Half Murph

I am really trying to work hard at getting on track with exercise but sometimes we all slip. So on Monday I decided to do half of Murph. What is half of Murph well it is half the distance and have the reps which works out to run a half mile, 50 pull ups, 100 push ups and 150 air squats and then just for sport, a half mile run. I was able to get through it in a little over 30 minutes. I broke up the middle (pull up, push ups, and squats) into half and twice through. It was difficult until I got to the second set of air squats and I look over and there are two girls with mats out not exercising but texting. You are at the gym, how about you work out! Sometimes if you would put your phone down you can find a new friend. I felt pretty good until I had to sit at my desk all day and my back hurts. Apparently the MT that I live with/married (when you find a good MT you hold on to that MT) said something about the mayo-facial issues. Yeah I am pretty sure that was not the correct term but he is adorable and it is almost impossible to remember what technical words he says. I had to take two days off (Tuesday and Wednesday) and I was back at it today. I only ran but it was really nice.

It has been really tough trying to fit my afternoon walk in with my busy schedule but I do my best. I love being busy and I really feel like I can do some good progress in my new group. I really like what I do and I look forward to meeting my new boss face to face next week. Well I look forward to continuing my fitness and building a stronger better version of myself. Cheers and happy fitness.

-K

Covering multiple days…

So I finally got out at lunch for the first time at work. I was so excited. On Thursday I got to walk outside, in the fresh air, and it didn’t hurt at all. Thursday I walked for about 25 minutes and Friday I walked for a little over 30 minutes. Now with keeping on track for my running program I ran/walked for 25 minutes on Thursday night (I took Wednesday as a rest day) and I got about 1.7 miles. Friday I did a similar run walk for 27 minutes and I got to almost 2 miles (1.87 miles). The running program that I am doing starts simple with 1 minute of running with 2 minutes of walking during week 1 (they expect you to work out 3 times a week). On Friday I started week 2 which was 90 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking. All workouts start with 5 minutes of walking up front and they want a 5 minute codlin which I use to do something else. So Thursday I did a pushup and sit up tabata and Friday I did a plank shoulder touch with air squats, inverted hand stand holds, and dip terabit. This morning I got up early (who needs to sleep in on the weekends) and did my run followed by another terabit (air squats, push ups, sit ups, aided pistols). The biggest difference is that i went forward through the tabata once and then backwards (squats, push ups, sit ups, left pistols, right pistols, sit ups, push ups, and squats). That was great as I used the support pole in my basement to aid with the pistols. Come to find out my right leg is weaker than my left leg.

Tomorrow I am looking to do some aided pull ups at my gym and a few other things (yet to be decided). How do you plan your workouts? Do you work out better in a group or by yourself? I have also given up alcohol to see how that helps my diet. I have been pretty good in not eating gluten, dairy, or sugar. I have one cheat day which was Friday mainly because my mom sent a package with biscotti and cookies. Yeah you can’t say no to those. Great way to spend a cheat day.

Cheers,
k

It’s been a while

I know it has been a while since I have posted so let me fill you in on what has happened. First, my laptop died. It was a quick death and the funeral service was small with family attending where they all remembered the time they downloaded, screamed at it, and made up. It will be resting with other laptops that came before it. It has been followed with a different platform. I used Carbonite on the device so I am hoping that I can try to get my photos back. I am hoping that it all goes well as that was a lot of photos and videos.
Next, I got married. Yep that’s right some poor guy now has to spend the rest of his life with me. He is accepting sympathy cards. It was very nice and small which was perfect. I do not like the standard weddings where everyone treats the bride like a princess. I am not a princess and I do not have misconceptions of marriage. Anyways, it was very nice with great food and great family.
Another issue that came up, a family member got some bad news as far as health and so I wanted to spend time with her to make sure she was ok. All is well as I have a family of warriors so of course she made it through. That whole experience really just reinforced my idea of trying to make myself healthy to do the most I can to try to fend off medical issues.
Finally, I got a new job. WHAT!?! Yeah and here is the bad news, apparently there are no CrossFit gyms out in the area where I will be working despite the fact that Regionals was held there. Yeah I know, crazy! I have to find a way to continue with my training and build my own programs. I will miss all the people that I workout with and I look forward to seeing them at a few gatherings. The box I go to was the first one I had ever been to and I hate to leave but it is 45 minutes from my house and in the wrong direction for my new job. I will miss the people I work with but I also hope to see them at a few events that are coming up and keeping up with them on Facebook.
So what am I going to do for a workout? So glad you asked (you did ask right), I am going to be building my own workout program and building my own gym at home. I have a box for box jumps, a rope, and of course I have my treadmill. It will be tough as I have to be held accountable. I am going to try to post every day what I did for a workout if you want to follow along and I can be accountable. I want to be clear, I am not a trainer, I am not a professional athlete, I have no background in training other than what I had when I was younger. I will be starting at the beginning of August and until then it will be prep work.
Here is the question I have for all of you; I am looking for a good place for equipment that is not too pricey but has the quality. I don’t want to spend $800 on a set that I might not be able to use half of it. At some point I want to get a bar and bumpers but I have some clean-up work in my basement. I am hoping to get started on that maybe this weekend on cleaning up to give me space. The two biggest challenges I have is to keep motivated and space indoors for when winter comes (yeah it is New England after all). I have a basement but it is not tall as my husband does hit his head on some of it.
Well here is to a new adventure in fitness! Cheers!
-K Pac

Week 45 – Believe in Yourself

One of the best lessons I have learned is that you have to believe in yourself or no one else will. People say it but they never explain it. Here is what I have learned. You have to believe in yourself and realize that all those feelings you have, anger, peace, love, hate, frustration, guilt, all of it is just a feeling. At the end of the day that is all it is. What you do with it is what makes you who you are. Fear can destroy you and can lead to anger which can lead you to frustration. So how do you deal with that? Wow, glad you asked. It is not easy but I realize that it is just a feeling. Nothing comes out of it until I act or don’t act on it. You have to ask why do I feel this way and how do I keep it or change it. When I feel fear I try to figure out why and push through it. Fear is an odd feeling and one of the few that really limit us. Anger and other negative feelings are similar. You have to figure out why you feel that way and change it. Here is one of the things I have started doing about once a week. I leave a positive note for someone to find or read. A few weeks ago I left one for a friend who was waiting for a decision. Last week I sent a note to someone who gives me a positive boost on a regular basis. To release the anger and negative pieces you have to find a way to find that inner peace and quiet the mind so you can see a way through.

As always my time working out has been my calm. Yeah it sounds weird but when I lift or run or even walk with the dog it sets my mind to quiet. I focus on my body, my form, what is happening around me and finally I settle in a place where I actually zone out. Yeah I zone out and I can usually solve some big questions in my life. Sometimes that is work sometimes it is personal but that moment of resolution and that time for reflection is so important. What I have seen over the past few weeks in doing the Whole Life Challenge is that I do not think I can eat sugar, wheat, or corn like I used to. I have felt better, healthier and oddly I feel mentally stronger than I have in a long time. Eric Thomas said it best “One day will be your day. One day can’t be your day if you give up. If you quit no day will be your day.” So don’t ever give up on yourself. You can be your hardest critic but you can also be your biggest supporter. So you quit before; well that is just an opportunity to start again. Figure out why did you quit? Once you answer that question then you can learn for that and move on. Every beginning is the end of something. What will you end to start again?

Long time no write…

Sorry for the delay in writing but I have been super busy at work. Do not worry, I have been working out. I started running and then restarted my running last week. I am trying to run 3 times a week to train for a 5k in October. It is not going to be easy but I never pick the easy way (just ask my mom). I have continued to put in time at the box and continue to do better and better with my lifts and cardio. As a matter of fact, the work I have done at the box has caused me to run better than I have in a while. Sometimes it is hard when I find my weakness but a weakness is just an area for improvement. I enjoy running but it is very difficult because my cardio is not as strong as my other muscles. We did Nancy (one of the baseline measurable WOD’s which is 5 rounds of 400 meter run and 15 overhead squats) and I was determined to not have anyone lap me. As a side note, I should have gone to the women’s class as the noon class I went to I was the only female. As a matter of fact none of the men lapped me until the start of the 4^th round. I am always pushing myself and I measure myself against myself as well as others. I know there are some who are stronger or better at different things so I have goals with different people. I want string pull-ups together like my friend Heather, I want to do an overhead squat like Super Hero Jackie, and I want to be able to run like my gazelle friend Joanna. These are my weak points. These are areas of opportunity to improve. People wonder why we do CrossFit. I can only speak for myself. I do it because it allows me to have goals that allow me to achieve and once you achieve it makes you better at everything else. The friendships are also great at the box. I can cheer on Nate as he passes me because he makes me stretch to match his effort. I love going in and having Coach Keidy say “Wow you are getting tiny”. The results, the friendship, and the healthy lifestyle they support is all a big boost in the right direction.

 

On to the goals for the next few weeks: I signed up for the Whole Life Challenge. I am also training to do a 5k and eventually a Spartan Race. I wanted to do one this year but due to my foot injury I was not able to do so. Instead I will continue to work on my weakness of upper body and cardio. So for everyone out there, cheers and happy health!

Week 25 and 26 – You Are the Only One That Matters

Well I have a few friends that have posted the video from Always about Throw like a girl (in case you haven’t seen it you can find it here). I find this interesting as I was raised by a herd of women and they did not depend on anyone but themselves. I was brought up to believe in myself since you are the only one that matters. Throw like a girl or run like a girl was never an insult to me. I was taught to throw a baseball (yes not a softball) since my step dad taught baseball to boys. I threw so hard in junior high that a girl tried to catch my pass without a glove and seriously hurt her hand (that was a note “home” that was never delivered). I was not allowed to play anymore which was fine with me because I was horrible at hitting and I didn’t really like baseball. It was Texas after all. So instead I ran laps on the track. When it came time to do the fitness test I ran faster than some of the boys. Up until I was 23 I was able to out run men (not all of them but a lot of them). Once again, running like a girl was not an insult. Now I am surrounded by strong ladies. They are a great support group and the amazing thing is they are not only physically strong but mentally strong. Always remember that it is not about what others think of you but what you think of yourself. You are the only one that matters. If you find yourself surrounded by people who are negative or do not support you on your journey through life or insult you, you should find better friends.

Now on to the workouts… We did Fran at the beginning of this week. Yeah that was drop dead serious and by the last round there was no breaking it up it was just get it done. I think that was the best plan of attack as I just wanted to be done. My foot is getting better but I was restricted to no jumping or running. I have been modifying most of my workouts with things like ring assisted mountain climbers instead of burpees, bike or rowing instead of running, and one leg hops for anything that is jumping related. I have another week before I go back to the doctor but my foot is getting better. I am also looking forward to watching the Games online. I have not been going every day since I want to give my foot a break so I try to go 3 times a week with walking on the days that I am not at the box. I also sit at my desk and do foot exercises and stretching to keep the foot moving. Cheers and happy lifting!

Week 24 – Tomorrow is Another Day

Well I had my follow up appointment and I got super lucky in that my doctor has mentioned that I should be able to use my foot more. I was cleared to go and use a stationary bike but absolutely no spinning. I was also not cleared to jump, run, or hike just yet. These past few weeks have been horrible for my mental state. I am happiest when I am running, biking, hiking, lifting, and pulling. In other words, I am not happy if I am not at the gym doing physical activity. I only went to the box once in my 3 week rest period and just that hour was the best hour of my week. The tear is healing but I am now required to use my foot more but I still have to be careful as it is still healing. Here are a few things that I learned while I was required to rest. First, if you don’t like what you see in the mirror, don’t beat yourself down, get a new mirror. Your reflection should not be a source of self hate. Sometimes you see yourself reflected in others and the negativity they have makes you feel bad about yourself. This is an opportunity for you to find a new friend. This person is not your friend if they make you feel bad about yourself. There is a difference between finding a weakness and feeling bad about you. Do not confuse these two ideas. It is ok to not be perfect. Second, you are where you are. This was never more apparent until now with my injury. I must accept the fact that I will not bounce back as that is not how the human body functions. Lastly, all bad things that happen do not have to make you stop reaching your goals. In other words, when you are in juried take the opportunity to make the other area strong. This is not the time to stop reaching for your goals just change direction. As always I am grateful for my friends and family that have helped me though this difficult time.

Tomorrow is a new day and my first day back after a solid week off. I will be doing a modified workout and really look forward to working with the ladies who I have missed (Nurse Jackie, Joanna, The Heather’s, Ariel, and of course Keidy). My birthday was awesome and I even got some CrossFit gear such as shoes (my favorite aunt), socks, and a Reebok gift card. I got my Polar watch battery changed and started packing my Polar heart rate monitor. Watch out because now I am going to be awesome! Have you ever had an injury that took you out of your daily routine? How did you deal with it? I think that I might be able to get back to my routine but I hope that it will all return to normal soon.

Week 23 – What happens when you sit

So during this time when I am forced to sit and think some odd things have come up in my mind. Addiction, love, passion are all things that come from the same space. We all have these things and some of us express them in destructive ways but others focus that same passion and energy into healthy things. I have an addiction to fitness. I always have. There is something in the competition of whatever that drives me. When I got sick a few years back it put me into a depression and I gained weight. I have had a lot of time to look over my life. When I was in high school I was happy on the track. When I lived in Austin I would go out every single day and ride my bike. It was a type of meditation and calm. Rain, shine, wind, Saturday, it didn’t matter to me what day it was or what the weather was. In the cold I put on long pants and in the heat I put on shorts and packed extra water. I have been doing CrossFit for 6 months now and it is my meditation. It is my peace in a world of chaos. This injury has slowed me down but I am not out. I do push-ups at home and I do one legged squats at my desk. I was down for a full week and the horror of stopping was so over whelming that it is unexplainable. My trainer said she would get a program together for me so that I didn’t use my foot. It is so great when you find others who understand your need to move and push yourself. The probability that I will be out for most of the summer is very high but I am going to fight it. In talking with the doctor he said take it easy for 3 weeks and he will check in with me. Next week I go back for him to see my foot. I have done everything and more than what he said. Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate and repeat. My swelling has gone down on my foot and I am hopeful that he will take the original estimate of 8 week and reduce it.

I did go to the box this week and I think it was the first time I was sad to not do burpees. Yes that is the first time and the last time you will ever see that. I am hoping to go on Friday as well with my ladies. So here is to a new week, a new lease on life, and the ability to do more today than I did yesterday. Cheers and happy lifting!

Week 22 – On Pause

So there was an interesting thing that happened on Sunday. There was a wild ninja that broke into my house and I attacked him before he got to the baby kittens. No that’s not true. There was a circus in town and their bear had escaped and was terrorizing my neighborhood and as the wanna-be-superhero I sprung into action before the trash was bear handled. That’s not true either. I really wish it was something as exciting as a ninja bear or I was attending the open call for America’s Next Top Superhero but in actuality I caught the edge of the step and fell the rest of the way down the stairs. All in all I have a “spring” in my step. Yes that is right, I sprung my foot and am currently out of commission when it comes to CrossFit but I am just too stubborn to really stop exercising. I am currently working on an upper body workout that allows me to not use my foot but still workout. I was told that I might be out of commission for 6 to 8 weeks but as the all famous Tony Hawk once said “You are going to have to fight me”. I cannot just sit still anymore.

The big goal for this week and next is to focus on the healthy eating and build the upper body strengthen. This will allow me to get strong without putting the stress on the ligaments in my foot. I will continue to post and keep you updated on my progress including pictures and stats. Also, I am working on trying my heart rate monitor (HRM) from polar again to track my progress.

Regional Photos

Here are some of the images I took at the regional competition. These athletes were amazing to watch. First let’s start with the ladies doing a strict handstand pushup. So you start in a handstand and drop down to touch your head (believe it or not this is not the hard part) and then push yourself back up. Here you see the ladies all in the starting position.

One of the things the athletes had to do is a handstand walk (sounds like a lot of handstand work but it was just 2 events that had handstands and there were 6 events). Here you see the men trying to get ready for the handstand walk. Sounds simple enough but it is not.

This is the first part of the event which was 3 tries at finding your max weight of a hang squat snatch. Yes it is a funny word but a lot of weightlifting words are funny. Here you see the gentleman preparing his bar to lift.

Next is a picture of my coach about to start the workout that called for a legless rope climb. This is you have to climb a rope without using your legs. It is more about using your hips in a similar manner as a kettlebell swing. She did great at this event! How can she not with arms like that.

This is the women trying to push-up from the handstand push-ups. You can see the muscles working trying to get the body back up. Not easy to do and not easy to watch.

This is a great image for shoes. I have a shoe issue and I loved all the bright colors that these men are rocking. Could be an ad for Reebok!

Here is my coach Keidy again just happy to be competing. So many of the athletes were just happy to be at the regionals. I was excited just being there to take pictures. These athletes really made my job easy.

Lastly, this was one of my favorite parts of the whole competition, these athletes would finish a workout and get up and go support and coach the other athletes. Yes, that is right, they got up and helped their competition complete. This simple act costs them nothing and makes them a better athlete. It also makes the athlete who is still working know that everyone is supporting him. Being in this position myself a few times it is really hard and you just want to quit but sometimes you have to push through and just finish.