{dial it in and tighten it up}

Today it REALLY begins and what a rotten week for it to begin.  Thanksgiving.  Food, food, food and a short week at the gym.  Yikes!  Today my coach says to me, "It's a big week.  We have to lose one pound!" Coach B is "going against the grain" with me and losing weight this holiday season instead of gaining.  It is so great to have somebody to be accountable to.  Posting my intentions and my progess here for all to read is also great motivation.  If I can do this during the holidays it should be a piece of cake to stay on track when it comes to nutrition the other eleven months of the year.

So, I checked my calendar to take a peek at the week and see what I have to work around and when I will fit my cheats in.  My plan was 2-3 cheats/week, but this week is going to be a little different considering Turkey Day.  I think it is obvious that my cheat is going to be on Thursday and I am laying off the lattes and saving up to have one Friday morning when my sister and I brave the craziness of Black Friday.  Tangent . . . yes, I am one of those crazy people that gets up in the middle of the night to brave the cold and the stupid crowds of people.  But, I really don't go for the deals, I don't arrive at stores an hour before they open, I don't turn my shopping trips into a CrossFit sprint workout with a steel cart, leaping over small children and narrowly missing elderly women in the waffle iron aisle.  I go because my sisters and I have been doing it almost every year since I moved back to Montana and it is fun, silly time with my sisters.  (The best part about the following pic is the lady sprouting out of my sister's head.) 

Black Friday 2009 . . . the alarm went off at 3:20 a.m.

Anyhoo, I digress!  So, back to what I was saying, my cheat is mostly reserved for Thanksgiving Day and I'm going to have a latte Friday morning.  Now even though Thanksgiving is considered my cheat I'm going to be trying some Paleo recipes to go along with Thanksgiving dinner.  I don't think my dad will buy into it so I will still be doing most of the traditional stuff, too, but I am pretty excited about this.  I am going to make some mock mashed potatoes from cauliflower (we do this occasionally and they are YU-MMY!), green beans sauteed with garlic and bacon in leu of green bean casserole and I'm trying a Paleo stuffing recipe (this is a leap for me because it has bacon and sausage in it & pork mostly gives me the heebie-jeebies) I recently found on a blog.  Don't worry I will be sharing these recipes in a future post as well as the recipes for the two things I am not even going to try to find a Paleo replacement for.  My Dad's recipe for Sweet Potato Balls and French Silk Pie.  Sometimes you just have to go with the bad stuff.

Enough with my plan for the week and onto my lunch for today.  I am going to confess that I DO NOT like to cook, I am a baker at heart.  My husband does most of the cooking and has been pretty much feeding me since we joined CrossFit Flathead about 18 months ago.  But, in my effort to eat better, more consistently I am making an effort to do my share of the cooking.  So today in between my workout and picking up at pre-school I made a mad dash to the grocery store to pick up some veggies.  I didn't have much time, but grabbed some yellow squash, zuchinni, bok choy, baby bok choy (simply because they were so cute) and mushrooms.  After I fed my son and his friend a less friendly heart-healthy lunch (you gotta do that when they have a friend over!) I got to work on my lunch and below is what I came up with. 

 

Lunch ala Trina

(I'm guessing this may be the name of many of my lunches.)

Simple really and not even worthy of being called a recipe.  I sauteed and then slightly steamed broccoli in some olive oil and chicken broth.  Next, I added red peppers and garlic, tossed in the crispy parts of the baby bok choy (really, so cute!) and the mushrooms, added a splash of low-sodium soy sauce (Gasp!  Soy sauce?!  Get over it.  I'm more primal than paleo. That's in my 20%) and then add the bok choy leaves.  I slid all that yumminess onto my plate and cooked up my chicken in some olive oil and the goodies in the bottom of the pan from the veggies.  I then weighed out 3 oz. of chicken and put it on top of my veggies, sliced up an apple (because I can't seem to eat a garden of veggies in one meal to get all my Zone blocks in so sometimes I have to add some fruit earlier in the day) and presto!  I made my own lunch!  I'm such a big girl.

So, that's what I've done so far today.  Planned my week, actually cooked a meal and stayed mostly warm (it is 8 degrees).  I hope all your goals are moving forward how you would like them to.  Only you can make them move in that direction!  Have fun preparing for Thanksgiving!

Progress report:  Diet is going pretty well today and I had a great workout this morning.  Cleans . . . I really want to work on my technique in this lift so today was perfect.  95# Cleans and Chest-to-Bar pullups, 15-12-9.  I stayed pretty steady, the weight didn't feel terribly heavy and I could feel when the lift was decent.  Learning to recognize when something is right in my own lifts has been a long, ongoing process for me.  I'm learning to pay closer attention and that makes my effort in the gym more productive.  Now if I could quit being so hard on myself the rest of the time. ;)  Quiet in the peanut gallery! :D

{you gotta have a plan}

You have to have a plan when you set any goal. With no plan you set yourself up for failure and what is the purpose in setting a goal if your chances of success are cut short right from the start.  So with that being said, I have a plan for my "Go Against the Grain" goal and really it is a pretty simple one. 

• 5 CrossFit workouts/week


• 80% Paleo/Zone diet.  Minimal grain, legumes and dairy (this is where the 20% comes in)


• Three meals and two snacks/day


• Try new Paleo and Gluten-Free recipes and post at least one/week on here.  (I have a sissy camera so pictures may or may not be included.)


• Share recipes and links and blogs that support the healthy lifestyle I choose to live.


• Drink more water


• Look at my calendar on Sundays and plan my cheat meals for the week. 2-3/week.

But,  like any well laid plan sometimes it doesn't always go as planned.  So on those days I am going to put it behind me and jump back on the wagon.  There is nothing you can do about that empty bag of Boy Scout Chocolate Covered Caramel Corn once it is empty. ;) (If you ask me about this later I will feign ignorance!)  Put it behind you, be disciplined and pick right up where you left off.  There is no waiting for Monday to get back on track.  The next meal is where you get back on track.

Progress Report:  I stepped on the scale this morning so I know where I am starting at to track my progress.  Today was so-so.  I didn't eat as much as I should have, nor did I drink enough water.  I'm still not feeling 100% from my migraine yesterday and nothing sounded good and when I did eat it upset my stomach. :(  What I did eat fell in my 80% of good whole foods, so it could have been worse.  But I still have time to drink more water and get some rest before tomorrow's WOD.  I'm guessing I'll need it! (I just checked out tomorrow's WOD at CrossFit Flathead, "CrossFit Total". Yes, I will need the rest. Ugh!)

My workout felt great despite still having some slight side effects from the migraine.  I pulled the garbage can over by my rower just in case because the warmup didn't leave me feeling that confident that my protein shake would stay down.  But, stay down it did and "go down" went my 500m row times from February.  Total I took 54 seconds off my 4x500m row.  I'll take it and run, well, er, row????  So one day post-migraine+lack of sleep+lack of food+slightly dehydrated=PR.  I can't wait until I'm feeling 100%!  I don't recommend that little equation to success in the gym.  Today was a fluke, it rarely works in my favor.

So, what goals have you set for yourself?  Make them challenging, but at the same time they should be attainable.  Be disciplined and reach your goals.  You will be stronger in the end for it!

 "Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination."  ~Fitzhugh Dodson

 

{going against the grain}

While doing a little search on the good 'ole Google machine today I was surprised to see that research has shown that the average person gains only about one pound during the holidays.  This is contrary to popular belief that a person will gain 5-10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  One pound is far better than 5-10, but really no weight gain is even better.  One pound isn't much, but this becomes a problem when this pound is never taken off and these "one pound" holidays start to add up.

I workout very consistently and hard and I try to eat well at least 80% of the time.  But, I am going to confess that I have had a bad food attitude as of late and I haven't been eating all that well.  (Damn those Boy Scouts and their Chocolate Covered Caramel Corn!)  So, in true Trina form, this holiday season I am going to go against the grain of holiday weight gain and lose a couple of pounds before the New Year.  I know I am going to get some of the same remarks I always get when I say I want to lose a couple of pounds, "You don't need to lose weight!"  I do when the weight is body fat and not muscle and I know where I want my body fat percentage to lie.  I consider myself a CrossFit athlete like everybody else in our gym.  I want my body fat to represent the athlete I strive to be in the gym.  Body fat percentage for an athlete is 14-20%.  I am on the high-end of this, possibly one percentage off.  It isn't about losing weight because I think I am overweight, it is about losing body fat that is keeping me from performing at my best in the gym and it is losing body fat as a result of eating food that is healthy and good for my body.  I am the only one that can take care of my body and make sure it lives a long life free of disease.   This doesn't mean I probably won't enjoy some holiday treats, because a healthy lifestyle is about enjoying life, as well.  I strive for about an 80% Paleo/Zone diet.  I'm working on eliminating dairy, but that has been a struggle as it is perfect latte season with Winter descending upon Montana.  So that will have to remain part of the 20% of my diet.

So tomorrow I "go against the grain" and will work hard to go against what the general population does.  I will lose while they gain and in being a loser I will win! :-)

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.
~Greg Glassman

{you just have to try it}

I can't count the number of times somebody has asked me what CrossFit is or what is is about.  I could talk all day about CrossFit and what it has done for me, Tony, our family, but, I almost hate this question because I don't think you can explain it and have a person really understand it.  I always say, "You have to try it."  You have to experience the sense of accomplishment when you have completed a hard workout or when you have moved a crazy amount of weight.  You have to experience the sense of community that you will  never find at a typical gym.  You have to experience the encouragement of your coach especially when he knows just when you need it and what you need to hear.  You have to experience your coach never letting you give up even when a skill or workout has reduced you to tears (yes, I speak from experience. . . cleans, rowing, muscle ups and clean and jerks have all made me cry on occasion).  You have to experience the mass pain and misery of "Fran".  You have to experience the encouragement and cheers from your fellow athletes when you are struggling to finish a workout or when you are pushing yourself to reach a new PR.  You have to experience a fellow athlete demolish a benchmark workout or get a PR.  You just have to experience CrossFit to understand.

Today I came across a link to Practice CrossFit's website and an entry from June 17.  I am borrowing this and reposting here for all to read.  Each and every one of these reasons is why I train . . . why I train at CrossFit Flathead.   

QUOTED WORD FOR WORD FROM PRACTICE CROSSFIT

-I train in a box. It has walls...sometimes. Sometimes we go outside. Sometimes we meet elsewhere. Its not the location I value, its the people.

-I train in an open space, because bars and my training partners fly everywhere. There is not equipment in the way, only my friends near me as we all struggle together, and are rewarded all the same.

-I train in a warehouse with no air conditioning and big garage doors. If you didn't know where it was, you would never find it. There is no sign outside. The signs of training are all inside, working, or helping one another.

-I train where advertising is sacrilege. I train where I am a walking advertisement.

-I train with people I truly enjoy, and would do anything for, not where I need to put ear phones in to block out all the annoying banter. When we go, we hear yells, trainers instructing, or loud ass music making us go even harder...not elevator bullshit. Real music.

-I train in a place where if I am negative, I will be addressed by at least one person about my stupid ass attitude, and if I am unlucky enough on that day, I may be asked to leave, and come back when Im better, because I am effecting the core by my stupid ass baggage that is meant to be burned at the door.

-I train where if I want to keep my shirt on I can....but there are no rules saying I have to. Where I train if someone disrobes to any level, wears short ass shorts, or is quasi naked after a WOD thats fine...no attention will be paid, because its all about the training, not about meat markets. If you want a pick up joint, look elsewhere.

-I train where Im valued and truly appreciate for showing up and putting forth true, real, demanding effort.

-I train where I am judged on my movements and attitude everyday. Not because my friends are assholes, because they truly want to make me better at life, and want success for me not injury. A piss poor performance means someone will care enough to help me make it better, and find out why it happened to begin with.

-I train in a place void of gossip. Rumors are unwelcome at all times and if I was stupid enough to ever spout anything negative, or even just not positive about one of my training partners, or any other training location for that matter, I would be crucified on the spot, by any and all in ear shot. Drama queens are eaten alive where I train.

-I train where everyone applauds when I do well, and I applaud for them.

-I train where justification is lucifer, and honesty is gospel. For if I lie, I only fail myself.

-I train where I am confronted everyday by food Nazis who wont allow me to eat shit and call it gold. Where I train we call bad, bad, quality, quality and everything in between sub-par. Where I train life happens, the difference is, here I have to confront my downfalls and improve not hide them away for tomorrow.

-I train to be better at life. The unknown and unknowable. To one day be able to help someone less fortunate than I. To be able to be moving on my own when I'm old and gray, not being moved.

-I train because I want the mirror to be an outward reflection of how I feel inside, which is pretty damn good, and I want it to stay that way.

-I train because laziness sickens me, and preventable disease is exactly that...preventable through effort, not medication.

-I train to be different than those before me. To go out swinging, not resting. To live valiantly, not cowardly.

-I train where the floor could double as a pool at times because people actually work hard. I don't care, that's how it should be.

-I train with football players, grandmas, kids, housewives, doctors.

 -I train with people of every walk of life, and if I cared about status...someone would make me leave.

-I train where education daily is paramount, and if I'm not a constant student, I will fail quickly.

-I train where we are all equal, because we truly are. The only thing that separates people is the attitude to believe this is true or not. The ones who believe they are better than others, are so much better....they aren't allowed to train with me.

-I train with people that make my day better.

-I train in a place where I want to be, not a place I feel I have to be.

-I train under expectations. Expectations to be better than yesterday. 

-I train in a community dedicated to the whole. The success of the many. this is the reason we all change and progress so fast. Where I train its not about "I"....its about "us"

I train....what the hell do you do?

Thank you Practice CrossFit for putting all the right words in my mouth.  I couldn't have said it better.

{lift like a girl}

So life at the gym continues after returning from regionals.  My first training cycle is awesome!!!  I just get to CrossFit, just do the WODs as Rx'd.  No Russian powerlifting cycles.  No two-a-days. No THREE-a-days.  No handstand pushups. No muscle ups.  No going balls-to-the-wall all the time.  I just get to CrossFit.  Ahhhhhh . . . To some this alone sounds like hell.  To me it is like a fresh breeze on a hot summer day.  I'm not saying it is easy in the gym, but it is a nice change of pace from the six months leading up to regionals.  It's a nice break for my body both mentally and physically.

Though I don't feel like I have to go all out, balls to the wall on the workouts I feel I am still working very hard and seeing some times on my MetCons that I am happy with.  I am still working on decreasing my rest time and continually remember two things I have been told regarding rest in a WOD. 

• "Rest when you are done!" ~ Coach Buf


• "I know you can't breathe, but nobody else can either!" Judge at regionals

Point taken.  Oxygen is overrated and I can catch up on my oxygen debt at a later time. 

My favorite part of being at the gym is working on my strength.  Though I'm not concentrating on gaining strength right now I am pushing myself.  I have missed our last two CrossFit totals so I really don't know what my 1RMs are.  On the books I know they are lower than what I can actually do so I'm pushing myself.  When calculating weights for various lifting days I pick a weight that I anticipate I can do in a 1RM or where I WANT TO BE.  It has been working well and I've been so excited to see my numbers.  A few weeks ago in a 5x5 front squat I did a sixth set and did 135 because 125 moved easily.  Last week 5x5 back squats, my last set was 185, 10# lighter than the last time I actually did a back squat for a PR.  This week.  Ahhh, this week.  This week was 5x5 deadlift.  My deadlift has been stuck at 225# for nearly 6 months and, honestly, it was downright pissing me off.  I pulled it five times in a 5x5, but have not been able to get even a 5# PR in any other workout.  So Tuesday we get a little treat of a 5x5.  I told Coach B that I WAS going to PR today so he let me do the lift a little bit differently than the rest of the class.  I started at one weight and added 10# for each set, ending with where I wanted to PR, 235#.  Well, I started pulling at 195 and low and behold I worked my way up to a 10# PR and pulled it 5 times!!!!!  It's about damn time!!!  So while I was so, so excited that I finally got a PR there is a downside to my story.  I tore up my back. :(  I strained my back muscles big time.  So, after a couple days rest, a couple trips to the chiropractor, some deep tissue massage, a tape job, a nice layer of BioFreeze and plenty of icing I'm on the mend.  I was able to do a very light workout today that still taxed my body a bit, but at the same time it loosened my muscles and helped me feel a bit normal.  The work felt good.  So after a nice three day weekend and some walking around with the fam I think I will be feeling pretty good by Tuesday and hopefully it will be fun and games as usual.  Well, except for deadlifts.  I think I will give deadlifts a break for a couple weeks.  Oh, and I think I will throw a massage in for good measure.  Okay, maybe that is just because I want one, but it will be good for my back, too!

Gaining strength is one of the best thing we, the female population, can do for ourselves.  It builds lean muscles & dense bones, it gives us heightened self-confidence, a sense of achievement when we meet our goals, and the list goes on and on!  So go forth ladies, fuel your bodies well, work hard, drink lots of water and

LIFT LIKE A GIRL!

{sectionals 2011}

Eleven months until the CrossFit North Central Sectionals. This time I have nearly a year to train instead of cramming it into five months. I feel like I am in a good place in my strength and conditioning heading into this year training. I am going to try to stay current on this blog and document my journey through this year. I am going to try to do well with my training diet (I do a Zoned Paleo of sorts. I am not strict with this because #1 I have a life & I‘m a busy mom of three #2 I enjoy some of my favorite foods every now and then, and #3 I have a life & I‘m a busy mom of three), I am going to cook more, try more Paleo recipes and share them on here, train hard everyday I am in the gym, I’m going to tighten up my Olympic lifting technique, I am going to read more about my sport and articles that support what I am doing, I’m going to rest and breathe later during workouts and I’m going to push past that last rep that I squeeze out and do two more.

I will probably vent and gripe on here at times, I will sing my praises at times, I will encourage all my likeminded readers to continue on their healthy eating/CrossFit path, I will moan about my soar muscles, etc., etc. Here is where I will lay it all out. If you choose to follow my journey I thank you for taking the time to peek into my world. I am very excited about what these next eleven months have in store for me.  P.S.  For this new year of adventures I changed my blog design . . . simple pleasures! :)

“Strength is Beauty”

 

{like no other}

 

Last weekend I had the amazing privilege to compete in the CrossFit North Central Regional Qualifier. In late March I placed 20^th at sectionals allowing me to move on to compete at Regionals. So for the next five weeks, with the meticulous and genius programming by Coach B, I trained and trained hard for the next step. (Okay, let me just say that there was one Saturday that I just couldn’t give it my all in my first workout. After, I apologized to my coach and told him that I just didn’t care today. Hahaha! He gave me a smile and a nod and said, “That’s okay.” J ) That next step seemed to come pretty quickly! So Tony and I made arrangements for childcare, Tony got up-to-speed on coaching me, workouts were strategized (is that a word?), travel arrangements were made and we were off to Regionals in Castle Rock, CO.

We started our competition experience by cheering on friends in the team competition on Friday. Everybody did great and it is so wonderful to watch everybody working so hard and putting to use the hard training they had been putting in. I started my competition at 8:00 Saturday morning, WOD #1 “The Lift” max floor to overhead, however you wanted to get it there. It didn’t have to be pretty (which is good, because my technique on Oly lifts is mostly not pretty!), it just had to get there. Four ladies on one platform with 25 minutes to get your max. I got a PR of 15# and clean and jerked 130#!!!!! Holy crap! That is a lot of weight to hold over your head. WooooooHoooooo! What a great start to the day! WOD #2 “The Run“. 1400m, not a sprint, not endurance. Chose your pace wisely and give it your all . . . AND don’t get passed by the person that started one minute after you! At 10:11 am I was given the “3-2-1-Go!” I had two songs on my iPod to run to. I knew I wouldn’t need the full two songs so I chose two that make me want to work hard and fast, “Riot” and “Slow Drain”. Off I go! Slow down right away so I don’t bite it on the slight grassy/rocky downhill and take off on the paved path. I finished with a strong sprint in 5:41. Awesome! I’ll take it. That is a 6:21 per/mile pace. I’m guessing I could have kept up that pace for one mile and one mile only! Lol WOD #3 “The Triplet” 500m row- 12 OHS w/ 75# - 50 Double Unders - 3 rounds for time, 15 minute cap. When they released this WOD I thought, that is pretty doable. A friend sent me a message that simply said, “Famous last words!” You know what? He was absolutely right! This workout was brutal. Not just to myself, but to the masses. This workout alone eliminated 22 out of 51 women! Every workout is evil in it’s own way, for me that “way” was the row. I fell apart on the row. However, I battled through and finished in 14:55!!!! Just barely under the timecap, but that is plenty of time for me to move onto the final WOD on Sunday!

Sunday, new day, new competition. Going into Sunday I was in 28^th place. I’m going be honest withl all my readers, I had a meltdown Saturday night. I was tired (I turn into a 3-year-old when I am tired), weary, the discovery of a lump on the back of my knee had me freaked out (don’t worry, I found out it isn’t serious) and the final WOD freaked me out. WOD #4 (I’ll call it The Chipper) had a 20 minute timecap. 10 Snatches @ 95# (5# under my 1 RM) - 20 Chest-to-Bar Pullups - 30 stick jumps, 20” - 40 Ball Slams, 30# (never done those before!), 30 stick jumps - 20 Chest-to-Bar Pullups - 10 Snatches @ 95#. OM-freakin’-G! So this WOD made me cry Saturday night. I went to bed and woke up doing the Snatch in my head and I still couldn’t make it look right. By the time I crawled out of bed I decided all I could do was plug away at each and every rep and laugh at myself when it got ugly. . . And “got ugly” it did! I missed many of the first 10 reps and took over five minutes to finish them. By the time I got to the pullup bar I was the ONLY one on there and one gal even hopped up for her SECOND set of pullups while I was plugging away at my first. All I could do is smile and shake my head. I have to say I rocked the stick jumps and for never doing ball slams I did well on those. I eventually made it back to the Snatches. Whew! Big deep breath, pick up the bar and GO! GO! GO! GO! GO Holy crap! I’m not missing any! Oops! Missed that one! Breathe . . . GO! GO! GO! GO! TIME! Damn! Well, if you counted correctly you will see that time was called with only one snatch left!!!! I battled it to the end and came one rep short of posting a place at the North Central Regionals. You know what? I have only been with CrossFit for 13 ½ months. I will take that!!! Had I got that one snatch I would have placed 24^th!! That is only four places lower than I placed at sectionals. I’m proud of that.

Here are my three favorite things of the weekend: 

• 
  
  My husband. Tony came with me to watch me do my thing, be my number one supporter and to coach me and he performed amazingly wearing each of those hats. He got choked up after my third WOD when he looked around at the crowd cheering for me when I busted through my final skills to barely move onto day two. He stepped out of husband role and coached me perfectly. So perfectly that we have very few pictures because he was to nervous and anxious to remember to pass my camera to a friend or take any pics himself. Thank you, babe, I love you! 


• 
  
   My coach and dear friend, Buf. Buf coached me over the phone every morning, before, right before and right after every WOD. Words of encouragement, words of praise, words of pure strategy for every workout. He knows exactly how I workout and what I can do even when I don’t. I posted a Facebook status that said it all, “With your coach’s confidence you can move mountains.” I didn’t quite move the mountain I had hoped, but I did indeed move a big mountain! I would NOT be where I am today in the gym and personally if it wasn’t for Buf. Thank you! 


• 
  
  My support network. This included friends and family via text, FB, phone, etc, friends from the Denver area (friends that I might add I never would have met had it not been for CrossFit) & my fellow CrossFit Flathead competitor that cheered me on during every WOD, friends and family back home in the gym that did the regionals workouts right along with me throughout the day and cheered for me when we would call with updates and friends and family that were so gracious to help us out watching our kids back home so Tony could travel with me . . . Colette, Greg and Cammi and my dad. To all these people that supported me in some way, shape or form. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are all amazing people and so dear to me!

If you CrossFit and ever have the chance sign up and compete in some sort of CrossFit competition, do it! I have competed in quite a few physical competitions of sorts and there is NOTHING more amazing and inspiring than a CrossFit competition. The CrossFit community is like no other. The support and encouragement is like no other. The personal accomplishments are like no other. The friends you make through CrossFit are like other.

CrossFit is like NO other.