Category Archives: Fitness

Exercising EVERY DAY for a year?!

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I’m so sorry that I’ve sucked with posts for the past week. Things have been CRAZY and I have some VERY EXCITING NEWS that I can’t WAIT to share with you all, but can’t share it just yet!! But it’s been keeping me busy.

Ironically, today’s post is about making time to stay fit (like I said, ironic, but keeping fit and blogging are totally different.. right?)

Last week, I realized I had 8 workouts in 4 days. Totally didn’t even realize it until Friday and I was dead and couldn’t figure out why. And then I went to Lululemon during lunch so I could take a spin class after work, making it 9 workouts in 5 days. Whoops. But here’s the thing- I honestly didn’t realize I was working out so much. I think of working out as fun, I don’t think of it as a chore. Even though it’s also my part time job, it’s also my new social scene. For real. I think it’s more fun to go and workout with friends and grab dinner after than just going out for drinks. Does that make me totally lame? Probably. Do I care? Nope!

I recently joined up with Tribesports. Have you guys heard of them? It’s based in England, but I think it’s gonna take off here in the States. It’s an online community that encourages you to do engage in physical activity and challenges. You can sign up for different challenges, post your progress, complete challenges, make friends, the whole 9 yards. And you get awesome emails with British quirkiness “Do take a look around and sign up for some challenges, quite nice, yes. Lets get a spot of tea and crumpets afterwards, yes” Okay, maybe I made up that part, but whatever. It’s a great idea and concept, and I think y’all should GET INVOLVED! And link up with me :)

 

One of the new challenges they’re doing is to do 30 minutes of physical activity every day for a year. Right off the bat, that might seem excessive. What about rest days? Are you really supposed to work out EVERY day for a year? But re-think exercise here for a second. Exercising doesn’t have to be a super intense, heavy sweat session every day. You can go for a walk, do some yoga, take the stairs instead of the elevator, carry the groceries home instead of hopping in the car. Just do something. I signed up to do the challenge and am so far sticking with it. Who’s with me? Do you think you could do 30 minutes of physical activity every day for a year? I might not hit the 30 minute mark every day, but I want to do SOMETHING every day. Get that body moving. It’s so important.

I promise.. more exciting news and JAMS and Hotties to come this week!! In the meantime.. who’s ready to work out for a year? :)

-Emily

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Mental Toughness

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When Emily and I were in high school, we pretended we were runners and joined the cross country team.  Since we both sucked at running, we saw it more as a social hour then as an opportunity to get better.  But, we stuck to it and actually lasted the whole season, go us!

 

Story of our lives

(http://www.shesaidineedagoal.com/)

Since then, I had a couple of brief stints with running.  When I joined the Rugby team my freshman year, we ran a lot.  Whenever my roommates would piss me off in college, I would go for a run.  Then, my senior year, my friend guilt tripped me into signing up for a half marathon.  If you ask me, 13.1 miles is an obscene distance to run. I kinda enjoyed the training, but my body always seemed to suffer from it.  My knees would hurt, my feet would ache and my ears would burn from the cold.  So, after the half marathon, I decided I would more or less retire from running (if retiring from something you never had a career in is even possible).

Since starting CrossFit about a year and a half ago, my longest run was a mile tops.  Besides that, it was a couple 400s or 800s in a WOD.  That’s it.  So, when my friend from the gym asked me to run a 10K with her two weeks ago, I slightly panicked.  How can I go from struggling through a 400 meter run to running 6 miles (24 400s if I did the math correctly) all at once?  But, my friend felt pretty confident so I figured I should follow suit and give it a try.

The first couple of miles were easy peasy.  Things didn’t start to get tough until mile 4 or so.  That’s when I started to think about how our trainer had said “you girls can do it.  It’s all mental” right before we left.  As I continued to run (there was no way Stacey was going to slow down and walk) I started to think about how your mentality plays such an important role in your performance.  If you don’t think you can do something, you won’t.  Its easy as that. If I started to think I wasn’t going to make it, I wouldn’t.  If I channeled all my energy into believe I could finish the race, I knew I had a chance.  Even though I hadn’t run more than a mile in years, I felt strangely prepared.   I felt strong and confident running for the first time in my life.   I knew that I would finish the race even if it took every ounce of energy in me.  As the finish line came closer and closer, Stacey and I kicked it into high gear (ok, maybe not really, but it sure felt like it).  We literally gave it all we had and I could not have been more proud of us.

 

CrossFit Florian representing! Woot Woot!

After the race, we treated ourselves to a non paleo cliff bar and UFO beer.  Literally the best things I’ve tasted in weeks.  Then, I went home, laid on the couch, and didn’t move for hours.  Whatever, I just ran a 10k, bitch.

Has mental toughness played a role in your training?  What do you do to train your mind?  We wanna hear it!

-Erica

Being Healthy

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So, this weekend I went out to Montana for my grandmother’s funeral. Even though it was sad, it was somewhat of a relief to know that she is finally resting and at peace. And it was great to see my family that’s spread out all over the world.

And it’s kinda gorgeous out there this time of year…

I’m going to go on a bit of a ramble about health and nutrition, and just want to start off by saying that these are just my opinions, and I am NOT a registered dietician or a doctor or anything legit. Besides a fitness and food fanatic that is. Which makes me somewhat qualified to speak my mind. On my blog. So here we go.

For years, my grandparents have been in poor health. My grandfather has had multiple rounds of cancer, kidney issues, back pain, hip replacements, you name it, while my grandmother suffered from diabetes and towards the end of her life developed dementia. Much like Erica mentioned last week, I always assumed that these things ran in my family and I was more susceptible to diabetes and other health issues. But since I’ve become more educated about physical activity and nutrition, I’m sort of realizing that a lot of their health problems (and many of our nations’ health problems) could have been avoided just by exercising and eating well. I know that this isn’t rocket science, and I shouldn’t be credited for making such an earth shattering discovery (…you can credit me if you want), but it really opens up your eyes when it hits so close to home.

When my grandparents’ generation was growing up and raising kids in the 1950′s and 60′s, there wasn’t much research and education about nutrition and physical activity. As a result, much of that generation developed poor eating habits that stuck with them for life. And look at all of the health problems that most of our grandparents are faced with! Look in your grandparents’ (or parents’) kitchens, and count how many pill bottles are in there. For everything- blood pressure, heart rate, diabetes, arthritis, constipation (ew), you name it. I just can’t help but think that maybe if doctors prescribed eating well and going for a walk a few times a week, the number of pill bottles would go way down. I’ve been studying for my personal training test and there’s tons of evidence (by people way smarter than me) about the direct link between preventing chronic disease and nutrition. So WTF?? I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist but why isn’t this a bigger issue? Why isn’t everyone waking the f*ck up?!

Also- do you know that only 31% of adult Americans engage in physical activity 3x a week? THIRTY ONE PERCENT is SO pathetic! And that’s for only 20-30 minutes at a time. Is it really any wonder that we have the largest rate of obesity and the biggest slew of health problems in the world? I don’t think so.

When people ask me why I work out so much, or why I eat Paleo, I always have the same response: “it makes me feel good”. And it does. But another reason I’ve been thinking of is that “because I can”. Because I’m still young, and am naturally the fittest and strongest I’ll ever be. Because I want to invest in my future and my health. Because I don’t want to end up like my grandparents (as much as I love them, SO so so much). I want to live for a long time, and I want my kitchen to be full of delicious, amazing food- not pill bottles.

What do you guys think about this? Am I being a b*tch? I feel like I got a little harsh at the end for criticizing my grandparents’ lifestyle, but I’m just trying to be honest and keep it real. Much like J-Lo, I’m all about keepin’ it real.

I’ll stop talking now and leave you with some eye candy from Montana.

Anyone else want to move?

-Emily

 

Man Candy of the Week: Jared Davis

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Alright ladies, time for some man candy. This week were featuring another amazing coach from reebok Crossfit one, Jared Davis. Jared was the coach at my first WOD and he has a natural ability to make you feel comfortable and confident in your workouts. Oh and he has a southern accent, so that’s another major plus. Sorry ladies, he’s taken, but you can still look!

Name:  Jared Davis
Vitals:  6’0″, 195 lbs, 29 yo
Hometown:  Palatka, FL
Nickname:  JD
Heartbreaker Status (married, single, engaged):  I have the best girlfriend EVER!
Been CrossFitting since: 2008
Favorite WOD: All of them
Favorite CrossFit Hottie:  James Hobart
I eat… everything
I like…  Food, music, and having FUN
I love… CROSSFIT, Anything outdoors, golf, camping, fishing, surfing, all sports, boating, etc

My friends would describe me as…  Fun!
My guilty pleasure is…  None, I do what feels good
I CrossFit and coach because…  It is my passion and I LOVE IT
Most embarrassing moment at the gym:  forgetting a members name in front of the entire class!!
Biggest accomplishment at the gym:  helping people get better and fit everyday
Personal style outside of spandex,sports bras and high socks:  board shorts, flip flops, tank tops….well maybe not up here.  Jeans and a tee

When I’m not at the gym, I’m….  Watching football, or “chopped” on food network, hanging with friends, enjoying the outdoors

Something people would be surprised to know about you:  I was raised by wolves in the forests on Gondor…..not really.  Ha ha I don’t know.  Maybe that I’m ambidextrous.

-Emily

Strong vs. Skinny

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So, Erica got all inspirational yesterday, and I’m about to get a little emotional/slight feminist (which is very unusual for me. Not the emotional part, but the feminist part. I’m sort of like a dude 24/7)

My whole life, I’ve been muscular. I came out of the womb with broad shoulders (my mom won’t let me forget that) and thunder thighs. I also apparently came out of the womb sucking my thumb, and immediately downed two bottles after being alive for about 3 minutes. So really, not much has changed. I’m still muscular, and I’m still hungry. All the time.

Homegirl, I can relate. via Nike

In high school, when I got really into working out, my goal was to always get “skinny”. I would purposely only use 5 lb weights so I wouldn’t bulk up, did at least an hour of cardio a day, cut calories, and kept a food diary. At my thinnest, I weighed 125 lbs, and was always so frustrated that I wasn’t losing any more weight (I’m 5’3, so 125 is still slightly above average than a “normal” weight for my height. I’ve definitely roid-raged out on doctors who have told me I should weigh less. Test my BMI, bitch, THEN tell me I need to lose weight). The point is- I would obsess over that number on the scale. I’d weigh myself every day and cut my food intake and up the cardio if I wasn’t satisfied.

 

It really wasn’t until the last year that I became comfortable with my body. I’m always going to be muscular, and I should embrace that. I’m always going to have to get my jeans altered so they fit my booty and my waist. I’m going to go Hulk status every now and then and rip my shirts with my huge stupid shoulders (this has happened more times than I’d like to admit. It usually ends in tears). When I’m on the spin bike, or at CrossFit, I feel so empowered (feminist alert!!) because I feel how strong I am and I see the things my body will do and I see others around me doing the same thing. It’s inspiring, motivating, and it’s expected.

via Body Confidential

But I can’t help but feel frustrated and let down sometimes. I hate myself for leaving the gym feeling all badass and sexy, and then I’ll pass a girl who’s 5’10 and weighs less than I do, and my self esteem drops. I notice how my thighs are rubbing together and how short and stumpy I feel. I immediately start comparing myself to her, and want her bod (not in that kinda way, but in the way that I’d like it if my thighs didn’t rub together and my shoulders were proportionate to my body and my ass didn’t require its own zip code). I know there must be tons of you out there who suffer the same thing- and it sucks. Lately, I’ve been catching myself do it, and have been able to snap myself out of it. In my world, I’ve noticed a HUGE shift towards “Strong is the new skinny” which I obviously love, but there’s still a huge part of society that pressures us into being rail thin (feminist alert part 2!!) and I think it will take awhile for all of us to collectively break that mold.

Can you spot the difference between these two pictures?
Hint: One is an Victoria’s Secret model. The other is not. I know,
it’s probably difficult to tell which one is which. 

But guess what? This whole situation is sort of a Catch 22. Through my Fitfluential family, countless blogs, and Instagram, I’ve come across dozens of girls who are actually trying to GAIN weight and bulk up because they’re too thin. And they are just as frustrated with not being able to gain weight as I get sometimes with not being able to lose it. So, embrace it ladies (feminist alert part 3, last one). Get off the scale. Stop counting calories. Stop comparing yourself to others (especially those in magazines- you wouldn’t BELIEVE the power of Photoshop). Be happy with your bod. Be confident. Be strong. The bottom line is to BE HEALTHY.

Was that too deep? Did I just become a feminist? Am I being crazy? Anyone else out there cope with body image issues here and there?

-Emily

Standard Monday Rant

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Is there any better way to start off the week then with a mid afternoon rant?  I didn’t think so.  Lets get to it.  Last Friday, I’m sitting in the conference room, minding my own business, eating lunch.  The secretary comes in and puts down her plate of bagel bites and can of Diet Coke while complaining that her triglycerides are in the 300’s and her doctor wants her to pay more attention to her health (Honey, here’s a tip, those bagel bites, probably aren’t helping).  I told her about how when I was growing up I had very high cholesterol (200+) for being so young.  I told her how I tried everything from whole grain to low fat and that nothing seemed to work.  My doctor told me that if things didn’t change, I would have to go on medication to help regulate it.  Although the medicine had some weird side effects, I was ready to give it a shot.   Thankfully, my doctor was pretty hesitant and said to wait a year.

Look! See they are good for you!  Whole Grain and Real Cheese!

It was around that time that I started CrossFitting and eventually heard about the Paleo diet.  Since my doctor had always told me that red meat and fat were the devil, I was very hesitant to give it a try (WHAT?! I have to give up oatmeal?! But..But..But its heart healthy!).   I did a little research, read the Paleo Solution and gave it a shot.  A couple months later, I had my blood checked to see what sort of affect it had on my levels. As it turns out, my cholesterol dropped from 216 to 177, my LDL (bad cholesterol) fell from 143 to 104 and my triglycerides stayed fairly constant at 89 to 97.  Suck that, low fat diet!

So, after I told my secretary the condensed version of that story, she was like, “well you’re young., when you are old like me, things are different…everyone in my family has high triglycerides”.  Yes, I am sure things are a little different when you are older, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.  As a grown woman, you should realize that Bagel Bites are not an acceptable meal. Don’t tell me you’re eating them because they’re convenient. Eating a banana is convenient. Let go of all those stupid excuses that prevent you from achieving your health.  Stop blaming everything on your “bad genes” or “slow metabolism”.  Don’t blame everything on “oh it runs in my family”. You can change the habit- you can change what runs in your family. HTFU PEOPLE!  Dallas and Melissa from the Whole 30 say it best; your genes are the bullets in the gun.  You personal choices are what pulls the trigger.  Lets start taking ownership for our actions and man the eff up!

Happy Monday
-Erica

 

Class Review: Core Fusion Sport

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There’s always an “A-ha” moment when you’re working out. Something that clicks with you and pushes you harder and makes you go “Alright, I’m f*cking doing this”. I took my first Core Fusion Sport and Exhale this morning with the renowned Melinda Sarkis, and that moment came in the first five minutes when she set her intention for the class… “No excuses” (MY FAVORITE). I knew for the next hour, I was going to be murdering my body, but I got it in my head- I wasn’t making any excuses.

So dark in the mornings now! Wah.

I’d like to think I made it through the class without making excuses… but is feeling like you’re going to die an excuse? HA! Kidding. Kind of. This class was SO hard. Holy balls. This shouldn’t be called “core fusion”, it should be called “entire body fusion”. The only equipment we used was a medicine ball (mine was 6 lbs) and a resistance band. And your own body.. for better or for worse, that’s what you were stuck with. The first half hour was more cardio based- lots of sequences (which I’m horrible at.. so uncoordinated it’s pathetic) planks, burpee like things, squats, getting on your tip toes and squatting, lunges. Basically pure torture. I was working out next to Christina, who is an all star, (and undercover Superwoman) and I just looked like an uncoordinated hot mess. If you’re requiring me to combine more than one movement at a time, see ya later. I’m that one in class that’s 2 seconds behind everyone else, awkwardly trying to keep up. That one you see and think to yourself “oof, what is that person even DOING here?”. Yeah, that’s me.

The second half didn’t get any easier when we moved to the floor and worked all those annoying spots (inner thighs, hips, waist, triceps, core). All of those problem areas on a woman’s body are the ones that are the biggest bitches to work out. If God could just give me a flat stomach, no under arm jiggle, and thighs that didn’t touch, that would be great. I’ll be on the couch, eating Ben and Jerry’s. Thanks!

So, the workout was a killer, and I definitely wasn’t able to keep up for parts of the class (not making an excuse, just accepting a sad reality) but Melinda made the whole thing enjoyable. Her persona and little things that she says throughout class, i.e “I might tinkle in my Lulu’s”, “Everything with me comes in 3′s… well, not EVERYTHING” or telling us stories about her getting her hair done to keep our minds off of doing a 60 second medicine ball plank just made it fun. It felt like “hey.. we’re all in this together, let’s just do it”. There was even one point where she was struggling with an exercise, and just started laughing at herself. Which was awesome, because there’s no way in hell I could do it either.

Classes like this remind me about the importance of cross training. Yes, I can beast a couple of spin classes a day. Yes, I’m getting stronger at CrossFit. But my core? My flexibility? My coordination? Jesus, you would think I’d never worked out a day in my life. I’m going to try to make this class a couple of times a month, and am making a commitment to DO YOGA. Even if I go kicking and screaming, I will go. And get more flexible. And strengthen my muscles. And my core. And I’ll stop complaining about how I hate yoga. And then I’ll go back and kick some ass at Core Fusion.

If you haven’t taken Melinda’s class before, GO. She rocks. And then go and do something out of your comfort zone. No excuses. :)

-Emily

 

Playing Catch Up

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It’s Wednesday. Last time we posted was on Friday. NBD. No but seriously, it is a big deal.  WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THIS WEEK/THIS YEAR/THIS MONTH?! Let’s recap on the weekend, shall we?

Jams
I didnt post my playlists on Friday, mostly because I was too busy oogling our CrossFit Hottie of the Week, but also because I was so swamped that I didn’t have time for new music last week and re-used some playlists. I did make a sweet Maroon 5/Rihanna mashup playlist for my Thursday night Reboot Advanced class. Such a fun ride. I usually play longer songs, but having a bunch of quick ones made for a fast paced class and it flew by.

Food
Definitely splurged big time this weekend. It was my boyfriend’s birthday, and we did it up big! I surprised him with a dinner at Mooo… a steakhouse we’ve been dying to try (and how amazing is that name?) Totally splurged on sides (parmesan crusted onion rings? truffled french fries? yup), cocktails, wine, and a big ass filet.

I even put on a big girl outfit and heels! Things got CRAZY. And I hate to disappoint all my Paleo peeps, but the weekend of splurging didn’t stop on Friday. Sunday night, the actual night of his birthday, we had a mexican FEAST at his mother’s house. Enchiladas, cheese for days, and birthday cake.

Vanilla cake, chocolate icing, and Rolo’s and Heath bars stuffed in between. If this isn’t the definition of Paleo food, then I don’t know what is.

On a totally unrelated note (PSYCH) I got hit with a stomach bug on Monday afternoon and was out of commission until last night. Although there is a bug going around my office, I’m sure my weekend of stuffing my face didn’t help either. I literally was on my couch for all of Monday afternoon and most of the day Tuesday. It was great to get some rest and reset my system, but I ended up teaching last night and this morning. I needed to sweat it out, and I get SO antsy sitting around, and there are only so many episodes of “Teen Mom” a girl can watch (don’t tell me I should have been more productive with my time.. you know you do the same thing when you have a sick day…!) I’m back on track today with eating clean and am feeling almost 100%. And my birthday isn’t until December, so I have no reason to eat cake until then :)

I’m trying out a few new workouts this week that I’m very excited about. Will be sure to post some recaps and reviews. Also- I have a huge burn mark on my arm from doing faux muscle ups at CrossFit last week. The straps kept hitting my arm a certain angle every time I’d go up, and I didn’t realize it was just casually ripping away a layer of my skin. Everyone now thinks that it’s some sort of hair straightening accident or cooking accident, but I want to let everyone know that I’m way too badass to spend my time in the kitchen or making myself look pretty. This is a motherf*ckin’ battle wound, bitches! From doing muscle ups! (no one has to know they were the ones from the ground…. shhhh)

Happy Humpday!
-Emily