Couch Potato Workout

If you know me well in real life, you know of my almost absurd obsession with Big Brother. Being a Big Brother fan is quite a time commitment, considering it's a one hour show, three times a week. (Feel free to laugh at me, everyone does...) With this being said, I find myself sitting in front of the TV almost every night. Just laying around makes me feel so lazy these days, so I came up with my very own Couch Potato Workout.

So I've heard from just about everyone that my workouts are "too intense." Even though that's not true, because you can scale absolutely anything at CrossFit, this is one that anybody can do, no excuses!

An hour long show generally is about 36% commercials (according to TNS Media Intelligence). This comes to about 21:51, crazy right?? So let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say there is 20min of commercials. This gives us time to do about 5 exercises.

So here it goes, my Big Brother commercial workout! (Cardio & Strength edition)

Commercial Break One:
2 minutes push-ups
2 minutes jumping jacks

Commercial Break Two:
2 minutes sit-ups
2 minutes punches

Commercial Break Three:
2 minutes dips (do these with your hands on the edge of the arm chair, with your feet and butt off the chair, knees 90 degrees, dipping until your elbows are behind you)
2 minutes jumping air squats

Commercial Break Four:
2 minutes V-Ups (lay on your back & touch your hands to your feet)
2 minutes Mountain Climbers

Commercial Break Five:
2 minutes scissor kicks (I suck at those)
2 minutes burpees

So that's it! Simple as that & think about all the breaks you get! Well, Big Brother starts at 9pm & so do a ton of other shows, who's with me? (;

Gained A Pound... Thoughts & Reflections.

I have no words to describe the way I'm feeling today. It's weigh in Wednesday & I gained a pound this week. I worked so hard & I ate pretty well, so I just don't even understand. As a woman, it's hard not to focus on the scale. I do it, we all do. We want to lose weight & society has taught us to be so fixated on that number. I wouldn't have gotten through the day without the encouraging texts from Doc, Sean, & my dad. If it wasn't for those, I more than likely would have had a mental breakdown at work.

Doc really helped me understand that I need to be more focused on this transition as a lifestyle change. If I embrace the lifestyle, train hard, and eat clean, the weight will take care of itself. That picture on the right is kind of the idea he's getting at. I'll admit that I'm not to that point yet, because lets face it, I really do need to lose weight & that's why I started this whole thing. When I stepped on the scale this morning and saw that number, I was pissed, upset, crushed, heartbroken, because there is nothing worse than feeling like hard work didn't pay off.

Here's something I've been avoiding mentioning but I think it's time to put it out in the open. (No shame). If you're overweight you know exactly what I'm talking about, if you're not this a whole another reason you should stay in shape forever! That is the dreaded "chub rub." If you don't get that, it's when your thighs rub together so much when working out that it gives you a horrendous rash. It hurts like Hell and makes you walk like you just got off a horse. It's been the absolute worse today!!!!

It was a rough start to my day to say the least... But I managed to make it to CrossFit, even though I didn't want to. I arrived at 4:45pm to do the WOD which was as follows:
21-15-9
Burpees
Dumbbell thrusters

It was pretty intense but I stayed after to do some rowing (5555m to be exact). Then Doc & I walked a little over a mile. I'd say I had a pretty successful day. That is one thing I encourage you to do, after a bad weigh in, don't take a day off!

Days like to day really make me realize a few things... What a great support system I have! I have the greatest trainers a girl could ask for & the most supportive dad in the world. Most of all though, I have the most loving God. God has always touched me through music so I find myself listening to Family Life Radio often. When I was seriously contemplating a milkshake from McDonalds, a song came on the radio...

If you don't feel like listening, here are the lyrics that really touched me:

Whatever it is you may be going through
I know He's not gonna let it get the best of you
You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight ‘til the final round
You're not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You
That you're an overcomer
You're an overcomer

I think this can apply to all of our lives at some point or another. The power of this song really turned my day around. 

God is my rock in this journey. 

#beastmode

Today was so intense that I'm almost too tired to write about it BUT it was so amazing that I can't help but stay up & fill yall in!

I started off the morning with swimming... Yall know how much I dread that but I surprisingly found it tolerable. I used a kick board the whole time (I'm quite certain I would have drowned if I hadn't) but I think I did pretty good. I'm not sure anyone understands how opposed I am to swimming. It was hard for me to get past my fear of the water but I decided to suck it up & just do it. Sean is an awesome swim coach though, even if he was pretty serious/scary. Much scarier than he is at CrossFit!  Despite that, I definitely hope I can keep going back because I know it'd be a great workout to fit into my routine.

 Every day I'm looking for new ideas for cardio, so if you guys have any I'd love to hear!

I was pretty dead after all that swimming, but as always, I sucked it up & went to CrossFit (after all, tomorrow is weigh in day!)

Rich coached the class I went to tonight. I've gotten to talk to him quite a bit but this is the first of his classes that I've actually attended. Can you say awesome coach?? Because that's what he is! He's spot on with explaining how to do things & gives you great motivation when you need it. I know he's definitely the guy to go to when I want to step it up & try to do pull-ups & handstands. (that may not be in my near future though.) lol. I've always admired him in workouts though because he's so dedicated to his own fitness which is a great motivator.

Tonights WOD was as follows:

1 mile run (I did rowing)
50 Wall balls
40 handstand pushups (I did regular)
30 pull-ups
20 box jumps
10 muscle-ups (I did ring rows)

What an insane workout!!! I was drenched with sweat, almost passed out on the floor, & I almost lost my lunch. (I'm pretty sure cottage cheese wouldn't be yummy the second time around).

Since I'm getting ready for weigh-ins, I decided to stay after & row. SO today I rowed a total of 10,625 meters. WOOHOO. My legs are dead, my arms are shot, & my hands are calloused like never before, but it was soooo worth it. (&& when I lose 4 pounds tomorrow, it'll be even more worth it).

So I ain't gonna lie, tonight I was a beast.

Next Level.

Today has been an amazing day. I toured Saginaw Valley State University & am excited about my future there whether it be this fall, winter, or next year. I took a break from work & got ready for CrossFit, the usual. Today was a little different though, I looked online to see the WOD last night & it was insane. I seriously texted Doc right when I read it...  "You gotta be f**cking kidding me." The WOD read as follows:

45:00 AMRAP
5 Deadlift
5 Squat Clean
5 Front Squat
5 Push Jerk
5 Back Squat

To say the least, I was more nervous than a potato chip on Super Bowl Sunday. (ok, that one was kind of lame) But I showed up, like I always do, to the 6PM class that Mary was coaching. Before I go any further, let me mention that she plays the best music, by far. Unfortunately I haven't shaken the mid-workout tears but her music definitely helped me through. When times get tough, I cry, whether I mean to or not. They just start streaming down my face. It's not that I'm in pain or I want to give up, sometimes I just feel like I'm not going to make it, like losing 150 pounds is just too much.



In my more recent CrossFit days, I feel like I've lost the fire that I had in the first month. Like possibly I'm not pushing myself to the limits that I did before. I have no doubt that I'm still working hard, but am I working hard enough? Am I taking it to that next level that my life needs? Unfortunately my knees have somewhat gave out on me lately, I'm having to modify, scale, and look for alternatives that will give me an equal amount of cardio. First of all, I've started to do more rowing. It's an absolutely great workout, but it's kind of boring. I'll definitely start bringing my Ipod.

Second.... SWIMMING.  Swimming is a great workout for overweight people. It's easy on your joints and it's a full body workout. I have always disliked swimming though. Ever since I had a bad fall off an tube in 5th grade where I seriously thought I was going to drown, I have had serious opposition to the water. But they keep telling me it's good for me. Yesterday, Doc surprised me with a swimming WOD. I did the doggy paddle, or in my case, more like the drowning cat paddle. But I managed, with no complaints. (Almost no complaints). I mean seriously, I'm probably not going to die in a 5 foot deep pool, but I feel like I'm in Finding Nemo repeatedly reminding myself, "Just Keep Swimming."

Tomorrow, I'm having a swimming lesson with Sean. The idea of this is pretty intimidating since he's a national champion swimmer, but I guess that just means I'm in good hands. As you can see, I'm not 100% thrilled about this swimming thing, but if that's the "next level" my workout needs, I'm all in.

A Fallen Star

If you haven't already guessed it, writing is my outlet. Today I'm pretty irritated and a lot of things have gotten me down. I didn't get to workout & that clearly is a disappointment considering I'm trying to work so hard. With that, I decided to write about something near & dear to my heart. This one hits close to home...

I'd like to say I live life with no regrets, but that would be a lie. I have made a million and one mistakes but they truly have shaped me into who I am today. Still, I often can't help but wonder where I'd be if I hadn't made some of them. More than likely, I'd be somewhere better.

Recently someone asked me what the biggest mistake of my life was. On paper, there are so many things you could pin point as big mistakes, but to me, the choice is clear. Quitting tennis was by far the biggest mistake of my life.

Growing up I was tall, thick, & naturally strong so my weight was always a bit of a concern but I stayed active so I knew I was fairly healthy. I've always had a passion for sports. (I mean, my first real word was "football" for goodness sake.) In 8th grade I decided to try out tennis. My middle school didn't have a team so they allowed us to play up on the high school team. I did okay my first year, but it definitely gave me the drive to want to be great. The summer after 8th grade I practiced hours on end a day with a coach that was ruthless, but great. He pushed me to be my best and there were certainly no excuses allowed.

Newspaper article captured
me with my "concentration
face", tongue out & all.

Nervous before the talk show!

Before I knew it summer was over & tryouts were upon us. As a freshman, I had moved from #7 JV to #2 Varsity. It is safe to say my hard work had paid off. My doubles partner & I were very successful & that season was most likely the proudest year of my life. I was dedicated to practicing & improving. After all, I had my entire high school tennis career in front of me. Our #1 ranked doubles team consisted of me, a freshman at the time & my partner who was an 8th grader. We quickly became known as a young dynamic duo. From a newspaper article entitled "Youngster's Dominating the Court" to interviews on a local talk show, we got attention all around the area, which only fed our drive to be better.

So you must be wondering why I quit... Believe me it's something I ask myself every. single. day.

I remember the night my parents told me we were moving... Again. I was sitting in their room, knowing what talk was before us. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I had finally built a life there. I had my first "boyfriend," real friends, & a church that I loved. Leaving my team made it even worse. In January we moved & I got to Midland the week of tennis tryouts, but Dow's team was intimidating to say the least. Courage & confidence have never been my strong suit. Not until lately at least. I didn't show up for tryouts, & not a day goes by that I don't think about it. With tennis not in my life, I lost purpose, I lost motivation to do well in school, I lost my life. If I hadn't quit tennis perhaps I would have avoided the slippery slope of self-destructive choices. Perhaps I'd be off at college & not hanging around Delta with no direction. Perhaps I would have never gained 150 pounds & be in the boat I am right now. I know I shouldn't think about it, but I do, all the time.

As you can probably imagine, this is something that's hard for me to talk about. I'd like to think everything fell into place the way it should, but I have to trust in God that this is true. Perhaps God is using this journey & this blog to inspire others. Perhaps at the end of this, I'll be a stronger person.

I approach CrossFit with the same dedication I approached tennis, at least I'm trying to. It's hard but I'm proud of that kid I used to be & if I can do this half as whole heartedly as she treated tennis, I think I'm good to go.

Here's to my summer of change... If I can make that kind of jump in the ranks, I reckon I can knock off a few pounds.

How To Workout From Home + MY DREAM WOD.

You know you've had a bad day when you're so pissed off that you are drinking your hangover remedy  soup & you're not even hung over. 

Todays workout was good, great actually. (Crazy enough, I actually enjoyed doing burpees). I thought I did pretty well & then afterwards I met this guy that's a beast at CrossFit, so that was pretty cool. After I got home though, my day took a turn for the worst.

I tried to take a nap, but it was continuously interrupted by 20+ text messages. I tried going shopping in Birch Run but couldn't find ANYTHING I wanted. Not to mention the weekend traffic was outrageous. 

So I settled on egg drop soup and a triple-feature of low key horse movies. Yeah, it's that kind of Saturday night. 

Well, to feed my CrossFit obsession I decided to think about what my dream workout would be.. It would definitely involve thrusters. But here's what I came up with. (All my favorite things or things I need to work on). 

3 rounds of
200m run
21 Thrusters
12 Wall balls
7 V-Ups (I guess that'd be toes to bar for you fit people ;)

Then I realized I wasn't even sure I knew what it took to design your own workout, & instead of sitting here thinking about it, I should actually be doing a workout. So I did some research, & here in lies, How to do workouts from home. 

The first thing I did is took a look around my house at what equipment I had that could work for exercises. Keep in mind, you can always do things that make use of your body weight. (Push-ups, plank, squats, sit-ups).

Next look around for items you have. I have a kettle-bell which I can use for a variety of different things. I know many people have a set of dumbbells lying around which can be used for walking lunges, push press, etc.

Don't be afraid to think outside of the box & use things that aren't necessarily gym equipment. I use the step in front of my fire place for box jumps. 

Next, make a list of all the exercises you could do. Here's my list:
Kettle-bell swings, plank, burpees, sit-ups, v-ups, box jumps, jumping pull-ups, OH walking lunges, running (yeah, right.), & the list goes on...
Don't forget being creative: you can always go outside.

Good training should be built around functional movements, that's what we do at CrossFit. So avoid things like crunches & calf raises, & stick to things that have high demand on your whole body. 

Then at random, put all the exercises you came up with in a hat & draw the amount of exercises you plan on doing. The exercises I got are:

Running
Jumping pull-ups
Burpees
Walking lunges (with full gallons of water in each hand)

In order to figure how many reps or rounds you're doing, I'd check out the benchmark workouts. Here's a couple examples:

“Fran”

Pick two high-power exercises and perform 21 reps of each, 15 reps of each, and 9 reps of each as fast as you possibly can.  Record total time.

Example: 21-15-9 dumbbell thrusters and chair dips

“Helen”

Do 2-3 exercises for 10-25 reps each and separate each round with a 400 meter run.  Record total time.

Example: 3 rounds for time of 21 jumping air squats, 12 handstand push ups, 400 meter run.

 “Karen”

Perform 150-200 reps of the same exercise as fast as you can.

Example: 150 burpees for Time

Tabata Intervals

Pick an exercise and do 4-8 straight rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest.  Do this for 4-5 exercises with no additional rest in between.  Record total reps.

So here is the workout I did tonight:

Run 200m

21 jumping pull-ups

21 burpees

21 walking lunges

Run 200m

15 of each of the above

Run 200m

9 of each of the above

You may say I'm overdoing it.. I reckon I have drank the "CrossFit Kool-Aid," but results are what I care about & as doc would say, "work is the only shortcut to results."

Sources: http://livingsuperhuman.tumblr.com/post/19897627166/how-to-design-your-own-crossfit-or-high-intensity

Coming Together

If you're reading this today, go out & celebrate America's birthday!

I, on the other hand, decided to stay in, mainly because my room is nowhere near clean, I have the heat rash from hell, & I figured I'd save my liver & diet from all the alcoholic calories associated with the 4th of July.

CrossFit was intense to say the least. I almost didn't go because when the website says, "It's a surprise, you'll love it," you know that's a straight up lie.

But I knew I'd regret not showing up & doc gave me a ride so I really had no excuse not to go. So I showed up, more nervous than a prize turkey in November.

Me post-workout,
surprised I'm still smiling!

I was so siked to wear my American flag head band though, courtesy of FitHappy. Also, my smart self, remembered to where long socks because I have the worst heel blisters of my life! Not pleasant...

So we got there & everyone was complaining, I would be too after finding out the WOD consisted of running a 10K (6.2 miles). Sean had told me that's what it was but I seriously thought it was a joke. Knowing I wouldn't have to run it (because I'm having knee troubles...), I was worried about what my alternate workout would be.

Since everyone was bitching about running, Sean jokingly gave us an alternate workout which, in honor of America's birthday, was:

237 burpees
237 pull-ups
237 air squats

Uhmmm, are you crazy? To my surprise, over half the group chose to stay in & do the 237 workout.

My hands thank me for
stopping when I did.

Instead of running, I rowed & rowed & rowed... 9037 meters which is 5.6 miles. I'm sort of mad that I only did that many because they told me that 1500meters was in a mile but it's really 1600, so I fell short of a 10K which was my goal.

I had done very little rowing before today and it was definitely a challenge but I really enjoyed it because for the first time I had absolutely no reason to quit. I felt fit like a normal person because I had no physical limitations. If anything was making me want to stop, it was mental. There was no way in hell I was giving up until I got to that 9000m mark.

Kind of dark, I did my best to lighten it up but this is the amazing group of people I work out with! (some of them)

 You have no idea the support & encouragement I get from the people in the picture above. Being cheered on by Amy the whole time & Tony pushing me at the end made more of a difference than they'll ever know! Once I got to 8000m my legs were shot & that last stretch was ridiculously hard! My favorite part of the workout today though, was not in my own accomplishments. It was watching the people that did the 237 workout come together and encourage each other. When someone looked like they were struggling, there was always someone there cheering them on and pushing them to make it through. This is nothing new though, that's how it is at every workout at CrossFit Glory, but watching it happen while I was rowing, really gave me the chance to appreciate it. I could not ask for a better group of people to help me along on this journey. For those of you who missed the update, 5 pounds lost this week which gets me to a grand total of 16! I couldn't have done it without you guys.

You can always keep up with my weight-loss by clicking the Progress tab at the top of my page.

Happy 4th of July y'all! Maybe I will go celebrate after all, see ya under the fireworks :)