CrossFit... What is it?

A couple of years ago Zumba was all the rage. You couldn't watch TV without a commercial selling videos. Xbox Kinect also made a few Kinect video games for it. It was a huge new revolution! Now it's died down. I still do Zumba for many reasons. 1. The rage had died down, it's not nearly as jammed packed in classes now. 2. It's great cardio 3. it's so much fun 4. It has given me so much more confidence with my husband ;) and in the very rare times I go to a club. Zumba is a great workout, I do it a few times in the week, I highly recommend it for anyone. I'd even recommend it for those who want to CrossFit but are still a little overweight or are scared to try it out. It's great for working out your heart. Plus, Zumba is starting to do songs that are just about your arms, legs or abs! so you get to start working out those muscles as well. I digress. 

But now I feel like the new thing is CrossFit.

What exactly is CrossFit?

Well, according to Wikipedia, CrossFit is a "strength and conditioning program designed to help people gain a broad and general fitness". CrossFit incorporates a lot of different exercises together. I have been to a class and I gotta say it was pretty intense. It's not something you can jump into expecting to come out feeling like a champ. That class kicked my ass. In the classes defense though, I was very overweight. If I tried to do what I do now I would have had the same reaction. 

The above hierarchy is basically what CrossFit is about. CrossFit has the same concept of Zumba: keep moving. "Constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement" You want your heart rate to keep going, never giving it a rest, working those muscles to get stronger. In CrossFit you're involving your own body weight (also like Zumba) or using heavy weights.

When I was the class, we did a lot of squats, lunges, push ups, high intensity cardio moves. Some with weights some without. I did most of it without weights just because it was my first time, which I recommend for anyone. 

The point of CrossFit is to work out every single muscle, in a different way. A lot of workouts aren't just squats or lunges. You could also work out your shoulders as well or your back while doing squats or lunges.

I highly recommend this style of exercise for those who are a bit more fit, those who have lost a lot of their wight already and want to tone and tighten. Your heart rate is going to go through the roof and if your heart can't handle it, it could be dangerous. Also, make sure you're doing these workouts properly. If you do a simple move the wrong way, you could seriously injure something or pull a muscle.

What are your opinions on CrossFit? Do you have any workouts that you do and love?

I'm Bragging a Little...

I'm back from my mini vacation! I had to go back to Washington to pick up my moms car and to get my licence renewed. And I just want to brag a little! 

Ok, I know it looks like a mug shot, but it's not. On the left is my previous licence. I took this photo with I was 19, I was around 160 lbs and not looking to work out and get healthy at all. On the right is my current photo, I'm now 25, 170 lbs and I feel I look a whole lot thinner. My face looks more ovular than round, you can see definition around my neck and shoulders and I just plain look happier!

I also saw my childhood best friend at her wedding. (I'm actually not ashamed of showing myself in this photo! I'm so proud of me and my body. It's slow, but it's coming along!)

We saw each other for the first time in about 6 years, from the last time I visited and 13 years from when we were kids. 

 

I did workout a bit. My mother showed me some cross training moves that I will show you guys and will be incorporating into my workouts.

Working Out While Aunt Flow is Around

Why is talking about our period taboo?

It shouldn't be. Half of the world's population are/will go through it!

I just got a burst of motivation and thennn I started my period last night. Ughhh.

I told my husband "But this was going to be my week! I was going to eat so clean and work out so hard!" My husband said "Why are you saying this WAS going to be your week? You can still do it." 

Oh, silly, silly husband of mine. You can't possibly understand that one week out of the month is the equivalent of a werewolf coming out on the full moon (In my case it's usually the week before). We turn into crazy, hot and/or cold, chocolate-craving monsters whose insides are hurting and can find one spot to lay down on the bed that makes my cramps go away and if you move me, all hell will break loose. 

But it dawned on me. Why can't I work out? Normally, I workout to the max, burning about 700-1200 calories a day, not including my BMR. Instead of sitting around, feeling terribly about myself for a few days and feeling even worse that I didn't work out OR eat healthy, why can't I do SOMETHING?! 

And then the research started.

According to Women's Health "When you have your period (and the week after), your body is more like a man's. During this part of your cycle, your levels of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest, making you a little more dudelike—at least metabolically, says Stacy Sims, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at Stanford University and a leading researcher on the impact of menstruation on athletic performance.

"It's a subtle hormonal shift, but it's enough that it could make you feel more powerful during exercise," says Sims, who began her investigation out of personal curiosity (she suspected her hormones affected her performance in a triathlon).

Her research shows that during this low-hormone phase, women also recover faster and have a higher pain tolerance. Why? "A probable theory is that your body isn't preoccupied with preparing for a possible pregnancy," she says. "Your baseline is reset into a more relaxed mode, so these other systems operate optimally." 

Exercise can relieve the discomfort of cramps and an aching lower back, says Trina Rowe, a doctor of physical therapy at Bauerfeind Performance Center in Los Angeles. It will also burn calories, a boon if you're a hormonal Count Chocula."

hmmm... interesting. I never really tested this out. 

So here's our first tip for working out whilst on your beloved period: GO TO THE GYM.

Try your hardest at your normal routine. Plus, there's a bonus of cramp relief! 

If you feel you can't do it, then go for a jog instead of an intense run, heck, just go for a walk. Do some relaxing yoga. Go for a relaxing bike ride with a friend!

Kotex (Link HERE) even has some advise and even poses we can do to help us out and even suggests swimming as a way to exercise when your Aunt Flow is around. 

Some women always seems to get confused when swimming is suggested. This is what I, personally, do.

I swear by tampons. I do use pads on the first day (Found out when I was 18 that I have big blood clots, apparently. Nurse told me to use pads for the first couple of days instead of tampons.) but then after I'm clear, I use tampons. When you swim, like RIGHT BEFORE, change your tampon. MAKE SURE IT IS.... UP THERE... Once I didn't insert all the way and the tampon soaked up nearly the whole pool. It was very painful, very embarrassing and very heavy. (I will say this, Tampax Pearl can hold a lot!) and swim like normal!

She Knows Health and Wellness suggests 7 exercises while on your period. 

1. Walking

2. Running

3. Yoga

4. Aerobics

5. Dancing

6. Planking

7. Working out from home

All of the above sound great! Especially yoga. I feel like yoga helps the flow and relieves cramps just doing a simple Sun Salutation flow. If you don't know how to do Sun Salutation, it's simple!

Start from the left (regular standing position) and continue the cycle as many times as you like!

And last tip, from me:

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

'They' say to drink 64 oz daily. Yes, this is true for some people. But you should drink half of your body weight in oz. So I'm 170 lbs I have to drink 85 oz of water. And most days I actually do it! Plus, I feel so light and energetic!

People ask me "Don't you have to pee a lot?"

At first I did. But then my body got so used to drinking so much, uhh I don't know the science behind it, but after a few days I only had to pee like every other hour or so.

So, ladies. Put down that chunky monkey and go out there and show the other half of the population that a simple week can't bring us down. It actually empowers us more!

Any questions or comments?

Leave them below!

I lost 30 pounds???

YES! I did!

Since I see myself everyday, I rely on other people's word that I've lost weight and that darned scale. Well, the scale doesn't measure muscle vs fat. When I started my journey I started doing weights and I started gaining weight from muscle, so I stopped using the scale and started measuring how many inches I've lost. 

This is when I started gaining a lot a lot of weight. At the time I was in college living in a little apartment struggling to pay rent and drinking coke and eating ramen noodles every night. 

 

This was around my worst. Christmas 2010.

The military just moved us to Holloman AFB, NM and it was rough. I gained about 40 more pounds here. I was about 200 lbs. I never posted these photo's because I was so ashamed of how I looked. 

I was still about 188 here but this was May 2013 and I started taking my health seriously. This is Joe and I after the Color Me Rad 5k Run.  

This was me yesterday, August 3rd 2013. I still have a lot to go, but I'm half way there!

200 lbs vs 170 lbs

FAQ:

How did you do it?

Simple. I ate right and I worked out hard.

I cut out sodas, most sugars (although I still cheat), and unhealthy carbs (still cheat sometimes).

I try not to cheat a lot.

People always want an easy way out to lose weight. Guess what? THIS WAS EASY! At first, it's the hardest thing to do. But when you get the ball rolling, your day doesn't feel right if you don't work out. I still eat my cravings, just not nearly as much and cut down my portions, or I found a substitute. 

Another thing is that people think, well if I just exercise, but still eat whatever I want, I'll lose weight. You probably will. At first. Then nothing else will happen. You probably won't gain weight, but you will definitely not lose any weight. Trust me I tried that method for about a year.

What type of exercises do you do?

The answer would be shorter for what exercises don't I do. I try to do everything and keep it rotating. I don't want my body to get used to anything and if I do do an exercise again I increase the weights or intensity. 

What type of foods do you eat?

Again, simple. Meats, fruits, veggies, nuts, cheese, eggs, anything healthy!

I try to stay away from unhealthy carbs. If i do have tortillas they're Tumaro's or flat out's (these have flax seed and they're only 100 calories and they're really good!) I don't eat bread, I eat Dreamfield's low carb pasta and not a lot of it. Every meal I have a fruit or vegetable. And water. I drink half of my body weight in water. 

If you have any questions, please let me know and I'll answer them right away!