Whew….I’m back!! Wow, how time flies?! I feel like I disappeared for a week or two but I think it might be more like a month or two. I don’t know what happened. Well, I know part of it was being sick so much. From January to March, it felt like I was almost always sick. And this was crazy for me…there was a few years where I don’t remember getting one cold and this one just kept coming back. Finally, after a visit to the doctor and a few antibiotics, I feel like a new person!
A quick catch up from me…I was doing pretty well with workouts and food until the last few days but I’m hoping that it’s just a blip. DH is still coming to the gym and we occasionally work out together, so that’s been fun. It kills me how quickly he can see the change in muscle size. I just don’t get the same results but I know, hormones and all that good stuff.
The weather is finally coming along and I’ve had a couple of successful 5k runs outside. I was thrilled because I don’t know if I ran 5k straight all winter and I still managed to eek in just under 30 minutes!!
Looks like there’s lots of stuff going on here, so I’ll try to catch up and say hi to everyone soon. I hope to not be such a stranger!
Cheryl: You are describing such a wonderful experience through CrossFit. I love it that you are finding people who motivate you to keep working through your workout as well. I think one of the benefits of a gym membership is the inspiration we may develop from watching others really work toward their goals. It causes us to reach down deep and have the thought that "If he/she can do that, so can I." Much more powerful to move toward a positive goal/image of a future self than to move away from a negative image of ourselves as unfit.
Elisa I'm so glad you are feeling better. It's been so long since I've seen you post I was concerned about you. Sorry to hear about the returning cold bug. But it sounds like you are doing just fine with your runs. And congratulations to your DH as well in his gym commitments.
I just returned from my Dad's. I ate way more today than I usually do and I'm feeling physically awful. Mentally, not a lot of guilt over the food because in the big picture I'm fine. But wow, I just really don't do well with the three big meals a day plan anymore. Blah. Looking forward to seeing how this translates into my workout tomorrow. Let's just assume there were a lot of carbs involved.
Yep, I've got pictures. I took start, 4, 6, and 8 weeks. We'll see how they look at week 12! Got a good lbwo today......times TWO! Unintentional, but we were visited by carpet beatles, so in addition to working out, doing a boatload of laundry - 5 very large oversized loads? - I had to take apart my whole bedroom, vacuuming, pulling out nightstands and bureau, disassembling the whole bed and pulling off the boxes to vacuum underneath. Washing all the bedding and checking out the springs to see if they've been adopted by the beatles. I think we're ok, but boy, I could really feel my glutes working when I was lifting those springs up off the floor and doing the deep vacuuming. It was actually a good feeling to feel the muscles kicking in. And Mel, yes, I even vacuumed the lampshades. Hey, if you're doing baseboards, might as well huh?
So far so good, haven't seen any more critters. It wasn't horribly bad, mostly just dead shells, only a few alive. Now we've found dead shells in the bathrooms. Luckily, no sign of them in the pantry. They seem to eat either meal/grains or carpet/fabric, upholstery. Anyone have any hints? The girls are freaked out but I keep telling them that compared to what I grew up with in the South, this is nothing. These guys don't bite, fly, or leave a mess behind.
Oh, and did both fed and state taxes as well. Just finished, that's why I'm up so late. Good for another year.
Good morning I got back from Colorado at about midnight last night after a VERY eventful day. The Aspen airport was fogged/snowed in and no flights could land- hence no flights could leave. DD had an earlier flight out (theoretically) than I did and sat at the airport while the flight coming in before hers circled, then went to Grand Junction, CO., then her flight circled and went back to Denver, then was canceled. She was desperate to get back to Columbus to get to work today and had the smarts to race for the car rental desk and be first in line. So we drove from Aspen to Denver, seeing way more of Colorado than we expected, but made our flights out! The drive actually was gorgeous. If I ever go there again, I think I'll skip the Denver/Aspen flight and rent a car. That airport is just too iffy, and I didn't know it at the time.
We had a great time, despite my having bronchitis, thinking I was going to die, and meeting the only doctor in town. Turns out that nyquil/dayquil combo is a really bad idea at high, dry altitudes. My resting pulse rate when I finally saw the doc was 89. It's usually 50-55.
Cheryl- Your crossfit experience sounds fantastic! Isn't it great to meet other people in real life who share this passion?
Elissa- Good to see you back. Sorry the germs found you so often. For not running all winter, that's a great time.
Fran- the bug problem sounds dreadful! We were infested with ants two weeks ago when it was raining so much. I wanted to move
Can't wait to hear/see your 12 week results!
Lydia! When is train the trainer day?
I've done no formal workouts for a week. It's a record! but I sure got a lot of leg work. I really can't fathom how people who don't work out consistently can ski. By the end of the second day of skiing, my quads weren't just screaming, they were cramping. Which is REALLY uncomfortable with skis and boots on. The runs were were doing were actually easier than the steep, icy eastern variety, but they sure were long.
Food was...not on plan. Low carb skiing just doesn't work. Amazingly, my clothes don't feel any tighter than when I left.
won't attempt cardio until tomorrow. Today is the first day I can breathe without hacking or wheezing! Yay for antibiotics
Location: Lyin' in a puddle of sweat on the floor.
Posts: 2,296
S/C/G: 235/201/175
Height: 5'7"
Hey peeps, just checking in to say I'm reading posts, but have to run out the door to catch the morning workout. Supposed to be one of the dreadful "girl" WODs today. Yeah, I tried to think of a good excuse to skip it...brain surgery, boy emergency, anything...couldn't think of a good one, so I guess I'll just go get my butt kicked now. I'll check in later if I can crawl to the computer, lol. Mel and Elisa, good to have you back!
I am still alive. I started to catch up on posts that I missed but then I had to jump in the shower because just reading about Cheryl's workouts make me sweat horribly. Does that count as exercise?
My foot is not any better and I have to admit there are days when it is very hard to not give in to depression because it seems to me that I will never get rid of this. And when I am in a mood like that, it is very easy to lose discipline with food and even skip exercise. I should be getting custom orthotics this week and I hope they will make some difference, because otherwise I am miserable even after 1/2 hour on the elliptical. Basically, just being on my feet is enough to aggravate it.
I flipped through a number of Oxygen magazines on the weekend and found an article that addresses the triceps (the article starts with a sentence that goes like this: "Do you find that your arm continues to wave long after you stopped waving?" They "prescribe" a set of three exercises that change every 3 weeks or so and the reps are 5-10-20. So I started the first set of exercises yesterday and I liked it - I guessed I could have gone a wee bit harder on myself since my triceps are sore today but I can still lift a mug of tea to my lips. I will ramp it up a bit the next time. I wanna get rid of the flab!
I did cardio this morning (elliptical -> foot is screaming) and I think that's it for today.
By the way, I wanted to mention I had a very salad yesterday: I found yellow beets at my local grocery store (I have never seen yellow beets before) so I bought a bunch. The attached recipe suggest to cut them up and marinade for a bit in an olive oil/lemon vinaigrette. I was out of lemon, so I used Lemon Poppy Seed dressing (fairly low cal and quite tasty) as a substitution. I added a small handful of sunflower seeds, a small handful of dried cranberries and I crumbled a chunk of light feta over it. It was a very good snack-o-meal and quite filling. Yellow beets will be on my menu from now on (if the store continues to supply them).
The one remaining beet is brightening my lunch salad today - I bet some of my colleagues will ask "what is THAT?"
Alena: Your salad sounds wonderful. I've just rediscovered beets myself. Something my grandmother enjoys. There is a restaurant that serves beets with hard boiled eggs. The deal is I get the hard boiled egg and she eats the beets. We enjoyed them at Easter together too.
I totally know understand the frustration of not being able to exercise with your injury. It's awful. But, don't use it as an excuse to eat poorly. Nutrition is still a huge component of weightloss and maintenance. You've worked too hard and trust me you don't want to play the five up five down game. I hope that the orthotics help. Skipping exercise because of the pain I understand. If even the elliptical is painful how about exploring some yoga moves. With the exception of the downward dog it could get you off your feet but still keep you physically in tune with your body. Just a thought.
Cheryl: So how was that "girl" workout today.
Mel: Nice you to you back from vacation. The flight/rental car dance. DH has had to do that a few times as well. A two hour drive is so much better than unplanned night in a hotel room. Ack. To be sick on your ski vacation and an increase heart rate. The nyquil stuff, I just can't do it even at this altitude. It makes me all jittery instead of sleepy and my heart just races. Hate that stuff.
Fran: BUGS! I lived in The South for a couple of years. It was so funny, the condo place had free pesticide service. They would come in every month and just do the perimeter to keep the critters at bay. I'm not sure which made me more uncomfortable, the chemicals or the bugs. I would often delay the service till I found way to many creatures and then call them back in again. Oh, and extra points for the lampshade. Wanna do mine?
Took a spinning class this morning. First time in more than a year. Actually, I got roped into it. I walked into the group exercise room just to do my warm up and glute activations. (Leg and squat day) In the middle of the room was one woman on a bike. I asked if there was a class and she said yes in about two minutes. Hmmm. 'Kay. She asked if I would join her so she wouldn't be the only one in the class and I said sure. Turns out it's my personal trainer who is teaching the class. By the end of the first real interval I had over done it and was looking to puke somewhere. Seriously thought I was going to have to get off the bike and put my head between my knees or something. I will never eat my Protein Oatmeal just before a spinning class ever again. (Not that I was planning on spinning anyway) Still, now I know...I will however take the class again if they let me bring in my own music.
Rain today and a nap sounds like a good idea. Too bad I've got too much to do today. Have a great afternoon everyone!
Location: Lyin' in a puddle of sweat on the floor.
Posts: 2,296
S/C/G: 235/201/175
Height: 5'7"
Lydia, glad you didn't lose your oatmeal in the spin class. I've heard about those spin classes, and have been too chicken to jump into one.
Well, after all that build-up, and my personal fear that it would be something super evil, it was only Isabel for the WOD today: 30 snatches for time. We all actually did power snatches. If we'd had to do full squat snatches, that would have been super evil, but power snatches aren't too bad. I only used 47# today (the Rx'd weight for women is 95#, guys 135#, but other than a few superhuman peeps that have been training a long time, everybody scaled this one down in weight). The odd weight number on mine was because I used the 15# bar, 2 plywood plates that were 6# each, and 2 10# bumpers.
My time was 4:32.
Here's a video showing this workout, using power snatches like we did. The music on the vid is pretty obnoxious, so you might want to turn the volume down, but this shows a good example of what our workouts were like today... you find a spot on the floor where you won't clobber anybody, and when enough folks are ready to go, they call 3-2-1-go, and you're off. You count your own reps, and call "time!" when you're done. They have fancy stopwatches that can record everybody's individual times while keeping the clock running for those who are still working. Here's the vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-pyHFhpa3k
For my warm-up today I did:
Row 500 meters
Shoulder dislocates till my shoulders were loosened up
10 overhead squats with the pvc
10 regular sit-ups, feet anchored
10 knee push-ups
10 straight-legged sit-ups (cuz I needed to do SOMEthing diff for sit-ups)
4 real push-ups (should have tried those first, but that's all there was today)
6 knee push-ups
10 overhead squats with the 15# bar
2 pull-ups with the green band (that's all I could get)
10 pull-ups with the black band
10 jumping pull-ups from a box
Some stretching
10 power snatches with the 15# bar
10 power snatches with the bar and wood plates (27#)
3-4 power snatches with the bar, wood plates and bumpers (47#)
Thanks for all the nice welcomes from everyone...I should go away more often!
Lydia - It's been a while but somehow we're still in sync I went for a spin class today too...but I did not almost puke! Glad you made it through yours. I really needed some cardio and you can always count on a spin class for a solid cardio workout. I love/hate my spin classes like I love/hate a lot of things that are good for me!!
Cheryl - try the spin classes...everyone should try them once!! Your workouts sound amazing and I will definitely check out that video. I am so intrigued by what you do and it makes my workouts seem so boring!
Mel - great picture!
It's amazing how good it is to feel healthy again for more than a few days. We're in the middle of our Passover holiday so, for anyone who knows, it would explain my last few days of poor food choices but I'm getting back on track and I'm hoping for a great workout/food week. Spin class done and I hope tomorrow to get in both a Power Yoga and a Group Power class. We'll see if I can do it.
I'm having a usual Monday - which is to say, too busy to know which way I'm going. My Monday morning directors' meeting left me with more work than I needed, plus the addition of two more meetings this week And I have a new admin asst who started today. Luckily I had budgeted for a week's overlap with the current AA, so there's plenty of training going on that I don't have to be involved with. And she's catching on fast. Whew.
Food was decent for most of the weekend, though Easter brunch at church was a minefield - tons of homemade baked goods. Thankfully there were hb eggs, lots of fruit, and ham as well. I got away with 1.5 ordinary sized cinnamon rolls, 2 eggs, a small banana, grapes, and a small piece of ham. We ate our regular stuff the rest of the weekend. Even grilled chicken outdoors for the first time this year - only to have it snow this morning! (It's melted already of course).
Welcome back Elisa!
I've another 90 minutes of work, then I'm off to the gym to have some cardio destressing before I go home.
Somehow I didn't see Mel's picture when I logged in at work - nice pic, Mel! The emply white slope make want to ski (and I haven't skied since I was 6 years old).
Location: Lyin' in a puddle of sweat on the floor.
Posts: 2,296
S/C/G: 235/201/175
Height: 5'7"
Good eye, Elisa...I didn't see that this morning, either. Nice picture, Mel!
I've been going blind online today, trying to find a "how-to" or videos showing how to do a kipping pull-up with the rubber band. I only found 2 or 3 videos showing anybody kipping with a band, but hopefully it will help. Seems like, with the band, you can't do the kip the normal way...you can't bend at the knee at all, or the band just sproings and you look like a dork (guess how I know this, lol). I've tried kipping with the one leg that's not stepping down on the band, but trying to coordinate that just reminds me why I never could do aerobics. So, I'll try again tomorrow, and see if my kipping gets any better, using the technique shown here: http://crossfitbirmingham.ning.com/v...g-band-pullups
Hopefully, the band doesn't fly off and shoot my eye out.
Location: Lyin' in a puddle of sweat on the floor.
Posts: 2,296
S/C/G: 235/201/175
Height: 5'7"
Morning, everyone!
I'm playing hookie from my workout this morning, even though I really, really, hate to miss one...I'm addicted! However, I really needed to get some work done around here this morning, and have been promising my sister I would get over and do some yard work at her place, so I decided to be responsible today and get some things checked off my neglected "to do" list. I can go back to playing at Crossfit tomorrow.
Yesterday was a miserable day for weather. Rain, hail, raining slush, more rain, more hail, more slush, lots of wind. Hopefully, today won't be like that. I'm ready for a few more of those nice sunny days like we had last week, now that the garden is good and watered!
Okay, I'm off, just wanted to check in. What are you peeps doing for workouts today?
Double workout day: Power Yoga at lunch (done) and I'm off shortly for Group Power after work. That's a lot of Power! We'll see if they work well together or not.
Cheryl - sorry about your weather...ours is looking good this week but at this time of year, every day is a new adventure! And good for you for playing hookie when you need to...sometimes you just have to get stuff done!
I had a couple cookies today. Small cookies but still cookies. I felt so stupid afterwards because it was just a momentary lapse.
Good thing though is I didn't let me derail the rest of my day. This morning, I also got a kettlebell/elliptical workout in (did elliptical with some kettlebell intervals).
I've spent the past few weeks investigating tricycles. There are a lot of different options in various price ranges. I'm torn between a sitting upright tricycle and a low, down to the ground recumbent. I think I'm leaning towards a recumbent but who knows? Later this week, I'll be near a bike shop that sells them so I'm going to go visit.
I don’t know what happened. Well, I know part of it was being sick so much. From January to March, it felt like I was almost always sick. And this was crazy for me…there was a few years where I don’t remember getting one cold and this one just kept coming back. Finally, after a visit to the doctor and a few antibiotics, I feel like a new person!
I'm so glad you are feeling better. It's been so long since I've seen you post I was concerned about you. Sorry to hear about the returning cold bug. But it sounds like you are doing just fine with your runs. And congratulations to your DH as well in his gym commitments. 
Let's just assume there were a lot of carbs involved. 
Good for another year.
I got back from Colorado at about midnight last night after a VERY eventful day. The Aspen airport was fogged/snowed in and no flights could land- hence no flights could leave. DD had an earlier flight out (theoretically) than I did and sat at the airport while the flight coming in before hers circled, then went to Grand Junction, CO., then her flight circled and went back to Denver, then was canceled. She was desperate to get back to Columbus to get to work today and had the smarts to race for the car rental desk and be first in line. So we drove from Aspen to Denver, seeing way more of Colorado than we expected, but made our flights out! The drive actually was gorgeous. If I ever go there again, I think I'll skip the Denver/Aspen flight and rent a car. That airport is just too iffy, and I didn't know it at the time.
the bug problem sounds dreadful! We were infested with ants two weeks ago when it was raining so much. I wanted to move 
They "prescribe" a set of three exercises that change every 3 weeks or so and the reps are 5-10-20. So I started the first set of exercises yesterday and I liked it - I guessed I could have gone a wee bit harder on myself since my triceps are sore today but I can still lift a mug of tea to my lips. 
Hate that stuff.
