Lynnwood CrossFit

My CrossFit gym, Lynnwood CrossFit, just released this awesome video. I think the video does a great job of describing CrossFit, and how it's different than the mainstream club gyms. I never thought a gym could change the way I see fitness, or even better...the way I view my body.

Check it out:

Top 6: Things to Know When Starting CrossFit

I have been doing CrossFit for about 9 months now. I have turned this form of fitness into a habit, a passion or dare I say… addiction? Challenging my mind and body in this way has changed me as a person, and I never thought I could say that about working out. Here are my tips to those (especially women) who are interested in stepping into a box.

13.2

The CrossFit Open is in its second week, and the new workout was announced yesterday.

Workout 13.2

10 minute AMRAP of:
5 Shoulder to overhead, 115 for men / 75 lbs for women
10 Deadlift, 115 for men / 75 lbs for women
15 Box jump, 24 for men / 20 inch for women

The weight is fairly light so the workout is more about technique and pushing through utter discomfort. Noah and I completed the workout just a few hours after it was announced. We sweat, screamed and both thought we were going to die in that gym. But, we didn’t.

The workout is scored by how many reps you completed. I completed 5 rounds with an additional 13 reps. My overall score: 163

I know I can do better.

I may try the workout again on Sunday to see if I can improve my score…
Because I am just that insane.

If you’re interested in watching the top athletes… see below. Julie Foucher's score was 274 reps. Yeah... gives a bit more perspective on how beastly these athletes are, huh?

An Event: The CrossFit Open

The CrossFit Games have been held every summer since 2007. The Games are styled as a venue for determining the "Fittest on Earth," where competitors should be "ready for anything."

Well, this year I was peer pressured into registering for the CrossFit Open.  During the CrossFit Open, a new workout is released each week. Athletes have several days to complete the workout and submit their scores online.The top CrossFit Open performers in each region advance to the regional events, held over the following two months.The top athletes (up to 3 of each gender) from each region are eligible to compete in the CrossFit Games.

The first workout was released today… and here it is. 

AMRAP = As Many Reps As Possible 

GULP.

Obviously I will not be joining the amazing athletes that will make it to the CrossFit Games… but CrossFit is unique in that it welcomes everyone. Anyone can participate! 

You can even follow the leaderboard and see where people are ranking, check it out here: The Leaderboard 

I be will attempting this brutal workout on Friday. Ugh…. I hate burpees. 

Crossfit Victories

Recently I posted my Top 6: Crossfit Goals. Well...in just a week, I met #2 and #3!!I completed my first workout without having to use assisting bands to do the pull-ups. At some points, I doubted whether I could finish, and I considered reaching for the bands....but I didn't want to give in.

I struggled through it, and did my best to get that "kipping" motion down.
While I wasn't the most graceful in the process...and I still need a lot of practice, it felt amazing! 

Obviously the picture below isn't of me doing the pull-ups, but here's me flipping tires for the "warm-up".

Yeah, CrossFit doesn't mess around.

My other goal was to dead lift over 200 pounds. In this photo, I am lifting 203 pounds! BOOM.

I love Crossfit because you can feel yourself getting better with each workout. It's a competition with yourself, for yourself.

I Choose Converse

I have been wearing Converse since grade school. To me, they've always been comfortable and worked with my style. Whatever my style is? I wore them while I served chowder during high school, and I wore them when I sliced bread through college. And now... I stomp them through downtown Seattle. So... You can only imagine my excitement when I noticed  Converse are an encouraged CrossFit shoe. What?!!

In the CrossFit world, choosing Chucks is not necessarily a stylistic decision (which is why I was excited) oh no...apparently there's science behind it, and my favorite shoe is ideal for lifting. As we know, Chucks have a thin, flat, hard sole. During a lift, minimum sole compression takes place before force is transferred to the ground to move heavy weight. A completely flat sole allows you to start, and remain, on your heels throughout the lift movement. 

As CrossFit gains popularity, popular brands are jumping on the opportunity to profit. Reebok is the main one, and they have a specific shoe for lifting.  While I like the shoe... I am not wanting to spend $150 on a pair I only wear to the gym**! I would rather stick with what I know, and design my own pair of Chucks.

Check Out My Design Here!

** I am a shoeaholic. So yes, I would much rather save my pennies and drop money on something I can wear all day, every day. Like these, or these. Or... THESE?

Top 6: CrossFit Goals

This is Noah... Killin' it.

Last weekend Noah competed in his first major CrossFit competition. The event lasted two full days, and he did six workouts! He was amazing!

While spending two days watching elite athletes do incredible things, I became motivated to get fit enough to jump on the competition wagon myself. Eek!

To do this, I have a lot of work to do. So, because I'm a huge fan of making goals and lists... Here you have it.

This is a Muscle Up...eek!

In the next 3 months, I will be working on:

1) Box Jumps: With no hesitation, and 20 completely unbroken.

2) Deadlift: I want to break my 200 LB PR

3) Kipping: in all areas. Rings, pull-ups, wall handstand push-ups....

4) Snatch: I need to get the motions/technique down! 

5) Double-Unders: I haven't even done 1! 

6) Muscle-Up: they are intimidating. But I would love to get strong enough to do a muscle up!

So there you have it. If I really want to compete, I know I will have to dedicate a lot more time to the gym, not to mention make more of an effort to eating cleaner. I'm up for the challenge. :)

Crossfit, Football, Food & Plenty of Thanks

As I have written about before (see here, here and here) Noah and I have gotten really into Crossfit. So into it, Noah participated in his first competition this past Saturday. Insert gross little moment here: I am so proud of him.

Okay, so moving on….

For Thanksgiving, both our fathers are coming to stay with us. This means that I will be cooking for three grown men. Yikes. But before we stuff our faces with deliciousness… the four of us are headed to the gym Thanksgiving morning to do what they call the ‘Cornucopia WOD’. This team workout is supposed to burn so many calories you can eat your Thanksgiving feast guilt free. I usually just put on stretchy pants and don’t give it a second thought…. But THIS year, we thought the family team would be fun! Let’s hope we can survive!

For our holiday meal, we are planning on having:

My Mom’s Famous* stuffing
My Mom’s Famous* scalloped potatoes
Cream Braised Brussels Sprouts
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Cranberry Sauce – still deciding if I want to try to make my own. A part of me really likes my sauce shaped like a tin can
Pumpkin & Apple Pie
And of course, for the men…. Turkey. The bird is Noah’s gig.  :)

*My mother’s recipes aren’t globally known…but they make me nostalgic for my childhood. Lucky me, she sent me up to Washington with a book of her delicious handwritten recipes.

With the morning workout, football, the delicious food and so much to be thankful for…I am so very excited for Thursday!

You Are Not A Number

Change your thoughts. 

The number on the scale does not define who you are. 

Pay attention to what your body is telling you. 

How do you feel? 

Do your clothes fit? 

Do you have energy?

Stop comparing. 

Your worth is not determined by the size of your jeans. 

Commit to loving yourself. 

Believe in health. 

Strive for strength, not skinny. 

Breathe and FILDI

Fuck It Let's Do It

Jackie...

was a bitch.

1000 meter row

33 lb Squat Thursters, 50 reps

30 Pull Ups

For Time.

My time? 13 minutes and 40 some seconds. I'll get there....

I'm tired. My arms are dead... And I smell like rubber. Not sure why.

Girl Crush: Christmas Abbott

She's a beast. 
And her name is, Christmas. 

Recipe: Coconut Pancakes

When it comes to a Sunday morning breakfast, I crave pancakes. Now that I am eating Paleo, I needed to find a pancake recipe that wouldn't leave me feeling guilty.

 I found it.

 Coconut Pancakes 

 Ingredients

 4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk (raw cow’s or coconut both work)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey or a pinch of stevia
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Coconut oil or butter for frying

 Directions

 Preheat griddle over medium-low heat.
 In a small bowl beat eggs until frothy, about two minutes.
 Mix in milk, vanilla, and honey or stevia.
 In a medium-sized bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt and whisk together.
 Stir wet mixture into dry until coconut flour is incorporated.
 Grease pan with butter or coconut oil.
 Ladle a few tablespoons of batter into pan for each pancake.
 Spread out slightly with the back of a spoon.
 The pancakes should be 2-3 inches in diameter and fairly thick.

Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the tops dry out slightly and the bottoms start to brown.
Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
Serve hot with butter, coconut oil, honey, syrup, or fruit.

Lifestyle Change

Warning: This post is a bit personal.

Over the past few weeks or so I have felt pretty down on myself. With derby season being over (no required work-outs) I've felt like a gross slob. Through some self-refection, I've realized this is a cycle I tend to fall into. I will become really active for awhile, and then eventually an excuse comes up and my health takes a backseat.

I'm fed up with that cycle.

I have an ideal image of what my health should look like. For the first time, I feel really motivated to obtain it. So… with that said….

I have made two new lifestyle changes.

1) I am eating Paleo… with the necessary vegetarian twist. WHAT'S PALEO?

A Paleo diet, also known as paleolithic diet or caveman diet, is all about natural foods. The human body evolved for more than 2 million years with the food found in nature: game meat, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs and nuts. The human race was thriving on this diet high in animal fat and proteins and low in carbohydrates, but things changed when we introduced unnatural foods to our bodies.     (Paleo Diet Lifestyle) 

Because I am vegetarian, I have to make changes to the normal Paleo plan. This just means I still eat beans, quinoa, and lentils. I have also incorporated a few vegetarian-protien supplements (happy, mom?) To help with all of this, I have turned to the No Meat Athlete website. Finally, I found MY people!!

My second change:

2) I've hopped on the Crossfit bandwagon. Noah started it about 7 months back, and I have watched him fall in love with it. I started a week ago. It's grueling, hard, sweaty, and blissfully painful… but at the end of the workout… you feel like a complete badass.

Don't know what crossfit is? Check it out:

So far, I am feeling pretty good. Planning meals is essential, I've never eaten so many eggs in my life….and sometimes I want nothing but a big bagel… but, I'm determined to end this cycle.