AMRAP

As Many Reps As Possible...AMRAP. Wow. I'd never done one of these kinds of workouts before and they're pretty intense. You have to go as fast as you can in the allotted amount of time. The exercises aren't hard or heavy, just fast.

Last night's workout was this:

Strength
3x3 heavy power snatch - I only did the 15 pound trainer bar...

10min AMRAP

12 overhead plate lunges - I did 15 pounds

8 toes-to-bar - I did knees to chest because my core is nowhere NEAR strong enough to bring my toes up to the bar

6 squat snatches - again, only the 15 pound trainer bar...

The power and squat snatches were giving me so much trouble! For whatever reason, I just don't "get" the movement. I'm throwing up the bar with my shoulders instead of powering it up with my hips. I can't figure out that movement. So I'm not "allowed" to move on to the heavier, weighted bars until I can get the movement down. Which I totally understand but it frustrates the heck out of me that I can't get this! The coach was trying to help me with it but I could tell that he was getting a little frustrated as well and I know that he can't just focus on me and my non-form when there are a handful of other people in the class that he needs to keep an eye on too. So I'll just continue with my little wimpy bar until I can grasp the concept of the "snatch." Lame...

I was able to fully complete 4 rounds of the AMRAP though and then went on to do 35 Russian Twists with the 18 pound kettlebell. I was tired after the workout and pressed for time because I had to get home and then leave again for a hair appointment.

I've realized that I need to go to class more often than 2 times a week. So now, I've already signed up for classes thru the end of the week. I'm getting impatient because I'm not seeing the results fast enough. And I think that my diet has to do with that as well... I can eat like a champ during the day at work, but when I get home, and I'm tired either from the day or from working out, all bets are off and I'm reaching for whatever is easiest and fastest. Not always the best. I'm going to try the 5:30AM class on Friday to see if that will work better for me. It's going to be early and it's going to be difficult to get out of bed, but I think that by shifting my schedule around a little bit, it might work out better for me at night. We shall see!!

A little time off...HURTS!

STRENGTH: 5X3 DEADLIFT @ 80%

SKILL

WOD 1: 1MIN DBL UNDERS, 1MIN PLANK, 1MIN HANDSTAND HOLD, 1MIN DBL UNDERS

WOD 2: 40 KB SWINGS 40 GOBLET LUNGES 30 KB SWINGS 30 GOBLET LUNGES 20 KB SWINGS 20 GOBLET LUNGES

Yesterday was my first day back to the box since last Wednesday. And I felt it. I was sore getting into the truck to go home!

My max, and only, deadlift was 195 pounds so the coach told me to try 160 pounds. I grabbed the bar and started stacking on weights to see where it was juuuust heavy enough. I got to 125 pounds. A bit short of 160. So I did my five sets and got ready for the WODs. Yes, WODSSSSS.

I was looking forward to this workout to get me back into the routine because I can do these kinds of workouts all day. The upper body ones, not so much. I cringe when I see anything having to do with pull ups.

During the first WOD, I attempted to do a "double under" while jumproping. I didn't realize how much effort it takes to jump rope! Why did it seem so easy when we were younger?!?! And then throwing double unders in there makes it more difficult. After whipping my legs pretty good a few times, I finally got the hang of it.

For the second WOD, I used an 18 pound kettlebell. In retrospect, I probably could have used a heavier weight... I finished in 9:52.

I don't know Grace, but...

she doesn't need to be talking about jerking anything 30 times, even if it is clean!

A little CrossFit humor there...

Today's WOD:

STRENGTH: 3X10 REPS BENCH PRESS LEAVE 3 REPS IN THE TANK REST 1MIN BETWEEN SETS - I did 60# 

WOD:

GRACE:

30 CLEAN AND JERKS FOR TIME

135/95 (I did 55#)

POST GAME WOD:

3 ROUNDS

8 SNATCH BALANCE 45/35#

MAX EFFORT UNBROKEN MUSCLE UPS (SCALED CHEST TO BAR PULL UPS OR PULL UPS) - I did pullups assisted by a band

I completed "Grace" in 5:20 but it was waaaay scaled down. The coaches are more concerned about proper form than time right now because everything is still so new.

Again, since the coach is focused on form, I did the first 2 rounds of the snatch balance with a PVC pipe and then a 15# trainer bar when he saw that I had the hang of it.

Then I did 6 rounds of 15 Russian Twists. I'm not excited about how I'm going to feel after that one...

I SO wanted pizza for dinner tonight and seriously had to fight the urge to get out my phone and order it. By the way, Domino's Pizza has made it way too easy to order pizza from them! Their app is so convenient and quick... BUT I had some pork chops in the fridge that needed to be made into something so I did that instead. Pork chops topped with golden delicious apples in a honey broth. I'm a little afraid that I may have undercooked the pork but I guess I'll find out if I did in a few hours or so... It was good going down, not really looking forward to what it'll be like going the other way.

Junk Food:0   Gina:1

Who knew???

So check this out: if you eat well and exercise, you can lose weight! Why hasn't anybody caught on to this phenomenon before?!?! Or maybe it was just me...

The scale hasn't moved MUCH for me since starting CrossFit, but I can feel the transformation. Like I said before: not as jiggly, or girthy (thanks, Josh!!). I can really tell when driving over our fabulous California roads and hitting all of the pits, holes, ruts, etc. I notice that my Santa belly doesn't shake so much like jelly now. More like...well, more like something slightly more firm. I just can't think of what that would be...

We're going on vacation with the whole family next week and I still havent decided what I want to do as far as exercise. As I see it, I have three options: go to the box near the condo, do mini WOD's on my own, or take the week off. I'm scared of what I would come back to though if I take the week off. Would it be almost like starting over again, where I'd be stupid sore???

I'm still TRYING to make better food choices but there are times when the siren's call of my boyfriend Jesse at the Burger King THAT I HAVE TO PASS ON THE WAY HOME is just too much to resist. And yes, I would go to that particular BK so often that they knew who I was based on my order...

Handstand Pushups

Today's WOD:

STRENGTH: BACK SQUAT 3X10 (USE A WEIGHT THAT LEAVES ABOUT 3 REPS IN THE TANK)

AFTER EACH SET OF SQUATS IMMEDIATELY DO MAX EFFORT UNBROKEN HSPU (Handstand Pushups)

WOD:

600M RUN

60 KB SWINGS

400M RUN

40 T2B

200M RUN

20 KB SINGLE ARM SHOULDER TO OVERHEAD (10 ECH ARM)

Core: 40 kettlebell windmills

I finished this!! Not happy with the time but it's only my second real class and I finished in 20:01. But.I.FINISHED!

I had to scale the handstand pushups to something that I'm sure looked very interesting from behind... I was kneeling on a 24 inch box, butt waaaay up in the air, and head hanging over the side. I had to push up from the floor, kind of working up to the handstand pushup.

I was working with another girl on the back squats and she was working with 10 pounds on each side. I think it was a little too easy for me but it was the beginning of the workout so I didn't want to burn out way early.

I also had to scale the toes-to-bar (T2B) where while I was hanging, I just brought my knees up to my chest. Still, 40 of those bad boys weren't easy!!

It's been almost a month of working out and I can already notice that I'm getting stronger and my runs are getting faster. Not as fast as the ones that have been doing this for a while, or the super fit ones. However, I do take silent joy in the fact that only two classes in and I'm stronger than some of the other girls that have been there for much longer. Not faster though...

I did come in last tonight and a couple of the girls actually came out to cheer me on as I was finishing up my last run. I thought I'd hate it but it was the little boost that I needed. Good thing I decided to push it and run the last leg!!

I have to take tomorrow off for a hair appointment and I'm actually bummed about it!!

And now the hard stuff begins...

After completing the On-Ramp portion of the Crossfit, the training wheels are coming off and it's time for the butt-kicking. I'm so terrified! And excited. At the same time.

I've really enjoyed Crossfit-ting so far, but I do really think that my body says that it's time for me to move on to the "real" classes because I'm not as sore anymore and I'm moving heavier weights. I've had days where it hurts to get in and out of the car, where I can't sit down without groaning, where I can't straighten out my torso because my abs are so sore, and my arms are so jello-y that I can't even form patties for burgers! Even after all of that, it feels so good to know that I'm working so hard to get that way. But my head is yelling at me to stay in the training classes because it's scared of the real workouts! To do that though would be to go against everything that Crossfit is about: which is to NOT listen to your head when you want to quit. Push yourself. Get out of your comfort zone.

I think that my biggest fear is that I'm super intimidated and afraid to come in last. Like waaaaay last. Which I will, and I know that, but I don't like it. There's a quote on our "box's" (box is what the facility is called) website that is what they tell all of their newbies: "Dead last is greater than did not finish which trumps did not start." So all of the times when I think that I can't get my chin above the bar, or I can't seem to do one more walking lunge, or can't get thru 10 more Russian twists, or those last 100 meters of rowing are going to kill me, all that is running thru my head is FINISH THIS! That and, don't puke. As long as those two things happen, I'm good.

I'm looking forward to a more noticeable tranformation of my body. Already, in these past few weeks, I've noticed that I'm less jiggly. Even Josh, in his Josh-way, said that I'm less girth-y. Thanks babe... HAHA! I know what he meant though and took it as a compliment.

This is our Workout of the Day (WOD) for today:

Strength : Max Deadlift

Wod:

Dirty Twenty

For time:

20 Box jump

20 Jumping pull-ups

20 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood

Walking Lunge, 20 steps

20 Knees to elbows

20 Push press, 45 pounds

20 Back extensions

20 Wall ball shots, 10 pound ball

20 Burpees

20 Jump Ropes

This is typically a "Filthy Fifty" (50 times for each movement) workout but because it was my first class out of the on-ramp, beginners, program, they scaled it back for me. It still killed me though!! But I finished. I was really surprised at myself when I was able to bust out a 195 pound max deadlift! I've never done deadlifts before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I typically curse my genetics for giving me my "soccer player legs," but here, they helped me move a lot more weight that I, and probably the coach!, thought I could. Even though I was nervous about the movements, I went through them relatively easily...until the burpees. I swear a sadist created burpees. Those are what killed me! But knowing that I was almost done, and had the super easy jumpropes to close it out, I busted out those stupid burpees. I hate them...

I wasn't thinking about recording my time when I was sucking air and thinking that all I wanted to do was to curl up in a fetal position. I know that it was somewhere in the 20 minute mark though.

Dog Days of Summer

It makes the dogs a little more quiet, a little less hungry, and a lot more thirsty. So we go from wiping up food slobber, to wiping up water. And it's not from the obvious one (Legion) either. It's Hayden!!

I Pay For This?!?!

So I bought a groupon for Crossfit. There's a girl at work that is pushin' 260 pounds that has been doing it for three months and has lost about 8 inches overall during that time. Ok, I think, if she can do it, I've got to be able to do it. Better.

Oh, how prideful I was...

I don't think that I have ever been this sore. I don't think that I've ever looked at a flight of stairs and contemplated hurtling myself down them because it would be quicker, and less painful, than walking down them. But on the other hand, I can't remember when I've actually had this much fun working out. This isn't a typical 'gym' environment. It's a warehouse-feeling building with ropes and rings hanging from the ceiling, kettlebells lying on the floor, men and women of varying sizes all working out together in a team setting. You could be the most un-fit person, coming in dead last, and the super annoyingly fit perky-boobed blonde is cheering you on to finish. And all you can think about is crossing the finish line and calling "time" so she'll shut her mouth. That hasn't happened to me...yet...

The groupon gets me 12 classes, which breaks down to 2 weeks of the on-ramp classes and then I get thrown to the wolves. The training wheels come off! Most of workouts are named after women (???) but then you get ones named "Fight Gone Bad." Huh, strange name, right? Upon googling that workout, it came about when an MMA fighter finished it and when asked how he felt, he said "it felt like a fight gone bad." Oh, now THAT'S something to look forward to!! As long as I finish it though, I'm ok with it.

The pictures are of when I'm on the way to workout and then right when I got home. Bit of a difference, huh?

My Heart

This little boy is my heart dog...and often breaks it too. Hayden is so full of life, always on go, and even though little specks of grey are coming in, you would never guess that he is 6 years old.

Time is catching up with him though in the form of cancerous tumors on his body, non-cancerous tumors in his mouth, and it's taking him longer to recover from play time (he has a heart murmur). But I hug him every day and tell him that I love him so very much so if anything should happen, he will know. And in true little boy fashion, he allows the hugs for only so long before he wriggles away and is off to play.

He has been such a god-send for us: a little baby for Abbi, a playmate for Legion, a cuddlebug for mama, big helper for daddy, and it seems that he puts his whole heart into everything that he does, only wanting to make us happy.

I love you, my little Hayden Michael. What, your dog doesn't have a middle name???

Italian Sausage Stew

Holy smokes, this was gooooood!! I've made it a few times and it doesn't last long in our house.

Meh Chicken

I'd found a recipe for chicken on the Once a Month Mom website and because of the ingredients, I got super excited about it. When we ate it, the excitement faded. I've now renamed the recipe Meh Chicken because there is nothing special about it. I'm not even going to link back to the original recipe because it's just not worth it.

As an aside, I'm not so impressed with the Once a Month Mom recipes anymore. Yes, it is so very nice to have freezer recipes all in one site, all organized for you by meal and/or snack. But the recipes are not good! The "normal" recipes are full of cheeses and fatty foods, and mostly resemble funeral casseroles. But the "diet" recipes are bland and totally lacking any sort of texture or flavor. I'm sure that I could spruce them up a little bit but I don't know that until AFTER I've spent hours and hours prepping the food, putting it into freezer containers, and then cooking it. I get so frustrated that I wasted the time preparing it AND the money on the ingredients. But because I've been doing the freezer cooking for a while, I've learned which ingredients freeze and thaw well, along with the ones that don't. So now, Pinterest has become my favorite place to get freezer recipes!

I just noticed that you can see my fun new running shoes peeking out in the bottom left corner of the picture. Probably the best pair that I've owned!

Potato Soup

After having the baked potato soup at Black Angus years ago, I've been searching for a recipe that could duplicate the creamy taste and texture of it. I hadn't ever been successful...until now! This soup was so so so good! The recipe makes so much of it that I still have more in the freezer.

Breaded Chicken & Asparagus

Breaded chicken breast, with a feta cheese topping, and roasted asparagus.

Yum!

Pork medallions with roasted asparagus and tomatoes. Served with some gourmet Pilsbury crescent rolls and a nicely chilled Diet Pepsi. I really need to learn how to make homemade breads...

Josh goes up North!

Since Josh has been working at this company, he's kind of become their "go-to" person for the more techincal, more sensitive, jobs because of his experience and how he can "handle" the client. Surprisingly enough... Not that he doesn't know the heck out of anything relating to the technical side of his job. It's just that Josh is not the kind of person that I would imagine being as...well...slick. He's the kind of person that you never have to guess what they're thinking or how they're feeling because he just kinda lets you know. And because of that, and because I don't know how he is when he puts on his professional hat, I would have never guessed that he would end up in this kind of position at work.

So they sent him to Canada. In December. See what being a good employee gets you???

While he was up there, he and a co-worker were able to take a day trip to Linn Canyon. From the pictures that he took, I really wish that I was able to have gone with him. Except for the bridge. He can have that bridge all to himself...

Then there are a few pictures of around Victoria and of Totem Park. He said that it was definitely one of those time where he was really missing home because he wished that we could have experienced those places together.

It really stinks to have him on the road so much, but one thing that I'm grateful for is that he has had some opportunities to travel across the United States, and now into Canada, and to see all of the tourist-y things that he wouldn't otherwise had an opportunity to. It kind of breaks up the longing to be back home and the monotony of the work days.

Santa Cruz with the Aldama's

After we scraped the dirt from underneath our nails, did mad loads of laundry, dropped the kids off at their hotel, we jumped BACK in the truck and headed the opposite direction to Santa Cruz, to my parents' condo. This was the first time that we were going to see it. As much as we were excited and looking forward to our relaxing camping trip, it was a much different excitement to go down to Santa Cruz because our favorite little people were there waiting for us!!

The day after we got there, we all went to the Monterey Aquarium. It's a completely different experience when you get to see it through the eyes of a child. Things that would have gone unnoticed by our old and jaded eyes (yeah, yeah, another turtle/fish/sea star, etc...) were things of wonder and amazement, that we got to talk about with them.



Uncle Josh played "race car" with Elijah in his stroller. Revving his engine and hopping up and down over curbs. I don't know who enjoyed it more: Elijah or Josh!!



After the Aquarium, we all went to Bubba Gump's. Note to self: do not go to this restaraunt with Josh unless I want to be embarassed the entire time. That man knows the entire movie, from start to finish, and will recite it all if given the chance!



I thought that I had more pictures than this...

We saw this store on the way back to the condo. Hey, Cooder, Imma' go an' pick up a keg o' High Life. You wan' me to getchu' some o' them crawlers fer yer line? Really: Wine, Deli, and BAIT??



Josh and I brought our bikes down and were able to get in a nice little ride. It was gorgeous, and so serene, being able to ride along the ocean. And of course, I brought along my camera!



The next day: SANTA CRUZ BOARDWALK!!

Again, it was mostly about the kids but the big kids were able to get in a few rides too. When the boys weren't riding rides, Elijah and Corom spent most of the time taking turns riding on Uncle Josh's shoulders. Even after we took the kids on the Rock-o'-Plane. Dan had Corom, Josh had Elijah, and I had Noelle. For this ride, you're enclosed in a cage with a bar over your lap. It's kind of like a small ferris wheel. Well, as it's going around, you can "rock" the cage back and forth and lock it into place. Depending on where it's locked, you'll be looking up at the sky or down at the ground as the wheel is turning. Each of the kids had a different reaction to it. Corom was scared (but that didn't discourage Dan from rocking it!!). Noelle was laughing, but still fearful - she was alternating between letting me lock us upside down and wanting to be upright. But as long as Uncle Josh had his arm around Elijah, he could do whatever he wanted! They had that thing rockin'!!



This has got to be one of my favorite pictures of her!! Total "Noelle"!!



Dan, Tami, Josh, and I went back later that night to have some big-kid fun. It was really nice to spend some time with just them.

It was a short visit but probably one of the best spent with the whole family. We love any chance that we can get to see and spend time with them!