the beat goes on

It's been almost a week since I've muttered a word here.  This past week has been a bit of a cluster f*** for me mentally as I've been trying to focus on the arrival of the CrossFit Games Open.  WOD1 of 5 was announced last Wed: 7min AMRAP (as many reps as possible) of burpees with a jump to a target 6" over your the reach of your extended fingertips.  It was a doozie both physically and mentally.  Dare I say, it was a great WOD...challenging but doable by anyone so it embodied the concept that CrossFit can be for anyone.

I was only going to do each WOD during the Open one time, just like last year.  The small difference was going to be that after each WOD was announced for the week,  I would "play" with it for transition between movements, maybe run through half the time alloted for the WOD to see how it felt, then go all-out on it on Saturdays.  One thing led to another and I did end up going at it twice this week.  That many burpees are tough on shoulders, and I let that get into my head more than it should have.  That's what led to the afore mentioned mental cluster f***!  I didn't want to gas my shoulders in week 1 so I got timid.  I just had to embrace the reality that I'd have to be more diligent about my recovery post WODs.  That led to the shift in my ability to regroup mentally about this year's Open competition.  Bottom line, I want to get to the Games this year.  I was close last year, but with almost 4 times the number of competitors in my age group, it's a whole different comp this year and I'm ready.

After this week, I have reset my head leaving no room for wah wah wah's. :) 

I have also made room in my mental restructuring for the fact that I still need/want to continue my other training while all this is going on.  It's a great thing to keep up a routine during a challenging time, whatever the challenge might be.  A daily routine can help keep the mental seesaw in check, so allow the beat of one's life in its bigger picture to go on!

Back at the box, today's daily WOD at CrossFit 321 was:
 "CrossFit Total"
1 rep max back squat  (185#=pr!)
1 rep max shoulder press (85#)
1 rep max deadlift (245#=pr!)
total weight= 515#
I hadn't done "CF Total" in almost four months and it felt great to put some pr's in my log book.  I love that I am still making pr's (personal records) at 55! They may come in smaller, slower increments now, but I am still getting stronger and that's pretty awesome to be able to measure!! 

I will continue to face the next four weeks of the Open with my reset mental focus, but there's a whole lot going on outside of the Open that is important to me.  Because of that I'll also continue to let the beat of my daily life go on.  :)

CrossFit Earth

The 2012 season of CrossFit carnage has arrived.  It'll expose itself tonight for us East Coasters, and until it does, we all have dreams of glory. :)

I love that the world comes together (at least the 50000ish registered CrossFitters worldwide) for the next five weeks, pitting times and reps against each other in the weekly WODs programmed for the box, CrossFit Earth.  Even CFers who aren't competing are a part of this global sweatfest:
Functional Fitness Phenoms Fearlessly Facing off!

As is everyone who registered, I will give it my all as that's all I can give.  The reality is being prepared doesn't necessarily mean having all my movements perfected (refer back to "dreams of glory"!), rather, for me it means being mentally prepared for all the WODs, especially the ones that come up containing movements of which I am still lacking proficiency.  I'm even ready for those.  What's helpful is that I have the benefit of last year's experience.  I know that while I failed miserably on a couple WODs, I did well enough on others that my overall showing was respectable.  It's all about cumulative efforts...always...in everything we do!

For every CFer out there who may be heading to their computers tonight to ceremoniously check/recheck/triple check WOD1 of the Open designed for CrossFit Earth, good luck, breathe deeply, and make yourself proud of yourself!

                          *****3-2-1 GOOOOO*****

                  {{ http://games.crossfit.com/ }}

shhh, don't say you CrossFit

Keeping physically active is necessary to be able to live life without being tentative in your day to day activities and less fearful about trying new activities. 
Check.
Keeping physically active via CrossFit adds a level of overall fitness that is less attainable through other methods of activity. 
Check.
Telling people "I am a CrossFitter" when asked "what do you do to get so fit?" reinforces the positives of CrossFit that can encourage others to get moving, hopefully toward a CF box! 
Check.
We CrossFitters believe in the culture of CF and don't like when people malign it just because they don't understand it.
Check.
We CrossFitters have confidence in our strength and conditioning program.
Check.
So why would I ever suggest that we not share we are CrossFitters?
When our bodies show moments of weakness and vulnerability.  
Shhh, don't say you CrossFit under those circumstances!  That would be the moment when you have lost your credibility about the benefits of CrossFit.  That would be the moment when the nay-sayers would cross their arms and shake their heads in judgement. 
DAMN those moments! 

Pssshhht, really, what person doesn't end up having a tweak or more show up in their bodies now and then?  A person can be having the same issue as a CrossFitter but those arms of theirs still cross their chests, the head still shakes in judgement, and then they hobble off because their bodies are tired from the long walk across the parking lot!  The CrossFitter may hobble off on that day because while practicing the explosive movement of jumping on a 24" box in order to train their ankles joints, every muscle in their legs, their hip joints, all the way up to their upward thrusting arms to work in unison toward becoming a more capable 'machine', they may have missed and scraped up their shin on the box.  While their shin is healing, their bodies are still also getting stronger. 

When a CrossFitter has something occur that may need medical attention, that's really when it's annoying to debate with yourself if it's necessary to say you CrossFit or not. 

I had an infected foot last year.  I fondly remember it as my Frankenstein foot in the big red boot.  The doc couldn't find any reason for it at all...no open areas where germs could have gotten in, no broken bones, nothing.  The FIRST question everyone asked me, heads cocked in that omnipotent and condescending way, was "Did you get it from CrossFit?"  Geez.  Arrrggg. I know lots of non-CFers who have had unexplained physical issues.  Did THEY get their maladies from CrossFit?  I mean, really...REALLY?

That experience taught me that sometimes it's easier to just say "shhhhhh" to mentioning CrossFit in certain circumstances.  If it does comes up I don't deny it because, firstly, I will have been the one whose tongue it rolled off, and secondly, it's not a bad activity!
I also suspect that sometimes the choice to keep CF out of the conversation is partly due to the desire for us CFers to be unbreakable machines...don't show weakness lest we get thought of as weak.  (Maybe that's just me. :) )  We train our bodies to be strong and our minds become hard wired to that thought as well.  Perhaps it's for ourselves that we don't want to talk about injuries or changes in our bodies in relation to CrossFit because they seem to clash with each other.  

Keeping physically active is necessary to be able to live life without being tentative in your day to day activities and less fearful about trying new activities. 
Check.
Keeping physically active via CrossFit adds a level of overall fitness that is less attainable through other methods of activity. 
Check.
Telling people "I am a CrossFitter" when asked "what do you do to get so fit?" reinforces the positives of CrossFit that can encourage others to get moving, hopefully toward a CF box! 
Check.
We CrossFitters believe in the culture of CrossFit and don't like when people malign it just because they don't understand it.
Check.
We CrossFitters portray confidence in our strength and conditioning program.
Check.
So why would I ever suggest that we not share we are CrossFitters?
When our bodies show moments of weakness and vulnerability.  
Shhh, don't say you CrossFit under those circumstances!  
But if it does slip out :), and it likely will, know that your body's moment of weakness will pass. It will heal and/or you will find a new way to maneuver it through activities you love.  It'll be okay.  People will assume you'll need to stop CrossFit, but you know differently.  Before you know it you'll be back at the box surrounded by the culture of people who believe in CrossFit and its positive effects on people, freeing you up to jump up and down for joy on that 24" box!

it's a no-brainer

Just a quickie here. 

I found myself mulling over some extra work I want to do on my goats for the long run...just because the Open starts next week doesn't mean that's the end of my training! 
Nor do I want to get stuck in the mentality that everything I do for myself in CrossFit is just for a competition, even if it is the BIG one!
No, I look at this as a long term adventure and I don't ever want to lose that feeling.

So, as I said, I was mulling over some extra work and was reminded of something I heard someone say at the beginning of a class many months ago.  She was standing looking at the day's WOD on the white board and said with a bit of disgust only a reformed "Globo Gymer" could have, "Why would anyone want to workout at a Globo Gym when coming into a CrossFit box you have your workout all planned for you every time?  It's a no brainer!"  She was right.  It's hard coming up with programming for yourself, and I can imagine that without ever having the camaraderie of a group workout and a good coach helping you with your skills, it's even harder.  I'm sure there are some who can do that successfully, but I, like her, enjoy being told what the workout is going to be.  That way I know that I'll even have to face my goats on a regular basis, which I might otherwise just pat on the head and move along! 

I have been CrossFitting long enough now that I can add/subtract areas when I need to, or feel okay about getting good workouts done at CrossFit Driveway when I can't make it to the box, but CrossFit is worth everything I put into it...time, money, effort, joy.  I get coached so I feel safe and I don't have to think about the torture joyous WOD I am going to face each time I walk through the box doors.  It really is a no brainer.

ah, the bucket list

Call it what you want, but I think everyone has a bucket list.  The lists are dreams of glory, unspoken desires (both savory and unsavory, I'm sure ;) ), quiet hopes, little and big goals.  They change and morph, are erased and added as life lessons alter us, are checked off the list as completed, and sit waiting for our time/choice/confidence to address them.  

I have actually written out a list before, but for me, it felt kind of stressful even though I didn't pick a number of ideas I had to choose.  I ended up just jotting down thoughts randomly all over a piece of paper...like a bunch of thought bubbles.  Freedom from order meant freedom to survey the contents of my "bucket" without any one thing demanding I attend to it first.

What I did today was pick an item from my list because an opportunity arose.  I signed up for my first 5K race.  **insert happy dance**  I don't even feel any pressure about it, which is pretty awesome.  I always wanted to try one but never felt I was 'a runner'. Then I met a woman a couple months ago at CrossFit 321 who started talking about her running goals (she actually signs up for a race every month...crazy amazing woman!) and how she was explaining that while she wasn't necessarily the fastest runner, it was a goal she liked to have for herself.  Because of her, I finally began to realize that just to enter a race and complete it would be an accomplishment for me...kind of an "uhhh, duh" thought, but you know, sometimes things just have to align at the right time. :)

The only 5K I've ever done was on my birthday last June at CrossFit Casco Bay. It was the day's WOD and while I don't think the coach programmed it for me, it was pretty fitting because, well, IT WAS A 5K!  Apparently I looked as though I needed to be carried home afterward. ;)  Geez, talk about being supportive! 

Now, I am not a fast runner for sure.  My time for that first experience with the 5K was 33 something.  For my race in a couple months, I am hoping to walk away from it with a time better than that, shooting for under 30, but mostly, the joy of completing something I've always thought of doing.  It kind of makes me want to rummage around in my bucket for other possibilities.  You too??

tabataaaaa

One of my favorite CrossFit WODs is any one that includes a tabata. 
I find I can't help but smile when it comes up on the day's programming at my box.
It's also my favorite choice for a CrossFit Driveway WOD.
The intensity of the tabata is a lure, but I also like that there is a defined amount of time, that being 4 minutes.  You bust your butt for 20 seconds, then  rest 10 seconds, then bust your butt again for 20 seconds, etc, for 8 complete rounds to equal the 4 minutes.
Since you typically score yourself by the lowest number of reps in any given of the 8 work sections, you have to work really hard to maintain a number you begin with...hard to do as exhaustion sets in!

I know that I can go all out for this pre-determined time and then that's that.  Sometimes I wonder if having that end-time makes me work harder...pshhht, nah, couldn't be! ;)  All I know is that I gotta tabata!

((there is a good description at the end of this post about both the origin and the format of the tabata should you feel like a little extra reading)) 

The past couple of days I have done WODs at home, CrossFit Driveway.  Yesterday afternoon I chose a jog at the golf course with the dog and included some fairway sprints.  No big surprise, today I programmed a tabata party for myself.  I like to do multiple tabatas because, well, if one is good then multiples are better. :) 

t1: alternating sit-ups and hollow rock holds
rest 1 min.
t2: box jumps
rest 1 min.
t3: alternating jumping jacks and air squat holds

Okay, honestly, I'm not sure I held those air squats perfectly for the whole 20 sec.  That was haaarrrrd!  But I also know that overall I got a great workout today.  Thank you tabata!!  
Now I think I'll challenge myself to a couch-sit hold for a while. :-)


                                                                              WHAT IS TABATA TRAINING?

by: tabatatraining.org

“Tabata” is the name of a particular type of workout program that provides similar health benefits to that of cardio workouts, but Tabata has a bit more spice. Instead of hours upon hours or exercise, Tabata can be completed in 4 minutes. Tabata falls under the category of high intensity training or high intensity interval training. Today I write to explain to you the history of Tabata and exactly what it is.

How did Tabata come about?

Tabata was founded by a Japanese scientist named Izumi Tabata and fellow colleagues at a department of physiology in Japan. Izumi and his fellow scientists decided to conduct a study to compare moderate intensity training with high intensity training.

He conducted the tests on 2 groups of athletes; 1 of the groups used the moderate intensity interval training and the other using high intensity interval training.

In group one; the athletes were training in moderate intensity workouts (70% intensity) for five days a week for a total of six weeks with each training session lasting an hour.

Group two trained in the high intensity workouts for 4 days a week for a total of 6 weeks with each session lasting 4 minutes, at 20 seconds of intense training (170% intensity) and 10 seconds of rest.

What were the results of the tests?

Group 1 had a significant increase in the aerobic system (cardiovascular system). However, the anaerobic system (muscles) gained little or no results at all.

Group 2 showed much improvement in all their athletes. Their aerobic systems increased much more than group ones, and their anaerobic systems increased by 28%.

Conclusion?

 Not only did high intensity interval training have more of an impact on the aerobic systems; it had an impact on the anaerobic systems as well.

So what does a basic Tabata training design look like?

Any exercise can be incorporated into the Tabata training. However the basic outline of the Tabata training method are as follows:

•     4 minutes long (whole Tabata Session)

•     20 seconds of intense training

•     10 seconds of rest

•     Total of 8 sessions or rounds

adaptability is accountability

The following entry is brought to you by the letters P and S...pain and suffering.

I am not belittling pain and suffering because it just stinks.  It's tiring, it can seem endless, and it's a lot of work.  But it doesn't have to beat you.  If you dig deep, it can be a great catalyst for rethinking and adapting your lifestyle to your new normal.

On a small scale, I have a thumb joint that keeps yelling at me.  It's annoying and it hurts and because of it, my precious du's (double unders) are becoming a distant memory.  I can't seem to hang onto my jump rope handle with any certainty so the rope becomes equivalent to a wet noodle flying around my head.  Then I watched a friend of mine fashion thumb holders on his jump rope handles because he is SO good at du's that he found it helpful to lasso his thumbs to the handles so he barely has to think about holding on.  Yup, he's a DU Sensei.  Thinking about what he had done, I realized that instead of waiting for my thumb joint to figure itself out, I could adapt something similar to my own jump rope handles.  I mean, I pick things up a little differently in that hand, why not my jump rope.  By adapting for my weakness, I am being accountable for my own outcome.  I'll figure out the correct solution to that.....soon!

On a larger scale, my husband, Laurence,  recently went through excrutiating pain caused by a herniated disc.  Thankfully, that's "all" it was.  He kept mentioning the realization that he will have to rethink how he moves through life.  It will take time and patience for the disc to calm and then for him to figure out how to live life with a back that will need some extra care.  In the meantime, we got some very helpful information from another friend who is an incredibly busy mom with four young children and her own ongoing back issues that began with a herniated disc.  Hearing her story was particularly helpful to Laurence because he was able to see that she is figuring it out as she goes and adapting and readapting, maintaining an accountability for the way she lives her life with a similar problem to his.  It sort of relaxed his nervousness about how to adapt, and adapt he must do in order to be accountable to his future self.

Lots of stuff, big and small, happens to our bodies as we play around in life.  There's a certain curiosity in watching how people choose to adapt their lives to pain and suffering.  Seeing people be accountable can be very inspiring. 

Kelly Starrett, DPT, did a year long project called the Mobility WOD.  While it's CrossFit oriented, it can be utilized by anyone.  He shows some great ways to help one's body stay as healthy as possible so that hopefully pain and suffering can be avoided.  You can see his postings at:  http://www.mobilitywod.com/   If it can't be completely avoided, however, then the only course of action is to learn to be adaptable in order to be accountable to your future self.

my second language

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!

being charitable

With all the bruhaha in the news these past few days surrounding the Komen Foundations' initial announcement to stop granting monies to Planned Parenthood, and then its subsequent reversal of said announcement, it got me thinking about CrossFit's generous nature.  True story!  CrossFit not only helps guide individuals toward healthier, happier lives, it is a beautifully magnanimous group. 

One of the little known aspects of CrossFit is that it has a HUGE heart.  There are fundraisers all the time: assistance for military families; for local people within an individual box who may need help; for breast cancer/mammogram assistance; etc.
One of the annual fundraisers is called Barbells for Boobs/Mammograms in Action.

http://www.mammogramsinaction.org/  
The money raised goes directly to both prevention for women and men for breast cancer screening as well as cancer treatment if a person is found to have cancer.  I am proud to say I have participated in this fundraiser twice now and plan on continuing to do so. 

CrossFit is commonly known as a tough fitness program, which it is, and is becoming increasingly touted as a fitness sport, which it is, but rarely is its big heart talked about to the general public.

I am thrilled to be part of a community that values people as people and not as pawns for an agenda.  What is commonly seen regarding CrossFit is seldom a full overview of all that it entails.   CrossFit members just get to it when there is a worthy cause at hand and are quick to step into the fundraising arena.  "Here's $30 for the fundraiser, now sign me up and give me a WOD that I can do to show I care."  Yup, that's the little known, quiet side of CrossFit.  Know it now!