WODs & Well-Being

February 27, 2012 When most people think of "Grace" they have an image in their head of something sweet and soft... perhaps a new baby (since Grace is a super popular baby name now)... or even Grace Kelley... beautiful, graceful... BUT, ask any CrossFit athlete to tell you what they think of when they hear "Grace" and I guarantee you will hear a different answer. There is nothing soft and sweet that comes to mind at all! "Grace" is another benchmark WOD in the crossfit world. I happen to love the workout... right up my alley and I am able to challenge myself every time I do it. Its simple, its clear and its hard work for the entire WOD; 30 clean and jerks. Nothing fancy... no transition time, just 30 clean and jerks (womens weight is 95lbs). Amazing "Grace" (aka " Barbells for Boobs ") is an extremely popular charity event in the CrossFit community. The money raised is donated to "Mammograms In Action (MIA) which is a  501(

February 26, 2012 I have Thunder Thighs... and thats a compliment because they are strong and toned and muscular and though they are unwelcome in the petite section they are cheered on in marathons. 50 years from now I'll bounce a grandchild on my thunder thighs than go out for a run... Just Do It... .

February 25, 2012 Today was a HARD day at  CFW, but also a very fun day. A day that makes me so proud to be part of the CrossFit Wachusett Family. We had a good size and very respectable team competing in the 2012 CrossFit Opens and today was a day filled with burpees for the 12.1 WOD. Upon arrival I was pretty excited, but at the same time a little worried that I was too much in my own head for the task of completing 7 minutes of burpees for the second time. I knew I was going to do it, and I knew I was going to give it my all, however there was a little piece of me that was scared to death that I was going to do worse than I did the last time. I also knew that when I did it on Thursday night I really pushed myself to do the best that I could do... so, if I hit my same score that would be ok too. What a great sight... there was a group of us there to cheer each other on to push as hard as we could. All of us lined up to cheer on our coaches and fellow athletes as we all atta

February 24, 2012 Yep... I got home last night from my 7 minute Burpee WOD around 8:00pm, had dinner, went to bed and got up at 4:50am and headed right back to CrossFit Wachusett for my usual Friday WOD!! Is this torture? Absolutely NOT!! I love it!! My legs are a little sore still, but I think its the last few days of workouts and not just the burpees. We have been doing a lot of KB swings and we did some squat cleans... yeah, its all just blending together!! Alas I was still excited for todays WOD. Last night before doing 12.1 I worked my double unders for a while. I have decided to go back to square one with them. I was getting myself so frustrated that I couldnt stand it. I have been getting a lot of help on Thursday nights from R and last night was no different. I know what he (and K, and Hubs) are all going to say when I am working on them... but I just have to keep at it. I was able to (last night) go back to the double, single, double, single way... which is how I origin

February 23, 2012 Ok ok... for the non-crossfit people... heres the explanation... "The CrossFit Games are the world’s premier test to find the Fittest on Earth." It all started with the first Games in 2007 and has grown to be a HUGE event. Its not an "easy" journey to say the least! There are three steps, the "Open," the "Regional," and the "Games." Anyone can sign up for the Open competition. This year there are over 60,000 athletes gunning for a spot in the regional. This is a 5 week process where every week a new WOD is posted. Each athlete has to complete the WOD and comply with the standards set (for example, if there are pushups in the WOD, they must be done to CF standards and if not, a "no rep" is given). The workouts either have to be done at a CF gym with an registered affiliate judging and keeping time/count or a video submission has to be made with the score. After completing the WOD the athlete goes on line

February 22, 2012 I heard K say yesterday as she was talking to someone "oh, its going to be warm on Wednesday, I'm thinking an outside WOD." Right away I knew we would be running. Yes, I "ran" track in high school... and yes, I have done WOD's with running before, and yes, I did the Turkey Trot... but none of these things has changed my mind about running. I still do not enjoy it. I think the only thing that I "liked" is that it changes things up a bit, its nice to get outside, and its nice to do something other than rowing... but uggg, running. What I have to remember is how far I have come. The first few weeks of CF when I had to run a 400 it was horrible! Now I just do it without thinking about it. Like I said, I dont "like" it, but I dont dread it and I dont question it, it will make me better. I know in the long run, (hehehe, no pun intended) its "me against myself." Crossfit has made me learn to be patient (ok, so

February 21, 2012 "I cant" "Maybe Later" "I didnt sleep enough last night" "I didnt eat enough this morning" "Its too heavy" "Its going to take to long" "It hurts" Did I miss any? Excuses. We have all used them, we have all said them... and sadly we have all been victim of them. The same saying keeps coming back to me full circle through my writing. "You can not fail unless you try." Failure is healthy, failure teaches us what we need to do to improve, failure makes us better in the end. We are humbled by it, we are strengthened by it and we become better people with it. So why are "we" programmed to be scared of it? I dont have an answer to that. Maybe we are suppose to be scared of it and thats what makes it so thrilling and exciting when the attempt becomes a success not a failure... I have no idea. Its hard to apply the "dont be afraid to fail" motto to everything in l

February 21, 2012 Well, its another Monday holiday. Its nice to work for a company that actually gives more than Christmas and Thanksgiving off! We were closed today, so even though I took some work home I was looking forward to a day off and a 4 day week to follow. I still (no shock here) was signed up and ready to go for the 5:30am session at the gym. I had talked to T previously and he was still heading in for 5:30am as well... and we had a little "project" planned for after the WOD. We arrived and J joined us. We all talked with K about our "post paleo hangover" which was actually more from the overdose on food than it was on beer (though the beers didnt help with the situation). As I started warming up I could feel Saturdays workout coming back to bite me in the ass. Literally... my hamstrings, glutes and quads were killing. How was I going to do MORE kettle bell swings for todays WOD? Not sure. All I could do was warm up a lot and stretch really really wel

February 19, 2012

February 18, 2012 The WOD on Thursday was titled "Show Stopper." I was in on Thursday night for my skill session and while I was there I had the pleasure of watching some of my fellow CFWers push through what looked to be a pretty intense workout... I actually made a comment to P while I was there, she was also skilling, "that does not look very fun at all!" I decided after giving it a little thought, that I wanted to do that WOD as my Saturday WOD, rather than a skill session. I really enjoy my skill sessions, but there was something in me that really wanted to do that one and when I talked to Hubs he felt the same. It sort of put itself out there as a challenge, it involved KB swings, toes to bar and wall balls... all things I should be working on anyway. There we had it, we were going to attack it this morning. I will not lie, this was a hard one. Typically we see 21-15-9 as the ladder for WODs, this one was a 21-18-15-12-9-6-3... my main goal, do as many t

February 17, 2012  Isnt that the truth!! That saying can be applied to so many stages of life... for so many reasons. When I think about my life and the way I choose to lead it, I am constantly striving for the best. I guess some people could consider this a fault, depends on the way you look at it. Its not like I am constantly downplaying my strengths or thinking I am not good enough, its more about goal setting and motivation that pushes me in that direction. Pretty sure it was Tom Hanks in League of the Their Own that said "Anything worth doing is worth doing it right." In a CrossFit box this simple statement "I may not be there yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday" should be plastered all over the walls. The first step is making he change and getting in there for the intro workouts. If you make that step you are already ahead of the game. That's where it all starts, but than it gets in your head in your blood and in your dreams. As a competitor,

February 17, 2012 Had a great night a CF again tonight. Its such a different environment at night and I really enjoy the change up one night a week. I will admit, now that I have done it a few times, I like it more than I thought I would. Having said that, I am still totally hooked on the 5:30am schedule and I dont think I could go every day after work. Not only do I really enjoy getting my WOD-on in the morning before work... but I never know if I am going to have to work late and would be totally heart broken if I missed a workout for something like that when I could have just gone in the morning. So its been working out doing a skill day once a week. Its great too because R is there, Hubs is there AND K is there, so when I need help or a little extra guidance there are lots of different coaching cues, and you never know what is going to work. Tonight I decided to do "Death by Toes to Bar." Sounds lovely no?! I was really excited with my progress with these!! I am abl

February 15, 2012 This... ... is a hurricane. This particular picture was taken in September of 1996 of the 6th named storm and 5th hurricane of the season. "She" developed from a tropical wave near Cape Verde on August 23rd. After going parallel to the Bahamas "She" made landfall in North Carolina on September 6th. "She" was a Category 3 storm with 120mph winds that resulted in coastal flooding, damaged cars, 63,000 without power, 27 fatalities and $3.2 in damage.... Her name you ask? FRAN. Gregg Glassman ( you know who he is right? ), is quoted in this article saying "if a hurricane that wrecks havoc on a whole town can be Fran, so can a workout." In fact... the more recent of the "nasty girl" WOD's are named for the Elite CF Athletes, but the originals are named for hurricanes (fitting no?). So anyway... Glassman developed Fran as one of the "original benchmark" WODs. Fran is known by all CF athletes... most

February 14, 2012 Dear Crossfit, You are the burn to my hamstrings, the ache in my back, But somehow I can never allow myself to slack. Youre the reason my alarm goes off at 4 every day, Thats when the 5:30am crew comes out to play! Your warmups make me hot, your WODS makes me sweat. Even when "Murphs" on the board I dont fret. Whether with Annie, Christina, Grace or Nicole, I will never stop... even after my goals. I love your wall balls, burpees and kettle bell swings, I might even love doing toes through rings. Sometimes its an AMRAP and sometimes for time, sometimes they even involve rope climbs. Each time I chalk up my hands and tie my shoes I know you are behind me, I have nothing to lose. When I am with you I feel so fast and strong, you make me feel like I could do no wrong. At the end of the WOD we post on the board, and later we see how everyone scored. Whether its strength, endurance, on mats or cement, I will always give you one hundred

February 13, 2012 ... one WOD at at time. This statement is so true... and so often I get asked the question (especially during the paleo challenge)... "when are you doing this until." Not to mention the infamous "you dont need to lose any more weight," and dont forget the "I could never do that." What people dont understand is that this is not a temporary solution. I have decided to make a lifestyle change with the objective of adding years to my life, quality years. Over the years I have tried many different styles of working out. They never "stuck" they never appeared to work... or maybe they just didnt work fast enough for me that I going discouraged and gave up. But one thing is for sure, no matter what the workout was, I would do it for 2 weeks and feel the same every day. Yeah sure I might have been a little sore if I added weight that day... or I may be a little more pumped up for a workout because I had a bad day or something, but

February 12, 2012 WEEK 5, DAY 7: Paleo Challenge Morning Coffee Black Breakfast - 3 Eggs with Tomato and Butternut Squash and Bacon Morning Coffee Black Lunch - Leftover Butternut Squash Lasagna Snack - Paleo Banana Bread Muffin Dinner - Chicken Topped with Crispy Prosciutto

February 11, 2012 Hubs handed me an article... its from the CrossFit Journal by Ben Bergeron and is titled "Think Like a Bumblebee, Train Like a Racehorse." Somehow seems like these types of things come into my life right when I need them most. We are training for the opens so every day I am thinking about how I can get better, how I can improve and what skills I need work on most. Saturdays are either a makeup WOD day or a skill day for me typically and since I have a tendency to put off the skills I need to work on, I really wanted to go in there and work on them some more. I have had some good progress the last few weeks. Back to the article, what does it mean? Well... they compare CrossFit athletes to bumblebees and racehorses... isnt that obvious? The bumblebee... the worker... defying all odds to fly. The mass of its body shouldn't be able to be carried by its tiny wings. However, it does. It works, it keeps going it never gives up. The racehorse... the ath

February 10, 2012 There have been times in my life where I thought that my life couldnt get any worse. I have been through some things in my 31 years that most people go a lifetime without (and should go a lifetime without). When my life was at its lowest I couldnt imagine continuing on... I had no idea what my life would be like and how changes would affect me. Rather than taking that internally as a poison, I decided to embrace my life and use every negative as a positive. I have done my best to use the hurt, the pain, the sorrow into making me stronger and more passionate and its given me a new outlook on life. When bad things happen I do my best to really stand tall and be strong. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesnt... just like everything else... I look at my life now and know that even if I told you all the things I have been through you may not believe me when I say that I am one of the luckiest women alive. I have been blessed to have people in my live who have t

February 9, 2012 Last week I decided that I was going to start going to work some skills on Thursdays... today I decided to really change things up and go at night rather than the morning. Wow... what a difference. In so many ways. First off I was still able to get a little extra sleep in the morning which was nice. One day a week its nice to be able to sleep till 6:30. I was able to get up, take my time, have a little longer shower and take clothes out of my closet to get ready for work rather than my gym bag. The oddity was packing my gym bag the night before with workout clothes... rather than my work clothes! I was at work all day thinking about the gym. I was actually starting to get a little concerned about my energy level towards the end of the day wondering if I was going to be able to get through a skill set when I got there. I hear 100 times a day "I could NEVER work out that early" which always makes me laugh, because more often than not whoever is saying it ha

February 8, 2012 Its hard to believe (and somehow at the same time it flew by) that just a mere 6 months ago Hubs and I arrived at the old garage for our first time, met K for the first time and were introduced to our first CrossFit WOD. I looked back into my journal to see what it was we did that day. I wasnt blogging yet.. it was a 21-15-9 of wall balls, burpees and abmat situps... and it took me 14:24. I wish I blogged about that workout, but I know I can remember pretty much feeling like I was going to die at the end of those 14 1/2 minutes! Somehow, I was absolutely hooked from that second on. The adrenalin, the feeling of finishing, the push by K to keep going, the anticipation of the next workout... and really, the challenge, had me ready for more. Here I am 184 days later, not only 22lbs and many many inches later, but in the best shape of my life still ready for tomorrow, still anticipating the next WOD and still pushing to be better every single day. My friend posted TH

February 7, 2012 Ego [ee-goh] noun, plural e-gos 1. the "I" or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought. 2. Psychoanalysis. the part of the psychic apparatus that experiences and reacts to the outside world and this mediates between the primitive drives of the if and the demands of the social and physical environment. 3. egotism; conceit; self-importance 4. self esteem or self image; feelings. This sign is PERFECT for any CrossFit box, and really should be thought about before every workout. Its message is the point I have been trying to get across to myself (and through this blog) all along. Sometimes its harder to digest than others, sometimes it only feels natural to be upset if you dont finish "first" or at the top of the list. As an athlete you always have to remember to just put your best foot forward, push as hard as you can and be damn proud t

February 6, 2012 There are so many different personalities in this world. In fact I would go as far to say that there are no two personalities that are the same. Thats what makes life and being an individual so great. Sure, people try to classify personality types, but in reality I think that everyone has multiple personalities. We all act differently in different situations and you cant honestly say that you know exactly how you would react in any given situation. Life is amazing. Life is short and we should embrace every moment that we have in it. Today was a very special day for me. I was able to meet a little lady who before I even got to see her face, kiss her little cheeks and feel her soft little head of hair I was totally in love. My best friends wife gave birth to their first baby girl on the 1st of the month, today I held her in my arms and told her that I loved her with  my own voice for the first time (first of many I might add). To look at a baby, less than a week

February 5, 2012 Patriots Nation (and pretty much everyone I know) woke up this morning ready to go!! Superbowl Sunday!! It comes once a year... its a day filled with food, drink, friends... and either really happy people, or really upset people!! That of course all depends on who you are cheering for!! Hubs and I decided this year that since we were in the middle of our Paleo Challenge that we were going to give it our best shot to not "cheat" for the game. K was kind enough to give us all a "pass" on one drink and one serving of an appetizer or dish. I coudnt think of anything better than "BACON CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES" and oh my goodness were they awesome!! Yes, I said bacon... and chocolate chip.... and cookie in the same recipe! Dont knock it till you try it!! Anyway... we all know how this game went... and we can just leave it at that... Regardless we had a great morning and afternoon prepping for the game and making our food for the week. W

February 4, 2012 Talk about FAMILY!! Today was an amazing day for CrossFit Wachusett!! We had a gathering at the gym for all the members and for a little healthy competition we had a dual competition!! There were 17 members at the gym and it was fantastic to have M back for the weekend to join in the fun!! The main goal was to get the people who see each others names on the board together to meet and get to know one another. What a great time! There were a few masterminds behind the WOD's and there were three all together. These were not "hard" WODs, just some fun things that everyone was able to do with pretty much the same level of difficulty. Before each WOD we all picked numbers and your number matched your partners. This allowed things to be mixed up for each of the three. Here is a pic of the first heat of the first WOD!! It was so much fun. All three WODs were a ton of fun and we had a great day with some really amazing people. I really enjoyed he whole e

February 3, 2012 So true... how do you know how close you are to succeeding at something when you decide to throw in the towel? Just a few more attempts, just a few more minutes, one more try.. you would never know if you didnt. Where do you draw the line? If you didnt have a line, you could potentially be working at something forever and maybe never succeed, right?! Yeah, but what if you DO succeed? Its a mind game. You will never succeed without trying and you will certainly never succeed if you give up. How to remedy that? Well, in my opinion, if you want something you just keep on going until there is nothing left. Push, train, study, walk... whatever it is that you are reaching for... keep doing it as long as you are able to do it. You might not notice your advancements right away, and some may be smaller and less noticeable than others, but if you are working towards a goal, doing what you need to do to get better at it, and taking good direction and instruction, than eventua