Look Around and Laugh

I'm not sure what has gotten into me lately, but I've felt giddy, just happy about life. I've realized how simple it is to stop, look around and just laugh. At nothing, at something...but c'mon... life is funny. Things happen that you'd never expect, both good and bad. We (maybe just I) do stupid shit, some really awesome things, some crazy, some admirable, but in the end, life really is just so much fun. 

This past weekend my friends, Melissa, Amanda and I competed in a more serious than we thought crossfit competition in Branford, CT. We went into it with completely different expectations than were the outcome. We didn't place very well, nor did we perform well individually, but we easily had the most fun of anyone there. We laughed at ourselves, danced, made jokes and just enjoyed the fact that we were exerting our bodies and doing some competitive exercise. 

So seriously....just look around and laugh. Enjoy your f'ing life. I know I am. 

if that ain't style I don't know what is

Learning from the People Around You

I've talked a lot about what I learn from my training and my personal experiences both in and outside of the gym, but over the past year or so, I want to say I've learned equally as much from the people (both good and bad) that have been a part of my life. I'm going to be specific in some cases and purposefully vague in others, but I feel like I need to start with someone who's become a huge part of my CF and personal life. 

Melissa: My training partner, competition teammate and now best friend. I will be the first to admit and be proud of the fact that Melissa trains harder than me and pretty much anyone I know. She is dedicated and determined, but at the same time human. She has bad days, days where she is down, but she always seems to pick herself up and kick ass the next day. We are lucky enough to balance each other out almost perfectly, but rarely do I get to tell her how much her dedication inspires me. It doesn't need to be perfect, but it's there. Having her around has given me more confidence, something to work towards, someone to laugh with and someone who listens and gets me better than most people in my life. 

The plethora of men I've dated in the past year: I could probably write a book and really make you all laugh, but what I learned from this is much different than what I expected. The most obvious things would be that I had to learn to be happy with myself to realize what I want from a relationship and sticking to the things I wanted without sacrificing too much or settling is perfectly okay. Two things I learned that were much more subtle would be the following: no matter what happens, the gym will always be there, as my safe place and an arena where I can feel strong, where I can celebrate my happiness and work through tough times; it is consistent and always works. Secondly, I've learned to be unapologetically me, to do what I want when I want and to stay true to myself no matter what result that will have on the relationship I am in (this is HUGE for me). 

Lastly (for this post), would be all of my coaches, Chris at CFW, Mike and Gilbert at CFN and Steve at Downstate CF/Swistak Olympic Lifting. Having people around you who care about your training, spend the time to correct and observe what you are doing and giving helpful feedback is invaluable. As hard as it is to believe (wink face), I've never been great at listening to authority, but working with coaches on something I love has taught me to listen, to accept constructive criticism and most of all to do something about it. 

This is only a start of who and from what I've learned recently, so likely I'll be back to write more about this later in the week :) Just remember to look around, to take things in and learn from all of it. 

165 Power clean!!

Crossfit Sistttassss

Mel stringing 3 muscle ups!!!!

Appreciating Success and Failure

The past couple of months of training have resulted in tons (seriously, countless) huge successes and PRs and huge disappointments. Sometimes even in the same day.  Unfortunately, my immediate reaction is to let the failure outshine the success and even more unfortunately this also happens in my personal and work life. 

For some people, including myself, thinking positively and separating success from failure is a really difficult thing to do. It takes work, a lot of it. I'm constantly reminding myself to be conscious of where my mind begins to wander and actively pointing it in the right direction. For example, the other day at Crossfit I PR'ed my power clean and got it for 3, but immediately after I sucked ass at a workout and in my head that completely cancelled out the PR. Days after, I realize that they are 2 separate things and that neither really has bearing on the other. 

No one will always succeed at every single thing they do, but when they do, it should be able to be celebrated. Each individual success, whether its tiny or huge, should be taken for exactly what it is. 

This doesn't mean we should ignore our failures, sometimes they teach me the most about who I am and where I want to go. Yes, the feeling can suck, but once you get past that and are able to reflect upon 1. why you failed and 2. how you can modify your life or training in the future so you don't continue to fail, it can be a blessing in disguise. And not to forget how it always brings you back to a level of humility. 

So take the successes, appreciate them. Take the failures, appreciate them. Let them separately and jointly guide your life, but never let them outshine or discount the other. 

I never sweat this much so I had to take a picture, which doesn't do it justice at all

My Fight with Food

Let's just say for me...the struggle is real when it comes to food.

I've spoke about this a little here in the past, but about 6-7 years ago my relationship with food was horrendous. How little I could eat was a contest with myself and the guilt I felt when I indulged was unbearable. That mental battle plagued me for years as I went up and down in weight with extreme swings, which usually went in line with my happiness. I was 100% controlled by food (which sounds absolutely ridiculous). 

For the last 2-3 years, I had convinced myself that I was better, that because I was no longer afraid to eat I was healthy. But...this resulted in me literally eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, paying no attention to what I was really putting into my body. I became more and more involved in Crossfit, so the pounds of jelly beans and chips and greasy food never really made much of an impact on my physical appearance. For once, I felt like I controlled the food. (which again, sounds ridiculous)

At the time it was hard to see, but each of these was equally unhealthy for me. Either way, I was 1. not listening to my body and 2. not giving my body the correct nutrients it needs to perform and thrive. 

I can't tell you how many times people have told me that my performance at the gym would get better if I actually made any effort into what I was eating. My stubborn ass denied it for as long as I could and then....

The past six months have been the first time since I was 14 yrs old that I truly eat when I am hungry, don't look at food as a battle for control and think through what is going into my body. 

Do I eat perfectly? Not by any means. Do I want to eat perfectly? Not really. I want to eat to fuel me, to satisfy hunger and to have fun. So how do I put this in place? I've limited cheese to one meal a day, indulge in small amounts of chocolate and ice cream every day (yes, every day) and really listen to what my body wants. Each decision I make regarding food is no longer a fight, but just a simple, educated decision with a goal and level of balance in mind. 

How do you keep this balance? 

what are you training for? What are you eating for? LIFE 

Update Your Goals: CF Edition

I think as we progress in both life and in the gym, we have to constantly stop, take a look at how far we've come and where we want to go next. In essence, evaluate our past goals and shape and change them according to where we want our path to lead next. You are the only one in total control of where your life goes and this is a way that I make sure to hold myself accountable for this.

(I'll start with in the gym bc the "in life" goals take a lot more thought)

A year ago my main goal was to get all of my lifts and abilities back to where they were before I had knee surgery. It may have taken longer than I wanted it to, but I have successfully achieved that goal and feel lucky to have been able to work through it and improve beyond what I even imagined. So without further adieu, here are my updated CF goals: 

1. Snatch 125# (current: 100#)

2. Squat Clean 170# (current: 155#)

3. Front Squat 195# (current 175#)

4. OHS 135# (current 115# for 3)

4. 10 linked butterfly pullups (current: 6 max), maybe even some C2B :)

5. 10 consecutive HSPU from the floor (current: 2)

6. 1 muscle up

7. Jerk: 145# (current: 125#)

8. get into a freestanding handstand, maybe even walk a couple feet!

Time to work!!

Surrounding Yourself with the Right People

It may or may not be sad that I get a lot of my initial motivation for this blog from the website "Thought Catalog" but it works. Today I read this article and pulled a few quotes from it:

-Surround yourself with people who know what you deserve and tell you to demand it. Surround yourself with people who will call you on your bullshit 

- Surround yourself with people who make you leap out of your comfort zone

-Surround yourself with these people not because it will feel easy, or comfortable, or even safe. Surround yourself with these people because these are the ones who will electrify you...

My whole life I have wondered why I was never that person who had a big group of friends, or was invited to every birthday party or always had someone to hang out with. Still to this day, I let this get to me, but then I stop and take a look at the people I do have in my life at any given moment. Every single one of them fits in the above description. Without even noticing it until I was an adult, I have always looked to surround myself with people that can push me and that I can push back to become better, stronger, smarter, more loving, more understanding etc. We can all "fill" our lives with people, with things to do, but I'll never stop believing that when it comes to relationships (family, romantic, friends) quality always wins over quantity. 

So choose those people wisely, professionally, personally, athletically. Look around: are they making you work harder? Are you challenging them to rethink something? Do they know your worth and you know theirs? Do they call you on your bullshit in all the right moments and cheer you on when you need it the most? Those are the people worth surrounding yourself with. 

Start Each Day with a Grateful Heart

Even though we should feel this way every day, there are some days that I just feel especially humbled and grateful to have the things, people and opportunities that I do in my life. Sometimes it is losing something or someone or a feeling in your gut you can't ignore, but it is always a physical and mental reaction for me. 

I woke up this morning and I complained to myself about going to work. Instead of letting that be the way I start my day (as per suggestion from my incredible best friend, Kate Schuh), I grabbed the notebook I keep by my bed and wrote down 3 things I am grateful for. It has probably been one of the best practices I have incorporated into my daily routine. 3 things when I wake up and 3 things when I go to sleep.  I start every day positively and end every day positively, no matter what happened in between. 

For some reason, it is SO natural for us to complain about things. We hear it all day at work, waiting in line, from our friends, on social media. It is infectious. I catch myself caught in it all the time. I (and we all should in my opinion) need to make a more conscious decision to look around and realize just how much we have. 

The people we love. Our crossfit boxes. Our health. Food on the table and a roof over our heads. Internet access! Our freedom. Seriously, there's not much more you can want. 

So please...start each day AND end each day with a grateful heart. 

My oldest friend, Meghan, lost her father this week to a long battle with cancer. Please consider donating in support of her and her family: 

http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR/FredsTeamEvents/Freds_Team?px=2865736&pg=personal&fr_id=2150

Strong & Skilled

I always have felt like I either have a great day of training or a terrible day. 

Today was different. 

I went into the gym incredibly, prepared to work through the programming, but didn't have much expectation, positive or negative. It ended up being a day of learning. I didn't lift my heaviest, string together 10s of ring dips or feel particularly smooth in my cleans, but this gave me the time and brain power to focus on technique and skill. 

I made sure I went low enough on my dips. 

Worked on my breathing in my front squats

Widened my hands in my HSPU (amazing!)

Dropped my ass as fast as possible on my cleans 

Lesson learned: not every day is for lifting the heaviest weight or for being so frustrated you end up in tears. There are days to slow down, to make the little things better and walk out feeling accomplished. 

Crossfit is just as much about being strong as it is about being sound. 

Let yourself be strong AND skilled. 

One day at a time. 

Incorporating New Training

throwback to when my chicken legs really were chicken legs

As I said in my last post, I had been a little disenchanted with Crossfit for a couple weeks (for my own reasons), but I also started to realize that I appreciate and love Crossfit even more when I mix in other kinds of training. That may sound counter intuitive, but it:

1. helps me stretch out and rest my muscles that I may not do otherwise  

2. makes me appreciate the feeling of using a barbell and pushing my body to it's limits 

3. humbles me and reminds me that just because I can squat so and so lbs does NOT mean I can go into any other fitness arena and master it. 

Here are some things I decided to throw into my routine: 

1. open water swimming- this is obviously a season sensitive thing, but it will hopefully give me more reason to jump in the pool when the colder weather rolls around. 

2. kayaking (season sensitive seems like a theme)- but it's beautiful and a great core/upper body workout

3. pure barre- at first this was way too 'girly' for me, but it helps with smaller muscle control and stretching

What kind of cross training/alternatives do you throw in?

kayaking in the LI Sound

lake swim at Lake Padden in WA

Crossfit's Personality

Before I start my rant, I have another rant. I really don't like the name of this blog anymore, it doesn't really portray what I'm about or have grown into over the past 2 years, so it may change. Heads up :)

Anyways. I decided last night that Crossfit has a personality. For the past 2 or 3 weeks, I was so disenchanted with Crossfit, my knees were aching from running and every time I did go I struggled and that just pissed me off. After a few great weeks of training, that BS happens. Not surprisingly, how I was feeling in the gym is exactly how I was feeling in my life. It's like Crossfit decided to play a trick on me. Luckily, like most things in my life, I don't give up that easily. 

Last night, I finally got back into the gym with a positive attitude and PRed my 3RM hang clean/killed the workout. I found myself (no I'm not that crazy), talking to 'Crossfit' in the car ride on the way home. "Did you really just let me PR after practically 3 weeks off?! It's like a relationship you can't stop yourself from going back to. Ok...fine, I'm back into it" 

Crossfit (and your body) sometimes lets you be amazing, to PR, kill workouts, feel great. Sometimes it makes you feel slow and heavy, even angry. But one thing I can say, even with this bipolar personality, it is always there to challenge you, to remind you that life is not always exactly as you want it but it is exactly as you need it. 

OK fine...crossfit and life are related, linked, whatever. Positives outside of the gym equal inside the gym and vice versa. Oh Crossfit.

Crossfit Barbie hits the PNW

 This is a few weeks late, but it's really cool so that'll make up for it. :) I was out in Washington and Oregon about a month ago for a business trip; I flew into Seattle and made my way out to Eastern Washington, down to Eastern Oregon, Portland and back up to Washington. Most of my trip was driving and meeting with customers, but I did get to throw in some "adventure" i.e me pushing a meeting back to run up to waterfalls and walk through the Oneonta Gorge. The customer would never know right? You don't get many chances to be a lot of these beautiful places, so take a break from work sometimes and just do it!

Unfortunately I was sick for the first 2/3 of the trip, so I only finally got to visit a CF gym in Portland, but being outdoors, walking around some incredibly beautiful areas of our country was a peaceful mental WOD that was much of what I needed. You'd also be amazed at how elevation changes things...

Not my best look, but overlooking the Columbia River was priceless

the Oneonta Gorge in Oregon

Sunset over Eastern Washington

Lake Chelan

Snow Caps in 80 degree weather in Stephen's Pass

Cashmere, WA Desert Mountains

Adventure Life Part 1: Half Marathon

In my last post, I spoke about escaping your comfort zone. I have been fortunate enough to have the chance to constantly escape that "easy place to live" and experience new things on a pretty consistent basis. In a sense, to adventure.

We all tend to get used to a routine. For me it goes a little something like this: wake up, work, eat, work, workout, eat, relax, sleep. On the weekends, I throw in hanging out with friends, sitting by the pool, watching movies or whatever. When I read that over I think, "oh God, how boring!" I can say I am challenged every single say at both my job and at crossfit, but that doesn't necessary mean I am experiencing something new every day.

It may be almost impossible to experience something drastically new every day, but I really try and do it as often as I can. Last week I ran my first half marathon with my friend and training partner Melissa. We hadn't trained at all (only crossfit) and went into it with pretty low expectations, which we thought were realistic. I had never run more than 10 miles at once, so I was a little nervous about how my knees would hold up, but hell we ran fast and we had a GREAT time doing it. That's what doing something new is about!

To give a little recap:
Miles 1-3- ran anywhere from 9:05-10:00 miles! There was no room to run but it was an OK start for us, feeling out our bodies and chatting away
Miles 4-10- ran a solid 8:30-8:45 pace the entire way. I pushed the pace a bit around Mile 7, but it was worth it. We push each other really well.
Miles 10-13- I was kind of dying lol but Mel decided it was time for her to push the pace, so we rounded out the end of the race in the lower end of the 8 min miles. We didn't have much at the end to sprint or anything and for me that just means we pushed ourselves as hard as we could.
Ended at 1:55.21, definitely a time we didn't expect!

Now I can't wait to do another half with this girl.

Escaping Your Comfort Zone

A comfort zone. What happens there? You may succeed...to a point. You may fail....to a point. There are no risks, there is little emotion and there is no forward motion. It is a stand still. Not a bad place, but not where the beautiful, scary, exciting things happen in life. In my opinion, we are not meant to live here. How would new ideas come about, things get invented, people fall in love? Sure as hell not because they are "comfortable"

As a Crossfitter, I would say that I put myself outside my comfort zone pretty regularly, but let's be honest, there are certain movements and workouts that I feel perfectly comfortable and I just float along. About a week and half ago, I did the Civilian Military Combine, an military style obstacle race that begins with a Crossfit workout "pit." I can say for a majority of it, I was scared and pretty damn miserable. But, as I knew would be the case, I felt accomplished after. I may have skipped a few obstacles out of fear, but rolling around in mud and climbing over things was more than out of my comfort zone. I learned how much the power of having the support of the people around you means and how you don't have to be alone outside of your comfort zone. As a matter of fact, you rarely are. 

For most fitness people, we are used to escaping this comfort zone physically, we do it willingly and ready to face the challenge, but do we let it bleed into other areas of our lives? Whether it be professionally, personally, spiritually...it is important to remind myself (yourself) that the ship sailing sees more, experiences more and gets farther. 

Think about it...what more can you do to push yourself to your limits, to make yourself a little bit uncomfortable, to make yourself adventure and grow?

Take Advantage of Being Lucky

I know we all have those days (maybe weeks) where it feels like the world has turned on us...we don't feel like ourselves, nothing we do seems to be quite up to par, everything seems more difficult and confusing than it should be, anger/sadness/frustration seem to be a theme of emotions we can't seem to shake...
It sucks. I know what it feels like. I would never discount anyone for feeling that way, but take a step back.
Take a deep breath.
Think about all the things that make you lucky, literally count your blessings.

Whether it be the amazing family you have, your parents, your spouse, your children
or the fact that you Crossfit, you are physically able to move your body in a way some people cannot
or that you have a job, an income, a way to provide for yourself
or that you are healthy, with minimal sickness
or that someone loves you. It doesn't matter who, just that you are loved
or that you can sleep at night without worrying about food being on the table or a roof over your head
or even more simply that you can drink coffee, you can eat candy, you can laugh, you can smile and it be genuine.

I could go on forever...but really think about it and 1 by 1, count your blessings, look at how lucky you are and LOVE IT, take advantage of it.



*Don't forget to donate, a Crossfit athlete in a horrible situation, my prayers are with him and his family.
 https://fundly.com/kevin-ogar-s-recovery

Wake the F Up

Temperature: 16 degrees F

Time: 5:00am 

WOD: 1000m Run

50 wall balls

500m Run

50 Box Jumps 

1000m Run

50 Toes to Bar

Alyssa: CANNOT imagine getting out of bed

This morning my alarm went off at 5am, normal time for 3 days out of the week. In NY/CT, this week has been cold and I am a complete baby about it. I saw today's workout when I woke up and immediately pressed snooze. Thoughts going through my head, "No way I'm waking up...it's freezing what will I even wear to be running outside...no one else is going to show up when they see this workout...I am working out at night too, so I don't reallly need to go this morning..." 

At about 5:30, I stopped my intermittent falling back asleep/whining to myself and decided all I was doing was making excuses and I said out loud, "Alyssa, Wake the F Up!" and I jumped out of bed. 

I put on my fleece lined running leggings and long sleeve, quickly packed my bag and was out of the house in under 10 min. As I was driving, my mind went back to "wait, why am I doing this?"

Well...all in all, I kept driving and had probably one of my better workouts. I felt great and even better than I didn't stay in bed just because I would've been cold. 

Sometimes all you have to do is tell yourself to Wake the F up and the rest will fall into place.

Making Friends with Your Weaknesses

The other day, one of the trainers at my box threw out this quote while all of us were whining about the workout we were about to do, "Find your weaknesses, make friends with them, then beat them to death!" (Chris Spealler). My immediate reaction was, "but it's so much easier to be friends with my strengths." 

Then I came back to reality; I know, I know, of course it's easier to be friends with my strengths, but that isn't why we Crossfit. We (I) crossfit because I am challenged every.single.day, I am pushed to my limits, to the point where a big part of me wants to give up, throw in the towel, but we (I) don't. We push harder, we train more, we spend hours on those weaknesses. For months, I've known the gymnastics movements, overhead presses and snatching are my weaknesses. For the most part, what have I done? (Embarrassingly) Avoided them! That ends now...

I'll be completely honest, I'm slightly afraid, mostly because I don't want to fail BUT how amazing is it when you succeed at something you are afraid of? 

And last but not least, who doesn't want friends you can beat to death (figuratively, of course)?!