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Jumping into 2020

January 7, 2020 2chicksandapen

I jumped into 2020 with my fitness. I did a challenging 2020 workout dedicated to the year 2020 (20 reps of multiple lifts and movements) with my workout pals and I was ready for a nap after a grueling 45 minutes of go hard. In a nutshell, my body was T-I-R-E-D with a Capital T.

I recovered for what seemed like a short time as my new work year picked up less than 24 hours later. Where did the holiday break go? Why does it feel like Sunday? Talk about lack of motivation to wake up at 5:30 am to work out.

Well, my puppy beat my alarm clock today. She had me up at 4:20 to potty and play. Good thing she is super cute. #teddie Boy I wish I had her energy at that hour. I guess the day started earlier than expected so I had a little extra time to checkout the workout in advance. Sigh.

It’s pretty much a jumprope-a-thon focusing on double unders which is a skill I have not mastered and really don’t like to work on. Why don’t I like to work on it? Because I suck most days and it requires multi-step directions which can challenge me some days in the coordination department. Good thing the new year is upon us and I had literally just listed double unders as a skills goal to work on for 2020.

I guess I have to go. I guess there may be hope for me to get better at double unders aka dubs in this decade since I wasn’t so hot last decade! Hope can conquer most things I would say. Just not sure dubs are on the hope list this year.🤪

To my surprise Mute Sports put on a great dubs class. So many tidbits of information that will help me get better and we got to try out their cool ropes. I wasn’t optimistic going into the class but I really enjoyed it. If you are searching for a rope, these guys are very helpful and I love supporting local businesses.

I ended up getting a new rope and a cute little fastener to keep it from getting tangled. I opted for two different handles because I need flair in my life. I only got the black cable because I need that thickness since I am entry level on the skill side. I will definitely put this bad boy to use each week to hopefully build up some muscle memory and link more than four dubs together at once. I also picked up a neat little round stone-type callus remover that they sell. It’s got a cylinder shape and I can toss it in my purse. Another great little gadget to add to my CrossFit trinkets.

But before I sign off, I think I should show you some of my jump rope history. My first rope was a brand I can’t recall that I purchased online. I was clueless when I bought it and didn’t do so hot with it so I gave it to a friend when I got my second rope, pictured below. This one I opted for hot pink and thicker cable that was coated because the whip marks on the other rope about killed me.

This was a good rope for me to reacquaint my self with single-under jumping. I did many, many jumps with this rope and still keep it my car in case I have the need to jump somewhere. This is a rope I seem to see at my box and other CrossFit boxes I have visited in the past. For this I would say great starter rope based on my experience.

Not long after, I got a custom rope at some point as a gift. This was thinner, lighter and had a fun look to it. I used this one off / on but never really mastered the dubs skill with it. I do however use this at home when I have time to practice. This one may be a fav just because of the aesthetic look. #wonderwoman

Some time mid-2019 I had a competition that called for lots of jumping. Singles, but the faster I could do them the better off I would be so I invested in yet another rope that a friend had. This one I have and use it from time to time but it will make more of an appearance once I master dubs. This one definitely hurts when you get whipped as it’s bare wire. Some of you may like whip marks but I’m a little bit of a baby so I’ll just say I’m not quite ready for this bad boy full time! Maybe that’s why they named it Bullet and advertise it as the fastest rope. Maybe there should be a warning that says use with caution unless you like pain.

As I close out my jump rope history I am merely sharing my woes of up down, up down, up down again and again. Much like jumping rope there are many ups and downs to finding a rope that fits you physically but also makes you feel confident enough to rock those double unders over and over again.

I will be jumping up down and around through 2020 but now I know I have options in ropes and tricks to help me be some a better jump roper. Thank you Muse for that one-on-one attention today.

Don’t get me wrong I can jump for a while doing singles. I’m improving at one leg or even alternating but I haven’t mastered the cadence, the breathing, the jump motion and the patience to be a double under dynamo. Not yet at least.

I will however keep you posted on my progress over the year. Gotta go it’s time to jump back into some emails. Let’s hope the Muse techniques and rope help me meet my 2020 dubs goal.

perspective

Skinny

January 4, 2020 2chicksandapen

Words have power. For good or for bad, they are powerful.

Throughout our lives words pick up nuances. Some might say they carry baggage. Words are weighted down with history, and these can be different from person to person. It reminds me of deciding on a name for a child, looking through the books and lists… Names evoke memories of the Jacobs, the Maxes, the Jennifers I once knew. Some leave a bad taste simply because of the scowl across the playground one boy gave me in second grade, or the girl who taunted me in seventh.

With that in mind, I’ll share a word that has pulled the rug from under me for a while now. A word I never thought I’d hear anyone say about me. A word that, as an adult, I honestly never wanted to hear.

Skinny.

But now I hear it pretty often. It jars me when someone says it. Could be just me, but it never comes across as a compliment. It carries a reproach. Maybe it’s the words that often come before it: too skinny, so skinny. They always sound like it’s something extreme. Like I’ve gone too far.

You’re starting to get too skinny, Beth.

When are you going to stop? When are you at your goal?

You’re so skinny. Do you eat anything?

(Reminder, I want to say…you are speaking to a person who has weighed more than 300 pounds.)

In high school, even college and beyond, I used to look at the skinny girls with envy. I longed to be them. I didn’t think about healthy or unhealthy. I just knew skinny was a good thing to be. It’s what people liked and wanted. Skinny meant pretty. Desirable. Choose-able. Worthy.

Now, when someone says I am skinny, it makes me think I am slight. I am weak. I am a pushover. In my mind, I’ve traded my fat for muscle, not just a lower number on the scale. I work hard for how I look, and I choose it in many different ways every day. I’d like to think what I’ve lost in fat I’ve also gained in confidence, but words like skinny set me back on my heels.

I’d rather hear someone say she is so lean. She is so strong. So fit. So healthy. Skinny, in my mind, doesn’t cover any of those things.

Stepping back, I think about the people saying these words. Do they mean to hurt my feelings? Do they know the word stings? Probably not. Are some speaking out of concern? Do they worry for my health? Maybe. Are they speaking out of jealousy, as some close to me have suggested? Perhaps. For all I know, some may see it as a compliment, but I don’t hear it that way. Such is the way of words. Sometimes what we mean gets lost in translation, even when we think we are speaking the same language.

In the end, it doesn’t matter much. I have learned in recent years that I can’t control other people’s actions, including what they say. I can only control my reaction to them. So I feel the sting, step back, then let it go and move on.

I’m the one who has to live in my body for as long as it lasts. There are a handful of trusted people that I listen to in earnest. Their thoughts matter to me and I take them seriously. Everyone else may either be speaking from their own agenda or may not know me well enough to have an informed opinion. So, they are taken with a grain of salt and the benefit of the doubt.

And I can watch my own words more carefully when it comes to the bodies, minds, and health of others. How do I know what others are going through? How can I keep from stinging them, wherever they may be on their path? Words have a power. Speak carefully. Speak generously. Ask questions. Watch my mouth as much as I can. Who knows how often I hurt people with my words without even meaning to?

You can imagine my smile when I opened this gift from my daughter at Christmas. She has seen me at my heaviest. She has seen me do the work transform myself mentally and physically. She took such care to make personal gifts for so many in our family. She texted me about a month ago to ask me for a photo of my first tattoo. She chose one word for me, and it is one that makes me proud, and makes me want to keep going.

Choose your words to build people up, to make them feel brave. Capable. Strong.

perspective

I Took the Dare! (And Now I’m Daring Myself!)

January 1, 2020 2chicksandapen

2019 was my Year of Fearless.

Some days, that word pushed me to do new things. To live a little differently. To take a breath and leap when I would usually just step back or walk away. I still have many of the same fears, but they don’t hold me back quite as much or quite as often.

All in all, the fearless served me well. I changed and grew in fearlessness, at least a little bit.

Now another turning of the year. What should follow my year of fearless?

Last year, as I selected my word, I spent a lot of time thinking, considering options, weighing possibilities.

This year was a no-brainer. It almost slapped me in the face. I picked up a set of notebooks while Christmas shopping, and there it was. So NOT me. But so needed to be!

The story began a while ago, in one of our gym-girl group chats. Someone (not me!) asked for a challenge, which became a dare, which turned into a quite funny mid-November-damp-overcast-chilly-afternoon episode of me running a lap outside around the gym in a swimsuit.

Yup, I stripped off my gym clothes and took off running. I mean, I’m a tank-top and shorts girl at the gym so the bathing suit was not much less than people see me wear most days, but still. Running through the parking lot in that for no apparent reason had me shallow-breathing-freaking-out through the entire class.

Growing up, whenever there was a game of truth or dare, I would quickly and silently slink out of the room. If I had to play I always chose truth. Dare left too much to chance.

And so, my One Little Word of 2020 is….Dare.

Dare to live big. Dare to do crazy things. Dare to continue to figure out who I am, and then dare to show people. Dare to put myself out there.

Dare to make big plans and, sometimes, dare to let go of the plan and see what happens. Dare to live in the moment.

Dare to dream outrageously. Dare to set big goals. And, maybe one of the things I fear most… dare to fail. Dare to flop. Dare to fall short. Dare to (eek!) disappoint, then dust myself off and dare again even more relentlessly.

I’ve set my goals this year. I set some that are all but surely out of reach. This is totally out of character for me. When I set goals, I usually pick something that I am relatively sure I can accomplish with a reasonable effort. Not. This. Year.

The quote that I wrote in the front of my goal book:

“If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.”

-Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Some of them do scare me. But in some ways, that’s exciting.

What word is guiding you this year?

Looking forward to sharing the dares as the year goes along!