Embracing the CrossFit lifestyle

Meet Sandi....a loving, dedicated mother to two handsome boys, a wife, and a CrossFitting bad ass!!!  I have known Sandi for about 4 years now, and have never seen her THIS happy and in charge of her health and fitness.  Once she tried the January CFRR Free For All, it didn't take long for her to dive in head first.  She now attends my M/W/F 5:15pm Ladies Only program, and let me tell you...she is a force to be reckoned with!!!  Here, in her own words, she talks about her journey, and how she embraced the CrossFit lifestyle:

"I started classes twice a week in February and know in my heart that I will never quit CrossFit. I do WOD's on my days away from CFRR because I love it...it makes me feel so good to not even want to find excuses to not work out. I mean really - I can do a workout in 15 to 20 minutes - sometimes less! There is NO excuse!!! Thanks to the CFRR family, I hear coach's & friend's voices encouraging me even when I'm not at the box!

I have lost a total of 4.6 lbs, 5.51% body fat and 7.5 inches!

I have honestly never felt as strong as I do now. Strong - physically...I flex in front of the mirror - I can SEE muscles, I can pick up my sons with no problem - no more back pain (thanks to my now stronger core), I can do push ups on my toes - many of them! I ran a 5k in July in record time for me - 32:10...I love it! I constantly want to push myself in ways I didn't know I could. I'm even training for my first CrossFit competition, Fight Gone Bad 6, and couldn't be more excited!!!

Strong - mentally - I have THE most confidence in myself and my abilities to do anything than I have EVER had in my 39 years. I am more outgoing, I am truly happy with who I am, what I see in the mirror, what I wear, and most importantly for me, what decisions I make. I don't say "I can't" anymore....because I can...I can do things at CFRR that I have never done before - so if I can do it there - I know I CAN anywhere!"

BRAVO Sandi!!!  I'm SO proud of all that you have accomplished and I'm most proud of the fact that by embracing the CrossFit lifestyle, you empowered yourself as a woman.  Can't wait to cheer you on at FGB6, keep on, keepin' on!!!

-Coach Ag

"Strong is the new Sexy"

What makes you laugh??

Can your dog do this??  Neither can mine, but it makes me laugh every time I see this picture!!  

My puppy, Chanel, on the rings at CrossFit Round Rock.  3.5lbs of pure muscle lol!!

Sometimes work, bills and other responsibilities can get in our way of a good laugh.  I often have to be reminded to "stop and smell the roses" (thanks Beau =-) ), so now I'm reminding all of you!!  Don't be so serious all the time, acting silly and cutting up with friends and family is a HUGE stress reliever.  Make up and sing silly songs with your kids.  Dress up your dog in funny outfits and take pictures.  Watch a comedy movie with the whole family.  Have family game night.  It doesn't matter WHAT you do, just have fun doing it!  Enjoy life and get out there and laugh people!!!

-Coach Ag

"Strong is the new Sexy"

Determined Friends

Meet Janna and Melanie.  These two, beautiful ladies, are EXACTLY what the CFRR family is all about....inspiration, determination, motivation and friendship!!!  

Janna

Janna's husband, Chris (a Rock Star, btw), was already a member at CFRR and encouraged the girls to come to the June "Free For All", since then, they haven't looked back.  Plowing through WOD's with determination, cheers for one another, and even smiles...these ladies are a force to be reckoned with.

Melanie

I have the pleasure of coaching these two during CFRR classes and they're both also a part of my "Operation Caveman" team, "Strong and Sexy"...let me tell you...never have I seen such dedication!!  I read their food logs every day and after the initial "week of shock", they've both got Paleo/Primal eating down to a tee.  Upon entering the box, Janna and Mel always have a smile on their face (Janna even smiles when rowing lol) and during the WOD you can hear them cheer and motivate each other, as well as, other members.  I'm so proud to be their coach and can't wait to see how much they accomplish at CFRR!!!!

Here's to you, Janna and Melanie!!!  Continue to be an inspiration to so many and THANK YOU for such determination and motivation.  Keep up the great work!!!

-Coach Aggie

"Strong is the new Sexy"

Challenge Yourself!!!

INSANE WOD!!

On July 23rd, 20 people from CrossFit Round Rock began a challenge like no other.  "Operation Caveman" is a 6 week Paleo/Primal food challenge that will test these athletes' strength in more ways than one.  Beginning with an INSANE WOD, these brave men and women then got weighed, body fat measurements, and (eeeek!!) pictures.

During these next 6 weeks, I have the pleasure of being the "team mom" for 5 strong, sexy ladies....hence the team name, "Strong and Sexy"!!  Each team member will be emailing me their food log every day, so I can see what needs to be changed, if anything, and will be doing "at home WOD's" as well as their regular CFRR classes.

Team "Strong and Sexy" pre-WOD (not pictured: Maureen)

 

I'm pretty sure the first week on this diet was - to say the least -  a shock to my lovely ladies LOL!!!  I found out who my sweet tooth's were and who gets a little cranky without their morning jolt of caffeine.  All in all, by the end of the week everyone was getting the hang of eating Paleo/Primal.  

I want to give a shout out to these 5 AMAZING women, for taking on this difficult task.  I'm so excited for them to reap the benefits of eating Paleo/Primal!!  I want them, and everyone, to understand that we should eat to live, not live to eat, and that you can empower yourself by making proper choices.  Food is fuel!!!  

Good luck ladies and remember this when you want to "cheat"...the only thing you have to lose, are pounds and fat :-)

Post WOD (not pictured: Maureen)

To everyone else, I pose this question.....

When was the last time you challenged yourself?

-Coach Ag

"Strong is the new Sexy" 

Coming back from an injury

For those of you that I see on a regular basis at CFRR, you know that for the past 3 weeks I've been dealing with an injury.  Unsure if  I broke a rib during a coaches WOD (5 rds of squat snatch, pull-ups, tire flips, and a sprint), I finally quit being stubborn and went to the doctor after 2 weeks of pure pain and breathlessness.  Luckily, I found out I had "only" pulled all the muscles in my rib cage on the left side.  "One more week of rest" the doctor said....I was NOT happy!!!  

Resting has NEVER been an easy thing for me to do.  I rarely take days off from the box, so 3 weeks was like living in PURE HELL!!!  Watching all these amazing WODs pass me by (one of my fave ladies, "Cindy") and seeing members/colleagues getting their groove on at the gym, was like torture.  Also, being a coach that can't lift anything or show a movement to your class is beyond miserable.  I don't like the feeling of being "incapable", not my style at all.  BUT...sometimes that's just the way it goes, right?

What if I hadn't listened to the doctor or friends and kept pushing my body?  I could've seriously injured myself and caused myself to be out of the game for even longer or maybe even forever (gasp!).  So, please THINK when you have pain.  If your back, knee, or any joint for that matter, hurts, then maybe you should be taking some time off as well.  Talk to your coach, they can find a regression or a completely different exercise for you to do, as to not harm what's already hurting.  Go to the doctor as soon as possible (yes, I will practice what I preach from now on), you might have a serious injury you don't know about.

Today will be my first WOD since the injury, and in my head I'm ready to hit it at full throttle.  I'm not crazy enough to do that, of course, but I want to.  Instead, I'm going to ease back into things and really pay attention to the way my body feels.  Everyone needs to do that when coming back from an injury.  Don't expect to go in and lift the same amount of weight you did prior, it's just not going to happen and you risk the chance of re-injuring yourself.  Then you're back at square one....no bueno. 

Working out with an injury does NOT make you the "cool kid" at CFRR, it makes you, well.....kinda dumb!  Visit a doctor, take ample amount of time to rest, talk to your coach and keep them aware of your situation, and (I know I already said this one) REST!!!!  Can't ever stress that enough.  I know in the future, that's what I'll be doing =-)

-Coach Ag

"Strong is the new sexy"

No more excuses!!!

So, your excuse for grabbing that fast food on the way home from work was "I don't have time to cook", right?  Wrong answer!!!!!!  I HATE that answer with a burning passion.  It, seriously, makes me want to go into a yelling, foot stomping, rant - for those of you that know me, you know I'm not kidding :-) (I <3 U all!! lol)

This is what I want to know...Did you have time to watch TV when you got home?  How long did you sit at the computer and Facebook, Twitter, email, etc..??  What I'm saying is, giving up 30 minutes to an hour of "fun" time after a long day, to prepare your own food, is SO, undeniably, worth it!!!

One thing you should know...EXCUSES DON'T WORK WITH ME!!  Here's why...

I start my day at 4am and don't get home until around 8:30pm on most nights, so please...spare me the "I'm too tired" or the "I just can't find the time" B.S. and get in the freaking kitchen already!!!  Oh yeah, did I mention I'm a single mother working two jobs?  If anyone doesn't have the time or energy to cook, believe me, it's ME.  BUT....I do it.  I do it, because I love myself and my son enough to make sure we have the right nutrients to fuel our bodies.  I do it, because I don't want my son or myself to fall victim to diabetes, high cholesterol,  heart disease, obesity, or something that hits close to home - Alzheimer's.  My Grandmother died from it and my Mother now suffers from the disease.  Studies haven't "proven" that the Paleo Diet stops you from developing Alzheimer's, but there's enough in the findings that I'm willing to try.  You should be willing to try anything to better YOUR health as well, and fast food just isn't the way. 

Let's move on.....Are you asking, "How do I do it"??  Well, you're in luck, because I'm going to tell you!! =-) 

Here are a few tips on getting organized in the kitchen, so you won't have anymore excuses:

1.  Do your grocery shopping for an entire week.  It saves you from having to stop on your way home from work every day, thus, it saves time and you can get back to your beloved DVR.

2.  Have foods that can be eaten raw, readily available (apples, bananas, almonds, tuna, avocado, cucumber).  Then if you're in a pinch, you'll have items you can just eat without prep.

3. Make meals SIMPLE.  Here's a picture of what I made for dinner last night.  Notice I made enough to have for lunch/dinner today.

It only takes about 15 minutes on the George Foreman grill for the chicken and maybe another 15 to wash, prepare and broil the asparagus.  30 minutes and you have enough food for 2 or 3 days...totally doable!!!

4. Choose one day of the week to cook multiple meals at once.  You can separate portions and store them in plastic containers inside the fridge.  This is a great time saver, especially on busy mornings when you need to pack a lunch to take with you to work.

5. Think out of the box!!  You don't necessarily HAVE to have breakfast foods for breakfast, dinner food for dinner, etc.  I know many, many CrossFitters that eat steak, chicken and even fish for breakfast and eggs for dinner.  Be creative and make/eat what you know you like.

Now...STOP making excuses and get in that kitchen and cook!!!!!

-Coach Ag

"Strong is the new Sexy"

***SIDE NOTE***
The CFRR Free For All is this Saturday at 8 and 10am.  There are still a few spots left open, so hurry and  contact  Coach Dawn Marie  (dawnmarie@crossfitroundrocktx.com) to reserve yours!!  It's a FREE workout people!!  Who doesn't like FREE???!!!!

Pride and Joy

Pictured here is my pride and joy, Hayden.  I wanted to dedicate today's blog to him, as it's his 11th birthday!!!  So....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY "BABY" BOY!!!!

Did you know that kids can be CrossFitters too?  Just look at the smile on that face as he's climbing the rope.....priceless!!  CrossFit is a great way to encourage kids to explore things they might not ever think to try.  Plus, it builds confidence, self esteem, and teaches kids how to work as a team, as well as leadership skills.  Not to mention, it builds freakishly strong bodies!!!  CrossFit Kids also teaches children about nutrition and what types of foods their bodies need to grow properly.  

My CrossFit Kids class is coming soon to CrossFit Round Rock and I'm SO very excited to show these little ones what fitness is all about!!  More details will follow, but for now, just think about where you would be today, if your parents had enrolled you in a program like CF Kids.  Do you think you would've accomplished more?  Been more active throughout your adult life?  What would your view on food be?

CrossFit is changing lives people, end of story.

-Coach Ag

"Strong is the new Sexy"