Category Archives: Fitness

On Scales, Progress + Learning to Listen

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Holly

scale
source

A little over a year ago I trashed my scale. Not literally, but I did hide it for a month and when I finally re-discovered it I kept it in a place that wasn’t super convenient for using. I wanted to leave that cycle behind me and it only took about a month to kick the habit.

I made a very conscious decision and I stuck to it stubbornly: I didn’t want to make judgments about my life based on what the scale said. BOOM. That’s all. Scary, but also simple. And I was determined to succeed. I had my body composition tested, which was AMAZING and gave me a whole new perspective on the idea of “goal weight” and it helped me realize that I really didn’t give a shit about what some random pamphlet that didn’t know me at all said I should weigh. It was freeing. REALLY FREEING! Plus:

*I felt great
*My clothes fit better than they ever had
*I was really proud of what my body was doing

The Look/Feel/Perform trifecta that Robb Wolf always talks about was completely in alignment. I was kicking ass and taking names and doing it all without the secret judgment of some electronic appliance. Garrett took this random photo of me at a CrossFit competition last summer and when I saw it I remember thinking, “Holy shit, is that actually me? You just look like a regular, normal, healthy person.”

photo

I had literally never had that reaction to a photograph of myself…EVER. Is it crazy that it was sort of a defining moment? I wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t fitting an “ideal.” I was just The Best Version of Myself, and I was able to fully appreciate it in the moment precisely because I wasn’t caught up with how much I weighed or how close I was to my goal weight or any of that nonsense. I bet you are smart enough to see where this is going because all of those verbs I just used are past tense. 🙂

I am not even close to that place anymore. I actually saw a candid picture of myself recently and had that momentary feeling of sadness and embarrassment. My closet is full of awesome spring and summer clothes that I pulled out recently when I cleaned out my closet and sadly the bulk of them are too tight. I was so excited to see this skirt again and OMG…the zipper practically screamed when I tried to zip it up. Slowly over the past month I have had this slow bubble of panic and insecurity and of course my thoughts have led back to “Damn, I bet I never should have chucked my scale.”

But here’s the thing: last summer my priorities were my workouts.  My life looked very different, and I was far less stressed. And the other night when I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep and fretting about these few pounds that I initially though were showing up for a short jaunt, but who now appear to be having an extended stay, I thought to myself: YOU ARE NOT COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES. This isn’t because you threw out your scale, this is because you let your priorities change. The things you are focusing on are not yielding the desired results. Don’t go running back to the scale — re-evaluate your goals.

I almost didn’t share any of this because I wondered if it would sound stupid or dramatic or mental or whatever. But this space is my real life, not a shined up version, and so is this struggle right now. Monte Nido RainRock offers residential eating disorder treatment to adults of all genders. I don’t have a plan to share that is all mapped out, but rest assured it is coming. How I look, how I feel, and how my body is performing is a very manageable trinity, and right now I’m feeling sub par on all levels. A lot of it has to do with my stress level, and I remember so clearly the advice from the Everyday Paleo Seminar – if you aren’t managing stress and sleep, it doesn’t matter how well you are managing the rest. That spoke to me and it’s where I’m starting. This is my Spring State of the Union, and as I acknowledge where I am without judgment, it makes it easier to get ready to move to where I want to be.

This weekend I prioritized my rest and relaxation over productivity. I took a nap on Sunday afternoon and also played บาคาร่า จากผู้เริ่มต้นถึงมืออาชีพ to unwind, instead of crossing some things off my list. Man, you guys, IT WAS HARD. That sounds ridiculous, I know, but it is true. I am very good at ignoring my body’s requests, but this weekend I listened. It wanted sleep. It wanted to flip through magazines. Surprisingly it still wanted to menu plan and cook good dinners. 🙂 It wanted a fun night out with great folks, but it didn’t really feel like drinking. It wanted a long morning walk with the dog and a conversation with a fun friend.

The bottom line is I need to be a better listener, and I need to make sure that the actions I’m taking are getting me where I want to go instead of keeping me where I currently am. Only time will tell, but if I was a betting woman I’d put my money on the idea that taking the time to learn to listen to myself will be more helpful that running back to a dysfunctional relationship with a scale. And I’m willing to take that chance and let you know how it goes.

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Q2 Check In // Staying Inspired + The Primal Life Kit

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Holly

You guys, it is already April. How the heck did that happen? I feel like we just set some 2013 goals and already we are down one quarter of the year. I’ve been talking a lot lately about how I’m feeling out of sorts and so when I woke up yesterday morning I was determined to get re-inspired and re-energized. Enough was enough, it was time to get the train back on track!

This might sound silly, but for or me, the quickest way to turn my frown upside down is to learn something new. The act of feeding my brain new information often jump starts my creativity, which always has a positive trickle-down effect on my attitude and accomplishments. So as I was drinking my morning coffee, I flipped through The Science of Good Cooking. I don’t have hours to experiment in my kitchen right now, but I figured I’d just stockpile that info for later, which got me excited for the next time I do have a spare second.

Then at work today I caught up on some episodes of the Balanced Bites Podcast. What I love about that podcast is that it isn’t dogmatic at all, and it’s mostly just FULL of useful information. I get a lot of great suggestions and “crazy” ideas from that podcast because they talk about things in such a casual way that it is actually really easy to understand. Seeking out a little bit of new information already has my brain spinning, my synapses firing, and I’m starting to feel more like myself.

Curiosity: It works every time.
Plutarch Quote

On the off chance that you are similar What Am I Doing/Where Is Time Going kind of place, I wanted to share something that my friends over at Paleo Plan have put together. I know these bundle sales show up everywhere at the same time and sometimes that can be a turn off, but you guys know I don’t write here to sell tupperware and shit, so let me tell you why I wanted to participate.

I met Neely of Paleo Plan back in September when I was in Colorado speaking and I always love when a new post pops up over there. She is a smart cookie, has a really fresh perspective and a no apologies attitude about healthy living IN REALITY. I love that about her! And she has gathered an awesome bundle of information that may snap you right out of that second quarter funk. Or if you aren’t in a funk, the information (and OMG the discounts!) will totally make your day, I promise. Retail therapy FOR THE WIN, Alex!

Introducing The Primal Life Kit: 30 Products and 8 Discounts for $39



What’s The Primal Life Kit?

So…what the heck is included? Well, I’m glad you asked. When you purchase the $39 Primal Life Kit, you get $485 worth of the most popular and life-changing Primal and Paleo products. There are a ton of useful tools and resources, not to mention great food for thought. Here is a small list of what’s included:

  • 22 ebooks
  • 2 meal plans
  • 3 magazine subscriptions
  • 2 fitness programs
  • 1 short audio book
  • and 8 discount codes

As you know, with bundles like these, you are getting a serious bargain. All of the materials are being sold at more than 90% off their original retail value for one week only – April 2 through April 9!

Specifically included in this awesome bundle is a meal plan made by Primal Blueprint, a recipe ebook from Bill and Hayley over at PrimalPalate.com, a fitness program by Sarah Fragoso of Everyday Paleo, and a subscription to Paleo Magazine, among many other awesome products. If you have been bopping around the Paleo Blogosphere for any amount of time, you know these people really know their stuff.

(Sidenote for my mom: All the ebooks are in pdf format, so you can read them on your computer or the e-reader of your choice. :))

Here’s the full list of what you’ll get when you purchase this bundle:

This $39 kit will give you all the tools you need to eat, cook, work out, and live Primally.

12 Recipe and Meal Planning eBooks

 

4 Autoimmune and PCOS eBooks

 

5 Informational and How-To eBooks

 

2 Meal Plans

  • 6-week Paleo Meal Plan – 1 free 6-Week Paleo Meal Plan from Paleoista, by Nell Stephenson (author of Paleoista: Gain Energy, Get Lean and Feel Fabulous with the Diet You Were Born to Eat and co-author of The Paleo Diet Cookbook) at paleoista.com.at paleoista.com ($59)

 

2 Fitness Programs

 

3 Magazines (Online Subscriptions)

  • Paleo Magazine – Free 6-month online subscription (3 issues) and access to all back issues ($29)

 

2 Bonuses

 

8 Discounts

  • Primal Life Organics – 20% off organic, Paleo, gluten-free, vegan skincare products, hair care products, and deodorant until May 1st, 2013
  • Squatty Potty – 15% off all products through April and 10% for the rest of 2013.
  • Sport Journals – 20% off WODbooks (for recording your workouts) until May 11, 2013

 

It’s a retail value $485 (and not in a sleazy infomercial kind of way) for just $39.

Seriously.

That’s normally the price of just one or two of these products! I bought it for myself just for the Primal Life Organics discount, I mean HELLO!  haha I’ve raved about many of these products already right here on this blog (ahem Well Fed ahem) and what excites me a ton is the opportunity to balance some of the food stuff with FITNESS STUFF! You know I love my CrossFit gym, but I get that not everyone wants to pay that kind of money. Here is a GREAT opportunity to get not only meal plans, recipes and info — but also WORKOUTS! (And WODbooks! I’m so excited about WODbooks!) Ok, I’ll stop now. 🙂

But seriously: GET THIS STUFF!

*When you click here to purchase the kit, you’ll be sent an email with a link to all of the downloadable products, as well as the coupon codes for all of the discounted products.

NOTE: It goes without saying, but since The Law requires me to, these are affiliate links. Thank you in advance for supporting this website of mine if you do purchase all of this awesome stuff! Due to the short duration of this sale, there will be no refunds. These products are downloadable ebooks, online magazine subscriptions, and discount codes. You will not be shipped any physical goods with your purchase of the Primal Life Kit. Please contact neely@paleoplan.com with any questions about the Primal Life Kit.

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Relay Training Recap — Week 9

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Holly

Relay Training

Can we just talk about how calling this recap training for The Relay is getting embarrassing because there is no actual running happening? Yeah. I’m gonna have to reconcile that somehow soon but tonight is not that night.

Do you ever have those days where every single thing you try to do in an effort to be productive ends up foiled? And then, in your failed attempts at productivity, you actually end up creating MORE WORK for yourself? Yes, well that is how today has gone. And how this week has gone actually. And how this training plan is going.

I am not feeling positive about this, if you can’t tell. If you have a pep talk inside of you, I am ALL EARS.

Anyway, here are my workout breakdowns this week:

Monday
LIFT

5 Rounds
1 Shoulder Press
3 Push Press
5 Push Jerk
(45, 55, 65, 75, 85 lbs)

METCON

AMRAP in 4 minutes:
10 jumping pull-ups
200 m run
Rest 1 minute

AMRAP in 4 minutes:
10 ground release push-ups
250 m row
Rest 1 minute

AMRAP in 4 minutes:
10 toes to bar
35 double-unders

Overall Score: 7 rounds

*This was my day to do a double workout and I flaked and took a nap instead. Yep, just being honest.

Tuesday

SKILL

Spend 10 minutes working on your pistol squats or ps progressions – Hey, guess what? I don’t even need 10 minutes to show you how bad I am at pistols. UGH

METCON
800 m run, then
5 Rounds of:
5 HSPU
10 hang power cleans (95lbs)

then run 800 m

Time: 16:48. This workout was awful and I loved it.

Wednesday

Rest day if you are testing 13.4 the next day. And apparently this was right where this week went downhill.

Thursday

I tested 13.4 and I already told you how CRAPTACULAR that went. On top of completely failing to do Toes to Bar AGAIN, I ripped my hands open which royally sucked.

Friday

Nancy was on the menu at the gym, which for some strange reason is my FAVORITE workout. My hands were totally screwed up but I decided scale the weight and see if I could do it anyway.

5 Rounds for Time
Run 400 m
15 Overhead Squats (65lbs)

I did the first round at 65lbs and then realized my form was all crappy because I was holding the bar funny with my ripped up hands. I scaled to 45lbs, but mentally my heart just wasn’t in it. My hands hurt, plus it was just me and 3 super speedy dudes doing the workout together which was just enough to make me feel like I was failing at life. (Spoiler Alert: I was not. I was just being melodramatic. But melodramatic at high intensity does not a pleasant workout make.) I finished the workout in 21:45, which is like 2 minutes slower than my old PR (and my old PR is lifting 20 lbs heavier!) so I was basically annoyed.

Saturday and Sunday

We were supposed to be driving to Monterey to see my family and celebrate my cousin Sara’s 30th birthday; however, on Friday my Grandma was checked into the hospital for digestive stuff. I woke up on Saturday feeling stressed, defeated and bummed and also in EXCRUTIATING PAIN from a pinched joint capsule in my neck, which I’m sure was caused by 1 part stress, 1 part exhaustion and 1 part crappy overhead squat form. I’m super lucky that my uncle is a retired chiropractor so he hooked me up with some 911 adjustment, but I was basically immobile most of the day. I woke up this morning feeling slightly better, though still not 100%.

Obviously there was no running or exercising or enjoying life at all really. There was lots of icing, eating ibuprofen and lying supine. Needless to say this, uh, “training week” hasn’t been a high five for the log books. I hope next week has good stuff in store.

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Relay Training Recap – Week 8

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Holly

Relay Training

HOLLA! Things are getting back to normal! This week I logged 6 workouts (and even a few that had me running) with no knee pain at all. ::::knocks wood:::: I think we are through the worst of it! I also tried something new at the beginning of the week that I think will be helpful moving forward over the next couple of weeks. DOUBLE DAYS! HA…let me tell you about it.

MONDAY
I woke up and worked out at 6am Monday morning, which reminded me how much I LOVE morning workouts! It was as follows:

LIFT
Overhead Squat: 3-3-3-3-3 (75-85-95-105-115lbs)

METCON

3 Rounds for Time
400 m Run
25 KB Swings (35lbs)
50 Air Squats

Finished in 16:47.

Then, because I wanted to start thinking about what it will feel like to run on tired legs (and this was DEFINITELY a leg tiring workout) I went back at 5pm and did the workout again after sitting at my desk all day at work.

It definitely affected my lifting — in the afternoon session I only lifted 65-75-85-95-95 lbs. But I was surprised that during the metcon portion I was only slightly slower….physically. I finished the second one in 17:53, so about an extra minute. But let me tell you, MENTALLY, that shit was rough. So I think it’s going to be a good idea to do that a bit in the coming weeks, just to prepare myself.

TUESDAY

STRENGTH
Weighted Pull-Ups + Ring Dips (I worked on strict pull ups and dips with the band.) I had another very vivid dream about doing a pull up a few nights before. Unfortunately it didn’t manifest in the gym. 🙂

METCON

“Annie”
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Situps

I was aiming for under 8:47, since that was my previous PR. Unfortunately I got caught up on my double unders during the 40 round which really slowed me down. I finished in 9:47. Super Boo.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday’s are mandatory rest days at the gym if you are testing the Open WOD on Thursday, so I was happy to oblige.

THURSDAY

13.3! I already covered how I performed but let me just underscore again what a GOOD WORKOUT this is!!! It’s only 12 minutes, but man it is a killer! I almost wanted to do it again!

FRIDAY

I planned to workout this morning but I woke up and was really tired. Miraculously I wasn’t sore from 13.3, but I was super sleepy when my alarm went off so I just went back to bed! 🙂 Friday afternoon I was doing happy hour at work with my team so I didn’t end up working out at all, which was fine.

SATURDAY

Rest and Relaxation Day!

SUNDAY

Logged a very easy 2 miler with the pooch and Garrett at the park. It was gorgeous, there were tons of people and dogs out and Buster loved it. Then we came home and Garrett and I did a face off of 100 Kettlebell swings for time with our 53 lb Kettlebell. Garrett won. grumblegrumbegrumble But only by 25 seconds! 🙂

******

This is the first week in more than a month that my body has just felt like my own. It’s performed when I pushed it and just generally felt really good. I want to keep up that momentum this week and maybe increase the running…so that’s the unofficial plan!

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Relay Training Update + Mini-Recaps of Week 4, 5, 6, and 7 (Spoiler: You Didn’t Miss Much)

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Holly

When we last left my Relay Training Recaps it was Week 3 of my 13 Week Training Schedule and my knee was killing me! This put a major damper on my training and obviously the recaps, but I am finally :::knocks wood:::: making some progress so I thought I’d let you know what’s been going on. After Week Three I decided to try and push through the pain and see what happened. It didn’t feel like a serious injury, but it was also uncomfortable so I decided to do things that didn’t hurt my knee and NOT do things that did, I also decided to look into healthcreeds to find solutions. Sounds simple enough, but the problem was I would do things that felt fine and then go home and walking would be painful. UGH!

Here’s what happened and how I am resolving it:

Week Four

Relay Training - Week 4

I couldn’t run at all this week because my knee was just re-DONK-ulously sore. I went to CrossFit on Tuesday and the workout was full of Cleans and when I got home my knee was feeling awful. I iced and elevated and decided that this would be my week of rest. It actually came at a good time too because that was the week I got my new job and I’ve been telling you for weeks how crazy that week ended up being with regards to work, so it was no big inconvenience to just come home and collapse on the couch without running or working out. That Saturday there was a 3 hour Oly Lifting Seminar at my gym and so I did do that. My knee didn’t feel great afterward, but nothing like it had that Tuesday so I felt like things were on the mend.

Week Five

Relay Training - Week 5

Of course as you can see they did NOT end up being on the mend. I pushed a little too hard on Monday’s workout, had to rest Tuesday, tried again Wednesday and then spent Wednesday night feeling really sorry for myself about my knee because it was really hurting. This was what was so annoying: I would be in the gym doing just fine, but then an hour or two later I would get up to walk somewhere and be practically limping. It was frustrating!

But then that night I picked Garrett up from the airport after being out of town FOREVER so that brightened things up! But I didn’t workout the rest of the week. Also: I finally took the plunge and made an appointment to see a Chiropractor who does Active Release Techniques. It was clear that I was not going to be able to just walk this off, so I since I had been wanting to find a good local chiropractor anyway (my uncle is one and retired, but he lives far enough away that I don’t see him regularly for adjustments, just occasionally) so I finally bit the bullet.

It was the best decision EVER! He ran me through a bunch of tests and did an examination and found that my right hip and right calf are really tight. Like CRAZY TIGHT. It was something I could feel to the touch even but to have someone point it out just based on a movement examination they had done was awesome. As he explained it to me, it made sense that I was having the pain I was having and where I was having it because those two muscle groups really contribute to the stability of the knee joint. So it was no wonder I was having pain after the fact and couldn’t pinpoint why in the moment. Repetitive motion with muscles that aren’t stretched properly will cause pain based on how hard I go and how much hip and calf function I’m using. Lightbulb!

So I committed to doing a serious amount of hip and calf stretching, preparation and recovery and things have only looked up since then! But as you’ll see I was still taking it a little bit easy.

Week 6

Relay Training - Week 6

I had 2 ART appointments this week so my workouts were limited, but mostly I felt great! Except the first workout of the week involved 70 burpees and WOD 13.1 involved MANY burpees, so it was clearly THE WEEK OF THE BURPEE. But my knee survived. And I dragged myself out for a slow 3 mile jog and it felt GREAT! Which gets us all caught up and up to this past week, which was GREAT!

Week 7

Relay Training - Week 7

I still only did 3 workouts, but I mostly had NO PAIN. My knee area felt a little tight after Thursday’s workout, but I iced it and have had no bother since. I even went for a run with the dog on Sunday. It was slow, but we both felt great when we finished!

Short run, but we are feeling pretty accomplished.

My Goal From Now On

So here we are, tomorrow starts Week 8 of training, and the truth is with only 6 weeks left and no desire to go SUPER HARD on my knee, I am probably going to be undertrained for this event. But I am lucky my legs are only 4 miles, 6 miles and 6 miles respectively so I think it will be manageable. This week I want to focus on good workouts in the gym and easing back into mileage outside. I think it’s going to be integral to keep up my stretching and recovery routines and looking forward I want to find some strategies during the event to remain really focused on good fueling and stretching…which could be a real challenge when you’re just hanging in a van.

I’m a little bit scared, to be honest, but I’m still going for it (I’m committed!) and I’m going to do my best with the cards I’ve been dealt. It’s a real mind game when your body betrays you, and I have lots to say about injuries and how WOW — the physical part is only half the battle! But this week I’m putting one foot in front of the other, getting myself to the gym, fueling with good eats, and hopping on a treadmill or a trail to work out some of this Spring Fever! Hopefully I’ll have good stuff to report next week! Wish me luck.

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Looking Backward Won’t Propel You Forward

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Holly

Games2013_Games_slider

Well, your finger crossing worked! No box jumps in the first CrossFit Games Open workout. Hooray! Here’s what I’m up against:

Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 17 minutes of:
40 Burpees
45 pound Snatch, 30 reps
30 Burpees
75 pound Snatch, 30 reps
20 Burpees
100 pound Snatch, 30 reps
10 burpees
120 pound Snatch, as many reps as possible

While I’m super happy it’s not box jumps, I have to say I’m not that thrilled with all the burpees — especially since there were 70 at the end of our workout on Tuesday. YIKES! 🙂

burpees

But I’m happy that I can even participate, and this year that is a win. I’ve been thinking a lot about this year vs. last year recently. At least once a day actually, thanks to Timehop. I have a love/hate relationship with that app. You are probably using it too, but in case you aren’t it’s an app that gives you a daily update of what you were doing a year ago based on your facebook/twitter feeds. Sometimes it is awesome and makes me think back on good times and get all warm and fuzzy.

photo

On the flip side, sometimes I read what I was doing a year ago and I think, “Man, my life looks very different right now.” And then I kind of miss my old life. I had that feeling the other day when my timehop linked to my tweet about this post  which coincidentally, was the day I made my CrossFit Games Competitor Profile last year.

I read through it and realized that so many things look different now. I am no longer working out on that schedule. My work schedule has made it practically impossible to workout in the mornings these days, so that workout efficiency isn’t possible. I’m also working out less. I’m not lifting as heavy as I was last year and well,  I STILL have that 40lbs to lose. When I reviewed that post the other day it kind of bummed me out.

But I’ve thought about it and thought about it some more and talked myself into the idea that viewing life as a singular snapshot doesn’t always reveal the complexities of daily routines. And likewise, sometimes when we work on many goals at once our efficacy changes.  What it takes to get to ALL of our goals isn’t just easily cross-off-able lines on a black and white list. I have spent the last year traveling and busting my tail at work to get a promotion. A promotion that was a bit of a financial game changer for my little (and hopefully soon to be growing) family. That was a purposeful decision and it took sacrifice. Part of what I sacrificed was how much weight I can snatch, you know?

Was it worth it? HELL YES. Do I still fret over things like that when I’m in the gym though? YOU KNOW IT. But I also think I’m getting ready to let that go. And I think letting that go will actually help me feel a greater appreciation for where I am presently. And where I am in the present IS A REALLY GREAT PLACE TO BE.

Comparison-is-the-thief-of-joy

We’ve all seen this quote floating around on the internet and I know it is a common touchstone for people when they are feeling envy of others. But I also think it is important to acknowledge that when you compare versions of yourself you are also doing a disservice. Life is not lived in a vacuum. The variables of today are not the variables of yesterday. The only constant is change, right? And as long as I’m evaluating, adapting and acting — I am succeeding.

And let this be your little daily reminder that no matter where you were a year ago, you are succeeding too.

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Random Things I Learned From The Everyday Paleo Seminar

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Holly

Cooking demo this morning with @everydaypaleo over at @arcfit

On Saturday I spent most of the day at the Everyday Paleo Seminar that my gym hosted listening to Sarah Fragoso and Jason Seib speak about the science behind Paleo and real life strategies for incorporating it into your life. Since I’ve embraced Paleo living for almost 3 years now I wasn’t expecting to go in and have my mind blown, but I was hoping to get a little re-energized.

For about 6 months I’ve been feeling stuck, health wise. I guess you could say I’ve been in a little bit of a rut. Mostly, to me, this means that I am making less forward progress than I would like and instead am doing more floundering than usual. But every time I start to feel upset with myself about all the floundering I’m doing, I think of this:

photo

This is so true, right?

When I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels I try to realize that it is all a part of the process and then I just look for an opportunity to re-energize myself to move forward. This seminar really helped me do that.

It is a pretty great introduction to Paleo if you are not super familiar with it, but like I said, I already came pretty armed with the basics. I did write down a few notes and found myself evaluating a things I could do a little differently moving forward so I thought I’d share my random list of things that made me say “Oh, really?” This isn’t chronological in any way, or even good cliffs notes, but rather just a few facts I learned and bullets that got me thinking:

*I should to get back to my Vitamin D supplement
I used to be super good about this and then I got a little lazy. It’s pretty important though, so I’ll probably start supplementing again. I’m actually mostly anti-supplements (unless they are targeted and temporary), but this is an exception – and the dosage I used to take was recommended by my Naturopath so it wasn’t arbitrary. Jason recommended Liquid Vitamin D drops as the bio-availability is far superior.

*Chicken/Pork and Turkey are slightly higher in Omega 6s than Beef & Seafood
I thought this was interesting. Their recommendation for the best protein sources were good beef and wild caught cold water fish. Of course they weren’t saying ONLY eat those two things, but to just consider that when selecting your variety.

*Selenium makes the Mercury in fish inert
This was kind of a fun fact too, I thought. If you are getting enough selenium, you really don’t need to be fraught with worry about mercury in your fish.

*Focus on Fat Loss and not Weight Loss
I’ve mentioned this sentiment numerous times here but the more I hear it, the more I want to pump my fist in the air when people say it. And Jason walked through the science of why lifting weights is so good for your body and why “cardio” does a lot more harm than good when it comes to getting healthy. Of course I can’t explain it in an articulate way, but it did make me feel a little more energized to lift.

*Skinny is not the opposite of fat. Healthy is the opposite of fat. Healthy is also the opposite of skinny.
Pursue health over aesthetics and the aesthetics will come.

*You can eat super clean and work out really hard but if you are not managing stress and getting good sleep, none of it matters
This was especially powerful for me to hear. It is something I know, and something that I have worked hard on in the past (especially getting good sleep — and now I’m a pro! haha) but definitely with this new job I need to make sure I am keeping my stress in check! Jason recommended this book and I ordered it from Amazon while I was still at the seminar. I love technology!

*****

So, like I said — not great cliffs notes or anything, but just a few of the things I left thinking about. It’s nice to get re-energized about your health and this definitely gave me some new food for thought. It’s nice to be thinking about some of this stuff again.

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Relay Training Recap – Week Three

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Holly

workout week 3

Well, last week was a bit anticlimactic. My knee is still bugging me…sometimes. GRR. I’m icing the hell out of it and I’ve made an appointment to see someone this week. Maybe I’ll talk more about that afterwards, but just know that this week I kept it easy. I did no running (well..kinda, you’ll see) and scaled my workouts accordingly at the gym.

Monday
Is it weird that Monday is starting to feel like a good rest day? I don’t know, I usually feel completely pumped to get in the gym on Mondays but lately it’s just felt better to ease into the week. Probably because work has been so nuts! We’ll see how that evolves.

Tuesday

STRENGTH

Overhead Squat: 5 x 3 (65, 75, 85, 95, 105 lbs)

METCON

“Death by Clean” (95lbs) — I completed 11 rounds. Bowed out on number 12. OOF!

1 rep in the first minute, 2 reps in the second minute, 3 reps in the third, etc until you cannot complete the required amount of work within the minute.

BUYOUT

4 x 100 m sled pulls (bodyweight)*
*rest as needed between rounds

I actually ended up running 400 m sprints instead of doing sled pulls to test out how my knee felt and OHMYGOD it was NOT GOOD. Ugh. Iced it ALOT afterward. This was the day I decided it was time to involve a professional.

Wednesday
I worked out today because it was something I could scale and didn’t involve running.

STRENGTH

Romanian Deadlift: 3-3-3-3-3 (95, 115, 135, 155, 175)

Hey-O…these were fun and new. So…weird feeling. It’s funny how it’s a similar movement but feels so different. I moved much less weight than I normally deadlift but it felt so HEAVY!

METCON

9-6-3:

Thruster (65 lbs)
Box Jumps (24 in box) I scaled to step ups bc my knee was BUGGING me
Ground Release Push-Ups

Run 800m (I rowed 1000m bc of the knee)

3-6-9:

Power Snatch (65 lbs)
Toes 2 Bar — (scaled to knees to elbows)

I was bummed today that my knee was feeling so crappy so I tried to really be careful of it. It doesn’t hurt AT ALL when I’m doing squatty things, but running and jumping are no-gos. UGH. Going to rest tomorrow. Death by cleans this week really did my upper body good, and now my lower body has had enough. BOO.

Thursday

REST

Friday

Can’t stay away. The Lumberjack 20 called my name. I decided to *try* and run and actually my knee felt fine the whole way through.

20 Deadlifts (185lbs)
Run 400m
20 KB swings (53lbs)
Run 400m
20 Overhead Squats (75lbs)
Run 400m
20 Burpees
Run 400m
20 Pullups (Chest to Bar) – scaled with band
Run 400m
20 Box jumps (20″) scaled to step ups for my knee
Run 400m
20 DB Squat Cleans (25lbs each) scaled to 20lbs because SERIOUSLY
Run 400m

Saturday

Weird. I got up today and felt like I had gotten hit by a truck. A lumber truck seems more accurate. 🙂 Rest, ahem.

Sunday

Rest. This week was rough. On my body and my ego. I miss running.

Workout Total: 3
CrossFit Workouts: 3
Running Workouts: 0, except for the 2 miles in Lumberjack 20
Double Days: 0

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Relay Training Recap- Week Two

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Holly

Training Graph - Week Two

Monday
Skipped this workout at the gym because I was feeling SO BEAT after work (why? no idea) But I was bummed because it was one of my favorites that hardly ever gets programmed: “Bear Complex”

We’ll talk more about it later because I vowed to do it later on in the week if the opportunity arose and it did!

Tuesday
Hit the gym!

Strength:
Bench Press 5-5-3-3-3
(65, 75, 85, 95, 100 —- hooooo boy were my shoulders sore from Saturday’s Snatches! I felt old and crotchety doing this. Note to self: shoulder mobility, work on it!)

Metcon:

15 Min AMRAP
400m run
10 clapping pushups (I did scaled pushups)
8 Snatches (75lbs)

Completed 3 Rounds

After this workout though my knee was feeling kind of tender. And for no identifiable reason. BOO

Wednesday
My knee HURT this morning. It doesn’t hurt running or squatting or anything like that, but just walking around, it’s just tender right below my kneecap. Dr. Google says I’m dying. Not really. But then again I haven’t really consulted Dr. Google for fear that it will make me crazy. I’m foam rolling the quads/hams and icing like it’s my religion.

Thursday

My plan was to hit the gym, but I had to travel to Sonoma for work all day and by the time I got home it was too late. I could have run but I was BEAT and my knee was a tiny bit sore still. Funny how so much windshield time can make you exhausted but you are only just sitting down.

Friday

STRENGTH
Snatch
3-3-1-1-1 (65, 75, 85, 90, 95)
Snatch Pull
2-2-2-2-2 (95 for all reps)

METCON
Buy In:
50 Double Unders

3 Rounds of
5 HSPU – (scaled)
10 Burpee Pull Ups (scaled to burpess + banded pull ups)
200m run

Buy Out:
100 Double Unders

That was fun. And sort of awful since I hate burpees and pull ups and it took me a few minutes to get my double under rhythm which mean my ass was COVERED in welts afterward. But fun! 🙂

I decided on Friday night that I wanted to try running on my knee. Garrett and I headed out after CrossFit to a hilly street by our house. We did a slow one mile warmup and then did 10 hill repeats up this crappy hill that I can’t even fully run up yet (NEW GOAL! GET UP THE HILL!) It was good practice. And also awful. First double day. 🙂 Knee felt fine running. Afterward, still sore when I walk.

Saturday

I vowed to do Monday’s Bear Complex so I headed in to open gym to get some lifting in. The Bear Complex is fun, but pretty tough. This is what it looks like. A quick synopsis from Mel, since she also wrote about it this week coincidentally:

…it’s a workout made up of 5 rounds of a barbell series (a.k.a., “complex”) that includes 7 reps of the following:
power clean — front squat — push press — back squat — push press

You do that SEVEN times to make up one round — and you do five rounds. If you’re doing it as RX’d.

HOLY CRAP that was hard. I did all 5 rounds with a 75lb barbell and my arms were JELLO at the end.

Open gym. Woot! ( that's a fake it til you make it woot. I'm tired.)

Sunday

I had a run on the schedule but my knee (at this point MY GOD DAMN GOOD FOR NOTHING KNEE) was still sore and that started to make me worried. I skipped my run and stayed home and did a cooking wod. 🙂 Also a Kettlebell Century Challenge (aka 100 Kettlebell Swings for time) with our 53 lb kettlebell. That was no slouch of a workout, but I would have rather run.

Workout Total: 4
CrossFit Workouts: 4 (3 in the gym // 1 at home)
Running Workouts: 1
Double Days: 1

And that was the week! Kind of disappointing, but it wasn’t like I was sitting home on the couch, so. Hopefully I’ll figure out what’s going on with my knee and be able to get in some good runs this week.

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Golden Gate Relay Training Plan + Week One Recap

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Holly

Run Relay Run

So I finally made a training plan for The Relay. Last week was my first week of twelve and guess what? I DIDN’T EVEN STICK TO IT! 🙂 We are clearly starting off with a bang here.

In my defense though, I was sick at the beginning of last week and well, that just sort of screwed everything up. This week is a new week, however, and while I’m still not following it *exactly* to a tee, I am making progress and getting in the groove. So I thought I would share what my plan is for the next 12 weeks.

Training Plan

I made this plan with a few things in mind:

*I am not running this race for a time, I am just running to finish
*My legs are flat, but I want to train running hills to improve my pace
*I want to continue CrossFitting 3x per week, at least
*I want to run 2-3x per week, at least
*At least 1 run per week will be a longer run. Endurance is actually a strength, and by the end I want to be back to feeling pretty comfortable running about 8-9 miles at a time. (My longest leg on race day is 6 miles.)
*I want to improve my stamina. Running for a long time is not a struggle for me. Running fast for a long time is. So speed/stamina work will be on my mind. (Hello, hills.)
*I want to get comfortable with the schedule of 3 hard back to back workouts within a short time frame (24-36 hours) to mimic sore race legs/conditions. My Friday/Saturday workouts (double days) are mapped out to help me with that.

And with that, my loose schedule for the next 3 months:

Monday – CrossFit
Tuesday – CrossFit
Wednesday – Rest or Speed Run/Hill Work (3-4 miles at a pace that is hard for me)
Thursday – Rest or Run (depending on what Mon/Tues look like at the box I’ll rest on one of these days and run on one of these days)
Friday – AM treadmill run before work (yuck), PM CrossFit
Saturday – Longer Run
Sunday – REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEST.

Here is how that shook out last week.

Week One Training

Moving forward, I thought I’d share these updates on Sundays. If you are completely uninterested you can skip it, I won’t mind. Or if you’d like to follow in more real time I am tracking them on Daily Mile. For me, knowing that I will be posting these and answering to the internet (Hey, that’s YOU) will help keep me accountable over the next few months. If it’s not useful for you, just walk right on by. 🙂

Training Graph - Week One

Monday
I spent this evening laying on my couch wanting to die after being at work all day. Making dinner felt like a major effort. No workouts for me!

Tuesday
I felt about 90% on this day but skipped the workout just in case. I was bummed, but it was the right decision.

Wednesday
For the Strength portion we worked on Weighted Pull Ups but since I’m still using a band I worked on banded negatives. Then I did some banded pull ups just for giggles. What was awesome is that I used a smaller band (less help) and just felt like I could do a million. I NEVER feel that way. It’s amazing what difference fat loss makes when doing pull ups. Being 14lbs lighter helped IMMENSELY. The metcon portion of the workout was a pretty freaking hard chipper:

15 calorie row
50 m bear crawl
13 thrusters (65 lbs)
13 box jump overs
13 deadlifts (135 lbs)
13 wall balls (14 lbs)
13 ring dips (I did banded dips)
Then you work your way back down the ladder.
There was a 15 minute time cap and I missed finishing by FOUR CALORIES in the row. Bummer. Good workout though.

Thursday
I should have run and flaked. But I was SUPER SORE from the day before. Totally used my early week sickness as an excuse. Was just being lazy.

Friday
Got up to run before work, per the plan but then read that the Friday night workout was the Filthy Fifty. I need to ease into these double day workouts and there is nothing easy about the Filthy Fifty. So I opted not to run. Friday night I did this:
50 Box jump (20 inch box)
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings (26 lbs)
50 Walking Lunges
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press (33 lbs)
50 Back extensions
50 Wall balls (14 lbs)
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

OOF. That is a brutal workout. Was glad I didn’t run.

Saturday
Met with my running buddies and did a track workout that included sprinting, running some hill repeats and running bleachers. It was a GREAT workout and really fun. Then spent an hour at open gym working on Cleans and Snatches. Lots of heavy lifting. Then GHD sit up work. Really enjoyed myself.

Sunday – REST!

Workout Total: 4
CrossFit Workouts: 3
Running Workouts: 1
Double Days: 0

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