Tag: crossfit women

The Love/Hate Relationship CrossFit Women Have with their Bodies

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

I recently came across an article about how CrossFit women should be proud of their bodies, have less body issues than other women, and are strong. It was written very definitively about how women who CrossFit love their strong bodies.

I’m here with the counter-argument: CrossFit women have just as many body issues as other women (maybe more so since our bodies do change significantly when you continue with CrossFit). We struggle just as much with nutrition and food choices. We do care what we look like in terms of makeup. Clothes shopping is much harder with a CrossFit body.

There is one difference NOT noted in the article:

CrossFit women have a love/hate relationship with their bodies that other women do not.

WHY CROSSFIT WOMEN LOVE/HATE THEIR BODIES

  • We are stared at. Usually in a leering way, not in a healthy way. Women either are
    CrossFit hotties at CrossFit Competition doing box jumps
    CrossFit Box Jumps

    jealous or think we look gross. Men look at us like men look at other women — they just stare longer since we DON’T look like other women they see too often.

  • Clothes don’t fit. I have given up trying to find jeans that will go over my calves and my thighs. I live in yoga pants. I have given up trying to find nice-fitting T-shirts that are small but fit my shoulders. Dresses have to be the right cut or my muscles look horrible in them.
  • Food is a real struggle. Adhering to a strict diet is a test of mental strength, which after doing a CrossFit WOD which puts us on the floor, is a battle many of us don’t have the strength for. How your body looks is all about food. Period. If you don’t eat right, you won’t look right no matter the hours you throw down at the gym.
  • We are strong but still want to be delicate flowers. I am strong. I can lift heavy items. But I don’t outside the box. Why? Because I’m a woman who wants a man to lift heavy things for me when the need arises. I don’t want to have to lift MORE heavy items after the gym.
  • Our changing bodies yield body insecurities. When people first started telling me, “Hey, Jen. You’re ripped!” I didn’t realize how muscular I had become. It was definitely an acceptance process. Now, as I lift heavier, my lats are thicker, my shoulders wider, my legs bigger. It’s an on-going battle women CrossFitters face.

It’s a fact if you lift heavy weights, you’ll gain muscle. Muscle is bulk. You will look different than your average woman. Some women I know quit CrossFit because they don’t like what CrossFit does to their bodies. Anyone who tells you you won’t bulk up is lying to you. This is part of accepting your body as it does gain muscle. And this is part of CrossFit.

CrossFit will Change Your Body

Go into CrossFit with your eyes open. Learn about it. Read and study about lifting weights. Read about the metabolic pathways. Then decide if CrossFit is for you.

You all know I love CrossFit. I love what CrossFit does for me. I love how my body looks. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a struggle to accept how I look, to not be critical, to think I’m fat, etc.

We all have baggage we carry from childhood into adulthood and from society. It’s a mindset we all have to overcome.

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.

Crossfit: How NOT to Cherry-Pick Workouts

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Workouts

Today’s CrossFit workout I wanted no part of. If you skip a CrossFit Workout that was programmed, it’s known as cherry-picking in the CrossFit world, meaning you only do the workouts you want to do and skip the ones that are hard or the ones you dont’ want to do. Today’s programmed CrossFit WOD was this:

3 rounds of:

hot crossfit chicks
Power Snatches in CrossFit
  • 10 power cleans
  • 10 front squats
  • 10 push jerks

1st round was 95 lb, 2nd round was 105 lb, 3rd round was 115 lb

Then we had a WOD that was this:

3 Rounds for Time:

  • 10 power snatches 80 lbs
  • 20 box jump overs
  • 30 wall balls

I haven’t lifted that much in push jerks since August. I knew that was going to be tough mentally for me more than physically. But I did it. Not happily (I’m glad it’s over), but I know I need to do this stuff to be stronger and to improve at CrossFit. Here are tips when faced with a workout, so you don’t cherry-pick it:

  1. Go at your own pace. Don’t worry about what others are doing around you. Remember this is your workout, so do it your way.
  2. Concentrate on good form. For weights that heavy for you (80% and up), good form is crucial to a) being able to do the work b) being able to lift heavier weights moving forward. Take that extra second to get set before you lift to ingrain muscle memory to these Olympic moves.
  3. It’s about the work. Take it one rep at a time if this is tough for you mentally. Just get the work done and finish.

In CrossFit, we all have the movements we love and those we hate. When faced with those you hate, don’t avoid them like you do your mother-in-law. Do them. You’ll be a stronger, more well-rounded athlete overall. And you may even find you like the moves once you get good at them.

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!

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!