It's a Lifestyle, not a diet #proof

In January of 2013, Erin began her fitness journey and she has never looked back!  Not only has her body transformed into a CrossFitting machine, her personality now shines and her smile infects everyone around her with joy.

After 6 months of coming to class 3 times a week regularly (seriously, this girl RARELY misses a class), Erin decided to step up her nutrition game by joining my team for the Operation Caveman 6 week paleo/primal challenge.  When we went through her goals, I was struck by her desire to feel whole again after going through a divorce.  Being divorced myself, I felt an instant connection with her, because ya know.....us divorced chicks gotta stick together ;-)

It was my mission to help Erin shed pounds and gain more than just muscle - I wanted to help her gain confidence, self worth and help her embrace the newly single, HOTTIE she is!!!

Erin was a "star student" during Operation Caveman.  She listened, learned and did everything she was supposed to do to get where she wanted to be.  Her commitment to her health was amazing to watch as a coach, and her results were a show of determination.  In just 6 weeks of eating paleo/primal, Erin lost 20 pounds, 2% body fat and 9 inches from her body!!!  You can see in the before and after pic above, just how ecstatic she was to see those numbers.  I couldn't be more proud of this woman!!

Not only did she pour 6 weeks of hard ass work into her health, she continues to eat clean and exercise to this day.  Instead of the typical mindset of people that do challenges - a.k.a. they go back to eating shit (you know who you are), Erin has truly made a lifestyle change.

Thank you, Erin, for being an inspiration to so many others!!  I am so proud to be able to call you my friend and am lucky to be your coach -  Keep up the great work!!!!!

#OperationLifeWorthLiving

A little over 6 months ago, I received an email from a girl that wanted to try out one of my classes.  When she walked through the door, I did as I always do, and asked her a few questions about her fitness level, injuries and so on...Class began and she did as well as any first-timer does.  Loving the workout (and, of course, the coach - ha!), she signed up for Elements before leaving that day.  A few weeks later, once she finished with Elements, she was enrolled in my now infamous - or famous?  We can't decide ;) 5am class.  This girl's name is Melissa, and she's a bad ass!!  But wait...I don't want to get too ahead of myself here, I want to explain how HER journey became OUR journey...together.

When Melissa began regular classes, the very first thing I noticed was her tall, thin frame and sunken in cheeks.  I also observed her constantly pulling down her shirt, as to "hide" her stomach (which is non-existent, BTW) and always looking around the room, as if to be sure no one was watching her workout.  A couple months went by and Melissa was killing it in the gym!  She was fast, she was getting strong and although those self conscious tugs at her shirt didn't stop, they were happening less and less.

December rolled around and our coach/athlete relationship was turning into a great friendship (I mean, duh...we're both pretty fucking funny, love Eminem, aaaand we can't stand bad grammar/spelling - haha!).  Melissa inquired about the 8 week, Paleo #Reborn nutrition challenge coming up in January.  I explained to her how it worked and what to expect, and then... it was like a lightbulb just went off in my head!!  I saw the signs, how could I be so dumb?  I had done it to myself for YEARS...Melissa was suffering from an eating disorder.  I quickly blurted out "Are you recovering from an eating disorder?" and she looked shocked as hell, haha!!  But doing it that way, gave her no time to make up a lie.  "Maybe" she said...I gave her that look, like "I know you are, so just don't even try to hide it." and she halfway, kinda sorta told me.  Once I knew, I made sure she was on my team for #Reborn!  Obviously, she didn't need to lose any weight, so it was my mission to help her understand food and show her that you can weigh EXACTLY the same weight, but lose body fat and change the look of your body by EATING, not starving.

The day of the beginning #Reborn body fat measurements, pictures and WOD, Melissa was tense.  Stressed.  I really think she was scared for me to see what she weighed - as in, she thought I would think she's fat - and when I went to use the tape measure around her waist, she refused to lift up her shirt.  "Baby steps", I thought, "remember how you used to be, Aggie.", so I left it alone and didn't push.  I was super happy to find out later, that she took her shirt off for her before photos...Point for Aggie :)

The very first thing I asked, wait....scratch that, TOLD Melissa to do, was bring me her scale.  She was an every day weigher, something I did myself when I was suffering from the very same disease.  You want that number to change SO badly...Every. Damn. Day.  And the truth is, you probably get on it 5 to 10 times each day, not just once.  Eat an apple - Oh, I better weigh myself!  Take a dump - Yahoo, I bet I lost 5lbs, I better go check!  It's an EXTREMELY vicious cycle to fall into, so I took away the one thing I knew I could control.  It was up to HER to control the rest.

Week one of the nutrition challenge began and as I suspected, Melissa ate about enough food to feed a little 8lb 6oz baby Jesus (Talledega Nights movie reference, for those of you that are lost).  I generally don't pull out the "mom voice" unless I really mean business, but on Day #9, I had no choice but to give her a dose of reality. #toughlove  Her food log got better...for a bit, but there was still a battle being fought within her mind.  The emails she sent the team would have moments like this in them:

Having had an eating disorder myself, during my late teens through age 26 (when, basically, becoming pregnant saved my life), I absolutely refused to let Melissa fail, because that would be ME failing HER.  And that's just unacceptable.  I was sure she needed a push, but was afraid to push too much, for fear she would shut down.  So, I gave her all the positive reinforcement I could...

By week 4, I could feel us getting closer to breaking the silence (not that we didn't talk daily, just not about "that") and actually discussing this giant elephant in the room.  I had told her, she wouldn't be getting her midway measurements done, because her food wasn't consistent enough yet and I felt it could actually do more damage than good, if she didn't like the number on the scale.  She actually agreed and that whole email prompted her to FINALLY open up about her battle with Anorexia and Bulimia.  I said to her, "I will never give up on you - so don't give up on yourself!!!  We're stuck together forever now lol!!  #glue  :) "  (have I mentioned that we like to #hashtag during texts and emails?  Like...#alot haha!!)


I would never divulge everything that she said to me, because it's her personal business, not to be put on blast for the public.  I will say this though, Melissa has fought a long, hard battle since her early teens. She has gone to inpatient care and "recovered"...only to relapse a few years later.  Which is where our story began...that email on October 8th, 2013 was the start of a promise she made to herself to get healthy and figure out how to have fun with life, rather than worry about how many calories she was eating.  You better damn well believe this girl does what she says she's going to do!!  It's one of the things I respect most about her. #trustworthy #honest

Once Melissa confided in me and told me the details of her illness, it was like a weight was lifted  from her shoulders!  Positivity ooooozed from her every pore. During class she was energetic - a total bad ass!!  Those cheeks I had noticed a few months earlier, weren't sunken in anymore.  Melissa was looking healthy and strong.  Her food logs were spot on and instead of the comments she made previously about beached whales and things being hard, she began to say things like this:

I was ecstatic to say the least!  BUT.....I was also nervous, as the end of the challenge was nearing.  Was she ready to be on her own?  Would she be happy with the results at the end?  Or would that number on the scale STILL haunt her?  Having been through it, although not as extreme, I feel like a person that has an eating disorder or some type of depression is never fully "recovered".  You just learn to keep it under control.  Some days are good, some are bad, but you learn to live with them both and eventually the good outweigh the bad :)

March 1st, the #Reborn finale was here!  Everyone was so excited to find out how they did!!  I could sense Melissa's tension as she got her picture taken, and I weighed and measured her body.  It's true, the first 4 weeks, her food was sporadic and inconsistent.  Would that damage the end results dramatically?  She had put in SO much work - we both had put in so much work, but I still had this fear that I had failed her somehow.  Had I?  #truth time!!

I punched the numbers in the computer, then calculated the difference in her beginning and ending weight, body fat and inches.  Holy. Shit.  She had done it!  Mission Accomplished and another point for Aggie!!! ;)  Without dropping any weight on that scale, Melissa lost 7% body fat and 2 inches off her body.  Get this.....she gained 10 pounds of lean body mass - incredible!!!  She was absolutely speechless when I showed her the results.  No, really....she didn't even jump up and down, no happy dance...nothing.  It's not that she wasn't happy.  She laughed and joked and smiled with everyone, but there was no over joyous "HALLELUJAH" moment.  I found out a few days later that she was just in absolute and utter shock that she was healthy.  She had taken things into her own hands, helped herself, and with a little guidance from me, she Changed.   Her.   Life.

There are absolutely no words special enough to describe how proud I am of this girl - NONE!  She is beautiful, strong and healthy.  She continues to excel during class and PT sessions (pull ups - check!  50 DU's - getting so damn close!) and we still monitor that food log.  There's such a great confidence within her now and I LOVE that!! Although there is no such thing as a magical or miraculous 'never struggle with skewed thoughts again' type of "recovery", Melissa has a grip on something that used to have a grip on her.

For me as a coach, I am honored and proud to have been the one that helped Melissa navigate her way back to health.  Through her journey, I also learned many things about myself, and she (along with the other team #amazeballs peeps) showed me that I am loved and respected as a person, as well as a coach. I also gained a lifelong friend.  A true, honest, hilarious, and positive friend that I will cherish forever!

#sniffsniff #tear #loveyou Melissa!!! #superglue :)

 
-Coach Ag




  

The Year of Me

On January 19th, 2014, I posted the picture above on my Facebook page.  All the comments and supportive words were so sweet and I feel very blessed to have so many positive people in my life!  So, why the "year of me"?  Well....obviously turning 40 is a HUGE milestone, and for some reason, it's freaking me the fuck out (sorry -not really-, the f-bomb came out quick this time).
All these thoughts are constantly in my head.....
The mirror just shows me "old".  I need to be better about balancing my job and family. I don't spend enough time enjoying life.  I have a son that's going to be in high school next fall.  The "11" between my eyebrows is getting deeper and deeper.  I need some damn botox. My body just doesn't recover well anymore.  My body isn't looking the way I like it to look - maybe I shouldn't have this next glass of wine. :)  My boyfriend is 6 years younger than me, so I will officially be a cougar *meow bitches*-  LMAO!!  ;)


The past 2-4 months I have been in a GIANT funk and no matter what I tried to tell myself, I just wasn't coming out of it.  Even the week of The Fittest Games, all I kept thinking was "I'm 39, competing against a bunch of twentysomethings.", and all I wanted to do was get it over with and be done competing for good.  I PR'd twice on the first day and I didn't feel that normal "high" you get when you PR.  Sure, I was happy about it, but it just wasn't the same. Then one day, about a week after the games, I had an epiphany....I wasn't doing the things I love to do anymore, I was just going through the motions and doing what everyone else around me was doing and it wasn't making me feel good mentally or physically.  I remembered the above FB post and went back to read it again.  It reminded me that I'm no bullshitter, so if I'm going to make this the "year of me", I need to get started!


I made the decision that after The Fittest Games, I was no longer going to "train" for CrossFit and most likely will never compete again - *I reserve the right to retract this at any time ;)*  I want to bring some of the fun back into my workouts, and in my opinion, doing a snatch or clean - Every.  Damn.  Day.  Is not fun.  I like to pick up stones, kegs, flip tires, climb ropes - all the things that drew me to CrossFit in the first place - and it gets on my nerves to have to "work" on things every day....sometimes I just wanna break a damn sweat and move on with my day!  Hence, anyone that knows me, or has worked out with me, knows that I like looooong and light wods, with 3-5 movements (FGB is a favorite of mine, so is Open WOD 13.2) and I'm enamored with Strongman.  Daily strength and OLY sessions, really bore the shit out of me LOL!!  I knew it had to be done for competition, so I did it, but it's not something I want to do on the daily, so I'm going to cut that down. 

With the decision to no longer "train" for CrossFit and just have fun, it also means I won't be participating in this year's Open.  If you read that FB post ^^up there^^, along with health, fitness and beauty, it also lists motherhood and relationships as two more things I want to focus on this year.  These two things are essentially what made my decision about the Open easy.  I feel like time worrying about my placement in a WOD, worrying about how I'm going to attack it, how I'm going to train for the week while I wait for the Open WOD to come out, is time wasted - and guess what?  I KNOW I'm not going to the Games, so what does it all matter anyway??!!  I'm not bashing the Open, I'm just not one of those people that NEEDS something like that.  It's not what I thrive on.  I didn't get into this business to compete, I did it to change lives and teach people about healthy living.  Sure it's fun stuff, but as long as I look and feel good, and am helping people reach their goals, I'm a happy girl :) Plus....I'm 39 competing against a bunch of twentysomethings!!! - There's that mind fuck again.....#itsonlyanumber, right?


So along with changing up my workout routine, I also made a change to my work schedule at the gym.  Beginning in January, I gave up my M/W/F 5:15pm class to take over the T/TH 5:30am class, so I could have evenings off to spend more time with my son.  Sure, it's tough to get up at 3:45-4am every day, but to me, it's totally worth it.  At 13, he wants/needs mom less and less, so I am cherishing every moment we get to spend together, and I'll have peace of mind that when he is older, he will know that his mother did everything in her power to be there for him when he needed her most.  I'll also be able to reconnect with some "non-CrossFit friends" that I haven't seen in ages, due to our schedules just not meshing.  I'm looking forward to talking about something other than workouts LOL!! And, of course, I'll have more time with my babes :)

What have I done so far to change up my workout routine?  Well, I'm glad you asked!  I like for every day to be something different and exciting, so I don't PLAN my workouts.  If I see the class WOD we have programmed and like it, I do it.  If I see something online, I'll do that.  I might even combine several workouts together.  I still lift heavy and go hard, I just also do isolation work and don't focus on OLY as much.  I have taken up indoor cycling at Ride http://www.ride-indoorcycling.com/ and try to do it at least once a week - it's like therapy, SO amazing!!!!  I have also recruited some of my members to kick my ass back into long distance running, and have committed to doing a 10k with them (gotta eeeeaaase back into it, so no half marathon's yet!!).  So far I'm loving all the changes and my body/mind are feeling GREAT!!!  So long FUNK!!! :)

So here I am...on this life journey.  Moving forward.  Doing what I need and want to do for me, my son and my man.  Because in the end, all that matters is making the most of every day and living your life to the fullest with the people you love the most!!

Looking forward to continuing this "year of ME" - I'll keep you all posted on how it goes :) 

 

Real or Fake?

So... there I was getting ready for work this morning, when something I heard on Good Morning America, really pissed me off.  At first I thought maybe the combo of getting up at 4am, only getting 5 hours of sleep and lack of caffeine were making me cranky.  Then I drank some more Spark and said "Nope.  GMA, you really made me mad!".  Here's what happened....

As I'm washing my face and getting dressed, I see the story about the adorable Amber Riley, who is on the show Glee and has just performed her first number on Dancing With the Stars.  WOW!  She seriously danced her ass off!  She really was amazing, just WATCH.

 

The GMA reporter then proceeded to talk about how Twitter was on fire and quoted one Tweet in particular.  It said, and I quote, "You're an inspiration to real women everywhere!".  Hmmmm...I'm sorry....REAL women?  Are you implying Amber is a real woman because of her fuller figure?  Am I not a real woman because I don't wear a size 16?  Am I not a real woman because I choose to live a healthy lifestyle and workout?  Strange.  Last time I checked, I still had tits and a uterus. 

Take a look at this picture I found.....

Maybe I should be blaming Dove for starting this whole "Real Women" trend?  Every single woman in that photo is beautiful.  Yes, the Victoria's Secret models are thinner, duh...it's their fucking JOB!  (Damn it! I was trying to get through this blog without using the "f" word. #epicfail)  So, basically what Dove is trying to tell me, is that in order for ME to be a REAL woman, I need to be a bigger version of myself.  What.  The.  Fuck.  That's just ridiculous!!!  Why can't I just be ME??

I am SO over the media and how it makes us, as women, feel so damn self conscious about every little fucking thing on our body!!!  I'm not as small as the VS models, but I'm not as big as the Dove models either, so does that make me a FAKE woman??!!  What a load of CRAP!!  Why should those women in the Dove ad be considered real, and VS models or women with an athletic build like mine are not?  I'm so confused, because I thought having a huge baby come out of my vagina was a pretty good indication I was a woman.  Weird.

I obviously have a huge issue with the use of this word "real".  It just blows my mind to hear it in that context.  In my mind, regardless of size....we are ALL REAL women.

#rant #over  #sorryimnotsorry

:)

Growth and Change

Last week I was sitting in the office, thinking about the "old days" here at CFRR.  Back when we only had one side to the gym, a boom box that played our music and we HAD to go outside on the concrete to wod, because there just wasn't enough room for all of us inside.  There were no fans, and we didn't use mats for our precious little knees, as we burpee'd away in the parking lot.  As I was reminiscing, I thought about my old 7pm crew.  Back before I was a coach and back when "The Sport Fitness" was just friends in a garage, gettin' sweaty (ha!).  Don't get me wrong, I am BEYOND THRILLED at the growth that CFRR has seen in the last 3 years, but with growth comes changes and, well...Aggie just doesn't do well with a whole lotta change!

7pm class waaaaaaay back in the day :)

Out of all the changes I have seen here in the last 3 years, the one that sticks out the most (aka,  irritates me the most) is probably THE most important one of all....Camaraderie.  Back when I was in the 7pm class, our warm up pretty much consisted of friendly, sarcastic banter, laughter and a lot of shit talking - all in good fun, of course!  Landon would give us the 3-2-1-GO and shit got real.  No more laughter, just hard ass work.  BUT -  and I want this to be heard LOUDLY!!! - When we saw a member of our class struggling, we encouraged them to keep moving.  If you were one of the first people done, you cheered and screamed "every rep counts!" or "Finish Strong!" for EVERY single person until they finished.  NEVER did we start to put away our equipment until the timer went off or every person had completed the wod.  We were a TEAM.  No single person mattered, we did it together.  Camaraderie is one of the main components of CrossFit, that I feel, holds the key to people succeeding or quitting.

OK, so let me get to my point about growth and changes....

We're seeing new people in the gym every week, which is a FANTASTIC thing!  But what's happened, is now you have classes that have been together for years, some classes that are almost all new members and other classes that are a mix.   "What's wrong with that?", you ask.  Nothing, EXCEPT for the fact that the veterans of the gym are over here in this corner whooping it up, then the new members are quiet and over there in that other corner trying to remember what the hell a snatch is!  It's like people have forgotten how to interact with each other or something. Yes, there are little cliques, and of course we all have friends that we are going to gravitate to and talk to first, but is it THAT hard to go up to the new guy and strike up a conversation? I don't want my classes to be like that!  I don't want people to just think it's all about them and the clock or being #1 on the board. It's about people with like minds, coming together for the same purpose - health, strength, mental well being, and well...just being wicked awesome!!

Let's go back to what I said about camaraderie being the key to success.  Let's say YOU'RE the new person in a class full of seasoned veterans.  You don't know anyone, but your coach, and you still have trouble figuring out what weight you're capable of, what the movements are, etc...then it's 3-2-1-GO!  You make it through the first 2 rounds, but you're beginning to fatigue.  Out of the corner of your eye, you see those seasoned vets finishing and breaking down their bar, while you're over in the corner still struggling.  How would you feel if you were the last one working and nobody gave a damn?  Would you give up?  Take that same scenario, but change the ending....Out of the corner of your eye, you see those seasoned vets finishing.  They take a few breaths and maybe wipe up some sweat.  Then they come to where you are...clapping, cheering, yelling for you to "keep it up! You're almost done!".   How would that make you feel?  It's a lot harder to give up when you have a team cheering for you, huh?

Does anybody out there get what I'm saying?  YOU could be the reason that somebody finishes, or the reason they even come to class in the first place.  If people feel like no one cares enough to give them a fucking high five as they run by, they're going to give up and quit.  Is being #1 on the board more important than encouraging another human being?  Take the 5 seconds, it won't kill you.

I'll say it again...CAMARADERIE.  Learn it.  Live it. And don't let me catch you breaking down your equipment before everyone is finished - there may be TABATA burpees in your future if you do :)

Reborn = Results

Me, Mo, Chad, Mercedes, and Lindsay.  Missing: Cory

From January 14th to March 9th, I had the pleasure of coaching 5 outstanding people through the 2013 Reborn Challenge.  This 8 week, STRICT Paleo nutrition challenge, is a great way to jump start your New Year's Resolution to get fit and eat healthy....and stay that way.  Learning to live a healthy lifestyle, rather than "dieting" will get you better results and will keep you from regaining your weight in a few months.

I am SO proud of all the hard work my team put in!  Overall, they lost over 38 pounds, 13% body fat and over 31 inches - AMAZEBALLS!!!! 

Although, EVERY SINGLE team member put in the hard work and really gave this their all, there was one guy who just jumped in head first and never looked back....Chad.  This guy started his journey in late December 2012, by signing up for Elements and then beginning classes at CFRR 3 times per week with me at 6am.  His positive attitude and eagerness to be better, look better and feel better (oh and also his upcoming nuptials) are what drove him and got him some GREAT results.

Chad's final numbers:

16.6 lbs lost

4.6% body fat lost

13.5 inches lost

 
Congratulations to my entire team and thank you for allowing me to help you!!!

Like this Page!

Back in September of 2012, I participated in a workout video for a new company called Fé Fit.  Every woman that participated in the video shoot was a mother and the company itself promotes good health, fitness, motherhood, and women empowering themselves to DO and BE the best they can be.  They have recently launched their Facebook page and have started to feature a different fit mom from the video each week.  Please go "like" their page!  They post helpful tips on balancing motherhood and fitness, and just motherhood and fitness in general.  Plus, you get to see pictures of ME hahaha!!  :)  Let's get them to 1,000 likes as soon as possible!!