Tag: crossfit babes

What Makes You Do the Things You Don’t Want to Do?

by crossfitmomm, posted in Life Lessons and Advice
crossfitmomm contemplating life
Contemplating Life

This morning, I deadlifted.

No part of me wanted to deadlift. I had done a HIIT workout the day before, ran 3 miles, and was sore.

But I did it anyways.

It got me thinking, “What part of me does these things when I really don’t want to?”

Why You Don’t Do Things

  • People wait until they “feel” like doing something. Somewhere along the way, we’ve all bought into the idea — without consciously realizing it — that to be motivated and effective we need to feel like we want to take action. Yes, on some level you need to be committed to what you are doing — you need to want to see the project finished, or get healthier, or get an earlier start to your day. But you don’t need to feel like doing it.  The solution: just do it.
  • Fear of failure. The unknown is fear of the things you can’t control. Focus on what you can control.
  • It’s hard. No one really wants to work. We all would rather spend out days, lying by the pool or reading a good book with a cat on our lap. Instead, set a deadline. If “such-and-such” happens, then I’ll….
  • Perfectionist. You have to fail and learn from your mistakes; waiting for the perfect moment will never happen.
  • Comparison. Stop comparing yourself to others. There will always be someone better than you. Let go of that fact and just do it anyways.
  • Stuck in a rut. We’ve all been there — the same ol’ every day. What has to change is the same ‘ol. Switch it up to get a new routine going.
  • Lack of planning. You must plan out your time or time will plan you, and before you know it, your life is over.
  • Seeking validation. Who cares what others think? Just keep moving.

Push through your mental blocks to accomplish your dreams; no one else will accomplish them for you.

How to Row in CrossFit

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit
hot crossFit chicks rowing in CrossFit
Rowing in CrossFit

I’ve always been a horrible rower in CrossFit. Until today when I was doing a modified version of Fight Gone Bad.

After 3 years, I think I’ve finally figured out how to row.

How to Row in CrossFit

  • Row with your legs. 60 percent legs. 20 percent core. 20 percent arms.
  • When you’re at the catch position (handle is near the front of the rower), you wait until you feel it stop. Then you pull.
  • You pull straight to your breastbone. There is no dip in the movement.
  • Lean back slightly in order to make sure the chain of the rower is at its max.
  • Pull the rower to your body with force. Finish with a strong pull.

I hope these tips will help you become a better rower in your next WOD.

Why I CrossFit

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit
Hot Crossfit chicks crossfit competition
Power Snatch in CrossFit Competition

The CrossFit Games is not your average athlete. The CrossFit Games’ athletes are professionals who work out many hours every day. Most have professional coaches who do their programming.

I CrossFit once a day. I take rest days. I push myself but smartly. I strive and am competitive but am okay if I don’t win.

REASONS I CROSSFIT

  • To push my body to its limits
  • To transform my body composition and looks
  • To do things others don’t or won’t
  • To strengthen my mind
  • To improve my self-confidence
  • To improve my self-esteem
  • To have fun
  • To constantly challenge myself
  • To be different

It’s hard at this moment to quantify CrossFit and what it means to me. But this is my attempt.

Knowing When to Rest From CrossFit

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

Ever since Sunday, I’ve been hitting my CrossFit workouts hard. This week has been all about heavy weights, which I haven’t done for a while, especially after coming back from surgery. My shoulders are trashed. My calves are trashed. Squatting down in the simple things like doing laundry is difficult.

This morning I had a workout planned. I did not do it. I was too sore, and my body was crying out for rest.  Here’s some tips on how to know when to rest from exercise, CrossFit workouts, running, or whatever sport you do.

Tips to Know When to Rest from Exercise

  • Your body is crying out to you. This one should be intuitive, but I often ignore this one. When everything is sore and everyday movements become a challenge, it’s time for a break.
  • Your exhausted at the end of the day. Exercise causes trauma to our bodies that our bodies need rest and sleep in order to recover from. If you’re not giving your body rest, then you are not maximizing your time under the barbell. When you’re tired all the time, it’s your body crying out to rest, so it can do its job and repair muscle fibers and tissues, so you can be stronger for your next CrossFit workout.
  • Your mental game is affected. Loss of enthusiasm, motivation, and desire is a sure sign you need a rest day. If you’re only half into your CrossFit workout and you’re just going through the movements without any heart, then you’re not doing yourself any good. Rest and hit your workouts hard in the upcoming days.
  • You have a tweak that won’t go away. If you exercise or do CrossFit a lot, odds are you’re familiar with tweaks — some muscle feels a bit off and when you move it, you notice it. Most of the time, these tweaks resolve themselves on their own in a week or so. However, if you have a perpetual tweak that won’t go away, it’s time for a break. Take at least one rest day and then rest that muscle as much as possible. Modify the CrossFit programming to suit your needs or design your own CrossFit programming.
crossfit babes taking a rest day
Rest Day in CrossFit

As you can see, the key is listening to your body. Rest is crucial to progress in sports, but it’s so hard to take that day when our passion is our sport. Below are tips for rest days.

Tips for Rest Days

  • Active recovery. It’s hard for some of us to not do anything physical on rest days. Active recovery is a great way to let your muscles recover but appease your mind that is nagging at you to work out. I personally like to walk my dog on rest days from CrossFit or go swimming, which is no impact and gets all your built-up lactic acid in your muscles.
  • Distraction. Plan rest days during the week instead of on weekends, so you’re busy all day long. Plan rest days during the weekend if your weekend is packed, and you won’t have time to exercise.
  • Plan your CrossFit programming or workouts. Planning my next workouts satisfies the need deep within me to workout. It gives me something to look forward to when it’s time to hit my CrossFit workouts hard again.
  • Read a book. Alternate worlds are always good to enter when trying to NOT do something like exercise.
  • Get a massage. Let’s face it, we all need massages if we lift heavy weights. Schedule your massage during your rest day if possible to maximize the effects of rest on the body.
  • Go to bed early that day. Get extra sleep to afford your body the time it needs to repair muscle tissue and grow stronger.

We only get stronger when we rest. Adequate rest and nutrition play a big part in our muscle gains and, odd enough, our muscle loss.

Working out and lifting heavy weights, whether you do CrossFit or a different sport, is only half the equation. Keep in mind the harder part — eating right and resting — and you’ll see results quicker.

How I’ve Missed the Soreness CrossFit Brings

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit
hot crossfit chicks flipping tires at CrossFit Competiton
Tire Flips CrossFit Competition

Today I got to work out for the first time after my surgery. It was glorious. To feel my heart race again and try and beat the clock. Magic!

For those of you who do CrossFit, you know you walk around in a state of perpetual soreness. Since I haven’t been working out, I haven’t had that. Today I got it back. I used to bemoan the fact I’m always sore. Then I accepted the fact I was always sore. Now, for the first time, I missed the soreness of CrossFit.

Today I got to work out for the first time after my surgery. It was glorious. To feel my heart race again and try to beat the clock. Magic!

CrossFit: How to Fill Sandbags

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

At my last competition, the Turkey Challenge, we had a WOD with sandbags. I fell in love — so much so I bought two sandbags from Brute Force for myself for Christmas. One I filled with 35 pounds and one with 62 pounds.

Filling sandbags is not as easy as it sounds. Here are the steps and methods I utilized:

crossfit chicks working out during crossfit competition with sandbags
Working out with Sandbags
  • Buy sand (play sand is recommended) from your local hardware store or superstore
  • Fill the filler bags accordingly. A less filled bag is more unstable and will tax your grip and balance more. We used a funnel and a measuring cup that had a pour spout. This enabled us to accurately fill the bags with the same amount of sand.
  • Use a scale. After filling the bags, we would weigh the bags on a scale to make sure they were equal.
  • These Brute Force bags come with military-grade velcro. Velcro the bags and place them in the outer shell bag, shaking to make even.
  • You’re ready to begin!

WHY TRAIN WITH SANDBAGS

Sandbag training is utilized for unstable load training which is the ability to unconventionally move or lift an odd object that is unstable or has an uneven load efficiently. This type of training provides a much more dynamic and challenging training experience. You must engage your body’s stabilizer muscles, building coordinated strength and balance throughout your entire body.

Unstable load training is definitely challenging, no doubt about it. And fun. Once I’m healed from my surgery, I can’t wait to get started!

Thanksgiving Day Murph

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Workouts

For the third year in a row, I’ve celebrated Thanksgiving by doing a CrossFit WOD called

crossfit hero wod murph crossfit hotties
Preparing for Work

Murph. A hero workout named for Lt Michael Murphy, who died in Afghanistan serving our country, it consists of:

  • 1 mile run
  • 100 pull ups
  • 200 push ups
  • 300 air squats
  • 1 mile run

This is one of the most famous CrossFit workouts and is traditionally programmed for Memorial Day around the country. However, I began doing this on Thanksgiving as well three years ago to commemorate the Fallen.

The weather was perfect: 55 degrees and sunny. I invited one friend and it was him and me who performed it. It was fun. It wasn’t my best time, but I wasn’t pushing all out. It was, again, just doing the movement and enjoying life. Thank you to all who have served our country and especially to those who have made the greatest sacrifice and given their lives. Words are not enough.

What CrossFit Moves Are in Your Wheelhouse?

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

I never realized the importance of having moves you dominate in CrossFit until my last competition. Called in your wheelhouse, these CrossFit moves are vital to winning workouts and, if you compete, to competitions.

hot crossfit chicks
CrossFit Pull Ups

CrossFit moves in your wheelhouse are moves you dominate every time they show up in a workout — moves you are really, really good at. I made up time in my CrossFit competition when one showed up in one workout, and I won the event where both moves were in my wheelhouse.

In CrossFit, advice is often given on how you need to focus on the moves you’re bad at, so you improve those. This is true. However, you need to make sure you don’t forget NOT to practice the moves in your wheelhouse, so you don’t lose those in sacrifice to others.

The fact of the matter is: you will improve those moves you’re not so good at, but they will never be like the ones you’re naturally good at, the ones you like, the ones you dominate.

CrossFit Moves in My Wheelhouse

  • Assault bike
  • Double unders
  • Rope climbs
  • Running
  • Thrusters
  • Burpees

As you can see, I’m not very good at most CrossFit moves. But these ones are popular and when thrown into a CrossFit WOD can make all the difference whether you win or lose.

CrossFit is constantly-varied, functional movements at high-intensity. Every CrossFit workout you do, you’ll get better. Know what you’re good at and add to them if possible — all the while improving all the other CrossFit movements. This is the key to winning at your box, in your heat, in your mind, and at CrossFit competitions. Good luck!

Being Physically Exhausted from a CrossFit Competition

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Competitions

Last night, I went to bed at 6:30 pm. I was physically exhausted — something I am definitely not used to.

After a 2-day CrossFit Competition, and I worked out yesterday morning with no rest day (I squatted and did a workout with a run, hang power snatches, and burpee box jumps), I was dragging all day at work and when I came home, I was tired. I couldn’t even eat dinner. I just went straight to bed.

CrossFit Competitions will wear you out — emotionally and physically. You want to do your best, you’re disappointed when you don’t do your best, you stress over the details like the drive down and when to eat, and then there’s the actual workouts themselves, which are bears to get through.

The Importance of Sleep after a CrossFit Competition

crossfit women
Preparing for CrossFit Workout

All of this equals exhaustion. When this happens, listen to your body and get some rest. Sleep is so important with CrossFit to let your body heal, recover, and rejuvenate. Here’s my advice after a CrossFit competition or some other grueling workout, such as a Tough Mudder or Spartan Race:

  • Get extra sleep. This will allow vital tissues and muscles to recover and recuperate after what you’ve just put them through.
  • Drink more than you think you’ll need. I usually lose about 4 pounds every CrossFit competition. Most of this is water weight. At a CrossFit competition, you usually don’t drink much because you don’t want to have to go to the bathroom, you forget, or you’re just too nervous. Afterwards, you need to replenish. Drink extra water and recovery drinks for optimal muscle recovery.
  • Take rest days. I’m a hypocrite. I don’t do this. I don’t like to get behind on my training. Yet, you usually suffer if you don’t (or you’re so tired you lose a whole night!). Give your body some well-deserved time off.
  • Take inventory of what you’ve learned. I learned a lot from this last CrossFit competition. I learned once again I’m stronger than I think I am when I flipped a 300 pound tire multiple times. I learned I need to practice on a bar that I can’t touch the ground on. I learned I can still kick ass when the I have to, especially if the moves are in my wheelhouse. I learned I still have the fire to compete that I thought I had lost from burn-out. I learned I’m just as good as others, if not better.

The whole point of CrossFit competitions is to learn from them, push yourself, and be proud of your achievement. You probably won’t win them all. But within each competition, there will be a personal victory — either a move you did you didn’t think you could do or a workout you annihilated.

Keep in mind why you compete in CrossFit, and you’ll just keep getting better and better.

CrossFit Competitions: Turkey Challenge Day 2

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Competitions
Hot CrossFit Chicks sandbag run crossfit Competitions
Sandbag Run at CrossFit Competition

Two-day CrossFit Competitions are rough: You’re tired from Day 1 and you have another tough day ahead of you.

Day 2 of the Turkey Challenge began with a “Burden Run,” and, yes, it is just what you think it is.

Wearing a 10 pound weight vest, you had to run with a 60 pound sandbag on your back for 150 meters, do 10 back squats with the bag, 6 lateral burpees over the bar, and then do max calories on the rower. 5 rounds. 2:30 minutes each. 30 seconds rest in-between.

I actually did really well on this one, except once I couldn’t get the bag up. But I got 4th place.

I did 7 tire flips with a 300 pound tire (never done that before).

AND I won my final WOD: 10 rounds of 15 double unders and 1 rope climb.

Overall, a great day. It boosted my confidence after the first day and has got me wanting more. After I take a break and get my tooth fixed.

Lessons Learned from 2-Day CrossFit Competitions

CrossFit Babes double unders Crossfit Competition
Double Unders at CrossFit Competition
  • You get to do exercises you otherwise don’t: sandbag runs with a weight vest and tire flips.
  • I’m stronger than I think I am. I did 300 pound tire flips — 7 of them — and I didn’t think I could do one.

Overall, a great competition. Fun to watch. Learned a lot. Got remotivated for CrossFit. Good, albeit long, weekend!