#russian arm

[abteen]

Russian Arm. Vienna, Austria. 2015.

[sugarproduction]

On location in beautiful Sanger, California! 

[porkpiefilm]

[abteen]

Vienna.  2015.

[chrissaul]

Rusnak car commercial

Just spent the day shooting a car commercial for Rusnak dealership. We rented a Russian arm and got some amazing running footage of a Prosche, Range Rover, and BMW near Mt. Wilson. 

[crossfitchronicles-blog]

No Excuse Really, Just My Apology

I've been meaning to update for a while now. Life sometimes gets in the way. Work got crazy, home got crazy, I went crazy (with a cold) and then I went away for the weekend and I thought I'd have time then... I did have some time but I obviously didn't post. Thankfully Ris did.  Here's where I'm at: Last night I happened to catch a glimpse of the WOD for today, and I got excited.  Recently, like, within the last week, I conquered my fear of the hand stand push up. With three ab mats under my head I can get myself vertical on the wall and do a little mini push up. In case you hadn't gathered, a hand stand push up requires pushing your WHOLE body weight... vertically. If I haven't mentioned it before, I'll mention it now.  I have ALWAYS been heavy for my size. Not necessarily fat, just solid. Heavy bones or muscle or something. So I've never really been capable of handling my own body weight.  Not sure if I should be mentioning this, but we saw a lady who was in a state way beyond our own when we started. And Ris said to me, "look, if she can do a HSPU, you can". I made excuses, I bitched about it inside my head, and that day, for the WOD which called for HSPUs I did them on the box once again. I justified it because there were so many other things going on with that WOD. I think.  Last week we had a day when the skill we worked on was HSPUs. Something snapped into place, like those K-nex from when I was a kid, inside my head. I got over the fear of my arms giving out, manned up, and did it. It took a little help at first, but when I got it, the whole group cheered for me. It sounds a little cheesy, but that's what happened. Honest.  I guess I'll give a physical update like Ris too.  As far as weight goes, I've lost maybe 2 lbs. And I think that comes down to me being sick about two weeks ago, my personal chef/dad being away, so I didn't really eat or move past going to work or feeding the animals. And the entire weekend that week was spent on the couch, watching food network, probably. However, I have noticed a couple differences besides the actual pounds.  I've definitely lost inches around my natural waist and around my gut. And trust me, there was a gut. It's still there, but its way smaller. I think I'd be happy to dub it a pooch now. As of yet, I've not downed a size much like Ris, but, I think some of my stuff is fitting slightly looser. I may put another hole in my belt to accommodate before I go out buying smaller pants.  This morning, in my battle to get out of bed, I happened to poke myself in the arm. (Don't ask, I was obviously half asleep and I really can't explain much about myself in that state.) I was pleasantly shocked to find where there was previously a large amount of squishiness, there is now a distinct muscle feeling (under a much smaller layer of squish). Due to my lineage, my family and I always dubbed this the "Russian Arm". Could also be described as the old lady wings. Mine weren't quite wings, but when I waved, my arm kind of kept shaking, and I hated it. That's all but gone now. Unfortunately, my arm hasn't really shrunk though, so I still have trouble fitting into some long sleeve ensembles. I guess it's always gonna be that way.  This weekend I went to visit my love. He is well aware of the suffering I put myself through weekly, because I complain openly to him. We're both trying to become better versions of ourselves as far as fitness goes. The difference being the directions we want to go. I'm trying to get smaller and he's trying to get bigger.  Anyway, despite his awareness of the suffering and his appropriate sympathy when I complain, there hasn't really been a big moment for him or for me where either of us has noticed a change. Two things happened this weekend. The first happened when we were lounging watching a movie. He put his arm around my waist and said, "there's less of you". I'm not sure if this would offend other people, but I was definitely excited. The second happened after I had eaten an inordinate amount of sushi (or maybe it was lemon chicken night... who knows, lots of food was eaten, that's the important thing to note) and I happened to notice my stomach was not as distended as I was used to seeing after such an event. The true test was him poking the pooch and confirming I wasn't imagining it. A little unceremonious, but hey, a test is a test, results are results.  Bullet Points of Notage: -I still can't do a crapload of man-push ups.  -I still hate burpees. -I still can't do a pull up, kipping or otherwise.  -I still can't squat all the way down. (Which means thrusters are a no-go.) -I still skip the running WODs. (I know, I don't really wanna hear it.) -I haven't graduated to the larger (20") box for box jumps (although I have managed to make the jump a couple times), but I have added a fat plate on top so I'm probably jumping 14" instead of 12". -I am now consistently using the 14lb med ball.  -Sit ups don't bother me.  -I get excited for HSPUs, like in today's WOD.  Today is Tuesday, I don't normally go to The Box on Tuesdays because I have Salsa (dancing - not the perfect accompaniment to tortilla chips), but today I think I'll be a few minutes late because this WOD looks good. And also, I suspect CrossFit is helping my core and my dancing in general. (When I'm not ailing from murdering myself at a WOD.) Improvements abound! -Age