Just do it already!

My CrossFit Story

2009-12-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

I was a reluctant convert to CrossFit. To begin with, I was never much of an athlete. I was undisciplined and had all sorts of bad habits. When I ate, I ate too much or too little. When I drank, I drank too much. To make matters worse, I smoked nearly a pack of Marlboros a day on and off for over 20 years. In the past I’d made attempts to change my bad habits and “get in shape”, but these were mostly half hearted measures and those cigarette breaks were really cutting into my workout time.
That’s the way my life went. I knew I was harming myself. I wanted to live better, but I was stuck in a mental and physical rut created by all my unhealthy habits and I deep down, I did not believe I would ever have the power to change.
In 2006 my husband Mike and I had our 7th child together, a beautiful baby girl we named Mia. My pregnancy was difficult and despite trying not to, I put on a lot of weight. I was 42 and tipping the scales at nearly 200 lbs. I was fatter than I had ever been and so I did what came natural to me, I started smoking again as a way to lose the weight.
Mike had always been an athlete. He was a black belt in two Martial arts. Over all he was a pretty health minded guy, so he really frowned upon my usual coffee and cigarette diet. He enlisted the help of our children, and together they began applying pressure for me to quit. I eventually did quit smoking. It was a process. There was a moment when I realized that all my self destructive behavior wasn’t a victimless crime and I was harming my family because I wasn’t taking care of myself. That was a sobering moment. I decided to change.
Mike started teaching me to kick box. It was so hard at first. Those early workouts left me gasping for breath. But I liked it. We started taking kickboxing classes 3 to 5 days a week at a local Martial Arts studio. Mike and I started eating on the Zone. Soon we decided to take a Kettlebell certification together. I was the least fit person in our group. But I kept going. Our children started working out with us. I lost 25 lbs and I was starting to get into condition. Mike and I began dreaming about opening a fitness studio together. Good things were happening. Then one day while surfing the internet, Mike stumbled upon CrossFit. I was intrigued by the “garage gym” mentality and laughed out loud when I read “How To Get Kicked Out Of Your Gym In 10 Days Or Less.” I can’t remember whether we tried Fran or Helen first. What I do remember is that the workout was awful, sweat was stinging my eyes, I couldn’t see and I couldn’t do a single pull up. I didn’t think I would make it through the workout, but I did. After I recovered, I was surprised to feel a sense of accomplishment and exhilaration wash over me. That CrossFit workout filled me with a new kind of fear and trepidation. I couldn’t wait to try it again.
I’ve been CrossFitting just over 2 years now. Along the way, I learned how to do a pull up, now I can do up to 5 sets of 5 in a row! I discovered I was an athlete.
To say that CrossFit has changed my life may sound like a cliché’ but it’s true. Mike and I fulfilled our dream and opened CrossFit Modesto. I love my job. I get to coach my students and help them to find the power within themselves to improve their lives. It is deeply moving for me to watch a student “get it” and to know that I played a part in their transformation.
Sometimes the workouts still fill me with a sense of dread, but I know that’s where the real growth is for me. Every time I overcome my fear and resistance to the ridiculously uncomfortable place that CrossFit takes me, I am saying no to weakness and failure and excuses, and yes, to myself and to the challenges I face in life both inside and outside of the gym.

Open Thank You For CrossFit L.A. BIZ Seminar

2009-11-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

Andy Petranek sharing the (Shhh) secrets to CrossFit LA's BIZ program.

November 21, 2009

To Andy Petranek, John Burch and the staff at CrossFit L.A,

Webster's dictionary defines the word wonderful as unusually good : admirable .

This pretty much sums up my experience at the BIZ Seminar.

The entire seminar was fun and very educational, from to beginning to end. Your presentation was funny, engaging and as promised, transparent. Talk about an eye opener! It was clear to Mike and I just where we'd gone wrong in our business efforts and also what we were doing right. We feel that we have walked away with new skills and greater confidence that will impact our business and the service we provide to our students, right now, Today!

The BIZ Seminar is the investment Mike and I made in ourselves and our business so that we could take CrossFit Modesto from average to admirable. We are so glad that we did!

Many thanks to Andy and John and all the great people at CrossFit L.A. for making the seminar possible; you gave more than good advice, you gave the gift of excellence.

Sincerely,

Denise Choate

CrossFit Modesto

Fear, the final Plateau..

2009-11-12T14:53:00.000-08:00

"The key to change is to let go of fear"

I have neglected writing in my blog. I have missed the anxiety and the struggle for something interesting to write about even though the only people following my blog are a few of the trainers at CrossFit Modesto and my daughter Erika, who is also one of the trainers. I've had a lot going the past few weeks: Hosting and attending a USAW Level One Certification, attending My very first CrossFit Certification last weekend,(finally!) which was rewarding on so many levels for me personally and is the topic of this blog. Back to the Cert. The CrossFit training staff; Freddy C, Jolie Gentry; Jason Kalipa; Adrian Bozman; Rory Mckernan; Pat Barber and Austin ( I think that was his name) were first rate. They were funny, personable and so generous with their experience and talent. They worked us hard and I learned a lot about myself and what I was really capable of. I was a reluctant convert to CrossFit when my husband Mike and I opened CrossFit Modesto in November 2007. He'd had an extensive background in Martial arts and fitness and we were originally going to open an MMA studio in Modesto when we stumbled on the CrossFit mainsite. The videos of the WODs were intimidating! Then I read "How To Get Kicked Out Of Your Gym In 10 Days Or Less" and I laughed out loud! My curiosity was definately piqued. I made a lot of progress and was probably fitter than I'd ever been in my life doing CrossFit these last few years, but I have to be honest, I rarely let myself get to that ridiculousy agonizing place that the WOD's take you when you are giving it everything you got and inside I knew I wasn't giving it my all. It was a battle I fought with myself and frankly, I hated being there. I decided when I came to the Cert at North Santa Cruz that I was going to face my fear once and for all. Some of the best trainers CrossFit had to offer were going to be there, and even if I was the least fit person in the gym, it was now or never.

I fought my anxiety during the morning lectures and focused on paying attention and the training sessions where we worked on the skills helped me to loosen up a bit. Also, on of the great things about a CrossFit seminar is that no matter what part of the world you come from, you are instantly among friends. I met a lot of great athletes and that helped me relax too. Freddy C was a crack up and we broke for lunch. Somewhere towards the end of class I faced the fact that I was going to do the infamous "Fran". I felt a wave of panic wash over me, but an amazing thing happened. I got angry at my fear and refused to submit myself to it. I took a deep breath and decided that I was going to get the blog over with in the first round. There was a 10 minute cut off time, so at the very worst it would be just 10 minutes of hell followed by the knowledge that I would not have to repeat it the rest of the evening. 3-2-1 go! was announced and the rest is a painful blur. I was the last woman to finish in my round. Fran sucked, but I finally used Rx weight and got my best time ever, which wasn't great by CrossFit standards, but took everything I had to complete. I was wrecked, which was exactly where I needed to be. I came away with a real sense of accomplishment because I didn't hold back. The rest of the weekend just built on that sense of personal accomplishment and when I got my certificate, I got so choked up that I started to cry. The CrossFit life is mine, and it has produced measurable strength in all the other areas of my life. Oh and I finally broke that 165 lb weight platuea.

Just a side topic on the Paleo challenge: I have to be honest, I didn't stay true to the challenge last weekend, I would say that I ate Paleo 50% of the time and my other meals, well, they definitely weren't Paleo. But the strawberry and chocolate New York style cheesecake was scrumptous and I enjoyed every decadent mouthful.

When you can't get it together...

2009-11-01T17:24:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is 14 days into the Paleo challenge and I am doing a pretty crappy job at the challenge. There it is. This weekend I ate terrible. My workouts are going great. I am getting stronger and my endurance is better. The eating, not so much. I am frustrated that I can't seem to put everything together. When the eating is good, sometimes the workouts suck and visa versa. I've got a lot of stress, but when don't I? Sounds like a whole lot of whinning and excuses, even to me. So Monday will be about beginning again.

Good and Terrible!

2009-10-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

Friday, Friday, Friday!

2009-10-30T18:47:00.001-07:00

Oh, Fruit and Nuts!

2009-10-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

I ate very well yesterday. I tried a new Paleo recipe called Ambrosia. Not the Ambrosia your great Aunt Emma makes for every family holiday and get together, with the mini-marshmallows and the sour cream and the shredded coconut....hmmm..old tastes are hard to change. But I digress, there were no marshmallows in it and it wasn't the quite the food of the Gods, but it was pretty good and best of all, good for me.
I love nuts. I love the texture and they just taste good. But guess what? Even on the Paleo diet, I am not allowed to eat an unlimited supply. The fats are good and I need them, but not the quantity I've been consuming. I think that is one of the reasons I have been weighing in a little heavy at the Dr's office lately. Dried fruit in abundance is another no no. All that concentrated natural sugar, is still sugar! No more than 2oz of dried fruit per day. Bummer! All complaining aside, I am beginning to get the hang of this Paleo Diet thing. And I do feel better. That seems a more excellent trade-off and well worth the momentary frustrations of learning to do something new.

Paleo. Paleo. Wherefore art thou, Paleo? Nevermind. Just give me the salt!

2009-10-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

Eating the way I was designed" to eat, ( which is actually a misnomer, because the premise of the Paleo diet is based on the science of evolution, which would exclude "design" by definition.) as defined by the Paleo Diet book is a much harder than I thought it would be! I actually laid down $14.95 plus tax for the darn book, just so that I could get a better handle (not to mention, a little inspiration) on the paleo approach to nutrition. Who knew I was going to have to give up salt too? I cooked with practically no salt last night and to be honest, the food seemed a bit bland. To make matters worse, I have put on weight since last week, not lost it, I am approaching the change of life, my hormones are out of whack and I could just scream right now! Okay, big, deep cleansing breath. Maybe this is one of the perks of the diet. Now, back to the Paleo Challenge.
Breakfast:
- Cold broiled chicken breast
- 2 small Fuji apples
- 1 tablespoon of raw sunflower seeds.
10:38 AM
Here is my Tuesday AM workout:
70lb hang cleans 2 sets of 4 reps
33lb Snatch Balance 3 sets of 4 reps( My form is getting better thanks to the USAW cert and Coach Erika)
80lbs Push Press Pull Up WOD
10 Pull Ups
5 Push Press four Rounds
3 rounds of 10 25lb weighted Sit-Ups and 20 Rev Hyperextension
My cleans are getting a bit faster. I feel more secure with the lifts.
Time for a snack:
-handful of baby carrots
-1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds
-1 small apple
-2 oz of chicken breast

Oh what the heck! Just do it already.

2009-10-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so you may as well know, I did not stick to the my Paleo plan most of Friday and all of Saturday and Sunday. I could have made the time to plan for daily meals, but I chose not to this weekend mainly for simplicity. It's okay. It's Monday and I will begin again. I spent the weekend helping to host and obtaining my USAW Sports Performance Certification. All the CrossFit Modesto trainers helped to make it a big success. Thanks to all! We met a lot of really great people and I finally learned how to perform the "Snatch." Don't be shocked, I promise I am not being vulgar. I was very intimidated, as I usually am, to attempt the lift in front of all those experienced athletes, though I am sure nobody in particular was critiquing me. I had what amounted to a mini nervous breakdown the night before this picture was taken, because I felt so inhibited, which made me angry and insecure, which caused me to be even more inhibited. After the tears and a good nights rest, I decided to throw caution to the wind and just try the darn thing for goodness sake! Success at last. It felt good and though I will never be an elite athlete, the only thing stopping me from training like one is me. I will be adding my new Olympic lifting hobby to my fitness and Paleo routine for the next 11 weeks. I might even be good at it someday.

When life gives you Lemons..

2009-10-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

Today Erika and I started the Stronglifts 5x5 program at the beginning weight of 65lbs:

Back Squat
Bench Press
Push-Up 3xfailure (3-5-5)
Reverse Rows (6-3-2)
GHD Sit Ups 12x12x12

As of Today, my body fat measurement was 20.76% and I weighed in at 164Lbs.

The diet challenge is going well for me. I did drink soy milk in my coffee this morning, so I will be making a almond milk subsitute instead and the girls and I decided that we would not be using Whey protein powder for nutrition. We will eat eggs and egg protein instead!

The girls have decided that Lululemon is the prize for the winner, although I might want to go with the Kathy Ireland workout collection.

Paleo Day Three

2009-10-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

Today the CFM Coaches are going to be doing "grace" at 5:45. It's a demo workout for our Students. I am feeling a bit intimidated. I always put alot of pressure on myself to perform well, and that strategy doesn't work consistently. I wish I could relax and take a more matter of fact approach to the daily WOD, without having the slacker mentality or going completely bananas.
Speaking of banana's, on to breakfast;

medium banana
protein shake
12 cashews
2 cups coffee no cream no sweetner

And on the second day...

2009-10-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

I have completed two full days of the Paleo challenge and I am feeling pretty
good about it. I have switched back to drinking coffee, without the half and half,
because the tanic acid in the tea was making me feel nauseous.
My diet went something like this:

Breakfast - banana, 3oz ham, 19 cashews
Snack - 2 apples, 4oz Turkey 19 cashews
Lunch - 4 oz hamburger patty, 1/4 cup of dried plums, banana
Snack - Protein drink, made with unsweetened coffee, (yum!) 1 apple, 19 cashews
Dinner - Beef Randang, asparagus, and fresh fruit smoothie for desert.

Today's WOD was Tabata Something else, my score: 296. and I ran about 800 meters. I felt a little fatigued today, and didn't want to push too hard because tomorrow night we will be doing a CFmodesto Coaches workout. I want to attempt the RX'd weight of 95lbs!
Good night : )

Those funny prunes..

2009-10-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

You've heard the prune jokes, you know... You might be getting old if getting a little action means that your prune juice is working...hysterical, right? I did really well on my first day of Paleo, I didn't drink coffee, I didn't eat too much and I didn't cheat. But about 5 PM yesterday, I wanted something sweet and apples just weren't going to do it. I thought about the sugar free Jello pudding we had in the refridgerator, but that seemed like cheating with all that dairy, ( wait, that is cheating) so I settled for prunes and cashews. Now here's the thing about prunes. They are sweet and have a satisfying texture and with the salty cashews, they did the trick. I felt satisfied and was able to stave off my first real craving of the day. I didn't eat a ton of them, but I think portion control with the prunes is something I will pay closer attention to in the future, because, a few hours later I had so much gas I wondered if I might not pop. ( Not Poop) I am normally very self conscious about bodily functions, I don't like strangers to hear me pee in the public bathrooms and I rarely ever fart in the presence of others, but last night was an exception. My daughters were pretty embarresed and grossed out by my gastronomical performance, while I sheepishly apologized, but inwardly, was grateful for the relief. Needless to say, if you should decide to eat prunes, pay attention to portion control, or have gas ex on had. I can't recommend that product highly enough!

CrossFit Totally!

2009-10-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

I am pretty excited about my workout today. I have 3 new pr's (personal records) 80lb Press-165lb Back Squat-225 lb Deadlift, for a total of 470 points! My last press was 75lbs and my last back squat 140 and my last deadlift 215, these are numbers I can live with.
So far i've eaten only paleo foods, but I haven't applied the Zone portions or timing to my schedule. I think today I will eat when I am hungry and stay hydrated. I feel a little hungry now, time to eat I think.

Off to a good start

2009-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

At 5 AM (which seemed too early to be awake) I ate breakfast:

1 med banana
3oz of oscar meyer deli shaved ham (too salty)
18 salted cashews ( yes, 18)
8 oz of strawberries
2 cups of hot green tea

I didn't notice feeling sluggish without the coffee, just a little anxious. I think this is because I have disrupted my morning routine, of the last 36 years! I am trying to drink more water, and this is pretty hard for me. I think my aversion to it is the taste. So I am drinking it diluted with 1 Crystal light peach tea packet until I can arrange either a filter or water service for home. I allowed myself to eat pizza, garlic bread, a Milky Way bar, a very rich piece of Mile High cake ( for Erika's birthday) a couple of chips, cheese danish from Starbuck's on Saturday, ( scrumptous by the way) and as much coffee with half&half as I wanted in preparation for the next 12 weeks. I think I'd like to break free from my slavish devotion to sugar, sweets and coffee. I've always struggled with healthy eating. I'd like to be mindful of what I put in my body without going to extremes and I'd like to feel better. The next 12 weeks ought to be an interesting experiment in self discipline.

Breaking up with Starbucks and half and half, is hard to do..

2009-10-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

Okay,
Everyone who knows me, knows about my love affair with Starbucks coffee, splenda (gasp) and half and half. I have really relaxed my eating and drinking this weekend, because I will be saying goodbye to the hot, steaming cup of coffee, with just the right amount of cream and sweetner, that has started my day since I was about 10 years of age. It wasn't Starbucks coffee back then, it was Folgers instant, dark, with lots of Cremora and even more sugar. And it was GOOD! I think I'll go have a cup of Starbucks for old time sake, because tomorrow I begin the Paleo Throw Down in Motown, and if Idon't stay on my toes, Erika and Michelle will kick my but all the way to January!