Pushing myself further - while standing upside down?

Well. Today I did it. Today I registered to compete in the Crossfit Games 2012 - Open!


I had decided I wouldn't, told people there was no way... I struggle in some key areas of Crossfit - and know the difference between myself and the other female competitors I have seen. Yet - here I am. I guess there was a tiny part of me that wanted to - and every day it grew with every passing workout. The few deciding factors? For starters - the first "WOD" was announced. How many burpees can you do in 7 minutes? Didn't seem crazy hard. I watched the leader board on the Crossfit website last night - marveling at the numbers people were putting up. I tried it this morning for fun. So how many burpees can I do in 7 minutes? Today it was 82. Knowing that the person holding #1 on the leader board had a score of 125, I knew it wasn't great - but I didn't expect great - I just wanted to be proud of how I did. And I was! I made it through those 7 minutes without stopping - and if you've ever done any type of "how many can you do in this many minutes" workout - you know how difficult that is. Not to mention that I had also watched a video of one of the top female competitors try her hand at the WOD - and she got 91. Well I can definitely improve by nine reps! 


The second and third deciding factors for me to register? I've begun stringing sets of five double-unders together. It doesn't sound like much - but it's a huge improvement for me, and something I've really been struggling with. Third is I learned how to do a handstand against a wall! Sounds silly right? Incredibly difficult. Handstand push-ups are a huge exercise in Crossfit - and I haven't been able to do ONE correctly. So today I gave it another try - but came about it differently. When doing handstand push-ups - it's crazy hard to jump right into it correctly. So you learn parts of it - and progress your way to doing it the right way. So I'd been trying to do the handstand push-up from a regressed point - starting with your head on the floor and swinging your legs up to the wall - THEN pushing up. And so far - no go for me. Very frustrating because I truly felt I was strong enough to push myself up - something just wasn't working for me. Well today I took a stab at just going into a full handstand on the wall - hands first, then swinging the legs up. The better way to do it - it's faster- and who would have thunk it - but easier for me. I couldn't believe it! It took a few tries to gauge how close to the wall I needed to be, but lo and behold - once I got up there - I could do a dang push-up! Color me a happy girl for the morning.


After I practiced a few more - I called my husband on the way home from the gym - telling him about my stab at the 7 minutes of burpees, and my handstand story. His words? So... you need to go register for the Open now. And I knew he was right. What's holding me back now? I might not be the best, and I might not make it past this first level of competition - but shoot - I've only been doing this for about four months now - and really - why NOT? We only live once - and I never would have thought I'd be in the shape that I'm in... so why the heck not. 


So ladies and gents. Wish me luck. Tomorrow night I try the WOD again - this time with someone recording it and submitting it. I'm shooting for that 91. Stay tuned...

Active Recovery Day Wednesday!

Well ladies and gents - today is an "active recovery day" for me. Which means no lifting, I'll  be foam rolling, hopefully taking my amazing puppy aka child Ruby for a walk, and essentially just giving my body a break. Yesterday's workout was tough, as were the last couple, and my shoulder could use a day off! So today I'll post my "Valentine's Day WOD" that I was lucky enough to do with my husband - working out with a partner makes a great difference. I'm able to do it alone - but that extra motivation he gives me can just kick my workouts into high gear. Then to end - a few pictures! My friend Monica asked me what I wear when I work out - and I truly find that if I spend a little time and color coordinate and wear some fun things - it makes me that much more positive about my workout. 


Valentine's Day WOD
5 rounds for time:
7 squats (165#)
15 pull-ups


Result: 11:09


I was pretty proud of that. My husband killed it, in the 6 minute range - but I thought I did pretty well! 165# is a dang heavy weight for me - so I'll take it! Pull-ups are getting better every day... any progress makes me happy. I remember the day I got one - and the day I got five... and now I knock out sets of 8 at a time. It's extremely motivating for me.


We followed that up with some "pistol" practice. That was tough! Pistol practice was done holding kettle bells - it's not easy to hold that weight and keep your balance. Our WOD ended with a short - 50 alternating leg pistols for time  (no weight). Whew! I am SORE today. And I love it!


Now for the photos... I loved this outfit - the socks made me giddy the entire day. There's just something about brightness, and funky socks. Combine the two and I'm a happy girl. My hubby took these photos for me - partly to show the outfit - but also because after them, we started back up with our eating clean. I know I'm up a few pounds of body fat, definitely not muscle, so I want to see how my body changes after a week, two weeks of eating clean again. Wish me luck!


Thanks to my mother in law for the ADORABLE Zella workout top. Socks are Reebok from Dick's!

Eating Better Again

After a month of eating extremely well, my husband and I tried to take a weekend detour and enjoy a few cupcakes, pieces of pizza, chocolate... whatever struck our fancy. A weekend turned into two weeks, and we finally realized we needed to kick our own butts back into gear. We pride ourselves on eating well and training hard, no matter what. Training hard seems to be what comes easy to us - eating well, not always. So we enjoyed this last weekend, pizza and garlic bread Saturday night, and our Valentine's Day dinner tradition at Maestro's Ocean Club in Newport Beach. Warm butter cake and creme brulee were a delicious ending to our night, and our gluttonous days. 


After setbacks like that, I look forward to days like Monday. Days where I wont crave chocolate or cookies because I know my jeans are getting a little tight, and honestly, I look forward to seeing my hard earned six pack again. I kicked the day off with a good workout - practicing my snatches - a lift I found extremely difficult, but rewarding to finally get. I ended with a set of three reps at 75 pounds. Not too shabby. Next up - the Monday workout my hubby created (I'm extremely lucky to have  a built in personal trainer at home, I will admit that). Our WOD (Workout Of the Day) - 3 - Push Jerk (I went with 75 pounds - could and should have gone heavier, but my shoulder has been feeling a little tired after our weekly crazy Saturday workout) - with 9 push-ups, followed by 15 sit-ups. AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) - in 15 minutes. A fantastic way to get your strength worked on, and get your heart rate up (to all of us girls - that's my cardio!). My result - 10 rounds plus 2 push jerks. It was a great workout. Hard, fast, sweaty - 15 minutes and done. Can't beat that. 


I usually find it very easy for me to eat well when I'm at work. I sit at a desk 8 hours a day, 5 days a week - and a little buzzer goes off every 2 - 3 hours for a break. Perfect time for me to eat on schedule, every day. We have a small fridge, and I make sure to prep food every night or morning - this helps when others head out to fast food and ask what I want - I know I have plenty already prepared. No thanks! Dinner was especially healthy for me - one piece of tilapia, cooked in a little butter (haven't been able to kick that yet), and lemon juice, roasted veggies and I attempted to sautee spinach. The spinach was flavorful - I love larger chunks of garlic - but I think next time I'll go with less olive oil. The roasted veggies are an amazing addition to dinner plates - they take a little prep time, so we typically make quite a bit (two baking sheets worth), that way we have left overs for the rest of the week. (FOOD PREP!) Below is the simple recipe for the veggies, and a quick cell phone pic of my dinner! I always enjoy when others post photos, so I hope to do the same. :) 


Roasted Veggies
Heat oven to 350 degrees
Bake between 30-40 minutes depending on your preference for crispness
Coat veggies in a bowl with a little olive oil, kosher salt and freshly minced garlic. 
Spread veggies evenly and thinly on a baking sheet - use two sheets if you have a lot of veggies.


The veggies below are our favorite combination - but you absolutely can add or remove to your liking. 
Carrots, red onions, yams, zucchini, pasilla chiles, bell peppers

Fish!

Here goes nothing...

I don't know if it's because we are on the "downward slope" from 25 to 30 (sounds silly, I know- but we all have our "things"), or if those of us who haven't gotten pregnant yet are trying to find a topic of conversation besides BABY BABY BABY and what sweets we've overeaten that week - but lately I find myself being asked - what would I do if I didn't do what I do? I don't love my job, but I enjoy that I get to work with my family every day. So the question sticks with me. What would I do? I graduated 8 years ago with a degree in English - excited to start the journey towards becoming a teacher. Teaching was the only thing I had ever thought of doing - most girls I knew were going to be teachers, my family was full of them. I took the CBEST quickly and passed - now I could substitute teach. I filled out an application... and that's where it stopped. I realized I didn't want to do that, and after having every kind of teacher possible - I truly believe that teachers need to love their job, and be passionate about it - otherwise they aren't effective. I lucked out - there was a job opening with my family business, and I jumped on it. An increase in pay, full time, and a boss who will let me take a day off if I so choose. (Sick days don't exist here, but that's a story in itself).


Eight years later, here I am. And what would I do if I were forced to choose something else - or if I got the chance to do something else. My friend Monica asked me this during a girls night filled with red wine flights and fried appetizers that were immediately regretted. I shrugged and said, well - the logical step would be to write a blog. I have an English degree after all, and it would give me a place to write about my love of working out. Facebook users don't always appreciate my daily workout posts - but I've chosen to keep it up. If I motivate one person to exercise that day - then every post I make is worth it. After I gave my answer to what I thought was a silly, alcohol induced chat - Monica was... enthusiastic. She and Raechel (another friend with whom I share my fitness and lifestyle experiences) thought it was a great idea - and Monica promised to pressure me into following through. I protested - we all know there are tons of fitness blogs, healthy eating blogs. In return they tell me - yes, but they seem to be for the mom with nine kids, or the woman who can't get to the gym- they just rarely seem to be geared towards women like us. We have gym passes, some of us are married, or in relationships, we have full time jobs, and are just trying to manage enjoying our youth combined with maintaining a healthy lifestyle.


So where's a blog for girls like that? Like myself and my friends? Well. Here goes. I've never believed I was creative enough to write anything - and I might be right. But like I've always said about my Facebook updates - if I motivate one person to exercise today - then this will be worth it.


I plan on posting my workouts, maybe including a photo every now and then. I'll post what I'm eating - or trying to eat. I'm in the best shape of my life, that's true, but it's definitely not without a few struggles. I love a good cupcake or cookie every now and then. To the one person who reads this - or the many - I hope you find something you like here - at the very least, you might find a good recipe or two.