WODs & Well-Being

May 10, 2013 Its hard for me to put into words the emotions that I am going through at this time. That might seem hard for some to understand, as I typically have no problem dumping my brain into the computer to expunge it from my thoughts. I am finding myself all over the place with excitement, anxiety and  little bit of fear. I suppose that is perfectly normal. There is one thing that I dont have, and that is doubt. Last year when I was volunteering at the Regional I made  promise to myself that I was going to do everything I could to be on that field this year. I pushed through a lot over the last year and after the Open I couldnt have been happier with myself. Collectively, our entire gym worked so hard to place high enough that we could compete at the Regional. The challenges that face me at this point are just more obstacles that continue to keep me motivated and on my toes, pushing and fighting. I will continue to fight and I will continue to put my best foot f...

May 6, 2013 I thought this would be a great day to start a Monday. Every single Monday I get my butt out of bed and get to the gym, just as I do every other day of the week. Than I get myself to work and log into FB to see what happened after I turned into pumpkin the night before at 9:00, when I disconnect from the "interwebz" for a few hours. More often than not I am greeted with all the cases of the "Mondays" that people post on FB... and yes, I have there too. Sometimes I think we forget that its Monday for everyone... and we all know what thats like. But days like today it kind of got to me. Last night right I broke a tooth while I was eating dinner. Damnit it pissed me off. I just got a crown and I was really mad that the tooth right next to it is the one that cracked. No fault of my wonderful dentist  (no really, I love him and don't blame him, I blame my crappy teeth), but its just plain inconvenient. I wasn't planning on  making a trip to t...

May 5, 2013 Every day I wake up with the passion to push myself further. I know that I can be more than I am, that I have more potential, that I can challenge myself more. I don’t discount my accomplishments and the fact that I have reached goals and surpassed my expectations at times, but a life without new goals and new dreams would just be boring. There are things in my life that I have not accomplished yet (of course). Some things scare the crap out of me and that causes me to drag my feet like I am walking in quicksand. I have a tendency in my life to reach for the stars in all that I do… but occasionally that bit of fear gets the best of me, brings fourth the procrastinator and the self-doubt… the words “what if I don’t succeed” cross over my mind. Totally normal, but I know I have to kick my ass in gear and understand my own words. Failure is part of the process. Believe in yourself and you can do anything. Don’t try, and you will never be what you want to be. I use to...

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

March 23, 2013 I woke up this morning thinking... "my legs are FRIED." In addition to that I have been constantly thinking about how poor my double under performance was on Thursday and that there was absolutely no reason why I should not have a better split time than I did on. In fact, I have been pretty stressed about this workout since it was released. I knew for sure that my time would be better than last year, but I am just not confident at all in my double unders and that takes a huge toll on my mindset. After my horrid performance at the Love em or Leave em with the double unders and than my 4 minute frustration session Thursday today had the potential to be a disaster. My legs were all jacked up, but as I started moving I had a feeling they would loosen up. However, in my head I was just so nervous about the stress I was putting on myself and the expectations I had on myself... it was enough to make me sick. Here is where the far above average coaching we are so l...

March 21, 2013 Ahhhhh, well. I guess with the addition of thousands of crossfitters and crossfit boxes around the world it was bound to happen. With the announcement of 13.3 you could almost hear the great big "sigh" of everyone competing. What is it? Well you could just look up last years Open 12.4 and you would find out. Thats right! It was the "repeat" WOD of 2013. It happened last year and "we" (those who competed in the open last year) were all waiting to see which one was going to come back from the archives. Maybe some thought that the combination WOD 13.1 was going to cover the repeat since it was actually a combination of 12.1 and 12.2... but nope. What killed me was reading all the posts on FB (and the like), from CrossFitters world wide complaining that there was no "creativity" in repeating a WOD. That the "constantly varied" motto of crossfit was being put to shame with this workout. Really people?! What kind of a cross...

March 5, 2013 WARMUP: 3 Rounds - 2 X Shuttle Run - 5 Ring Rows - 10 Pushups - 15 Squats Couch Stretch STRENGTH: OH Press 2 X 5 @ 85% - 85 2 X 3 @ 90% - 90 2 X 2 @ 95% - 95 WOD: Cracked Up 10 Min AMRAP - 5 Snatch (55) - 10 Wall Balls (14) - 15 Abmat Situps (8+13 Rx) .

February 27, 2013 WARMUP: 3 Rounds - 1 Gym Length Crab Walk - 10 Spiderman - 10 Ring Row - 10 Toes to Bar - 10 Grasshopper SKILL: Max Effort Chest to Bar WOD: Smoke w/15 Min Running Clock 30-20-10 - Wall Ball (14) - KB Swing (1pd) **Rest 2 Min** AMRAP Burpees over KB (5:00/82 Rx) .

February 5, 2013 WARMUP: 3 Rounds - Row 250m - 5 Inchworms - 10 Squat Jumps - 10 Pushups - 5 Burpees OLY: Clean 4 Min to work up to 80% of 1RM (145 lbs) 1 Clean Every 30 Sec for 5 Min Alternate Power/Squat WOD: Open 12.4 AMRAP 12 Minute - 150 Wall Balls - 90 Double Unders - Chest to Bar Pullups (7 Pullups) .

January 18, 2013 I cant help but laugh at myself these days when I arrive at CFW. I get out of my car and head into the gym with my duffle filled with clothes and toiletries for my shower and work day, armed with my notebook, protein shaker and water bottle… I drop my bag in the locker room and head to the workout area. This is where it gets funny. I grab my notebook, protein shaker and water bottle… than fumble around with my wrist wraps, lifting shoes, jump rope and belt. Its almost as if I need a second bag to get myself from the locker room to the gym! One of the things I cant seem to wrap my head around are the knee high socks that a lot of CrossFitters like to wear. I do have a pair… I bought back in October at the Beast of the East. They sat in my drawer for a while when one day JM was at the gym wearing hers… she loves them. I happen to have the same pair as one of the pairs she has. They have been hanging out just waiting for the day that I decided to wear...

November 20, 2012 22 Days of Thanks 2012 - Day 22 I am thankful for my body. I think we all have a tendency to take our body for granted. We never really think of the things we have that others dont. We dont really understand that some people live in pain on a daily basis. We try to understand eating disorders and why people can do things to their body that we ourselves might not be able to imagine, but its hard unless you are the one in the situation. Having the mind to take control of your body and teach yourself the things you need to be healthy and strong is the first step and a difficult one if you dont have the eduction or mindset to do do. I have been on all sides of this... and still struggle at times. I had the time when I looked in the mirror and was almost ready to give up, just do whatever and complain, complain, complain... as if that was going to help. I had the time when I worked really hard at the gym, but still pumped my body with crap... again... not going to...

November 10, 2012 22 Days of Thanks 2012 - Day 10 I am thankful for date night... ... and I will leave the details to your imagination! WARMUP: Row 500m 3 Rounds - 10 Squats - 10 Pushups - 10 Shoulder Openers Row 500m WOD: "Morrison" 50-40-30-20-10 for time - Wall Balls (14) - Box Jumps (20) - KB Swings (1pd) (25:20 Rx) SKILL/STRENGTH Butterfly Pullup Work .

November 5, 2012 22 Days of Thanks 2012 - Day 5 I am thankful for my DVR. I am going to be honest, this one is pretty petty... but I have to throw it in there. I have a few shows that I love to watch and if it wasnt for my DVR, I would never get to see them. I dont even really know what time or day any of the shows are on that I watch in real time! Its nice to be able to curl up on the couch on a Friday night or Sunday morning and catch up on what I missed. Not to mention I get to watch all the shows Hubs cant stand when he isnt home (thats one thing he is thankful for for sure)!! WARMUP: Run 400m 3 Rounds - 10 Air Squats - 10 Pushups - 10 Ring Rows - 10 Abmat Situps WOD: Dirty 30 for time - 30 Walking Lunges - 30 Knees to Elbow - 30 Push Press (35) - 30 Back Extensions - 30 Wall Balls (14) - 30 Burpees - 30 Double Unders - 30 Box Jumps (20) - 30 Jumping Pullups - 30 KB  Swings (1.5 pd) OLY: Clean 1 on the minute for 7 min 110, 125, 140, 145, 150, 1...

October 27, 2012 I dont know if this is a "problem" or if its a good thing... but I just cant say no to a challenge! Hubs and I were on our way to the gym this morning and we were talking about what we were going to do. I had said that I wasnt really interested in doing the WOW, so I thought I would work on some skills... still unclear of what I wanted we arrived at the gym and were ready to get moving. I started to warm up and was approached by one of my fine CFW Ladies... she says "want to do the WOW with me" and I respond "no." She was getting warmup up and fired up for it, and as I am familiar with, wanted some company. The next thing you know she asks JM if she wanted in and she accepted. Well... they only had to look at me the right way (ok they just had to look at me any way) and I was in. Before I knew it I was setting up my weights getting ready to start a pretty grueling WOW. I was happy I did it... it was a lot of work, a challenge for ...

**Had to post some of the few dates I missed back in June/July for my archive** July 3, 2012 Hubs and I decided to check out CrossFit NEPA in Wilkes Barre PA today! What a great time! We met some really great people and got our asses kicked doing Fight Gone Bad with them! Very cool!  WARMUP: 400m Run 2 Rounds - 10 KB Swings - 10 Pullups - 10 Squat Jumps 400m Run WOD: Fight Gone Bad 3 Rounds - Total Reps 1 Min Wall Balls (14lbs) 1 Min SDHP (50lbs) 1 Min Box Jumps (20") 1 Min Push Press (50lbs) 1 Min Cal Row 1 Min Rest (296 Rx) <--- PR .

**Had to post some of the few dates I missed back in June/July for my archive** June 15, 2012 WARMUP: 3 Rounds - 20 Double Unders - 10 Grasshoppers - 5 Pullups - 10 Burpees - 20 Squats 1 Min Pigeon Stretch Each Leg Group: Row Progression WOD: "Black Betty" 4 Rounds - Row 250m - 20 Wall Balls (unbroken) (9:20 Rx) SKILL/STRENGTH: Deadlift 3-3-3+ 175, 205, 230 .

August 25, 2012 Seriously... this was one of the funnest days I have had in a long time! What a great family we have at Crossfit Wachusett! K and M did a fantastic job putting together three great WOD's for us to have an in-house throw down as preparation for the Garage Games in two weeks! What a blast! Great job to all the athletes!! Lots of PR's and lots of new accomplishments and firsts as well!! It was so nice to see some new faces that I havent met yet, so wonderful of you all to come out and play!! Also fantastic to have our friend J come out and throw down with CrossFit Wachusett from his home at Crossfit Center Mass and A from EXP! Love to have so many great people who share the same interests in the same place at the same time! The cookout afterward was also fantastic! Kicking back for some beverages, food and conversation... on the new sidewalk (thank you Fitchburg DPW, haha). Lots of laughs and fun times to go down in the CrossFit Wachusett books! Have I ever...

August 13, 2012   This is one of the most important "lessons" I learned at the beginning of my "Adventures in CrossFitting." Now, even this far into my training and experiences, I still have moments where I battle with that little voice. I have learned to kick it way to the back of my brain and the second it starts so surface I push it right back down with every positive thought possible.That thought has no space in my mind. As a "noobie" at the gym I can totally understand the feeling of having no idea how I was going to keep up with the workouts, how I was going to keep getting out of bed, wondering if I was never going to be able to walk without my legs killing all day long... all these things running through my head. One thing was for sure. I was going to do what I had set out to do and there was no question about that. The results did not come overnight and I know I am not finished yet, but if I had given into the voice, the thought that I...

August 10, 2012 Everyone has times when they feel like they just cant go on. Everyone has mornings where they dont want to get out of bed. Everyone has moments where they feel like they cant do anything right, everything seems to go wrong or they cant just seem to find which way is up. No matter how many times you tell yourself that you will not let the "little things" bother you, sometimes they all start to add up and you feel so entirely overwhelmed that you just want to shut down and call it a night, sometimes before your feet even hit the floor. Its a far stretch to think that life is possible without those things. We dont mean to have days like that, we dont want to have days like that... but we all know that not everyones life is perfect. Even the happiest person in the world has something to complain or be unhappy about. Whats the most important thing for me to remember is that while I sometimes feel those things, there are many more days that these are the farth...

June 4, 2012 Today was my first day back in the “swing of things” at the gym. I had a conversation with M about my training on last Monday after we did Murph and he recommended that I took a week of rest and recovery. Of course I was in panic mode at the thought of not WODing for a week. Like I was all of a sudden going to lose my steam if I took some time to rest. I just haven’t given my body that much time off in so long I wasn’t sure how I was going to react and first instinct is panic. I know of course that I wasn’t going to actually lose any strength or anything and honestly deep down inside I am happy he told me to do it. Sometimes you need that direction to feel like its “ok.” It also gave me reason to take a step back and look at my training and get ready for the next step. The week off was hard in some ways and really nice in others. As I said I went to the gym at my normal time and warmed up with everyone. I did wind up doing the snatch skill session during the week, be...