Becks shows some grit

[IslandGirl_Becks]

I've officially larded up over the off-week, so I'm pumping the breaks, getting off my arse, and falling back into marching formation with the Rangers. I spent some time last weekend watching  the Behind the Scenes for the '15 CrossFit Games, and I'm inspired. 

 

I've been thinking about things that are coming up that I want to be prepared for. This, therefore I will do that. It's running season and I still think a half marathon or Ragnar is within my reach, so I should be running. I have muscles and fitness, so I should be working them... and the vain side of me says I should be showing them. Also, I need to take on the Girls and get some baseline work in. 

 

1. De-lard. Eat clean, eat lean. Stop using food like a drug. Get into keto, eat at a deficit there for a bit. (Goal: Lean for sister's wedding, T-6wk) Bonus if abs show up!

 

      2. Un-fragile myself. Strong Running Core routine, PT, Yoga, Mobility WOD... 7x/wk. (Goal: run pain-free 1x/wk, 4 mi by the end of the challenge)

(Jenny LeBaw, running... she ran across CO!)

 

       3. Complete a Hero or Girl WOD every week. 

 

The Checklist:

• 4 mile run
• Dinner with a friend I haven't seen in a while 
• Inform landlady that I will be moving in August
• Bring Buckley (my wandering Bison mascot) somewhere new
• Move 100k steps/wk each week
• ... ANY SUGGESTIONS?

 

[IslandGirl_Becks]

Seriously guys, any ideas for my checklist??!?

 

I'm keto'ing the weekend away, I should be back on board with a low carb cutting plan while I'm travelling next week. Here's the plan for the next several days:

 

Saturday - haul/chip branches in the AM, Mexican for dinner with the Fam in the pm

Sunday - flying to MI. Aquire meats, greens, and quest bars for eating the rest of the week in hotel room. Evening lifting workout?

Monday - teaching. Qdoba lunch. afternoon/evening workout

Tuesday - teaching. meeting friends for dinner (rest day)

Wednesday - teaching. Qdoba lunch. afternoon/evening workout

...

[maegs]

Thursday - keep being awesome?  

[Mrs Van]

If you want to take Buckley out more, you should make a list of places you maybe want to run to (strap him onto your back, or in a small backpack?). Do you have a set routine in place for when you will do what work outs? You have lifting, running, yoga, and others on the list, so when do you want to do what? Otherwise you seem pretty busy and on the go the whole time.

[IslandGirl_Becks]

On 5/7/2016 at 7:24 PM, maegs said:

Thursday - keep being awesome?  

 

Hahaha, until Friday... when the little sister's bachelorette weekend starts!

 

On 5/7/2016 at 2:39 AM, elizevdmerwe said:

If you want to take Buckley out more, you should make a list of places you maybe want to run to (strap him onto your back, or in a small backpack?). Do you have a set routine in place for when you will do what work outs? You have lifting, running, yoga, and others on the list, so when do you want to do what? Otherwise you seem pretty busy and on the go the whole time.

 

Well, we're going to the Oregon coast this weekend. I like the backpack idea... maybe I need to take him on a human-powered "tour d'Island"  when I get home! The challenge ends right when I fly to Quebec for work, so yep... it's going to be a busy month! 

 

I generally go into the gym with a rough plan of what I'm going to do, but the mobility/warm-up changes based on what I've done. For example, today I spent 4+ hours sitting on a plane, plus lots of driving. My go-to is Kelley Starrett's long car ride MWod, although I did a yoga flow just to loosen things up first. Tomorrow I'll be lifting, so it'll be ankle/hip RoM, torso flexibility (thoracic spine), and anything that feels tight after work. 

[Mrs Van]

Wow you are on the go! Hat's off to you for still fitting everything in.

[IslandGirl_Becks]

First day of training is done, chilling on the treadmill and trying to catch up on my steps for the day. I'm unlikely to meet my 100k step long goal for the week... I'd need to average about 14k per day, and won't walk much tomorrow. Qdoba was good for lunch, but I didn't have cream at work and ended up using powdered creamer instead. Bad choice! Hopefully some mobility work, hydration, and green matter get me on the road to a great lifting session this evening

[IslandGirl_Becks]

Well, I got a light Grace in last night at the gym (4:38 @ #65), in addition to max effort pull ups (9!), mobility work, and some monster walks. I was listening to an awesome podcast throughout the workout, Tim Ferriss interviewing national gymnastics coach Chris Sommer. If you're into bodyweight or gymnastic strength training, check it out!!!

 

Today was my rest day, dinner with friends. I was hugely inactive all day... Bust from start to stop! But I ate decently and will be hitting the gym again tomorrow. Plus I typed all of this in a couch stretch and have a bit more mob work to do before bed... G'night!

 

Progress:

1. Eating has been good, but maybe a little salty... Mostly prepared foods/meals out

2. Daily combo of mobility, stretching, and core/strong running elements

3. Grace done for the week!

[Mrs Van]

Awesome gym work! Going to check that link out just now.

[IslandGirl_Becks]

The hotel had food in the lobby tonight when I came in... but instead of the usual pizza, it was Mediterranean! I had a pile of beef and chicken, with lettuce and cabbage on top. Talk about a protein brick! I was  super full afterwards, almost bingey... but I put it into another salad bowl, a Quest bar, and some pruschetto-wrapped mozarella. Then I went to the gym and knocked out a lightweight "Jackie" (1k row 50 thrusters 30 pull ups) in just over  10 minutes. It wasn't great, but again... I can always do it with a #45 bar and a realpull-up bar when I get home!

[IslandGirl_Becks]

Checking in after the long weekend of insanity. It was my little sister's "bachelorette" weekend, which means that we rented a house on the Oregon coast, ate waaaay too much delicious cheese, drank too much hard cider, and generally relaxed. The food was good, but I definitely over-indulged. The good thing was that I didn't "lose it." Yeah, I kinda ate myself sick... but I also realized that not having the ice cream cone at Ikea on the way home was a bad idea, because I would feel like I was depriving myself. So I enjoyed it. Upon getting home, I had a bowl of oats (M had eaten everything else) and what was left of the breakfast cereal. I didn't spiral downward, though... I got up this morning, made coffee, and essentially fat fasted today. I won't be hitting CF until Wednesday. Hooray for fat adaptation... 

 

Summary of the end of the week:

 

1. I ate pretty well, made it through being awake for nearly 22 hours on Friday, had a great time on Saturday eating cheese (even if I ate GF crackers and far too much cheese and choco in the PM), and was minorly bingy on Saturday but never spiraled into the abyss. I did overeat, but I will correct that this week. 

2. PT/core/mwod happened all days, except for Sunday and will be made up tomorrow. 

3. I got 2 girls done last week, and just need to re-do a full weight Jackie

 

The Checklist:

• 4 mile run
• Dinner with a friend I haven't seen in a while 
• Inform landlady that I will be moving in August
• Bring Buckley (my wandering Bison mascot) somewhere new
• Move 100k steps/wk each week - (0/4 weeks) 
• Before/after challenge report on body comp/measurements

 

 

[Mrs Van]

Nice going keeping control to your satisfaction. Glad you had an awesome time with your mom and sister.

[IslandGirl_Becks]

15 hours ago, elizevdmerwe said:

Nice going keeping control to your satisfaction..

 

 

It was still a bit of a disappointment to realize how much I had  back-slid the week before. Last week I weighed in at the hotel scale and found myself +#5 after the off-week binge, which started at my grandparents. I'm a little late to set a "start" for this challenge, but I weighed in this morning and will do "major measurements" this afternoon. 

 

I've been base-lining myself and realized that I can correlate my FitBit data, scale info, and macro tracking for the last several weeks. I know that the FitBit app is supposed to do that for me,  but sometimes I just need my own spreadsheet!

 

[Mrs Van]

9 hours ago, IslandGirl_Becks said:

It was still a bit of a disappointment to realize how much I had  back-slid the week before.

I know how you feel. I had a chocoholic week last week as well. I could kick myself when I weighed in, although I was very relieved that my measurements didn't change. Just take a deep breath and face this week head-on. *hug and slap on back* We'll face the scales together

[IslandGirl_Becks]

@elizevdmerwe thanks for the encouragement! 

 

I over-ate again last night, but much of the "binge" came off almond butter and Quest bars (it was spendy!). Still, I didn't go over 100g net carbs... so I'm wondering what my body is going to do with the extra matter. I didn't have breakfast 'till I was hungry this morning, so hopefully a lighter day today will leave me feeling better. 

 

I'm super sore from CF yesterday - I spent lots of time cleaning and have sore traps! On top of that, I think I  hyperextended/stressed the soft tissue behind my knee yesterday and am a little stiff in the legs this morning. My calfs were surprisingly tight after Tuesday's run. Huzzah for Mwods and some quality time with a kettlebell (creatively used to tack sore muscles) after the WOD and everything else. 

 

(okay, not this creative with the kbs...)

 

 

Another thought, and I'm kinda wondering what y'all think... 

 

Suppose you had a stellar (CF) gym membership covered by work, and another mediocre gym available to you for free.  Would you consider giving up your stellar membership for free, self-directed work at the mediocre gym? I'm a little nervous to switch and give up a room full of ropes, pull-up bars, oly bars, etc. for a place that has no place to bar muscle-up and hardly enough space to dead lift. I know I could get a good workout there, but would it be worth it to you? 

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

As long as you can afford it I wouldn't give up the stellar gym. Progress is a lot more likely with direction and awesome equipment.

[Mrs Van]

I don't quite understand: is the gym membership that is covered by work free to all its employees, or do they deduct something off your salary? Why would you consider the mediocre gym? Or are there other conditions towards the work-gym-membership, like set programmes, set times, travelling distance, etc which is a problem, because you say at the mediocre gym you can do self-directed work.

[IslandGirl_Becks]

On 5/19/2016 at 4:35 PM, Sloth the Slow and Steady said:

As long as you can afford it I wouldn't give up the stellar gym. Progress is a lot more likely with direction and awesome equipment.

 

On 5/20/2016 at 2:30 AM, elizevdmerwe said:

I don't quite understand: is the gym membership that is covered by work free to all its employees, or do they deduct something off your salary? Why would you consider the mediocre gym? Or are there other conditions towards the work-gym-membership, like set programmes, set times, travelling distance, etc which is a problem, because you say at the mediocre gym you can do self-directed work.

 

My work gives me a stipend that covers my health insurance, essentially a "health budget." My insurance only costs half of what I'm paid; I put a large portion of the rest towards my CrossFit membership. My bf and I both of us have memberships to the "standard" gym. Mine is tagged on for free to my parents membership. My thought is that we could work out together at the "standard" gym and I could put my extra health budget to more at-home equipment. At the moment,  both gyms are a half mile from home (in opposite directions). In a few months, both will be a few miles from home... that's going to be a bummer. I might wait until the move to make a decision and give myself a one month trial working out with my bf at the "standard" gym. He's starting up a tree business (he's an arborist/ tree climber) and is in the process of gearing up to be in shape to climb several days a week. 

[IslandGirl_Becks]

 

Week 2 Wrap-Up:

 

1. I ate pretty well, low carb, one high calorie day. Saturday had an end-of-day sugar binge, but I burned a bunch of hot fuel on my run Sunday

2. I've been incorporating some yoga as a warm up, and is it ever grand. Even the bf has joined my evening stretching routine  

3. I got 2 girls done last week, none this week. 2/4, with 2 weeks to go! 

 

The Checklist:

• 4 mile run  I finished this on Sunday, not planned! I walked to the woods, ran 3.5 miles there and .5 mi on the way home. Soreness and minor aches, NO PAIN!!!
• Dinner with a friend I haven't seen in a while 
• Inform landlady that I will be moving in August
• Bring Buckley (my wandering Bison mascot) somewhere new
• Move 100k steps/wk each week - (0/4 weeks) welp, at least I've hit 10k/wk!
• Before/after challenge report on body comp/measurements
  • 138.2 starting weight. No other measurements taken...

 

Week 3 outlook:

• I've re-calculated for a FD-type diet, working towards a high-protein, low sugar, negative calorie expendature plan. Calculate yours here
• More emphasis on PT/mWOD 
• Not sure what the Hero will be this week, but next  week is my first Murph!!

In other news, one of the guys I used to work out with (at the gym I  first started cf at) came  in 4th at the West regionals this weekend and is going to the Games!! 2 years ago he was the youngest regional competitor. So happy to see him going to the games!

[IslandGirl_Becks]

1. I swapped to a higher carb diet today and did not binge. I did eat a white bread roll... I'm still trying to figure out what to do about that. I've been reading about some athletes having success with incorporating more faster-burning carbs post-wod. In any case, I've come out of the day with a high protein intake and significantly negative calorie balance. Macro ratios were in spec. 

2. I had a great workout this afternoon, followed by a good mwod this evening. All I need now is good sleep!

[Mrs Van]

Awesome getting that unplanned run in and upping the steps to 10K/wk. And isn't it splendid that your friend is going to the Games! Wow, amazing. Good luck with the eating plan and sleep.

[IslandGirl_Becks]

Happiness is surviving  a tough WOD and then realizing it was a Hero WOD (even if the fact that I didn't immediately recognize it as Tommy V is embarrasing...).

 

so many rope climbs...

 

Today was another great WOD, and I'm off to a solid start nutrition-wise. 

 

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

double unders 

GHD sit-ups

Dead lifts #135 Rx'd. 

 

Goals for today: Eat Thai food. Do lotsa MOB/PT work and a few minutes of yoga in the pm. Clear the kitchen table. Finish current work project. 

[Xena]

Absolutely think you should stay with your gym. You use it. It's working for you. You seem to really like it. You have a sense of camaraderie with other people who go there. Unless it's a real financial hardship, i don't think you should change

[IslandGirl_Becks]

On 5/26/2016 at 5:27 PM, Xena said:

Absolutely think you should stay with your gym. You use it. It's working for you. You seem to really like it. You have a sense of camaraderie with other people who go there. Unless it's a real financial hardship, i don't think you should change

 

There are some other things pushing me in that direction, but I've taken everyone's input and am inclined to agree. The progress I can achieve there is solid.  I worked out 3 days consecutively last (Sunday run, Mon-Tues WODs) and by day 3 I was slowing down. I was still feeling slow after day 4, when I hit the gym early Thursday AM:

 

strength:

weighted chin ups 4-3-3 #26, (it felt heavy!)

box squats with kbs hanging off the barbell with bands for stability/aux work

 

WOD:

AMRAP 10 minutes

3x mtn bear complex (DL - hang pwr snatch - bs - push press) (#95 rx'd)

10x horizontal 20" hurdle hops

Bear complexes must be unbroken each round. For every time you break, 10 burpees at the end of the WOD

 

I did it light (#55) and felt a really funky tension in the front outsides of my calves the rest of the day (fibularis?). Weirdness! I think it has to do with the lateral movement and running. 

 

All that being said, I am looking to increase my volume of work. I really want to be able to go hard at the gym 3+ days/wk, run, hike, mtn bike... and play soccer or ultimate once a week. Also, I'm hoping to learn how to climb trees as an arborist in the next few months. Even if I don't actually climb, I need to be able to haul branches and safely wield a chainsaw all day. So, how do you increase your capacity? Train more? Do you schedule rests specifically, or just take a day off when you're tired? I know that when I get too tired, or hit the "exhaustion" limit, I tend to get injured. At best, I simply don't perform as well. Day 4 of legit training is usually *meh*. Share your secrets with me, peoples! I'm looking for ideas!

 

[Mrs Van]

The only way I can train 5 days a week is to have light days in between hard days. So if Monday is kicks and punches, then Tuesday is walking/jog, Wednesday I'm trying to fit in BWW (new, haven't done it yet), Thursday riding, Friday/Saturday. Most times it works, depending on whether I'm interrupted, or what else Murphy throws my way.