Category Archives: Workouts

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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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

 

Why Lifting is like Golfing

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I know you’re probably looking at the title of this post and thinking “WTF is Emily smoking this morning” but I promise you I have a good point to make.

A couple of years ago, my boyfriend convinced me to go golfing with him. I’ve never had any interest in playing golf because I’m the most impatient person on the planet and think it’s probably the most boring sport in the world but I figured I’d give it a shot (ha!). Looked easy enough, just swing the club, hit the ball, right?

WRONG. It took me about 10 tries just to even make contact with the ball. There were so many mechanics that went into that one stupid swing: keep your head down, slight bend in the knees, straight front arm, bend the back arm, shoulders low, feet hip width apart, KEEP THAT HEAD DOWN! Any time I remembered to do one thing, I’d forget to do the other thing, and then I’d remember the opposite, and forget to do the 10 other things. A lot goes into that seemingly effortless swing. And once you get that perfect swing, and make contact with the ball, and it feels so good, you think “Why can’t I do this EVERY time??” And that’s when you pull a Shooter McGavin

When I started CrossFit, I had the same mentality. How hard can it be? I’ve done squats before, I’ve done deadlifts, I’m athletic, this will come naturally. Wrong again. There is SO much to think about when doing a lift. I did cleans for the first time the other day and literally looked like a toddler taking their first steps. I can’t tell you how many times I banged the barbell on my knees. Same thing as golf- once I remembered to do one thing (hips back, chest forward, drive back with the hips, pull up from the hips) I would forget something else (keep the barbell on your legs, pull knees back, jump, squat down). And then you look around the room and see everyone else just busting out cleans and deadlifts like it’s nobody’s business and it’s frustrating as all hell. I can’t wait for the day when I naturally “get” it and the movements become more effortless. Effortless minus the whole adding the heavy weight thing. That’s another battle for another day.

Golf? I’m all set with just riding around in the cart and eating snacks. Cleans, deadlifts, pull-ups, clean and jerks, snatches, power cleans? I am coming for you… just quit making it look so easy! I can see through your facade!

 

First time doing back squats. I liked these. One motion, up and down,
drive that booty out. I can do that. via Reebok CrossFit One FB

Can anyone else relate to this? How long before you had your “a-ha” moment with heavy lifting? How do you get out of your head and nail that form down?

-Emily

Humpday Rants and Raves

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Haven’t done a good rants and raves for awhile. It’s not really even rants and raves, it’s more just me rambling about whatever is on my mind. Ready.. K, go!

1.) Eva is a bitch- I was introduced to the WOD Eva on Friday last week. Oh, you don’t know who Eva is?

via Reebok CrossFit One blog

Yeah. She was a mean old lady. I scaled this back (you all know that I have a janky knee, and running doesn’t really agree with me) I did the first 800M run and then realized that I wasn’t going to be able to do that 5 more times, so I stuck to 400M runs, 15-30 kettlebell swings (still working on those) and 15 pull ups each time with the band.

 

Could I be any more complicated?

Fellow warriors, and tourists. Kind of hard not to have fun with this group…
via CrossFit One Facebook

It’s horrible/fantastic that we’ve been doing so many pull ups. I’m still using the band, but am getting the form down and feeling myself getting better. Washing my hair after is still a challenge.

2.) Stinky situations- I now do laundry every single day. I used to let my sweaty workout clothes fester in my hamper for a few days, but it just got so f-ing disgusting. Water bills be damned, I need to attempt to smell fresh to death. Current problem though: my protein shaker. When I take it on the go, I wash it out right after, and it still smells like dank protein. Solutions?! Oh, yes, I still drink out of it.

3.) Two a days- I now feel like there’s an empty void in my life if I don’t work out twice a day. Anyone else get this too?

4.) My snacking situation- I bought a bunch of food on Monday to last me through the week and all my snacks are already gone. I think I have a problem. And the only solution is… more snacks!

5.) Getting back on track- 3 days into my little “reset and stop eating cheat Paleo meals”, and I feel 100000x better. It’s INSANE  how quickly your body snaps back when you show it lots of love.

6.) Getting winded- No matter how many times a week I spin, I still get winded walking up stairs. WTF?! I don’t smoke. I have an excellent standing heart rate. I can beast a spin class. Come on lungs, get with the program.

7.) My legs- Are insanely sore this week. We did walking weighted lunges on Monday (5 rounds of 15, I did 35 lbs), and I’ve never quite experienced the sensation that I felt in my legs afterward. Like, legit wobbly legs. I felt like I was going to fall over. Little mini spasms all day. I was so looking forward to teaching spin that night and letting loose, until I remembered that I was teaching a hill climb class. Epic fail.

Pretending that I know what I’m doing. I’m glad you can’t see my face, because I definitely am wincing like a mofo. via CrossFit One Facebook

Also attempted to do some double unders on Monday, which was interesting. I’m a pretty good jump ropper, so I think I’ll be able to nail them down pretty quickly, but I definitely wacked myself in the legs and face a few times..

I was going to try to do 10 rants and raves, and I could probably go on for days, but I’ll leave it at 7. Good old 7. What’s up with you guys this week? What are you loving/hating? Can you help me de-stink my protein container?!

Happy Humpday,

Emily

Lucky Number Seven

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On Monday, I had my toughest WOD to date. I meant to post about it yesterday, but even my wrists were sore and it hurt to type too much (I blame landing on my hands too hard in burpees. Fail)

via CrossFit One blog

Since I’m still a newbie to CrossFit, I didn’t really realize the extent of this workout when I saw it the night before. I also didn’t know what the F a “thruster” was (but I wish I had recorded my boyfriend’s interpretation of it though…). So I sprang out of bed Monday morning, ready to go. On the way out the door, my boyfriend told me “don’t hump any dudes at your WOD today”.

Um….

Turns out that thrusting has little to do with inappropriate dance moves, and everything to do with power and pushing yourself until you feel like you’re going to vomit (oh.. was that just me?)

Once I learned what a thruster actually was, I started to get a little nervous. I wasn’t sure of my weight (they wanted it heavy) and since I was having a hard enough time with just the 15 lb barbell, I only added 20 lbs for a grand total of 35 lbs (yeah, you like those math skills?!) I stuck to my previous max on my deadlift, 95 lbs. I think next time we do deadlifts, I’ll be able to add some more weight, but since I was going to be doing 49 of those bad boys (MORE MATH!) I didn’t want to get too aggressive. It was my first time doing kettlebell swings, I used a 26.5 lb one, and wasn’t doing full extensions (just coming up to eye level).

Okay. So this workout was WAY harder than I imagined! After the first round, I was dying (I am still using a resistance band for pull ups) and one round took me 5 minutes. I was dripping in sweat. It’s funny when people assume that you get no cardio in CrossFit. I’m going to start wearing my HR monitor because I’m pretty sure my heart rate is up just as high as it is in a spin class.

After a few rounds, the coaches realized it was taking everyone a long time and decided to cap the workout at 26 minutes. I was able to finish 5 rounds (that was the norm for most people) in 25:29 seconds. Yeah, I was all set with starting another round of handstand pushups (still doing those on the box). I realize now that I sound pretty pathetic, since my workout was so scaled back compared to most (lighter weight, modified pullups, pushups and KB swings) but I have to be realistic and realize that I am not CrossFit Superwoman (yet). This WOD was another example of the incredible coaches at CrossFit One. Seriously. They recognize that I’m a beginner, and are trying to set me up for success. Caleb and Ashley kept checking in on me constantly throughout the WOD, correcting my form, giving me advice, cheering me on. I can’t explain how much this means to me, and what a difference it makes.

One of the biggest knocks against CrossFit is that people are scared they’re going to hurt themselves. I was in the same boat. My previous, limited experience was not a positive one because I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing and that I was going to injure myself. My advice to everyone starting off- do some research. Since CrossFit is blowing up, I guarantee you that there are several boxes in your neighborhood. Do a trial at each of them before you commit to signing up. Tell the coaches that you’re a beginner. If they take time with you to help you with form, scaling, and talk about setting up an on ramp program, then they rule. If they’re just like “Oh don’t worry about it! You can definitely lift 100 lbs! JUST DO IT!!!) then maaybbeee you might want to consider looking elsewhere :)

Anyways. Great WOD. I felt so accomplished at the end of it (even though I didn’t do a full 7 rounds). It’s exciting learning new skills and feeling myself get stronger every day.

And pull ups- I’m comin’ for you.

Whats your favorite WOD? Most challenging? Most fun? Sweatiest?

-Emily

 

Changing in the Dark

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So. I made a big leap a few weeks ago and moved in with my boyfriend (actually, he moved in with me. But I guess we just live together now so it doesn’t matter, right?)

So. You read this blog. You know that I work out a lot. You know that I get up early. You know that I go to bed early. Well, if you could pick someone who was the complete opposite of me, it would be my boyfriend. He works late (on average, leaves the office between 10 and 12), stays up late, and tries to sleep as late as possible. We’ve been dating for almost 4 years, and the first year and a half of our relationship was long distance during college, so we’d only see each other on weekends. Since we’ve both been back in Boston, it’s essentially been the same thing. Except for the rare occasion when Tom is out of work before 10, it only made sense to hang on the weekends when our schedules were better aligned.

In our standard uniforms. Suit and spandex.

So. Cohabitation. A girlfriend asked me how it was going the other day and I said “It’s great! We hardly ever see each other!” How romantic! But it’s true. Our schedules are so opposite, that we still really just see each other on weekends. I go to bed at 10, he gets home around 12. I barely notice him when he comes in (unless he has to pry away my deathgrip on my huge stuffed penguin)  because I’m in such a dead sleep. I wake up and am out the door hours before him. Sometimes, I stop by the apartment before going to work and have to wake him up after he slept through his alarm 150 times. Seriously- what is the point of a snooze button?? I will never understand people who let the alarm snooze for an hour. You do realize that you’re waking up every 5 minutes right?

One of the best parts of waking up early..

So. Point of this post. How do you guys deal with your SO’s opposite schedules? Do you find it INFINITELY harder to get up when there’s someone else snoozing in bed? My old routine was that I’d make my bed as soon as I got out of it, so there would be no temptation. However, I don’t think Tom would appreciate me making the bed while he was still sleeping. I’ve been taking to setting out all my clothes and stuff the night before, so I can just wake up and go. And I try to not look back towards the bed  The problem with this is that I get ready in the dark, and I’ve been wearing my workout clothes inside out. Yep. Good looks! And inevitably, I end up forgetting something. So it will take a little while to get used to. Other than me looking like a moron when I walk into my spin class or WOD,  I feel like I’ve been more organized and more on the ball with laundry, cleaning, being organized, etc. It’s motivating when you know you’re now sharing a space, and you don’t want junk piling up everywhere. Also, laying out workout clothes the night before (something I’ve never done before) is really helpful because it just sort of forces you to to GO. And the extra few minutes of sleep doesn’t hurt either :)  I just can’t look back towards the bed.

What do you guys think? There must be loads of you out there who deal with spouses opposite schedules! Teach me your ways of coping! Anyone just straight up resorting to the 1940′s with separate bedrooms..?

Oh, you thought I was joking about spooning a large stuffed penguin?
Well.. this is awkward…

-Emily

WODs Recaps

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It’s official. I am sipping the CrossFit Kool Aid. And it tastes miiiighty fine.

I really hit a groove this week, and decided that I am thoroughly enjoying this new way of working out that is challenging me and kicking my ass. I’m learning something new every time I walk in the door. All of the coaches are super knowledgeable, but I find myself wanting to record Austin every time he’s leading the WOD. He spends the first 10 minutes walking you through everything, explaining why you’re doing certain movements, what muscles are working together, what the benefits are, how to scale the movements back, how to check your form. It’s fascinating and really makes you appreciate the sport of CrossFit more. Sidenote- since I’m such a newbie, I didn’t realize what a big deal Austin is in the CrossFit world. He’s sort of a beast, and I feel really lucky to be learning from him.

So the WODs. I went Thursday morning. I checked the WOD the night before and saw that it was box jumps and muscle ups. I had no idea what a muscle up was, but I like box jumps, so that was exciting. So then I tried to do a muscle up. And THAT was pretty hysterical. Holy balls. HOW do people do those things?! Olympic athletes make it look so easy!

Oh ya know, just hangin’ out. (source)

Anyways, the WOD was as follows:

Warm Up
Team Sled/Plate Pushes

Skill
Muscle-ups And High Box Jumps

WOD
10-8-6-4-2 Rep For Time:
Muscle-up
Box Jump (40″/30″ Box)

After Bash
Max Distance Med Ball Throws


I ended up using a 24″ box. We did a few practice rounds on the 30″ one, and I failed half of the times, and really did not want to risk f*cking up my legs and face planting into a box. Not a good look. The 24″ was really challenging anyways. The muscle ups were another story. I did “transitions” which are basically doing the motion of a muscle up, but on the ground, and then jumping up at the end. I’m not explaining that correctly, because it was a lot harder than it sounds! I was SOO sore this morning, but I liked it. I was happy that my abs were sore, because Austin kept saying “use your midline” and I wanted to cry because everything else was hurting minus my abs. My favorite part of the workout was the end- and not for the obvious reasons of me practically dying. There were a couple of guys, absolute beasts, who were doing the full muscle ups and 40″ box jumps. Naturally, it took them a little bit longer than the rest of us plebs. But we all gathered around the last two guys who were giving it their all to finish. They would each do 1 muscle up, then fail on the second one. It happened a few times. You could tell how hard they were trying, how hard they were pushing themselves. We were all cheering, clapping, urging them on. Motley Crue was blasting. They both ended up finishing. It was so inspiring and motivating. I love the team mentality that comes with CrossFit. Goosebumps.

Enough emotions. I’ve been so emotional this week! WTF? Moving on. Hot pink and black. The bane of my existence. Reebok sent me one of their new tops, the Poly Play Dry tank, and I was pleased to see that it went perfectly with the rest of my Workout Barbie look. I was pleasantly surprised by this tank- I’m used to working out in skin tight spandex when I’m spinning (sorry for the mental image) and this one had a looser fit, which I wasn’t used to. But I loved it. It was really light weight and airy. I sort of forgot I was wearing a shirt after awhile, which means that it wasn’t clingy or super sweaty. And did I mention it was hot pink? Win.

I dragged my sore ass out of bed this morning to catch a beautiful sunrise and another killer WOD:

“Tabata This!”

Tabata Row
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Squat
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Pull-up
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Push-up
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Sit-up

The Tabata Interval is 20 Seconds of Work Followed By 10 Seconds of Rest For 8 Intervals.
Tabata Score Is The Least Number of Reps Performed in Any of The Eight Intervals. Unit For The Row Is “Calories”.

Oh man. This was actually one of my favorite workouts so far. I was drenched in sweat, and I like to be constantly moving. I did well with the squats, sit ups, and the rowing, but the pull ups and push ups were a struggle. I’ve never been able to do a full pull up in my life, so I used a resistance band, but even that was hard. And we did chest to floor to full extension on the pushups, something I’ve never done before, and holy balls. I was shaking like a crazy person the whole time. Clearly, I need to work on my chest and build up some strength there. Setting goals, people. Setting goals

The 6:30AM crew. Love working out with these guys and girls, such a strong group of people. Missed that “wear all black” memo though.. womp womp. Image via Reebok CrossFit One.

CrossFitters- what’s your favorite movement/WOD to do? Any tips for attempting to do a pull up?! How’s everyone getting after it this weekend? I’m teaching tomorrow morning, then am having myself a big ass rest day on Sunday. CAN’T WAIT. :)

-Emily

* I received this gear at no cost from Reebok as part of a campaign with FitFluential LLC. I am not getting paid or reimbursed to give positive feedback, all opinions are my own. 

 

{Intention}: Not Taking Anything for Granted

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I love having Erica back on the blog. She’s way funnier than I am, and sassier. And is infinitely better at Crossfit, and life. We have a fun workout date/eating session planned for next weekend, and might even make our first VLOG, so get ready for some awkwardness!

On a more serious note. It was hard to go through yesterday without constantly thinking about the victims lost in 9/11 (unless, of course, you were NBC and decided that Kris Jenner’s breast implants were a more newsworthy topic). All day long, I just kept thinking about how everything can change in a split second. You never know what’s going to happen, and can’t predict for these types of things. Whether it be a horrible, massive terrorist attack, getting rear ended leaving a parking lot, getting fired- shit happens.

I’m a self proclaimed anxiety basketcase. I always assume that the worst is going to happen at any given second. Getting on a plane? Definitely going to crash. Boyfriend is going out drinking? He’s definitely going to choke on his vomit when he’s sleeping. I’m babysitting? The baby is definitely going to fall on their head. I know. I’m crazy. If you didn’t know that by now, now you do. But, I’ve gotten  A LOT better with dealing with my anxieties and my stresses lately. I think I can attribute a lot of this to working out constantly, and releasing tons of energy and built up tension on a spin bike or during a WOD.

Another huge thing that has helped me get over my anxieties is just realizing that I can’t control what happens. You never can. So what if my plane crashes? What can I do about it? Realistically, it’s NOT going to crash and in the .00000001% chance that it does, there’s nothing I can do about it. So why stress yourself out? It’s not worth it to waste any ounce of energy worrying about that kinda stuff.

I taught spin last night, and in honor of 9/11, my intention for the night was to take advantage of being there. How lucky are we to be able to exercise and release all this energy and just BE ALIVE? It sounds silly and kind of cliche, but every day could be your last. I’m not saying to go out and go sky diving every day, but make the most of it. Whether it be on the spin bike, or in your job, or in your relationships. Do everything to the best of your ability. Don’t get hung up on the small stuff.Don’t waste any time. Don’t slack off. Don’t take advantage of anything. Don’t take ANYTHING for granted. Your health, your body, your loved ones. Appreciate everything. Every single day. It’s sad that events like 9/11 have to remind us to do this. Something like 9/11 could happen again tomorrow (I pray that it doesn’t) but we just never know.

Played this for the warm up. Gotta hear it for New York.

Also played “Power” by Kanye. I love this song because it gets me pumped and it’s a great hill, but the lyrics are actually really amazing (minus him swearing every other word) and especially thought the ending lyrics were very powerful:

Now this’ll be a beautiful death
I’m jumping out the window
I’m letting everything go
I’m letting everything go
You got the power to let power go flow

Intention for today and for always- don’t take anything for granted.

-Emily