WODs & Well-Being

April 30, 2013 I woke up this morning the same as any other morning. Felt like I slept ok… headed to the gym… had a fantastic workout… nothing out of the “norm,” and headed in to work. Things sort of turned to shit from there… No, there was no traffic, I didn’t drop my keys in a puddle, stub my toe, burn myself on my curling iron, receive any bad news or even forget my lunch at home… but for some reason the mood was at a miserable low. There we have it folks. It can happen to anyone, a bad mood! I feel like there are all of a sudden those moments where you start thinking about things in life and get overwhelmed. I honestly didn’t get to work and start thinking about anything in particular, it just was something in my subconscious that had a sour flavor. When that happens I find myself having negative thoughts… which SUCKS.   Its like a glimpse back in time of my life when I was out of control. When I let one little thing destroy my day. When I wasn’t happy with anything. So when

April 29, 2013 The first morning back after a competition weekend can be tough, but I felt amazing this morning. I was really happy that I wasnt too sore, just a little in my hams, quads and back but honestly not any more sore than a typical Saturday Olys Session & WOD day. I am feeling great! Nothing can get in my way!  WARMUP: 3 Rounds - Run 200m - 10 Air Squats - 10 Shoulder Dislocates - 10 Inchworms - 5 Toes to Bar TEAM OLY: 5 X 1 Snatch 1 Full / 1 Hang (no dropping) 60 Sec Rest Between Sets STRENGTH: Back Squat 1 X 10 @ 70% - 170 1 X 5 @ 80% - 195 3 X 2 @ 95% - 230 TEAM WOD: Pistols 25-20-15-10-5 KB Swings (1.5 pd) 5-10-15-20-25 (10:37 Rx) .

April 28, 2013 Yesterday CFW was represented well at CrossFit Nashua for their “Two to Tussle” pairs competition! There were 10 of us competing and we were ready to go! What a great day it was. I have to give it up to CrossFit Nashua for hosting such a great competition. The location was great for the amount of people they allowed to register and they have a beautiful facility. We were able to find a great spot outside of their overhead door to camp out on and debut the brand new CFW Pop up Tent! As I said we had 10 competitors, but we wouldn’t have been near complete without our fellow CFW-ers who weren’t competing but wanted to come along to cheer us on and of course the “fans” who wanted to come check us out and give a good yell! My teammate W and I were ready to go. Pumped up and anxious to get started right upon arrival! Most of us started warming up right away as the ladies clean ladder was to kick off the event! The day flew by with tons of excitement! There was an

April 27, 2013 Whats on the menu? "Spaghetti" and (my very own first original recipe) Portabella Mushroom, Onion, Sun Dried Tomato Meat Balls Stuffed with Goat Cheese How easy was it to make?   I have to say I was terrified! I have never in my life made meat balls... and I never make up recipes, I am a recipe following girl. Not this time! I really wanted to make meat balls and "spaghetti" and the only way to find exactly what I wanted in a meat ball was to do it myself! So, I stopped at Hannaford (my usual Friday night shopping location) and confused the hell out of our friend J who was shopping at the same time. He was confused that he may have been in some parallel universe as he has never seen me at the grocery store. Clearly the "wrong" Cormier was shopping!! I assured him that everything was alright and I was just there to get things to make my ONE dinner of the week! I headed home with the following: 1lb of Grass Fed Beef 2 Portabello Mus

April 26, 2013 I get asked a lot what motivates me... what pushes my buttons, forces me to get up at 4:30am every day (with no excuses), keeps my hand out of the cookie jar and encourages me to give something a second, third or fourth try without doubt or thoughts of giving up. There are a multitude of answers to this, and my answer clearly may not be the same as others. I can easily say I am motivated by my health and the physical and mental changes I have made within my self (yes, crossfit plays a huge roll in this, but crossfit is not my life, it is something I love to do in my life).  The everyday challenges in life, the gym, work, home... the thrill of completing a challenge and the fight to get there is amazing. Self pride and ego, where I can feel good about talking about my accomplishments and where I have come from and where I plan to go ranks up there on the list. Accountability and teamwork, the feeling of having others rely and count on me is something that can not replic

April 25, 2013 What would life be like if everything was “easy” or came natural?   What if anything you wanted to try in life was right there for you to try and there was no work involved in getting there? No worry that you wouldn’t succeed when you tried it for the first time. No question of if you will fail. My personal opinion. Boring. Unrewarding. Lackluster. There is something about doing something I have never done before that just lights a fire inside me. This is especially true when I am asked to do it by someone who has the faith in me that I can do it. I may fail the first time, I may even fail the second time, but I know deep down inside that I will never stop trying until I have accomplished what it is I have set out to do. Risk and challenge are scary things for some people. I was there for a long time myself, living in comfortability. Again, my mind is wondering back and forth from the gym to “life” when it comes to this topic. Will I ever lift that 10lb per

April 24, 2013 Elisabeth Akinwale... google her... read her blog... be amazed by her... I certainly am... http://elisabethakinwale.com/ http:// www.michaelbrianphoto.com/

April 23, 2013 One of the most important "rules" that I have for myself is not to compare myself to anyone else. This can be quite the challenge at times. This applies both in an out of the gym. Clearly I believe in the importance of goal setting. Of course I feel like you should have someone to look up to, that you can strive to be like. Yes, its important to have people at your gym that challenge you and push you to work hard because you know your skill sets are similar. But if you start to compare yourself to people its a slippery slope. There are lots of things in life that determine who we are. In crossfit there are lots of things that determine where we are in our training. Not only our physical strength, but our emotional strength as well. You can take to people who are the same weight with the same measurements and close to the same lifts and their mindset can be very very different. This plays a HUGE roll in their performance. You can take two people who have b

April 22, 2013 I have been trying to think of a way to write about the tragedy that began unfolding just one week ago today in Boston… I didn’t put it on hold on purpose, I just couldn’t sit down and put together the words I wanted to use to express my feelings. Writers block dosent happen often for me, as I write directly from my thoughts, but in this case I wasn’t even sure what I was thinking.   Boston. The Boston Marathon. Boylston Street. Patriots Day. All such familiar words, words that I have connected to for many years for various reasons. Those reasons have of course changed over the years. Boston was the place we went to on field trips in elementary school to go to the aquarium and over time in my eyes became the hub of a social scene, the heart of Massachusetts, where I went to school, where I worked for a time, where I had lots of very special moments. The Boston Marathon was an event I got to watch on TV as a child, thinking that these people were “

April 21, 2013 Whats on the menu? Scallop Florentine (find it HERE ) How easy was it to make?   I have to say it was a little time consuming and a little daunting for me. I have never in my life attempted to make scallops and I was afraid that I was going to under or over cook them... and they would be totally inedible or something. I stopped at Price Chopper (because they have a great seafood and meat section) and got the scallops. The guy at the counter said that they were "super fresh" and had just came in that morning. So, I had that on my side! The "Florentine" part was pretty easy to make and smelled fantastic while cooking. It was mostly a waiting game. Add the onion and wait for it to cook... add the tomato, garlic and mushroom and wait some more now add the spinach and wait wait wait... Thats when I started to get anxious about cooking the scallops. I looked on line to see how to "sear" something because the instructions said to sear each

April 20, 2013

April 19, 2013 WARMUP: - Skip Gym Length - 10 Toy Soldiers - 10 Pushups - 10 Pullups - 5 Burpees TEAM: - 1 Power Snatch - 1 Squat Snatch OTM for 5 Minutes (75lbs) WOD: Decamp 3 Rounds for Time - Row 250m - 30 KB Swings (1 pd) - 60 Double Unders (12:39 Rx) TEAM: - MU Transitions - HS Walks .

April 18, 2013   WARMUP: 3 Rounds - Run 200m - 5 Ring Dips - 10 Inchworms - 10 Lunges TEAM: Clean & Jerk 3 X 1 @ 70% (130) 3 X 1 @ 80% (150) 3 X 1 @ 90% (165) 3 X 1 @ 93% (165) *no more than 60 sec between lifts STRENGTH: Back Squat 1 X 10 @ 70% (170) 1 X 5 @ 80% (195) 1 X 3 @ 90% (220) WOD: Snake Bite 12 Minute AMRAP - 10 Squat Snatch (95) - 10 Toes to Bar (3 + 15 Rx) .

April 17, 2013 Whats on the menu? Sweet Potato Cottage Pie (find it HERE ) How easy was it to make?   This is a back post for this weekends "Whats for Dinner." I am behind on my posting but I wanted to be sure I got it in here! This is the third time I have made this delicious-ness... Hubs and I both love it. Its pretty easy to make and you really cant go wrong. It is super easy to make and we usually already have sweet potatoes mashed in the fridge... even EASIER! Even I can brown beef and saute onions! Give it a shot, you will love it! So... how was it? I cant say enough how yummy this one is! Its certainly a "cheat" for us as it contains cheese... but Oh My, what a wonderful cheat it is! The cheese layer on top... YUMMO! I am sure you could make it with plain sweet potato on top, but if you want to add the cheese, you wont be sorry!  Will I make it again? Absolutely! .

April 16, 2013 WARMUP: 3 Rounds - Bear Crawl - 5 Pullups - 10 Inch Worms - 10 Jumping Squats - 10 Scorpions 1 Minute Shoulder Opener STRENGTH: 5 X 3 Push Press 115, 125, 135 WOD: Chaser 3 Rounds for Time - Run 200m - 10 Front Squats (5:08 Rx) TEAM: 3 Rounds NFT - 20 T2B - 10 GHD - 60 Sec Noes and Toes .

April 15, 2013 WARMUP: 3 Rounds - 250m Row - 10 Toy Soldiers - 10 Abmat Situps - 10 Shoulder Dislocates - 2 Wall Walks 2 X 9 Fundamentals (pvc/bar) TEAM: 10 RM Deadlift - One Attempt (155) 3 Snatch OTM, 5 Min (95) WOD: Satchel 15 Minute AMRAP - 10 HR Pushups - 10 Wall Balls (14lb to 10' line) - 10 Burpees (8 Rounds) SKILL: 3 X 3 Rope Climbs

April 14, 2013 Memories... I dont know the exact date for this, but sometime back September 2011 or so...

April 13, 2013 WARMUP: 3 Rounds - 10 Spiderman - 10 Toy Soldiers - 10 Ring Rows - 10 Air Squats 2 Min Couch Stretch Oly Warmp with PVC OLY: Snatch (15 Minutes) 65, 75, 85, 95 Clean & Jerk (15 Minutes) 95, 105, 135, 155, 165, 175 (clean no jerk) TEAM WOD: Tag Team (w/Choma) - 300 Double Unders - 50 HSPU - 30 Snatch (100lbs) 12:07 Rx .

April 12, 2013 I saw this today and it really struck a chord with me. Funny, before one of the open workouts I was at the gym on a Saturday. I was getting ready to do the workout and some how the words "oh god, I don't want to do this again" slipped out of my mouth. I try my hardest to be a positive person at the gym, but I would be lying and everyone who is human (crossfitter or not) would know I would be lying if I said that sometimes my mind didn't get ahead of my heart. There are times that you just feel defeated before you start and there are times that it seems as if you cant even get started because of that. Well, as soon as the words escaped me, one of my fellow crossfitters said "What was that? I don't want to hear that from you... your always the positive one, Mrs Motivation." My gut dropped. I had realized that what I had just said out loud didn't just affect me, but it may have affected the way she was feeling about approaching the w

April 11, 2013 I am not sure if its because I am a woman, because I am type A or because I am actually just "normal" but somehow there is always a slight feeling in the back of my mind that I am going to let someone (and sometimes even myself) down. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself no matter what the goal is. When I dont get there, or it takes longer than I thought, I can be really hard on myself. This pertains to not only CrossFit, but my job and my home life. I think it stems from the fact that I get more than half of my motivation from the feeling that I get when I know other people proud of me. Now, dont confuse that with thinking that I do things solely to please other people. Thats not the case. I do what I want for me... but the pride that comes with it is fuel for my fire. I think thats why I enjoy being a part of a team so much. As a team mate you depend on one another, fight for one another and without one link the function is compromised. I am reall

April 10, 2013

April 9, 2013 The results are in... CrossFit Wachusett will be competing at the North East Regional!! I am so so so proud to be a part of such an amazing supportive community. We picked each other up when we were down. We screamed in each others faces when needed. We celebrated accomplishments, hugged and encouraged when goals weren't quite reached. We bled together, sweat together and shed tears together. We laughed together, smiled together and gave more high fives than imaginable. Told eachother "you can do it," "keep going" and my personal favorite "moooooooooooove" over and over. We each laid it on the line every damn time. The new athletes showed so much bravery and passion that it was such an inspiration to me. It pushed me to work harder and reach as far as my body would take me... often telling my mind to shut the eff up! The energy, the spirit and the discipline that everyone put out was indescribable. M, K, Hubs, AM our coaches...  t

April 8, 2013 I never thought I would say that I missed running, but I did. Great indoor/outdoor WOD today!! WARMUP: 3 Rounds - 1/2 Gym Crab Walk - 5 K2E - 10 Wall  Balls - 10 Scorpion WOD: Boat Race 3 Rounds - 250m Row - 400m Run (9:57 Rx) .

April 7, 2013 Yesterday, I attended an even in Boston at the Harp called "Blogapalooza." What is it you ask? Well its an event put on by a very good friend of mine, Joe Gill. Basically, its meeting of the "sports blogging" minds. An opportunity for lots of sports bloggers to get together, talk sports, network and well... eat and drink of course! The Harp was a great setting for the event. Plenty of space and lots of TV's to watch every event going on at the time of the event. While I didn't partake in any of the food, I did find myself with a few delicious Guinness's in my hand...  Not only is this a social event, but it is also a fundraiser. The 125 people in attendance helped to raise over $1,500 for the Miracle League of Boston in honor of Rich Shertenlieb of Toucher & Rich and his wife Mary. The "fundage" came from a huge amount of raffle prizes and donations, everything from Dancing Deer baked goods, sports memorabilia/clothin

April 6, 2013 Ever hear that saying; "reach for the moon, if you miss you will land among the stars?" This is one of my favorite sayings and has ran through my head more times that I can even count since childhood. No goal can ever be set to high... and if it happens to be just out of reach, thats ok. Why? Because if you gave it your 110%, worked hard, pushed to achieve whatever it is... than even if you didnt reach your ultimate goal, you are far more ahead than you were when you started. 13.5 was a workout that made me nervous. Yep, look back in my older posts about if I get nervous before a WOD. With this one, it was amplified by about a million. Now, when it comes down to the Open, I knew that I didnt really have to do this one again. There were already 3 scores that were well above mine but for me it wasnt about that. It was about ME. It was about how I felt I did on my first attempt and how I have to learn to not be afraid of these things that seem to hinder me in

April 5, 2013   Whats on the menu? Bacon Beef Butternut Squash (find it HERE ) How easy was it to make? So I really wanted something simple this week. I didnt want to have to come up with a side, or have sweet potato AGAIN. Came across this one and thought that there was no way I could go wrong with bacon, butternut squash and balsamic vinegar! Hello match made in heaven! I stopped and grabbed what I needed (at Hannaford, no more of that Market Basket mess). It was easy, I flew through the store because all I really needed was the beef, squash and onion. I think the hardest part to this one was cooking the butternut squash. Usually I peel and cube the squash when I make it and either have it that way or mashed. I have baked it, but not whole, which is the way this recipe called for. I cut it in half, scooped the seeds and put it in the dish face down with water like it said, but it took WAY longer that the 30 minutes it said it would to be soft enough to scoop. I made the fil

April 4, 2013 This man... is the devil... ... ok ok maybe he isnt the "devil" but clearly he has a sick sick mind! This workout has to be one of the hardest workouts I have partaken in through my entire (albeit not really long) crossfit career. Holy smokes. Watching Camille and Sam go at this workout was super intense... and if it coudlnt get any more crazy, Froning and Khalipa... WOW... just WOW. One thing was for sure. We were going to work our asses off and give everything we possibly had inside. I remember doing the chest to bar and thruster ladder last year. It was the first time I had even attempted to do chest to bar pullups. It was intense and it was crazy... and I did it! This year, with more chest to bars under my belt I was slightly more confident... however still apprehensive, as I know they are not anywhere near my comfort zone or strong suit. But just as any other WOD, I was about to give it my all. No excuses. It was exactly that. Four minutes of

April 3, 2013

April 2, 2013 Ug, I cant seem to shake this cold. YUCK. WARMUP: Stretch/Roll Row 250m X 2 WOD: Alternate - 10 Cal Row - 15 Pushups - 20 Air Squats (6:31 Rx) .

April 1, 2013 WARMUP: - 10 Spiderman - 10 Pushups - 10 Shoulder Opener SKILL: Row 250m X 4 Rolling and Stretching Between Row .

March 31, 2013

March 30, 2013 Today was a perfect example of the support, encouragement and motivation that oozes out of the walls at CrossFit Wachusett. You see. There is a trigger point in everyones brains that wants their bodies to stop when they are in pain, or distress... most of the time (when not in any danger) the body can do so much more than the mind will let it. Sometimes it just needs a little reminder to not give up, not give in and fight to the last second. Round 2 of 13.4 was on the agenda today for me. I knew it was going to be a tough one, but lets be honest... they have ALL been tough ones. I had a goal. I was going to fight for it. I was going to push and drive as hard as I could. I had to. I was counting on myself. The Open only has one more WOD after this... and I needed a good score. We had a plan going in. I talked to M and K and watched many more attempts by other people to see what a good strategy would be for the toes to bar. I know what I could do with clean and jerks

March 29, 2013 Whats on the menu? Creamy Chicken Verde Bake (find it HERE ) and because they are kick ass and delish  Sweet Potato Banana Mashed (find it HERE ) again! How easy was it to make? This was the easiest thing I have made over the last few weeks. The hardest part honestly was going to Market Basket for the stuff to make it. I hate that store. I usually stop at Hannaford and on a Friday night its usually not too bad. Well, I heard that Market Basket had coconut flour on sale and since I was going to be making dessert for the gym I needed to get there to get some. Thats shiz is expensive and I was almost all out. Anyway. What a zoo. Plus, even though I have "Grocery Store Anxiety" (yes that is self diagnosed) I have an easier time with Hannaford because I know the store and I know where to get the stuff we typically buy. One would have thought they were giving shit away at Market Basket. It was horrific. Anyway. Once I got home the prep of the chicken was quic

March 28, 2013 What a morning it was. Last night Hubs and I had to work late so there was no sitting around waiting for the announcement of 13.4. When I got home Hubs (who was battling a major cold) was in bed. I quickly made my second dinner, yes, I am a hobbit in case you were wondering... grabbed my lap top and headed upstairs with dinner and a lap top to watch the announcement with him. In awe we watched Khalipa and Spealer go head to head in an epic battle of clean and jerks and toes to bars. They make it look so damn easy... at the same time that they make it look so damn hard! Is that possible? Go big or go home right? Well this morning it was a battle alright. Me and toes to bar are not exactly friends... but I was determined to make this one one of my best performances yet because clean and jerk happens to be one of my best crossfit friends, especially when they are 95lbs. This is what is called a "ladder" workout in crossfit. The sequence dosent have to be t

March 27, 2013

March 26, 2013 Oh lovely day! I was pumped to get to the gym this morning to do this WOD. My kind of WOD. Just the right length, nice heavy weight, mix of skill (that isnt bar work or double unders... aka PISTOLS) and rowing! I like this kind of match up! This is one of my favorite pics of K from the Regional competition last year... she was doing this workout.   I am still so pumped for the remainder of the open! Personally I couldnt be more proud of myself and the rest of CrossFit Wachusett... individuals, team, whatever way you want to look at it. There are people inspiring people left and right. There are PR's there are goals set, goals met and goals shattered!! Its such an exciting time of year to be around such amazing people!! WARMUP: 3 Rounds - 20 Double Unders - 5 Pullups - 10 Inchworms - 10 Jumping Squats - 10 Scorpions 2 Minute Squat Sit STRENGTH: Front Squat 2 X 5 @ 80% - 175lbs 2 X 3 @ 90% - 195lbs WOD: 2012 Regional WOD #2 15