I needed a push yesterday. And I got one.
I've been a little concerned that my coaches have given up on me. I've been going to my gym since it opened 4 years ago. I did GREAT at first. I had no where to go but up. I couldn't two foot jump onto a one inch plate. I couldn't hang from the bar for 6 seconds. So I've made improvements for sure. In four years. I think we all hope for more.
When I read comments from them, I don't read cheerful "you can do it, and we are behind you", anymore. Though, that is the danger of reading the comments and not hearing them. Interpreting texts and social media comments isn't easy for people with the kind of imagination that I have I guess. Especially when I'm in a funk.
It's documented in this blog already, that I have backslid a lot over the last year. I've lost fitness I worked hard to gain. I've been concerned that I've let my coaches down. Which might be true, but it's more true that I've let myself down. They are still giving me (and everyone) all the opportunity to improve.
Yesterday I hit a PR on three rep max strict press. So I'm still making gains. Or maybe I'm making gains once again. Either way. That part is back.
The second part of the WOD was an AMRAP with a 50 wall ball buy in. After the wall balls we had 3 rounds of 12 deadlifts and 12 bar facing burpees. I was feeling super nervous before the WOD started. Unreasonably nervous. I was confused by the nerves. And then I *could NOT* get a rhythm for wall balls. I'm generally pretty slow at these, but I don't necessarily have so much trouble. I couldn't catch the ball properly, which meant I couldn't squat right away and get another one in. Sometimes I couldn't even hit the wall with the ball. The wall that I'm literally standing 18 inches from. That means I kept throwing the ball straight up in the air, which I'm sure is way more work. The more frustrated I got the worse it became. And I was the last to finish wall balls again. The rest of the WOD was general suck. Deadlifts aren't too bad, I didn't lift heavy and got through those pretty easily. But I'm having trouble with burpees again. Which means I don't do enough of them (please don't tell my coaches that, they will schedule them far more often). My burpee trouble is two fold. The first issue is that I'm so easily winded again. And the second is that I can't jump my feet close to my body because my belly is in the way. So my feet are wide when I jump up. Still far better than when I started, but for craps sake, I'm better than this). Both of those things make burpees slow for me. Then we had to two foot jump over the bar. Which is fine when I'm not tired, but then I imagine tripping on the bar and falling face first into the rack and knocking out my teeth (it's a real fear). Anyway, there was no time cap on this WOD, so it was a do it ALL and get it over with situation. There was no class behind mine, so there was no rush. And so here I was doing the last round alone, with everyone watching me and calling out my name. It's supportive. I hate it. But the coach was next to me counting out my reps for me. He cheered me on a LOT and didn't let me quit. I wouldn't have quit, but I would have taken a lot longer had he not been there.
And that made me remember that he hasn't given up on me. I'm sure that I frustrate him. But he is still in my corner and wants me to be better.
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Saturday, September 9, 2017
Fall 2017 Nutrition Challenge
My Gym occasionally does a nutrition challenge. In the past I've been very good at the challenge, but I don't see a lot of results. Even if I follow the letter of the challenge and all of the rules, I know that I'm not putting everything I can into them and getting everything there is to get out of them. This season the challenge is sort of on steroids. It's not just about nutrition. It encompasses everything: Sleep, exercise, nutrition. I'm sort of excited to start this one.
The nutrition part is less strict than it has been in the past. This time each individual sets their own challenge. WE had to pick something that was a personal challenge, make it measurable, and set the goal. There were many examples given, which included following a strict paleo diet, zone diet, iifiym (if it fits in your macros), no fast food, no processed food, etc. The only standard across the board is that everyone cuts out refined sugar and alcohol. Natural sugars like maple syrup (gross), honey (yum), and stevia are allowed.
I decided to keep it simple. I don't eat enough. I'm overweight and grew up restricting calories, so I have a mental block when it comes to eating enough. I rarely eat breakfast, and I am not fueling properly to exercise. I'm having trouble getting past that. I know that my body needs more healthy food, but I feel like I'm eating too much when I feed myself properly. So this is a very real challenge for me.
My mom and I were recently discussing the Whole 30 diet as well. So we are starting that together. I think the timing is good for me. In truth, I *mainly* eat good foods. I do have dressing with sugar in it on my salads, so I'll adjust that. I'm not a fan of simple vinegar and oil on the salad, even though I know it's the best for me. My son makes a fantastic dressing with mayo, oil, and garlic. I'll put him to work this weekend, helping me prepare. I also let myself get off plan when yummy treats come my way. I have a problem saying "no". So part of my challenge is to do just that. Keep it on track and learn to pass up things that aren't for me.
The sleeping part is not overly difficult for me either. We have to aim for 8 hours of sleep. I normally get 7.5 hours. My fitbit helps me track it. I have no problem laying down, closing my eyes, and sleeping until morning. My hang up will be trying to get that extra half hour and pushing the kids to as well. But honestly, this is the easiest part of the challenge for me. I like my rest.
I'm excited about the addition of points for exercise. I have not been getting enough. Between sickness a few months ago, busy summer, crappy air, and general I don't wanna run feelings, I haven't been getting enough. Or any. I'm very excited to be getting back to a regular schedule, now that school is back in. I'm headed back to the gym this week. Embarrassed for how much I've gained and how much I've lost. I've got some catching up to do. I'll be at the gym again 3 -5 days. And additional walking a mile or two on other days. The rule is to get 5 days of honest to goodness exercise. I'm putting my fitbit to work on that as well. I have a baseline on daily steps. (It's a sad line), and I'm setting a goal for that as well.
We also have to increase our hydration. I'm glad to have this forced on me as well. I don't drink enough water. Nearly never. I'm always thirsty. I'm thirsty as I type this. I should go get a drink of water now. The goal on this is to aim for 1/2 of your body weight. Drink that many ounces in water each day. For me that is a LOT of water. I'm not even sure I can drink that much, or if that is even healthy. But I"m going to give it my best shot. I have a pitcher that I'll fill daily and aim to drink it all.
Another piece of this is to do a ROMWod each day. This is a stretching/yoga program. I'm not sure, yet, what I"m going to do here. I don't plan to pay for the ROMWod program right now, and I don't have time to stay at the gym and use their membership every day. I have a foam roller and know some stretches. I'll probably use those a lot and look up on the internet some other good techniques. I don't do this enough either, because duh, I don't do anything enough. I'd like to be stretchier.
The last piece in this challenge is to report to the group every day. WE have a private page to do this. And it will be a busy one this month.
I have EVERY intention of killing this challenge. I want to both win this (there is a cookbook prize), lose some weight, gain sime muscle, and gain some bendy. I haven't felt this determined in a while. FOr me this challenge is happening at just the right time.
The nutrition part is less strict than it has been in the past. This time each individual sets their own challenge. WE had to pick something that was a personal challenge, make it measurable, and set the goal. There were many examples given, which included following a strict paleo diet, zone diet, iifiym (if it fits in your macros), no fast food, no processed food, etc. The only standard across the board is that everyone cuts out refined sugar and alcohol. Natural sugars like maple syrup (gross), honey (yum), and stevia are allowed.
I decided to keep it simple. I don't eat enough. I'm overweight and grew up restricting calories, so I have a mental block when it comes to eating enough. I rarely eat breakfast, and I am not fueling properly to exercise. I'm having trouble getting past that. I know that my body needs more healthy food, but I feel like I'm eating too much when I feed myself properly. So this is a very real challenge for me.
My mom and I were recently discussing the Whole 30 diet as well. So we are starting that together. I think the timing is good for me. In truth, I *mainly* eat good foods. I do have dressing with sugar in it on my salads, so I'll adjust that. I'm not a fan of simple vinegar and oil on the salad, even though I know it's the best for me. My son makes a fantastic dressing with mayo, oil, and garlic. I'll put him to work this weekend, helping me prepare. I also let myself get off plan when yummy treats come my way. I have a problem saying "no". So part of my challenge is to do just that. Keep it on track and learn to pass up things that aren't for me.
The sleeping part is not overly difficult for me either. We have to aim for 8 hours of sleep. I normally get 7.5 hours. My fitbit helps me track it. I have no problem laying down, closing my eyes, and sleeping until morning. My hang up will be trying to get that extra half hour and pushing the kids to as well. But honestly, this is the easiest part of the challenge for me. I like my rest.
I'm excited about the addition of points for exercise. I have not been getting enough. Between sickness a few months ago, busy summer, crappy air, and general I don't wanna run feelings, I haven't been getting enough. Or any. I'm very excited to be getting back to a regular schedule, now that school is back in. I'm headed back to the gym this week. Embarrassed for how much I've gained and how much I've lost. I've got some catching up to do. I'll be at the gym again 3 -5 days. And additional walking a mile or two on other days. The rule is to get 5 days of honest to goodness exercise. I'm putting my fitbit to work on that as well. I have a baseline on daily steps. (It's a sad line), and I'm setting a goal for that as well.
We also have to increase our hydration. I'm glad to have this forced on me as well. I don't drink enough water. Nearly never. I'm always thirsty. I'm thirsty as I type this. I should go get a drink of water now. The goal on this is to aim for 1/2 of your body weight. Drink that many ounces in water each day. For me that is a LOT of water. I'm not even sure I can drink that much, or if that is even healthy. But I"m going to give it my best shot. I have a pitcher that I'll fill daily and aim to drink it all.
Another piece of this is to do a ROMWod each day. This is a stretching/yoga program. I'm not sure, yet, what I"m going to do here. I don't plan to pay for the ROMWod program right now, and I don't have time to stay at the gym and use their membership every day. I have a foam roller and know some stretches. I'll probably use those a lot and look up on the internet some other good techniques. I don't do this enough either, because duh, I don't do anything enough. I'd like to be stretchier.
The last piece in this challenge is to report to the group every day. WE have a private page to do this. And it will be a busy one this month.
I have EVERY intention of killing this challenge. I want to both win this (there is a cookbook prize), lose some weight, gain sime muscle, and gain some bendy. I haven't felt this determined in a while. FOr me this challenge is happening at just the right time.
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Bad Air or Bad Excuse?
The air here in North Idaho is terrible. Two years ago we had to cancel kids football practices because the air quality was unhealthy. It was in the range of 180 ppm particulates. We thought that was bad. Yesterday we reached 300 ppm. All school sports outdoor practices are cancelled. Elementary kids are not allowed to have outdoor recess at the moment. People with asthma are really suffering.
There are massive forest fires in Montana, our neighboring state. I read that out of 56 counties in Montana, 40 of them are on fire. Now there is an enormous fire on the Washington-Oregon border that has closed a major highway. The ash falling from that fire has people reminiscing about the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helen's.
I'm not making it to the gym. The gym has posted that they remain open in this weather. We pay a monthly fee to be able to go there and they will be open for it. It's up to each individual to take care of their own health. I do not feel comfortable breathing hard in this smoke. I've gone back and forth about it. Sometimes I wonder if I'm making an excuse to not exercise. But I've decided that isn't it. I'm winded walking up the stairs from the bad air. I want to be at the gym. I want to be getting healthy. My back hurts from inactivity.
I've started stretching at home and tonight I'm starting a tap dancing class. It's indoors and starts slow, so I think I can manage it.
There is a mountain there. Past the flags on the golf course. It's really beautiful on a good day. You'll have to trust me.
This picture I swiped from KXLY news. This is the famous floating green on the Coeur d' Alene Golf Course on CdA lake. The top was taken in May and the bottom was taken yesterday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)