Rest days

The beauty of rest days is that you can and should still be active. 

I took my dogs for nice long walks, did hard work and then some light weight training and mobility. A beautiful day without any stressors. 

Just wished I could turn down the voices in my head that tell me I need to work harder, and have all these things to do. 

It's hard to train your brain to be ok with stillness and with rest but it's worth it. I'm sure tomorrow I'll be full of energy. 

Here is to rest days. 

Snatches, Cleans and Deads

Yesterday was rest day. I took the dogs for walks and did some mobility and PT exercises. Today, despite noontime exhaustion, I went to the gym and did e following:

Iron scap

Int/ext rotations

1k row in 4:26

Snatch work 

Power and squat up to 85# and felt good

Clean work

Squat clean to 120# and power to 125#

Deads

Deadlift 3RM to 190 and 1 RM to 230

Then mobi

20# kb lift ups and tgus

Strict banded pullups

Planks

Just another Wednesday Workout

This is day 11 of our 8 week (or approximately 57 days long) nutrition team challenge. I didn't sleep well, had to get up early and didn't get to breakfast before 8am. Had a small snack before I went home and forgot my water... That really showed in cravings around 1.30. I wanted pumpernickel so bad... Haha,but I had a couple of eggs and tuna on greens and olive oil and curbed the cravings. I went to PT and the gym and got tired quickly, had my recovery protein , went home, had a balanced dinner and snack and must say: I better hope this diet is working.... I'm getting tired of the cooking... 

And I start missing some items...

Anyway, working out is going well and I am looking forward to hitting heavy weigts and metcons again soon. 

45' PT

1k row in 4:25

Snatch practice

Up to 75# squat snatch

Up to 85# power snatch

3rds

5Toe to bar

2 banded strict pullups

5 10sec L-sits

5 kb reaches @20#

5 TGUs @20#

Garage WOD

Didn't feel like going to the gym so I warmed up by cleaning the garage and then accumulated 

100 tricep extendions with 6#

100 Arm raises with 6#

100 airsquats, 25 with 25#plate

100 lunges, 40 with 25#plate overhead

50 sit-ups

40 push-ups 

30 leg raises

20 deads @75#

20 cleans @75#

20 clean and jerk @75#

Yoga/Stretchibg cool down

Squats

Another day working out. It feels so good to be back. I'm weaker but that's ok. I'm just having fun for a while, maybe a year. 

I worked up to 175# 1RM front squat today. It was heavy but I made it and will slowly improve. 

So today:

45' PT

Iron scap

5x 250m Row sprints

Fastest at 1:48 split

5-5-5-3-3-3-2-2-1-1 

Working up to 1RM front squat 

Ended with 175#

3-3-3-2-2-1

Working up to heavy overhead squat

Failed at 100#

5-5-2-2-1-1

Working up to heavy bench

Failed at 95#

Superset 3-3-3-3-3

Push-ups 

Banded strict pull ups

Mobi

Sunday, Sep 21 Workout

Starting to do post-op testing

As part of our 8 Week Team Challenge, I have to log my workouts every day for a week, to get  daily lifestyle points. I usually do so anyway, but will do it on here, to make sure.
So today for my workout I tested some maxes.

Mobi

Iron Scap Sequence

Push Jerk: worked up to 120# 1RM
Push Press: worked up to 95# 1RM
Press: worked up to 85# 1RM
Deadlift: worked up to 230 1RM

Mobi

Back at the Bar.

Wednesday, Sep 10: Allowed to start lifting LIGHT again!

PT guy allowed me to start lifting LIGHT again!

Iron scap

Airsquats

Leg swings

Couple push press 15# and 35#

Couple OHS at 15#

Couple sumo deadlift high pull at 35#

1' on/off for 10 minutes row at damper 1

3x10reps/sec
Planks

Curls

Tricep extension 

Kb push

TGU

Saturday, Sep 13: Nutrition Challenge Kick Off WOD

Fight Gone bad
207 reps
at 6#WB,35# bars, step ups, damper 1
3Rep Max Deadlift: 125#

During the week, I went to PT Mo/Wed and to the gym to do tricep extensions, light dumbbell moves, iron scap, strict banded pull ups, some lifting, esp. OHS at light weights. Just to get used to the bar again,

Friday, Sep 19: First day without the neck brace

I'm close to week 5 post op and had my neckbrace off for the first time since surgery. Did hot yoga core26 and felt ok. Not great and obviously lots of work to do on mobility but I managed it and held each pose at least once.

Then on the rower at damper 5 I did 4x250m sprints around 1:53 splits 500m. 

Then some dumbbell and barbell work to get moving and stronger! And I will. One step at a time.
I did a mini WOD of
5Rds untimed
5 banded strict pull-ups
10 10# Wallballs
20 alt. tire step ups
20 alt. 15# dumbbell curls

Then a Plank tabata and 20 alt. turkish get ups with 15/20#

Saturday, Sep. 20: Bikram #2

I did Core26 again and already managed a little more.
Cleaned the house, and I am able to take our Mastiff (and Saint) for walks again. One at a time, but that's safer anyways! It's been nice in Colorado. Warm but not too hot. Fall is slowly coming.
For the coming week, I will log my WODs each day on here, since it is part of our Nutrition challenge. So far, I have not lost a point and I am super proud of it. Feeling good, despite some headache on day 5, and some grumpiness on day 6.

Nutrition Team Challenge - Day 1

I decided to do a nutrition and performance challenge at my gym. It started yesterday with a pre-WOD. 

Still in e brace I had to modify it of course: 

3RM deadlift and Fight Gone Bad

I hit 125 and 207 reps with a 6# ball and 35# bar. 

It was pretty exhausting but SOOOO much fun to be back. 

I started working out a bit more since Wednesday when I was cleared to do so by my PT guy. 

I am concerned a little bit about some pain in my shoulder. I may need to get that checked out again to rule out anything else. 

But my scar is healing well.

The challenge started well, although I didn't gain any bonuses for great performance. I hope I'll improve by the end of it. 

We had measurements and pictures taken.

My weight was at 147# with 115 LBM. 

My goal is to lose some fat and gain some more LBM. So ideally, I'll stay around 145#.

We have a 30 day strict paleo rule after which we can add in dairy and some other items. I think the 30 days will be challenging but today went surprisingly well and I am pretty stoked about cleanigg up my diet and getting back into even better shape than before my surgery! 

Here is to health and fitness! 

First post-Op soreness!

Im excited to announce that 17 days post-op I am feeling sore again for the first time since my surgery, well technically since June... 

I did some yard work and cleaned the kitchen, plus a 3k walk with 200 lunges and 200 airsquats yesterday; and today I am feeling it and it feels SOOOO good :)

That's all! 

Good night! 

4 positive side-effects of being an injured Crossfitter

Being injured sucks, but I believe that in every negative there is something positive. 
If you can't see it right away, go look for it! It's all about how you approach your situation, and how you turn your mind towards positive thoughts and use your energy to strengthen your mentality.

Over the last months, I found the following to be true for me.

#1 Detaching from the Whiteboard

The whiteboard and its numbers are just relative. 

Many of us get attached to the whiteboard. I remember when I started CrossFit, I didn't even think I would be able to do a WOD in a "good" time or rx. A couple months in, I was able to rx, got my first pull up, toe to bar, and - to my surprise - noticed an increased time spent in front of the whiteboard. It had become a motivator and a "check-in point" before and after each workout; a way to measure not only my gains but also where I stood in comparison to others at my gym. Signing up for the Opens and completing the open WODs sometimes even fairly successful put this motivation on a whole new level... 

Then came injury. At first it was difficult to see others do so much better but with a little bit of time, I learned to detach myself from the whiteboard. And it's been cleansig in a way. I admit, whenever there is a WOD that I know I would have kicked butt, I take a look at scores and take a mental note. I may even do some of the WODs as part of my training plan when I return - and I know it will be motivating. 

#2 Mastering WOD Modifications

 Listening to the body sometimes means
to not put more weight on the bar

We turn to our Coaches when we are unsure how to do a movement or if we feel like we need to modify. They guide us and advice us. Where I train, we can usually chose to do the WOD at one of three levels, with L3=Rx. Also, our coaches are not only attentive and knowledgeable  but a great resource for ideas and help.
However, if you are injured over a prolonged time, you quickly learn to come up with your own modifications and WODs. I am not saying that my WODs are great but they allow me to use weights and equipment that I can handle or that I even have at home. 
Even when injured, I want to feel good about my workout and still challenge myself in ways that I am ok with. After all, the coaches are not in my body and only I really know what I need and can do. 
That's what's so wonderful about CrossFit: you can (learn to) modify everything. You won't be able to compare yourself to others on the whiteboard anymore, and if that's what you were thinking, how about you read #1 again. :)

#3 Seeing True Colors 

Being injured shows you whom you can trust
and who you can count on. 

We all preach the welcoming nature of the CrossFit community as a whole. And it's true, if someone asks me why I CrossFit, I don't mention last that I love the community, the people, and the support. BUT, it only goes that far. Before I was injured, I was getting stronger and performed pretty well at my gym. A PR here, a sub 3' Grace time there, you get the idea. I am myself a competitive person, so being injured was surely the last thing I wanted to experience while improving strength and fitness. But it happened. 

As the injury creeped up on me and I had to go down in weight or slow down my pace, I started noticing that others who I would usually beat would pass me and triumph. This is where I began seeing true colors in myself and others. In the beginning, it was very hard for me to let others beat me, but I had to listen to my body and not my competition. It still is difficult sometimes, especially during workouts that "are made for me," but instead of falling deeper into depression and obsessing with "failing" I turned it around and put my energy in #1, #2, & #4. Supporting and constructively judging others has become a priority, and strangely enough it's rather rewarding to be the cheerleader! 
Of course, I have also seen true colors in others. While most are supportive and sympathetic of my current physical state, others have shown that they do not care, but are rather "happy" that there is one girl less to compete with. This is the sad truth that is rarely talked about in the welcoming CrossFit community. There can be tension (maybe more between the girls than the guys?!) among girls. 

#4 Developing Mental Strength

Mental visualization is a useful tool,
especially when you are injured. 

Being a CrossFit athlete not only means to  be strong and fit, but it also tests your commitment,  determination, perseverance, and work ethic. While some argue that certain kind of people do CrossFit, you can learn or strengthen your mentality towards the sport and your training. 
Mental toughness is not a new skill, but oftentimes overlooked, and certainly not explicitly coached or taught in a CrossFit class. 
Yet, many of the skills that make up your mental strength, are easily trained if you put in some effort and work. 
Using the time of my injury has been a blessing in the sense that I had time to catch up on some readings about sports psychology and motivational as well as performance studies in athletes. One of the skills is mental visualization. Maybe you don't want to brush up on good form and technique while you cannot actively participate in CrossFit? Visualizing yourself performing will translate into your actual performance when you return. 
For me, that means for example, that I have been watching every Muscle up tutorial online, rewatched the videos of myself getting up in the rings, and imagining myself doing so when I return. Instead of muscle memory, I am actively building mental memory and the ability to translate thoughts into action for the day that I have regained the amount of strength that I will need to perform.
Without time off from surgery, I would probably not have invested as much into perfecting form and developing the mentality of being able to achieve and perform. The physical test will be here sooner than later. I am enjoying the preparation that allows me to believe and visualize that I can do this.