EXCESS INCHES

My name is Kim. I am 25 years old, living in Nashville, TN and I am currently out of shape. This blog chronicles my efforts to slim down as well as houses inspirational material to help me stay motivated. For starting weight and measurements go here.

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03.01.2014

WARM UP: Cardio Tabata, 4 min Jumping jacks, jump rope, butt kicks, high knees X 2 FULL BOD WOD 3 Rds, Descending reps 12-10-8 For Time HRPU STEP UPS/BOX JUMPS @ 20" SIT UPS TRICEP DIPS/RING DIPS DUMB BELL THRUSTERS DUMB BELL SNATCH OVERHEAD LUNGE DUMB BELL BENT OVER ROW/PULL UPS BURPEES TIME: 11:42 ABS: Tabata, 7:30 min Flutter kicks, bicycle crunches, high knees, reverse crunches, russian twists X 3 LOWER BODY: Banish Fat Boost Metabolism, Circuit 1 Squatting right side kick, squatting punches, squatting left side kick, punch combo, alternating front kicks x 2 UPPER BODY/COOL DOWN: Tabata, 7:30 min Bicep curls, tricep extensions, reverse flys, chest flys, pullovers X 3

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RE: Crossfit being dangerous and causing injury

So, at a recent Crossfit event a young man suffered a serious spinal cord injury. It's a tragic event that truly could have happened to anyone. The media of course has taken this event as an opportunity to do what it does best. Sensationalize the even into hyperbolic headlines that at the end of the day are meant to do nothing more than make money. These journalist are not experts in the field of fitness, they aren't even talking to experts. They are getting a wikipedia education on the sport, throwing in some buzz words and salacious two sentence testimonials to push whatever line of thinking they think will sell the most papers or garner the most web hits. When I looked into joining Crossfit, I read my fair share of subjective journalism and came to my own conclusions. In light of the recent fire the sport is receiving I do feel the need to air my thoughts on this subject, just this once. Every sport is dangerous. Every single season of football brings at least half a dozen players who are out of the game due to an injury. I personally know two individuals who have suffered partial paralysis due to motorcross accidents. I've witnessed people with broken bones or torn ligaments from recreational courtyard basketball and commuting by bicycle. Anything that requires your body to do more than sit all day put you at risk for injury. On the flipside, sitting on your couch all day puts your body at risk for diseases of the sedentary like heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. At the end of the day, for me, it all comes down to three schools of thought. - Every time you leave your house, you get behind the wheel of a car, you are risking your life. You can never protect yourself from all accidents. Not doing something because of the chance that something could potentially happen is silly and pointless. You only get one life. live it. - A good coach is worth their weight in gold. The reason coaches exist is to be there for your protection and guidance. A good coach knows every athlete is different, has different needs, skills, setbacks. They should be able to divine the best way to push you so you progress in the best way for you. A good coach wants you to perform it right first, best second. Time and again I have read about "uncle pukey", it is touted that Crossfit thinks throwing up is a badge of honor, but you know how many times I have heard reference to "uncle Pukey" at my box? Zero. I have never seen of heard of someone actually throwing up at my box. Now maybe I have gotten lucky, but rather than push yourself til you break, what I have been constantly told from my coaches is "listen to your body". Which brings me to my third thought: - Listen to your body. I'm not talking about the voice in your head that says "Ugh, this is hard, I would rather not be doing this, let's just quit." I'm talking about the physical pain and clues that you need to scale back or rest. If on a regular day you can squat 65 lbs but today you are having trouble getting 45 lbs, then that is your body telling you something. Maybe that you aren't properly fueled for your workout, or need to warm up more, or that maybe your muscles need a day of rest. Pushing through these pains is what result in injuries and forces you into days and weeks of rest to recover. At the end of the day when someone gets injured it boils down to either a freak accident that couldnt have been prevented, a coach letting you down by not noticing warning signs or telling you to push through warning signs, or you not listening to your own body and knowing when to stop. This applies to every sport, not just Crossfit. Trying to throw the sport itself under the bus is ignoring the real issues and attempting to shift blame. That said, this is just my opinion. Take it for what you will.

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Today is my two month anniversary of going to Crossfit and while the scale says I am only down 3.2 lbs, my body tells a different story. I have gained inches in my chest, and lost inches everywhere else. Not to mention how much stronger I feel, which is difficult to quantify/measure. I know I still have a long way to go and much to learn but seeing these numbers today was a nice boost of encouragement.

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Came home from Crossfit where we did a ladder of burpees/snatches and thought, I am going to do a quick cardio tabata to sweeten todays burn. Above you'll see my doughy body and chicken legs doing jumping jacks, jump rope, butt kicks, and high knees. 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, 8 rounds total. The music is Farewell Fighter and yes yoga mat + carpet equals one hot mess. Feel free to laugh at my messy room and lack of balance in the last set of high knees.

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Not Dead Yet

While I haven't posted in a little while, I am not dead yet. I have still been going to Crossfit, at least 3 times a week (with the exception of this past week due to a million holiday/work obligations). I have been thinking a lot about goals for the new year. I really want to commit to cleaning up my diet. While I have seen some improvements in my body a far as muscle mass and strength goes, a lot of it remains buried under layers of excess fat and I know that the key to seeing real change is going to come with good nutrition combined with exercise. I know many Crossfitters eat Paleo/Primal including several who go to my box. I am highly considering attempting a 30 day paleo challenge in January. I've been looking at Eat To Perform some and fiddling with their calculator but I can't seem to get it to give me a protein percentage higher than 19% which seems awfully low. Also, while I understand the concept is to eat more, I am wary of going that route when I have quite a bit of body fat (not weight, per se) to lose. I'm currentlt at 389% and would love to get to 24%. Anyone out thre with similar stats used Eat To Perform before? What was it like for you? For me to successly go paleo for 30 days will definitely require a lot of pre-planning of meals and the like. So I need to sit down and crunch numbers and make lists if I want to make that happen. I've also been thinking about short term, highly specific, goals for Crossfit. I find I really get the most out of each WOD when I go in with at least one specific goal in mind. February 20th will mark three months I'll have been going to Crossfit. With that in mind I am cultivating my list of goals I'd like to reach by then. Some are new lift PR's others are metcon related. I'd also like to take new photos and measurements to see how adding in paleo changes things, exactly. Tonight I am going to my friends and I's 13th annual christmas party, then tomorrow I drive back to go straight to work, followed by a double on Monday. As much a sI love the holiday season and getting to see old friends and family I am so ready to slip back into a normal routine. Hopefully Tuesday I will be able to sit down and work on some of these things and get a post up! has anyone else made new years goals for Crossfit? What are they?

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Vertical Aspirations

Today was another struggle to get myself out the door. Fortunately, I’m learning that the days when I don’t want to go, or am feeling mentally/emotionally exasperated, are the days I need it most. I went in really wanting to make something amazing happen in todays workout. I needed a win. I know am probably months away from being able to do a pull up, so, my new short term goal is to do a handstand. One way, or another, so long as I get myself vertical. I have practicing wall walk almost every day, at home and I AM SO CLOSE. I just need to get my arms a little bit farther under me to really straighten out my back. Excuse my exposed tummy flab, please.

We warmed up with a 500 m row, toe touches, and air squats. Then we worked on cleans, split jerks. and front squats. I’m not sure why but I was having so much more trouble front squatting than I did with back squatting a few days ago. I think it’s mostly do to hand and elbow form and improperly straining my wrist. I feel like I am getting much more consistent with cleans, split jerks are new but the more I do them the better I’ll get. Todays WOD was 5 wall walks* 10 dead lifts 20 box jumps 3 minutes. 5 round cap. Each round starts over after 3 minutes, so, the idea is the faster you get done, the longer you get to rest. If you fail to complete a round in 3 minutes, you’re done and that’s your score. The goal being to get through 5 rounds. To save for time and to scale Brandon said wall walks could be cut down to 3, so that’s what I did. It was my first time attempting box jumps in a class. To test the waters I stacked four 45 lb weights. Surprisingly, what I was jumping is only a few inches away from regulation. We even pulled a box over to compare. I feel confident that if I can not psych myself out mentally I am capable of doing a regulation jump. Though, maybe not 20 times in a row. I had also never done a dead lift before. Brandon had me start with 65 lbs, which sounded crazy at first but I did it! I think as far as a one rep max goes I could do more which is a good feeling. The WOD was maybe one of my favorites. Anytime theres lifting involved I am excited and I was really game to see how my wall walks have improved. The box jumps were easily the worst. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was pounding through my chest and my stomach muscles were ball of knots and cramps. I was able to consistently finish with about 30 seconds to spare each round and I made it through all 5 rounds! Thor was the only other person in class today. It was nice to have a familiar face to workout next to. It’s funny comparing the things he dreads doing versus the things I loathe. The kicker, he only scored 3 + 17. Granted, our skill levels aren’t really comparable when you factor in that he is a make, much stronger, did more wall walks, going fully vertical, lifted more, and jumped higher. But I still felt proud of myself and that he got to see me do well. After this post I am going to try and squeeze in a round of the Shred before I have to shower and go to work (Thanks, Comcast for wasting 45 fucking minutes of my time on the damn phone). Saturday and Sunday are going to be off days. I may still do some cardio for “active rest”, though. I also took measurements today that I will hopefully post tomorrow with new during photos. I don’t think my body has changed that much but we’ll see how things look side by side.

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Dear endorphins, I think I love you

Last night was rough. I stayed up too late and then it took ages to falla sleep and I woke up twice during the middle of the night. When my alarm went off this morning I was seriously contemplating skipping going to the box this morning. I mean, I don't have to go five days a week. Or I could go after work. But I knew that wouldn't happen. Despite feeling like shit mentally and physically I forced myself to get out of the house and go. I am so glad I did. When I am working on learning new movements and getting proper technique theres no room in my brain for much else. It felt good clearing my head and sweating away some stress. Today's WOD was a 20 minute long AMRAP. Before hand Brandon went over my power cleans with me and told me that to be honest, he thinks I could probably lift heavier. That part of my problems with form is that I am able to pull the bar up so high so easily. He was spot on. I added 10 more lbs to the bar and while it is harder to lift it definitely feels cleanier, like I'm not flailing around quite so much. He thinks I could potentially go up another 10 lbs, as well. We'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow and I'll let you know how that goes. In case I haven't said it enough already. I really love the lifting part of Crossfit. It is so new and exciting and makes me feel tough. WOD: 20 MIN AMRAP 5 Power Cleans 10 T2B 15 Wall Balls I lifted 45, modded the T2B's with my attempt at K2E, and used a 10 lb wall ball. I went into the WOD hoping to get at leats 5 rounds. I managed 7 +5. the hardest part was honestly the K2E, by the last round my grip was so shot I barely got through them. I came dangerously close to ripping on of my baby calluses. Hands are killing me now. I could also stand to work on getting deeper into my squats on the wall balls and getting the ball higher. I have some hip and inner thigh mobility issues that I am trying to work on that will hopefully help that stuff improve. When I go home I ran through a super fast cardio interval doing 20 seconds of exercise with 10 seconds of rest doing burpees, mountain climbers, high knees, jumping jacks, and butt kicks. I also threw in some jump rope and crunches at the end. I may still try to squeeze in a round of 30 Day Shred later on. We'll see how I feel after work.

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Two Week CrossFit-versary

@kthro Filthy hands and baby calluses. This morning was I think the first day I have really felt the burn in my lats. The first couple of workouts I did really killed my underarm muscles and forearms. But today I can feel it on either side of my spine and more in my traps. When I walked in the box I got excited because the warm up didn't include any sprints or running and underneath it just said "Grab a barbell!" So, I thought "Oh, just skill work. Yay!" Nope. I wasn't looking at the right white board. I ran through the warm up with a short 300m row, toe touches, air squats, high knees, and butt kicks. I am really pleased with how consistent I have been on the row machine. I usually put the tension at about a 6 or 7 and average around 2:30 for 500m. Then Rob too me through more foundations, learning more bar movements. We worked a lot on power snatches. I am struggling with being conscious of keeping the bar close to my body and really pulling up with my elbows rather than swinging the bar out with my arms extended. It definitely comes a bit easier when I am working with a real bar and weights rather than with the PVC pipe. We stuck with 35 lbs today which felt doable while still a challenge. Then it was WOD time. 5 MIN AMRAP 40 Burpees 30 power snatches @ 45lb Rx I managed 47 at 35 lbs. I could see from the 5:30 class that most people didn't quite make it through the whole 30 snatches. But then I watched the 6:30 class do them and nearly every single person made it back to burpees. Those guys and gals are beasts. Today it was just me and one other guy at 7:30. I have been thinking about maybe trying to to the 6:30 class, in hopes of better integrating myself into the community and hopefully their bad assery will rub off. I'm torn, though, because on one hand I do like having really personalized attention, but on the other it also creates pressure and theres not as much of a camaraderie since there isn't a group of people. Plus, I already struggle with getting up at 6:30. I can't imagine getting up at 5:30. Hmm..What should I do?

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Adding supplemental cardio

For the most part I am really loving CrossFit, so far. It's strength training unlike anything I have ever done, I learn something new every single time I go, and at least once each workout I think "I can't do this." and some how keep going. My one complain is there isn't too much in the way of cardio. There is some in the warm ups, but not a lengthy amount. With the exception of traditional running I generally like cardio. It engages my whole body and I find a rhythm where my body is running efficiently but still burning and my mind either shuts down or opens up. Something super beneficial to my mental health. Also, the big one, cardio burns fat. Period. Yes strength training will build muscle which will burn fat but it will also take longer and in the mean tim all the muscles I'm building are hiding under spongy layers of chub. There's also not a ton of ab specific moves. Yes, many of the movements will also improve my core strength and god know burpees kill my lower abs, still I have never seen as much improvement in my stomach (my biggest problem area) as I did when I was doing traditional crunches combined with cardio. So, today I broke out my copy of The 30 Day Shred and gave it a spin. Funny, I used to about die when I did the shred, now it doesn't seem nearly as intense compared to some of the WODs I've been doing. I used a pair of 5 lb free weights for the exercise but didn't push 100% on all the strength moves since I already got so much in this morning. I'm not trying to over exert my upper body muscles. I also did my push ups girl style. I feel fairly confident if I tried to do girl push-ups at the box everyone would give me a bit of shit about it. I can do regular push ups. They are just so hard. SO HARD. I'm hoping if I practice at home with girl push ups, I can build that strength to not be so terrible at the real thing when I have to do them at the box. Something else about revisiting the shred and it seems silly and eye roll worthy to say, but the crunches actually felt good. I can definitely tell that my core is getting stronger. I didn't start to feel fatigued until the last set of ab movements. After The Shred I popped in my Kinect Sports and did a 15 minute "Calorie Burn" session. Which is just a mini game randomizer that allegedly tracks your calorie burn. I don't buy what it estimates at all. But the games are a decent, fun, relatively low intensity cardio so it made for a good cool down of sorts.

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Crossfit on Thanksgiving and moving forward

After the brutal WOD on tuesday I was headed to my parents house for the holiday. I had planned on trying to work out every day while I was there. Except car troubles on Wednesday kept me on the highway for some odd 13 hours instead of 3. I did, however, force myself to get in a workout on Thursday while I made dinner rolls to share with everyone. I didn't really have any equipment to use so I made a WOD that wouldn't require anything and made sure to incorporate burpees. I'm going to get better at them even if it kills me. I was pretty happy with how I did. I managed to do teh 10 rounds in just shy of 15 minutes and kept pretty consistent with my time of each round. The box jumps were done with a stair in the house, so it's not quite regulation height but still offered some muscle work.

Yesterday was my next day back at the box. I worked with a new coach on barbell lingo and form. It felt like I couldnt get my elbows to do what I needed to do, though, and I could tell we were both getting frustrated. I was able to back squat about 45 lbs, though. It's a shrimpy weight amount but that felt really cool. For the WOD she had me do 15 burpees, 15 wall balls for 3 rounds for time. I wanted to die. There was only myself and one other girl at the class and she was on the opposite side of the box working with another coach so I had teh girl coaches complete attention and I felt terrible every time I had to stop to breathe or mentally push myself to just keep going. It was due to no fault of her own, really. She still was pretty encouraging and I was able to get in under 10 minutes, at least. Today Rebecca was coaching again and I was the only person to show up for 7:30 class so it was just us. She may be becoming my favorite coach. She is really great at explaining things so I understand it. If she tells me how to do something and I try it and can't get it, she comes at it from another angle until it clicks and I get it. She is also incredibly encouraging and any time I'm struggling with something or doing well she is able to explain why it's happening and what I can do to improve that or how I can expect things to progress given where I am now. When you're coming in as a complete weight lifting noob it is nice to feel like you're not exasperating the person teaching you. Together we worked on push presses and hang power cleans. Push presses felt easy to learn proper form on, but I felt the weight right away. Whereas with the hang power cleans the weight didn't bother me but it took several reps to really start to get the form right. Part of it, I think is just going for it, keeping momentum, and not psyching myself out by thinking about it too much. If I just go for it, my body seems to get it right on it's own. Rebecca said my form was definitely looking a lot better by the end of our skill work. For the WOD it was 3 rounds for time of 20 kbs, 20 ring rows/rhythmic beats, with 80m sprints EMOM. I was sweating so much. I forget to get my exact time but I believe it was 10 minutes and change. I was initially going to attempt kbs with 25 lbs but after a few reps it was clear it was too much so I switched back to the 20 lb I have been using. I'd really like to progress to a high weight but I know if I'd used the heavier weight today I would never have been able to finish the WOD. My arms were complete jello.

In other news, my quads are so sore today and I think I'm starting to tone up in my legs already. Being a woman, with an apple shaped body, who used to do leg heavy sports and commute by bicycle, my legs are nearly always the first place I lose fat and build muscle. Soon enough those hamstrings are going to tighten up and really come through, I think and more squats are definitely in order for my flabby, flat, bottom that's for sure.

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Crossfit Day 5 aka WOD of Death

It has been remarkably cold here in Tennessee the past couple days and there isn't heat set up at the box yet. So, morning classes were canceled. Funny how, when I know I am able to sleep in, getting up is all that much harder. The other days I just hear the alarm and get the fuck up. Today I slept until almost the last moment even though I wasn't even that sleepy any more by the last hour of snoozing. The way the human mind works is a strange thing. But I digress. I got to the box at noon for class. We warmed up with a 400m run. Kill me. My lungs were on fire from breathing in the cold air so heavily. Then we did high knees, butt kicks, high skips, bear crawls, and walking lunges. Something to note: nearly all of these moves are featured in The 30 Day Shred. I've seen the "your workout is my warm up" stuff posted around teh crossfit webs. Turns out that it's not that far from the truth. Today was my first WOD done for time instead of an AMRAP or working rounds. This also made it the longest. I used a jump rope for the first time in probably 15 years. Rx called for double unders. I was just trying to string normal jumping roping together. To make up for this, people who didnt do DU also had to do tuck jumps. Then there were wall balls. I used a 10 lb ball and found out I have some mobility issues with squatting super low. I am really tight in my inner thighs and my core strength, or lack there of, is causing balance issues. These are all things that will improve in good time, though. Wall balls were followed by burpees. 30 of them. Kill me. there was small part of me that wanted to quit right then and there when I read on the board that the wod called for 60 burpees. I am so bad at them. It takes such an enormous effort in my arms and lower back trying to get myself up off the ground. On a positive note, I had my first go at power snatches today! I did it just using a 15 lb barbell and focusing on form. Is it lame being excited about doing bar work? I feel pretty good about them and tentatively think I could handle another 10 lbs or so. After the snatches, you work backwards. More burpees. More wall balls. More jump rope. Pushing through this workout was so so hard. With the short workout it is easier. Especially ones done on an interval. I can mentally manipulate myself by saying "it's just 20 more seconds and then you can rest, KEEP GOING" and after each little rest I feel re-energized to go back at it. Trudging forward non-stop through grueling movements I suck so much at was humbling to say the least. People were really encouraging, though. It's really cool to feel like people are rooting for you. All in all, I finished with the second to last time. Whatever, I'll take it. So far, the plan is still to do some sort of at-home WOD tomorrow and then potentially Thursday and Friday with a break on sat and sun in prep for starting foundations on Monday. For real this time.

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Crossfit Day 4

After Friday, I took the weekend for some much needed rest days. By Sunday night though I was more or less ache free and feeling really excited about getting back to the box to start Foundations. Which was the plan. Except it's a holiday week, so there aren't going to be class Wed-Sun. So, I'm going to start next Monday. I still stayed and got in the WOD though. We warmed up with a 500m row and some shuttle sprints. Running is the worst. I mean, I know it keeps you healthy but god at what cost? I am really enjoying working with the rowing machines, though. It ended up only be me and one other girl for the session. I'm not sure how long she has been doing Crossfit but she is a beast. She makes it look easy. Even though I was doing a scaled/modified workout I was keeping pretty close time with her which I'm proud about. I also didn't do my kettlebell swings russian style! I went for full extensions. I still feel a little like I am losing balance/stability when I reach full extension but I think that's just a combo of needing to build more strength and controlling the momentum of my swing. The un-modded workout called for power cleans in place of kettlebell swings and pull ups instead of ring rows. I also am definitely not able to do a full wall walk yet. I just went up as close to vertical as I felt I was able. Anyway, Here's todays results: 8 WORKING ROUNDS. 1 MIN ON. 1 MIN OFF. 3 WALL WALKS 6 KBS-20LB* 9 RING ROWS* SCORE: 5 + 5 I will be going again tomorrow and then I am leaving for my parents place Wednesday and will be there until Saturday morning. I really want to maintain the momentum I have going right now though, so I am going to work up a few at-home WODs to do while classes are out. The only fitness equip. I have really is some 3lb and 5lb free weights. Anyone have some good go-to WODs that I can do at home with my limited abilities and equipment?

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Crossfit Day 3

Alright, last day before I take the weekend off to recover for starting foundations on Monday. So. Many. Burpees. Which I suck at. I was asking Brandon, one of the coaches, what I can do to get better at burpees other than more burpees and he said not much. Box jumps and olympic lifts will help me, but really just more and more practice is what will get me there. -.- Dear lower abs, allow me to apologize in advance. So, the Rx today was an ascending ladder of OHS and Burpee Over Bar for 6 working rounds, 1 minute on, 1 minute off. To scale it, I did goblet squats with a 20 lb kettle bell and then just did burpees over the kettle bell so my WOD looked like this: 1 GS, 2 BOKB 2 GS, 4 BOKB 3 GS, 6 BOKB 4 GS, 8 BOKB 5 GS, 10 BOKB 6 GS, 9 BOKB (incomplete) For a score of 5 + 15. I am mostly happy with that. Majority of folks were able to complete 7 rounds as Rx. The squats felt like a breeze, its the damn burpees that slow me down. But as much as I'm enjoying being good at certain skills, I know it's the things I'm struggling with I should work at the hardest. In other news my weight has dropped to 136.6lb. This could probably be partly attributed to water retention, though, too early to tell.

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Sipping The CrossFit Kool-aid

Well, I started with the best of intentions. I was eating 40:30:30, I was taking my vitamins. Then a girl at work came down with strep throat and I ended with a cold that last over a week. So, my resolve weakened and I ate my sore throat comfort foods and slept A LOT. It wasn't pretty, I can't lie. But I also can't take it back, so, moving forward. There is a guy at work, we'll call him Thor, who is really into Crossfit. It's something I have teased him about on numerous occasions but I've also had conversations where I have expressed interest in what it's like. This week I finally committed to coming to a class. Wednesday morning I got up at six in the damn morning on my day off, put on sneakers and a sports bra and prepared myself for what I figured would be an hour of embarassment. Instead I ended up leaving wanting to do more, excited to come back again the next day. The coach at my local box has been treating me with just the right amount of kid gloves. He scales things to my skill level but still pushes and encourages me when I need it. Even though I am doing super modified movements and workouts, I feel like kind of a badass every time I pull something off or set a goal and meet it. When Thor and I walked in on Wednesday the class before ours was finishing up and there were so many girls, not much bigger in stature than me, lifting barbells and throwing heavy weights around. I want to be like that! I like surprising people. People are always surprised by my foul mouth and sense of humor, by my hobbies, by my musical preference, now I want to shock people with how strong I despite being a munchkin. I am more sore today than I have been in I don't even know when. But I am also feeling really proud of myself. I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store. Then I'll be taking Saturday and Sunday off to recover in time to officially start foundations on Monday. Here's a run down of what I did in class: WEDNESDAY Warm up: 300m row, 15 toe touches, 15 air squats, arm circles, high knees, butt kicks, high skips. 10 min AMRAP: 10 russian KBS-20 lb, 10 burpees, 10 ring rows I was able to do three full rounds and 7 kbs.I really enjoy KBS and ring rows and boy am I feeling it in my shoulders/arm pits now. Burpees, however are the devil. In CF you're supposed to go from the floor to jumping in the air in one move but I can't get off the ground fast enough so, I end up jumping into a squat and then exploding up, which is less efficient, but the best I can manage at the moment. THURSDAY Warm up: 500m row, 15 toe touches, 15 air squats, arm circles, high knees, butt kicks, high skips. 3 min AMRAP, 1 min rest, three times*: 3 CF push ups, 6 K2E, 9 russian KBS-20 lb The non-newbies did this workout with handstand pushups, and toe to bars. What I was doing technically wasn't even knee to elbows, but as close to it as I could manage, as I try to work up to eventually doing T2B. The AMRAP was continuous so we picked up wherever we left off after each rest. I was able to complete six full rounds, and then the push ups and K2E's on the 7th round. My hands are sore as hell from all those attempted K2E's though. If there is more pull up work tomorrow it is going to suck. In short, I'm sipping on the CrossFit koolaid. I'm not a complete convert to the cult yet, but my super competitive nature is enjoying it thus far. It's really helpful knowing someone to go with, and thus keep me accountable. Hopefully as I stick with it I will get to know more people who will also be there to encourage me to keep showing up. Now I just need to focus on getting my nutrition in order.

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Today has been all about food prep. I spent several hours in the kitchen and at the computer tinkering recipes. Breakfast is my biggest concern. A lot of the time I skip breakfast all together and don't end up eating until 4 in the afternoon. Sometimes breakfast will consist of a granola bar and a Xyience Xenergy drink. Sometimes just the drink. Very occasionally I will have an egg burrito or bagel sandwich but it is hardly a balanced meal. I know that this is a bad news habit as far as metabolism and mental cognition is concerned. Which is why today I created two breakfast recipes that I have made ahead and frozen. All I have to do in the morning is heat them in the microwave a minute and they are good to go. One is egg muffins with peppers, onions, tomatoes, chiles, and turkey chorizo. Combined with 2.5 tbsp high protein granola it's 124 calories per serving and 40% carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein. The other is pumpkin oatmeal protein pancakes. Topped with 2.5 tsp sugar free syrup and 1 tsp sliced almonds they are only 100 calories each and 41% carbs. 29% fat, 30% protein. So, I am set with a sweet and savory option and both are low calorie enough I can fill up without blowing my calories before the day has begun. Next up is making vegetarian chili as well as baked chicken breasts and portioning veggies so I have dinner/lunch options. I'm not too concerned with having a vast variety of things to choose from. I am the sort of person who will make a large pot of soup and have it for every meal for three days. Tentatively my daily calorie goal is 1,400 calories. This may change if I find my physical activity warrants a higher amount. Above is my starting photos. I believe this is the heaviest I have ever been. I am very apple shaped. Meaning I have tiny calves and arms and carry all my excess weight in my middle. This is the most dangerous body composition to have when it comes to possible heart issues. Now, I have consistently been recorded as having near perfect blood pressure my entire life, but I would still like to be preventative. Not to mention, being a very short, busty, person, I always read as even heavier than I am. I have to work harder for a defined stomach and waist to actually look defined when I am full dressed. For exercise I am planning on utilizing my 30 Day Shred dvd and incorporating additional squats, planks, crunches, and jumping jacks. I also am aiming to walk 10,000 steps each day. This is a breeze on days I work since I often food run and seat at a restaurant. On days off, though, it will take a more concerted effort. I'd also love to somehow work in using my Xbox Kinect games to get in some just for fun physical activity. I appreciate any support and positive encouragement you might feel compelled to offer. If youa re a fitblr, let me know, and I'll follow back. I'm hoping to post here daily and later on include recipes and music mixes.

[excessinches]

At the risk of sounding insensitive and politically incorrect, my name is Kim and I am an addict. Or rather, I have an addictive personality. When it comes to my brain I am weak willed in regards to obsessions and addictions. For example, I smoked my first cigarette when I was 12. I have never been a smoker, it has never been a daily habit, I have smoked less than a dozen cigarettes in the last five years. Yet, when I get stressed and/or drunk, there is still a teeny tiny voice in my head that squeaks out "I could really use a cigarette right now." I know how they make me feel and when you know how something affects you, you never forget. Being strong enough to not give into temptation and spiral into a pattern of abuse takes a lot of effort. To some this probably sounds dramatic, to others, maybe you understand exactly what I mean. Another example? I had my first suicidal thoughts around 13. I spent a great deal of my teenage years and early adulthood in a shroud of depression, contemplating ending my own life. While I like to think I have long since moved past those thoughts and I mostly have, they are still there. I can go years without even a passing notion of harming myself but one bad party and a few minutes of solitude can have me right back in my old mindset. So, what I'm learning is it's just incredibly difficult to turn off or rewire your brain, if not down right impossible. The common belief is that an addict will always be an addict, the desire never goes away, and most addicts when they give something up, they trade it for something else. Maybe an ex junkie now uses fitness as their drug of choice or they learn a new instrument and practice it obsessively. I think this line of thinking is the key. The way we are made isn't going to change. So we have to find a way to turn a negative trait into something that can work for us in a positive way. The snag in this plan for me comes with my need for instant gratification. I'm sure this is something that goes hand in hand with most addictive personalities. The problem is this: I am not afraid to try or put in a good effort, but I like being good at something right away. I have tried for years to learn guitar and ukulele. I know half a dozen chords but every time I pick up the instrument and spend an hour at it until my fingers hurt and by the end of it still sound like crap, it discourages me into never trying again. I have loved to dance my entire life and recently went to a contemporary adult dance class. I sweated it out, I stretched all my muscles, I cared and tried in earnest but I couldn't get the steps. My timing was always off, I wasn't getting off the ground fast enough, I was losing a turn here. I haven't taken a class again. So, really, my problem is, I despise the idea of working to cultivate a skill I am not already innately good at. Which is a shitty attitude to have. One that, like my impulses, I am going to have to work hard at every day, to knock down. If I want something, I have to drop the bullshit. I can't expect to strap on a pair of sneakers and go run a 5k when I have done nothing to prepare for it. Some things require real work. Period. It's time to just suck it up or quit bitching about things I'm not willing to change. Some of my goals are big. I'd like to get my body fat percentage down to 21%-24%. I'd like to run a 5k. Others are small. I have never, not once in my entire life, been able to do a pull up. As a kid in gym class it was a source of personal humiliation. Not only was I too short to reach the bar so I had to use a chair but then I would just dangle there, truly trying and grunting unable to raise my body an inch. I am 25 years old. I want to be able to do a damn pull up. For the next 30 days (and hopefully many more) I am going to do my best to eat cleaner, shoot for my macros (40C:30P:30F), sweat through HIIT and plyometrics every day and in general try to take better care if myself. If I can do this, then I will enlist the help of a crossfit superstar friend of mine in achieving my pull up goal. Stay tuned.

[excessinches]

Not only has Christina Ricci been my favorite actress since I was like five years old but she is one of my favorite actresses when it comes to inspiration. You know how people sometimes say "I have the body of a ten/twelve/thirteen year old?" Well, in my case it's more or less true. I have only grown about three inches since sixth grade, topping out at 5"1" and my breasts were nearly size they are now (a pretty large D cup) by seventh. So, other than overall weight gain, my body hasn't changed that much since my tween years. My height, large bust, and small backside are factors that aren't going to change no matter how hard I workout. My body is never going to look like, say, Blake Lively or Jessica Biel. I can lust after long legs, teeny breasts, and ample heart shaped bootys all I want but they're just not in the cards for me. So, I'm always looking for realistic sources of inspiration when it comes to celebs. People who have physiques that are similar to what I can hope to attain. Christina had a breast reduction awhile back so she's not as busty as she once was, but she is still petite and has a rockin body these days. J. Love has been known for her amble bosom and teeny waist for a long time. She was lucky enough to also be blessed with more proportional hips than me, however. This picture is of her when she was around the age I am now. Super inspirational. Other short, busty, sexy celebs include: Alyssa Milano, Elisha Cuthbert, Eva Longoria, Salma Hayek, and Monica Keena. If you can think of other celebs I haven't named, I'd love to hear them!