Believe! You Can Do This!

It is that time again when one year comes to an end and another year begins. A time when we look back on the past year and pat ourselves on the back for achieving goals that we set for ourselves OR wonder "What the hell happened?!"

I have stated before that I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. Why? Well, let me ask you. How many of your New Year's Resolutions have you actually achieved? My guess is, probably not that many.

Now let me ask you another question.

How many of the goals that you have set for yourself have you met? I would venture to guess that you have reached many of them.

Have you achieved all of your goals? Probably not. If you have, I would tell you it is time to make some more. We should ALWAYS have our sights set on a goal and when we reach that goal, set a new one! Remember, "The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race."

As I have looked back on this past year, I am thrilled and amazed at how much has happened.
There were many goals that I set out for myself that I still have not reached, but I am certainly closer to achieving them than I was a year ago.

As far as goals met, I competed in 4 CrossFit competitions in the RX division,  I even came in second place in my first Master's Division at the Reindeer Games. I recieved my CrossFit Gymnastic Cert., organized my very first and successful fundraiser benefiting Autism, (WODism for Autism). I went to the CrossFit Games and watched some amazing athletes! I met Cheryl Brost, Lindsey Smith, Rich Froning Jr AND Fitness Lonnie! I learned butterfly pullups, got my first bar muscle up and got stronger.

I also surprised myself with achieving my largest goal.

Owning and running my own box has been a long time goal of mine, more like a dream of mine. I saw that dream fulfilled back in August when I and two of my good friends opened CrossFit Alabaster. It has been a huge success and that is due to my outstanding partners and our amazing (and fun) athletes! I have made some pretty incredible relationships because of CrossFit Alabaster and have the opportunity to spend time with some pretty amazing people on a daily basis. I am blessed.

This morning while I was in church listening to my dad preach, he said this during the sermon, "sometimes opportunities come disguised as impossibilities. Remember, nothing is impossible with God!"

This is so relevant to me. I don't know if I thought it was impossible to have my own box, but I did wonder if it would ever be possible. What I can say is that I BELIEVED I could do it. I don't know what your faith is, but I do know this. You must BELIEVE  for it to come to pass. I truly believed. I had a few people tell me that I would not be any good at all running my own gym/business. That I didn't know how to do "this", I didn't know how to do "that". I wasn't good at "this", I needed to be better at "that".

I had faith in myself though. I had a positive support group and I chose to listen to them. I chose to believe in myself and I chose to put my faith in Him.

Have you ever set a goal or set out to do something and had someone tell you that you couldn't do it?

Did you do it anyway and succeed? Why? Because you had faith in yourself! You believed you could do it!

The same also applies to your fitness goals, as well. One of my goals this year was to have a "PRETTY Muscle Up". It's okay, you can laugh, but if you saw my muscle up, you would agree that this is a very good goal for me to have. The other day, I was on the rings working with one of our other coaches and he told me, "Dawn, give me a few minutes, I will have you on top of those rings! It's going to happen today!"

HE believed!

We transitioned, we kipped, we broke everything down back to the basics. All the things I already knew. I could do this! I was ready to do this...right? I got back up on the rings, did this beautiful kip (well, it felt beautiful)...and felt myself stop pulling, mid-swing.

For the first time, I actually heard the words in my head. "You are going to fall."

I was scared I was going to fall. I KNEW I was going to fail. I was scared I would go through the rings...all the way through and fall out of the rings. I did not expect to get on top of those rings. So...I didn't.

I did not believe.

Guess what goal I have not reached. Guess who is holding me back...me.

So today I am asking you to make goals for yourself. Write them down. Share them with someone! My biggest goals were achieved because I had help and encouragement and I BELIEVED.

You can do this!

2013 is going to be an amazing year!

Happy New Year!

Be Thankful

Thankful.
What does that really mean when you apply it to yourself?
I'm not talking about being thankful for friends or family, I literally mean your self, your body.

This is the month to be thankful. On Facebook, everyone has started the "Day 1, I am thankful for...", including yours truly. In risk of sounding cliche , we should be thankful EVERY DAY!
Today that was really brought home to me. Reality punched me in the face!

I have a younger sister that was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis close to 15 years ago. If you are not familiar with this disease, it is basically an attack on the nervous system.

The way it was explained to me is that there are 3 different types of MS.
In the first case, the person may have an exacerbation and then never have one again.
This is not my sister's case.

In the second case, the person will have a series of exacerbations over their lifetime. Each one can be completely debilitating, which for my sister, put her in a wheel chair the first time. The exacerbations can also be mild. But after each exacerbation, that person does not recover their health 100%. In essence, it is like a stair step effect. Each exacerbation leaves them a little weaker, a little less coordinated, a little more "foggy", ect.
This WAS my sister's case.

In the third case, the person will have an exacerbation that they never really recover from and their health takes a nose dive.
THIS has now become my sister's case.

This post is not about MS.
This post is about being thankful and NEVER taking your health for granted.

MS is a terrible disease and it is awful to watch someone you love suffer from it. What is even worse is when it happens to someone who no longer has the will to fight it.

When my sister had her first exacerbation, she walked into the ER on her own two feet. Two days later she was temporarily paralyzed on one side of her body. Just. Like. That! She was in a wheel chair for the next 3 months and she worked very, very hard to get out of that chair.
She did!
She was 25 at the time.

I think that was all the fight she had in her or close to it. The next exacerbations were not so bad, but as she recovered from each one, I could tell that her coordination was getting worse, her memory was getting worse and her desire to fight it and her desire to stay active faded.

I wanted so much to help her. I had big ideas on how I could do physical therapy with her and get her stronger, steadier on her feet and help her be able to walk up stairs again. I had read testimony after testimony on how people were able to fight their MS. There was even a story on the CrossFit Journal about one lady's journey with MS and how CrossFit helped her so much. I was excited! We could do this! I sent the article to my sister saying "look what we can do!"

She didn't want my help. What she wanted was an easy fix. The way she looked at it, her legs had always worked, they would work again. She had always been able to walk, she would be able to do it again. What she didn't see was that she had to do the work. She had to put forth the effort.

She was taking her body for granted. She thought that her body would just keep taking the neglect she had been showing it. That she would even be fine to continue to smoke. Other people smoke, right?
I spent 6 frustrating months working with her daily and finally had a painful realization.
You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.

My sister just turned 39 years old on October 16.
This morning I visited her in a nursing home.

This is what I learned today.

My "Fran" time doesn't matter so much to me as I thought.
The fact that I can carry my 9 year old son up the stairs to bed if he falls asleep on me, does.

Treat your body right. God gave you that body to do work.
Do wonderful, wonderful things!
And be Thankful.

My New Adventure

Once again I would like to apologize. I have been missing in action for quite some time. In fact, my last post in July was just a week before my life changed in this new, exciting direction.

"So what's been going on?" you ask. Let me tell you!

When I decided a few years ago to become a certified CrossFit coach, my long term goal was to own and run my own box. At the time, my boys were a bit too young for me to dedicate that much time coaching and then shortly after, my husband's job changed and he began traveling...a lot! So, the idea of me having my own box was put on the back burner.

That was okay. I wasn't ready yet and I was loving every minute coaching where I was. I loved the people there and I loved watching that box grow with new members. As the months and years went, CrossFit became more and more of what I thought about, what I did and who I was. I was what some called "obsessed" but what I just call "dedicated".

Then, this summer, a remarkable thing happened. God opened a door for me.
In late June, my dear friend and fellow crossfitter, Leigh, asked me one day during lunch if I had ever thought of opening my own box.

"Oh yes!", I told her. But then I went on to explain why I had not pursued this yet.
"Wouldn't it be amazing if we started a gym? A box, run by amazing, strong women?", she asked.
Well, that WOULD be so amazing!!!
And then we talked about it, ate lunch, went home. Life went on.
We were just talking...right?

But deep down I was serious...and so was she. This was my dream. Could we really do this? So we kept revisiting this topic and I knew within the next week that we absolutely could do this!

Then another remarkable thing happened. Another great friend of ours (not knowing anything about what we had been discussing) asked us if we had suggestions for a great business to invest money in. Didn't we have any ideas?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
We said nothing. Not. One. Word.

What we did is went home and thought about it. Talked about it and did a whole lot of PRAYING about it.
What became very clear to us both was that God was opening door after door. Was this really happening?
YES!

Our goal was to open in October but again, more opportunities came available and a month and a half later we were owners of CrossFit Alabaster!

We opened the doors 3 weeks ago, August 27, almost 2 months to the day after we first talked about it.
Last week was our official Grand Opening and I was moved to tears by the support of the CrossFit community that came out to support us.
Talk about a whirlwind!!

It has been a crazy, exciting and very emotional few months and I am still pinching myself to make sure I am not dreaming. But I am loving every minute.

I would be lying if I didn't admit I have never been this tired, but to see these new faces walk in the door and try CrossFit and become part of my CrossFit family, has just made everything worth it.

Our first week, we signed up over 20 new people and as of now we have over 50 members.
Mind. Blown!

I must also add that there is no way I could do this without the support of my amazing husband. No way.
He has been amazing.
So this is why I have been missing.

I will be posting on a regular basis again now that things have begun to settle.
Thank you to all who follow. I hope you will enjoy this ride with me!

My Experience at the 2012 CrossFit Games

I didn't think it was supposed to rain in sunny California!

It has been a week since I had the incredible experience of going to the 2012 CrossFit Games and it has taken me a full week to process what an amazing weekend it was!

A few months ago, my husband told me that he wanted to take me on a weekend get away, just the two of us, no kids. Where did I want to go?

I told him, “The CrossFit Games!”

Seriously?

Yes! Seriously!

The very first event I wanted to see was the Master’s. I know that 90% of that crowd was there to see Rich Froning Jr., Annie T and the who’s who in CrossFit, but for me, the Master’s were first on my list. They had already started when we finally made it in the gate, but I was mesmerized instantly. 

These athletes were absolutely amazing! I was humbled, enthralled and inspired watching these incredible people trudge through WOD’s that would have crushed me! Watching 60+ year old women knock out pull-ups and double unders like there were nothing is something I think everyone should see! Seeing Freddy Camacho compete was pretty exciting, too!

Freddy Camacho

Master's chipper WOD

I also had my check list of friends I wanted to see. Our first stop, was to stop by the 2Pood booth and visit my friend, Justin Key. I cannot explain how cool it is to travel all the way across the country and attend an event knowing you will run into someone you know!  Friends that I have made in the CrossFit world through competitions, certs or events. Really, I think this was one of the most exciting things for me.

My husband and I with our friend, Crystal and her son Morgan.

Shelby Levy and I right before the "Double Banger" event.

I loved that I was able to visit again with Jeff Tucker, Coach Burgener and Chuck Carswell and have the opportunity to introduce my husband to them. Being able to meet people that I have become friends with on Facebook because of CrossFit was just awesome. To meet Eileen Schreiber was a big highlight! Meeting Candi, with WOD Love, Kevin Daigle and Lisbeth Darsh, I mean, really, it was hard to contain me! Seeing Nicko Kazadzis with Atlas Power Wraps and being able to finally hug his neck for all the help he gave me for the WODism for Autism...it just made my weekend.

Eileen!

Me,Tucker and Nicko

Of course meeting Fitness Lonnie was just an experience in itself!

Honestly, these moments are what my weekend was about. Yes, we watched the Games! Are you kidding? We sat in the stands and baked in the California sun and cheered. We jumped to our feet and screamed as it came down to the wire between Kristen Clever and Talayna Fortunato. We were caught up in the emotion watching Jenny Lebaw struggle through the bar muscle up triplet. We sat in awe as we watched Chris Spealler clean a med ball that weighed as much as he did and made it look easy. I had goosebumps as I watched Matt Chan take the podium in 2nd place and cried with Annie as it was announced she was the Fittest Woman in the world for the second time. But you see, I could have done all this while watching the games on my computer at home. Being there at the Games was soo much more than just watching the elite crush workouts. For me, it really was about the community. It is truly something I have never experienced before.

This past weekend, I met many of the “who’s who” of CrossFit and I remained star struck most of the weekend. Here is what really stood out the most to me.  I did not meet ONE asshole. Not one! In a place full of 10,000 souls, I was surrounded by a group of people that I had something in common with and every person I met was just nice! When does that happen?

I was so excited to finally meet Cheryl Brost. She has been my inspiration for 2 years.

I do have a confession to make. There was one person I did want to meet over everyone else that weekend. She was the top of my list and I when I did finally meet her, I became like a kid. Cheryl Brost did not disappoint me, she was adorable! I had just had my picture taken with Lindsey Smith and Jermey Kinnick when she ran up to talk to them. I looked at my husband in disbelief because she was running right at me.

I looked at her and said, “Oh my God! I have been wanting to meet you all weekend!”

She said, “Oh my God! I have been wanting to meet you, too!

And you know what?

I believed her. 

I did it and I did it WELL!

I am a little late blogging this, but I was waiting for the video to be put together so I could share it with you in this post.
Two weeks ago I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone and pushed myself to new limits!
I participated in an all night Endurance Camp in which we did 10 "Girl" WODs in 10 hours. For those of you who follow this blog but are not very familiar with CrossFit, the "Girl" WODs are some of the most difficult workouts that we do. They are named after girls much like hurricanes and they will leave you wrecked!
So last Friday night, my friend Mary and I arrived at 7:00 pm. We had an hour to set up our little gypsy camps, meet everyone there and start to warm up. At 8:00 pm we started with our first and probably most awkward workout, "Condoleezza Rice".
I had done many of these WODs before and I knew this was not the night that I would be making a new PR (personal record) on any of these. This night was going to be about getting through one WOD, resting, fueling up, and getting through the next one, and the next one, and the next.
The WODs were scaled to varying degrees so that we could make it through the night. One of the ways they were scaled was that everyone worked in teams of 2. In some WODs, we both had to complete the workout in its entirety. In other WODs, we could share the work however we needed to.
The ones that had heavy weight were the ones we were able to "share", bodyweight ones like "Angie", and "Annie", we both had to complete on our own but we couldn't call time until both of us had finished.
In the video, each WOD is listed and the time that we did it. We started each one on the hour every hour.

The first and last one I would say were the most demanding because they were awkward, but I will confess, "Angie" almost made me cry.
In the video, you will see me standing on the tire (in white shorts) with my hand on the bar...not doing anything. I feel like I should explain. This was during "Angie" and I think I was in the 70's on the pullups by this point and my hands were done. Just hanging off the bar hurt so much. After this WOD, I was more thankful than ever that Mary was on my team. We complimented each other perfectly. She can crush most body weight exercises and I could handle the heavier weight. Being able to split up "Helen" was huge! She did the 45 pullups and I did all 45 of the 45lb Kettlebell swings.
OK, so you may be wondering, why the hell would I do this?
Because it scared me.
Because it was something I had never done before.
AND, because it scared me.
I have done CrossFit competitions before and I leave them with mixed feelings. I love doing them, and I am so proud of myself for putting it all out there, but I am always humbled by how far I have to go. There are so many incredible athletes out there and I will never come close to some of these ladies. At the age of 38, I just started too late.
(This is not something I am saying as a "poor me". It is a fact. I will tell you that now, at 40 years old, I am fitter and stronger than I have EVER been! So, no, this is not me playing a sympathy card.)
Let me tell you though, this was not a CrossFit Competition yet I think I put my body through more that night than I have in any competition I have done so far. Another thing I should mention is that this Endurance Camp did not leave me with those mixed emotions. I was humbled, yes. I was exhausted, absolutely! I was not the best, or even close, but I left that morning at 6:00am thinking of only one thing. "I DID IT AND I DID IT WELL!"
Thanks to Sean Dickson for putting together such a great camp. I will be doing this again for sure.

A Goal without a Plan is just a Wish

The past few months for me have been crazy busy and I have never felt so scattered and out of sorts. Don't get me wrong, some incredibly amazing things have happened. I competed in Garage Games One in the RX division (my first), I completed my CrossFit Gymnastic Cert, organized my first fundraiser, WODism for Autism, and my gym just moved into a brand new location that is twice the size of our old one because we have grown so much. See? Really great things!
Looking at this list, I see so many things I can mark off of my goal "check-list" and that's good, right? Of course! So why do I feel so disorganized?
I have blogged before about the importance of making goals and I have discovered that, for me, the hardest part of having a goal is the plan you make to get there.
 I am so ADD and I am a procrastinator. This is a fact. I am also, for the most part, my own coach. When it comes to programming, I am the one who programs it.
Yes, I workout with the 8:30 class and Coach Mark programs that class. That has been my "unknowable", but for the rest of my training, it is up to me.
Over the past few months during this crazy time, my training has had no rhyme or reason.
Why? Because I haven't given myself the time to sit down and make a program just for me.
For example, I went into the gym Friday planning on working on 1RM Split Jerks and Snatches during Open Gym, but I was easily distracted and found myself watching, helping and coaching the other people in the gym instead of working on what I needed to.
Yes, I worked on my Split Jerk but I never even got to the Snatches.
My problem...no plan.
I find that the days that I have already planned out what I will be working on a day or two in advance, I get it all done. The days I struggle are the days I decide to come in and "work on" something or walk in with no plan.
The procrastination becomes a factor when it comes to my planning. I am a mother of 3 boys and they keep me hopping. All day long as I am running errands, cooking, working or WODing, I am thinking "I need to do this, I need to do that." But when I finally have the time to sit down and do what I have been thinking of all day, I am pooped! Excuses? Maybe. But it is what it is.
I have blogged about my goals before but what I haven't blogged about was my plan to get there.
Tonight I plan on sitting down and creating my plan, my program for the next 3 months.
I will blog about it later this week but what I am focusing on is sticking with the same program for 3 months. This may be difficult for me because I get bored so easily but I accept the challenge!
I am ready to get stronger!
I am ready to get faster!
I am ready to be better!
And I am making a plan to do just that.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

I know you have read this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt or heard it many times but have you tried to do just that? I did this past weekend. If you are friends with me on FaceBook, you have probably grown tired of hearing me talk about this past weekend, in fact I am sure I have probably been blocked by some of you. I apologize, really, but I am still giddy as hell about it!

What happened this past Saturday? The Regionals, yes, BUT that's not what I am talking about. I am talking about the WODism for Autism.

What is that you ask? Well, let me tell you about it.

Back in the fall, my friend Sean Dickson, from Combat Fitness in Hoover, Alabama had a food drive for Backpack Buddies. For the entire day, he did this crazy body weight workout that lasted literally ALL DAY LONG. People came out and supported him by donating canned goods for Backpack Buddies. I went out there with my boys to bring some canned items and watched him workout. When I got there, some of his buddies had joined him for a few rounds of pushups, squats, running and I think some situps were in there, too.

I was inspired! What a great idea!

Over the next few months the idea of doing something like this to raise money for the Autism Society danced around in my head. What if we had a Ground to Overhead Relay that lasted all day? At the end of the day, we would see how much weight we put over our heads. Why? Well, why not?

Then I thought, what if we had a WOD that was inspired by movements my son, Taylor, likes to do? We could have 3 different versions, RX, Scaled and Kids. Why not use this as an opportunity to introduce CrossFit to our community and show them that they don't have to be Elite to be a CrossFitter. They could even have special needs and we can still make it perfect just for them. This is what I have done for Taylor and it have been amazing for him. Then I thought, wouldn't it be great if we could raise $1000 for the Autism Society of Alabama?

These were my goals.

I had never attempted something like this and I had no idea what to expect. I decided that since April is Autism Awareness month, April would be the perfect time to do this. In March, I sent out some messages to 2Pood, ReDefine Fit, WOD Gear and Atlas Power Wraps and asked if they would like to make a donation for prizes for this event. All of them replied very quickly with a big "YES!". 

I thought Jeff Tucker of GSX CrossFit would be the perfect guy to program the WOD "Taylor". Taylor really likes the body weight movements, and so Tucker is the man! Tucker was so generous with his time and was genuinely thrilled to be asked to do this for us.

I then started sending out invitations via FaceBook and the response was immediate and overwhelming! Can I just tell you how much I LOVE the CrossFit community? We had a great crowd! They came from all over the state. My friend Crystal and her husband Wayne along with their son, Morgan drove all the way from Dothan to be a part fo this event. My friend, Jonah from Brute Fitness in Gadsden (the bad ass in the video doing the one armed snatch) spent the day with us as well helping and putting weight over his head. We also had people come from Huntsville and Tuscaloosa. Not only did they show up but they showed out!
I think this video, done by my good friend James Washer, sums up the days events perfectly.

The day was a huge success!  Trinity CrossFit raised over $7000 for the Autism Society of Alabama and for the Ground to Overhead Relay that was going on all day from 11:00-6:00, we put over 200,000lbs over our head. I think next year we can do even better!


Then to make the day even better the most amazing and moving thing happened. A company called "The Infinite Actuary" donated the New iPad for the event. We decided that we would give that as a prize to the person who raised the most money. A fundraising contest, of course!


At the end of the day, James came in and said "It's over!. Someone just won the iPad by giving over $1000!" Then he told me, "They want Taylor to have it, so it's his and they also want to remain anonymous."

 I was moved to tears! I had to go into the bathroom and just cry. I had told my boys that we didn't count in the fundraising and now Taylor had just won the iPad because there are still some really amazing people in the world. 
Wouldn't it be amazing if CrossFit boxes all over the country did this for their local Autism Society?Autism affects more and more children. It has become an epidemic! When Taylor was diagnosed 13 years ago it was 1 in 150 children. Today it is 1 in 88!

I believe we can make a difference. I am so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone. I am still riding the high of an incredible weekend.


"Taylor"
10 minute AMRAP
5 second Handstand Hold
5 Ring Pushups
5 Shoot Thrus
15 Squats
5 second Hollow Holds

This week's goal-Make a Difference

Gymnastic Cert in Atlanta.

This past weekend I traveled to Atlanta to CrossFit HD for my CrossFit Gymnastic Cert with Jeff Tucker, Julie Maurer and Jessica Gray. Let me just say that I felt like a school kid the entire time! All during the day I felt like I needed to pinch myself and was constantly saying to myself "I am so glad I'm here!", "Can I really call this work?", "This is just too much fun!" and of course "I love Tucker!!"

Seriously, after spending 2 months sick with Bronchitis, YES! 2 MONTHS!, this put me in such a fantastic mood that I feel I am still floating!

I am still riding on the joy and feeling so blessed! I am blessed!

I have had the opportunity to work with outstanding coaches such as Mike Burgener, Jeff Tucker, Chuck Carswell, and on and on!  I get to meet truly amazing athletes such as Brandon Phillips, Emily Griffith, and Alecia Grantham and Leah Polaski. (Look for them in Regionals!) The friends I have made in my few short years of CrossFit are priceless! But more importantly I have the privilege of sharing CrossFit with other people. I have the honor of spending an hour with someone and help them to achieve goals they never dreamed they would achieve. Can it get better than this?

I could go on and on. Bottom line? CrossFit has changed my life and has brought me a joy I didn't know I was missing. Are you waiting for the mushy music to start? hahaha!

I know, this is soft and mushy, but this is how I have been feeling this past week. I wish everyone could feel like this! But here is what I have learned. I am not normal.

Surprised? Haha, probably not!

I know there are other "not normal" people out there and I love you! I also love the normal people. I realize not every one of my athletes live and breathe CrossFit. That's okay. They still walk in the door with a goal and if they don't, I give them a goal. (Goals are your friend!)

My goal right now is to make a difference. Yes, I have other goals such as a 135lbs snatch or finally getting a strict muscle up, but in the big picture my top goal is to make a difference.
I am working on that goal this coming weekend. The WODism for Autism.

This was an idea I had a few months ago after being inspired by my friend Sean Dickenson, from Combat Fitness who had done a day long (brutal) WOD to collect food for Backpack for Buddies. I loved it! I wanted to do something like this to raise money for the Autism Society of Alabama.What I came up  with was a WODathon  which we will host at my gym, Trinity CrossFit.

As you may or may not know, my oldest son, Taylor, has High Functioning Autism. He has been doing CrossFit Kids for 2 years now and it has been so great for him. I wanted to share this with other parents, so I thought this would be a great way to introduce CrossFit to people who may think it is only for the Elite and to raise a little money in the process.

Jeff Tucker with GSX CrossFit programmed the WOD "Taylor" for us. We are also going to be having a ground to overhead relay going on all day for the total amount of weight overhead by the end of the day.
I can't wait! I have no idea how many people are coming, but I do know that it has grown much larger than I had dreamed. I am looking forward to it!

If you would like to participate with us by doing the WOD "Taylor", here it is.
"Taylor"
10 minute AMRAP of
Handstand Holds - 5 seconds
5 Ring Pushups
5 Shoot Thrus
15 Air Squats
Hollow Hold - 5 seconds

I will blog next week and let you know how it goes!

OK, now on to the WODs this week
I have taken the past 2 weeks off because I couldn't get well so I only have Monday and today to post.

Monday:-
Strength
Push Press (no rack) 3-2-2-1-1 (95lbs, 105lbs, 110lbs, 115lbs, 125lbsF)

WOD
15 minute AMRAP of
5 Power Cleans (100lbs)
10 Toes to Bar
15 Wall Balls
6 Rounds +2

Strength 2
 Bench Press 5-5-5-5-5 (95lbs, 95lbs, 100lbs, 100lbs, 100lbs)

Tuesday
Skill
Ring Support 4 x 15 seconds
Ice Cream Makers 3-3-3-3-3

WOD
100 Overhead Squats (65lbs)
at the top of each minute do 3 burpees
8:45

Feels good to be back to my WODs again. My goal for the next 4 weeks is my bench press and my muscle up. I am working towards a bodyweight bench press and a strict muscle up by this time next month.

SKINNY does not mean HEALTHY

I have spent the past week or so really trying to find the right words for this post. I have finally come to the realization that I just need to be up front and point blank about this. I really just need to vent just a bit.

SKINNY DOES NOT MEAN HEALTHY!

That being said, I am human and I get my feelings hurt, too. I have to admit though, it really pisses me off that I couldn't just shrug this off but instead, let it get to me. Especially when what was said to me shouldn't have bothered me!

Last week, I had someone very close to me, another woman, lovingly point out the fact that I had still have a belly.
Not a shocker! I mean, it's not like I didn't know, but it hurt my feelings just the same. I said as much and she told me that she didn't mean to hurt my feelings BUT she was taking these appetite suppressants and maybe I would like her to get me some also to help me get rid of the rest of my belly.
:(
FEELINGS VERY HURT!

And do you know what makes me the most upset?! The fact that for a split second before I shut her down, I was willing to hear about these pills. WHY?

Seriously! WHY?!

If someone from my gym had told me that this had happened to them I would have come UNDONE! I would have been so upset! Then I would have spent the next 30 minutes explaining to them that SKINNY does not mean HEALTHY! Pills are NOT how to lose weight and blah, blah, blah!

So why didn't I have this immediate reaction when it was suggested to me that I needed help to lose my belly? I think partly because this statement came from a loved one, but I think the real reason is because I, like so many of you, can not be completely satisfied with how I look.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

I have never been that girl with the eating disorder. Mostly because I enjoy food too damn much!  What I have always wanted though, was an athletic build. A body that, when people saw me, would know that I worked hard for it, not wonder who my plastic surgeon was. (DISCLAIMER: I have nothing against plastic surgery, it is just not for me.)
Up until a few years ago, I didn't do the work to get that body, so I had no reason to be upset that I didn't have it. So, I wasn't.

If you don't work for it, you can't expect it, right? RIGHT!

After the birth of my 3rd and last son, I got serious though. I started working out 6 days a week doing something you may have heard of, P90X. This was perfect for me at the time. I had a newborn that I couldn't take to the gym and with this, I could work out at home. I did this for 3 years, every day. (YES! You read that correct) I measured myself monthly, weighed myself, took the before and after pictures. You name it! Over those 3 years, I saw my body begin to change and reward me with my hard work.

THEN I discovered CrossFit and my life completely changed!

I also discovered I wasn't near as strong and in shape as I thought I was. My first CrossFit workout handed my ass to me...and I loved it!!! As a result, I saw my body change more in the following 3 months than it had changed in the past 3 years of P90X. My arms, my legs, my shoulders and my back all begin to change. For the first time, I was able to see muscle definition. I didn't even know I had some of these muscles. Very cool!

What was even better, was that I found my goals had begun to change as well. I was no longer concerned with the number on the scale going down, or the measurements, or the damn "before" and "after" photos. My goals changed to things like, lift heavier, run faster, get an unassisted pull-up, learn the olympic lifts, do push-ups correctly.

Losing 5 - 10lbs began to seem silly to me.

I felt amazing and fitter than I had ever been in my life! Wasn't that supposed to be our goal?

I also learned what my body was not going to do. I had always expected my body to respond to everything, and for the most part it did...except my abs.

I joke with my friends that I only have a 3-pack instead of a 6-pack. Those other 3 abs that will not show, I have named them Taylor, Brendan and Jordan after my 3 boys.

So then why the hell did this conversation bother me so damn much? I had accepted a long time ago I was not a 6-packer.

Not a 6-packer

Nope, no 6 pack here either.

Reality = STRONG!

Not me! :)

My best friend suggested that maybe I was mourning a loss. She asked me, "Why are you not upset that your boobs aren't perfect?"
I laughed hard and said, "Girl, I have had three boys! There is no help for them expect for surgery, which I won't do."
She said, "The same is true for your abs! Everything else about your body changed as you expected with the exception for your stomach. Let's take a photo of those abs you think you should have, burn the picture and bury this crap!"

Well said, Cindy! So, for those of you out there that may be going through this same struggle, let's bury this crap! Love who we are! Be proud of what we are doing, and most important, don't let the hurtful words bring you down.

Strong is Sexy and Beautiful! Caring what people think of you...not so much.

You know better. I know better!

Be healthy, be fit, and most important, be HAPPY with who you are!

Being Sick is Not Fun!

So this is what it looks like at the end of Open WOD 12.4 when you have been sick for 3 weeks. This was AWEFUL!

Ok, I really, really try not to be a whiner, but I have to admit, I have done a hell of a lot of whining over the past, hmmm, going on 4 weeks!

The week of Open WOD 12.2 I started getting sick with a cough. Just a cough, but it was a constant, can't sleep at night kind of cough.

Over the next weeks it just got worse. I went to 2 different Doctors 3 times and finally on the 3rd week after a chest X-ray was diagnosed with Bronchitis. I was soooo frustrated! I haven't been sick since the fall and here I am sick during the World Wide OPEN.

Okay, so why am I telling you my sob story? Because this isn't a story about being sick, it's story about stubbornness.

After Open WOD 12.2, I was in 400 something place in my region. Um, only the top 60 go on to Regionals so the odds were high that I wasn't going to the Regions (a bit of sarcasm in the morning). Yeah, I am not going to Regionals. And I knew that going in. I have not trained how I wanted to this past year in order to get there. I knew this. But for me, the Open WOD competition wasn't about going to Regionals, it was about seeing how much I had improved from last year. Now I was sick!

I did Open WOD 12.3 on Friday during the week I had had no sleep.

(Open WOD 12.3 is As Many Rounds As Possible in 18 minutes of: 15 Box Jumps, 12 Push Presses (75lbs), 9 toes to bar.)

I had a steriod shot, steroid pack, and was loaded ups with meds. Well, good bye sleep for 2 days! Then the other nights I was up all night coughing...no sleep!

My score was 6 rounds + 33 reps. I knew I could have done better had I been 100%. Because of this, I decided to do it one more time that Sunday. I awoke Sunday morning around 5:00 coughing so hard that my throat closed up. For what was about 3 minutes I couldn't breathe. I went into a panic, scared the crap out of my husband who almost called 911. Oh, it was awful!

When I went into the gym that morning with my husband to redo WOD 12.3, I was still shaking from the events that morning. As I was watching him redo this WOD I realized that I was being very stubborn...and stupid. This wasn't worth it. My body was sick and it obviously needed a break. This was in contradiction from what I wanted to do, but I realized I had to surrender. My body was screaming at me to pay attention!

I took off another week hoping I would get better before Open WOD 12.4. I did...but just a little. I did Open WOD 12.4 on Friday.

(Open WOD 12.4 was As Many Reps As Possible in 12 minutes of: 150 Wall Balls, 90 Double Unders and 30 Muscle Ups.)

My goal was just to get through the wall balls. My "Karen" time (Karen is 150 Wall Balls) is under 8 minutes  but I was so scared I would launch into another coughing fit, I wasn't even sure if I could do it in 12 minutes. I was going out of town with my family for the weekend. I wanted to play it safe, not make myself worse. My new goal was to have a great weekend with my family. Priorities were now in check.

My friend Danny, who was judging me for the workout, really helped me get through it. He kept me at a pace. I would do 10 Wall Balls and drop it and he would count me down before I could pick it up again. This was such a help, I only had to stop to cough one time. My score was 186. All the Wall Balls plus 36 double unders.

Was it my best? Hell no! But I had a great weekend with my family in D.C. and that was the most important thing to me.

I am still not 100% yet and I realize that this is my fault. If I had taken some time off when I first started to get sick, I may not have gotten Bronchitis. Being sick is not fun, but being sick for almost a month is hell.

I have learned a very valuable lesson. Sometimes it is good to push through the pain, but you have to know when your body truly needs to rest and recover.

Open WOD 12.2 ...I love snatches!

Another item I can check off my 2012 Goal list! One of my goals was a 95lb squat snatch and last week after doing the Open WOD 12.2 I got 98lbs and it felt great!!! BUT...not 100lbs, so if you know about the Open WOD 12.2, then you know that my score was only 60.
The Open WOD 12.2 was 10 minutes of:
30 Snatches at 45lbs
30 Snatches at 75lbs
30 Snatches at 100lbs
then as many Snatches as you can at 120lbs

I did the first 60 snatches in 5 minutes, then spent the next 5 minutes trying to get that 100lbs. I have been stuck at 88lbs for months, I was determined to break through this. Well at the end of the 10 minutes my score was still 60.
I went into the gym that morning KNOWING that I was not leaving until I had a new Personal Record (PR) on my snatch. I had posted the night before on facebook. "I can do this". A friend of mine replied "NO, you WILL do this!"
Well, the WOD was done, I was disappointed and had already decided I was going to try this again.
I taught my class and watched PR after PR as my athletes snatched like crazy. It was so exciting!
After my class, I loaded up the Bella bar and decided that now was the time to PR that snatch. I like the Bella bar better for snatches because it is much easier to hook grip that bar, but it's only 33lbs.
I power snatched 88lbs and then loaded up 93lbs...and power snatched it! What?
Ok, 5 more pounds. BAM! 98lbs. squat snatch! I was soooo excited!
I tried 5 more pounds...but that was it. I was done for the day.
THEN it started bothering me...why did I load up the Bella bar? Only 2 more pounds and that would have been a 100lbs snatch! UGH!
I ended up doing WOD 12.2 two more times last week, but I never got that 100lbs snatch. I started getting sick the day before the Open and by the end of the week, I was just an empty tank.
So, score for WOD 12.2 was only 60, BUT I  did get a 10 lbs PR on a squat snatch AND did 120 snatches in 3 days.
So not beastly, but something I can be proud of.
How about you?
I would love to hear how you guys doing during the OPEN.
Any new PR's?

Oh, and of course, now I need to make a new goal for a Squat Snatch...110lbs I am coming for you!

The Open has begun!

Well, 2012 CrossFit Games Open WOD 12.1 is officially in the books!
If you don't know, WOD 12.1 is 7 minutes of as many burpees as you can do, BUT you have to jump and touch a target 6" above your standing reach.
I had originally thought to myself that I would not do the Open workouts more than once for 2 reasons.
1. you don't get a second chance in a competition and
2. in the past I haven't done well at second attempts.
But when you have an opportunity to improve your score, it can be hard to let that score just sit there knowing it could have been better.
So, my first go at it was 84 burpees. I really was surprised and disappointed. I was expecting at least 100. I have done 100 burpees in under 7 minutes before, but jumping up to reach a target 6 inches above your reach REALLY makes a difference. I decided to do it one more time and got a new score of 87. Not great considering the highest score in my Region is 140! I mean, that is MOVING!  I know that I didn't leave anything in tank, though. I know that was my best effort and I couldn't ask anything more from myself.
The main reason that I generally don't do WOD's more than once in a short time frame is because of where I go mentally.
About 2 weeks before I competed in the Garage Games One, they released what the WODs were going to be. I had a few friends do those WODs and post their times. They looked at as a practice run.
I did not do this. I worked on the movements, but I did not do the WOD. I was afraid it would backfire on me. I was very worried I would get to the competition and just suck because all I would be able to think of is that "I had already done this". This is what happened to me last year on two  WOD's that I redid during the 2011 Open. My score was actually lower than when I did it the first time.
On the other hand, this works really well for others. My buddy, Joe will do a WOD again the same day just to improve his score. So, in his case it works really well. In fact, I don't think he has ever done worse on a second go on a WOD. He typically will improve or at worst, have the same score.
This generally doesn't work for me. Especially if the WOD sucks really bad. All I can think of throughout the whole thing is "I don't want to do this again!" or "This sucks more than it did the first time!".
Now I am not talking about bench mark WOD's. I have no problems redoing those, but in those instances it will be many months in between. Redoing Benchmark WODs is a great way to check your progress and that is why they are called Benchmark WODs! We have several Benchmark WOD's that we will do periodically at Trinity CrossFit and I love watching all the scores improve. But we spread them out. We do not do them 2 times in a week.
Last week was the first time in over a year I have redone a WOD within hours or days of doing it the first time. And surprisingly, I actually had some success with it.
The first WOD I redid was a 10 minute AMRAP of as many ground to overhead as possible in 10 minutes. I chose to use 95lbs on the bar. The score was the total amount of weight put overhead by the end of the WOD. The first time through, I paced myself too slowly and when time was called I still had plenty left in the tank.
I came back that afternoon and PR'd by 1000lbs.
This time it worked really well. Why did it work this time? Because I liked this WOD. It was fun. But then...
7 Minutes of Burpees
I don't care how many times you do them or how good you are at them, Burpees ARE. NOT. FUN. Especially not for 7 minutes!
The second time through this WOD at about minute 4, this is what it sounded like in my head "I hate burpees!". "I am sucking at these!" and "I don't want to go to Regionals anyways!" "I'm going to throw up!" "I need faster music." and "I think Danny miscounted! I know I have done 1000!"
So what do you think? Do you think I could have done more if I had been thinking differently?
I think so.

How can I change this? How can I train my head to want it (during the suck) as much as I want it in my heart?
I've been thinking about this for days and yesterday I came across Sage Burgener Mertz's post about Mental Toughness. Please go read this! (After you finish here of course)
WOW! This was exactly what I needed to read.
Her brother Casey talks about making the decision about what you really want. Once you have truly decided THIS is what you want, then everything becomes easier.
So here I am now with my decision.
My decision is this. I WILL do my best no matter what!
I WILL be dedicated to clean eating to better my training.
I DO want to make it to Regionals next year.
I DO!
What is your decision?

Garage Games One Done!

This past weekend I competed in the Garage Games One.
I had competed last year in the Garage Games but in the Scaled Women's division. Last year I didn't finish as well I wanted to and knew I wanted to really improve myself as a competitor and an athlete. I needed to up my game.
My number one objective? To compete in this years Garage Games as Rxd.
Done!
This year there were 30 Rx women that competed and I finished 27th. I know, I know, not great and I spent about 1 day disappointed and feeling like I had let people down.
I had so many people tell me how proud they were of me that I finally began to realize that the only person I had let down was myself.
Sunday, as I was sitting on the couch, icing my knee, feeling every joint and muscle in me ache, feeling very 40 and having a small pity party for one in my head, I really began to think about what I had done this past weekend in Woodstock, Georgia.
I had done my very first Rx competition...and I didn't suck too bad. (although I will admit I was next to last on the run. More about that later). This was also the first time I had ever done 5 very tough WOD's in one day. I hung in there with the big dawgs! Incredible athletes like winner, Amy Wight (who I watched clean 175lbs!), Shelby Levy, Crystal McCullough and many, many more. Yes! I did it!
And what's more is that I realized how much I had improved from just last year! HUGE! Something I know I can be very proud of.
What I also learned is that humble pie can be good for you.
Walking out there full of confidence and then having your ass handed to you because of weather conditions (20 degrees and snowing...are you kidding?), or because you just ran a measly 2 1/2 miles and now your knee won't cooperate because you make excuses not to put that into your training (yep, that's me....I.HATE.RUNNING!)...yeah, BIG old helping of humble pie.
I think the one thing I was the most upset about was my clean and jerk. I was full of confidence! I had been practicing with 135lb clean and jerks weeks leading up to this. I HAD it. I was hoping to get a new PR at 145lbs. But at the 125lbs, my thoughts were already on the 135lb bar. I went to jerk 125lb and everything on my body stopped working. Even my legs went out from under me making it impossible to get out of the way. Yes, I dropped 125lbs down my back. ARE. YOU. KIDDING?!?!?!
On that event, I walked away in tears. Not from pain but from frustration and embarrassment. If you were to ask my athletes, they would tell you that I coach just as much about getting out of the way of the bar as I do about lifting it and here I had just dropped it on my back. This was a first for me.
Then of course you have to add the "Unknown". On this day, the "unknown" was the weather. This winter in the South has been incredibly mild. I think we have had only about 2 weeks of 30 degree or below temperatures, so I hadn't experienced training in this cold. This was the UNKNOWN. It was in the upper 20's, cloudy, snowing, with 40 mph winds. People had windburn. Crazy Southern weather! It was 60 degrees two days before the event and now it's back in the 60's again. Only this past weekend was it in the 20's. Another serving of humble pie.
So what is the takeaway?
I am soooo glad I participated in this event. It was fun in a CrossFit strange sort of way. I loved seeing friends that I have gotten to know through these competitions and making new ones. I loved watching my husband and Joe (one of my athletes) compete. I did REALLY LOVE IT!
I loved having my friends there from my gym cheering me, Mike and Joe on and dancing to keep warm.
I loved have my bestie there screaming at me to "keep going" and to "save the baby!" I love you Cindy!!
What can I say? I love this stuff!
What I also loved, believe it or not, is that this event also showcased my weaknesses and really highlighted what I need to work on....yes, running and stamina. This is a good thing, it really is.
The bottom line is that it was fun and I really recommend you trying it out. The Garage Games has a series for the entire year. Go to their website and get registered. They really run a great event!
Okay so, now that I am recovered, aside from the beautiful bruise on my back, (you're jealous, it's okay)  I know what my next step in training needs to be. Endurance and Running.
My most important goal  for 2012 is to continue to become a better athlete, not just a better CrossFitter and to become the best coach I can be.
What are your goals? Write them down! Check them off and then set new goals!
Keep going forward. If you fall, get up and try again.

Is Sugar Addiction for REAL?

This is a topic that I have discussed before but I feel I need to revisit it, as much for me as for you.
Is Sugar Addiction for Real?
In a word...YES!

As I have mentioned before, I am addicted to sugar and this is a battle that I have struggled with for a year.
Why only a year? Well, because it was only a year ago that I discovered this addiction.
I mean, how can you know your addicted to something if you have never been without it?

Before I go into this subject any further, let me first say that I am not throwing this word "addiction" around lightly. After discussing this with my husband and getting his encouragement, I am going to get a little personal here and give a little more information about me (and my family) because I really want you to understand where I am coming from.

So here it is, my husband is a recovering alcoholic (going on 2 1/2 years sober). I have been with my husband for 23 years and have known him since I was 14 years old and he was 15 years old. The point? I KNOW my husband. What I didn't know was that he was an alcoholic. How is that possible?
Because I didn't understand what addiction really meant.

When we were in college, we both partied with the best of them and he could drink anyone under a table and still appear "Sober". It seemed like a talent. People admired him for it. Then one day during his Freshman year, he woke up very, very sick from a night of heavy drinking, realized he had a problem and decided at the moment to stop drinking. Yep! Just like that...right?

This lasted a small period of time and gradually he began to drink again on occasion or socially but he never seemed to become drunk, so I never worried. Here is the thing though, alcohol didn't have control over me, so how could I possibly know what he was going through? In fact, if you had asked me then, I would have told you that he was a "cured" alcoholic.

I can tell you today, there is NO SUCH THING as a "cured alcoholic".

Here is what I didn't know. He was still an alcoholic and he was only able to "control" it because he managed to have a little bit of alcohol at least 3 times a week.

It all came to a head about 4 years ago when my mother-in-law suddenly passed away. It was awful and tragic and that night my husband and I cried and mourned for her over a 6-pack of beer for him and a pack of Jack Daniels Lynchburg Lemonade for me. It wasn't until about a week later when I came out of that sad "fog" that I realized my husband was still drinking a 6 pack every day.

It had begun. The seesaw had been tipped.

I will not get into what we went through that horrible year, because it is over and it's a place I do not want to revisit. I do, however, want to share with you what I learned and what he taught me during his recovery.
I learned that for 20 years (since he "quit" drinking in college) he had to make a conscious decision to NOT drink EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I remember talking with the AA counselor one day and saying, "I don't get it. I drank just as much as he did in college. If I don't want another drink, I stop. I know when enough is enough. Why can I stop and he can't? Why would he continue to drink knowing that it was harming himself and tearing his family apart?"

Answer:-because he is addicted and I am not. PERIOD.

As a non-addict, this was very hard to wrap my head around. I just didn't understand.

So what does this have to do with Sugar Addiction? Stay with me.

A few weeks ago, Melissa Hartwig of Whole9 posted a blog regarding her own addiction in her blog, "Coming Clean". It was such an honest and open account of what she went through many years ago and how she is now using that experience in a positive way to help others with their food addictions. Particularly sugar and carbs.
This part really jumped out at me.

"Because theoretically, food addiction isn’t that different from drug addiction.
I’m not saying it’s the same, because technically, it’s not.  According to the The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV, addiction is classified by three factors:

1. Desire, even in the face of negative consequences
2. Tolerance to the effect of the substance
3. Withdrawal symptoms when use is reduced or stopped

Food – particularly sugar – clearly satisfies the first two conditions.  The jury is still out as to the third, and I’m simply not comfortable putting sugar or bread in the same category as heroin.

But the term is also applied to behaviors that are not substance-related, such as shopping, gambling or overeating. In this common usage, “addiction” describes a recurring compulsion to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences (as deemed by the user themselves) to their individual health, mental state, or social life."

Ok, so let's be honest. Sugar addiction will not rip a family apart. Sugar addiction will not cause you to go bankrupt or break someone's heart or steal. You don't get a DUI/DWI for having too many milkshakes. People won't really take you serious if you tell them your are addicted to sugar, and why not? What's the big deal anyway? Sugar can't hurt you...right?

Umm, have you heard of diabetes? How about this? "Refined sugar is notorious for causing increased inflammation in the body. Regular consumption of refined sugar can lead to chronic inflammation which can disrupt immune system functioning. Chronic inflammation is implicated in arthritis, some forms of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease among many other illnesses. Chronic inflammation has also been linked to a higher risk of depression and schizophrenia. Psychologists who have become aware of the recent research on sugar and mental illness have begun recommending sugar free diets to patients." Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/032689_sugar_mental_illness.html#ixzz1ksQ98LOO

I know all of these things. I even discuss with my athletes about how much better they will feel if they just eliminate the sugar out of their diets. I know because I have done the Whole30 twice in the past year. The last time I went 40 days and I felt amazing!! But then, I allow myself a cheat day, and then a cheat weekend and then, before I know it I have managed to explain to myself why I "deserve" to enjoy the bliss of sugar for the entire week.

Next thing I know, I am standing in front of a candy drawer hoping my husband doesn't come in and catch me sneaking a mini snickers.

THIS IS ADDICTION

I just didn't know what addiction really was and it took my husband who has been through his own program to point out to me what was going on. I will be honest. I was PISSED! I mean, how could he possibly compare my desire for chocolate to alcohol? And yet, here I was on the phone telling him to get twizzlers for our family movie night. "I thought you said no more sugar?," he asks. "Oh! I will start that next week. (enter excuse here). 

You see, I had no idea I was addicted to sugar. Do you know why? Because until I did the Whole30 I had never gone ONE day in my life without consuming some type of sugar. NOT ONE! Have you? Think about it. Yes, I may have gone a whole week without cookies, or cake, but how about ketchup? Sweetend tea? Salad Dressing? jelly? Soda?
If you have never gone without, how do you know what it is doing to you or how it makes you feel? 

So what is my point? I have a problem...sugar. And the conclusion is this. I have to take this not just "day by day" but "meal by meal". As a coach, it is a very hard thing to admit that you are owned by sugar and it makes me angry. By posting this, I hope that I am able to encourage you to tackle your addiction head on, whether it is sugar, over eating, shopping, ect. It may not be as serious as alcohol or heroine, but if it has control over you then it is something that you personally have to deal with every day. You deserve to be free from that.
I know this is something that I must conquer...and I will! As Melissa told me,  "You have to work your own program, and take it one day, one meal, one minute at a time." 

That is exactly what I intend to do.

This week's WOD

Monday

4 Rounds

20 Box (20") Step Ups holding 20lb dumbbells

30 sit ups

Run 400 meters

Time:17:26

Tuesday

AMRAP 9 minutes

10 Romanian Dead lifts (65lbs)

10 Hand Release Push ups

Score: 11+3 (Holy Hamstrings!!!)

Wednesday

Strength Day

Climbing Squats (each set go up in weight)
Overhead Squats- 95lbs, 105lbs, 115lbs, 125lbs, 135lbs (NEW PR!!!)

Front Squats-140lbs, 145lbs, 150lbs, 150F, 150F (Suck at these! WHY?!?)

Back Squats- 155lbs, 165lbs, 175F, 175lbs, 185lbs

Thursday:

Tabata Box Jumps (7)

rest 1 minute

Tabata Situps (10)

rest 1 minute

Tabata KBS, 50lbs (7)

Friday

Skill Day

Run 1 mile for time-7 minutes

Max height Box jump- 35 1/4"

Clean & Jerk 5-5-5 (95lbs, 115lbs, 125lbs) New PR for 5rep max