start planning...

Post-Holiday, New Year goals/challenges...bring 'em on!

Time to reboot.

Each year brings new goals and challenges so be willing to take them on. They don't have to be big challenges to be valuable. Small ones can translate into huge transformations. CrossFit has taught me this.

We don't have to look at our goals as "all or nothing". Almost any goal can be broken down into *progressions*. CrossFit has taught me this. 

Much of the time it's our own mental fortitude, or lack thereof, that blocks our successful follow through of achieving our goals. We make good progress at the beginning of our journeys, then let excuses sidetrack us. When the excuses become louder than our actions, why continue listening? Become comfortable with success AND set-backs. CrossFit has taught me this.

What will enhance your life?
What will bring you joy?
What will be an invigorating challenge?
What will be push you beyond your current limits?
What will challenge your beliefs about yourself?

For me?
Manage my time better. [um, this comes up every year!]
Read a book a month.
Sew a project a month.
Play at least one new game/sport in 2013...disc golf maybe. :)
Make it back to The Games. [scary to put this out there]
...all for starters!
There's still time to add. ;)

second time for 'second language'

Let's call my current trend of reposting some older posts as:
**the year in review**
Yeah, that sounds good to me. :)

With the influx of new members at Beacon, many of whom are also new to CrossFit, there have been multiple discussions about the language of CrossFit.  That said, I knew that the blogpost that follows would be an appropriate repost.

Learn the language of CrossFit, don't be hesitant to use it, and embrace the growing ease of the words flying out of your mouth.  It's fun, functional, and a fabulous party game.... too far? Well, it could be a party game, like Password, but with all CrossFit words as the answers! Partner WOD: If you don't get the answer in the allotted time,  1min AMRAP of: 1 HSPU, 3 burpees, 1 swig. 
GAME ONNNN!


~~second language~~ 2-6-12

I came upon this crossword clue in Sunday's paper: "goat hanger?" (answer: beard... whatever!) What I REALLY came across was a word that I instantly and involuntarily translated into: oh yeah, I need to work on mine. That word was 'goat'.

Goat, WOD, metcon, AMRAP, double under, hspu, Fran, Helen, Griff, Murph, kipping, butterfly, squats, deads, sdhp, snatch, jerks, cleans, Cindy, Grace, certs, throw downs...just to name a few of the words that help make up the CrossFit language. Every CrossFitter knows we have our own language. We learn it through immersion. Once in the box, the process starts. When I first began, I can remember feeling a little embarrassed speaking CrossFit because I felt I hadn't yet earned the 'right' to do so. Perhaps, as with any new language, I also felt I might not be using the words correctly, so I was shy about using them at all. As my confidence grew, I got better at the language.

I try to stick to speaking English when I am around someone who doesn't know CrossFit, especially when there are two or more of us with an English speaking person! It's difficult. CrossFit is a comfortable, exciting, joyful, saucy, happy, bawdy, creative language. Still, I know it's not always appropriate.

Not to blow our cover, but what non-CrossFit speaking people don't realize is that we are always translating English into CrossFit whenever we hear words that double as part of our language. It's hard to avoid. There are so many relatable words we hear and since at any given moment a CrossFitter can be mentally reviewing a WOD, a lift, or contemplating the next goal, jumping back and forth between English and Crossfit is natural once you know the language. Even harder for me, and I'm sure I'm not alone, are those occasions when a translation occurs and a joke formulates but there's no one with whom to share it. Oh sure, I can tell myself that it's good enough to whip out in class someday, but I forget and move on...sighhhhh...what a waste!

I always wanted to become fluent in a second language and just yesterday, because of the Sunday crossword clue: "goat hanger?", I realize that I have. Oh, and by the way, "goat" translates to: a movement in CrossFit that you suck at and therefore have to work on more often. "Embrace the suck" is a common phrase in my second language. :) And all that translates back into English as WAHOOO!

then and now

Happy Thanksgiving...yesterday.
Not that I need Thanksgiving to remind me that I have much to be thankful for, but 'tis the season for it all to bubble to the surface!  Half our family was home, and the other half was a mere "facetime" away, so we all had a chance to hang out with each other.
Joy joy joy!

I headed into CrossFit Beacon to WOD yesterday and was so happy to see at least some of 'my' Beacon Peeps, my other family.  The community that has/continues to develop at Beacon constantly reminds me how grateful I am that I have been able to be a part of it all since Beacon opened in April '12.  We have an eclectic mix of ages and occupations, but the common denominator is that we are all people who have learned the value in becoming a Beacon member and in taking care of ourselves through physical activity, nutrition, and connection.
Physical activity: sweating together
Nutrition: clean eating...and beer mixed in with the Vita Coco in the gym's fridge
Connection: realizing the energizing quality of spending an hour a day in a class of crazy-ass people who laugh hard, work hard, then laugh hard all over again

I am extremely wowed by seeing the transformations people are making right in front of my eyes.  It's impossible not to be aware of it.  After a few short weeks, I notice these already wonderful people are creating a 'new normal' for themselves: standing straighter, getting firmer, laughing a little louder, getting bolder with their efforts, showing off their increased muscle definition, and talking about their new feats of strength (ie: the wife surprising the husband by rearranging the entire living room all by her dainty little self...BAM Susanna! :] )  It's impossible to take one's health and abilities for granted when you are surrounded by this type of energy daily!

Until recently, I kind of realized that while I do not take my own health and abilities for granted, I don't always appreciate my own gains because I have been living my current lifestyle for over two years now, so it's my *normal*.  I also happen to be lucky enough to have a family of my husband and all 8 of my children (my 4 daughters and their spouses/partner) who all live very healthy lifestyles as well. And my granddaughter will have no choice but to grow up thinking 'normal' translates to being physically fit and eating cleanly. :) Because of this, I just don't really dwell on where I used to be...that was a place of relative health, although being 35# heavier and feeling as though that would be where I was destined to be the rest of my life.

from May '10 to Aug '12

I began CrossFit in May 2010, connected with it immediately, started dialing in my nutrition within about a week of starting, and am forever thankful that the combination of both has changed me from the inside out.  Well, okay, I kind of like the changes from the outside in, too. ;) 

There was no way I could have imagined my own transformation.  To know my own, however, makes me totally appreciate the courage it takes for a person to walk through Beacon's doors and make the commitment to themselves to become healthier. Often they come in, as I did, knowing their former 'athlete' is inside of them somewhere and they want that person back. What they may not realize is how far their transformations can take their attitudes/outlooks in their lives in general.  The journey becomes a series of wide-eyed joy and discovery of one's true strength, both inside and out.

'Tis the season to be thankful, but as the days pass and holidays are behind us, never forget that it's just plain healthy to appreciate one's own transformation.  There's a "then and now" in all of us.  Some of it may be physical, some emotional, but it's there.  Enjoy the "now" by getting a little sweaty, enjoying a few laughs, and swigging a good beer in celebration of all your hard work!



 

OMG shoes...again

There has been an uptick of talk about CrossFit shoes lately.  I thought it appropriate to repost an entry I wrote back in January (see below), and as I was rereading it, I couldn't help laughing at how much has changed even in my world of shoes!

Back in January, I was the proud owner of my third pair of CrossFit shoes. Nike frees, then Vibrams, then NB Minimus.  The Minimus were what I thought I would stick with forever. 
Fast forward to: "I should get used to the Reebok Nanos since I might have to wear them at the Games."  LOVE them. They are comfortable and fit my duck feet even better than the Minimus, with a tad more sole (and here, I mean just sole...Minimus might still have a little more soul).

This is pretty much what I live in...when I can't be barefoot.  Even my slippers are flippers! And look at that, I've got so many now that I didn't even include my Minimus or Vibrams, both of which (along with those black Nikes) I use when I'm walking the dog or mucking around.  They don't get the CrossFit respect they used to, but I love to have comfortable shoes for those activities too! :)

So, in less than a year, I have gone from a minimalist when it comes to shoes to just another shoe hoarder.  I'll venture to say I'm not done.  :)







**OMG, shoes** 1/12

There is one unending discussion among CrossFitters...
...well, there are a few, but what I am talking about at the moment are SHOES!
We love our shoes. We look high and low for the perfect pair of shoes that will perform well for the highest box jump or the need for 'heels down' in a good overhead squat.

Brand loyalty is fleeting because companies are always coming up with new shoes to lure us CrossFitters out of our current brand and into theirs'. For tough mofos, we are kind of weak in that department!

Personally, I wish I could go barefoot all the time. That's not reasonable in the winters in Maine or on the streets for running (although I have been known to run the 400m warm up barefoot). It's also a little difficult to be shoeless for box jumps, double unders, and rowing. Consequently, I had to really search for the perfect shoe for my 'duck feet'. I have a pair that are wide enough to accommodate my quackers, no rise on the sole to simulate being barefoot, and because of both those features, they are as close to the feeling of being barefoot as I have found. Thank you, NB Minimus, with the Vibram sole...or is that soul. ;) That said, I doubt I am forever done poking around the pages of "shoes for the CrossFitter" because it's just kind of what we all do. We all like to think we are finding that edge that will help us go faster, jump higher, be steadier on a lift.

I hate to admit that the shoes really can do that. I am well aware that if we think they give us an edge, then of course they do! So, if I have to partake in the shoe world for CrossFit, then let me say to CrossFit:
I want to put on my my my my my
Boogie shoes, just to boogie with you....

gripping

grip: the act of grasping; a seizing and holding fast; to attach by a grip or clutch

A totally unexpected side effect of having to lay off strength/barbell work for just three weeks was the reduction of my grip strength when I started back in.  I have some numbness still in the fingers on my right hand, but that doesn't prevent me from being able to hang on to a barbell. I was shocked at how weak my fingers/overall grip/forearms were.  Shocked! 

I'm forever learning new things about the human body through my own experiences with CrossFit and through other's.  Add this to my reference file!

Grip strength is something we discuss in CF. We know how important it is and how fatigued our grips can become. However, I would venture to say that when a break from strength work is necessary, we mostly think about how it will effect our shoulders/bi and triceps.  Forearms and hands were certainly never thought about by me. 

There is so much we take for granted re: our body mechanics.  Of COURSE we don't sit around and analyze/visualize every *domino effect* movement our bodies go through when in motion. (Although I know a few people who might...) That's why it's so interesting when awareness pops up unexpectedly.  Who doesn't appreciate one more reason to love and want to keep our amazing machines in good working order? 

The beauty of CF is that since all the movements integrate one's entire body as a single functioning machine, we don't really have to think about its separate parts. Even with a bias toward a certain area, integration of all our parts allows us to get stronger all over. Isolate a body part to strengthen it? No need, and besides, that sounds pretty boring. 

Thank you, weakened grip, for yet again reminding me how beautiful CrossFit is as a way to keep this middle-aged body strong enough to keep playing and enjoying life without having to worry about every little movement it makes. 

listening from the inside out

Listening from the inside out is different than internal dialogue.

Internal dialogue is mental.  It can kill the mood or turn us into pompous asses at any given moment. U s u a l l y, internal dialogue is mean spirited.  Why do we allow it? I once read a great quote regarding that. It went:
"If we talked to our friends the way we talk to ourselves, we wouldn't have any friends."
So, decidedly, internal dialogue is a nasty beast much of the time and we definitely need to learn to tame it.

Listening from the inside out is physical.  This is something we don't always do because we get caught up in the moment and forget to pay attention to little changes internally in our movements.  This is always important, and moreso when you're holding a buttload of weight on the barbell, or performing high reps with a kettlebell, etc.

It's also a factor in your rest and recovery.  CrossFitters are told from the start how important R&R is to your general health and wellbeing.  But this is where it's important to be accountable.  Coaches can wag fingers at athletes who are WODding too much (and yes, I've been known to do this :/ ), but if you, as an athlete, WANT to WOD multiple days in a row, then listen to what your body is telling you and  just don't WOD at 100% every day.  That is extremely hard to do, but can be done.  Listen.  Feel the "tap tap tap" of messages your body is sending you.  Don't let it get to the point where the "tap" becomes a boulder crashing down on you. 
Conversely, if you feel the need to take a week off every now and then, just do it! 
We all respond differently to everything in life. Guidelines are important in that they can help us lay out our own outline. Ultimately, however, only you know what is actually going on from the inside out.

After the Games last summer, I took a week off.  I did that because I was listening to what people were saying I should do, when in fact, I felt great and wanted to WOD.  Big mistake!  I should have listened to myself and WODded because when I did go back after that week off, I felt like crap and it took a while before I regained any sort of CF rhythm.  If I had felt like crap after the Games, I would have gladly rested.  It didn't help hearing this arguementative internal dialogue all that week, and all because I wasn't listening to my own body.  Lesson learned.

We definitely need to hear both messages, but listening from the inside out will be far better for you physically than just relying on that pesky internal dialogue.

one CrossFitter...

All it takes is one person...
That's all it took for 14 of us from CrossFit Beacon to furiously sign up at the last minute to run in the 1st Annual Bug Light 5K. It was organized as a charity run for the city of South Portland's Historical Society and their Land Trust, which is improving their parks and walking trails system, some of which we ran on today.
Tyson, Beacon buddy/athlete/coach/instigator wanted to run, put it out there for interested others, and this morning we were light-blue tee shirts strong.

 



For a couple of Beacon Peeps, it was their first 5K.  For a few others, it proved a morning 5K PR.  And for all of us, it was a great time with the usual banter between us filled with equal parts smack and respect...yeah, that's the usual banter. :)

Some of this group are runners and CrossFitters, but most of us are just CrossFitters.  The beauty of CrossFitting is that you gain the confidence and the ability to *game* pretty much any activity you choose to try/do, including a 5K.  It's very cool!  It makes last minute sign ups for a 5K possible.

When I told Laurence that I was going to sign up for this just on Friday, he didn't even hesitate to also sign up.  This was his first 5K, and while he does not CrossFit, he hears enough about it to know that by figuring out how to *game* the race helped with his mental outlook toward it.  He did a great job sticking to his plan of not walking and going at an easy jog the whole way.  CrossFit attitude by osmosis! :)

One CrossFitter, CrossFit confidence, and the CrossFit propensity for participating in charitable activities all make for some amazing memories {and memorable smack talk :) }.  That's all it took for today was one CrossFitter putting out a suggestion for a day of fun doing something that we all love...challenging ourselves!

dear feet

Dear Feet,

Last night, Laurence grabbed one of you and gave it a loving squeeze as he walked by me. Talk about a surprise feel-good moment!! WOW

Feet, beautiful or ugly as you may be, you are a wondrous and forgotten part of people's bodies.  I apologize for all the abuse we humans put you through each day. Pass that along to all your other feet friends!

~We put you on the floor in the morning and expect you to go from zero to 60 with no warm up. 
~We use you to kick objects out of our way, open doors, use your tippytoes to reach up high, run to catch the bus, run for health, walk, skip, hop, dance....
~We stuff you into torture devices shoes. (Well, Feet, you know that I don't like to do that unless the snow is blowing...or I have to run, perform box jumps, or do some double unders on you.)
~We get frustrated when you feel less than stellar.
...better said, we don't really feel you at all, Feet, until you do feel less than stellar.
Talk about utter neglect!

It's always hard to hear when someone has something seriously wrong with a foot or worse, both of their feet.  It's also not surprising that it happens.  We ride rough on you guys. 
Let's let you heal. Love you up.  Be kind to you. 
Reflexology doesn't get nearly enough 'air time'.  That may be how I should be choosing to pamper you two more often...right to the source of AHHHH. :)

That squeeze Laurence gave you led to those glorious few minutes of him literally squeezing both of you. Do you remember how great that felt? 

I promise not to be so neglectful of you from now on.  You have been very good to me and I just want to thank you!

love,

your person and her daughter...feet buddies

annie, your person

go ahead, be sore

Newbies to CrossFit almost always get around to asking the question, "Will I always be sore?" 
I hate to break it to them, but I have to answer "yes".
(Enter, mobility and fluids!!)
What I also say, however is that we all adapt to our various levels of soreness.  As an athlete, you need to learn to read your body as to what feels sore and what is a little more nagging...perhaps a 'pain'.  Pay attention. Take an extra day off if you aren't sure.  The box will still be there, the coaches will still be there, your CF family will still be there.  Better to choose to take an extra day off than to have to take a month off. 

Speaking for myself, my levels of soreness ebb and flow depending on the week's WODs. Feeling at ease with how my body responds and knowing that what I'm feeling is *good* soreness leading to a stronger body and continued fitness takes the focus off of it.  It just is.

The first summer I was CrossFitting was also the first full summer I played golf.  Some days I didn't think I would be able to swing the club, and even when I did it wasn't always very pretty! (Okay, so it's still not always very pretty, but... :} )  I  couldn't help but focus on the soreness that summer.  Then after about three months, it just stopped being on my mind all the time.  That three month mark is kind of magical.  It's when true fitness gains are staring back at you from the mirror, whispering positive self-talk phrases to you, wrapping you with a new cloak of confidence.  It begins happening sooner, but at three months, it sticks!

So go ahead, be sore, and keep WODding.  Your life both inside and outside the box will thank you for it!

 

self-direct

It always seems that the change of seasons elicit changes of outlooks in humans as well. This Summer of 2012 heading into Autumn of 2012 is no different.  I've been hearing mutterings and musings all around me of thoughts reaching beyond what is *status quo*.  It's frickin' exciting!

Experimenting with new outlooks, adventures, foods, etc. can be really scary.  There's something wonderful about being reminded by nature that it's not only okay to experiment and change, but it's necessary. 
Well, of COURSE it's necessary because change happens whether we want it to or not.  The excitement of change occurs when we are bold enough to self-direct it, even at the risk of crashing! 

CrossFit has helped me in so many ways, not the least of which has been learning that failure is not really a word worthy of owning.  In CrossFit, we can modify any movement to accommodate our *rehabbing* bodies, our nervousness about a particular movement, even our battered bodies from the previous night's partying. (Wait, CrossFitters party?? :P ) The muscle memory we rely on to learn the movements in CrossFit applies to our brains as well.  While having a day where the WOD owns you instead of you owning the WOD is not fun, you know the opposite will occur soon, if not the very next WOD.  Learning that a WOD that owns you does not mean you have failed, rather you just need to work at the WOD's movements more, is why you keep going back to your box. Results are as constantly varied as the workouts.  You're reminded to be adaptable. 

Autumn is almost here according to the calendar.  Hearing people talk about trying something new, be it a 10K race, a Paleo challenge, a career change, a new sport, etc, is motivating.  It ripples out into the minds of those around you, so never be afraid to let others know what new adventure you may be contemplating.  There is no failure in undertaking an experience in life that doesn't work out.  If you don't, then life becomes about what you can't do, what you are afraid to do, what you won't do instead of looking at life in terms of what you can do, what you can try, what you will experience.  There's no failure in any of that.  Be self-directed in your experiences.  Own them!

six reps

I know I've said this before, the bigger my CrossFit 'circle' gets, the smaller it gets.  It's undeniable how connected we are as CrossFitters.

*Six Reps of Separation*...yep, that's us.
Six reps of separation from BACON. 
Oh, c'mon, you know this is too perfect!
(just in case you don't know to what I'm referring...)

The simple fact is, we are a group of people who meet in an environment with a focus on health and wellness. CrossFitters are not ageist or sexist or elitest.  We are humans.  No one cares how far into the journey a fellow CFer is, they just know that we all understand there is nothing better than taking those steps needed to keep committed to one's well-being.  The path is rarely straight and smooth, but it's always open.

The best thing is that this focus doesn't end at a box door.  As individuals, we take it into the world, this feeling of wellness, and it ripples out into our lives outside the box. Of course, we feel so good we hope to bring other people into it. We want to share.  We are not an exclusive 'club' in the least.  Hard for some to believe, but it's true.  Go take a free CrossFit class somewhere and find out first hand!

One huge lesson I've learned over the years I've been CrossFitting is to tone down my enthusiasm when I am asked "what do you do".  After that initial euphoric connection to CrossFit occurs within your soul and you see how much better a version of yourself you are becoming, it's r.e.a.l.l.y hard not to come off like you're off your rocker when you share your love of CF in answer to that question.  Oh, how easily some people glaze over or simply back away.  :)  That's when you realize that you have to tone yourself down.  While I find it impossible not to infuse my words with joy and excitement, the answer to that question definitely makes more of an impact when I say it without jumping up and down and throwing in a few air squats as a demo!

As for our growing but equally intimate community, no matter who we may meet in CrossFit, we are always only six reps of separation from each other...and bacon.

chew on this

As I sat down to a steak and stringed bean dinner tonight, I appreciated how uncomplicated it was.  It was satisfying and complete.  Clearly, my tastes are simple.

Sure, I really appreciate all the beautiful pictures of food that people post on FB, that I see in magazines, that are plated for me when I go to a restaurant, when friends have Laurence and me for dinner, or even when I cook more fancy either just for us or also for friends. It's fun to experiment with food.  It's appealing when the food on your plate looks the part of delicious as well as tasting delicious.  But for me, it doesn't have to be allllll the time. 

Sometimes I just want good food.  Maybe it stems from my upbringing.  There were six of us kids and our mom always cooked plenty of food for us all.  It was rarely very fancy, although she sure could put on a fantastic spread when she needed/wanted to.  I came to learn in later years that because of the simple act of cooking *from scratch*, my mom's cooking was considered something of a hippy-ish wonder by many of my friends.  To me, she just cooked good food. 

best when frozen :)

Granted, I don't cook all the foods I used to cook when I was raising our girls, but except for the rare occasion, I've also always cooked *from scratch*.  I've come to find out that because of that simple act of cooking that way, I was known by some of my kids' friends as something of a hippy-ish wonder.  I mean, chew on this: just because I cooked for my family, my own friends were always shocked when they found out  gasp, i ate chocolate along with my girls that my girls were allowed to have some occasional chocolate, as if I was so *pure*!  I always got a good chuckle out of that.  If they could see me now...a little chocolate most every day...usually four to five choc. almonds.  (Honestly, I'd eat more, but because I like them from the freezer, my jaw gets too tired to eat more...go ahead, eye roll here!)

So yes, I think my simple food tastes are not forced upon me because I don't like to cook, but because I don't see the problem with a simple looking plate the majority of the time.  Even adding some tasty side items to my plate is done with little splash. 

I kind of love that my food choices ~~which are the result of both the nutrition espoused by the culture of CrossFit and therefore by the learned practice of, among other things, omitting grains~~ allow me to keep my cooking simple and uncomplicated.  It only gets complicated when I'm out of my daily fix of chocolate almonds!

put me in, coach!

Having 2 1/4 years of CrossFit under my belt, I've experienced a few great months of major improvement, sprinkled with a few months of stagnation.  That is bound to happen as life swirls around us and either our focus or our desire ebb and flow.  It just is.

I have been having continued joy and physical improvements/gains following some  standard programming and adding a little of my own extra work on skills and *goats* here and there.  (Remember? *Goats* are movements in CrossFit that we suck at!)  This practice even got me to a heady 2nd place finish in my age group at the Games.
So why change *what ain't broke*?  Well, I think that's the beauty of CrossFit.  I don't believe there is any ONE specific end-all way to program for optimal fitness within the CrossFit protocol, and that teaches us to keep an open mind to various ways to achieve our desired outcome as CrossFitters.  It also encourages learning and experiencing new activities on a regular basis!  And sometimes, we just need to shake ourselves up!

This has led me to the decision to work with a coach this year.  I've never had a coach and I am curious to see how far I can go as an athlete with one.  That is my motivation.  It has little to do with competitions, rather a major curiosity.  My programming will include a variety of WODs, with rep schemes and movements similar to any CrossFit program.  The difference is that the methodology my coach will be basing this all on will be tailored to my own strengths and, primarily, weaknesses.  I definitely do not shy away from my weaknesses now, but I don't think I address them head on either.

Being held accountable to a coach is something I'm both excited about and nervous about! 

I begin my program tomorrow and am looking forward to getting into it.  I will be writing my daily WODs and insights into how they went under *training* should anyone be interested in taking a peek. 

What I'm also really happy about is that my coach is accomodating my desire to continue to WOD with my fellow CF Beacon athletes a couple times each week when I am not coaching a class.  This is a piece of the whole program that I did not want taken away.  I truly love WODding with *my peeps* so I'm very happy this will remain part of my program!

ALLLL Righty then.  It begins tomorrow! 

baggage

Geez, I haven't posted for a long time and now I'm restarting my blog with a reference to a tv show.  That's kind of a fail, but bear with me. :)

Said show is "How I Met Your Mother". The episode I'm referencing was about baggage that people carry around with them from their pasts.  Then some interesting timing occurred; the next day I had a conversation with a fellow Beacon-er regarding the hesitation some people feel when they even THINK about signing up for CrossFit. 

"I used to be an athlete."
"I used to be in shape."
"I used to weigh less."
"I used to...."
"I used to...."
"I used to...."

Just like the show's theme, all of those sentences are just pieces of baggage that we hold onto even though we needn't.  That was at another time in your life. It was another you really.  And most importantly, you aren't *back there*, you are where you are right now.
You are starting from today, who you are now, and moving forward. 

Beginning any steps toward being healthier and more confident in yourself is the time to let go of the baggage.  And whether those steps are through CrossFit Beacon or a yoga studio or swimming or whatever, just CHOOSE SOMETHING and put down that baggage.
It's pretty amazing how much better just doing that will start to make you feel!

pinch me

Who doesn't want to hang with
Fitness Lonnie!

A week has passed since the final day of The CrossFit Games. 
Home.  Getting resettled into thinking about more than just
CrossFit {kind of ;) }. It was an adventure, an unforgettable memory,
lots of laughs, lots of WODs, and I can't believe I had so much fun and still placed 2nd in my age group! 

Every woman in my division could have medaled.  That's the basis of CrossFit. You never know what WOD movements you are going to face so you truly do have to be prepared for the unknown. 

post final-WOD euphoria

While I didn't fare well in every WOD, I did very well in a couple so those countered my bad ones.  Most of the movements were pretty good for me. Some were deadlifts, pullups, double unders, and heavy barbell work.  If there had been a few movements that were not so much in my wheelhouse, particularly overhead squats, who knows where I would have placed.  That is why I truly mean it that any one of us women could have been standing on the podium.  They were a great group and I'm so thankful I had a chance to chat and laugh and WOD with every one of them.

All this feeling spills out onto the rest of the Masters divisions of athletes as well, both men and women.  Most of us don't go to boxes with an abundance of Masters age athletes so to be around so many was a wonderful experience!

The Masters march in the Games Opening Ceremony.

I'm forever grateful for the support I received from my family, my friends, and Maine CrossFitters! Sure, I qualified with CrossFit 321 and I now coach and WOD at CrossFit Beacon, but I felt big and little nudges of encouragement from athletes from boxes all over the state of Maine.  THANK YOU MAINE! :]
It's great to be home and back to coaching and spreading the joy of CrossFit.  And after a week off, I'm ready to get back to my own WODding!


Here's a link to glimpse one of my better moments: (really, you think I want to share my worst moment?? haha)   "The Chipper"

confidence

A week from today I'll be heading to the athlete on-deck area to warm up for my first WOD of the CrossFit Games.  I honestly can't imagine how I'll be feeling.  I'm trying not to, either!  All I know for sure is that, outside my family, this huge gift that came in a big box wrapped in wrist wraps, catchy logo'd tee shirts, neon knee socks, and rolls and rolls of sports tape is the most incredible gift I have ever been lucky enough to open. 

On a daily basis, I am reminded CrossFit is really more, so much more than just a strength and conditioning program.  It builds confidence. I see it in the faces of fellow CrossFitters all around me.
Confidence to be a healthier person inside and out.
Confidence to try new things.
Confidence to be okay with the whole concept of failing.
Confidence with feeling great about succeeding.
Confidence in owning your own destiny.
Confidence in knowing even when things get hard, keep going.
Confidence in realizing that life is about being adaptable.
Confidence in your own abilities no matter what age you are.
Confidence in being the best person you can be.

As to the Games, I'm confident I have now broken in my shoes enough.  I'm confident I'm now used to wearing the form-fitting clothes I'll have to wear.  I'm confident I won't miss my heat because I'm chatting too much.  I'm confident the airline won't lose my luggage...really!... :)

Oh, and I'm also confident I'll give every WOD my all.  I'm confident I'll meet some amazing people.  I'm confident I'm going to have an unforgettable experience!

On the flip-side of the Games, I'm confident that I won't forget one moment of them, but that I'll also continue to move on to the next days, the next weeks, the next months of what comes my way. Through it all, I'll keep donning my CrossFit-inspired confidence!

WOD like you mean it

With only a couple weeks to go before I taper for the Games in CA, I am WODding and keeping up my strength work so I know that I can go there feeling as prepared as possible.  The dangling questions are: what will we face for movements in the WODs, how will the weather affect me (I've been told by a very reliable source that it's nasty hot!!), and will the socializing that I know will occur with all of us Masters take any of the intensity away. :) I'm guessing "no" on the latter, but I sure am looking forward to meeting some kick ass peers!

What gets us to the level where we want to be in the competitive world of CrossFit? For the most part, it's diligence of intensity in the daily WODding.  The point of CF is to be  well-rounded in the various areas of skill:

The 10 General Physical Skills

There are ten recognized general physical skills. They are cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. You are as fit as you are competent in each of these ten skills. A regimen develops fitness to the extent that it improves each of these ten skills.

1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance - The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
2. Stamina - The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
3. Strength - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
4. Flexibility - the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint.
5. Power - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
6. Speed - The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
7. Coordination - The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
8. Agility - The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
9. Balance - The ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base.
10. Accuracy - The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.

**The CrossFit Journal**

We all have our stronger and weaker areas so the best we can do is not get frustrated and keep looking at the overall physical benefits we are creating for ourselves by keeping the intensity up through our WODs.  As that transitions to competitions, the same goals come forward: don't be frustrated if one area is a little weaker because overall, an area of strength will surely present itself in a WOD. 

If you WOD like you mean it every time, the fitness benefits of CrossFit will shine through.

If you WOD like you mean it every time, the competitive benefits of CrossFit will shine through.

Just keep WODding.

 

sports payoff

I find myself warming up for my golf game by performing "shoulder dislocates" with my driver. No, I'm not actually dislocating my shoulders, although that might be the ultimate in looseness needed for a good golf swing.  No, that just means I'm holding my driver with one hand on each end and passing it back and forth overhead. Once I'm loose, it feels great! The exciting thing for me about this simple warm up is that I couldn't do it at all last year unless I was just barely touching the end of the club head.  This means what? It means my shoulders are more flexible than they were last year.

No big surprise, it's from CrossFit.  CrossFit doesn't just transfer to everyday functional movements we perform, it also has a wonderful payoff in other sports we enjoy.  What better than to feel more comfortable moving around the field/the court/the course without thinking too much about our physical ability to do so.  You just do it.  Then you can concentrate on the other aspects of whatever you are doing...scanning for teammates/ball placement/club swing follow through/etc...you just do it.

When I first realized my progress in this measurable movement of a "shoulder dislocate", it gave me a little inner-zing both on the course and back at the box.  Nothing like measurable progress, no matter how subtle, to fire you up.

As for my golf, my drives are better, but the overall skill of golf is a never-ending process.  At least I know I can trust my body to work, so  I don't have to think about anything but the club swing...that's quite enough!  There's a CrossFit Certification for almost every sport.  Is there one designed for golf yet?

*early season overhead squat practice*

not just one, but multiple

Okay, so now I'm plagiarizing myself.  I haven't been writing this blog that long, but I do see a cyclical pattern to some concepts that need to be addressed.

The concept that needs repeating is one that has come up with our members at CrossFit Beacon recently.  The concept is: when working on strength work in the day's WOD, there may be one final lift's weight put up on the board and logged in your log book for future reference.  However, that does NOT mean you just lifted that weight.  It's pretty amazing how much weight you may have actually lifted to get that to that final weight. 
***see re-post below***

Whether you have been CrossFitting for a while or are new to the movements, there will be days when you ask your body to perform in ways it's not used to.  There will be mornings you wake up feeling sore because you have lifted a small car the day before. :)  What you need to be mindful of is the difference between being sore and feeling pain.  You will know.  They are very different.  Pay attention.  Honor your body's need to take a rest day! It will help your body grow stronger.  If I see that you aren't because I see you at Beacon too many days in a row, I'll have to start instituting the finger flick on your noggin...

That said (and now that you are forewarned), it's amazing what you are capable of::

**original posting 1-1-12**

 

it all adds up

Yesterday's workout at CrossFit 321 was deadlift work and a metcon of 3 deadlifts/6 burpees every minute on the minute.
****A burpee can be described as a movement in which you hurl yourself to the ground because you have an inexplicable and sudden urge to do a push up. Then you decide just as suddenly that you were mistaken so you launch yourself back up to your feet as best as you can with the bright idea of finishing all this indecision with a jumping jack movement, clapping your hands overhead because you need some positive feedback for what you just went through. You feel so accomplished that you decide to do it all over again. :-) ****
Now, back to the metcon.
This type of metcon is deceiving because, on paper, it looks as if you'll be okay because you'll have some rest after each set before the next minute begins.

The deadlift weight is arrived at by either calculating a percentage of what you know to be your maximum lift, or by merely choosing a weight that will be challenging but doable for the entire metcon. Like all CrossFit movements, the choices allow for scaling to your own ability. I chose a percentage of my maximum deadlift, loaded the bar, and stood ready. 10 sets, 3-2-1 go....

The interesting point of all this is that after it was over, I was looking around at my classmates and wondering how many, if any, of them realized what an amazing feat they had just accomplished. I'm guessing that foremost in their minds was that they had picked up that one barbell of a chosen weight a lot of times. What they probably didn't see was the big picture.

Here's what my classmates really did during that metcon (using a 100# weighted barbell as the example):
100# barbell lifted 3x for 10 sets=
100# barbell lifted 30x=
3000# lifted in 10 mins!
That is 1 1/2 TONS lifted in 10 minutes!!!
That is what these amazing people don't realize they've just done. The didn't just pick up a 100# bar a lot of times.

The function of picking up a 50# child many times a day, or a 20# bag of groceries will merely be something they do while chatting or thinking about something else. No big deal. I mean, they just lifted 1 1/2 TONS in 10 minutes! OH, and they threw in 60 burpees for a little extra challenge...amazing!!!

all of a sudden..

"What made you come into CrossFit Beacon today?"
"I have tried everything and I'm not seeing any changes in my body.
 I am looking to gain strength and lose body fat."
"AWEsome! You commit to yourself that you are worth getting here at least 3x/week and you will see the changes you have been working toward."
"That sounds like a lot. I'm not sure I can get in that often."
~~fear of the unknown / fear of past let-downs both creep into thoughts~~
"If you make a promise to someone else, you'll likely do whatever you can to honor that promise.  Why, then, can you not do the same for yourself?  You are worth it.  Stick with your commitment to get here at least 3x/week for three months and YOU WILL SEE CHANGES."
"Okay, I can do that."

Working toward *fitness* is a commitment like any other activity you want to get better at.  Some days it's easy to get to the box, get your WOD on, and enjoy the camaraderie of your classmates.  Other days you just want to curl up in a chair with your pet, a book, the tv, coffee...you can do that too...on your rest day!! :)  That's a balance we all need.  The beauty is that if you go about your life and incorporate good nutrition and a variety of  quality, functional movements at high intensity as programmed in CrossFit, your body will be quietly changing along with your confidence levels, your ability to move through your world, and your overall fitness levels that go far beyond mere 'wellness'.  All of a sudden, at about three months (give or take a couple weeks, depending on your personal follow-through), you'll notice changes you probably didn't think possible. 
You'll get lots of high-fives/fist bumps/an occasional chest bump in celebration of your efforts, so be prepared!
You'll be very happy you honored your commitent to yourself!!


**below is taken from CrossFit's definition of fitness**

'Measurable health' can be looked at
as in this model:
sickness -> wellness -> fitness
A person can have wellness but not
be fit. To quote CrossFit HQ,
"Fitness is and should be
*super-wellness*."
All of this said, it's never too late to move toward fitness. There may be things going on with your body that stem from previous sicknesses, unhealthy nutrition practices of the past, etc.  That does not mean, however, that there isn't the possibility of progressing toward fitness and having the health that will help you live a happier life.

to belt or not to belt

Watching the CrossFit NorthEast Regionals today was a grunt fest.  The WODs this year are real grinders on the athletes as they are mostly strength movements with barbells.
It was hot and muggy and many of the athletes had as little clothing on as possible....ah, fitness. ;)

The one item that many were keeping on were weight belts. 
A couple of fellow CrossFitters, Dave and Jeremy, and I were discussing the legitimacy of such equipment.  The three of us held a massive poll, and ALL THREE of us determined that they should be disallowed for CrossFitters. We decided that if a human body cannot lift lots of weight on its own with proper form, perhaps that particular body was not meant to be picking up that much weight.  The example given was the strict weight lifter who picks up 900 pounds....once.  I'm pretty sure that the days of needing to drag or carry the baby Mammoth kill back to the cave all by one's lonesome are long gone. 

I don't believe many, if any, used weight belts early on in the developing sport of CrossFit.
With the growth of the sport, new challenges are being sought all the time.  One of the beauties of CrossFit, to me, is that it's all about what the human body can do/achieve as a singularly functioning machine.  So why would you want that body to rely on a piece of equipment that would imply stability, when in fact it creates weakness.  If you come to rely on support for the most important part of your body, your spine, you can easily get sloppy, then you become a lifter who has a damn good quality belt.

Would lifting shoes fall under the same category?  No, because I don't know a CFer who can't lift almost the same without the shoes.  While the shoes create real stability underfoot, they do not ask your body to do something it is not fit enough to do.

Interestingly enough, CrossFit HQ states that no athlete can use special grips or gloves for pullups that assist the performance of multiple pullups.  So why are the belts allowed?  They certainly assist the athlete in performing lifts and movements that the athlete might not be able to perform without one.
What do you think.  Should CrossFit athletes be allowed to belt or not?

lots of life

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. Lots of life going on.

Every summer's arrival brings a new adventure and this year is no different. 
Hugely important is the next generation's arrival due in August.  My daughter and son-in-law, Carly and Michael, are ready for their growing family and we are all very excited about that. 

Being a working-out-of-the-house woman has been added to my life.  This is a change only in that I *have to* be at CrossFit Beacon often, but I would want to be anyway. :] Coaching people coming through our doors who have the desire to become more fit and are excited about challenging themselves is energizing.  We recently had our Grand Opening and to see so much support not only from our own members but from the CrossFit community at large meant much to all of us at Beacon.  The wonderful thing about having different boxes in the Portland area and throughout Maine is that there is a CF box for everyone, and the most important thing we, at Beacon, see is that this allows for anyone to have the opportunity to experience CrossFit, which is the bottom line!

This weekend I am heading down to Canton, MA, to watch some terrific athletes from Maine compete in the CF Regionals. Aside from a select few Mainers who qualified as individuals, my 'other' box, CrossFit 321, has a team at Regionals.  I can't wait to see them on *the field of dreams* at Reebok CrossFit One, where the Regionals are being held.

Adding to this year's big life events are the CF Games in July, for which I qualified and am focusing on re: my training. On this note, I say "Poor Laurence"!  I am not very successful *try* to keep the chatter about it to a minimum with him.  He's always supportive, but it's not foremost on his mind. :)  I owe it to me, but also to him and all who emotionally support me through this adventure to keep training smartly and hard so that I can offer up my best efforts at the Games. 

Even though my life is pretty consumed by CrossFit at the moment, summer is always wonderful time to play more freely (no winter coats and boots weighing you down) and enjoy the remainder of what the year has to offer. 

How is the better weather and summertime filling up your life? 

mama's wodding

Tomorrow is Mother's Day.  Happy Day to all you hard working women out there. 
My mother used to always say "every day is Mother's Day".  Okay, really, even as a kid I knew she was full of bullshit. :)

When our girls were little, Laurence and I gave each other our 'special' days (Mother's and Father's Days) completely off.  That meant no diaper changing, no meals, sleep in, just do whatever we wanted to do, a responsibility-free day.  It was glorious...although it was also a little difficult to explain to the girls when they were very, very young that I HAD to get out of bed before their delightful and quintessential breakfast of a banana, hard toast, a hard fried egg, and coffee, because I had to go pee.  They let me, but were still pretty disappointed in me.

We all know that parents do their best teaching by keeping their "teaching" words to a minimum and just living an honest life.  Kids absorb soul-felt energy from parents so it's impossible to cover reactions with words.  Kids are smart.  Try as I did, I definitely had some fails in that area...not living honestly part, but reacting with words-before-thoughts moments.

While kids are growing up their parents grow smarter...at least we hope so.  Even though our kids grow up, move out onto their own, take responsibility for their own lives proudly waving their flags of independence, parents beware, our children are still learning much from afar.

What is the reason for this post other than me thinking warmly of my little girls?
A very wonderful woman who enriches my world with her wit, warmth, and worldliness sent me a powerful, timely FB message today.  My friend is a 60something CrossFitter of about two and a half years.  She started before me and while she has had breaks here and there because of her travelling adventures, she always finds her way back to the box.  This brave woman will also, on occasion, go to other boxes when she is away.  (It can be intimidating to enter into a class of 'strangers' as not all boxes are created equal.  Luckily, most are welcoming.)  Of course, SHE tends to bemoan that she keeps losing her fitness level and gets tired of 'starting over' so often.  While I understand, it's all relative.  I personally know VERY few 60something women who could do what she does at her point of 'starting over'.
Inspiring.

Apparently her 40something daughter thinks so too.  My friend's message was full of excitement (and hope) that her daughter is talking seriously about giving CrossFit a try.  This. Is. CooL. 
Admittedly, the particular box her daughter is thinking of happens to be a stellar box that my friend has gone to a few times and had great experiences.  That is also CooL.

The CrossFitting moms and dads I know got into CrossFit because of their children or friends.  I find it so incredible that this mom, my friend, is still inspiring her children just by living an honest life.  Does she speak highly of how CrossFit keeps her body moving?  Yes.  Would this mean anything if she didn't also just GO to CrossFit?  No.  Her daughter is still seeing her mom as an example of what is possible.  To have this 40something woman become a CrossFitter because of her 60something mother is just such a great Mother's Day story to me. 

pendulums

Everything action/event/happening has a certain cycle to it.  This is nothing new.
I've always likened the cycles to a pendulum swinging until it finds its natural balance.  Things always do.  A *breeze* may restart the sway, but once the balance has been established, it usually takes a shorter time to get back to balance on those subsequent sways.  One hopes, simply put, this is learned from previous experiences. 

I'll admit that I used to always visualize that pendulum swing like this:

Thankfully (no more nightmares ;-}) I have noticed over the last couple of years that I visualize that pendulum swing in a much softer and gentler way...like this:

I fully understand that I don't have to doubt that the pendulum will calm the eff down in due time.  I used to want to force it toward its balance.  Now I still don't hesitate to encourage it along, but I know forcing it will not get it there any faster than encouraging it.

So in this moment as I have the image of the pendulum swinging at my new job, with my training schedule, happenings with my kids/friends....you know, life.... I don't get as tweaked as much as I used to.  I enjoy the fact that now I can fully appreciate the creativeness that can occur as the balance is nearing.  It's like a doodle gone rogue and ultimately, the picture ends up just the way it's meant to be! :)

don't think, just do: part 2

Part 1 was posted on 3/21.
That was a general approach to life.  Think too much and you'll get stuck in the minutia of the moment and nothing substantial will get accomplished.  We need to have the ability to let go and be a messy and make mistakes and find joy in just *doing*.  It's fun and freeing and good things crop up because of it. 

Part 2 is a general approach to sports.  Think too much and your golf swing, your tennis stroke, your flip turn, your power clean will become so strained under the minutia of each detail that you are laboriously thinking about and you end up not performing well at all. 

It seems I have been running across this concept quite often lately.  To over think during the action of a sport not only takes the fun out of it, it prevents an athlete from feeling a particular movement, which usually allows for a better understanding of what one's body is supposed to be doing during that movement. 

This is not to say that it's not necessary to learn some technique or strategy or practice a lot.  What I am getting at is that an athlete's heart allows for the feeling of the sport that is being played.  And what is heart, but feeling.  You can delve into the minutia of your sport but if you don't allow the heart in, technique contributes nothing to the joy. 

A couple weeks ago, Bubba Watson won the biggie in golf tournaments, The Masters.  What makes this so spectacular is that he is a golfer who has never taken a lesson and never watched a video of himself to analyze his swing.  Rather, he is a man who plays and plays and plays to feel a better swing, to be a better golfer, and mostly to quench his love of the game.  By doing so, he keeps his heart in the game and his head nearby, but not looming.

Ben Smith of CrossFit fame is another one of those athletes who keeps his love of his sport in the forefront.  He is a unique CrossFitter in that he mostly workouts alone at his home gym.  From interviews I have seen, he connects CrossFit to nature by default, putting a pullup bar between two trees and a wall ball target on one of the trees as well.
He just gets after his workouts.  Does he practice technique?  Sure, but mostly just WODs.
Unheard of by most CrossFit athletes entering a competition, Ben went into the CrossFit Mid Atlantic Regionals without having practiced any of the WODs beforehand, apparently deciding to trust his abilities and succeed at them in a "one and done" mindset.  He won, thereby making it to the CrossFit Games in July...again.

Those are just two athletes, but they are two who I personally think embody the concept of success through feeling, keeping their heart in their games.  To me, it's incredibly inspiring.

**On a semi-related personal note, today I needed to throw around some weights and make some noise at my box.  I have less than 10 weeks to go before my participation in the Games, and I have been not feeling my CrossFit experience of late.  I have been missing the grunt and grit of why I love it so much.  So, result?...the WOD I came up with today.  I love the clean & jerk. I hadn't done any in so long that I was almost a little nervous about doing them so the following fit the criteria of my needs today:
EMOM (every minute on the minute) 10 mins:
3 deadlifts
1 clean & jerk
increase the weight every two minutes. 
I wanted this to simulate a competition WOD in that I didn't have a lot of rest time to get to a heavy (for me) 1 rep max of c & j and the DL was just an added bonus. ;]
My previous c & j was 120# so I was hoping to get to there at least...too much thinking pre-WOD!  Once I got into it, I just went at it.  My form on the last clean wasn't great (i pulled too early), but my jerk was strong.  I went 95#,105#,115#,120#, 125#.  New PR and I felt a shift in my attitude...I quenched my love of how free and fun CrossFit is for me. 
Setting aside *thinking* and just digging in and *doing* was just what I needed.  More of that to come.