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Posts Tagged ‘CrossFit

Jul

Carole 165# Dead-Lift

I have some pretty amazing clients. I’m blessed and grateful all at the same time. I’ve been working with Carole for a year and a half now. We’ve been focused on over-all body strength. Carole just turned 65 years young a little over a week ago.

Today, she dead-lifted more than her body weight. This is one of the most inspiring progressions I have witnessed. You see, we don’t train dead-lift once a week, once every two weeks, and some times we go a full month in between dead-lifting at all. Instead we work on all over body strength. The style of training varies. Kettle-bell training, dumbbell training, barbell training, and body weight training. She never says no to anything I ask her to do. She does band assisted pull-ups, ring-rows, barbell hip thrusts, sit-ups, anything I ask. I hope this blog will encourage other women to reach out to a reputable personal trainer and get you some strong! Find someone you are comfortable with and get busy. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Change happens with practice. Consistent practice.

Congratulations Carole!!

Jun

What’s In Your Head

By garagegym107 1 Comment

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: #bodyforlife, #fitatfifty, #garagegym, Clean Eating, Community, CrossFit, exercise, fat loss, fitness, gaining self confidence, Garagegym107, healthy-living, Inspiration, Long term weight loss, Weight Lifting, Working out, Workout

A few months back I did a Guest Post over at 43 Fitness about the big M. Having settled in to my 50’s I was very frank about how I felt about the changes to the body regarding menopause. The things I’ve experienced and the things I haven’t experienced.

I’m back today to give more insight into my head space in case there are any other women who find themselves in a similar space.

As I progress through my 50’s there is one thing I didn’t really touch on in my guest blog. After having a discussion with a friend yesterday, I realized it was time to write about it.

The mindset of aging came out of nowhere for me. I’ve always been a positive, age is mind over matter, it’s just a number, and so on.

Over the past several months (I wrote the guest blog in February) since my 51st birthday in March, the “old lady mindset” has tried its best to take over the power of positive thinking.

Mortality is real, keeping yourself healthy is real, and sinking all of your energy into worrying about something that is going to happen anyway is a big fat waste of time.

Yes, after my 51st birthday, I fell into this obnoxious habit of seeing only the aging in the mirror. That my friends, is something you really want to prevent if you aren’t there yet.

It’s June now, so that means I have spent a full 3 months in the “Oh my it is happening to me” mode. Looking in the mirror thinking thoughts like:

Is this appropriate for a 51 year old? Dang that face powder sure does stick in those wrinkles. Holy crap, is that a new wrinkle? Oh dear lord where did those lips I used to have go?

If you’ll notice, I never once thought about WHAT MY BODY CAN DO, I was focused solely on appearance and I began to become miserable.

Not going quite as hard in the gym, eating a little of this and a little of that processed, packaged food (which I am absolutely certain causes that middle-aged mid-section women whine about).

Mentally saying things like “I’m old, why bother.” “Am I getting too old to wear LuLuLemon?” “Should I be wearing 3/4 length sleeves all the time now instead of sleeveless?” What a load of crap I was trying to convince myself of.

This past weekend was the second annual Beast of the Valley Competition. I met so many new young women, beautifully spirited, strong, fit, and yet they were as down to earth as they could possibly be. More than once I got the “I hope I’m still lifting when I’m 51” comment. I digested the event through a different set of eyes this weekend.

Older and wiser eyes.

Yes, the time passes and we age, but we don’t have to give up what we love to do.

Instead we must absolutely focus on the positives that come along with training and stay far away from the wrinkles and the flaws.

We all have them, it’s just a matter of whether you will allow the aging process to steal your joy and zest for life, or you make a list of your positive attributes and keep moving forward.

There is absolutely nothing my body isn’t capable of doing, only my when my mind interferes does my progress falter.

Stay strong ladies!

Jan

Moving Past That Place

By garagegym107 272 Comments

Twice this week I’ve had conversations with women who find themselves at a crossroads. It’s the crossroads to long-term change. It’s a frightening place to be.

To the left is everything you know, comfort, habit, status quo, the norm, the place you’ve known for what could be your whole life, failures, the past.

To the right is belief, discomfort, truth, health, happiness, knowledge, pressure, fear of the unknown, trials, failures (yes you have failures on both roads), wisdom, desire, change, gratitude.

I know this crossroads all too well. In the spring and summer of 2010 I stood at the very same crossroads. I had just won the Body-for-Life challenge which had been a goal for 9 years. Everyone thought I had it all figured out. What people around me didn’t know, was what was happening on the inside. Even my best friends had no idea.

I was terrified. Afraid I’d back slide back to the 328# person I used to be. I was terrified I would fail again. I was terrified that I was a fake. I was afraid I didn’t believe in myself as much as others believed in me. I was afraid of the future.

Looking back on that crossroads now it seems silly. But at that time the fear was very real, very much a part of my daily life.

In order to overcome that fear, I had to put some daily habits in place. Below are the most important ones listed in the order of importance for me.

No Negative Self-Talk. EVER
Write down 3 things I’m grateful for daily
Write down 3 positive affirmations about my body daily
Get the fear out of your head

These things may look trivial to some, but to a person who doesn’t believe in themselves, I believe these things are a game changer. Let me elaborate.

No Negative Self-Talk. EVER

Negative self-talk is the single most detrimental habit a person can develop. Negative self-talk comes up when you look in the mirror, when you are handling your personal finances, when you go to work, when you parent your children, in your marriage. It’s everywhere. SHUT. IT. DOWN. You are worthy of greatness, no-one, not even yourself should tell you otherwise.

Write down 3 things you’re grateful for

Gratitude helps you realize in the big scheme of things you’ve got it really good. Be grateful you’re healthy and not fighting for your life. Be grateful you have a roof over your head. If you are reading this, be grateful for the very device allowing you to see this, even if it’s a loaner. Be grateful for the simplest things in your life. Once you remove your “woe is me” tunnel vision, you get to fully see what you have to be grateful for.

Write down 3 positive affirmations about my body daily

I don’t mean the same things every day. Each day find 3 things you love about your body. They may or may not have a thing to do with your physical appearance. I love my eyes because they allow me to see things. I love my strong and powerful legs that allow me to move heavy things. I love my ears because they allow me to hear beautiful music.

Get the fear out of your head

If you are afraid of something talk about it with a trusted friend, a person who’s walked this path before you, or if nothing else, write your fear down in a journal. What I found over time was the fear was much, much greater in my head than it ever was out in the open. I’ve written letters to people and then burned them (very healing). I have sobbed on my friend’s shoulder when faced with the realization I wasn’t going to reach a goal I set. Getting your fear of failure out of you mind clears the space so that it can be filled to the brim with positive and grateful thinking.

All of the above may seem trivial, but if you are at the crossroads of significant weight loss, throw these habits in to play and see if you don’t find some peace from the constant fear of back-sliding.

Jan

Torn Between Two Loves

By garagegym107 232 Comments

Here lately I’ve been struggling. No not with food, that’s dialed in quite nicely actually. I’m torn. Torn between my love of bodybuilding and my love of barbell building. When I do one with serious focus, I feel like I’m cheating on the other. It sounds so silly but really it’s not.

Every morning I get up at 4am. Spend about 15 minutes getting ready to head out to the gym. If I do not have an iron clad plan of what I’m going to do in a given workout, I will falter. Monday and Friday are hard-core bodybuilding lifting days because I have much more time. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I teach at 5:30am class so that only gives me about 30 solid working minutes after I’ve warmed up. Saturday or Sunday when I’m afforded the time, I’ll sneak in another good workout and it rotates between barbell and body building. Here lately, I’ve decided to use those 3 shorter training times for barbell work. Man I love it.

I’m reminded every time I pick up the bar that I’m strong, but the bar can be stronger. I’m also reminded that my training over these past few years has really changed my functional fitness and ability level. At almost 51 years old I can do things I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing in my 30’s.

I read an article the other day that really struck home for me. It talked about the fact there are no studies showing eating healthy and exercising will prolong your years. Then it went on to talk about the quality of your life with strength training versus quality of life with out it. I already knew this, but it was quite gratifying to read it in black and white. I don’t care how long I have left, I just want that time to be spent as fit as I can possibly be.

So more motivation to lift! And more motivation to stop trying to choose between the two disciplines. I fully believe they compliment each other. The video below in particular reminds me of my functional ability. My form isn’t perfect, but my technique is improving with practice. If you have any doubts about whether weight training is for you, at minimum look into it. It will make you sore some days, those days will simply remind you that you are growing in your fitness. I look forward to being the little old lady in the corner lifting. Absolutely.

Jan

Inspired By Others

By garagegym107 15 Comments

Yesterday while reading Lifting My Spirits FB page I was greatly inspired by her recent workout video posts. She has allowed folks access into her workouts via video and I just thought that was the greatest thing. When you are doing this fitness thing for good, as in like brushing your teeth, there are always times you can use a little motivation. I’m nowhere near as good as she is with this whole video thing, but today, I thought I’d try it. I have a lot to learn about camera placement etc., and practice will remedy that. And again a shout out to Lifting My Spirits for being such a great mentor and example for all of us.

When I looked at this video I thought to myself “man you’re getting old” and then the lifter in me said “but you’re still going and will continue to do so”.

Before you get all stirred up about my form, please keep in mind this was a short workout that began at 4:45am. I didn’t have a lot of time to warm up and it shows. There are also flaws in my technique and there is nothing better than a video to show you exactly what you need to work on to improve technique. So there it is. For the sake of time, I’ve edited out the rest periods for the most part.

A shout out to my friend Roxanne Perkins for helping tutor me on the art of video editing.

Location: CrossFit Madison

Music by Lenny Kravitz

Grunts and groans by yours truly! 🙂

Squat Cleans 2 reps every minute on the minute 85#

Jan

Workout #2 YOTL 2014

By garagegym107 5 Comments

After being out of town and dealing with a spousal unit with food poisoning I managed to make it to the gym on my lunch hour. It was a quick, lighter weight workout. Not bad for a quickie during lunch. No complaints here, only accountability. I also want to make clear the only workouts being posted under this title are leg workouts. I suppose I should start a separate thread for all other workouts. 🙂

Walking Lunges Wide Step

3 sets x 15 reps

Back Squat

45# x 10 reps

65# x 5 reps

85# x 5 reps

45# x 10 reps

Seated Leg Press

110# x 10 reps x 4 sets

Seated Leg Ext.

60# x 15 reps x 5 sets

Walking Lunges Wide Step

2 sets x 15 reps

Jan

Resolutions – Just Keep Going

By garagegym107 3 Comments

I posted on my FB page yesterday, a simple shout out to those starting something new in 2014. I’ve seen so many posts slamming new years resolutions and posts of seasoned athletes commenting on the new years crowds in the gym.

Today I feel a need to talk about the day I started my journey, exactly 13 years ago yesterday on 01-01-2001. I was miserably fat, extremely insecure, and totally embarrassed to go into the gym. I went anyway. I was wearing a 3xl t-shirt and a pair of leggings that should have never ever been seen in public, but it was all I had that I could fit into. So began my journey. That first week was literally hell looking back on it. I made myself so sore I got sick, but I kept going. I could feel peoples eyes and the looks of pity, but I kept going.

A month or so later when I had been going consistently for a month (a huge deal at the time), I decided to join a morning aerobics class. I got in the very back of the room. I noticed people looking back at me, some with encouragement, others with what I will describe as a knowing look. A look of “we are about to run her off” knowing. I hung in that class for 20 minutes and the instructor made no effort what-so-ever to modify the movements or even say to me “just keep going”. Three little words was all she had to say, but she never did. She became forever known to me as “the instructor I never want to be”. I walked out of that class at that 20 minute mark and I never set foot in that room again. Did I walk out of the gym?? Not a chance.

Instead, I got to know something called iron. Dumbbells at first and then I added the barbell. They didn’t yell at me. They never at any point implied that I couldn’t do it, they just fought back with resistance. From that point on, I knew I’d found what I loved to do. I lifted and lifted and slowly over the course of the year 2001 I began to change. After 90 days no-one could even tell I’d lost 35# and I cried ALOT because I was not an “after” in that first 90 days. In 90 days losing 35 pounds was impressive (looking back on it) and I could have stopped there but I didn’t. I just kept going. Another 90 days passed and another 35 pounds down, people started to take notice. Over the course of yet another 90 days, folks started noticing BIG changes on a monthly basis. Some where around the 125 pounds lost mark, I felt like I was on the right path and my habits had begun to develop, but it took years to get my emotional head straight. So if you are reading this and just starting, just keep going. It takes longer than you may think to change, but just keep going and you will change.

All of that started with a New Year’s Resolution and a gym membership. So for the next two or three months, walk around your gym and make eye contact with the New Year’s Resolutions, you may find a lonely soul that is one smile away from changing his or her life.

Me? I’ll be the one standing on the sidelines yelling “YOU CAN DO THIS” with tears streaming down my face, because I just kept going.

Dec

A New Year 2014

By garagegym107 1 Comment

NO! This is not a blog about New Year’s Resolutions.

As I write this post another year is coming to a close. Being the eternal optimist, I tend to see only the best when I look back. When I think back on it, I realize how much I’ve accomplished. I’ve become a successful business owner. I’ve managed to work two jobs and keep my wits and humor about me. I kept up with all of my workouts, even when I didn’t have time to sit down and post a blog about what I was doing.

The one thing that wasn’t stellar the entire year was my writing. I missed it, I didn’t realize how much until I started really posting again. It seems kind of silly actually. Me, in my little world, writing things for others to read. I hardly feel qualified to write. I do it anyway. I’m sure there are some folks out there who read my blogs and cringe at my less perfect grammar. I try hard not to get so caught up in proper sentence structure and grammar but instead focus on content.

I want to continue to write in a way that keeps things real. I’m a real human being with real challenges just like everyone else. I want to share experiences and the vision of a almost 51 year old fitness junkie/body builder/CrossFit coach.

You see, I realized about a year and a half ago there are a lot of folks out there who are hungry for some success in this life. Whether it be there own or someone else’s. It took me a while to announce myself as a “Successful Transformation” because I know better than most, in order to have a successful transformation, you gotta have a few years of maintenance under your belt. This year marked the 3rd year in a row I could wear the same sized corduroy pants. For a reformed yo-yo dieter and former obese person, this in of itself is a huge victory. My focus this year has been mostly on building muscle and not gaining fat. As I move in to 2014, it’s the year of legs. My training will be full body, with extra focus on the legs. I’ve created a category for posting all things related to this topic in one place. I have before pictures and will keep them safe and sound until I’m ready to do side by side comparison photos.

A special thanks going out today to all of my readers, both new and far. I’m overjoyed to see readers in the UK, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Canada showing up on my stats page. Thank you all so very much for taking time out of your busy worlds to visit mine!

Stay safe and Happy New Year!

Dec

Letting Go of Insecurity

By garagegym107 5 Comments

I could write a book on the topic of insecurity. My own personal insecurity would take up 2/3 of the book. At one point in my life I took myself so seriously, I was absolutely ZERO fun to be around. Little did I know at the time no one really paid that much attention, except me.

I was somewhat insecure in my earlier years before I got fat (I can say that insensitive word, I don’t have to be politically correct when I’m talking about myself in my own blog).

Once I got so fat, I was conscious of things I’d never noticed before. Looks from people, some I could tell were literally looks of disbelief. Others, looks of pity. The worst was the look a saw looking back in the mirror and that was disgust. Harsh, but truth. I thought surely when I lost all the weight, I’d lose the insecurity with it. But not so fast.

For a long time after I lost my weight I had serious fears about suddenly waking up and being back in that 328# body again. This fear spiraled out into my food consumption as well. I feared if I took a vacation or went off my overly strict food plan that I would never be able to regroup. For people who have lost a lot of weight this is a true insecurity. It’s a true fear that must be worked through. I’ve dubbed it “Fat Head Syndrome” the inability to see real, positive self-image after significant weight-loss.

As is with losing the weight, gaining trust in self is also a process that takes time. Learning to let go of mistakes, fear, and the seeking of perfection, are huge milestones in long term weight loss.

For a while I used positive affirmations to help me through. Training my brain to realize that I’m an athlete, not a dieter was one of the biggest steps to overcoming the obstacle. Then came the realization that micro-managing an overly strict food plan wasn’t necessary. I began to come to terms with the fact that if I focused on eating unprocessed and whole foods, I didn’t have to stress so much about every little detail. All that being said, I get why people do it.

The beautiful thing is watching a person literally come out of the cocoon when they realize they really are becoming more fit, both physically and mentally. I can see the relief in the eyes of a client once they come to believe it’s physically impossible to gain all of the weight back overnight. They realize they do indeed have the power to control their own outcomes. As a Coach it’s one of my favorite moments.

Coaching a client on getting out of their own way is one of the toughest parts of coaching. It takes time and patience and the occasional proverbial kick in the pants. And that’s why I love Coaching.

I’ve always loved the image below, borrowed from the internet, I truly believe there is an athlete in most everyone. But it’s the rare individual who has the courage to step out of the shadows and embrace the greatness we are each born with.

Dec

Surviving the Crash and Burn

By garagegym107 9 Comments

Today is the day after Christmas. Today is the day after a lot of folks crash and burn. Crash and burn=totally fall off track with fitness and nutrition and spend weeks trying to recover.

Here is a quick list of what to do to help you get back on track.

Throw out the crap, guilt free, ALL of it
Drink water like it’s your job, it will help you rehydrate and cleanse your system
Forgive yourself
Stop talking about how bad you feel and how bad you suck, so you crashed and burned, move on
Stop putting off today, the reckoning day, until Monday, or January 1st or whichever day you feel you need to prepare for, start today, right now
Get a clean meal in to your system
Get what you need to prepare more clean meals
Start a list of goals for 2014
Get thee to the gym and move something heavy quickly
Rinse and repeat

Remember there isn’t a final countdown of food consumption before starting some new fad diet on January 1st. Get your head right, get your house, apartment, desk, etc., cleaned out and replace any crap with clean staples and get a move on. Consistent clean meals will help boost your MOJO as much as a good solid workout will.

And remember this….

Didn’t turn into this….

Because I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. Now get on with it.

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