One Year Crossfit Anniversary

So one year ago I had my first official WOD (workout of the day) at Crossfit 1st Due. I had finished my on-ramp or introduction classes and was released into what we at 1st Due referred to as "general population."  I knew from my first few on ramp classes that I was going to be addicted, I just don't think I realized how much Crossfit would change my life.

Some of my highlights from the last year:

• I lost 17.5" and counting from my body measurements
• My deadlift is up to 250 lbs.
• I hit a new split jerk PR last week at 105 lbs.
• I can front squat 120 lbs.
• I completed all 5 WOD's for the open, without scoring a 0 in any of them!
• I've completed WOD's with names like Fran, Christine, Grace, Kelly, Nancy to name a few
• CF has also opened a whole new language between my brother and I! You should check out his box (www.crossfitgenesis.com)

While there's lots that I still want to accomplish, I will always hold Crossfit 1st Due near and dear to my heart for really introducing me to crossfit and allowing me to spend LOTS of time both working out and just hanging out there over the 10 months I had them in my backyard.  I miss you all.  I'm looking forward to seeing more growth during my time at Crossfit 203

Making the Jump

Sorry it's been awhile...life got away, not really, let's just say I was out enjoying life.  While a recap would be fun, it would take way to long.  So the highlights since Thanksgiving....a week in Indy, Christmas parties galore (including the infamous Cedarpalooza), a trip to NY, 14 days in London, surviving the first six weeks of the semester and then another trip to Indy sums it up in a nutshell.  But on the to the real stuff.

This week I've struggled at Crossfit and it's frustrating.  This sign hangs at the door of Crossfit 1st Due when you walk in and I've had to be reminded of it a couple of times.  

There have been a couple of times this year that I have had to check myself.  I've had back issues recently which means that I have had to scale workouts or change out movements all together (which in my head reads: failure).  While I know that's not the case it's been hard.

Then this week happened.  Monday was a fairly simple WOD (workout of the day), some static holds....followed up by 1000 jump ropes.  sounds easy right?  Well the first 100+ were and then it went downhill.  Ultimately I gave up at 500+ and yes I use the word give up because I was SO frustrated that it wasn't worth the stress and anger that it was creating internally. 

Fast forward to Wednesday...I was SUPER excited about the WOD for some reason. Over head squats and burpee box jumps (google them), but then it started.  I felt (even today as I reflect) that I did not perform to my full ability. I had to drop weight on the squats because I almost dropped the bar on my head a couple of times.  I know I can do a higher weight in OHS (because I have before) but for some reason I just couldn't that night.  I've been told it was just a bad night and let it go, my brother even said that OHS are humbling and welcome to CF.  

I keep playing in my head over and over what went wrong and is there a way to fix it, was I protecting my back, am I getting weaker, was it just a bad night, was it all mental???  All of these things ran through my head.  I took a break last night and am hoping that I can will move forward tonight...hopefully without a meltdown this time.   


I guess I just have to keep making the jump. 

Long time coming...

I feel like this post has been one that is a long time in the coming, or at least one that I've been thinking about, I even wrote it and then sat on it for 2 months before I actually posted it.  One of the main things I am tackling with this 32 list is getting my weight under control. I feel like I have always been the fat kid, I remember being overweight in middle school and while I played sports all through high school I also remember being bigger heavier (at least in my head because clearly I didn't get on a scale) than my friends.

 Adorable at age 4

and it begins...about age 11 or 6th grade

(I am sad to say that even then I was a size 14 pants)

Enter college...headed into my third year I dropped some weight, again scales weren't a part of my life so I don't know how much, but I didn't do it in a healthy way but used supplements, that were not as well known about as they are now and probably stayed at that size through graduation. 

Summer 2000, what I think of as my skinniest,

 maybe not the healthiest though

I feel like the harder life transition besides starting college, is the year or two after graduation, which is when I started putting weight back on.  I also diagnosed with low thyroid soon after college, which if you are familiar with involves weight gain and LOTS of sleeping. Lovely right?


I worked with a trainer for a few years while in CT and directly up until I moved to VA 5 years ago which is where I slowly started putting weight back on.  Boy do I miss her and I have not found a trainer I like as much since then!


Now I'm at that time in my life where I'm actively working towards losing weight, yes I know it's about how you feel, but honestly I don't feel good about myself right now.  I'm slowly getting there but there's still work to do.  In the bigger picture as I look to my future and know that I want kids to be a part of it, I know that I need to lose weight. 


Losing weight is something to struggle with, I know that for me to be successful I have to change eating habits, which I do really well for a day or two, then I slip fall off the wagon for a day.  I'm down about 8ish lbs, give or take and it's SLOW...I mean I seem to struggle with the same up 1 lb a week, then down the next.  I need to figure out what's going to work for me and stick with it. 


Ugh I'm over feeling like I will always be the fat kid in life............

Staying Motivated

So it's beginning to happen yet again, I'm losing motivation to really stick with changed eating habits.  Please tell me why it happens why I allow it to happen, about 3-4 weeks in every time. I have not totally fallen off the wagon but I definitely don't have the motivation I did when I first started.

Source

Work has gotten busy again with the return of the students so obviously I have been busy there, but it hasn't been the meals, but the other things in between meals that I feel are throwing me off.   I am happy with losing 0.6 lb last week in the midst of sorority recruitment, but I want more this next week and know it's going to take an effort.

I know it's about making better choices and I've decided that TODAY I am going to work on that. It's one of the first days in awhile that I am home, without any plans and no work so I am going to plan meals and cook for the week because I know if I have stuff ready to go things will be easier! 

Source

My other goal for the week is to get to the gym/get a workout in at least 5 days, including 2 days of lifting and 3-5 days of cardio for at least 30 minutes.  The good thing is that I got a run/walk in on Friday and then lifted and did cardio Saturday so I have 3 more trips in the next 5 days!

How do you stay motivated to eat healthy and keep on a good track?

So hard....

I feel like for most some people starting a blog would be the easiest part of this list.  For more it's probably one of the hardest.  I'm not someone who easily shares things about herself and it probably didn't help that over the holidays one of my friends actively discouraged my doing this unless I protected the blog so you had to get approved to read it.  Well my internal dialogue said that was against the point of this. I want to be open and honest about this journey and I figure to do that I need to do this.

As the New Year began I stopped and reflected as I saw people commenting about resolutions and how most people fail in keeping them.  Good thing I don't consider these resolutions, but more like goals, or in my life a to-do list, a rather long to-do list, but one nonetheless.  Once my holiday travels were over I jumped right in and began to tackle the first thing on my list, losing weight.  This task also became very real for me this week when I went to the doctor.  The doctor confirmed for me the thing I was expecting, that my cholesterol is high.  I don't mean just a little high, I mean high enough that I have a year to try and bring it down with diet and exercise or face going on medication.  While high cholesterol runs in my family (I've started writing down my history so I know this), I never expected to be faced with it this soon.  While it threw me for more of a loop than I expected I am also using it as another piece of motivation.

At the end of week one of watching my eating habits (I refuse to call it a diet, because it's not) I am down 1.4 lbs.  I also made it to the gym twice last week to log just over 8 miles. I need to get on that one I guess.  Time to go create my workout plan for the week.