WODs & Well-Being

Today is September 1st. There is something about September 1st that just makes me feel happy and invigorated. Lots of people feel this way at the beginning of the new year, a new beginning… but for me, when the air starts to change, the leaves start to fall and I can sit with my boys and a cup of coffee and a hooded sweatshirt on a Sunday morning. It just makes my heart warm. Maybe it’s the new school year and the reminder of new sneakers, empty notebooks and the nervous butterfly in your stomach feeling of waiting for the bus on the first day of school. Maybe it’s the fact that the air feels so much lighter, the dampness is lifted and the smell of rain, warm apple pie and chili or pot roast in the crock pot fills it back up. Maybe it’s the fall tones, burnt oranges, deep burgundy and navy blue that resonate with me on a comfort level that I just cant explain. Whatever it is… its my favorite. I know there are many people that feel the complete opposite. That everything is

Question of the Day: If you had to describe yourself using a street sign, what street sign would that be? Are you “under construction?! Do you feel as if you have “dangerous curves?!” Take some time and think about it. Think about how the world around us can influence thoughts beyond what the “real” meaning of something on the outside could be interpreted as. Stuck in traffic, looking around, seeing a sign and thinking how the phrase “no passing zone” can be applied to other aspects of your life. Where can you use that as fuel? How can you make that push you beyond your limits to not let anyone pass you? You are in the front of the pack. You are the leader. This was the question of the day today at the gym. Off the top of my head at the moment, I came up with “children at play,” because… lets face it. That is my life right now. I mean my last post was relative to a show my kid watches daily and can recite lines to. However, the more I thought of it (which is the whole poin

My kid has a mild (ok maybe more than mild) obsession with the TV show "Super Wings." Hes 2.5 and loves all things that drive and/or fly. We dont have cable, but found this show on  Amazon Prime and now Hubs and I often find ourselves singing the theme song while putting our dinner together or just driving home from work (wonderful isnt it?!). Its actually a pretty decent show for the little man... "Jet" who is the main character airplane is a package delivery plane. At the start of the show, "Jimbo" (the traffic controller man) calls Jet into the control tower and gives him a package that needs delivering. Whats cool is that Jet goes all over the world to deliver these packages to kids. Before he leaves, Jimbo explains the country he is going to go to, a fact about it and a phrase in the native language. So... at least little man is learning while he is watching. Jet then delivers the package (on time, every time). He presents whatever it was that was o

There is something so satisfying about setting a goal and reaching it. I talk about it a lot… it applies to all walks of life, not just the gym… I love my job. I have said it before, that I was lucky enough to learn at an early age what I liked to do and went for it. I have had lots of success, as well as lots of failures to get where I am… and the hits just keep on coming. There will always be ups and downs, but what is important, is the will to keep on going and the thrive for the next goal or to complete the goal that was set forth. When I initially meet with a client/owner for a new project, we typically sit and discuss what it is they are expecting from the project, what the overall goal is. What they like, what they dislike and what their needs are. From there, we develop a schematic design… an image of the goal. Often we provide the client with renderings to see what we are working towards, as well as floor plans to give them a general idea of the space. Once agreed upo

What is the best gift you have given to anyone? Think about it. Think real hard. I’m not talking about the latest and greatest video game console… a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant… or even a fancy new car. I’m talking about something powerful, something that changes the recipients life. Something that once given, can not be taken back… something that has no actual “value” but more value than you can even imagine. Life. Now, I’m a mom. I can honestly say that giving the gift of life to my son has been the most honorable and life changing gift I have ever given. I worked to keep him safe while I was pregnant, treated my body with respect and nurtured him for all 42 weeks on the inside. He was born healthy and strong and I consider that to be a pretty huge accomplishment. I’m going to tell you a quick story and please don’t judge. Its not something I am very proud of, and maybe, if I had some more time to process or if the circumstances were different… I wouldn

June 19, 2017 Did you learn something today? I challenge you. When you lay in bed at night… think about your day. When you wake up in the morning… think about what is about to happen. Are you ready to learn? Did you learn anything new? I have a toddler. Every single day his little brain just goes and goes and goes. You can see him learning almost by the minute. One day… back in November. We had a day that it snowed really early in the season. Everyone was out of their mind because it was “too early to snow” as it wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet. Just like the whole rest of New England, when I got Z and I home from daycare I wanted to scramble to get into the house… it was cold, it was snowing… it was pretty much miserable. Well I got Z out of the car, stood him on the ground and his eyes seemed to glaze over. I took a step back and said “come on, lets go…” and started to walk. Then I realized something. This was the first time my little man experienced snow. He was born in Fe

June 14, 2017 Today is a new day. If I had a dollar... even a dime... for every time I have talked to my Mom and she has said to me "Sarah, just take a step back... breath..." I would be a very wealthy woman. She understands me. She is almost a complete opposite of me in these situations, but she has been with me through it all, and knows just how I handle things. Like a mad woman... that needs a voice of reason. She is my voice of reason... and even if I get mad and scream like a crazy person at her because of whatever situation it may be... or cry like a hungry infant because things feel like they are literally falling apart... she understands me. She lets me get it all out, then we talk. So I guess... even without the bazillions in "dimes" I am actually a pretty wealthy woman anyway. I am type A. I like things done a certain way. I like things done quickly. I like things done... well... I like things done, now. It bothers me when I cant take care of somethi

May 12, 2017 This is a quote from my blog post on September 6, 2011, just 4 weeks after I started CrossFitting... I was going to title this post "Death by DT" since really, I know I have said it before... but, this was the hardest and most challenging workout I have done in my 4 weeks at CFW... ... at 5:30am I pulled into the parking lot. I am still sore, my calves kill. My shoulders were tight, my abs are feeling it... those thrusters did good things yesterday!! I attempted one hanging power clean, which is like a clean, but rather than starting at the deadlift position you are already at your knees with the weight. Yeah, the 95lb attempt was a fail, as was the 90lb. Well thats not entirely true, I got the 90lb one up for one rep. Um, I have to do 5 sets with 9 of these in each set... lets go with the 85lbs!! The object of the DT is to complete all the exercises with the same weight, so with 85lbs the deadlifts and push jerks would be pretty light... so I thought... 

May 8, 2017 Its not too often we take time to slow down. Our world, our daily life, or jobs... time passes so quickly and suddenly we look back and say "what happened to the last month/year." We set out to do something and we want immediate results. We send an email or a text message and want an immediate response. Often times we feel let down if we don't get that quick turn around... we pretty much give up and assume whatever it is isnt that important, or shouldnt be that important. This has of course become the norm with todays technologies. I remember back when I would call a friend and get a busy signal... and have to *gasp* wait until whoever it was to get off the phone so we could talk. Now, today... not only do we have call waiting... but we just call on a cell, leave a message or a text message... and await a response. If mom is on the home phone, no worries... we all have cell phones. I also remember the only way to communicate (aside from a really long dis

May 4, 2017 Why do you think its so difficult for “us” to accept compliments? How do you feel when someone says to you “you look nice today” or “have you lost weight?” What is your first reaction? Typically, from what I have heard other people say to me… and my own automatic instincts in responding when complimented…  is that we almost immediately shove off the comment with a negative. We get bashful and almost embarrassed that someone noticed something to compliment us on and we respond with “oh this shirt… I just dragged it out of my closet” or “uggg, lost weight… no, I feel like a cow.” Why do we do that? Why can we not just accept the fact that someone is paying us a compliment and say “thank you” without feeling vein vane vain (the English language so complicated…). Why do we feel it is not acceptable to be proud that we do in fact look nice today… or have noticeably made a change in our appearance that is appealing to others… Why does it make us so uncomfortable?! Do w

May 2, 2017 Every day at the start of each class at 696 we gather up in a circle. Whoever is coaching starts the class with a quick description of what we are doing to tackle for the day, then they start roll call. This is one of my favorite things that makes 696 a special place to me. The coach poses a question for each of us to answer, this can be anything from "what did you have for dinner last night?" to "do you have any tattoos?" Some are deeper than others, but what is really awesome is that it allows a little extra insight to the person/people who you are with every morning. It welcomes in the newer people (like me) by making us always say our names first... Ive finally got everyone down... and connects us on a different level, making us less of a stranger to one another. I realize, I am a pretty open person... and this exercise might make some people  uncomfortable, but I really think that its super healthy for all of us to do to get started. This mornin

April 19, 2017 Go ahead... ask yourself... Where do you want to be? How are you going to get there? What steps are you taking? I will tell you this... if you are not taking any steps... you will not get there. Waiting, watching, wishing, will get you nowhere. Success is not handed to anyone who waits for it. Success comes from hard work, time, focus, dedication and pushing yourself to do things that make yourself uncomfortable. If its "easy," your not doing it right. If you make excuses like you are too tired, you dont have time, you dont know how or you "cant..." then you wont. No questions asked. Im excited for the things to come at 696 this spring. I have never really been one for "running" workouts, but for some reason this year, I am itching to get outside. One of the fantastic things about the programming at 696, is that Chris likes to change it up, give us something that is not expected, make us think about what we are doing in a differen

April 18, 2017 Good Morning Y'all! As one of my coaches like to say "Thank God its Tuesday!" He coaches us typically on Mondays and Tuesdays and we start the group each of those days with his words. Its funny, because when you first hear it, you think "yeah right... thank God its Tuesday," but then, you really start to think about it... and realize the power behind the words. It gets you mentally moving, it gets you thinking ahead, it makes you really thankful that you are here, you are working hard and you are ready to face the day with whatever it is that is waiting for you. Motivation is huge. When you have someone in your corner, reminding you to push, what the goal is and that they have the confidence in you to do something. That shit can take you so far. When you stand back and look at the bar and think not "I can do this," but rather "I will do this," the whole game changes. Not to say, you will magically be able to move more wei

March 29, 2017 Have you ever watched a fire burn completely out? Sat at a campsite, in the quiet hours of the night… cool air at your back and heat on your legs? As the trees seem to still with the darkness, stars appear, the glow of the fire starts to dim and the moon takes over as the nightlight… everything seems really peaceful. I spent years at girl scout camp, nights (and days) around the campfire… and many of fun (and sometimes drunken) nights as a teen and “adult” doing the same. There is something really magical to me about fire. I was always the one to volunteer at camp to “man the fire” or “cook the meal” so I could be at the fire. As I got older and would go camping with friends, I always had my hands in the fire, getting it started and keeping it going into the night. I could watch it for hours. Something about how one piece of wood catches the next… eventually both, still two separate pieces of wood, create one flame… the embers glow an amazing color as the fire

February 10, 2017 Change... how many times in 5.5 years have I written about change? I talk to myself about it all the time. I understand what is is... how it works and to make anything happen in life, more often than not change has to happen. The thing is... change is freaking scary. Ask yourself this. Are you happy? Happy with your job, the way you eat, how you look, where you live, how much money you save, how often you see you friends? Any of these things... and beyond... really think about. One at a time... dont try to address ALL of these things at once, because its painful and overwhelming... but one at a time, really think about it. If the answer is yes, keep on keeping on... your doing great. If the answer is no... ask yourself if you really want to be happy. If the answer is yes, change something. Otherwise, nothing will change. You will remain unhappy with whatever it is you are unhappy with. I realize... from experience... that change can be scary. Depending on the

January 27, 2017 Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going.  – Jim Rohn Funny when your worlds suddenly collide when you are least expecting it. I have used this quote as the header of my blog since the very first day it launched in 2011. I often stumbled across quotes from Jim Rohn when looking for motivation through the years of struggles with my health and fitness. I started blogging after I had hit what I felt was rock bottom, felt like I dragged my way through every day and began to understand that it was in my power to make a change. It was in no one else’s hands, it was no one else’s “fault but my own” and until I made a change, everything was going to remain the same. His words often propelled my writing, inspired me to blog about how I felt when I read them and made me really think about what it was/is that motivates me. What is it exactly that I am looking for? How am going to ultimately reach my goal? Can I make it past he road blocks, s