Category: fitness and nutrition

fitness and nutrition

54 Days

2chicksandapen

It was 54 days ago I decided to make a commitment to complete a partner WOD competition. 4 workouts. 1 day. Burpees involved. Running required. Two of my least favorite gym moves and both double as slowest movements. Nonetheless I decided to commit to the event and work to strengthen my weaknesses.

I started documenting the process straight of of the gate. I’m using my whoop to maximize my heavy training days as well as capitalize on days I need rest. So far the process is on track. I have my benchmark times for the run and I’m looking to work hard over the next 50 days to build my endurance and trim my run time while watching my heart rate. Of course I also want to stay injury free as well.

Chipping away little by little. 3 seconds, 8 seconds all adds up in time. Running is not my strength so just don’t zoom in to the picture, but of course it will be better as the competition gets closer.

Next weakness is burpees. I can do 5 unbroken. I can squeeze out 8 unbroken if I push myself. However, 9, 10, 11, and 12 seem like I’m moving in slow motion. It could be mental. It could be my lack of practice. It could be my dislike of the movement. It could even be my limited mobility. No matter what the cause or excuse I’m working on finishing 12 in record speed each round under fatigue! No small task, but if it were easy everyone would do it. At this point I’m consistent on my speed round to round. Now I just need to fine tune my movement.

While I chip away at improving my run, my stamina, and my burpee performance I just also need to loosen my hips and stretch for me to be able to break parallel about 60 times while throwing wallballs to a target several feet above me. Yeah me. Not sure why I sign up to torture myself, but I do.

30 days out. Jump rope is in hand to see how many I can complete in a minute. So far the consistent number is around 120-122. Finding a focal point, breathing and syncing into a rhythm is what I need to master.

Roping, I might even have music blasting to drown out redundancy factors that surface repeatedly in 1 minute.

In the middle of training I also have the pleasure of working through a knee injury. I’m not medically qualified to diagnose the exact injury but it was fluid around the knee. Uncomfortable. Limited mobility. Lots of Aleve. Ice. A little rest. Modifications to movements to keep the training going. The introduction to a new band to work on the problem area with tension was a game changer. A little pain never hurt anyone but high heels really were not on the agenda while I worked out my pains and inflammation.

All in all training was good. It gave me a goal to work toward. It made me focus on some weaker moves. My whoop helped me identify opportunities to add more strain some days or to train a little differently to maximize my overall conditioning and training. Managing my heart rate under fatigue to know what my body was capable of was key, too. Not sure what I will work towards after this competition but it will be something to feed my hunger for training and competition.

As an added bonus I had a 12-pound personal best on my bench press mid-training. Must be all the burpees and push ups I added into to my training. Crossover benefits are a bonus no matter how you look at it. 142 pound bench press for the gold star today.

Look for the results of the competition in the coming days if I desire to write about it.

challenges, fitness and nutrition

Puddin’ Pedal

2chicksandapen

Sounds cute and innocent enough…a 20-mile “fun ride” through central Georgia. Part of the State Banana Pudding Festival. Pudding at all the rest stops! A pudding tasting at the festival! Banana carving! What’s not to love?

There was a 20 mile and a 40 mile option. People asked me what I was doing…funny. Even 20 miles would be about 7 miles longer than I had ever biked. There were maybe 20 of us, total. 5 doing 40 miles, 15 doing 20. Some chit chat at the start line…quite a few of us were new to this event, but nearly all had much nicer gear and bikes than I did. Several wore fancy kits advertising their distance races. Most were also my age or older. Friendly. After all, we weren’t competing.

Straight out of the gate there was a huge downhill. I thought to myself, we are going to pay for this with some big ups.

How right I was! What followed was mile after mile of mostly huge hills. Every turn had me holding my breath and often shaking my head in disbelief. Another ?!^&@# hill!!!

The 40 milers and some of the more experienced cyclists were long gone as I steady pedaled up the first few hills. A couple of older women who had come together took a number of breaks on the side of the rural roads so I kept in touch with them. Finally at one point I turned around to see several people about 50 yards behind me along with the police safety vehicle that signifies the back of the pack. I’m doing ok, I thought. Just keep moving.

Up and down. Up and down. At one point I just get off the bike and walk it up the last part of the hill. My back and my saddle soreness told me it was fine to take a little break. At one point people pass me and then I hear the sound of the car over my shoulder. It would be over my shoulder for the remainder of the miles. Kind of taunting me. Once in a while tempting me. Others had given up, hoisted their bikes and climbed in. Put themselves out of the slow rolling pain of endless hills. Should I?

I’ll spare you the pain of all the inner doubt and dialogue. I knew I was too stubborn to give up. Yes, every time I would get off the bike to walk some horrible uphill they would pull up next to me to see if I was ok. Always the answer: “yes” with a smile and a thank you. Even with the headwinds of a storm blowing in. Even after an hour and a half with no mile markers and not a bowl of pudding in sight, I kept going.

We did finally get to the pudding stop. There was just one. The rest of the 20 mile group was there, sitting and snacking on pudding and sandwiches and nilla wafers and orange slices. We all pulled out together a few minutes later. I learned we just had about 7 miles to go, with a few more horrible uphills between me and the finish line.

It took forever, it seemed. Me and the sweep truck just puttering along. One hill had me so mad I started hyperventilating. But I had to calm down… “You didn’t come this far to just come this far,” I told myself. “Finish it. Finish it. Finish it.” Counting my pedals from 1-100 just to focus on getting. up, the, hill.

And at long last, I did finish. The finish line was nothing special. In fact, people kept saying “just keep going,” then eventually I was riding into the festival crowd and I turned around. The follower vehicles were gone. No finish line, no bowl of pudding, no cheers or way to gos. I just got off my bike and sat on the ground for a minute. Shaking my head. Shaking all over, really. What just happened? I finished.

This may have been the hardest physical thing I had ever done. I had to work harder than I wanted for longer than I wanted because there was someone just over my shoulder, waiting for me to quit. No stops for photos or scenery. Just a fight through pretty much every single mile.

I am stubborn, that is for sure. I can endure pain and discomfort for as long as I need to. I can keep going. I can sustain. I don’t have to satisfy anyone but myself.

A bucket list activity turned into a one-and-done. A few bites of pudding and many sore muscles and memories. Sometimes the things you look forward to contain tests and challenges you don’t anticipate or imagine. But pushing through them is its own gift. It leaves you with a sense of achievement. And a plan to improve.

fitness and nutrition, health

Year 7

2chicksandapen

Was year 7 a lucky year? No. It was however the 7th consecutive year for me to participate in the CrossFit Open. I’m still fittish. I’m still fabulous. I’m still as competitive as I was when I was just 12 years old.

Year 7 was a defining year. A year I didn’t let fear hold me back. A year to redefine myself within my personal scope of CrossFit today. This year I am visiting the gym 3-4 days a week as compared to a solid 6 days a week a few years ago. I’m a little thicker. I’m a little less flexible. I’m a little more cautious vs. reckless.

I do other things now, whether I’m playing tennis a few days a week or just squeezing in a workout in my shred shed to stay active. With that being said I didn’t miss the chance to compete in the CrossFit Open. Why would I? I have a seven year streak going. I may even have a goal to see how many years I can do it.

I participated scaled which was okay for me as I wasn’t working on the advanced gymnastics movements all year, but I could garner the strength to participate scaled. I scaled like a boss and owned each workout the best I could. I had fun. I did better than expected in most cases. All in all I am happy to be continuing to compete each year.

The workouts are always different. The people around you may change but the competitive edge really lies within you. I’ve been an athlete all my life. I have competed at high levels across many sports over the years. The common denominator is competition for me. I like to compete. I like to compete in many areas of life and sports allows me to hone my skills and discipline myself. 

As you can see below I test my brain each morning with Wordle. I compete with friends near and far. A digital challenge each morning. A competition bright and early in the day to spark the competitive edge we all have. Some days it’s easy. Some days it’s frustrating. Some days I lose. Today I was a little lucky. Some friends start with the same word. I choose a new word daily. I guess I like change and that simple word change is something I control each morning. Instead of being cautious I’m risking change thus competing with myself.

I compete with myself on the daily however having national leaderboards is a great way to see how you stack up to others around the world. I’m not the elite athlete by any means and I don’t care to be. I care to be me, an athlete. A masters athlete. A scaled athlete. A long-term competitor. I’m an endurance athlete. I’m enduring the test of time. How long can I stay fit enough to compete at whatever level my body and mind wants to. I adapt. I adjust. I realign my expectations now and again.

Some days I may be in the masters age class for CrossFit while other days I’m in the muck of it all with an 18 year old. On the tennis courts I may play in the senior league but then the next day play in 18 and older league. Each scenario may be different with players and abilities but it’s still competitive. Your mind still needs to react to the environment. One must persevere against whatever the odds are. Being an athlete also has highs and lows. Winning days and losing days. The point is I still compete and give my all in whatever level competition I am in and whether or not I win a prize. 

I don’t register for the local 5k to be #1 in my age group. I do it to say I competed. I do it to be amongst other like-minded people who chose fitness. Environment matters. Getting out with others can be key for many who many suffer in their own silent ways. Remember that you don’t have to be #1 to be an athlete. You need to train to be an athlete. Training is a repetitive action.

Today at my gym I worked out along side a young guy in a wheelchair. He adapts every movement for him even though we do the same class. Next to me is a teenager. She is getting her conditioning in for her high school off season. Different levels, same focus on fitness. Making time to work at our levels.

My body gets stiffer these days. My body needs extra time stretching. Once I make my adjustments I can still work just as hard as others. I’m just adjusting to the newer version of me which is actually the older version of me. Tweaking what needs adjusting along the way.

When I look back at these seven years in the Open, I can see how far I have come. I can see where I could go. I can see how many people quit while I stayed on the path. I can see how much my fit life has impacted others around me. My mental strength has grown from all the moments I spent on the gym floor in near tears for making another rep. My emotional strength has skyrocketed as it goes hand and hand with my mental prowess. Physically I have hit ups and downs but I am super strong in comparison to many my age and for that I am hopeful for the future. The future of me. How long I endure. How I forge ahead.

If you have never competed on a national level, try it. Maybe your sport is chess. Maybe it’s pickle ball. Whatever the sport see how you fare. Competition is a strength in all parts of life. We all compete for tomorrow when it’s never guaranteed. Staying competitive in life or competing helps one prepare for those days that you need the physical, mental and emotional strength to see tomorrow.

I am an athlete.

An athlete in mind, body and spirit.

I have trained for years.

I did the work.

I continue to work each day. This is what an athlete does. They train continuously. It’s my opinion that athletes make great leaders. They understand sacrifice. They know how to work hard. They appreciate mental toughness. They can balance when needed in life. They are built to endure.

The photo above showing me upside down is fascinating to those who don’t workout. It takes a lot to go upside down. Confidence. Strength. Determination. Power more than finesse. Practice. Failures. Courage. So much behind the scenes of this photo, yet I am proud to say that at 51 years old I can go upside down. Maybe that’s another goal to see how many more years I can go upside down.

What kind of athlete are you?

fitness and nutrition

WHOOP Intro

2chicksandapen

It took me a while but I finally took the plunge and invested in a WHOOP fitness tracking device. Not sure how this will work out but it is officially on my fitness craze list for 2023. In this post I will document the process of starting it up and maybe what I learn initially. Thereafter I will post anything of relevance down the road once it adapts to me. This should be a fun blog to reread down the road.

Step one: taking the plunge with the order. Pretty easy process but I needed to snag a code from a friend to get a little discount. They got one too as a bonus. Hint. Hint. Find a friend or send me a message if you need a code. 

Step two: the wait. They shipped pretty quick so it was here in no time at all, but I seemed to want it yesterday. As if UPS should have been on standby to just know I was going to need a WHOOP delivered. That is the instant gratification girl in me. Zero patience for the newest toy in my toy box.

It’s like Christmas Day agin. The unboxing began. To my surprise it didn’t have an initial charge. The wait continued, I had to figure out the charging process. In my mind I couldn’t grasp how I would sleep with it if the device had to charge. I won’t ruin the surprise but it’s doable.

Then how to situate on my wrist was the next challenge. It seemed weighted at first. It really wasn’t but I perceived it was. Weird I know, but in comparison to the Apple Watch it felt heavy.  Then I had to balance it alternately to my Apple Watch on my other wrist that has been with me for years. It was a process to feel like it was invisible for the first 48 hours. I’m good now.

Sleeping with it. This was a little weird day one. I was also conscious it was there. I wanted to sleep well yet my mind raced a bit. This was annoying because the device needs to calibrate with your sleep four days to establish a baseline. Guess I’m not being helpful! Day two was an odd sleep night at my house creating another benchmark of wake sessions. Next day the same. So far I learned my sleep has a long way to go to improve.

Again learning if you don’t monitor something, it’s basically out of mind. Sleep just isn’t something I’ve monitored before since I’m asleep. Well now the guesswork is out of the way. WHOOP there it is. Recorded for me in an app. Bite sized pieces of information to digest. This girl couldn’t be more happy to review this new data. My data. All about me. My sleepless nights. My wake wake bathroom sessions. The to do list dancing in my head while I try to fall back asleep.

Deep sleep.

Not so deep sleep.

How long it takes me to go to sleep.

Disruptions.

Geez my heart rate just seems so incidental with all the other jazz going on. Whoop. Whoop. Such a funny device name. Yet whoop there it is keeps playing on repeat in my mind. Can’t wait to see where this journey takes me.

Benchmarking. This process will continue and evolve over time. The device is processing away.lots and lots of data. Hopefully I can sort out my movements, my rest and my recovery to improve my overall health. We shall see.

Biking, tennis and CrossFit have been logged. A two-a-day workout. A strenuous workout. A recovery bike ride. Hopefully the movement on the front end will become consistent over the year and the trends or information I’m tracking will give me the statistical data that can fine tune my performance thus combating my aging process and love of fitness. Did I really just acknowledge I’m aging?

Just another tool I’m putting into the mix for now. Bracelets are on hold for now while the wrist real estate is used up with electronic devices tracking my every move. I’ll keep you posted on my likes or dislikes down the road. For now I’m in the honeymoon phase. Whoop

challenges, fitness and nutrition

Grow Bolder, Not Older

2chicksandapen

The 100th Day of School.

Full of fun and games, snacks and celebrations, all kinds of counting everywhere you turn.

And then the invitation to look like the theme: “Dress like you’re 100 years old.”

I’m trying to use what I already have…shop my closet if you will. So I grabbed a white bobbed wig from a recent adventure, then went to choose my clothes, which led to all kinds of imagining. If I live to 100, what would I want my life to be like? I had some of my mom’s old frocks from the 70’s. A muu-muu? A hospital gown?

As I often try to do, I responded to the call in an unexpected way. I knew from previous years that my colleagues would show up with walkers, medicine bottles, and curlers in their hair. But with my sassy white bob I thought to myself, what do I *want* 100 to be like? What am I working for right now?

If I had my way, I’d be living on a beach in a relatively modest home because I’d also be spending a lot of time in active travel. Globe trotting, enjoying life. Savoring sunsets. Life would be an actual parade, not just a parade of doctor’s appointments. And so I donned a colorful kimono over my leggings and sandals.

When I got to school, my hunches were spot on. As I floated around the hallway, I saw lots of gray hair spray, canes and crutches, frumpy fashion. Is this really what we have kids looking forward to? It’s no wonder being older has a stigma. If life is just a collection of pains and prescriptions, moving slow with things falling apart, who would be excited to get there? And how can we let them know that the decisions they make today can help them create the future they want to have, physically, mentally, emotionally and for their all-around health?

Many kids and even co-workers giggled when they saw my take on the theme. Some asked me about it…I just said I plan to be active, vibrant, and living my best life when I hit triple digits. I may not be able to control everything about aging, but I can control my attitude about it. I can control my eating habits and exercise. I can keep my mind nimble and my stress as low as I can. With that and some luck, hopefully I will avoid the walker and embrace the wanderlust.