Long-winded, and unsure...

Through trial and error, I have spent my years learning about myself, my interests, and what exactly is truly important to me. Join me in blogging about my exercise, eating habits, and all other activities that are helping me to create a healthier and happier life.

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Welp, as @foodhealthlife alluded too, we're back. Kind of a ton has happened since I last posted. The quick version is that all the pics above involve my own CrossFit Box, CrossFit B2B. We're about to finish our 2nd month of existence and have just hit 40 members. It was crazy leading up to, but it is my place of peace. I love owning/operating my own gym and teaching athletes and watching them fall in love with this methodology! It's also been very cool to dive into my own programming. Since starting to do so, my DUs have improved and I have PRed both "Angie" (100 each pull ups, push ups, sit ups, and air squats), in 19:34, and "Chelsea" (for 30 minutes do 5 pull ups, 10 push ups and 15 air squats every minute) which I performed RX and completed every round. BTW, I still eat omelets. :)

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See, we still live!!

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Oh hey now... how ya been?!

I had a PM from anaverasgettingfit which was so nice! Thought I should check in. Judy is NOT in jail for shooting me or any such thing... Our lives have taken a great turn. We've moved our practice and have been completely enthralled in these goings on. Both of us are working several increased hours/week and the kids fall sporting events are in full effect. I'm building a barn which will be a chicken coop capable of housing 20+ chickens. Point is, the little free time we've had is being spent together and without distraction. Although I've been passively working out on my own, I just made my 1st CF PISA WoD in 2 months today!! Honestly, it was great, and my 1st order of business is figuring out how to get there 2-4 times/week. Judy is still on the shelf. An MRI revealed that she does indeed have a grade 1-2 spondylolisthesis. Not good... but not the end of the world. She's currently looking at other differentials, because we just can't fathom why we haven't been able to get her well enough again for our liking. It's been too long! Keeping with the "so much going on" theme, my band played it's 1st gig this past weekend. It went well, though we were cast in a mis-genre. We are an alternative rock band, and played a hardcore/metal festival. The fans were very nice and encouraging, however we are not screaming Thrasher metal which is what every other band was. That said, we played our songs very well and we're happy with how we performed. We missed checking in with y'all, and hope to get back to blogging in the near future. I still eat omelets almost every breakfast!

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Sorry for the multiple tiny posts today... A bit of team work and the eve came out spectacular! All grilled, London broil, multiple mushrooms and onions, zucchini and red peppers, and Zoe made the Bearnaise sauce. I did the Margaritas, though it's Judy's perfected recipe. That's our loved abode. 😊

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A full rack, some brisket, cole slaw and baked beans (the kids like 'em). Don't let the cup fool you, it's water. I don't "soda"! #bbq #pittsburghbarbequecompany

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Just some lunch and a post haircut selfie. Last night before the kids come home, but I think Judy and I are spent. Plus it's an early day tomorrow. Have a great day all!!

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Kicked some WoD ass tonight!! Damn have I felt great in my 1st 2 WoDs back from break! In typical Brad fashion, the warm up was indeed actually a mini-WoD! I used a 30# slam ball, and did 21 plate presses at 45#, 15 at 35#, and 9 at 25#. Literally kept thinking, "Damn, this isn't even the workout!!" I'm loving the way our trainers (Brad today) are writing WoDs that really focus on multi-faceted concepts. We have EMOMS, Rounds for time, and multiple exercises in every WoD. Sincerely, I feel our trainers get the concept of muscle confusion and push it to the limit! For the WoD (you know, after the warmup, ah... WoD)... I stuck with 75# for the snatches and SDHPs. I was actually ready to increase weight when Jackie said that Brad wanted this done unbroken. So touching the floor was ok, but no pausing during reps. Smart decision b/c rounds 8-10 had me struggling. We had 2 minutes after the 10 minute EMOM to adjust weight for deadlifts and then essentially an AMRAP of 10 DLs and 30 HRPUs, capped at 13 minutes. Only a couple boxmates finished. I completed 12 of the final 30 HRPUs before collapsing in a heap on the floor. Did 225# DLs, 50 in total. Pretty happy with that. In other news we are moving our practice. Long overdue actually, as we have needed to expand for some time now. We just haven't been able to find the right location in the right region. Well, everything fell into our lap within 4 days. It is slightly frustrating, because we were about to embark upon a side project at our CrossFit box, which we will not be able to simultaneously do with this huge move. As well as the fact that we are literally tripling our rent. That said, without risk of losing our current clientele, plus the added bonus of a much better location we are confident this is a move we need to make. We do well, but man would it be nice to stick to our standards and do incredibly! Wish us luck in this venture, please! Ok, so that Rainbow Dash pic... Yeah, it's on my right ass cheek!! I sincerely don't know how to properly emphasize nor explain how this came to be. Both in personal face to face experience, and online Facebook and Tumblr experience, I can honestly say that foodhealthlife and I are different! We are middle-aged, and that may have something to do with our attitude of "I don't give a fuck!" Anyway it began as a joke which Judy then hounded me on for for 6 months now. So I got the Damned tattoo, and she loves it! Only at day two in, & I can already tell you that I would never take it back! I just sincerely hope I never get sent to jail! I had an omelette.

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I didn't get this up last night, but this was my first wod in 10 days. You know what? Wasn't so bad. I finished in 15:31. I went a bit low on the power cleans at 115#, but I was a touch afraid after the time off. 20# wall ball. 44# KB. I did SUs at 150 and 100, but did DUs for the last round, 30 of them in 2x 15 rep stretches. Overall I was very pleased with my 1st day back after the break. I definitely noticed myself getting winded, but it really felt good. Post WoD sweaty selfie. I was drenched! Let's just say that the Fallen Forgotten shirt is actually a much lighter shade of blue! Judy and I had a late dinner/snack. Shrimp in butter with Old Bay. Yum indeed! Next wod is tomorrow, and it seems I'm back on track. Another run of beastmode has officially begun!

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The blister under the callous has resolved itself with my time away from the box. I so desperately needed the break, and physically have been feeling great! So much less beat up. However, most of today I found myself thinking about a WoD. I know now that on Monday I'm going to burst into the gym ready to tear all the things up! Great break... but it's over! That little Buff hiding in the weeds scared me today. Couldn't find her for about 10 minutes or so. Taking a dirt bath all by herself. And by the way chickens, that ain't no roost! Had a lovely omelet this morn as well. Closest thing to a fitblr I've posted in a week!! Be back at it on Monday. Cheers!

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Been awhile. My Mom had all kids of goodies for me over last weekend. That's me in my elementary age cowboy vest. Bad-ass!! (I could only get one arm in it, but Bode has been wearing it for 3 days now!) That is from a box I kepted from High School that my Mom has saved for the last 25 years. It's a box of pretty much every note I received in HS, as well as letters I received in college, and a couple photo albums. Honestly and sincerely, thanks so much Mom!! I stayed up until 4am the other night going through all this. What a pleasant stroll down memory lane! Half of the stuff I remembered like I received it yesterday, the other half I couldn't even remember the people let alone what they were talking about!! "What, I kissed whom?! Who is that?!" Reminds me of a fav lyric by John Mayer, "And most of my memories have escaped me, or confused themselves with dreams." gohardgetfitjournal foodhealthlife and I have been experimenting with Margaritas this week, our Staycation. Tried a new tequila based solely on the label (and hefty price tag). Delish!! Quality tequila, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, homemade sours mix, and a few other tidbits. One of the beat Margaritas I've had!! Once again, Judy rubs Rainbow Dash in my face. My new mixed drink cup. Girl is gonna be sad when that tat is on my ass!! Or happy... ?? Anyway folks, I've been having a great last 2 weeks full of fun and partying and not eating so great. I didn't mean to fall off the Tumblr wagon, but life is short and this has been my time away from responsibility. Will it hurt a bit getting back to it next week? Absolutley!! That does not however mean that I would trade the last 2 weeks for anything!! 😆 Hope your summers area epic!! Fitblr to resume next week!

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willandamyrun-and-roll, I will definitely look for Crabbies! Thanks for the advice! 👍😊

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I'll be happy if I never have to do that WoD again! Holy shit! I made 25 minutes, with 5 minutes taken off. So in total: 125 unassisted pull ups; 250 push ups, with the last 50 or so on my knees; 375 squats; and 25 burpees in penalties. That was a bear. What's really unfortunate is that the Saturday WoDs are the hardest and longest of the week, and that will occur a mere 14 hours from the conclusion of this one. "Quick! Somebody get me the number for 911!!" Bode had a great day with a friend. Definitely jealous. I would love to do that sometime. Now I'm chillin' on the deck with Luca. Guess what y'all... 9 days in a row off has officially started! BOOM!! Enjoy your weekends.

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Thought I was in trouble this morning after a night of insomnia and only about 2.5 hours of sleep. It worked out though as I woke up enough to bust out a pretty good workout before getting home and going back to bad. I did however forget to get a shot of the board... 5×5 back squats - increasing weight. Started at 135# and worked to 185#. 20 unbroken back squats @ 135#. 12 minute AMRAP: 5 rds completed 8 Tire flips 8 slam balls - 2 rds @ 50#, 3 rds @ 30# 8 box jumps - @ 24" 8 KB swings - @ 44# This was my 1st WoD in a week due to a bit of craziness, my sister being in town from NH which has wrecked my normal schedule, Judy being injured which pretty much rules out my morning WoDs, and did I mention a little bit if craziness? Ok, we'll maybe a lot of craziness. Anyway, slipped right back into it and felt good. My family is really getting involved in CrossFit, and I love it!! That's Judy, me, my nephew, my sister, and my brother in law. Not pictured is my other sister who is on a mini vacation to AC right now. My nephew and brother in law are the property of my 3rd sister. My previously mentioned brother in law turned 50 last weekend and those cocktails are Moscow Mules. They were stellar! Vodka, ginger beer, and lime. Back to waiting for my windshield to get replaced. Then off to work for a hugely busy evening. I really hope the 2 hour nap after CF was enough, or I will be draggin' hard tonight! In total, I'm running on 4.5 hours of sleep... broken...

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anaverasgettingfit Yep. The theory is very sound. Decompression of primarily the lumbar vertebral segments. Being bipedal, upright beings, a lot of stress is put on our vertebral column. It is a fact that we are shorter at the end if the day, vs the beginning. This is due to compression. The healthy synovial fluid in our joint segments literally gets squished all day. Inversion tables gently distract these joints, urging the fluid and "nutrients" back in. Anyway, I do recommend them. And after seeing the benefits Judy received over day one alone, I'm definitely on board.

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Short post this morn... @foodhealthlife and I are thrilled to dive into a new Tom Robbins novel. Somewhat an autobiography, sort of a memoir. Though he denies both. "Anyway, only authors who are household names should write autobiographies, and not only is my name infrequently tumbled in the lapidary of public consciousness, but those rare homes in which it's spoken with any regularity are likely under police surveillance." Several of our favorite novels are his. Most notably "Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates" and "Jitterbug Perfume" And... Eggs the past 2 days. This morning's an egg and cheddar muffin with a bacon crust. Yeah, changing it up. lol My little sis is home from NH! She arrived yesterday and stays for 2 weeks! We hung out last night and will largely continue that trend until she's gone. You'll be sure to see many pictures of our adventures over the next little while. Oh, and she'll be joining us for CrossFit while she's here! 😉

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Almost died...

88° in the box, and a WoD aimed to destroy. First and foremost, I don't do well with heat. Never have. This eve's workout showed me unequivocally that I need to suck it up and make the morning WoDs in the summer. 100 Thrusters (95/55) No problem, right? Well let's throw on top of it a 5 burpee EMOM just to make things interesting! So at the top of every minute we do 5 burpees and then hit the thrusters until the next minute. This flippin' blew!! Coupla things: A) I already mentioned the heat. I should have identified this as a potential problem for me. B) I want so badly to up my weight and start approaching some Rx values. You know what, a 100 thruster + burpee EMOM WoD is NOT the time to do it! I managed 20 of them in the 1st 3 rounds and was spent, busted, and warped. Dropped to 75# until the point I started worrying about myself. (discussed later) "I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed." Oh but believe me, I am a tool!! C) Another Pro for the morning WoDs, I am finding that although I struggle with the early hours I am obviously more spent and weak after working all day. The morning workouts I attend have been much more productive and less risky injury-wise. Seriously though, I was worried about myself a bit tonight and pulled way back mid-WoD. (@ approx the 17 minute mark and around 50 thrusters in) My head felt like it was on fire, I could not catch my breath, I started getting nauseous, and at one moment I convinced myself that I stopped sweating. I probably should have quit as these are all bad symptoms, but I stepped outside and dumped water on my head, took a full minute to catch my breath, came back in and drastically reduced my weight (75# to 55#), and finished at just a moderate pace (3 thrusters/rd). Water, Fit Aid, and an Epsom salt soak later and I'm feeling better. Seriously though, take care of yourselves. We all love this so much but it is vital that we identify the line between pushing ourselves hard and overdoing it to the point of risking injury, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or... gasp... rhabdo. So hopefully lessons have been learned. I don't think Judy is ready to go back yet, so I'll use tomorrow as a recovery day and hit the box on Thurs MORNING! I am going to crawl back into my coffin now.

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We redid 14.3 this morning. Last time, I wasn't even able to budge 275# so being that this time wasn't about the games, I put on 255# and finished 12 more reps. Small improvement, but honestly I was not feeling very strong today. After 14.3 we had an 8 minute AMRAP of 10 push ups, 10 sit ups, and 10 air squats. I finished a round/minute on the nose. Bode and I had to get creative with lunch. We desperately need to go shopping. We had a burger lettuce wrap (with beef from our own cow) with onion, gorganzola, one of our hen's eggs, and a few drops of ketchup. Actually turned out pretty good for something thrown together. Heading out to rehearse "Something More" this afternoon before taking it to the studio next Monday. Then it's off to Bode's soccer tryouts for next season's team.