I'm going to preface you all for my Filthy 50 journey with how I began my day. I woke up bright and early and had breakfast before heading into work for 7:30, my team practices at 8am on Fridays. I had the usual, one egg and two egg white omelet with spinach, bacon, almond milk and a banana. When I got to work I realized I had forgotten my lunch-fail. I was pretty busy for a Friday and didn't want to eat the crap at school so I dealt with it. One of my players brought me over some chili she made at about 3pm, but I knew what was on the horizon for me so I didn't really have any of it for fear it would end up all over the ACF floor. I did this for the good of everyone at the 5pm class. You are all welcome. As I went through my day I truly got the feeling as to what IF'ing would be like. I had a coffee that kept me running all day, but I was extremely jittery. Not sure if anyone knows this about me, but any type of caffeine will keep me up and running for a solid 3 days straight. I have no idea how you insane people drink 5 cups a day. My heart would run out of my chest grow arms and punch me in the face until I was unconscious if I ever did that. IF is short for Intermittent Fasting, many people usually go 16 hours without eating and then eat a few meals in an 8 hour block (usually in the afternoon/evening). If I messed this description up at all I apologize. I am just beginning to learn about it and may give it a try for the last month of the challenge. It will be pretty easy for me to accomplish because the first week I am in Florida coaching so I will be distracted at games all day. I need to do more research first though. Stay tuned.
So on to the Filthy 50. This workout is the following:
50-20" box jumps
50-Jumping Pullups
50-35lb Kettlebell swings
50-Walking lunges
50-knees to elbows
50-45lb push presses
50-back extensions
50-14lb wall balls
50-Burpees
50-Double Unders (jumprope goes under feet twice at each jump)
So here it goes-shout out to Michele Sano for being my warm-up partner. We had to hold each others legs and jump in place at one point. Jay was laughing, I wasn't. After the warm-up we got settled in at our box and I decided to go first....3.....2....1....go!
I flew through the box jumps hitting them almost unbroken. Great start, then to the jumping pull-ups. Your legs are already like, eff you stop jumping. I'm just trying to get my double chin over that bar as fast and consistent as I can. I broke them up in sets of 6-10 depending on how I felt. Done, onto KB swings. I think I was one of the first to the swings so I was pumped. I broke them up into 25 and 25 or 25, 15, 10. I can't really remember this part because this is where I kind of began to walk around like I was wasted. After those were done I hit the lunges, easy peasy, I love lunges. And then knees to elbows happened. My hands were sweaty as all hell, kind of like a hand hold on your first date at the movies. Just awfully inappropriate. The chalk bucket was on the other side of the gym so I tried my best to use chalk I saw on the floor, so basically hand me down chalk from the past classes. It worked wonders.....not really. Those were broken up in sets of 5-6 and then sets of 3 because my grip was slipping. Finally finished. Off to the presses. I scaled up to 45 lbs for the extra challenge. I broke them up 25, 15, 10. They went pretty fast. Next were back extensions also broken up 25, 15, 10.....holy hammy burn. At this point I was trying to chase Booty who passed me at K2E and not let Shye catch up. By chase, I mean turtle crawl. I drunkenly waddled into what then turned into approximately 12 minutes of pure hell. Wall balls, 5 sets of 10. Heavy breathing was happening and I was severely light headed. At this point I was kicking myself for not eating all day. I was officially hallucinating. After that bitch slap was over you got another by our good friend the Burpee. I don't know if I would really call them much of Burpees, as it was more like a dead fish flop to ground, pop up, wuss jump and clap. These took me what seemed like most of my adult life. Thank you Theresa for coming over and motivating me through my last 13, I needed that. FINALLY THE END....double unders. Thanks to Kia I had a rope to use and was determined not to scale this workout. I finished the Filthy 50 successfully hitting all the double unders, which was a first time for me in a WOD. My longest string was 15 in a row and I have no idea where my energy came from to finish them, but I was so glad to be done. Hell yes, my first Filthy 50, completed in 28:05. I will see you again and hopefully destrominate my time since now I know what I'm getting myself into.
I walked around post WOD in a complete haze. I cheered on Michele and others as they finished and pounded a butt load of water. I just kept walking around for a bit like I was 18 years old at 2am in the bars of downtown Albany, not really knowing what just happened. I was by far the most WOD drunk I had ever been. Sweating like a prostitute in church and barely able to concentrate on foam rolling. Unsure if operating my vehicle right away was a good choice, I stopped in the office to hang with Kevin and Sean. They commented on how badly I was sweating still. Obviously, I was looking good. During my time visiting I managed to completely zone out for a few seconds just staring at a spot on the table. I came to when I realized Sean was making fun of me. I think I sat through what seemed like the worlds longest conversation about t-shirts and shortly after this Jay humped my arm which woke me up and decided I should probably get going. Thanks Jay, Love you :)
So needless to say the Filthy 50 is a test of your strength, stamina, agility, endurance and beats every piece of your body. But most importantly it's about challenging you up mentally and seeing just how far and how fast you can push yourself without ever giving up. 9 months ago, when I first started, I would have given up and definitely would have scaled reps to 30 or 40. Today, for my first time ever doing it, I did all 50 reps of each movement. Truly a testament to what I have been trying to accomplish every time I come to ACF. I can't wait to keep on working towards my goals. To BE BETTER THAN YESTERDAY. I love this box, I love this sport!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
No more lunges in my jeans!
Has anyone had a pair of jeans that you really liked to wear, but suddenly you need to do some lunges and stretching to get into them? This week was an awakening for me in the clothing department. I noticed that the number on the scale increased a little bit over the past two weeks which really got me upset because I had lost in the first week. I have been eating better than I ever have and work out 5-6 times a week. How is this happening? I emailed a friend about it and they were my voice of reason saying it's probably muscle and water weight. So I felt better, but still upset because I have a goal weight I would love to hit by the end of the 90 day. Katie Hunter posted about a similar problem, but she then told us that her pant size has gone down since the challenge began. AWESOME! So it got me thinking. I went into my closet and pulled out some of my "lunge worthy" jeans and tried them on. Easy fit, no lunges necessary. They were jeans that I had purchased around my first Marathon. A few months ago I was seriously stretching, pulling at the waist, and sometimes had a plumbers crack when I attempted to put these suckers on. So you can imagine how excited I am to learn that my wardrobe has increased to a few extra pairs of pants and some tops. My chest size has gone down a little too, which may not be the best news for the males out there, but for me I'm happy with that. So lesson learned out there and for others in the challenge. Don't judge your progress by the scale. Look at your body and see how it's changing. Are your arms getting more definition? Forming an ab? That's way cooler than a few extra pounds on the scale.
This week I began a new strength program as well. It is called 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler. It includes the following excercises-Dead lift, Press, Squat, and Bench Press. I am working on all but the bench press. I did my presses and deadlifts this Tuesday at Cutting Edge and was completely smoked. I did a similar program like this in college and saw results there, so I am sure this one will do the same. I will thank Jay Von Guinness when my lifts have all increased immensely! If anyone is looking to increase strength look into this program. Really easy read, I can send it to you.
I also hit Elizabeth this week. For those of you that are unfamiliar with her, it is 21-15-9 Reps of Squat Cleans and Ring Dips. RX weight is 95#'s. I have not done this workout at that weight before and I have a goal to do at least the weight RX if I can't do the body weight movement RX. So I did. The first 21 were ok, not too bad, but not great either. 15 reps were slower and I was stringing them together 2-3 at a time. 9 reps was like MURDER. I unfortunately only got to 8 because my back completely seized up on me in a pain I had never felt before. I looked up at Sean who was screaming at me to pick up the bar and just told him I could not continue. I was so upset because I really wanted to finish, but I knew that my physical health was much more important. Here is the learning process that occurred for me. Erika suggested I use the reverse hyper to stretch my back out. I did a few reps of 8 swings and then foam rolled for a while. I woke up the next morning pain free. It was actually the best my back has felt in weeks!!! Mobility and stretching is so important to what we are doing, so I not only have tried to focus on my workouts through this challenge, but how well I am recovering. Extra time warming up and post WOD foam rolling stretching has made me feel so much better and I am even feeling more flexible. So when you think you should just rush out of the gym post workout, remember to take some time to take care of yourself because you will appreciate it much later.
I will admit now that I cheated....BAAAAAAD this weekend. If anyone knows me well enough there are just some things in life that I truly enjoy doing and one of them is having beers and watching football. Due to the fact that the Giants were one step away from the Superbowl I just couldn't help but indulge. AND THEY WON!! So......it's probably going to happen again in 2 weeks, so I will be eating clean and punishing myself for the pollution I went through by doing some extra running workouts. I will be absolutely cheating again on the National Holiday knows as the SUPERBOWL. Dock me points, but I will make up for it with some extra pavement pounding :)
Monday, January 16, 2012
PRESEASON
For those of you that do not know much about me, I am a college softball coach and tomorrow we start our first day of preseason practice. Preseason??!! You may be saying, isn't it too cold out? Where can you possibly do that in the Northeast? Well, my team along with all of the other colleges in the country will be taking our softball skills and drills into our gyms for the next 6-7 weeks. All the hard work and time spent will be put to the test once our season begins when we play our first set of games down in Florida in the first week of March.
So where am I going with this? Well, I can't help but consider what I am currently doing in the 90 day challenge as my preseason training. As of May 2012, I will have been crossfitting for 1 year. I am a freshman, about to enter into my first attempt at the Crossfit Open that starts at the end of February. Preseason is the time to focus on all aspects of the game that you need to win. You pick your weaker skills and give them extra attention. My team spends a lot of time working on baserunning and will sometimes focus on hitting the outside pitch for an entire practice. As a crossfitter I volume train my bodyweight movements and work on technique for my Oly lifts. I think of myself as a walk-on freshman. I wasn't recruited. I turned to crossfit because I had not lost my competitive edge and love the feeling of being a part of a team. Most college walk-ons have that same desire. I am going to work my hardest to improve myself and my skills to show my coaches that I am serious about the game and what I am working towards. Maybe I will get the opportunity to show what I can do, but if I don't I am not going to give up. I will keep working hard and supporting everyone else around me that is working towards the same goal. As a member of the competitors team at ACF/CCP I know that we are all eligible to help our team qualify for regionals. Each week when I hit the Open WOD I am going to give everything I have to do the best that I am capable of. You never know what can happen in the heat of battle.
My schedule is about to get pretty hectic and I have mapped out every workout I will attend for the next 3 months along with my practice schedule. Since I have two preseasons at one time, my focus must increase as my goals have now doubled. They may be different from the outside, but from the inside they are very similar. My stress and workload will be increased greatly so it will be important for me to stay on track and keep myself motivated. Best of luck to everyone in your preseason training!!
Updates: This week I had a bit of a hiccup and fell off the food wagon. Just one meal, so don't worry, I'm right back on. I blame the NY GIANTS and the 8 other females I watched the game with on Sunday. If only there was a video camera filming what may have been the funniest 3 hours of football ever. All hardcore fans, all screaming and cheering, all talking about how nice looking their butts were.
I have taken up couponing. I have found myself in the grocery store almost every other day because I either run out of something, or have an idea for the best dinners ever! So I think that some savings are in order! FYI bacon wrapped scallops are like the candy bar of seafood treats. Absolutely delicious.
I did Bikram again this week. Note to self-don't do Bikram after a WOD. You will be exhausted. I took some extra rest this week. My body was speaking to me.
Lastly, I hit FRAN and gymnasty on Saturday. Fran was 4:53 with 65# and ring rows. Gotta get those pullups!!! Gymnasty was awesome. I did my first kipping ring pull up, and then did a few more. That was the highlight of my week.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
I came, I cooked, I Bikramed
WE DID IT! Ooops....nope....wait.....too soon. Well it's been a week and I survived. Thinking about making myself a t-shirt (cough, cough, wink, Cean Olsen). I must admit that the first few days I was starving, added a few extra snacks and veggies at dinner in there and I got it covered. I think the recovery from the binge express I had on New Years Eve lasted much longer than necessary. Melissa Warner told me I was having a Gluten hangover, I mean I definitely had a regular one on New Years day, but I agree with her on the gluten one mid week. I'm pretty sure I could have slept through the first week of this challenge no problem. But thankfully, I didn't, because a lot of great stuff happened!
First off, I made some good starter food for myself this week. Turkey/Beef chili with peppers and mushrooms, turkey meatballs (just using an egg white and seasoning), and brussel sprouts with bacon. I also made some trail mix for the movies consisting of dried cranberries, raisins, almonds, sunflower seeds, banana chips, coconut chips, and Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips. How am I doing Mom? Speaking of Linda Meacham, I'd like to thank that lovely little lady for helping me through the process and calling me after it was over to, 1) make sure I was alive and 2) see how it all came out. She is quite the kitchen guru, getting most of her favorite recipes from the ex-con we know and love, Martha Stewart. Ever since that jailbird entered her life her cooking went from good to amazing. I no longer have to soak Linda's meatloaf in ketchup due to the recipes of Inmate 55170-054. Just kidding Mom, I love you and I hope I can become the amazing woman and mother that you are someday. You will most likely receive phone calls from me next week when I decide to break in my new crock pot.
Secondly, I had some great workouts this week with some pretty radical people. Yes, I used the word radical. You see I have tendency to use the F-word far to often as a descriptive tool so I am digging deep into the vault for some better vocabulary these days. Anyway, back to the workouts. This week I did a total of 680 air squats, 300 push ups, 190 ring rows, and 120 wall balls. So I did some work on my horseshoe and butt this week for sure ;) Mid-week I got to hit "Jeremy" with Erika Wilson. She was AWOL for 2 weeks on the holiday vacation of a lifetime, so it was nice to reconnect and hit a WOD (WOD=workout of the day) with her. After that we hit a 1RM dead lift in which I PR'd at 275 and "the worlds strongest nugget," as I have so dubbed her, hit 305!!! She's ridiculously awesome! Saturday, I ventured to Lake George Crossfit and hit a WOD with Caitlin Hickin. I don't get to see her as often as I used to in good ol' 7pm classes so it was great to get a chance to workout together again. The WOD was tabata(this means 8 rounds with 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest) box jumps(24") and kettle bell swings (44lb) with a 2 min. rest then 4 rounds of 400m run and 50 air squats. This is not my best of WODs because running after doing any type of leg work is just insane and I usually feel like I can't breathe and have 300lbs strapped to my ankles. After the WOD, Dirk, owner and main squeeze of Caitlin asked if I wanted to do a 1RM Split Jerk. Taking the opportunity to get some one on one coaching I did and couldn't have been more thankful. I PR'd by 20lbs at 175, which is actually my body weight, so I was super pumped. I hit 165 which was already a PR and then kept going up. Failed on 170, but Dirk said for me to jump to 175 because if it was competition I would do just that. Two fails later and I was determined to hit the lift. I just heard Dirk getting me psyched up saying "quick hands" and "get under that bar"....big breath 1, 2, 3 BOOM! Hit it and was super excited about it.
Within the realm of crossfit, we are encouraged to try new sports. Today, I did just that and went to a Bikram Yoga class at Hot Yoga Saratoga. What? Yoga's not a sport is it? Ummmm....check yourself people because Bikram was like a full body workout on crack in the hot lands of the South. It should be on ESPN instead of poker. So, anyway, as a first timer I was super intimidated as I walked into a jam packed class of experience yogis. I was greeted immediately by the heat that slapped me in the face as soon as I opened the door. I searched for a spot in the room and found myself smack dab next to the mirror. Hey pretty lady, you get to stare at yourself for the next hour and half! If anyone has taken a yoga class with me you will know that my mat is bright pink and has a massive Playtex Sport Tampon logo on one side of it. So naturally I prayed as I unrolled my mat that this was not showing, but of course, it was. I quickly flipped my mat over and sat down on my big striped beach towel next to my gallon of water. I was the sore thumb for sure. Soon the instructor Cindy came in and asked me if I had done yoga before and told me that if I needed to stop, I should lay down, but not to leave the room so I can learn to get acclimated to the temperature. The woman next to me turned and said the following "welcome to hell." I wanted to high five her for that comment but I don't think that's proper yoga etiquette. The class began with a breathing exercise in which I must admit I wanted to laugh so badly, but instead participated and watched what everyone else was doing because I obviously did not. Then we went into poses. After the warm up I was ready to lay down and call it a day, but I charged along consistently wiping the sweat off my body and re hydrating every time I could. By the time class was over I felt like I was flying. Yoga high, just in a cloud of "what the hell just happened to me?" This continued for a while, which unfortunately led me to leave the ATM without my debit card. Epic fail...way to go slugger :( But anyway, Bikram rocked and I plan to do it consistently throughout the 90 days to improve my strength and balance as well as increase my flexibility.
Finally, I would like to close this blog by saying that I successfully have not had any alcohol since New Years and I plan to keep it that way. If I do, it will be a simple glass of red wine. This may cause me to be a bit of a hermit, but I think my wallet will appreciate it. My body feels great and I lost 2 lbs this week. I love seeing the changes that my body has gone through since crossfit has entered my life and I am slowly beginning to accept my body for what it is. Strong! I'm never going to be super model skinny, frankly I think I would look weird that way. Having muscles doesn't make me any less feminine than the next person and I love crossfit for embracing that concept.
Week 2 Goals: Keep working on Oly lifts before or after the WODs, use my crock pot, volume train pull ups, save a polar bear, gain more knowledge on nutrition, take chances, Hit FRAN with Shannon, and maybe write a mid-week blog since so much stuff happens throughout this process!
First off, I made some good starter food for myself this week. Turkey/Beef chili with peppers and mushrooms, turkey meatballs (just using an egg white and seasoning), and brussel sprouts with bacon. I also made some trail mix for the movies consisting of dried cranberries, raisins, almonds, sunflower seeds, banana chips, coconut chips, and Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips. How am I doing Mom? Speaking of Linda Meacham, I'd like to thank that lovely little lady for helping me through the process and calling me after it was over to, 1) make sure I was alive and 2) see how it all came out. She is quite the kitchen guru, getting most of her favorite recipes from the ex-con we know and love, Martha Stewart. Ever since that jailbird entered her life her cooking went from good to amazing. I no longer have to soak Linda's meatloaf in ketchup due to the recipes of Inmate 55170-054. Just kidding Mom, I love you and I hope I can become the amazing woman and mother that you are someday. You will most likely receive phone calls from me next week when I decide to break in my new crock pot.
Secondly, I had some great workouts this week with some pretty radical people. Yes, I used the word radical. You see I have tendency to use the F-word far to often as a descriptive tool so I am digging deep into the vault for some better vocabulary these days. Anyway, back to the workouts. This week I did a total of 680 air squats, 300 push ups, 190 ring rows, and 120 wall balls. So I did some work on my horseshoe and butt this week for sure ;) Mid-week I got to hit "Jeremy" with Erika Wilson. She was AWOL for 2 weeks on the holiday vacation of a lifetime, so it was nice to reconnect and hit a WOD (WOD=workout of the day) with her. After that we hit a 1RM dead lift in which I PR'd at 275 and "the worlds strongest nugget," as I have so dubbed her, hit 305!!! She's ridiculously awesome! Saturday, I ventured to Lake George Crossfit and hit a WOD with Caitlin Hickin. I don't get to see her as often as I used to in good ol' 7pm classes so it was great to get a chance to workout together again. The WOD was tabata(this means 8 rounds with 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest) box jumps(24") and kettle bell swings (44lb) with a 2 min. rest then 4 rounds of 400m run and 50 air squats. This is not my best of WODs because running after doing any type of leg work is just insane and I usually feel like I can't breathe and have 300lbs strapped to my ankles. After the WOD, Dirk, owner and main squeeze of Caitlin asked if I wanted to do a 1RM Split Jerk. Taking the opportunity to get some one on one coaching I did and couldn't have been more thankful. I PR'd by 20lbs at 175, which is actually my body weight, so I was super pumped. I hit 165 which was already a PR and then kept going up. Failed on 170, but Dirk said for me to jump to 175 because if it was competition I would do just that. Two fails later and I was determined to hit the lift. I just heard Dirk getting me psyched up saying "quick hands" and "get under that bar"....big breath 1, 2, 3 BOOM! Hit it and was super excited about it.
Within the realm of crossfit, we are encouraged to try new sports. Today, I did just that and went to a Bikram Yoga class at Hot Yoga Saratoga. What? Yoga's not a sport is it? Ummmm....check yourself people because Bikram was like a full body workout on crack in the hot lands of the South. It should be on ESPN instead of poker. So, anyway, as a first timer I was super intimidated as I walked into a jam packed class of experience yogis. I was greeted immediately by the heat that slapped me in the face as soon as I opened the door. I searched for a spot in the room and found myself smack dab next to the mirror. Hey pretty lady, you get to stare at yourself for the next hour and half! If anyone has taken a yoga class with me you will know that my mat is bright pink and has a massive Playtex Sport Tampon logo on one side of it. So naturally I prayed as I unrolled my mat that this was not showing, but of course, it was. I quickly flipped my mat over and sat down on my big striped beach towel next to my gallon of water. I was the sore thumb for sure. Soon the instructor Cindy came in and asked me if I had done yoga before and told me that if I needed to stop, I should lay down, but not to leave the room so I can learn to get acclimated to the temperature. The woman next to me turned and said the following "welcome to hell." I wanted to high five her for that comment but I don't think that's proper yoga etiquette. The class began with a breathing exercise in which I must admit I wanted to laugh so badly, but instead participated and watched what everyone else was doing because I obviously did not. Then we went into poses. After the warm up I was ready to lay down and call it a day, but I charged along consistently wiping the sweat off my body and re hydrating every time I could. By the time class was over I felt like I was flying. Yoga high, just in a cloud of "what the hell just happened to me?" This continued for a while, which unfortunately led me to leave the ATM without my debit card. Epic fail...way to go slugger :( But anyway, Bikram rocked and I plan to do it consistently throughout the 90 days to improve my strength and balance as well as increase my flexibility.
Finally, I would like to close this blog by saying that I successfully have not had any alcohol since New Years and I plan to keep it that way. If I do, it will be a simple glass of red wine. This may cause me to be a bit of a hermit, but I think my wallet will appreciate it. My body feels great and I lost 2 lbs this week. I love seeing the changes that my body has gone through since crossfit has entered my life and I am slowly beginning to accept my body for what it is. Strong! I'm never going to be super model skinny, frankly I think I would look weird that way. Having muscles doesn't make me any less feminine than the next person and I love crossfit for embracing that concept.
Week 2 Goals: Keep working on Oly lifts before or after the WODs, use my crock pot, volume train pull ups, save a polar bear, gain more knowledge on nutrition, take chances, Hit FRAN with Shannon, and maybe write a mid-week blog since so much stuff happens throughout this process!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Welcome to the next 90 Days of my life
Hello to all of you in the blogosphere!
I am new to this so please bear with me as I take you along a 3 month fitness journey that is sure to be a delight. For those of you that do not know, I have taken on the 90 day challenge at Albany Crossfit along with 120+ other members to get ourselves looking as best as humanly possible butt naked ;)
First, I would like to take a some time to enlighten those of you that do not know much about my fitness background. I was a college softball player at the University at Albany (Purple Fam 4Life-you know what I'm talking about Burkharts, Kowal and Sheehan!) where I was a catcher and badass liver of life (just kidding Mom and Dad, sort of). After graduation, I remained at Albany where I gained my Masters in Higher Education Administration and Policy Studies and 40lbs. Apparently, I thought that I could remain eating and drinking like a college student for the rest of my life and quickly found out that walking up a flight of stairs was hard (weighed 210lbs). This was a huge wake up call for me, as I was just about to enter into my first collegiate coaching gig and I wanted to be fit not only as a role model, but so I could throw front toss without being attached to oxygen! Circa January 2008, my parents graciously offered to help me out with Nutrisystem and a gym membership, which completely changed my life. I became addicted to the gym and eating healthy and lost 40lbs by June and was in the best shape of my life. Along with my newfound body, I adopted a love for running. This was a completely outrageous thought for me because when I was a youth my Dad used to make our family go on 20 minute runs and my little pudge nugget self would cry the entire way through. So when my friend Lindsay asked me if I wanted to run a half marathon in February 2010 I was like sure! Little did I know that sneaky lady went ahead and signed up for the FULL BLOWN marathon in New Orleans. So of course, I did too. And then I signed up for the NYC Marathon a few months later and officially regained my hatred for running back. After I finished NYC my body was shot and I couldn't even run a few feet without being in pain. I needed something new, and I was looking at some pics online of my friend Shannon Kennedy doing crossfit and thought, that looks fun. I missed the lifting days from college and really wanted to find the "team" atmosphere I know and love again. So there I was, in the parking lot of ACF, watching Caleb and Kevin rake leaves with no shirts on and all I thought was "this is the greatest gym ever!" So I did a trial with Caleb, couldn't breathe after a 5 minute WOD and I have never turned back.
It has now been 8 months into crossfit and I am full blown addicted. I have re-discovered my inner competitor that I had in college and love going in and learning something new every day. I am entering myself in this 90 Day Challenge because I want to keep seeing gains in my training, clean up my diet, and wear a sports bra and booty shorts in a WOD (aka-improve my confidence). I couldn't be happier to be embarking on this journey with some of my closest friends at ACF, and I am especially thankful for Shannon as we have decided to be partners in this journey. She is going to be there to talk me off the ledge when I want to just by a whole loaf of bread and eat it, or drive to Hershey Park and swim in the chocolate vats! And I will do the same for her. We plan to hit WODs together and encourage eachother the whole way through.
So in closing, I will be blogging my journey to you once a week and I promise it is not going to be a list of what I ate for the past 7 days. It will simply be me updating you on my progress and hopefully giving you a chuckle or two along the way. I am going to leave you with my goals for the 90 Day Challenge and some words of wisdom for those of you who are also involved:
Diet-Primal/Zone
Goals: To lose weight without negatively effecting my strength, achieve strict body weight movements through volume training (pull-ups, ring dips, hand stand push ups), RX Fran (don't care about time, just want it RX), Grace sub 2:30 (current time is 2:34), Deadlift of 300+
Mom's Goal:For her daughter to become more domesticated in the cooking department
Words of Wisdom: Make Good Choices. If you wake up every day and decide to make positive choices for yourself, the rest will all fall into place. Think of your glass as half-full (with water of course) and it will bring a world of difference to your life. Good luck and love you all <3
I am new to this so please bear with me as I take you along a 3 month fitness journey that is sure to be a delight. For those of you that do not know, I have taken on the 90 day challenge at Albany Crossfit along with 120+ other members to get ourselves looking as best as humanly possible butt naked ;)
First, I would like to take a some time to enlighten those of you that do not know much about my fitness background. I was a college softball player at the University at Albany (Purple Fam 4Life-you know what I'm talking about Burkharts, Kowal and Sheehan!) where I was a catcher and badass liver of life (just kidding Mom and Dad, sort of). After graduation, I remained at Albany where I gained my Masters in Higher Education Administration and Policy Studies and 40lbs. Apparently, I thought that I could remain eating and drinking like a college student for the rest of my life and quickly found out that walking up a flight of stairs was hard (weighed 210lbs). This was a huge wake up call for me, as I was just about to enter into my first collegiate coaching gig and I wanted to be fit not only as a role model, but so I could throw front toss without being attached to oxygen! Circa January 2008, my parents graciously offered to help me out with Nutrisystem and a gym membership, which completely changed my life. I became addicted to the gym and eating healthy and lost 40lbs by June and was in the best shape of my life. Along with my newfound body, I adopted a love for running. This was a completely outrageous thought for me because when I was a youth my Dad used to make our family go on 20 minute runs and my little pudge nugget self would cry the entire way through. So when my friend Lindsay asked me if I wanted to run a half marathon in February 2010 I was like sure! Little did I know that sneaky lady went ahead and signed up for the FULL BLOWN marathon in New Orleans. So of course, I did too. And then I signed up for the NYC Marathon a few months later and officially regained my hatred for running back. After I finished NYC my body was shot and I couldn't even run a few feet without being in pain. I needed something new, and I was looking at some pics online of my friend Shannon Kennedy doing crossfit and thought, that looks fun. I missed the lifting days from college and really wanted to find the "team" atmosphere I know and love again. So there I was, in the parking lot of ACF, watching Caleb and Kevin rake leaves with no shirts on and all I thought was "this is the greatest gym ever!" So I did a trial with Caleb, couldn't breathe after a 5 minute WOD and I have never turned back.
It has now been 8 months into crossfit and I am full blown addicted. I have re-discovered my inner competitor that I had in college and love going in and learning something new every day. I am entering myself in this 90 Day Challenge because I want to keep seeing gains in my training, clean up my diet, and wear a sports bra and booty shorts in a WOD (aka-improve my confidence). I couldn't be happier to be embarking on this journey with some of my closest friends at ACF, and I am especially thankful for Shannon as we have decided to be partners in this journey. She is going to be there to talk me off the ledge when I want to just by a whole loaf of bread and eat it, or drive to Hershey Park and swim in the chocolate vats! And I will do the same for her. We plan to hit WODs together and encourage eachother the whole way through.
So in closing, I will be blogging my journey to you once a week and I promise it is not going to be a list of what I ate for the past 7 days. It will simply be me updating you on my progress and hopefully giving you a chuckle or two along the way. I am going to leave you with my goals for the 90 Day Challenge and some words of wisdom for those of you who are also involved:
Diet-Primal/Zone
Goals: To lose weight without negatively effecting my strength, achieve strict body weight movements through volume training (pull-ups, ring dips, hand stand push ups), RX Fran (don't care about time, just want it RX), Grace sub 2:30 (current time is 2:34), Deadlift of 300+
Mom's Goal:For her daughter to become more domesticated in the cooking department
Words of Wisdom: Make Good Choices. If you wake up every day and decide to make positive choices for yourself, the rest will all fall into place. Think of your glass as half-full (with water of course) and it will bring a world of difference to your life. Good luck and love you all <3
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