time ago and they're super-soft. Maybe these new ones have codeine sewn into them - I don't know. But they are so soft and warm and comfortable. Just one more minute...just one more then I'll face the cold world....Strike two.

I also recently stopped taking a medication that I took in the morning. This medication had somewhat of an alertness effect. I'm glad I stopped taking it. I feel like I'm more myself, but now I'm just sleepier. Strike three.


I've also been working out 5+ times a week. This definitely has made my body tired, but I'm not sure if that's really a cause to my problem. This morning I set the coffee to be done at 6:30, the alarm on my phone, and the alarm clock by my bed. Guess what time I finally got up? 7. I don't know if my body just wants to hibernate or what, but I don't feel much like getting out into the world these days. Maybe the increasing day light will help. Maybe forcing myself on a schedule will help. All I know is that it's noon right now and I have two more classes to teach and it's hard to get my students motivated when I just want to crawl back into bed...


*I won't place direct blame, but this is about the time I realized that Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage come on at 11 and 11:30 pm respectively. If I'm awake anyway...

Rollin'

Sofia loves it when I roll.

Most normal people stretch after a hard workout and that works for them. That's not enough for a serious Crossfit athlete. After a seriously hardcore workout, like Cindy, we need to get out the foam roller and put ourselves through some minor torture. 


We did Cindy two days ago. This was a major milestone for me because I RXed it for the first time. Awesome, right? Last night, it started to hurt. My quads hurt from the 180 squats. My lats hurt from the 63 (RX!) pull-ups I did. And my pecs started to feel the 120 push-ups. Also, for some unknown reason, my calves felt all knotted up. I got out the foam roller for a few minutes and rolled out my calves.


I should step back. Most people love massages, right? I don't. I feel the need for them every once in a while, but they're generally not all that enjoyable for me. They hurt! I know - my body sucks and can't take it. I don't know when I became so sensitive to everything, but massages are not my friend. When massages hurt, the foam roller is bad, bad news.


It seems like each Crossfit box pitches the same stuff (fish oil, paleo, ab mats). I don't know if they're just not creative or if they get some killer deals or what. But foam rollers are those items that you don't see many places but you will see at Crossfit. They're just as important as the workout and just as painful. I know that the knot in my calf will go away, but it's going to take some cringing.


Anyway, I'm in more pain than usual today and I'll still show up at the box. That's how I roll.

Defeat

I felt like today it was me vs. the equipment, and the equipment won. We had a bizzarro workout today, involving these things called Wall Climbs. Most of the movements we do in Crossfit are functional movements - stuff you could potentially do in the real world. We tried to think of how this movement could translate to reality and we were stumped. How often in life are you in a plank position, then moving your feet up a wall until you're vertical? I think of myself as a creative person and honestly, this move has me wondering. 


Anyway, we tried these against the wall in the main room, which felt like it had been oiled down the night before. We moved into another room and decided the walls were less slippery, so we moved our boxes in there and we're ready to go. Then we try the toes to bar move. That involves hanging from a bar and swinging your toes up to touch the bar. We have new bars now in this other room and I can actually reach one of them! Awesome! So I do just that and realize I could do a couple - which was awesome! Then I completely lost my grip as my legs were swinging back and I fell right to the floor, hitting my left knee and my chin. Awesome! Some of the ladies check the bar after and realized that the condensation was a problem there too, and we should cover the bars with chalk and probably not even use that one. Man, the workout hadn't even started.


But I'm a trooper and even though it did hurt, especially my knee, I got on the floor and got ready for the workout. Honestly, I felt like bursting into tears. I had a lot of unrelated stuff on my mind today, and falling on my face didn't help, and the thought of a really hard workout that would take at least 20 minutes was pretty discouraging. But I sucked it up and started. I did these wall climbs the best I could. They weren't pretty. I did knees to elbows, which is a little more reasonable than toes to bar, and I did them on a different bar. So far, I was going through the motions but doing them nonetheless.


Then came the box jumps. I get some serious mental blocks when it comes to these. I've been trying to use a 20" box because I know I can, and I've been jumping because I can. I was stepping for a while, but I know I can jump, so I do it. On my 13th jump I completely fell over the box onto the floor. Great, now I'm on the floor again. I could see a pattern. But I picked myself up and jumped again. I really wanted to step. I really wanted to quit the whole stupid workout all together, but I jumped.


And I finished. I didn't expect to and I don't know if I would have been too upset if I had stopped. En Vogue's "Free Your Mind" came on towards the end, and that actually helped a lot. That's a hell of an empowering song! It was my 5th workout of the week. I had a lot on my mind. But I came in and did it, and that has to count for something.


Here's an idea of what we did, done by the #2 lady at the Crossfit games, Icelandic Annie. If you want to see how I did it, you can imagine me lying face down on the floor, looking around, wondering why I showed up.

Stronger

On Friday, we did a workout that we had done in September, a hero WOD called Jack.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

115 pound Push press, 10 reps

10 KB Swings, 1.5 pood

10 Box jumps, 24 inch box

Once I looked it up again, I remembered it. It doesn't look like much, but it is. When we did it in September, I did 55# Push Press, 1 pood KB, and 20" box. I had to switch to 45# after 4 rounds because 55# was just too heavy. I got 8 rounds total.

When I came in on Friday, my goal was to do the same weight, stay at 55#, and get more rounds. I commented to a friend that I didn't feel that strong and that I wasn't sure if I could stay at 55. Well, I did. And I did 9 rounds. I am stronger.

It's hard to see improvements day-to-day, especially when you go as much as I do. But it really does happen. Crossfit gets harder because you make it harder, and by doing that, you get stronger. It's nice how that happens.

And I did 6 pull-ups in a row the other day. Real ones. Very real ones.

Stick to the Plan

I've started a new blog: http://sticktotheplan.wordpress.com/. This is a place where we can share recipes, goals, and tips for eating right. It's also a place to support each other as we try to do the right thing when it comes to eating. I can show up and do the work at the gym 5 days a week, but my eating is crap and I know it. Support is crucial when you're trying to make real changes.

Getting Fit for the New Year

I don't have to worry about that. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. Thanks Crossfit!

The Next Round of Goals

When I started Crossfit, I wrote down a few goals that I've managed to reach this year. One was running a 10K - I actually ran a Half-Marathon. I'm going to run another this year (http://www.eugenemarathon.com/) so I can get a better time. Do I like running? No. Do I see it as a challenge? Definitely! My half-marathon was physically the most difficult thing I've ever done, but I know I can do better.


I also got my first RX pull-up this year. I tried doing my first WOD with RX pull-ups - Baseline - but that didn't go so well. But that's the thing with Crossfit; it will come up again and I'll do better. There's always another opportunity for improvement.


So here are my new sets of goals. They shouldn't coincide with new year's resolutions - it's just taken me a while to get these down. I'll totally achieve these by June.

Finish Half-Marathon in under 2:20

RX Fran

Do a handstand push-up

Go Paleo for a full month - no cheating

RX Cindy

RX Fight Gone Bad

I may not get the best times, but whatever I get is better than before. I can't stress enough how I was never an athlete before any of this and I still have a hard time calling myself that. But if I can reach these goals, I'll feel a little better about it.

The Cheering Section

On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to do the Filthy Fifty. This is a workout that's truly .... filthy. It goes a little something like this:

For time:

50 Box jump, 24/20 inch box

50 Jumping pull-ups

50 Kettlebell swings, 1/ 3/4 pood

Walking Lunge, 50 steps

50 Knees to elbows

50 Push press, 45/35 pounds

50 Back extensions

50 Wall ball shots, 20/14 pound ball

50 Burpees

50 Double unders

The second numbers are the women's RX. But someone in the morning decided that the womens' RX kettlebell should be 1 pood, so that's what I did. We'll get back to that.
Anyway, I've done the Filthy Fifty twice before. The first time, I did the scaled version, "The Dirty Thirty," which was brutal enough. The second time, this summer, I did all 50 reps of everything, but I scaled it to my level (I think I stepped up on some of the box jumps and used a 10# wall ball). This time, my goal was to RX it, ideally in under 30 minutes. This was the intention anyway.
The box jumps were fine. The jumping pull-ups were fine. When I got to the kettlebells, I was still upset that I had to use 1 pood, which was the same weight much stronger men were using. I usually use 1 pood during a workout, but we usually don't have to do 50 in a row. And I knew, I knew, that the RX for women was 3/4 pood. Whatev. Enough complaining. I'll let it go now.
Lunges will suck any day, but the most deceptive move came next - knees to elbows. Since I've done this workout before, I know that this is the hardest move. You basically hang from a bar and swing your knees up to your elbows - 50 times. It's a core workout, but it kills the grip on your hands and it doesn't feel great on the shoulders, which were already smoked from the KB swings. I could only do 4 at a time, so I made an executive decision. It's my workout, my conscious, so I modified them. I did them on the floor. Doing it this way meant I wouldn't put an RX next to my name, but it wouldn't take me an hour. It still hurt and it still took a while. Damn those knees to elbows.
Because I'm so weak, the push press also sucked. The back extensions are like a mini-vacation. You know how I feel about wall balls. I threw one 14# in the air and decided to use the 10#. I had already scaled it, so I didn't care at this point. I just wanted to finish. Then came the worst part of the WOD. There were only a few of us left when I started the burpees and the next class had started to trickle in. After a couple minutes, I was the last person doing burpees.
One of the great things about Crossfit is that you have a community of people cheering you on. I often appreciate it. It really helps me through some tough workouts. Sometimes, it works against me. When people started cheering me on during the Filthy Fifty, I still had 40 burpees to go. I know how long it takes me to do 40 burpees and I really didn't want a bunch of people standing around yelling at me for 5 minutes. I was also getting upset because I kept losing count. I didn't want to do anymore burpees than I had to. So I made it clear that I did not want encouragement during the WOD; I just wanted to finish on my own. So that's what I did.
I feel bad when I yell at people who have good intentions, but I know how I can get through these workouts. Often times, I yell at people when I'm trying to finish my pull-ups. I know how fast I can do pull-ups. Cheering won't help when my shoulders give out. But I still appreciate the cheering most of the time and I'm happy to cheer on my friends. But if I get that look, I know to shut it and cheer in my head.

This Will All be Over in Five Minutes

That's usually what's going through my head during a workout. If we're doing something I really don't like, something like wall balls, I just try to think, "This will all be over in 5/10/15 minutes." That usually helps me get through it.


I watched The Amazing Race tonight (anyone want to sign up with me?), and they had to hang from this tall bridge or platform or something - something involving heights that scared the crap out of some of them. They didn't really have time to be scared since this was the final episode and there was a million dollars in sight, so they just did it. I think if I were in that situation and my challenge was really scary, like something in the water, I'd tell myself that it will all be over in an hour and I won't have to do it again.


Wall balls can be scary, too, especially when they hit you in the face.

Random Thoughts

• Pull-ups are hard.
• Finally got new shoes - Nike Frees. Now I'll RX everything!
• I can usually tune out the terrible music played at Crossfit, but when an awful cover band does Depeche Mode, I have to say something, even if it's in the middle of a WOD.
• Are there any Depeche Mode songs that would be good for Crossfit? I tried to figure that out last night. I'm still not convinced, but if there were they would come off either Ultra or Songs of Faith and Devotion. (I'm pretty sure David Gahan wasn't in a good place when they made those albums.)
• TV has been abysmal since LOST ended.
• Sometimes I watch The Biggest Loser. I know, I can watch commercials anytime, but I still tune into this show anyway. I guess now when they get down to the final four they have them run a Biggest Loser marathon. I'm not sure this is sending the right message. These people were like 400 pounds 4 months ago. I just don't think a marathon is a realistic goal for someone who is 400 pounds right now (sitting on their couch) and wants to do this in 6 months. Sure, it's an accomplishment, but a marathon is really, really hard*.
• So are pull-ups.
• I'm pretty sure Crossfit is a front for the Fish Oil industry.

*I'm going to sign up for the Eugene Half Marathon in May. I can get a much better time the second time around, especially with my new kicks!