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Jun

More Morphing of a Fit Woman

As I read through a few friends blogs this weekend I realized that I could be doing some things a tad bit or even a whole LOT better.

In example over at 43 Fitness she whips out her workout log and shows all of her readers the key points and highlights that she relies on that notebook to remind her of. I love it.

I have several workout books/logs, but over the past 6 months or so I’ve gotten out of the habit of doing it daily and that has got to change. It doesn’t matter what the reason is behind not keeping up with it, all that matters is that needs to change. Today.

Keeping a journal of both food and workouts is the ONLY way a coach or trainer or faithful friends can help you figure out why you’ve hit a plateau or whether you are making excuses. Accountability.

I am weak. I need accountability. I admit it.

Underneath it all I am as normal as they come. I want to cheat on my food and so long as no one saw me eat that extra handful of nuts, it doesn’t matter right? Uh huh.

Oh last week I cleaned 95# 15 times but this week I’m just too tired to clean 85# 10 times. Uh huh.

As long as it is not written down, it doesn’t matter, right? Uh huh.

See the pattern?

While watching the video 43 Fitness did, I remembered a time way back when. Yes, a long time ago. I was keeping my very first food journal. I remember making it through the first week with everything nice and tidy. During the second week things started to change. One day I ate 4 chocolate covered Oreo cookies. In my mind they are a whole lot better than they are in my mouth these days. Now they just taste overly processed. I digress…

The day I sat with that food journal getting ready to write down those cookies, all sorts of feelings cascaded through my mind. Shame and guilt were in the front row. Followed by honesty. Honesty said “write it down and be uncomfortable with it”. Shame and guilt applauded the uncomfortable part.

That was the turning point for me with keeping a food journal. Most of the time I no longer need it. Seriously, most of the time I’m spot on with both meal planning and portions. When it is time to set a new goal, it is time to journal.

In reality, I do believe that is just what my fitness goals need to come to fruition.

A journal should be filled with all of the important details of your workouts and your nutrition. If you lift you want to keep up with the lifting progressions. Try new things that challenge your body. Sometimes they don’t work out for you. If you journal it, you won’t likely make the same mistake twice.

When keeping a food journal, you must have integrity. I promise you, strong character is built when no one else is watching. Because the only person you are cheating is yourself.

WRITE IT DOWN. You may be surprised at patterns that develop. Patterns that can help you understand whether you sabotage yourself. Patterns that help you understand if you are a stress eater. WRITE IT DOWN. Over time you’ll get stronger because you won’t eat it because you don’t want to WRITE IT DOWN.

I talked to the spousal unit last night and told him it was time for more serious goal setting and record keeping. He is the best “are you SURE you want to eat that” person on the planet. Especially when he knows I have a goal set.

As with most everything, I intend to share the new journal process with you all. Hopefully I can start making a few videos along the way.

Jun

My Thoughts On Being Strong

By garagegym107 6 Comments

My last blog was letting all my blogging friends know I was competing in a strongman competition as a way to honor my father-in-law who is currently battling cancer.

It’s taken me a full week to get my thoughts together and to make a picture video of the event.

Things I learned while competing. First, I’m stronger than I think I am. Second, I have some of the best people on this planet in my cheering section. Third, fear is much bigger in my head than after taking the first step in a competition.

This event has been the highlight over the past month. I watched friends PR (get a personal record) all day long. We all got dirty together, we sweat together, encouraged each other and we encouraged total strangers through tough workouts.

If I’m not mistaken, the next closest competitor in my age group was 14 years younger than me, and on average most were 20-25 years younger. Yes, I questioned my own sanity a time or two for coming out and competing with kids, but it’s not about beating them, it’s about being a better me than I was yesterday. As you will see by the pictures, I carried heavy things, flipped tires, pulled a sled 50 meters and got a personal record of 240# on my dead-lift.

The best thing I did that day was set an example for a group of young women who now see that aging doesn’t mean you have to stop doing things that challenge you. Being smart about my fitness, keeping myself healthy and injury free allows me to compete in this environment.

What a great day.

On the mornings I head out to Garagegym107 to row, I see the before pictures hanging on the wall and remember where I was and that I am unwilling to go back there. It can be done, it is being done. Day in and day out, me vs. me. I live by the mindset, there is no finish line.

Pictures courtesy of CrossFit Madison

Video: A special thanks to Jason Thompson

Song: The Script-Hall of Fame

May

Look Around You

By garagegym107 14 Comments

I have been on my fitness journey for 11 years and 5 months, but who’s counting. I’d have to say the one thing that still amazes me is how often I continue to choose to “raise the bar” both in mindset and in physical training.

It is as if the few moments after I become comfortable with a skill I’ve finally mastered, it is suddenly time to move on to the next task at hand. I’m sure some of my friends think I should slow down and try to break this sense of driven I have, but for me, it is not that simple.

For me it is life. My life. I’ve fought my way back from a place where hundreds of thousands of people resign themselves to live in for the rest of their days. More than likely not because they WANT to stay there, but instead, they decide it is too hard a battle to fight to leave that place. Trust me, I know all too well how tough that battle is.

Here lately I’ve found myself noticing more and more how unhealthy folks are getting. Perhaps that feeds my drive.

I’m not getting any younger. But through my fitness bar raising I’m able to prevent the decline for another day or two.

Seems rather like a hamster in a wheel doesn’t it?

Truth of the matter is, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Look around you. Really look. I’m in the minority, the doer’s. The get up and give the aging process a swift kick in the arse people.

Also known at work as the woman with the muscles. The hardass. The one who consistently trains day in and day out. Those who know me, absolutely know that I’m harmless, yet one of the best trainers they’ll find. I care. I want others to feel the success that I’ve had and continue to strive for. Nothing brings me more joy than watching someone else achieve a goal they set for themselves.

I thank God everyday that I am a healthy, fit person. In that thanks, I also remind myself that it is truly a blessing to be physically able to pursue the goals that I have set for myself. There are just too many others out there who are not able too. So if you are able to and chose not to…shame on you. Use what you have and make a better life for yourself. Don’t be status-quo.

Just look around you.

May

Steel Your Resolve

By garagegym107 5 Comments

Categories: Living Fit Daily
Tags: Body-for-Life, BodyBuilding, Bright Spots, change, Clean Eating, Community, exercise, fat loss, fitness, food, gaining self confidence, Garagegym107, Goal Setting, goals, Gym, health, healthy-living, Inspiration, Long term weight loss, Motivation

My last post was all about making things work when the going gets tough and things get complicated.

This is a short post, a list of things that are working for me, keeping me on task and on plan.

Meal prep. Spend 2-3 hours preparing, weighing and packaging individual meals for Monday through Friday. Keeping it very simple, I tend to eat either the same thing, or very close to the same thing each day. My proteins are priority one. Take half to work, leave half at home. This leaves no room for “hmmm….I don’t have anything, so I’ll pick something up”. Saves money, time, and totally keeps me focused.
Cut out my early am net-surfing 30 minutes and started getting right on the rower. The same could be accomplished with a run, fast walk, met-con, whatever blows your skirt up. Just do it. No one interrupts me that early, they are sleeping. Prime ME time.
Don’t hit snooze. Just don’t. Get up and get moving, in the 9-10 minutes you snooze, you can floss, brush, and flush and be out the door.
Stay focused. Find motivation. Share motivation

Get busy doing.

Apr

Things Are a Little Dusty

By garagegym107 2 Comments

Yes indeed things got a little dusty here in the land of blogging. High stress day jobs and long hours tend to want to wreak havoc on my whole life, but I won’t let it.

Needless to say, when things blow up all around me, all I can do is focus on what I can do in the moment. Staying in the moment these past several weeks has literally saved my MOJO and my sanity.

What I mean by staying in the moment is literally to stop worrying about what will be happening 2-3 hours or even 6-8 hours from now, much less, weeks and months. I cannot change a single thing in the future as I have no crystal ball or time machine.

My day job hours have significantly increased upwards to 11-12 hour days. When you add the coaching I do at our CrossFit Box, that leaves a shortness in my own training time. Which leads to grouchy butt syndrome on my part.

I caught myself whining a little about it. Then I reminded myself that I needed to put my big girl panties on and deal with things just as they are. What if I get to continue to come in to work at 7:15 indefinitely…? Well get up a little earlier. So be it.

That one thought triggered several more reminders of what I can do to help myself remain consistent in all things I love when things get harried.

Meal prep and planning. I spent three hours on Sunday taking away all excuses for not eating enough and well enough this week. Everything is nicely packed in throw away Ziploc Freezer Bags so no dishes to whine about washing.

Workouts are shifted from AM five days a week to 2 AM workouts and 3 lunch time workouts one rest day and a new weekend workout. No excuses.

Did these decisions come about easily? Well no, of course not. I spent three weeks trying to squeeze things in until I wanted to explode from being in a rushed frenzy before realizing that it was time to settle down and see things for what they are.

Changing.

Yes, the one constant will always be change. Why on earth I fight it so much is beyond me. My family would say stubbornness and I would agree.

Change is inevitable, but how we deal with it makes or breaks us. When my poor spousal unit started getting tewky with me, I realized I have been riding around on my pretty little broom just a bit too often.

When you find change coming in a very fast and unexpected fashion, find a quiet place to reflect, even if it’s only for 15 minutes. Write down what is really important to you and figure out how you will make change work instead of using change as an excuse to fail.

Apr

In Pursuit of Dreams

By garagegym107 41 Comments

Categories: Nutritional Cleanse Experiment
Tags: Community, CrossFit, exercise, fitness, gaining self confidence, Garagegym107, Goal Setting, goals, Gym, health, healthy-living, heavy weights, Insecurity, Inspiration, Motivation, Training, Well-Being, Working out, Workout

As I mentioned in my previous blog I am in the middle of the CrossFit Open Sectionals competition. It’s a very exciting time for me and the athletes of our CrossFit box. I’ve watched people evolve over the course of this past month, achieving things one month ago, they had no idea they could really accomplish. Both strong and beautiful inside out, I am honored to have their permission to present them to you.

These three women have inspired me beyond measure, right along with their own friends and family members.

Thanks to CrossFit Madison for the photos.

Anna Lombard: Anna decided her first go around at the WOD wasn’t her best. She came back in on Saturday and showed everyone, including herself exactly what she is capable of.

Artesha Bishop: Artesha also decide her first go around at the WOD wasn’t her best. She came back in on Saturday and found she was capable of more. Not settling for less than her absolute best, she gave is one final go and exceeded her own expectations.

Sydney Blackmon: I have watched this young lady absolutely blossom through her CrossFit experiences. On Saturday she successfully cleaned & jerked the prescribed load of 95# multiple times. Big deal right? Well that 95# is 5# less than her own body weight. The most exciting part is that she is 17 years old.

Feb

Have I Been A Slacker?

By garagegym107 6 Comments

I realized when I sat down to write this blog I’ve begun to allow too much time to pass between blogs. I’ve got way too much to talk about to not sit down and make it happen.

Anyway, one might wonder if I’ve been slacking. Fat chance on that. I work a full-time professional day job and then I step out with my favorite evening job, personal training.

I long to find a way to support myself with my first love. Eventually I’ll get there, just not while I have a kid in college.

So, enough of my ramblings. Have I mentioned lately how much I adore working out? I really do. Most people cringe at getting up at 4:30am to be at the gym around 5. Not me. I started my days off like that long before I ever allowed the fat chick to rule my world.

Back in those days I wasn’t over weight, really not even pleasantly plump. After the birth of my 3rd son, I decided that working out at 5:00am allowed me to work out guilt free. Everyone was still sleeping and I didn’t feel like I was taking away from the older boys baseball, etc.

Fast forward through the trauma of divorce and massive unhealthy weight gain, through the amazing and a times heartbreaking journey of weight loss and the release of emotional baggage I find myself now older, wiser and still loving the 5:00am workouts.

The key in all of that chatter is find what works for you and your family. It may not be the ideal time, but if this is really important to you, you’ll do it whenever you can make it happen.

I’ve discovered lately that having a fit mind is just as important, perhaps even more important than a fit body.

Someone in your life causing drama? That doesn’t make it your drama. Someone having a bad day? That doesn’t make it your bad day. Your friend decided to make an excuse not to go to the gym this morning? That’s not your excuse.

My message and one of my own personal favorite lessons has always been “Just because someone else is having an issue, that doesn’t make it my issue”. I’ve learned over the last 20 years that if you take it, someone will keep giving it to you to carry for them.

Put on mental rubber suit and let the excuses of others roll off like rain on a freshly waxed car. Take care of yourself and six months from now your drama filled, excuse making friend will be asking YOU how you did it!

You’ve got enough to handle keeping yourself fit and fabulous.

Feb

Be Beautiful

By garagegym107 1 Comment

For ALL of the beautiful ladies in my life, I write this blog. You know who you are, you are near and far. The ones who, at the drop of a hat send a kind word or do a kind deed. You are the ones that simply place a heart on my FB page. You are the ones who send a card for no other reason than you want to make someone smile.

With all of the noise surrounding the perfection of women, be it in the fitness industry, the beauty industry, the clothing industry, remember that we are each in our own way simply beautiful.

Imagine a world with no commercials or billboards bombarding you with thoughts of what you should be, how you should look, or telling you what material thing you should have before you consider yourself beautiful.

Get up tomorrow and let it all fade to black. Find the beauty you were born with, IT IS IN YOU, I know, I’ve seen it with my own eyes and felt it with my own heart. Be the beautiful women that you are!

Please take 3 minutes and 20 seconds and watch this video. A huge shout out to Karen Walrond for posting this on You Tube. And a huge thanks to my Precision Nutrition coach Jennifer Koslo for sharing this.

Please, please, share this with every beautiful woman that you know!

Jan

Motivation & Momentum

By garagegym107 1 Comment

I have had several conversations of late regarding “I’ve lost motivation”. This isn’t coming from new folks beginning a New Year’s Resolution diet. This is coming from long-term fitness friends that are simply a little burned out.

It happens. This thing called burn out. It usually shows up a few days after you know you should be back to your fitness routine but for some reason only you know, you just can’t muster your mojo. You know, that old feeling that creeps in and settles after holidays or some other stressful happening in your life.

This is a list of a few things that have helped me push past that burn out phase each time it happens.

-1 Remember why you started all of this in the first place. For you and only you. That place deep inside that drives you to be better than you were yesterday.

-2 Change things up a bit. It could be as simple as downloading new music for your workouts. It could be a hard as switching from lifting to CrossFit or group fitness classes.

-3 Get to the gym and spend 15 minutes working out. Odds are you’ll stay for a whole lot longer.

-4 Get together with your fitness friends. Have everyone bring a healthy dish and let them help you remember what you want to accomplish.

-5 Get off your butt and quit making excuses. You know you want it, just get busy.

Dec

That Space in Between

By garagegym107 8 Comments

Today I find myself sitting in that space between Christmas and New Year’s. You know, that space where most people sit around nibbling on the goodness left over from Christmas while in wait for the celebration of New Year’s.

For some folks, that space in between is the black hole of every excuse under the sun for throwing months of hard work away with that “I might as well wait (weight) until the new year starts”.

How about committing to yourself to not waste (waist) these next few days with that mindset. You know who you are. Especially those who are totally out of the normal routine. Trust me, your routine is calling you just as loudly as those left-over treats. In fact your routine is probably calling you just a tad bit louder.

You know you want to feel good. So get up and moving. Throw that crap out, in the trash can, down the disposal, whatever it takes.

We are brought up not to waste food. If someone gave it to you, throw it out. If the person that gave it to you truly knows you and knows what your goals are, they won’t care if you throw it out. If they get upset, then ask yourself what their true intentions are. Because trust me, it is your goal at stake. Not theirs.

This two-week sprint through the holidays is not about moderation. If you ate treats in moderation for two solid weeks, then really, is moderation truly the ultimate goal?

Get your food cleaned up and get on with your goals. Goals, you know, those things you set long before the treats of the season started showing up in every nook and cranny.

Get on with bringing your mojo back! You know you want it!

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