Tuesday, June 26, 2012

AMRAP vs For Time

Generally there are two types of Crossfit workout, AMRAP (as many rounds as possible in a given time) or For Time (meaning you are given the amount of rounds and you finished when you finish). I flinch every time I see a For Time WOD (workout of the day).

I've been doing Crossfit for 4 months now. And I'm happy to say, I'm pretty pleased with my progress. I'm not doing the beginner workouts anymore for the most part. There are some movements I just can't do. Pull-ups for one. I can't even get them with a band. It's coming though. I like to think I'll meet my strength going up as my weight goes down. Box jumps is another. I think it's the same problem. As I get lighter my legs will be getting stronger and jumping up will be easier. Then there are double unders. That's just a matter of technique. But that's not really what this blog is meant to be about.

I'm talking about reading the workout and the dread that comes with a For Time WOD.

See, you can scale any workout to fit your level. For Pull-ups, I do ring rows or jumping pull-ups. For box jumps, I do a shorter box. If the listed weight is too heavy, then just go lighter. Every workout can fit every fitness level.

For an AMRAP you are given a specific amount of time to work in. I usually have less rounds finished when time it up than the rest of my class. That doesn't seem to bother me because I know I worked hard. During an AMRAP, I will pick a heavier weight or try for a harder level of a skill I'm not particularly good at. But that's not what I do during a For Time WOD.

A For Time WOD you are given a certain amount of each skill to do and however long it takes it takes. I will scale that workout sometimes too much, because I don't want to end last. There is no shame in being last. I've been last. I've owned last before by just working my ass off just to finish. And if I'm last by only a little bit, my pride is fine. But I'll be damned if I think I'm going to be last by a lot, I'll scale (almost to the point of cheating).

I only cheat myself. I've talked about cheating before and being last. It's something I think about a lot. No one else in my gym thinks twice about me coming in last. No one would ever say anything negative to anyone finishing last. It's not that kind of place. In fact, the person finishing last gets the most support because by then there are people recovered enough to cheer you on.

When it happens to me, I'm embarrassed. I'm just not ready to have that much attention drawn to me. Maybe no one is. I've never asked anyone else.

Where am I going with this? I have no idea. I just needed to get that bit out there. Thanks.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Hurts so Good

I have a rather low pain tolerance. I least I always thought I did. One little headache or tummy cramp and I would run for the Tylenol bottle. If I thought I might kinda get a muscle cramp later, I'd take an Advil to head it off.

Now, I'm becoming an athlete.

If I'm not a little sore at the end of the day, I feel a little cheated. More like, I feel that I cheated.

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of busyness. I have no idea really what all was so busy. But I haven't made it to the gym as often as I'd like. I spent many days not feeling sore. It was just plan weird.

Then we found the time to make it back to the gym.

O.M.G.

I hurt like I had never done a squat before in my life.

That's all it had taken was a couple weeks of being distracted to get out of shape. I didn't go back to square one on my ability. But my muscles were pissed that I hadn't bothered to work them regularly. And it hurt. I'm still recovering really.

I like learning these lessons really. It helps hammer home my developing athletic lifestyle. If I really want to be an athlete, I have to work regularly. There's no time off or vacations. It's something I have to find time for multiple times every week.

You don't get something from nothing. If you want something, you have to work for it. And if you try to slack a little, you'll end up paying more than it's worth.

I might have given up in the past. But I'm committed. This isn't just for me. I have a family that needs me to be healthy and strong. I do this for them too.

But who am I kidding. It's summertime and I'm ready to look rocking in a bikini. (Maybe not this year, but damn skippy by next year I'll be set to go.)

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Summer Slacker Blues

I love Summer! I've never met anyone that doesn't. Sun is wonderful. And since the invention of A/C the heat is always manageable. But there is something about summer that just makes you want to laze around and forget all the things you are supposed to be doing. Why is that?

So after my family recovered from our summer colds two weeks ago. We were already in the laze around habit. Comfort foods (although kept within a form of reason) and sitting on our rears had taken a pretty big hold. It doesn't take much to slip back into old habits.

Come to find out we aren't the only ones with this affliction. After going back to the gym yesterday (for the first time in a week), it seems quite a few people have been missing.

Have we all started to slip away with the last of the New Year's Resolution hangers on?

Is it just a Summer Slacker thing?

Who knows. But it does seem to have us all in a bit of a funk. A funk with slightly tighter clothes.

I firmly believe that weight loss is mostly related to diet. But exercise can be 100% reflected in mood improvement.

It's just a matter of getting back at it.

This week is shaping up to be a fun one. I don't love all the movements used in Crossfit. I haven't met anyone that does. But everyone has favorites. And so far, the schedule has included mine.

So if you are doing a program that you are starting to find tedious, or you've been running but now it's getting too hot outside and your are having to resort to a treadmill and don't care for it, I suggest Crossfit. It's something different everyday.

If you aren't exercising. You should. It'll change your life.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Becoming an Athlete

It's hard. I'm a big girl. I'd say I'm fat, but people cringe when that word is used. It doesn't make it any less true. But to save your feelings, I'll stick with big.

I'm working on it. But I've been a big girl a really long time. There was a moment in my adult life when I was a size 10. It lasted about a month before I got pregnant. It was the trimmest I'd been since high school, no one was blaming my husband. HA!

Still, my body is rather used to being overweight. I still only ever see myself as overweight. I keep having to tell myself I'm working on it. I am working on it. But dang it takes so much work and it's hard. The exercise is physically hard, but that's not what I'm talking about. I really like the exercise. As you can tell if you've read my blog before, I love Crossfit. But losing weight isn't just about exercise. In fact, it has very little to do with exercise. I think the percentages given are usually 80/20. 80% diet and 20% exercise.  Someone, somewhere probably made that number up. But it's true. If you are eating crap it doesn't matter how much you exercise, you aren't going to be fit.

Which is what I'm trying for. I'm not interested in being skinny. I don't want to look like the girl in the magazine. I want to look like an athlete. More over, I want to be an athlete. I don't aspire to the Olympics. But I'd love to be able to play in a pick-up game of soccer or to run a 5k. I want to be strong and have muscles. And I think that takes more work than just losing weight.

To lose weight fast, I could just restrict my calories. I don't do that. I only watch what I eat. I try to eat clean and work-out 4 times a week. And it's enough. I am losing weight. Slowly. So very slowly. And sometimes it just breaks my heart. Since February, I'm down 14 lbs. I know I've put on a lot of muscle. But when I started I was about 80 lbs up. I have way more fat to lose than I have muscle to put on. The scale isn't adjusting accordingly. And it's disappointing.

I still don't plan to count calories. I'm not out to feel restricted or to start a trend of having to worry about every single bite of food that goes into my mouth, even if it is healthy and good for me. If I cut my calories too much it might make the weight just fall off, but I'll lose muscles too. I don't have enough muscles to lose. And if I cut my calories, I'll lose energy. I have three kids. I need every bit of that energy.

So I'll keep working at it. At my super duper slow pace. It's not a sprint, right? I can't come in last if I'm  the only one in the race. No matter how slow, I'll be the winner in the end. But man alive, it's disappointing some days not to see the scale move in the right direction.