CrossFit Day 7

{the "after CrossFit glow"}

Oh my word!! Today's WOD was brutal!!

I battled the alarm clock first. 4am comes early. I knew if I didn't get my rear out of bed, I would be disappointed in myself, so I crawled out of bed and got dressed.

The warm up was an EMOM work out with Hang Snatches. Since I'm new, Randy had me do 5 EMOM with just the training bar.

Following the warm up was the WOD of the day (I think whoever thought it up was sadistic)

For Time:

45 Double Unders (I did singles)

30 Snatch Grip Deadlifts (15 for me per Randy)

15 Bar Facing Burpees

45 Double Unders

30 Hang Power Snatches (15 for me per Randy)

15 Bar Facing Burpees

45 Double Unders

30 OH Stationary Lunges (15 for me per Randy)

15 Bar Facing Burpees

My time; 14:53

I seriously didn't think I would be able to complete the entire workout, but I had 7 SECONDS left!! LOL. I'll take it!

I have a few days off (unless I decide to go to a later class tomorrow) due to some scheduling conflicts, so maybe my body can recover a bit. So far, I'm loving this journey and already feel like changes are happening.

CrossFit Day 6

Today was my first day at open gym. Blake and I decided that we would go to the 5am class, at least for the first 60-90 days while we're getting the hang of things. Getting out of the bed might have been the hardest part...

Well...that might be a lie. There was pull ups, which I can't do. And push ups, that I also can't do. And sit ups and air squats. LOL. Seriously...so much fun!

{Wicked Wine Run 5K ~ Lake of the Ozarks}

So, a few months ago, I talked Debi into doing the Village Creek 10K with me...in exchange, I would do the Wicked Wine Run 5K with her. I haven't really done much running since Village Creek, but I wasn't too worried, since I knew we'd be walking it.

The bus from Tan-Tar-A Resort dropped us off at the Seven Springs Winery...at this hill. This was the hill to climb to pick up our race packets. I am seriously questioning my sanity at this point.

{me, Debi, Tara}

We stopped for a quick "before race" pic. Aren't we cute in our wine run costumes?!

"Give me wine & tell me I'm pretty!"

I feel like that guy on the movie "Tooth Fairy." LOL.

Somehow, Debi convinced me to participate in the costume aspect of the race and wear a tutu!! I'm not sure how that happened...I'm going to blame it on the wine.

{Penny, Melissa, Tara, Debi, Me}

We met some super cool gals from Missouri, Penny & Melissa.

We shared a bus on the way to registration, shared a blanket on the grass, and then shared a couple of bottles of wine waiting on the race to start. They were so much fun!

{Me, Tara, Debi}

Finally after 2 hours of waiting in the cold (next time I will be prepared for any kind of weather!) we were in the start corral and ready to go!!

This was a no pressure race. No timing. Just walking (at a brisk pace)...had to make it back before the 1K Wine Tasting Walk. The finisher's hill was massive, but luckily there was wine waiting for us.

 Such a great weekend with amazing friends.

I made new friends. Tasted new wines. And just enjoyed making memories.

Can't wait to do it again!

CrossFit Day 5 {Fight Gone Bad}

 Tonight...we graduate from Foundations Class. If a workout designed for an MMA fighter and titled "Fight Gone Bad" doesn't scare you...then you're probably just crazy!


To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I knew the workout would be scaled, but still, I worried about completing it. Jeremy assured me that he had my back ...and of course, he did. I did all the moves like everyone else in class, except the box jumps....I scaled those even lower to a 2 plate jump. I did have to do step ups for part of Round 3 and I also had to use a 10# med ball in round 3 for my wall balls. Otherwise, I worked hard and kept up.


Super proud of myself for completing 174 reps. I wasn't sure what I was even capable of, but had a number in my head of 150 and I beat that!

April Foundations Class

This is my starting picture....I can't wait to see that double chin and extra belly rolls fade away as I get stronger each month.

Coach Jeremy Irvin ...this guy was so encouraging during Foundations. I'm trusting him with my next 90 days and I know he'll keep me safe while I get results.

CrossFit Day 4

We "affectionately" call tonight's WOD, [Death By Wall Balls].

Tonight we learned our first Olympic lift, the Med Ball Clean. I get the concept, but my execution was something akin to an elephant trying to scratch his nose with his hoof. Awkward and clumsy at best. We then moved on to Wall Balls, which I've done before...just not to CrossFit standards. I've got to work on my squats. It is proving to be foundational to pretty much every move we do and my nemesis. Getting my rear low isn't the hard part...it's getting back up. LOL.

Anyway, the way tonight's WOD worked was we had 8 minutes to do as many wall balls as we could working in Tabata (20 seconds of work/10 seconds to rest). Once our form started to deteriorate, Jeremy would tap us out and we would be done. He informed us that no one in the Foundations class has ever made the full 8 minutes. Blake took that as a challenge. I took that as relief!

The guys used 14 pound med balls and the girls used 10 pound med balls. I made it to 3-1/2 minutes before Jeremy tapped me out with 29 reps. Blake was a beast and made it longer than anyone at 7 minutes and 120 reps.

Tomorrow we graduate Foundations with [Fight Gone Bad]. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.

Today's WOD:

Tabata Wall Ball

8 minutes

20 second work

10 second rest

A Little Tuesday Motivation

Nutrition...the Foundation of it All

Tonight at CrossFit it was all about Nutrition.

We all know this is my nemesis! I also know that if I want to reach the goals I've set, then I have to get this right and quit making excuses.

The bottom line: Eat Real Food...Not Too Much...Mostly Plants.

What is real food you ask? Food that was grown from the ground or had eyes.

Simple enough, huh?!

Randy (Vest), owner of CrossFit Cathal, taught tonight's class and did an amazing job explaining how glucose, insulin, and glucagon work in our bodies. I wish I'd had him as a teacher when I was in nursing school...I might've done better on the endocrine tests. LOL.

My nutrition goals:

*finish April without soda

*overhaul breakfast and make it healthy

*increase water intake

I'm starting with these. Of course, my end goal is to decrease my body fat and to eat on plan 6 out of 7 days, giving myself one cheat meal a week....but I'm going to have to work up to that a little bit.

InBody Scan

Blake and I went to Jonesboro 5 Star Nutrition to do an InBody Scan. We wanted to have something measurable at the beginning of our CrossFit journey. We've done a couple of other InBody Scans...my last one was in January. I was not happy with the results of today's. At. All.

Weight: 237.9 (10am in jeans and sweatshirt)

50% Body Fat

BMI 37.3

I'm only 32 pounds of lean mass. I have about 80 pounds of fat to lose!

I knew these results wouldn't be pretty, but seeing it in black/white is eye-opening. Time to move some dirt and get to work!

CrossFit Day 3

I'm still hangin' in there....bum knees and all. I think some expected me to bail out, after all, trashed knees was an acceptable excuse, right? But...I'm not one to quit easily, so solider on I did.

Tonight was much better. I didn't hurt myself and I finished the WOD :)

My body is battered, bruised, and sore, but I just keep showing up, knowing my consistency will pay off. We have a few days off, so I'm hoping my body will recover.

Today's WOD:

3 Rounds For Time

10 KB Deadlifts

10 KB Swings

(I used a 13 pound KB for these)

[completed in 5'27"]

CrossFit Day 2

OMG!! I was a hot mess tonight! First, my quads are so sore!! Then, Jeremy takes us outside for a 400m warm up jog. I'm thinking, "sweet! I can do this!" WRONG!! I wiped out about 50m from finishing, totally trashing my knees in the gravel. Skinned. Bloody. Ripped pants and all. Ugh. I wanted to cry (and I did when I got home) I may have cussed under my breath. But I did NOT QUIT.

Next  up was box jumps, which I've done before. I knew I wasn't in shape to use the 20" box, but thought I could modify down to 3 bumper plates. Wrong again! I couldn't quite stick the landing and ended up falling backwards flat on my back. Any sliver of ego I might've had, is definitely GONE. I did manage to jump up on 2 plates, but decided step ups on 3 plates would be safer for our WOD.

Today's WOD:

30-20-10

Push Press (using a PVC pipe)

Step Ups (3 plate high)

[completed in 6'45"]

Now for some ice on these knees and some ibuprofen!

It's A Rest Day....

Today is a Rest Day.

They must have known after one day, we would need a little break. My quads hate me at the moment, but not as bad as I feared....I'm fearful of what tomorrow is going to feel like.

I took the opportunity of a rest day to take some beginning measurements. As scary as these numbers are, I know it's important to have a point of reference later, so I can measure my improvement.

Weight: 233.2 (home scales first thing in morning)

Breast: 43-3/4"

Rib Cage: 39-1/2"

Abdomen: 46"

Belly Button: 52"

Rt. Quad: 27"

Lt. Quad: 26-1/2"

Rt. Calf: 17"

Lt. Calf: 17"

Rt. Arm: 16"

Lt. Arm: 16"

I swear! My quad is as big as my waist was in high school.

CrossFit Day 1

So...we went and did a thing.

 Blake and I joined CrossFit Cathal and started our Foundations Class tonight. I won't lie. I was super nervous about walking into the Box for the first time. It helped having Blake along and I'm so glad that he tries to push his momma to be better. He doesn't just encourage with words, but he walks beside me. That means so much!

Jeremy (Irvin), our coach, made me feel so comfortable and at ease. His instruction of the mechanics of each movement was phenomenal. I not only learned the how...but the why...and that made things click a little better for me. It all made sense--why the depth of a squat matters. Getting your tush low takes the impact OFF your knees and onto the larger joint, the pelvis or hips, that is equipped to take the load.

Our WOD tonight;

8 minute AMRAP

(8) Air Squats

(6) Sit Ups (using the AbMat)

(4) Burpees (I will learn to love these things!)

[Total of 71 Reps Completed]

I was a little disappointed that 4 rounds was all I was able to complete (minus one burpee), but then Blake said he got 7-1/2 rounds, and that made me feel better. LOL.My legs are jello and I'm pretty sure I will be super sore tomorrow, but YAY for completing Day!

New Goal: Embrace & Love Burpees!