Lead a Fit and Healthy Life
Archive for August, 2011
All About the Run Workout
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Ahh Fall is in the air. Have I mentioned how much I love the cooler temperatures! Work is busy, home is busy, I am busy — it’s good all around. It’s funny how feelings can change so quickly. Leading up to school back in session, I was stressed out. I weathered the storm, and now am heading forward and things are manageable. Up and down, like a roller coaster. It’s called Life!
So the last month or so, our CrossFit early AM class has had a few teens in it. 16-18 year olds adding it to their off season sports training. It’s very humbling to see the young guys smokin us out of the water. Today, we ran a lot and one of the teens, Cameron, is 17 and he ran laps around us! Looked like he didn’t break a sweat. Oh to be young – although knowing how I was when I was his age, I couldn’t do a quarter of what he did. I love seeing them learn and really get into CrossFit. I am excited to see how it will help his wrestling season…
Today was all about the run — 800 m sprints. How in the heck can you sprint for 800m was the question I had!! No one answered me.
Warmup
Dynamic stretching
High Knees
Shuffling
Bear Crawl
Run Backwards
Heel to Butt
Rockette Kicks
Skill
L-Sits
HandStands
WOD
4 800m sprints
2m rest between rounds
times: 4m,10m,16:03m,22:06m
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2m L-Sit Holds
2m Handstand Holds
As you can see, we do a lot of different stuff every day. I love doing the gymnastics, because it really forces you to learn to tighten and use your core. You have to have body awareness and be able to maintain mid-line stability in order to hold L-Sits and Handstands for any period of time. I am still using the wall for Handstands, but if I had someone to spot me, I would regularly try to do them solo because I think I am ready to not use the crutch — maybe I will try it with just a mat or something. Gotta fall a few times to get better. Practice makes Better as Coach Jerry says.
And thanks to the handstands today, I am now dizzy.
Learning from Cancer Survivors
04 months ago
10 Things I Learned From People Who Survive Cancer
When I interviewed women who had survived breast cancer for my art project The Woman Inside, I noticed that they all shared one remarkable thing in common.
They had all faced down death and decided to live every day like it might be their last. And then they all beat cancer.
The more interviews I did, the more I noticed that these women were living differently than most of the people I knew who had not been diagnosed with cancer. Here’s what I learned from those survivor women. Learning these lessons changed my life, and I hope they’ll change yours.
It’s like being on a playground…
0What a great morning. The air is crisp and cool — feels like September is here already. I love Fall — so the sooner it comes the better! It was a small group this morning. Just 3 of us. With school back in session, many parents have to readjust their routine. Elementary school kids in our county start school at 750A — so they have to catch buses early. And of course, Tues means Coach Jerry and some gymnastics! Hooray!!
Warmup
Ankle/foot Mobility
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800m run
10 Pass Thrus
10 Whirly Birds
10 OHS
10 Cobra Stretch
Skill
HSPU
Handstands on Parallelette
Handstands on Rings
WOD
20-15-9
Deadlifts (85% of max) 165#
HSPU (use abmat if needed)
time: 12:22
So let’s talk about a few things mentioned above — Handstands on those Paralette bars. Sometimes Coach Jerry gets carried away with what we likes us to try. Actually holding the handstand using the bars is easier but kicking up to them — yeah, Coach Jerry had to basically pull me up. Hey – we all start somewhere. So once I got up into the handstand, it was easier to control the balance because you use your wrists instead of just your fingers, like when you are just on the floor. And if that wasn’t hard enough, then lets try it on the rings. No stability kicking up, but once I got up there — yeah I had no problem wrapping my feet around the straps. You really do have to get used to being upside down because for a second or so, you have no idea what direction is up. It’s an odd feeling — but great.
I have said it before — it’s one of the things I love about CrossFit. It’s like being a kid again, and going to the playground every day for recess. Remember how fun that was?
Two For One
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I took my kids to the CrossFit Kids class at CrossFit Impavidus this evening. I am so beyond thrilled that both my kids are getting into it and talking about their squats and rounds. It warms my heart.
While they were working out, Coach Marc was there preparing for his workout and asked if I wanted to join him. How can I refuse Coach Marc? So I joined in and did my 2nd workout of the day. It was a good, fast workout!
4 RFT
10 KB Snatches (1st round, Right side)
60 jump ropes
20 sit ups
20 goblet squats 35lbs
10 KB Snatches (Left side)
60 jump ropes
20 Russian Twists
20 goblet squats
repeat round 1
repeat round 2
time: 6:22
Back to School means back to routines
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It’s back to school day! Hip Hip Hooray. A time for parents to rejoice — routine returns, kids are busy, money isn’t thrown out the window with weekly camp tuition. I can actually predict what time I need to pick up the kids — instead of the wonky camp times. Am I hiding my excitement too much?
It’s also bittersweet — hard to believe summer is already over. It sure went out with a bang – earthquakes, hurricanes and a very close call car accident this past week. My kids are growing up so fast before my eyes. I clearly remember their first days of life and now they are little independent buggers wanting little to do with their momma. Life isn’t fair in some ways — but I do enjoy getting to know them and reliving some of the things that I loved and did when I was growing up.
Just because school is back — doesn’t mean it’s time to slack on my workouts. Up and out the door I went. This one was very cardio/endurance centric. And that means FUN! yeah right.
Warmup
100 jump ropes
2x
10 good mornings
10 whirly birds
10 push ups
10 ring dips
10 cobra stretches
WOD
5 Rounds For Time
12 Front Squats #135/95
12 Pull Ups
12 Burpees
400 Meter Run
time: 25:09
I started with 95# for my first round but it became clear that I was not going to be able to sustain it for 5 rounds. I dropped down to 65# and did jumping pull ups. You do what you gotta do –
Friendships
05 months ago
I love this post — it really captured what I went through a few years ago and re-categorizing people in my life:
It reminded me also of some of my favorite quotes:
“Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.”
— Maya Angelou
“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”
— Walter Winchell
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” — Steve Jobs
“Friendship is like a glass ornament, once it is broken it can rarely be put back together exactly the same way.” — Unknown
Hurricane Irene and CrossFit Workout
0It’s kinda funny how the news does such a good job of creating panic when impending weather is on its way. I am sure that Hurricane Irene is gonna be scary and has the potential of creating some serious situations –but where we live, it will be some heavy rain. That’s it! Not enough danger to create panic in the grocery stores. Just an interesting observation every time we have any sort of weather related event. Crazy people.
We had an imnpromptu CrossFit workout this morning because the regular classes were cancelled due to possible Irene complications. It was really unnecessary but better safe than sorry. I met Coach Lori and some other friends at the box and we dubbed the workout ‘Irene’ in honor of the hurricane.
Warmup
burpee sprints
10 pass thrus
10 whirly birds
10 bendy whirly birds
Mobility work
WOD
15m AMRAP
100m run
10 14lb wall ball squats
10 hand release push ups
total rounds=7
it was a good workout. Its super humid out so I was hacking up a lung but that didn’t stop me! Asthmatics rule! My pal Kim came a bit late, so we ran another 800m and then she did a 10m AMRAP of 10 wall balls and 10 push ups. While she did that, I worked on my pull up swings. My hands till hurt tho. Woe is me!
For those out there in the path of Irene, please be safe. Don’t mess with nature and in the words of the current NJ governor- “get the hell off the beach.”
Locks of Love
05 months ago
I’m beyond proud of my little girl HB. She decided today to donate her hair to Locks of Love. Snip, Snip, Snip 12 inches gone. She looks beyond beautiful and hasn’t had a second thought about it. She told me – now she doesn’t have to brush her hair.
love her.
After:
Live like Steve Jobs — Love what you do.
05 months ago
Live Like Steve Jobs, Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish
Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.
Working on your relationships
05 months ago
You know what I love? On my drive home I see older couples walking. Many of them are Asian or Indian — just walking, together. It’s early in the morning and they are walking. Some walk fast, some slow but they walk together. That’s seriously one of the secrets of staying youthful and together. Exercise and alone time with your friend or mate. I have no way of knowing whether they talk during their daily walks, but just doing something together is the key.
Lately, couples I know separating, on their way to divorce. Why do you think that is? Is it because around this time of our lives — we stop and assess where we are, what we want, and what we have done and ask ourselves — is this enough? is this what I want? am I happy? Some partners just give up. They don’t want to work on it, they don’t care enough about their mate to do it — they take the easy way out. Some work on it and it just becomes clear — it’s not going to work. Time to move on. Whatever the reason, they are breaking up.
Think about it – are you the same person you were when you got married? It’s ok to be more than that person — but the core of you is still there. You are an enhanced version of you –but you are still there. I know so many people that are not even close to the person they were when they first met their husband/wife. They get so wrapped up in their lives and all the stress of running it, they forget themselves and their marriage. Is that fair to themselves, their spouse or their kids?
Marriage isn’t easy. Sometimes it’s downright impossible. It’s work and it needs to be a partnership. There are times when you have to be partners — running the business of your lives. But there has to be enough time to be a couple — connecting over hobbies, interests, laughs. Independent of the kids — putting time into your marriage. I can go on and on about this topic — how you are teaching your kids what a marriage is, how you are teaching your kids about the importance of you as an independent person with interests, hobbies, how you are worth the time to make yourself look & feel your best, how marriage is not a perfect thing — you fight, annoy each other, but in the end –it’s a commitment to each other that is fun, fulfilling and loving.
When you get a chance, look in the mirror and ask yourself – are you the person that your spouse married? If the answer is no –what can you do to bring parts of that back into your relationship? I’m not saying that it will fix all of your problems, but it’s a start.
warmup
800m run
2x
10 Pass thrus
10 Ring Rows
10 Push ups
10 Good Mornings
10 OHS
Skill
L-Sits
Straddle L-Sits
–
Snatch
OHS
WOD
7 rounds for time of:
4 Power Snatches 45 lbs
4 Overhead Squats 45 lbs
4 Overhead Walking Lunges 45 lbs
21 Sit-up (standard)s
time: 11:37
