A Love Affair With The Barbell, It Can Happen to You Too!

Flashback to when I first trained with a barbell. 6 years ago I think when I was just a casual runner, before I lifted weights. My coach was first teaching me how to do some Olympic lifting - specifically a move called a Snatch (hold your laughter folks!) I asked my coach what the snatch was working. Like - was it toning my butt, could it get me into bikini modeling? His wise answer was, "it works everything." And he was right. It does. But I still rolled my eyes on the inside when we were suppose to do snatches in a workout. BTW. I know the term snatch leaves things WIDE open for all kinds of jokes. One of my favorite things to say when I am coaching, is "alright everyone, now it's time to warm up our snatches." Grinning.

It took me about 2 years of Crossfit before I stopped sighing while viewing a workout of the Day with some form of overhead lifting. I used to think, "why can't they just do regular stuff? Deadlifts are WAAAY less intimidating. Which is my point exactly.

It wasn't until I was really comfortable with the techniques, that I ever grew to love weightlifting. Before that  I had so much resistance to barbell moves because of my inexperience and fear. From the start, I had a gigantic fear of dropping the barbell on top of my head. As a coach, I have never trained any woman who doesn't have these fears as well. Guys tend to be a little more ignorant of the dangerous possibilities. But I guarantee we all have some form of fear of the barbell.

Badass Chick, Jackie Perez

And slowly things changed for me. I developed a love affair with the barbell. It was nothing that slapped me in the face suddenly but I began to notice that when I was having a day where I felt unworthy, or lame, or was being judgey with myself - it seemed that after I worked with the barbell on overhead movements - that my mentality shifted dramatically. Still to this day, give me 20 minutes with a barbell and I am reincarnated from a lame-o weak duckling into a BADASS CHICK.

Through watching others that I coach, I noticed the transformation isn't unique to just me. I watch people walk into the gym with zero confidence and walk out smiling, eager to approach life with gusto enthusiasm. Fast transformations of energy are happening everyday inside Crossfit boxes and gyms everywhere. Now that's newsworthy.

Not the kind of exercise bike your Mom rode. Photo Credit Kraig Scarbinsky/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Your brain chemistry changes dramatically when you exercise or move your body. Your brain chemistry responds immediately to your newly oxygenated blood and air. Movement causes your thoughts to shift because your neurotransmitters are firing messages to your brain of positive-ity. This is endorphins, and they along with others, are what keep people addicted to exercise. In fact, I notice I feel really crummy and become very mean after 3 days without some decent movement. So, movement moves changes thoughts into positive ones and those positive thoughts energize you and leave you coming back for more. That's why when I feel down in the dumps, the best thing to do is walk, workout or do focused deep breathing.

The first barbell move that I learned to love was the clean and jerk. Using power and strength, you grab the barbell from the ground and "clean" or lift it to your shoulders. Next you transfer strength from your legs and toss the barbell to the arms locked out overhead position. wa-la. I like this move because you end up in a power pose position which we know increases testosterone and decreases cortisol. Boom. And everyone, yes, even girls, want some testosterone - because it makes you VERY brave.

If you weren't interested in barbells before this, you will be afterward.

As I told someone I coach. If you are afraid of something in life (we all have something) then do some weightlifting. It is my strong belief that we live our life as a metaphor - every way you live your life is a reflection of your thoughts and beliefs. If you're afraid of one thing, then that fear transfers to every area of your life as well. The simplest way to overcome a fear of one thing is to face fear in a different area, that's a SWEET life hack of monumental proportions. When you have things that you are fearful of, you can manipulate the fear by practicing bravery in other areas. I'm not kidding you on that.  Pride and self love are two of the bi-products of practicing bravery. And when you have pride and self love, life is WAY less frightening.

So how you do learn to love weightlifting? First you have to want to do it, even just a little bit. My reason came from vanity. I wanted to look like a Crossfitter. I walked into my first Crossfit box, 6 years ago, and said - so this is where the beautiful bodies are born! You have to want to have strength. And if you have just the smallest desire, then practice. Then, you go easy on yourself, you start really light and then learn to do it properly. Clean and jerk is very commonly the first skill to master with the barbell. Snatches and overhead squats have a lot of working parts - so they would come later. Then lastly, you get heavy. No powerlifter ever picked up a 300# barbell and threw it over their head, no. Instead they started light and went up in weight slowly.

dream body alert!

Practice lifting a barbell to love the way it makes you feel. Practice because it's a little scary, but so is life - and the more you lift it - the less scary the other things in life become. Life hack.


Lift because when you feel good on the inside, you radiate it on the outside. Barbells are your friend who you don't want to let down by playing weak. Barbells put you in touch with your strong side; the fearless one. But even if you don't love the barbell right away, give it time. The barbell love is accumulative- it gets bigger each time you lift it.

Lift heavy my friends.

The Crossfit Open 2016, Naked In A Bubble

Well, we are two out of five weeks into the 2016 Crossfit Open.. What starts off as a $20 entry fee ends with the the best of the best competing in the Crossfit Games in Carson City, California. For me, being a part time Crossfit coach, the Open season is the BEST time of year, its the ice cream on top of the ice cream cake! I see people bring their A-game and their best strategies to their workout.

COMPLETELY EXPOSED.
EVERY ONE OF YOUR WEAKNESSES!
CACA-DOO-DOODLE-DO!

The twisty part is getting to switch hats. Going from coaching athletes to actually doing the dirty work.  And no matter how many times I tell myself, "it's just another workout"  I know its a total lie. It's more because you're putting your vulnerabilities out on the table, showing the world where you are today. Putting your first and last name out there as a Crossfitter tinkering with competing. And you're crossing your fingers (Pretty-Pleeeasse with a cherry on top) that you are better than you were last year.






Lessons in Humility. 

 A game changer for my dubs

The biggest take away from doing competitions comes where your weaknesses are layed out flat on the table like a poker bluff. It's like you just being naked and exposed for all the world to see. And your vulnerabilities will come out, (money back guarantee.)  But here's the silver lining. When I did an all-girls competition last year, called Girls Gone Rx, I had to do 20 double unders and I failed. I ended up doing one double, then one single and I did that for what felt like an eternity. I was embarrassed on behalf of my team mates and I was red faced and slightly angry the whole time. But after that, after I was completely vulnerable- I got serious about getting them. That was my gift from the competition, not shame - oh no - an opportunity to become better. That's what the Open gifts to you - use that gift to improve yourself and climb higher.

This year, I've already patted myself on the back. That's because last year, in 2015, one of the workouts had double unders in them, and so I skipped the workout entirely. Already, double unders have been in the workout in 2016 and I was THRILLED to be able to skillfully jump my little heart out. I actually felt GLEE as I jumped this year thinking of how proud I was. WEEEEEEEE!

So, of course I'll declare what I've realized so far and what I anticipate is approaching.

WORKOUT 16.1

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 20 minutes of:
25-ft. overhead walking lunge
8 burpees
25-ft. overhead walking lunge
8 chest-to-bar pull-ups

16.1

Exposure #1 - I can't link my chest to bar pull ups. Maybe I can get 2 together but I seem to drop my legs down as dead weight after one.

Exposure #2 - Brain working ahead of the body. When I was doing burpees over the barbell, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that I had to go back and do the lunges. Instead of staying present, I was slowing down during burpees as I was mentally dreading what was to come.

Quick word on MENTAL TOUGHNESS. Again, as a coach, I watch people come in with a crum attitude that expresses itself in their workout. They get sloppy or they miss lifts or miss easy shit when they are focused on the wrong things. So, quick note on negativity. Your body AND your mind need training. If you're thinking negatively the whole time you work out, I know you aren't having fun and you aren't giving your best. Giving it your best means pumping yourself up and keeping the positive thoughts rolling in. And shifting your thoughts when they take a turn for the worst. Thinking positive is a practice, as our family motto goes, Practice makes Better! I suggest coming up with a mantra, something you repeat in your head if you notice your thought taking a nose dive toward hell. A few I thought of:

• Strong as Shit
• Everything is going perfect
• Killing it
• I've Got This

*********************************************************************************

Exposures Revealed From the Crossfit Open so far...

WORKOUT 16.2

Beginning on a 4-minute clock, complete as many reps as possible of:
  25 toes-to-bars
  50 double-unders
  15 squat cleans, 135 / 85 lb.

If completed before 4 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:
  25 toes-to-bars
  50 double-unders
  13 squat cleans, 185 / 115 lb.

If completed before 8 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:
  25 toes-to-bars
  50 double-unders
  11 squat cleans, 225 / 145 lb.

If completed before 12 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:
  25 toes-to-bars
  50 double-unders
  9 squat cleans, 275 / 175 lb.

If completed before 16 minutes, add 4 minutes to the clock and proceed to:
  25 toes-to-bars
  50 double-unders
  7 squat cleans, 315 / 205 lb.

16.2 

Exposure #3 - Doing double unders with ease. One of the other coaches I know can do double unders for hours. I eye his jump rope with suspicious eyes wondering where the magic is hidden. I'd love to get to that place, maybe I'll hunt down a Genie Lamp.

Exposure #4 - Squat cleans turn into a power clean + front squat when the barbell gets over 100#. I love squat cleans! I really do, but when the bar gets heavy my body gets a little retarded and tries to break things up into manageable moves. I have to learn to get under it quickly, and hopefully this will translate to help with snatches too :) This also showed up last year in 2015 when we had to do the max clean and jerk and I could jerk more than I could clean because I couldn't  "get low".

I like to pretend I can double Unders barefoot. I like to impress one year olds

What I anticipate in the next Open Workouts: (DRUMROLL...)There will be bar muscle ups (which I can not do lately). And there will be something that gets outrageously heavy - which always brings on that overwhelmed feeling of almost pooping my pants. Part of me really hopes there will be pistols, "bring on the one legged squats" says my left leg. Though my right leg isn't quite sure. Damn you non-dominant leg!





Until next announcement, stay positive, breath deep and whatever you do, don't miss out on your own shining-light opportunities to improve. Don't shy away from these- face them with gusto! Work Your Weaknesses. You've got this, you're a Crossfitter, damit.

  When will this be in the Open? Useless Human Tricks.

Ass Moves Mass. Bulky Vs Fit.

So the title, "ass moves mass" was not made up by me. The term applies to powerlifters. Likely the only females who are encouraged to eat lots because a bigger size will increase their performance. Maybe Strongwomen get that too? Did you know I'm doing my first Strongman competition this weekend? Oh dear lord, what have I gotten myself into. More on this later. Let's talk adaptation of the female figure.



My Story

Dream Body Alert

A couple years ago, when I was dropping weight dramatically, every week I got noticeably thinner, I was very in tune to the words people used to describe me. I heard words like fit and lean as I walked by. I was approached by strangers who would ask if I was training for a competition. You mean like the Tough Mudder? (I had no clue they meant the standing on stage variety). And I felt that way, I felt thin and fit. I felt light on my feet and absolutely stunning. My clothes were getting bigger and I felt VERY comfortable in my own skin.

The Problems
The problem was my primary focus was weight loss, leaning out - getting smaller. I wanted to be small enough that my hubby could lift me up. I wanted to be the tiny, short girl.  I wanted to be the blonde model from Athleta. I knew heavy lifting, running and high intensity could make me drop fat, so I did that, consistently 3 days a week I pounded the gym pavement like it was my job.

Athleta Dream body

And I was willing (finally) to stop eating crap, start eating more veggies (mostly JUST veggies) and earn the body I wanted. I was willing to do anything. So I ate small meals, only 2 or 3 a day, I did lots of fasts, I sometimes just had a big plate of steamed broccoli for dinner. I skipped meals to make sure I was working out in a fasted state. And in the gym I lifted  and did high intensity for 2 straight hours and came home and wanted to collapse onto my bed. And it all worked. I got down to 17.9% body fat and I felt like my true self emerged from hiding. I had the body I wanted. But I had other obstacles to face.

A Love Affair...
I became entranced with the barbell. I realized that the barbell could change me from feeling timid and shy to feeling superhuman. I could walk into the gym and feel isolated or blah, but after I lifted I felt like a lean, mean, strong-ass machine. So I wanted more, I wanted to lift heavier. I was not longer interested in how many deadlifts I could do at 150#, I wanted to know how much I could lift as a one rep max. Of all the lifts I knew, I kept adding on more weight plates. So my barbell got heavier and heavier and so did my appetite.

me, April 2014

me, June 2015

The Kitchen, Open for Business

Besides being an animal in the gym, I morphed into an animal in the kitchen. I became soooo hungry.  When you have a ferocious appetite, it's impossible to eat like a rabbit. I also increased my workouts, I was often doing two workouts a day. Thus, when you are working out for 2-3 hours a day, your body WILL find a way to fuel your workouts. And considering I was unwilling to lower my workout intensity, I was putting myself into a predicament. I said a subconscious adios to my original goal of wanting to lose weight.

Want to eat 20,000 calories a day? Be this guy, be this guy

My body fat test showed I required an average of 2800 calories a day on active days. It didn't take long to begin the monster eating. More eating meant my body began changing and it was saying, "you're welcome" as it adapted to help me be a badass, I was resenting my body for the growth. I noticed first my legs, and watched as my skinny clothes grew less and less comfortable. I worked out harder, and resisted again. But eventually it doesn't work. Not just because my appetite, but also my cortisol levels went wacky because I wasn't eating before or after my workouts. I considered giving up lifting heavy but that seemed like I was quitting. Plus I like it too much! And once I realized I couldn't   be losing weight and gaining strength, at the same time- I declared a truce,  to stop the fight against my body. Very easy to say. Very hard to do.

Anatomy and Physiology 101...
You can be strong and fit and also have fat over your muscles.This is why you might have a six pack just dying to come out and play if you would tweek your diet. There are plenty of strong people out there but they have a high body fat percentage so you can't see their superhero muscles. Also, bulky is a subjective term. What I used to think was "too much muscle" on a female has changed over the years. Not everyone agrees that strong is the new skinny. Also, girls are more prone to fat storage because we are created to reproduce. It's an honor but can be a little bit of a curse to our figure.

My Diet has also been through leaps and bounds since this all began. Where once I was a simple PURIST, restricting my diet by ingredients, these ingredients have slowly slipped back into my life.

The LEAN diet I followed 100% of the time when I was my most fit:
- No dairy
- No alcohol
- No SUGAR!! HUGE factor right here!
- No gluten
- No exceptions

NOW...Instead of passing on the desserts, I have a little.OK, OK, sometimes I have a lot. And I know the sugar is bad news for my body comp. I know sugar decreases my human growth hormone and increases insulin. These are two major hormonal players involved in determining what your body looks like. Do you want to look fit? Nix the sugar. I guarantee nothing FIT will ever come of sugar.  Wanna more sugar hatin? Here. Now what words do I hear to describe me? Bulky, Jacked, big, "all muscle", a beast. It's been a lesson in self acceptance. An introduction to unconditional love for myself. Admiring myself for what I can do and disregarding thoughts of what I feel I "should" look like.

In conclusion...
Your body composition is decided in the kitchen/restaurant/fast food line. It's based on what you do or do not eat.  Eating sweet desserts, downing soda and eating nutrient poor food will cause unfavorable results. But eating your veggies and supplying your body with vitamins might just change your life! As for lifting heavy, yes I think it can cause large muscle growth, and I think its beautiful. But it won't happen overnight, and it won't necessarily be unfavorable. And it will encourage a big appetite which I think is the main factor in getting big.

The Elite Crossfit body. These Girls: Not a Starvation Diet

The adaptation of the Female Crossfitter's Body. This is Camille Leblanc-bazinet. This is how much a body can change and adapt over the years based on what physical activities you demand of your body. This is the body in motion, improving and progressing.  Too often we watch weakness enter the body with a poor diet and watch people grow in fat. It's beautiful to watch the human body grow in strength. 

2010



2012

2013

2015

Back Pain After Deadlifting, Yep I'm There!

So, I coached 3 Crossfit classes back to back teaching deadlifts. And it was after I had done multiple deadlifts that morning at 70% of my one-rep max. That was 175# for all you curious souls. And now I am walking around like an old man, sitting on the toilet in slow-motion, groaning while driving with the lumbar support on in my car. What the hell kind of damage did I do to my low back?  If I am this sore (in a bad way) then what are my athletes feeling like? Jesus. Let's review. 

 WATCH MY less recent DEADLIFT FAIL #275, SOOOO CLOSE!!

Deadlifting weaknesses can manifest in many ways. For me, I think my form is decent, at least it feels that way when the load is relatively light. Once I go heavy, my form errors tend to show themselves like fireflies in Texas. I was told by a deadlifting master (my term) I have gym butt when doing deadlifts. This means that I hike up my butt too soon on the lift and thus I load my low back up with the weight on the barbell. BAM. That's why my low back is screaming at me right now. In the video I posted above, you can (CRYSTAL) CLEARLY see where my butt PPP error happened, my back hurts just watching. 

None the less, I may not have a perfect deadlift, but I am still eager to share the info that I know with you so you can sit on the toilet with ease post deadlift days. Here's the tips I have for all you heavy lifting beasts out there.

                         World Record Deadlift,  1018.5pounds, I wonder if his back hurt the next day

Deadlift Do's: 

1. Before you reach down to set up for the bar, get yourself positioned as though you are going to take a punch to the gut. You want your core tight first, then reach down for the bar. 
2. Chalk. I was told my deadlift max would increase by 50 pounds with chaulk. I agree it helps, though 50# might be a bit aggressive. 
3. Remember the sign of a good deadlifter is bloody shins. That's how close you want the barbell to your legs. 
4. Stack your shoulders over the barbell, and keep the bar on a straight path because that's where you have the most strength
5. Push the floor down with your feet, rather than pulling the weight up. Let your glutes and legs control the barbell and your arms be more neutral

A freaking AWESOME website for help with coaching your deadlifts: Stronglifts.com

stronglifts.com

The Crossfit Open, 15.5 In Recap

Three hours post working out, after doing Open WOD 15.5, and I am stinky, my legs are burning and my lungs are still causing me to cough randomly AND I have an intermittent headache. My daughter keeps asking what's wrong with me. Hummmphhhh... I have uncontrollable sighing.

Workout 15.5:
27 Calorie Row
27 Thrusters (65#)
21 Calorie Row
21 Thrusters
15 Calorie Row
15 Thrusters
9 Calorie Row
9 Thrusters

Total Time - 11:20 


Of all the studying of the workout that I did, I expected different. I thought maybe, just maybe I could do the thrusters unbroken. Why not? I have quads made for a giant white frog, I kinda like thrusters and I row pretty efficiently. Yes I said I like thrusters. 

All the athletes I watched on video did the thrusters unbroken, I figure try to get it over with quickly because it's going to burn the longer you work. Oh hell no, the people who did not break them up are machines and are all ranked for regionals. I got to unlucky thruster #7 and wanted to drop the barbell because my legs still hurt from the rowing. Instead, I pushed on and made it to #14 and then dropped it. That was half the thrusters in round one. I kinda felt deceived by the girls who's videos I watched that made this look like a walk down easy street.

Rowing like the wind. Coach had to tell me to slow down in the beginning

I don't even know what happened after that because I entered a world of pain.The noises that came out of my mouth were the ones that you hear in the maternity/labor wing of a hospital. I pushed with that level of intensity and I had no baby after ward to meet. Except maybe a baby of sheer pain.

My hurting face. Can't hold this back when it hurts this bad

The end is near...

In Closing...Heres the thing. When my score was announced I didn't even care. I knew that my best effort had just been offered to the rowing machine and to the devil thrusters. Did I say earlier that I like thrusters? I take it back. My only concern now is that I strategized wrong. What if I would have broken up the thrusters into small, manageable sets right away? Could I have lessened the amount of times the barbell was at rest? Oh, the world will never know. I am never doing that one again.

Holy Matrimony, It's Double Unders, Learning to Dominate Them In Good Times and Bad...

Nope, def not me jumping

Never in my life have I had such an on again, off again relationship with anything in my life; introducing my relationship with the double Under. A
seemingly simple move - rotating a jump rope under your feet twice during one vertical jump into the air. Just like I can't dance, and I also can't coordinate my arms and legs to sync up enough to do multiple double unders consistently. The end result of my double under effort has left me with long-lasting whip marks and various tones of F-bombs spewing from my mouth. I also sigh and say "oh my God" a lot.

My best double under solution happened yesterday (hallelujah!!) with a double under seminar taught my Molly Metz of JumpNRope. Let me tell you the ease at which her and her team can jump rope. First off, Molly has been jumping rope for 32 years and she looks like she is 20 years old. Have you heard of rebounding (jumping) on trampolines and with jump ropes in order to detox your lymphatic system? Well, Molly is a breathing example to the anti-aging benefits of rebounding. Her team doesn't look at double unders like the rest of us, instead they do triple unders and even do gymnastic style jumping with splits and stuff that makes you question how a body can move like theirs.

Practicing Double Unders 5 months ago. Daughter  more impressed than I was

The double under seminar started with us meeting Molly and her writing our name on a name tag with the most double unders we have ever done consecutively. My number was 27, which meant I was grouped into the advanced category thus I realized I should have said my number was 5. It also meant I once had a spark of hope for my double unders and then I lost it because I wasn't consistently practicing them. If you're also missing your double unders, then your problem could be as simple as this: Consistency. Can you pick up your rope everyday and practice? (talking to myself here, too). Even if you have never done double unders in your life, the following tips should be incredibly useful, read on my jumping friend.

                Double Unders in One Minute: World Record, 169. Prepare to be amazed!

How To Have A Successful Marriage 

With Your Double Unders:

Part 1. Rope and Body Positioning:

1. You want to jump with a rope that when rotating above your head, ends up being about 10" above your head. Any longer or shorter will work but 10" is the most efficient. A good rule is to stand on the rope mid foot and bring the handles up. The handles should reach to about nipple height
   
2. Hold your rope mostly with your thumb and index finger, they will drive the rotation of the rope. Use your wrists to move the rope - it is what controls the speed and the rotation
   
3. Keep your core in a hollow body hold position - which means suck in your gut and keep your chest up high. Don't lean back while jumping
   
4. Keep your whole hand on the handle, holding with your thumb facing up, this will give you the most endurance during the wrist movement
   
   
   

   

   The Hollow Body Position

Part 2. The Jump

1. Don't jump for 2 hours straight (like I did) if you have to do anything the next day that involves walking because your calf muscles will be worthless
   
2. Focus on jumping higher, but also slower - you need time for the rope to under twice
   
3. The most efficient way is to keep your hands and elbows near your hips, but the more tired you get the further from your core your arms tend to go. The Best tip I got for hand/arm position is to hold your jump rope and place your fists on your hips like headlights. Then relax your shoulders. The position where your hands are now is ideally where they should be for jumping.
   
4. Relax your shoulders, relax everything that you can, in fact. Your goal should be to make double unders in your workout be a resting period. The only way to do that is to find a speed that works to make them flawless.
   
5. Check your rope speed. This is the complicated part for me: timing. Can you slow down or speed up your rope while changing the speed of your jump? This is the part I struggle with most. My wrists tend to get over excited to double under, but my legs are less than thrilled. Thus while my legs are rolling their eyes like a cranky teenager, but arms are amped like little hampsters in a cage, so things get messy. Change the timing.
   
6. Mantra them. Mentally (or out loud) say 1,2,1,2,1,2 over and over to keep rhythm
   
7. Stay positive that you will get them, and practice like you mean it

Can you find me?

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. Avoiding Over-Training. And How to Deload

When I was a young, I was such a sucker for falling in love. Maybe I was so hell-bent on the idea of falling in love that I didn't ask myself if I was falling for the wrong guy(s). I interpreted clues as mixed messages all the time. Looking back, I see the mixed messages were due to a lack of objectivity. When your fearless, naive heart becomes involved, it tends to lead to fuzzy thinking. In cases of love, it took my very-honest sister, Wendy, to see the big picture and say, "he's just not into you Steph." Ouch. A objective punch to the gut.

In my prime, no not a PR, can I find this sweet spot again? Hell ya!

It's SUPER easy to become blinded by your emotions when your heart is involved. Which is why listening to your body's messages can be very tricky business. During a workout, your body gives messages like a red face, a pounding heart and burning limbs when the going gets rough. Does that mean you should stop your workout to drink some water and wipe your sweat off until your heart calms down? Hell no, that's when you should push harder to see big gains in your training! At least that's what I've understood of it. But when does that theory harm you more than help you?

A sucker for love, yup!

There are questions we must ask ourselves and look for truthful answers: Am I pushing myself hard enough? If I stop now am I doing my body a favor or am I quitting because I'm wimping out?  Does my body love running long distance miles or are my aches begging me to stop? When is your drive for fitness doing more harm than good? Where do you draw the line between training and over training?

One of the topics of my Crossfit Certification is that when you are training well and eating well then your physical markers should all move toward health. Markers like cholesterol, blood pressure, a healthy weight, etc. should improve. When you start to leave that cushiony "health" area then you might start seeing red flags. Those are your objective answers to does "he" love me. Red flags were waving at me and I wasn't listening, so... my body finally made me listen.

FOR EXAMPLE:
Cholesterol Level:  Total Cholesterol: below 200:  He Loves Me
                                                         above 240:  He Loves Me not

A fitness Over-achiever? Possibly...

Flashback to a year ago, when I started to clean up my diet, my body responded instantly to my changes. Results were popping out all over the place encouraging me to carry on, green lights ahead. Every week my clothes felt looser, and I bounced on and off the scale with a shit-eating grin (ah, I miss those days). I felt happy and light on my feet, I was lifting heavy, could run long distances without getting hurt, and barely ever had sore muscles despite PR after PR. I got to do what I loved (lift heavy and workout at a high intensity) my body was happy and life was like a giant hunk of chocolate.

Life, like a delicious hunk of chocolate

Who Turned off the Music...Flash forward to current, and welcome the "he loves me not" stage. Recently, my blood and saliva test results show high cortisol and low progesterone levels. Turns out my body was waving a red flag as I was racing down the race track.  I was told my cortisol levels were elevated from my workouts, having that coupled with raising my two young daughters.  Yes, a bad, ugly, dirty word was thrown at me by my doctor: over-training. That's like telling Santa he gives too many presents. How could I have fallen off the healthy boat?

Signs of Over-training- Your Red Flags:

• Depression
• Elevated resting heart rate
• Inability to sleep (hyper alert)
• Irritability
• Injury
• Belly fat on a normally fit gut (endurance bikers tend to have this)

Somewhere between feeling like a hunk of chocolate and present, something did change. My mood had shifted from happy to more often grumpy.  And this is where mixed messages walk into the scene. The only thing that got rid of my grump mood was working out. WTH. What I was doing was making my body think it was being chased by a tiger (he loves me not). What I've seen objectively is excess weight (7 pound weight gain) and clothes that are shrinking or else I'm growing. Say it ain't so. This is what gets me the most. I haven't felt like I'm in control of my body shape. Take away that control and I get really angry as a victim. So I decided to address the issue head on and create my game plan: The Adrenal Smackdown of 2015. 

So it's my goal to keep up my level of fitness while telling those pesky red flags to eat my dust! There are a couple words to throw around losely- cortisol and adrenal fatigue. Here is my self-prescribed Smackdown.

Avoiding Stress AND Training Like A Warrior, Tips 
Any form of exercise will increase your corisol levels, but outside of exercise you want to keep calm. Keep your cortisol level low, otherwise your body will burnout with constant high cortisol, Physically, you'll develop more belly fat, a little baby pooch that looks like you are a few months pregnant with a cortisol child. Mentally, you will become unfocused, slow and short tempered and your digestion will be as reliable as a losing lottery ticket. Over the long haul, you develop adrenal fatigue which guarantees a cascade of hormonal disorganization.  Let's give cortisol the boot:

1. Avoid Stress by Being Present
Pretend you are me. And you have a 3 year old daughter who is talking to you as you are cooking dinner while searching for a website on your cell phone, then you start to think about your busy day ahead of you and poof as your 1 year old starts pulling on your pant leg screaming to be held- You, (as me) as a stress ball, ya, that just happened. Trying to do too many things at once is a fault of mine. This is what it is like to live utside of the present moment. Both of those result in a loss of could-be-epic moments. If you've ever partially had a conversation while tapping on your cell phone, then you know. Your mind can't be in two places at once. The most effective thing to do is one thing at a time, studies have proven that multi tasking actually works against you. Put your cell phones down. Focus on the here and now. Remember, your body is always present, it's your mind that needs to be reset.

2. Keep the majority of your workouts to an hour. 
On a regular basis, anything exceeding 45-60minutes of high intensity work outs runs you the risk of over-training, which leads to adrenal fatigue. So my last doctor's visit had me wide eyed and reaching for some adaptogenic herbs to slow my cortisol roll. And if you are there (guilty) then give yourself some time, adrenals can take up to 6 months to rebuild themselves. Also, if you are going to put in more time than that in the gym, try instead to break it up into two separate workouts with some good recovery between: think relaxation + hydration + quality foods

3. Get Your Amino Acids. And Eat Protein for Breakfast
Train like an athlete and eat like one by keeping your protein intake high. For me, that meant adding in protein shakes after my workouts. Especially since my workouts were often 2-a-days and I tend to not be hungry after either one. Thus my muscles were starving for nutrition.
"Give me Steak!" My muscles said
"I'm too busy not being present!" I said back
More info on the protein connection with cortisol can be read here, The Adrenal Reset Diet.  In the book, he also stresses the importance of eating a high protein breakfast to offset your naturally high morning cortisol. Because I am not a dairy kind of a girl, I have to avoid whey protein which knocks off about 70% of the protein shakes on the market. Thus I found a pea/cranberry/hemp protein powder to make my vegan wanna-be self happy:

4. A Deload Week every five weeks. I learned this from my gymnastics studio. They program in a deload week every 4th week but I extended mine an extra week. You can structure these as you wish, but the way it's done in gymnastics is a progressive style. That means the first week of the month the goal is to maintain your strength and allow your muscles and your body a break. Crossfitters tend to go all out 100% of the time, and in gymnastics they want to avoid you getting injured and avoid you getting fatigued and burnt out. I have come to love this strategy, I am working to see if I can keep up with it. The best way to do it is mark it on your calendar. And if you have competition training, structure your de-load weeks around that.

Week #1 - Easy, maintain strength, workout still but not to exhaustion

Week #2 - Easish, adding in more skill work

Week #3 - You are starting to work harder and you're going to be tired

Week #4 - You are going all out, badassery here, PR's could happen here. Recovery need to be optimal

Hope this helps you! I plan to keep you posted on my journey back towards health. 

Birds Eye View: Landing My First Bar Muscle Up.

BIG news on the fitness front!! Got my very first bar muscle up last weekend. I had been working on bar muscle ups for a few months but had recently put this goal on the back burner because I was not making progress. Everyone said I was strong enough to do them, but I doubted them because why else could I not get up there, dangit. Then one of my friends at the gym told me he was training to get his bar muscle ups

Instantly my competitive spirit began to rush motivating blood through me. Shortly after that,  I told him that I wanted to see who could get the first muscle up. Game on! I think a lot of times you put a big goal out into the universe and you get sent exactly what you need.

What I needed was three things:

Scott. The Man.

1) One on one training - which came in the form of Crossfit Masters Games winner Scott Olson
2) Motivation to get me pumped up - like the contest I established with my friend. It could be competing in an event. There was a girl who had never done ring muscle ups, who did a big Crossfit competition and got her first muscle up, just like that.
3) Physical exhaustion to silence my over-thinking mind - I got my first muscle ups post max front squat+ heavy clean and jerks. It was after a grueling 2-hour workout that Scott Olson looked at my red, sweaty face and asked if I wanted to work on getting a muscle up. While I thought, "I'm physically pooped" there was no way I would turn down the opportunity. My first attempt with Scott, I got up there. I was shocked and elated.

The top of a muscle up - perch position

If you don't know what a muscle up is- its where you hang from a bar (a pull up bar would do) and pull yourself to the top. The skills it uses are pull ups and dips but with explosive power. You want to end up where a gymnast would perch right before a big move on the uneven bars.  Here are some of the most helpful instructional videos I watched to help me get up to the bar.

A video with one of my fav people: Matt Chan teaching efficiency tips

And when it comes to learning the technique, here's where your volume needs to be focused:

• Pull ups - Kipping and strict pull ups. I did the biggest kip of my life to get my muscle up but you also need to have the strength of strict pull ups
• Toes to bar  (kipping)- Strength and explosive power in your hips, to "pop" you to the top
• Hollow holds - Gymnastics style hollow holds. Hold for 45 seconds and repeat 3 times. You want massive core strength.
• Chest to bar pull ups - After you are good at chest to bar pull ups, then work on pulling your hips to the bar. 
• Ring dips - You need a lot of upper body strength - dips are super charged muscle builders

The most efficient (and darn right beautiful) muscle ups I've ever seen:

Mmmm Kay, When you know you are strong enough and are ready to tackle the bar muscle up - here are the most important tricks to remember:

1. Stand back a little ways from the bar so you can jump into it. I stood back about 4 feet, but you might need more if you are taller
2. Give the biggest, most powerful kip of your life
3. Pull your hips up to the bar - you want to be parallel to the floor as much as you can
4. Keep your arms straight as much as you can to maintain your strength. Bent arms will work but you might end up burning out faster and you are very likely to end up having chicken wing arms to get you up there
5. After you kip out, you will pull back and then do the fastest sit up of your life to sit over the bar. Try not to use your tummy too much because you can get injured that way but when first starting off, just do what ever it takes!

Programming Your Workouts - Custom Fit Fitness

People at my gym have asked about the tattoo on my left wrist. When I show them that it's just pen mark, I have to explain that it's my workout written out. Usually the night before I go to the gym, I plan out what I'm going to work on and create a workout for myself. Right before I leave for the gym, I write down the workout on my wrist- if I don't think I can remember the whole thing. This is programming your workout (though you don't have to write yours on your wrist.)  And I'm about to help you program your workouts, focusing on functionality, simplicity and and frequency.

One day a week needs to HURT. One of my favorite things is to turn my face bright red and leave the gym dripping in sweat. Hense, I created a "Red Face Friday" contract with my body. This means that on Fridays, I do whatever is necessary to make my face red during and after my workout. Since speed usually does the trick- then sprints, burpees and intensity are part of my Friday workout prescription. Pushing past barriers no matter what your mindset or circumstances, creates mental toughness. There is no optional Red Face Friday for me, I just know I have to do it.

Work Your Weakness: The most obvious benefit to programming your workouts for yourself, is that you can attack your weaknesses head on. For instance, my weaknesses, which are posted on my fridge, are double unders and muscle ups. It's up to me (and only me) to add those into my workouts and get them off my weakness list.  I am not saying it's easy by any means, it requires work, but the rewards are huge. Working your weaknesses will improve other areas of your fitness through skill transfer. This means if you can improve one weakness, your hard work will show itself somewhere else in another move.

Add Variance (Pretty) Please: Who wants to have the same hair style for 40 years, Hell No. Life is about change and flow, Life is a river, it's not the rock. Variance instills the unconditional love of working out, because nothing stays the same so you are constantly drawn back in. There's a yoga class at my gym that I loved going to but once I memorized the program and realized we were doing exactly the same moves, in the same order, every week - I lost interest. Design your workout to use different machines and do different moves, even if it takes planning and feels a little uncomfortable. What's easy is hopping on the same cardio machine and doing the same workout every time you hit the gym. But that bores me. Routine bores most of us...eventually, but it is comfortable. Remember, comfort and growth are mortal enemies. If you want to be comfortable in the gym, that's fine; do that for a while until you are ready to blossom. When you're ready to see physical changes that will knock your socks off, get yourself out of a gym routine.

Frequency: If you need a little assistance, a cheat sheet from Crossfit which helps if you are looking to improve ALL areas of fitness: Cardio, Strength and Skill simultaneously. It essentially means that your week would be working out 3 days on, then 1 day off, and then repeat. This works best for you die hards because it pushes your body to it's peak ability by the 3rd day. By the 4th day, you would not be able to give it 100% so that becomes a rest day. Others like me who need to split their mornings equally between fitness and family time have to change it up. My workout schedule is more like M-W-F for morning solo workouts. I like to think of the other days as rest days but I'm not actually resting. Usually on the other days the intensity is less or I'm playing racquetball without training.


Keep it simple. Sure, you can bring your fitness magazine and start doing all the strange moves the beautiful models are doing. But I only ask that you make sure to focus on the functional movements. Two of my fitness besties are squats and push ups which are super functional and have unlimited variations. What are functional moves? Every time you go to the bathroom, you are squatting - so that makes squats functional. When you lean over to pick up something, you are deadlifting, so deadlifting is functional. Functional is your friend that keeps you from getting hurt in the real world. Because you shouldn't have a heart attack from snow shoveling, and you shouldn't break your back when you lift something heavy. Your body should be treated well by lifting heavy things and by teaching how to move properly.

Programming help from Crossfit's methodology:

Crossfit Modalities:
G = Gymnastics/bodyweight
M= Metabolic Conditioning
W= Weightlifting

G. Body Weight/Gymnastics:         

Squats - pistol squats or two legged
Pull-ups - assisted, strict, kipping, butterfly, with weight belt
Push-ups -diamond, wide grip, decline, on your knees, one handed
Dips - on a box, on rings, assisted
Handstands - against the wall, free standing, facing wall
Sit-ups/ V- Ups/toes to bar/knees to elbow
Jumps - broad, vertical, box
Lunges - with weight plate, with barbell, frontwards/backwards, with kettlebells
Hollow holds - hand in air or hands by your side
Planks - high/low

M. Plus one of these:

Run - sprints, intervals, slow, fast
Bike -  sprints, intervals, slow, fast
Row - sprints, intervals, slow, fast
Jump Rope - double/single, running, backwards

W. Then work on one of these:

Deadlifts - sumo, deficit, Romanian, snatch grip
Cleans - hang, power, squat
Presses - push, bench
Squats - front, back, overhead
Snatch - power, squat
Clean and Jerk - barbell or kettlebell
Kettlebells - swings, snatches, around the world

For some sample workouts, go here or here. Otherwise, start getting creative with the lists above.
W+M one day, then M alone one day, then G + W + M one day. It's endless.

Hope that helps! Best of luck in your programming and don't forget to add in your weaknesses. Feel free to Red-Face-Friday with me, company is always welcome!