On the idea of being "Cross" "Fit"....

When you think about the term CrossFit, what does it mean to you? I know a lot of people think that CrossFit means that physically you are cross fit. It means that you are physically fit when you are compared to others across different disciplines like gymnastics, weightlifting, and cardio. It means that your fitness has crossed between many areas. To me I suppose that CrossFit does mean that, but for me, the word CrossFit has started to take on a whole other meaning.

So often I have walked into that box wanted to be stronger, faster, move more efficiently; there's always been something. I've wanted to do HSPU's, or I've wanted to get my ring dips back, or I've wanted to move faster. I've really wanted to be good at all those things. But, lately, or rather, for the majority of the past 8 months or so, I've really struggled to keep my head in that box. I've told several people over the last few weeks that this has been the most difficult school year I have ever had, both personally and professionally. No matter what it seemed like there was always something coming after me. School stress, relationship stress, friendship stress, financial stress, other work stress. This year for whatever reason, it just seemed neverending.

More and more I've found myself looking to CrossFit. But even as I looked to CrossFit I thought to myself how in the world could being "Cross" "Fit" help me with any of this? How could being physically fit across several different discplines be any help to me at all? I'm not lifting anything. I'm not dragging anything. I'm not pulling anything or pushing anything. How could this possibly help? Well, that's when I got to thinking. Maybe "Cross" "Fit" isn't just about being fit across athletic disciplines. Maybe CrossFit really means something else. Maybe it means that you're strong in both body and in mind. Maybe it really means that your fitness crosses between your mind and your body?

I can't tell you how many times in the last few months I've said to myself that if I can lift X number of pounds over my head, I should be able to make it through whatever it was that I was facing. I have said to myself that if I can do Murph, I can surely get through whatever trouble was headed my way. I have told myself that if I can survive doing things with torn calluses, bruised collarbones, skinned shins, sore muscles, and bruised thighs, then I should certainly be able to handle a little stress at work. So just like at CrossFit where I get stronger one rep at a time, I hunker down and get stronger by putting one foot in front of the other and taking one step at a time.

This goes without saying of course, or I guess with saying since I'm saying it, that this transition did not happen overnight. In those early days of CF, I think I quit a lot. I think I gave up too soon. But one day I just sort of stopped short and had a moment. You know, one of those "AHA!" moments. I realized that wow, I just took something in stride that a few months ago would have knocked me down and given me quite a beating. It was then that this idea of being "Cross" "Fit" sort of first originated.

CrossFit has made me fit across lots of different athletic disciplines, but what I'm now beginning to understand is that CrossFit is not just about physical strength. It's about discovering your own mental strength as well. The mental strength to perservere; to push through pain, weakness, fatigue, exhaustion, sadness, and the overwhelming desire to give up and give in. It also is about learning your mental strength in terms of your intelligence. A mentally strong athlete knows when to call the ball and try again another day, a strong athlete does not, as often they are more concerned simply with being strong or getting through the workout. CrossFit helps us as athletes gain that intelligence. It helps us learn to walk that fine line between giving up and just giving it a go on another day. And not only that, but I have discovered that CrossFit is giving me the mental strength to learn about myself and my strengths and weaknesses as an athlete.

I have discovered that I am 100% an emotional eater. I can guarantee you that my Zone will be much more successful as soon as the next four days are over. I KNOW I will be fine. But in the meantime, the added stress of still being in school and being surrounded by end of the year popsicles, cakes, cookies, brownies, cupcakes... you name it and I've probably seen it in the last week, has me jonesing for sugar and candy gallore. Learning this weakness and identifying this pattern is only part of the battle, but not something that I ever would have learned about myself had I not had the knowledge and power of CrossFit behind me. Now this summer it's time to get down and dirty and stop with the half assed Zone and get it back solid.

But getting back to it, this is not to say that I walk into every problem head on determined to tackle it with the fxd=p ratio of a 250lb power clean. I still have my off days, most definitely. Today was one such day. But what I am saying is that, when the dust of the day has settled, and the 20 minutes or so of tears are done, then emerges that knowledge that I will be fine. I will do what I need to be ok. I WILL somehow manage. I WILL somehow conquer what lies before me. Before finding CrossFit, I don't know that I ever would have been able to do that or say that. I can recall being down for days and weeks before and just wondering when things were going to get better. Thinking when could I get things under control. That doesn't happen so much anymore. But as I said before, that's not to say I don't have my down moments/days, we certainly all do, we're human. But I'm saying that over the course of the long run, CrossFit has given me that mental strength. That mental fitness that is enabling me to push forward through the insanity that life throws my way, using that internal fortitude to do just that. Push forward, and push through. CrossFit is truly making me "Cross" "Fit", body AND mind.

Today's WOD: Cleaning Crew

We've been spending a lot of time working on cleans lately. They really are a great movement. Strength, speed, and if you're not careful, those little buggers'll gas you right quick! :P

So today we were trying to work up to 85% of our max clean for a 3 rep max. Our WOD looked like this

3 Power clean
3 Front squat
5-7 rounds
Try to work to 85% of your max.

I got to 85% of my max, but it wasn't pretty. I only got four hours sleep and to be honest, I still couldn't walk right this morning after the WOD on Saturday. So I started out by rowing a 2K (at Jerry's suggestion) to open up my hips and warm-up my leg muscles and kick some of that nasty soreness out. After the row, I felt ok so I got to work on the WOD. Jerry had told me to work light but c'mon. You know I can't resist a heavy lifting day. So I wound up at 117... it seems that in my super sleepy state... I put the 2.5 on one side to make the jump to 120. Yeah, well, about that... I didn't so much remember to put it on the other side. Whoops! Oh come on! Like you've never loaded a bar wrong! And I have an excuse! Well 2, it was 0515 AND I was tired. So :P

Ah yes, the cleaning crew was at it again this morning at 0515.

Today's WOD: Pinky and the Brain

Brain (Katie): Are you thinking what I'm thinking Pinky?
Pinky (Sean): I think so brain, but won't doing 100 of all these exercises really hurt?!
Brain (Katie): Yes Pinky, but getting stronger will enable us to eventually take over the world!
Pinky (Sean): Narf!

Saturday's workout was officially called "Don't Drop the Baby", but I like my title better because well, I like to make fun of Sean. Saturday was a partner WOD and Sean and I teamed up to represent team 0515. Sean is a cool dude. He's like my WOD partner in crime. I thought together we did pretty well, but CLEARLY I am the Brain behind the operations. :)

Just kidding, but the gist of the WOD goes a little something like this.

With a partner, complete 100 of each of the following
In any order
No rounds
For time

Wall Ball
Slamball
Air squats
Row for calories
Pull-ups
Push-ups
Abmats
Box jumps

The catch: While you are not completing the exercises, you must hold "the baby". For men the baby was 53lbs, for women 35. Since I was working with Sean, Jerry made us split the difference and hold a 45. The things I do for you Sean! :P Sean and I actually slammed through this pretty quickly I thought. Sean carried us on box jumps and push-ups though. I'm not going to lie. There his metconlicious butt kicked mine all over the place. On the other exercises though I was pretty much able to split things pretty equally with him. Our time combined was 40:23 I believe, which all things considered I thought was really good. We tried to mix up the exercises and break up the legs with other things, but the problem was that there weren't too many that didn't involve legs!

I will admit that I had a very hard time working this weekend as a direct result of that WOD. Holy crizzap! That was a leg smoker for sure... and the thing is that you're thinking so much about going fast and trying to beat the other teams that you don't realize how much work you're doing until it's over and you're like, wow I can't feel my legs... and then the next day you can feel everything in your legs cause it hurts so much. Yeah... it's totally one of those types of WOD's.

Narf! :P

A must read: The Final Salute

As a kid growing up, I was raised in the heart of Central Pennsylvania, right smack between coal country and steel country. Halfway between Philly and Pittsburgh, but undeniably in the middle of nowhere bumbletown PA. I never felt a strong connection with any of the armed services, and really the only time we talked too much about the military was around graduation time. Invariably there were a few people who just didn't quite fit the college mold and decided to go another route. I will admit that my view of the armed services was tainted a little bit because of that. The military was for people who couldn't survive in the academic world, at least that's how it seemed as far as my hometown was concerned.

Matters of the military rarely hit home for me. It always seemed far away. Something that took place lightyears away, and something that people in Washington were concerned with. September 11 saw me preparing for another day of class. Shower, clothes, backpack and a phone call from my mom at 8:30am. I didn't quite understand the tone of her voice, but understood when she told me to turn on the TV. The college didn't close, but we were all aware of the presence of men in dark suits and large SUV's on the campus. Government officials were concerned that Three Mile Island may be considered a potential target, thus wiping out much of the eastern power grid. A meltdown at the reactor would have put my college within the immediate fallout radius. Things were beginning to come home for me in a large way. A sister in DC, an uncle nearby... but yet as time passed and the United States invaded Afghanistan, it still wasn't something that had completely resonated with me.

In January 2003, that changed. Arriving back to my locker to get changed after an away swim meet, I dialed my phone to retrieve a voicemail I will never forget. "Katie, the unit is headed to Iraq. I don't know when we'll be back, or if I'll get to talk to you before we go. I guess I'll talk to you soon." Click. Suddenly, the war slammed into me with a gale force. A friend who had joined the reserves as a way to pay for school was suddenly finding his way to Iraq with people he barely even knew. Spent one weekend a month with and two weeks a year. I can't tell you how it felt. There really aren't words. Dread, fear, regret, guilt. The war was finally hitting home, but I still felt distanced from a military sworn to protect me and others like me.

Fast forwarding to November of 2005, I arrived in DC a fish out of water. A country girl in the big city. I tried not to be affected much by politics, and by Washington, but as more friends had found their way overseas, I was beginning to change my opinion about the war, about the military. Enter in one Sgt. First Class who became a class project and the whole thing flipped upside down. Enter in CrossFit in 2007 and my opinion changed for good.

I now workout side by side with Army servicemen and women, former and present AirForce men and women, marines both enlisted and officers, former Navy seals, and my trainer is one hell of a guy, not to mention a former marine, because as we all know, or at least now I do, there is no such thing as an ex-marine. These men and women represent some of the strongest and some of the smartest people I know. They understand military operations, but they also understand the cultures of other countries. They study military systems, foreign languages, military tactics, and tons of other things. The military isn't for those who can't handle the academic world, although there are a few of those stuck in there, the military is for those smart enough and brave enough to fight an enemy who is determined to destroy the academic world and anything else that they don't particularly agree with.

On a few rare ocassions, I've talked with others about the cost of this war. For obvious reasons (dissenting opinions), I rarely bring it up. But in those few conversations we discussed what it's taking in tax dollars, what it's costing our country. I've even asked some of those very same people from above these same questions. But the response is always the same. We're doing good, and it would be worth the ultimate price if they should meet their end helping those people. "The Final Salute" tells the stories of a few men who met their end in Iraq. They died doing something that they believed in. Now having many friends in the military, this book was heart wrenching to read as it tells the stories of their families. Their suffering. How would I react if I was to meet my best friend's casket at the airport, escort it home, or recieve the dog tags of someone I loved?

This book brings to light something that has lingered in the shadows of this war. The pain and suffering of the families and friends who have lost loved ones. Mothers and wives, fathers and husbands, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, friends, who will never be able to have one last moment with someone that they loved. These people supported our heroes and are heroes themselves for giving their love and support to someone fighting overseas. I am not very political. Not by any stretch of the means. But if there is one thing that this town, these people, and this book have taught me, it's that our military deserves our support. The families who have paid the ultimate price do not deserve the pain of having their son or daughters memory defaced by thoughtless words. Those families and friends with loved ones training to be in harm's way, or currently in harm's way, don't deserve to suffer the pain of someone's political crusade. Supporting our armed services is the first step to disarming an enemy determined to destroy us all.

I think that despite your take on the war, this book is a must read. I think we all need to feel, to understand. It took me awhile to get through it due to the number of times I stopped to cry, but I guarantee you that after reading it, I will not ever be the same. I now no longer feel distanced from the military. I feel connected to it through my friends and my "adoptive parents" who have introduced me to the Marine Corps. My "adoptive" father is a Colonel in the Marine Corps, so I will say it as they do. To all the men and women who serve, thank you, and oorah!

Houston we have... progress?

Over the past few weeks, I've somehow managed to stick to my WOD's at the box, and I've nailed down a few solid PR's. It's great because it's showing me that despite everything that's going on, I can still hang in there and do good things. I'm making some pretty good progress. I've had a lot of people comment to me about the OHS and even on the snatch that I did too, and while their comments were well intentioned it made me feel, well for lack of a better word, a little squirmy.

I posted about this awhile back, but felt, especially after this week, that now would be a great time to post a little bit on the idea of heavy weights and progress. When I started with CF almost two years ago now, I was, well, rough around the edges. I couldn't do the metcons quickly at all, I couldn't lift heavy weights, I couldn't do HALF of the movements correctly... I was basically a blank canvas, an unsanded piece of wood if you will.

It took time, but gradually things got better. It never gets EASIER, CF will always smoke you, always hurt, because as soon as you've got the movements, then it's time for RX'd rounds. Once you have that, then RX'd weight. It's always something. But keep in mind that developing all these movements and all these muscles that you need for these movements takes time. 3 weeks? 6 weeks? 3 months? It all depends on your fitness level before you came to CF and it will be different for everyone. Keep track of your own progress but don't base your WOD or your weight on someone else. Don't think you suck because of what someone else does. You don't know their background, their history. Be diligent, but be patient. It will come. We don't lift ALL the time. If we did, we'd never have form faults because it would be second nature, but we rotate the movements intentionally so that our WOD's are varied, so unless you spend a lot of time doing extra skill work, it's going to take you awhile to develop some of the more complex and complicated skills like snatches and cleans.

Last week I had more than one person say to me that they can NEVER lift as much as me, and they can't possibly do the WOD's like me. DON'T do that to yourself. I'm not you. I have a long background in swimming which gives me wickedly strong shoulders. Do you swim? Competitively for 15 years? Then your fitness path won't mirror or mimic mine. Do you have shoulder problems? Previous injuries? Then you path isn't the same as mine. Your fitness path is just that. YOURS. Regardless of your weights, your rounds, your reps, your times, it's all about YOU. Keep a log or blog or journal of your WOD's. Chart YOUR progress and F everyone else. Chances are you joined CF because there was something you wanted to change about yourself or something you wanted to do for yourself. Don't lose sight of that just because you started staring at a white board.

To be honest, sometimes I don't record my times because just finishing the WOD is an accomplishment for me. Sometimes, we all need to do that. Turn off the competition mode. It's all about you. Don't compare yourself to me, or to anyone else for that matter. I know it's hard to look at everyone else and not be where they are, but part of CF is learning about yourself. Your strengths, your weaknesses, your limits. Some days I still want to be as strong as other people, but I have to remember that I'm me. I don't have the same background as those people, and I need to work on my strengths and my weaknesses, like RUNNING. :P Don't get discouraged by where you aren't, be proud of where you are. Not everyone even has the strength to walk into the box, so keep gettin' in there and gettin' some! That's progress!a

Before this....



There was this....

The A Team

I pity da' foo who messes with team 0515! Ah yes, memories... fond memories. I remember when they turned this into a cartoon and the A Team consisted of Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzsky, and Bo Jackson... ah... fun memories of Saturday morning cartoons... But I pity da' foo who gets distracted by Saturday morning cartoons! Right, right-o... on track here!

Yesterday we took a field trip and were visited by a FCPS ladder truck, which was AMAZING, so unfortunately I didn't have much time to work on a blog before I had to go to work. My student's dad did an AWESOME job presenting to the kids, and he brought a team of guys with him who helped show the kids around the truck and ambulance AFTER he climbed the ladder, which was 95 feet in the air. Talk about a great day for them!

Anyway, CFOT had a pretty great day too as we hit... a team competition? You know, it's been awhile since we've done one of these, and I love them and hate them at the same time. I love them because they're a fun way to get a WOD in. I hate them because I just keep thinking about putting up points, and then I just flat out HURT the next day. My knee and my hammy on my left side are, well NAGGING would be a good word, so I'll go with that. We all started with a 1 mile run, which I swore I wasn't going to do for a few days just so my knees could relax a bit. But, since everyone else was doing it, I had to too. :P The different exercises had different point values, with the run being the most, but after 1 loop I opted to shy away from the run.

After that it was game on with farmer's walks, jumping slamballs, and abmats. I managed to amass 35 points for our team and our team average was 33.83 points per person. Alas though, we were defeated by the team at 1700 (I think that's what I read on Facebook at 0530 this AM. Could be wrong, I only had 1 eye open). I still think though that 0515 should get some sort of handicap just for getting our asses out of bed. I mean really. The majority of us were all functioning on less than 6 hours of sleep (some on four) and still managed to put up big point totals... I'd hate to see what we could do if we weren't actually sleep deprived. Team 1230 says they should get a handicap for doing things outside... I call BS. You didn't HAVE to go outside. :P I on the other hand HAD to come in at 0515 since I had to work. See... I'm right again... per the norm! :P LOL.

I also think that to combat John Steckback's ridiculoncous running, the 1 mile run should not have been worth ten points. I'm not sayin' anything... I'm just sayin'. :P

This was a fun WOD though, and I always love the team competitions. It's all in good fun, although I have to admit, I prefer men vs. women. There's just something about beating the pants off the boys that makes everything more fun. ;)

I took this morning as a rest day since I rolled home late last night from work, and cause I hit 4 consecutive days, but depending on the WOD, may go in tonight. The kids are leaving me feeling a bit high strung these days, and a WOD might be in order. 5 more days! WOOOOOT!

For my Facebookers, check out my summer bucket list. If there's anything you want to do with me, let me know. For my non-Facebookers, why haven't you stalked me on Facebook yet? Duh... :P

And PSS- I see that I have some new regular visitors... stop being all sorts of silly and comment or email me and introduce yourself.... :)

So fresh and so CLEAN...

I feel so fresh and so CLEAN after this morning... ;)

So Fresh and So Clean

Ain't nobody dope as me, I feel so fresh, so fresh and so CLEAN, CLEAN! Tehe... do you like how I totally just snuck that song reference in on you? Didja like that?! Huh?!? Didja!? Yeah, well, I thought I was being all clever this morning, so work with me! :P

After the last two days of running and metcon WOD's, I felt like my head was back in place enough for a good strength WOD. Unfortunately, my body was moaning and groaning at me this AM for doing two days of metcon work when I haven't done ANY metcon work in a good long while. Sooooooo what you're saying is that maybe if I haven't run in 6 months I shouldn't do 4 running WODs in 7 days? Hmmm... good thinkin'! :P Hindsight is always 20/20 you know... but anyhoo, even though I wasn't feeling 100% spiffy this AM, I was pretty much determined to get down and dirty with the cleans since I heart barbell work. :)

So, we did singles today and I felt really sluggish. I got up to 115 and Jerry told me that I looked very segmented. I agreed. I felt like I was "IN THE MATRIX!". I'm using all caps because Sean was yelling that at me while bending backwards doing all sorts of funky arm motions A LA Keanu in the Matrix, but it's a pretty accurate description of what it felt like.



It wasn't that I wasn't doing the movement correctly, but I just didn't have that zip... that POP, that POW, that PIZAZZ today and so it just wasn't rollin' right for me. I felt like I was giving a lot of effort but time or gravity was interferring. So, after that little convo and my Matrix impressions, I dropped the weight on the bar down and just focused on speed. I ripped that thing off the floor like it was Dermot Mulroney. (Believe me, I would yank him up in a HEARTBEAT!) MMMMMM... dee-licious. ;)



So after a few at 85lbs, I loaded the bar back up to 115 and hit that one again. It went up much better the second time, so I kept going. I got up 125 and 130 with much better efficiency, and then sat down for a hot minute to think. I knew I only had 1 maybe 2 more good pulls in me. By that point I was jumping by 5 lbs so the next logical jump would have been 140. But I knew that I could do 140 because that was my max, and what I had logged on the record board. So I was wondering if I should make the logical jump, or just throw the weight on the bar and go for it.

I consulted my guru, my Zen leader, the all wise and powerful Jerry to see what his thoughts were. He said, what the hey, load it to 141 and go for it. If you miss, back it down. So I took what Jerry said, and did it.... sort of. I took the bar, loaded it... to 14...2. :) EEEH! (I totally just did the pig thing!) So, I set the bar, gave myself a hot minute of rest, and then ripped that son of a gun off the floor. I got it to my shoulders and into the squat position, but got sort of stuck down there. About 3/4 of the way up, I just gritted my teeth and pushed through. Yup... a new PR. :) 142. Dang did it feel good. 140 has been my nemesis for a long time. I just couldn't get 145 up last time. So 142 it is. It was the new CFOT clean record, but I'm sure by this evening it will be gone. I'm sure Andrea will clean 145... dangit! :P But regardless of whose name is at the top (believe it or not, I really don't actually care if it's mine or not) it felt good to be so fresh and so CLEAN this morning!!! WOOT! Yay for having a smart lifting day! :) Oh and as a finisher, I threw on the old headphones and cranked up the I-Pod for a mile run. 5 running days out of 8? Weakness be gone! :P