Better Work! Fitness Focused

Another week of Cross Fit, this time we are now beginners!

T'was the morning after Christmas and we had a lot of family fun and delicious food. We signed up for a morning session and off we went heading to the city. Once again, I was excited. I had no idea what was in store and if I would be able to survive.

Interestingly, while I was in my elements session, there were other sessions going on and they were moving quickly from one thing to the next with the coach yelling out "Let's Go!!!" How surprised was I to find out that they were not the advanced classes but beginners. Naturally, I began to have some doubt, I questioned whether I should sign on to take the elements class over. Well, it was too late now. I signed up to do this and I will follow through.

This week I took the beginner sessions - pull ups, ring fall outs, over head squats, sit ups, push ups, wall walks (my husband did it with ease while I prayed that my sneakers would stop slipping and that my face would not be flattened by the fall), kettle bell swings, hang clean, front squats, tabata squats, jump rope. I did it all and I was not the last to finish nor was I racing to be the first to finish. It was difficult but I knew that I could do it. After last nights session, someone from our session asked me how did I like it, I said "I hate it but I will be back on Saturday."

No, I do not really hate Cross Fit, it challenges me and that is exactly what I need.
Are your pom poms still waving? I sure hope so :-)

What You See - Is What You Get!

And so it goes.......... The final week in CrossFit elements.

Here's what we covered:

Handstand Push-ups - Here's an impressive demonstration. Of course we did not do the parking lot handstand push-up or the dangling mid air on the bars. However, we learned how to do the handstand push-up on the wall as well as using the box. My husband can do the hand stand push-ups on the wall and on the box. I am happy to share that I was able to kick my feet up and hit the wall - almost there. On the other hand, I can do the handstand push-up on the box :-)


Ring Dips - picture me balancing myself on the rings and then dipping down and coming back to my original position. Yes, you cannot imagine that either :-)I did manage to hold myself up on the rings for about 5 seconds. Naturally, it will take some time for me to get the rest of the actual exercise together.


We did the Elizabeth - I used the bars as opposed to the rings and for the clean reps, I had the bar without added weights. Now for some good news, I was not the last one to finish (confetti time).


Watch out now....... then there's the Helen. Our cross fit training is located indoors, the running part was substituted by burpees (yuck!!!) You guessed it, I was the last one to finish, but I made it through the Helen. 21 of each, then 15 of each and 9 of each.

The morning after my body ached and I smiled :-) I asked for it and I got CrossFit. Elements completed - next up beginners. More to come......

A Time To Talk and A Time To Take Action!

The Sandy Hook Elementary School killings has become another moment where I pause and ask God - WHY???!!!

However, in the meantime, it is time for we the people to have a serious talk.

Let's discuss mental health and the services that are available for people with mental illnesses and disorders. There is something unethical about allowing someone who is known to have violent behaviors to blend in with the population where at any point, something tragic can happen to someone.

Let's also discuss the issue with assault weapons.

Who should have them? What is the criteria? Why? etc. It just seems to me that too often we hear the common statement, this doesn't happen here or this is not supposed to happen here. Where is it supposed to happen?

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) told Fox News Sunday that he believed more guns are the answer to violence in schools.

"I wish to god she had had an M4 in her office," he said of Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung, who was also killed in the shooting.

Really???!!! Is that the solution???!!!


As a mother, this hits close to home. I cannot imagine what the other parents and families are going through right now. I cannot imagine what the husbands and children are going through without their loved one returning to their homes. I feel such a sadness about it, yet my sorrow cannot be compared to their unbearable grief.

We really need to get serious about this issue. I do hope that parents who have children with mental illnesses/disorders who exhibit violent behaviors can recognize the danger that they may be facing and it's impact on society as a whole. There is a huge responsibility that comes with being a parent. Recognize your role, get support, find a group, organization or create one. Shake the stigma and deal with the situation at hand. Yes, there will be good days but please do not allow those days to keep you from actively seeking help. Speak up and speak out loudly - don't wait for another situation like the one we're facing to come forward only to slip helplessly back into your norm.

In the midst of this emotional period, let the lives of those who were so violently taken away be the prompt for us to make a change.

It's time to talk! It's time to take action...

Whip It Real Good - Cross Fit

Week 2 of Cross Fit and what a whipping it was! Sophia our instructor came in and eased us in with some demonstrations for doing various workouts. However, by the end of each session, I was gasping for mercy, air and water. My favorite was the wall balls which she referred to as the suck balls workout. In this workout we had to hold the ball, squat and throw it up to the mark on the wall then jump into burpees (my least favorite) and we were timed to complete 21, 15 and 9 of each. Yes, I was the very last one to finish but I did them all.

This week I did the scarecrow, pull ups, burpees, snatched, clean, jerked and sucked balls. The pulls up were rather difficult. I just had the most difficult time using my arms to pull myself up, so I would dangle there holding on. I jump down get the chalk and massage them into my palms and fingers - feeling like a professional athlete. I jump back on the bar and dangle some more until my arms let go. I hate doing the pull ups. However, I do the pulls up with the assistance of the band and it really is tougher that it looks.

Another workout that we did included barbell thrusters and then pull ups. The aim is to complete 21 barbell thrusters and 21 pull ups getting your chin up above the bar. Next you jump down get the barbell and thrust for 15 and jump up on the bar to do 15 pull ups. As soon as you are done, jump down get the barbell do 9 and jump up on the bar and do 9 pull ups all within 1 minute and 52 seconds. I did it all within 6 minutes and 18 seconds :-)By the way, this time, I was not the last to finish. Unbelievable yes, but the guys who had weights on their barbells were still going at it when I was finished. Obviously my barbells had no added weights but it was heavy just so you know ;-) The Fran workout was quite a way to end the workout. I cannot imagine what to expect next week. I just hope that you are still cheering me on. Check out Jason Kaplan showing us how it's done.........