Can't say it enough..leave your ego at the door..and HAND CARE!!

Ego...oh boy..where do I begin. I have to keep details to myself.... But I will still get try and get my message across.

I looked up the definition of Ego -well like everything else I do..I googled it

1. e·go

   /ˈēgō/

   Noun A person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance: "a boost to my ego". The part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of...

   
   

   So that's where my story tonight begins. I have to apologize first for my lack of posting consistently. Tuesdays are crazy well every other Tuesday that is. I do the Comp WOD, Oly class then train my kiddos. I have added a strength element in as well so sometimes I have barely enough time to shove something in my pie hole in between it all. Thank heavens for Chipotle' I will post that shortly.
   Anyway. So I talk all inspirational - be tough, do this, be strong, do that. I crumbled yesterday. This is a form of true confession. 
   Sometimes, you think you are doing a good job. You work hard, you put the work in, you have a good understanding of how you affect something and what goals are and how to get to them. Sometimes statistics from things you rarely have control over tell you otherwise. So this happened to me. I am not saying how. I have to keep those details to myself kind of. BUT I had a crushing day yesterday. When I left work and headed to gym, my mind was racing, I was so mad. Why was I mad? ego. I let something get to my ego..something that I didn't need to. I got to the box...and I realized..it's true. I CrossFit because people piss me off. CrossFit Lisbeth says it well. I will include the link so you can read this in its entirety but this is hands down my favorite part:
   
   
   "I CrossFit because people piss me off.
   It’s not the only reason I CrossFit, but I’d be lying if I said I just CrossFit because it makes the sun shine and the earth spin and some other shit that’s kinda important. Makes me healthier, happier, blahblahblah.
   No, I CrossFit sometimes because people can be miserable rat bastards. And professional jerks. (“What do you do?” “Oh, I’m a Professional Idiot!”) And a-holes. And they come and find you, no matter where you work, no matter what kind of armor you wear. No matter how sunny your outlook. They’re amazing that way. 90% of people are fantastic, but that other 10%? TDB. (I’m going to leave you to figure that one out on your own.)"
   http://crossfitlisbeth.com/2012/10/25/i-crossfit-because-people-piss-me-off/
   
   Anyway- the person who ruined my day..wasn't their fault. A messenger delivering not the best news. I got into the box. I wodded, I lifted, I trained. And something happened. Even if it was ever so slight...my attitude changed a little. Then I realized. And it took me literally most of the day today to realize, I let my ego get the best of me. I am constantly preaching to check your ego at the door..and I personally forgot. Shame on me. The long and the short of it is this. There are going to be some things that happen in your daily life you can't control. Only you can decide how you are going to let that impact you. Me? I had a serious look of distraught on my face I am guessing and even after venting, I didn't feel better..after lifting..I did. There is a lesson to be learned in here somewhere..I think what it is could be something that leads back to what I am always saying, check your ego at the door, control only the things you really can control, and I guess if people piss you off you might want to try CrossFit? He he. No in all seriousness, never forget or lose sight of your self worth. If you think you are doing a good or even great job? you probably are. Embrace it and be prepared to crumble every now and then. It happens. Even to the strongest of us.
   
   ON TO SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT....HAND CARE!!! 
   Damnit Jo. 
   
   

   

   Gross I know...Jo sent this to me tonight and this prompted my next rant. TAKE CARE OF YOUR HANDS. I am not saying Jo didn't. Care means more than just prepping them before a WOD you KNOW is going to possibly result in a tear. This means get familiar enough with your hands and be ok if you start to tear you are NO LONGER doing that movement-modify!! that's the glory of CrossFit, scaleable and modifiable. Tears happen we all know this - with the open around the corner I personally am not risking a tear just to RX a WOD. A tear like this will take Jo out for a week at least. You have some options.

   
   

   1. Invest in some gloves. These do NOT have to be fancy CrossFit gloves. Yes I have some. My Christmas gift from my kiddos. Monday my skin started to pull, we all know this feeling, I gloved up that hand and finished my 90 pull ups. It's not ideal, they throw your game off just a little but to save a tear it's worth it. I have seen under armour receivers gloves, I have seen garden gloves I have seen cut up sham wows. There are options to protect the hands. Try and figure out what might work best for you.

   
   

   2. This is a little trick I learned from Liz, those disposable razors we all throw away- put them to good use. Carefully shave those callouses. I do this while I am in the shower while my hands are all old lady like. Use a pumice stone-I don't do this I prefer emery boards but same end result. Make sure after a wod where those hands take a beating you are taking the time to prepare them for the next one. 

   
   

   3. If you are tearing, STOP- think about how long it will be before you are doing pull ups again or wrapping your hands around a barbell again, stop and tape but for the love of everything holy don't go to blood.

   
   

   4. Maybe go easier on the chalk. Now this is a controversial one. I remember when I did my Level 1 Cert and on that first day we got to do Fran. I recall someone asking Chris Speallor if they had chalk- I remember him saying yes we have some chalk but (something to the effect of ) I don't recommend it, it's not necessary and chalk causes friction which leads to tears. If you ask Kat, she will also tell you the same thing- if you have to chalk make it ever so slight-she rarely chalks more than skiff and she rarely tears. There are many different opinions on this but try different things but most importantly do NOT let it get to a tear if you can possibly avoid it. It takes you out for too long!

   
   

   5. Ice bath those hands. I know, sounds crazy eh? Just like you ice bath those legs after a marathon or Sunday Night Sprints (which I am missing like MAD right now) ice bath the hands. After doing lots of pull ups or bar work my hands will throb through the night. Lately it has been so damn cold I have been avoiding doing this but after Mondays wod (90 pullups) it was necessary. I iced bathed and I was good to go on Tuesday. 

   
   

   6 Lastly-keep it clean-try aquaphor, neosporin or whatever witch remedy you have been told helps. Try covering it at night and do your best to keep it clean.

   
   

   That's it folks. That's my Wednesday wisdom. Take it for what it is worth!

   
   
   
   

Thank you Alex Terry, and some food stuff...

I am sure that many of you have seen this posted all over Facebook. But I can't help but repeat it. 
At CrossFit 22 on Saturday an event was held to help out a family with a son struggling with brain cancer. This event, although as hard as it was to see young Alex not feeling well, probably changed a small part of me forever for the better. In fact, it was at this moment when this picture was taken I realized how truly blessed I am.  This is why I am thanking Alex Terry and his family, for allowing me the opportunity to do something good for someone else. I appreciate the chance and I will be holding this little family in my thoughts and prayers.

CrossFit 22 Angels for Alex

This photo was taken right before the Terrys took Alex home. It had been an exhausting and overwhelming day for him at this point. He was coughing and really struggling and although we all really wanted to get a picture with him it broke my heart to watch this little man struggle. What was most impressive was the love an patience shown by his parents. Wow. Talk about angels. I am so proud to have been able to say that I was part of this amazing experience. I want to thank my family for allowing this to take place at their business. There is so much that goes into pulling off an event such as this with as much class and style as they did. And yes. It made the news. Channel 2. Its a great video. Watch it if you get the chance. Here is another photo that might give you a small idea of how many athletes showed up. I think many people had left by this time. I would guess it was about 130 athletes that actually participated (this is a complete guess). What an awesome sight to see. And again. This is one of the reasons I love the CrossFit Community. People showed up an opened their hearts and their wallets like nothing I personally have ever since before. I have renewed sense as to the fact that there is really so many good people in this world.

I will keep my food business brief. I am kind of excited to post my first recipe that I did not get from any other blog or website. I am sure I have see a variation of this maybe in the past but this is one I created as I went along today. I will call them Sweet, Bacon, Turkey and Sausage muffins.

Ingredients needed

1 medium sweet potato

1 package ground turkey

3 links hot italian turkey sausage ( i just push this out of the casing)

parsley( I used about 1/2 a bunch)

red onion I(i used about 1/4 and diced well)

bacon

seasonings of your choice

1 egg

almond flour ( egg and flour to bind only use your best discretion)

Mix all above ingredients together with the exception of the sweet potato.

Slice your sweet potato thin. I used the medium slicer on this contraption I bought a while ago. I need I would need it someday. Place sweet potato slice on the bottom in your muffin tin (cupcake liners are not really necessary I was thinking the sweet potato might stick that is why I used them)

I then layered 1/2 piece of bacon, meat mix-only fill them up about 3/4 of the way. Place another slice of sweet potato, tuck in the end of the bacon (i laid it across the muffin spot length wise) and more meat mix on top. You CAN kind of build these up over the top they do shrink up so be generous. I cooked on 350 for about 30 minutes. Just depending on how thick your sweet potato is you may need to cook longer. 

The finished product is delicious. That's it kiddos. My first very own recipe. 

With the leftover sweet potatoes I simply put them on a cookie sheet-mixed them with a little olive oil and salt and pepper and I have yet another delicious little snack. These will be great for post WOD.

I am making the twice baked cauliflower again tomorrow. I love it. I am creature of habit I can pretty much eat the same things over and over.

I did add one little morsel of goodness and thanks to Shannen for letting me in on a new way of cooking eggs. Heat oven to 350 I put a small cookie sheet on the lower of the 2 racks and stuck my eggs right on the top rack-baked them for approx 30 min then put them right into an ice bath. I know it seems more complicated than just boiling them but as she promised they were easier to peel and surprisingly enough the yoke was much creamier.

I made paleo deviled eggs- no real recipe. I used the items below:

8 eggs baked, peeled, yokes removed and sliced in half

1 lime

1/2 large avocado

spicy brown mustard

seasonings of my choice (as seen below)

Super simple. Throw the yokes into a bowl add that avocado, lime and seasonings to taste. Please taste this it can get super salty real quick. Get that mixture nice and smooth and spoon back into the eggs. DELICIOUS!

The only other thing food related I have for you. I have reconnected with my love for my own salsa. I realized today how great this is. It's fresh and pretty easy to make. I had some today with my fried eggs, lathered it right over the top. Amazing! I will post a recipe later this week. 

Well nice job Ravens. That was a decent game. Even though I am actually a Niners fan I felt it ok for them to win-because of Ray Lewis of course!!

Hope everyone has a GREAT week- if you didn't get to food prep-try and carve out some time to get it done early on or when you do cook- make extra so you have leftovers. Here is to a great week and welcome to February!!

Angels for Alex is finally here! and why before and after pics are necessary

I don't have a lot for a Friday. It's been a long crazy week and just so glad I made it to Friday without losing my mind.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day for CF22. I can't imagine the work that Kat, Liz, Andy, Matt, Jake, Garrett...Just to name a few have put into making sure this event matches the class of our box. I am sure its been stressful as the event has gathered a large number of people and thinking from the business aspect of it all, you get a lot of bodies in a gym and they start throwing weights around and throwing themselves on the floor the first concern will always be everyone's safety. But I say this with all the confidence I have, if anyone can pull this event off - it will be CF22. I am sure I will there late tonight getting things prepped for tomorrow and I am so happy to help. It's going to be amazing. If you have a minute go through the blog that Alex's parents have. Its a good read. Get some tissues though. What an awesome family and amazing kid.
http://www.kathyhterry.blogspot.com/

Meet Alex. What a little soldier!

If you are still interested in doing this-I am certain you can still register and if you just want to show up an maybe volunteer (doing what I don't know) or you are curious to see how classy CF22 really is-this is great event.
  http://angelsforalex.wodhub.com/

Bring your dollars there is going to be a raffle. I personally want to thank WOD Love Clothing for donating some items. It's always nerve racking for me to ask for anything. I am just that independent of a person. They were amazing-sent more than I could have ever asked for and I am excited to snap some pics of the winners of their items to share with them. Thanks Ladies.

LAST AND CERTAINLY NOT LEAST: This is why I PREACH before and after pictures- lets check in with Jo-

You should remember Jo. She is one of my first before and afters. I have been slacking on my stories but I have a really good one for next week.
ANYWHO....This is why this is so important. Now I think Jo and I might be obsessed with our middles. Not sure why must bet that area we are both working to improve. If you are working to improve arms or legs or whatever just make sure they are in the picture.
So here you go. These 3 pictures are from the first challenge Jo did as well as a second challenge and now the current challenge. What if she didn't have these pictures tracking her progress? You see yourself everyday! And sometimes its hard for you to see your progress. TAKE PICTURES AND TAKE THEM OFTEN! When you are having a SH*T day (sorry as always Mom) you go back to were you were, where you are and that gets you to where you need to be.
Thanks Jo for always being a sport.

 

These pictures are in an odd order. The top pick is challenge 2- bottom pics are challenge 1 and the picture she took before this challenge started on Monday.

 

Keep pushing all-keep taking pictures and hope to see you all out at CF22 tomorrow!

 

Meatza and Mash..and oh..THE OPEN REGISTRATION IS HERE!!!

I normally do all my food posting on Sunday. But, I promised twice baked cauliflower and I might as well throw in a meatza!

The Meatza is a recipe that I got from Andy Gunther and then just kind of tweaked it a little. The things I love about meatza, easy to make, very tweakable with any ingredients, easy to pack but most of all delicious and FILLING!!!

Push the meatza crust all the way out to the end of the pan-you may want a  pan or foil underneath to catch juice

The "crust" ingredients I use are ground turkey and that turkey hot italian sausage that I love so much. 
Here is my take for this recipe
1 pkg ground turkey
3 links turkey italian hot sausage(any sausage is fine I am sure)
almond flour
egg
seasonings of your choice (I use greek, garlic, pepper, and sometimes basil and rosemary)
Mix all this goodness together- REMEMBER that the flour and egg are to bind only don't go crazy.
I cook the crust on about 350 for about 20 minutes or so-when it comes out, don't be shocked here, I drain all the juice off and blot it with paper towels. Trust me. You will want to do this.
The toppings can really be anything. My staples are:
green pepper
kale
red pepper
yellow squash 
onion
mushrooms
kapers or olives

Tomato sauce can be easy or complicated. This time I opted for easy I took a small can  of diced tomatoes and added some tomato paste to give it that robust tomato flavor and gave that a whirl in the food processor. Otherwise you can cut up your tomatoes with some onion and basil roast them then also throw them in the food processor. Again-you can do anything with recipe that is why I love it.

Put your sauce on, load it up with toppings and then cook it for approx another 20 minutes or so to your liking.

The finished product is delicious!

Next. I promised twice baked cauliflower. I have a few tweaks for this. For you challengers if you are avoiding dairy -not a recipe for you. i was able to tweak out some of the dairy but not all of it. So this might be on that will have to wait for some of you or if someone can figure a good nondairy substitute for yogurt? Here is the link for this recipe

http://paleospirit.com/2011/twice-baked-cauliflower/

My recommendations- I made this to the recipe with the exception that I used coconut milk and on the cheese I sprinkled just a very little tiny bit of grated pepper jack -orange cheese gives me the heebie jeebies. I also would HIGHLY recommend using maybe real or bottled crushed garlic and not use the powder and either pull WAY back on the salt or omit it completely. It was SUPER salty.

Delicious-just realized I took the pic before I put the scallions on-don't skip this they kind of make the dish!

And...last but not least...HOLY SHIZ!!! THE REGISTRATION FOR THE OPEN STARTS TODAY-GET SIGNED UP...DON'T WASTE A DAY THINKING ABOUT IT. GET COMMITTED TODAY!! I made a little video-I think more for self motivation than anything. I had to text Terry and Mandy Rose last night because a year ago Mandy had to literally twist my arm to get me to even consider doing the open. And Friday Night Lights won't be completely the same without the Roses' but knowing they are pulling for ALL of us makes it ok I suppose :) 

Guys we have been working SO hard. This is our time. Our time to show what we all are made of. I would encourage you, if you have even thought about participating you just sign up and do it. You will watch our box transform into something you have NEVER seen before and you will have the TIME OF YOUR LIFE. If you don't, you can sucker punch me!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gLpe0ynzYs&feature=player_detailpage

Happy Wednesday All- so excited for March and the Open!! Lets all work hard and smart and get our minds and body ready and avoid all injuries!! Eat Clean and of course TRAIN DIRTY!!!

I can't stress it enough, keep it simple...

Sunday, Funday, Food prep day...

With a nutrition challenge at CF22 starting I thought now would be a good time, since I am not doing it, to share my tips. These are just things I do to try and stay on track.

Why am I not doing it you ask? I do pretty decent when I am not doing a challenge. When I am doing a challenge...oh boy...I have issues. I don't know why. I think because I feel that I have pretty good control and for some reason when I commit to do a challenge all of the sudden everything I have no issue with otherwise becomes an issue.
So here it goes

1. TAKE "BEFORE" PICTURES TODAY!! DO IT NOW!!

Why do I recommend this? The one thing that I failed to do when I decided Paleo was for me, was to document my progress. I didn't have a good solid before picture. I was blessed that someone snapped some pics of me along the way. And although I am not doing the challenge, I took a before pic. Why? because I had a starchy week last week and I am struggling a little. I do this from time to time. I will take a pic and refer to it often. I may even take a pic each week but I would think every other week is sufficient. My goal is to get this midsection under control. So here is my before. If I can put my pic out there, you can at least just take one. I recommend a full body pic but I have my eye on the middle.

There is some serious room for improvement here.

This is a suggestion only, I just think that if you don't do it. You will wish you had.

 

 

2. KEEP IT SIMPLE.

 

All of it. The eating-the meal prep-the tracking. Keep it simple. It's a lot to do this time but it's a point system so if you can track it on a spreadsheet or your phone. DO IT.

I would say if you are new to Paleo and a challenge now may not be a time to try a bunch of complicated recipes. Keep it simple. Then once you get comfortable you try some recipes. Here is one I love to do and its so simple. I eat this for breakfast on the weekend sometimes...just put an egg on it to make it feel like "breakfast". Its simple-and so messy! Romaine or butter lettuce-tomato-avocado-bacon of course and an egg-I like to throw a little mustard on the lettuce. So there it is breakfast BLT. Simple, messy and oh so delicious.

 





 

Here is another good and quick idea, especially if you are wondering how you are going to pass up those hot wings on Super Bowl Sunday. This is NOT the first time I have posted this and honestly I think you could tweak this one however you like. It's just so simple that is what I love about it

I actually got this recipe off Marias blog (Optimal Nutrition). It's so easy and no kidding I probably do this 2 times a month. Here is my version. I use 2 packages of the boneless skinless chicken thighs from Costco. I try and trim some of the excess fat. I think there are 4 or 5 to a package. I actually season them up with some greek seasoning, a little onion powder and garlic powder and cracked pepper. I then just simply pour Franks Red hot over it. If you read the ingredients on Franks, I am certain they are all legal-cayenne, water, salt, vinegar and garlic powder. Just cover the thighs and put that crock pot on high for about 6 hours and then put them on a pan-pour that goodness over the top and broil them. They are over the top delicious. 

 

3. WATER INTAKE- don't freak out about this.

 

It may seem like you are being required to drink a lot of water. Trust me 64 ounces is not too much water. You should be drinking that anyway, however, you don't really need to go much more. I personally try and get 99 ounces- which is 3 of the Costco 33 ounce water bottles. It doesn't always happen. When I eat lots of leafy greens. I rarely get 99 in. The one thing I noticed immediately when I started drinking more water. MY SKIN LOOKED BETTER. So if for no other reason. Get that water in but don't go crazy.

 

And lastly

4. BE HONEST: Be honest with your team mate and be honest with yourself. I look at it like this. If you are ALL on ALL the time you are to be commended and have no business doing the challenge.

Reach out to your team mate when you are feeling weak or you want to cheat. There are so many variables in this challenge. If you have a bad eating day-turn the page and get right back on it tomorrow. But for the love of everything holy- at the end of the day what the challenge is REALLY for is to help you get on track and stay and track AND to be ready for the OPEN!!!  It's not about the prize at the end of the road. Your prize will be that you will perform better as an athlete and also you are basically saving your own life!

 

I am always open to questions if you have them. I think that Kat, Liz, Andy, Amy, Matt, Maria, Anyone who has done a challenge is a good source of info. Talk to us. Let us help you. Don't be afraid to grab one of us and find out what we are doing and how we are doing it. I think the goal is to get you all to succeed and if you can't do it alone, no worries, that is what we all have each other for.

 

I have some additional awesome recipes that I will post during the week. Twice baked cauliflower? a great way to cook brussel sprouts? I am sick of breakfast?

Good Luck everyone. I am with you in spirit. I have my own challenge going on. I am here if you need me. Text me, call me, email me, stop me at the box. I am so excited for you all! The Open starts in 38 days....

I need more REST!! and...are you content to simply just exist?

FIRST- thanks to Shannen for sharing this with me. At first I thought she was mocking me. But then I quickly realized...she digs my blog. :)
It's not for everyone but when I started this I warned readers what my loves are. Might sound like a broken record from time to time but, HEY, this is MY life no BS.

Another GREAT week gone. What a whirlwind of a crazy week-seems like on weeks where there is a holiday on Monday the week DRAGGSSS. But for some reason this week seemed crazy busy to me.
This week was good for several reasons. I PR'd a few times which is always good. BUT, I was humbled as well.
I always preach about rest. I feel like I am standing in a glass house throwing rocks right now. Tomorrow will be my first "rest" day in 2 weeks. BAD. And I am considering going snowshoeing...double bad. Active recovery I keep telling myself.

HA HA HA HA random but I love this!!

How was I humbled you ask? 2 days of completely sucking at wods that I should have been able to power through. Yesterday I could barely squat clean 135# while I was trying to get a new PR when my old PR is 140. Today the WOD was totally manageable. Air squats, chest to bar and hang snatch. Tough but not complicated, not a high rep scheme. I should have been able to get this one. NOPE. Last one finished today. I don't really care about being last but I do care about struggling through movements and feeling sluggish and tired and sore. Not good EVER! I have to remember..even a badass can get wiped out.

With the Open rapidly approaching I am getting a little crazy and freaked out and I want to make sure that I am doing everything that I can to be ready.But during this time I also need to be smart. The more fatigued you are the more vulnerable you become to injury. I have a goal to finish in the top 100 women in my age group and honestly, as much as I would like to believe this is achievable for me, that self doubt creeps in. Lets be honest. It happens, and if it doesn't happen to you then good damn job but I would hope that most people are humble enough to realize that there are a large number of people with the same hope and desires that you have and it could be the ONE movement that you aren't efficient at that could crush your dream. Seem dramatic? Nope just realistic. 

Back to rest. This has been running through my head. "a body in motion tends to stay in motion.. a body in rest tends to stay in rest"
This has ALSO been running through my head. The CrossFit prescription for rest is 3 days on 1 day off. Why is this so hard for me to do? Could be because I think I am invincible. 

Last night after wodding I was talking with a coach (who also happens to be my sis Kat) about this. She first pointed out that I am too old to only rest 1 day a week, not offended at all by this I own being 46. I earned every dam year of this life the hard way. Secondly she also pointed out that just because a WOD is posted I don't have to do it. I wish that I could just accept this. Right now I am having a super hard time balancing when do I pull back? when do I do a comp WOD vs regular WOD? when do I rest? what happens if I rest and miss a killer WOD? Nothing. What happens if I get injured? enough said right? If you see me. Ask me if I have rested yet this week. I need help folks.


ARE YOU CONTENT SIMPLY EXISTING?
A conversation with a not so close person prompted this rant. 
What would life be like if you had NO goals. If you woke up everyday and your only goal was to make it to the end of the day? I mean I guess if just making it to the end of a day is ok with you then so be it but here is how I live my life.
I may at times live day to day but I never, NEVER will settle for just existing. I get up everyday with the hope and the desire to be better that day than I was yesterday. 
This is easier said but done and is never just workout or eating related. This is in every aspect of my life. Lets face it. I am not getting any younger folks. The one thing I have always had regrets about was that I wasted some years of my life living unhappy and not healthy. And there are times now when I look back at that and wonder what if? what if I had the desire, drive, ambition and mind set back then that I have now? 
Sometimes in life we make not so good choices. We also suffer the consequences of those bad choices. Everyone has shit that happens to them. The reality of that is that you can decide how you are going to let that effect you. Do you let that guide your path into self destruction? Hell NO. You have to use that experience to push you to make better choices, to change what you might think is unchangeable, you learn and you grow and then you do NOT make that choice again. It appears to be simple but I know how hard it is.
I feel bad for people that feel like if their life is in the shitter there is nothing they can do with it and they use terms like "well this is the card I was dealt" WHAT A FREAKING CROCK OF SHIT. Sorry Mom about my cussing if you read this. I am kind of passionate about this topic. When I play cards there is usually DISCARD pile. You don't have to keep that card. You can throw it away and move the efff on. It's rarely easy and it could possibly be very lonely.
My advise. Surround yourself with people who have the same goals and desires that you have. Surround yourself with people who are positive and motivated. Avoid the bottom feeders and the "bring you downers". Could you imagine being around a group of people who actually pushed you to be better and supported you? 
I don't have to imagine it. I do it. I like to refer to them as suckers. And I mean this in the nicest way. Granted I have met many of these people at the box I CrossFit at. That's the funny thing. They don't show up and simply exist. They show up with 1 goal. To be better today than they were yesterday and I am not talking about just having a better FRAN time...
I really like hanging around with with people who aren't content to simply exist...don't you?

Just handing around with people who want to just be better. Amanda, Alyssa, Jo and Myself

Do you have to be athletic to be an athlete?... and that pivotal moment when you JUST KNOW

This question has been weighing heavy on my mind. Do you have to be athletic to be an athlete? I think about this often. During my past 2 years and my journey through CrossFit I have loved the fact that I get referred to as an "athlete". 
Do I think at times that athletic people maybe have a slight advantage? eh.. kind of. I would have to use my son as an example here. A former NCAA Div 1 athlete and although his college career ended premature with an ACL tear and replacement, this week in a wod the kid picked up a bar and did a perfect snatch...10 times-case and point- the athlete might have better muscle memory? I was in awe and I was kind of pissed. Mostly because snatch is something I struggle with. For my non CF readers. The snatch movement is one that, like the OH squat, is technical and pretty difficult to master and could go oh so wrong in the blink of an eye.
So I insert a pic here I took Tuesday night. Wish I would have had the where with all to snap his form I just thought about it too late..so here he is watching his wife do burpees...love LOVE training these kids. So fun. Last night I created their own little wod titled "Satan's Ladder" they killed it!
In Summary AND IN MY OPINION- No you don't have to be "athletic" to be considered an Athlete. Two very different athletes in this picture below. Doing the same thing.

Not sure why my son is just chillin watching his wife do burpees

Moving on. If I can say one thing I have struggled with the most is body awareness. My mind can process the mechanics of a movement..and I think my body is doing it but then....I look in the mirror and holy disaster. So today I post because on Wednesday I had a pivotal moment. I had a moment where I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the work I have been putting in is starting to pay off.
Enter the OH squat. Now. Those of you who wod with me probably already know that squat..in any form is something that I would refer to as my nemesis. Those needing translation-this is straight from Webster

1

capitalized: the Greek goddess of retributive justice

2

pluralnem·e·ses \-ˌsēz\

a: one that inflicts retribution or vengeance

b: a formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent

Both definitions very fitting, greek goddess , because I am one (ha) and a formidable and USUALLY victorious rival or opponent

GOOD BYE NEMESIS...THERE IS NO ROOM FOR YOU IN MY WORLD ANY LONGER. 

Last night, along with the encouragement and support of Amanda and her Momma Laura. I Pr'd my OH squat and with remarkable form at a whopping 115#. 

This is the thing. I know that Amanda is stronger than me. Honestly at times I get a little intimidated when I lift with her. The thing with that is, it pushes me. Its been since November that I have been able to even complete an OH squat over 75 lbs. I jacked both of my wrists bailing out of front squats.  Last night I was beyond determined to PR my OH. Personal record on my Overhead squat. 

Enter the pics. Amanda easily getting 115#....me...well, I dropped this one but I shook my arms out..said something profound that probably sounded more like gibberish when it came out. And I went after it again and got it. 

That's yet another PR for me this week. 

Amanda easily gets 115# 

Possibly could have been the power of the purple???

So I guess what I am taking forever to say. There is a moment-the pivotal moment if you will, where you know- even if you have questioned what you were doing while you were on that path- that you just know that it's ALL FOR SOMETHING. This isn't just about getting a PR in the gym. This could be applied to anything you do. I truly believe that if you want and work hard enough for something-you will get it. You WILL achieve it. 

I bring up again Laura-Amandas Mom-as we went through this ladder of OH squats she talked about how she overcame her fear this same night of jumping. She talked about how on just Monday of this week she stood petrified in front of a box unable to jump and how on this night- the night of pivotal moments- she jumped. And her eyes sparkled and she smiled! Awesome

That's it folks. It's all I have. What a week so far. I end with a little CrossFit Lisbeth 

Things of Might

Things of might are not born that way.

They become mighty, after years of work. They make themselves, with help from others.

Things of might are born much, much less.

Why do you think it would be any different for you?

Finish the week off strong friends. The only thing standing between you and you...is YOU!