Alright folks, I'm doing something nuts. Like caaarrrrrrrrrrrrrazy-nuts.
I'm starting a series of mini experiments with Sign-of-the-CrossFit, ya know that insane thing I talked about last time? Read it here.
So yea, my first month is going to be a general experiment...a litmus test if you will. I only have a question--no hypothesis (get off my back scientists).
How much will my body change by going to the SotCF gym twice a week?
Step 1: Get a starting point (Complete)
My pre-experiment measurements are transcribed. I'm not going to share them with you because I am a woman and reserve the right to either lie about anything body-related or withhold an answer. It's just the way things are. BUT I will take the same measurements post-experiment and provide you with the delta (for non-math and science folks, that means change).
If you have any other suggestions for future experiments or anything you'd like me to try before you try it, leave me a comment!
Step 2: Go to SotCF twice a week (In Progress)
Alright, here's the deal-io:
The WOD for class 1 (remember WOD="incredibly difficult Workout Of the Day". "Incredibly" and "difficult" are both silent.)
AMRAP 10
- 500m row
- 8 overhead squats
- 8 pull-ups
...AND THEN...
AMRAP 10
- 400m run
- 8 power snatches
- 8 burpees
AMRAP=As Many Reps As Possible in the time they give you. So 10 = 10 minutes. I like "AMRAPs" better than "For Times", which I'll explain when a WOD with "For Time" comes up.
People, I'm short. I mean not THAT short. But noticeably short. Rowing HATES me. I HATE rowing. No matter how fast I go, I still finish last. @#$(*@%@&#$). That's how I feel about that. And in case you were wondering 500m is a lonnnnnnnnng distance when you aren't actually going anywhere.
Overhead squats are pretty self explanatory. You put a bar with weight on it over your head and then squat and then stand up and then squat and then stand up...etcetera. Dancer legs have made me pick up SotCF squats fairly quickly though (thank you life-long dancing). However, after rowing 500m, they ain't so simple.
**During the warm-up, our coaches made us do warm-up squats-from-hell every time a particular song said "down", and stand back up every time the song said "up". People...this was evil. But a good evil. That makes sense, right?
Power snatches are...well...I'm still mastering those. I'll get back to you when I get good at them.
I'm not going to explain burpees. They basically suck the life out of you and make you wish for anything else. But believe it or not, they weren't my least favorite in this WOD.
Any idea what my least favorite part was? Take a guess...
In conclusion, my favorite memory of this class will be the moment the song started playing for the warm-up squats-from-hell. "Bring daddy up. Bring daddy down." The song makes no sense, and it took me a while to stop laughing and realize how much the squats-from-hell were starting to hurt.
P.S. I just googled this song and apparently the lyrics are "Green Sally Up. Green Sally down."
...which I don't understand. I like my version better. They should re-write the song. Just sayin'
You know how in movies, when someone is about to do something terrifying or crazy, that person does the sign of the cross first? It's almost like a quick, mini prayer, saying, "God, if you're listening right now, HELP!"
Well, CrossFit is one of those things. It's nuts folks. Crazy, Intense, Amazing, oh-god-i've-never-been-so-sore-in-my-life nuts.
So I know you've all heard of it. It's been called cult-like, addicting, and many other things. I can tell you from experience that it's all of the above, but in a good way. CrossFit uses strength training, high intensity movements, and stretching to create the highest potential for fitness. The great thing about this program is that it is designed for anyone to be able to participate. "Scaling" allows people who have not mastered the moves to still get a maximum workout while practicing the moves or working toward mastering them. Want to know more? Google "What is CrossFit". Google knows everything.
I started Sign-of-the-CrossFit because I wanted to get a kick start to getting bathing suit ready for the summer. I got more like a kick in the buttocks (as Forest Gump would say). People, if you are looking for something that pushes you to your limits, encourages you to go further than you ever thought you could, takes care of you when you are almost at your breaking point, and provides you with a workout family, try Sign-of-the-CrossFit. If you are in the Boston area, I highly recommend Charles River CrossFit because I've tried it and know how awesome it is.
So let's go through the major Pros and Cons:
Pros:
1. The Coaches.
Let me introduce you to my coaches:
J-snizzle
T-dawg
The Hulk
J-snizzle always joked around with me and kept me in a light-hearted state. Even at the very end of a workout when I could barely breathe, he found a way to make me laugh. Sarcasm and smiles: that's what this guy did. Plus he is a technique freak, which is my term for myself as a dance teacher. My students have heard me say that soooooooo many times. One technique freak to another--I appreciated it. It made me feel safe.
T-dawg was my trusted motivator. My most vivid memory of T-dawg was a workout that was not made for me at all. It was heavy on the rowing, which is a short person's worst nightmare, and pushups, which is an at-least-my-legs-are-strong person's worst nightmare. I was the last one in my class to finish and was so close to giving up. T-dawg kneeled down on the floor right next to me and counted down for me. He was a true coach. He didn't let me quit.
The Hulk is totally B-A. He is quite possibly the strongest man on the planet and has ginormous muscles. I saw him do a push-up with T-dawg sitting on his back once. The Hulk helped me get half-way up a rope in a rope climb. PEOPLE-I'VE NEVER CLIMBED A ROPE IN MY LIFE. Just getting half-way was a huge success for me. He doesn't let you give up. He just helps you find a way to finish.
2. The Community.
It's really like a mini-family. People don't necessarily know your name, but they know your face. If they finish early, they scream "come on guys! keep going!" in between the gasps for air. I know from experience.
The day I got to be the motivator was actually one of my favorite days. It was a huge class, and I was in the middle of the pack time-wise (definitely not strength-wise). It was quite possibly one of the most difficult workouts of my life. I actually looked forward to the push-ups in this workout...yes me, an at-least-my-legs-are-strong person. And after I finished, I immediately felt the need to help those who were still going. I helped count down the end of the push-ups for my neighbor. I cheered on those who were far from being finished. I couldn't let them keep going without letting them know they weren't alone.
3. The Results.
My goal was to lose a few pounds and tone up. I'll be very honest--I actually gained 4 lbs. But I'm confident it is pure muscle gain. My upper body is stronger. My legs look more like they did when I danced ballet 5 days a week than they have in years. My energy is higher. If I had another month or 2, I would bet money that I would end up losing weight. Gotta gain that muscle before you lose that fat.
Cons:
1. It's quite pricey.
Like too expensive for me to do it more than one month. The price is higher than normal gyms because you don't just get equipment. You get coaches who care and know your name before you know theirs. Also, you get nutrition counseling. Sign-of-the-CrossFit preaches Paleo. Paleo is not for me because I am already borderline vegetarian (I REALLY like animals and get sad when I think about them getting hurt--for real), but if it's for you, they give you nutrition counseling. And you get a community--a family--of people who are working toward the same goal.
2. Technique is difficult to master.
As I mentioned earlier, I've never met a set of gym employees who care so much about your technique and safety. The moves are not easy, and the terms all sound similar. I cheated a lot--I would start 2 seconds after everyone else so I knew what the move was first. It's important to get good technique, but it's not easy. With that said, the coaches work with you and make sure you are being safe. They never give up on you.
As a fitness experimenter and researcher, I HIGHLY recommend Charles River CrossFit. Just give it a shot. It's worth a try.
As for me, I'm buying a jump rope, kettle bell, and ab mat to do my WODs* at home (or on my lunch break).
*WOD=incredibly difficult Workout Of the Day ("incredibly" and "difficult" are both silent)
Hi loyal readers,
This is your apparently non-loyal author touching base. I hope you've missed me--I've missed you too.
So this thing called "life" happens sometimes (especially during the summer), and unfortunately, blogging was the thing sent to the back burner.
Now I am back with a great new app to tell you about: GymPact
It's pretty awesome. Here's why...
Basically, you make this pact with yourself that you are going to workout a certain number of days a week. If you don't hit those days, you have to pay whatever amount you agree to. If you do hit those days, you get paid. For example, I agree to workout two times in one week. If I workout two or more times, I get paid. If I workout zero or one time, I pay $5 for each missed workout.
It's genius--you are good, you get money; you are bad; you lose money.
As far as working out goes, you can't fake it. You either have to:
- Check-in at a gym (includes yoga studies, climbing gyms, etc.) and stay there for at least 30 minutes (uses GPS to track this.)
- Use Runkeeper to track your activity outside by running, walking, or biking at least 30 minutes above 2 mph (also uses GPS to track this.)
- Use the brother app for at-home workouts (I haven't used this yet, but I will likely be using it in the winter.)
Anyway, try it out. It really makes you accountable and doesn't cost a cent unless you don't make your goal. To make it better, you get paid if you make your goal! Moneyzzzzz!
Oh and don't worry about vacations. All you have to do is go into your settings and "schedule a break". It brings a calendar up and you can tell the app when you will be on a hiatus from working out due to vacations or illness or emergencies...whatever. It then puts your account on hold until you get back/better/whatever.
Go make you GymPact soon!
Independence Day...also known as the day we all go to cookouts and watch fireworks.
As much fun as cookouts are, they're dangerous for us health-conscious folks. Here are a few tips from my brain to yours to stay healthy and safe today:
1. Drink lots of water: This will not only hydrate you but also fill your belly making you feel more full.
2. Stay away from the breads: It's very rare that a cookout has whole wheat buns for burgers and hot dogs. Just eat your meat without the bun! Think about it, you can taste the meat better without the bun.
3. Focus on the fruit and veggie table: Load your plate half full with fruit and veggies first. ESPECIALLY WATERMELON. Watermelon is awesome because it's not only low in calories, but it also helps to keep you hydrated. Two birds with one stone is what they say, right? (whoever "they" is).
4. Go with the light beer choice. Do I really have to explain this one?
5. Stay away from fruity cocktails: These guys tend to be pretty high in sugar-->calories. Just think about it.
6. Put on sunscreen. Somehow, mother nature decided to be nice today (well for my area at least). The sun is awesome, but lather up in sunscreen to protect your skin.
Hope these tips help today.
Yay!
I often get questions related to Nutrition Facts on food packaging.
What should I look for?
What should I avoid?
What should I limit?
The Mayo Clinic has a great explanation of this. When you access the page, hover over the nutrition label for a few little extras/hints.
When looking at nutrition facts, use the Percent Daily Values section as a guide. Now if you are anything like me, a 2000-calorie diet would result in a rapid increase on the scale--blame it on our bad metabolisms. Just adjust what is listed in that section slightly to compensate for your average caloric intake.
I can't tell you 1 specific thing to look for--they are all important. But here are a few things I do when perusing nutrition facts:
1. Limit sugars. I try not to buy anything that has more than 10g of sugar in a serving. And listen, 10g is the max so I typically aim for 6g or less per serving.
2. Ridiculous serving size. I try not to buy things that lists a serving as astronomically small, like 2 chips. Frankly, it just pisses me off so I choose not to support the company.
3. Low saturated fats. These little guys have no double bonds at the molecular level and are typically solid at room temperature. They have been shown to be correlated with bad things like arteriosclerosis and other coronary diseases. Just stay away from them if possible.
4. A lot of dietary fiber. I can't find anything bad about this stuff. Dig in!
5. Low cholesterol and sodium. This is especially important if heart disease runs in your family (like mine). Just keep an eye on these guys...they sneak into packaged foods allllll the time and cause all kinds of a hot mess in your cardiovascular system.
Hope these hints help!
This post is not for my vegetarians. Just warning ya...
Have you ever tried chicken sausages? If not, you should. Try the brand Al Fresco. Check out the ingredients and nutrition facts for the different flavors. There aren't too many added ingredients (compared to most packaged foods we have available to us), and they aren't too bad for you either.
Let me tell you, they are delicious. They taste good grilled, pan-cooked, and even microwaved for when you are in a hurry. They serve as a great alternative to hot dogs or sausages for my fellow health-nuts. If you are a car camper, they are great for cooking while camping. Soooo yummy and guilt-less.
That's all for this week. Go get ya some delicious chicken sausages!!
Alright folks. The first big heat wave has arrived in New England (thank goodness!) In my years of life thus far, I have determined that the first really hot day of each year is quite possibly the happiest day to ever exist ever in history. Yes, happier than Christmas. Yes, happier than that rare day you miraculously wake up rested. Yes, happier than a slinky on an escalator (I stole that from a commercial...because it's hilarious).
This is what I do on the first hot day of the year: I get so excited and just want to be outside all day and not do anything except be outside. Wellllllll, that's not very smart. In order for you to not be stupid like me, I'm going to give you some suggestions on staying safe in the heat. Let's hope you follow them**:
1. Dehyration
2. Burns
Let's start with dehydration. This one is easy people. Just keep water with you and drink it a lot. I know this makes you pee more, but it's worth it. Trust me. (And please get out of the pool to pee...please...I'm literally begging you. No one wants that on them so stop it.) When the temperature in our environment is high, our body temperature rises as well. Most of us know that our organs, including our brain, are not very good with extreme temperatures. They are kinda dumb in fact. The silly organs just kinda stop working in extreme temperatures. So our body tries to fix the whole sitch by sweating (or shivering in cold weather). This increases blood flow to our skin and cools us down. What is sweat though? basically, it's water and salt, right? correct. Our body still needs water to function correctly so we have to replace that water that we are sweating out. Salt and other necessary electrolytes are super important too. Na is a key component of one of the biggest pumps in our bodies. If it fails, we're screwed. Drink lots of water and get electrolytes!
Okay, this one is tough to talk about--burns. We live in a society where natural tans are considered beautiful and sexy. Sure they are. But UV radiation is definitely not the best thing for our skin. And think about it people, your skin is your body's LARGEST defense from the environment. Wear sunscreen. Wear sunglasses (gotta protect those eyeballs too). Ladies (and gents for that matter), put on face lotion every day that has at least an SPF of 15. The skin on our face is sensitive, especially around our eyes. Avoid early onset of wrinkles and sunspots by protecting your skin. I'm gonna need to follow this advice as well--I'm not that innocent (oh lord, Britney is now in my head. God help me.) I am lucky enough to not have the type of skin that burns easily. Tanning causes damage to the skin too--so be careful. be smart.
Now go have fun in the sun! Summer is here!!!!!
**Keep in mind that these suggestions are for people who are healthy and of an adult age. If you are elderly, a kid, or have certain illnesses, you need to be SUPER cautious with the sun. The sun makes the world go round but it can also cause a lot of damage to our bodies if we don't interact with it appropriately.
