Holy Snow

It is crazy out there today. It started snowing around 6:00am and is still snowing, it's nearly 5:00pm. We've shoveled numerous times and you can't even tell. Cray cray I tell you. And Ontario peeps are shocked because we haven't had a snowfall like this in years! Our winters have been mild with little to no snow. I remember running so much during the winter last year, in a t-shirt! And this year it's been really cold and now a lot of snow.

I was planning on going to Crossfit this morning but I would have had to walk, and the snow is up to my knees so I decided against it. So I woke up and did a at home WOD from Tina at Carrots 'N Cake:

10 Rounds for Time:

10 Air Squats
10 Push-Ups
10 Sit-Ups

It took me around 12 minutes, but I think I did 11 rounds. I messed up the counting and did an extra one just in case. It did make me sweat so I consider it a good one!


I'll upload a picture of what it looks like outside later, but for now I'll leave you a picture of the snow pup (with horrible iPod quality). He loves the snow, he just sticks his whole face right in!

Bottomless Pit, Level 2 and Superbowl Eats

(This was supposed to be posted yesterday, so I'm posting it now!)

I feel like I've been eating non-stop, and I pretty much have been. I just can't get full! Although I've been hungry all day I'm still keeping it healthy. Oatmeal for breakfast, veggies and chicken for lunch, fruit for a snack, and a chocolate peppermint luna bar (so good!).

I also did level 2 in the 30 day shred, this is the first time I've done the shred in probably a week? Level 1 I thought was pretty easy. Level 2 is a whole different story! I was sweating in the first five minutes and dripping sweat by the end. I took several breaks, my body just couldn't handle it. It was definitely more challenging, so just a warning for you!

After yesterdays WOD my hamstrings and lower back were just a bit sore but that's it. Not the extreme soreness I had been fore warned about. The weight I used was heavy for me, but did that mean I didn't use enough? Wasn't doing the move right? Or do I already have quads of steel that it was no problem? I'm not really sure but maybe DOMS will make an appearance tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, I'm really hoping to get a run in. It's supposed to be sunny but still well below 0, I'm just going to suck it up and do it! Especially with it being Superbowl Sunday, not that I'm going to splurge tons (I'm making my own dinner) but any extra treats that I do consume I'll burn off beforehand :). I'm planning on making chicken tacos using lettuce as my tortilla with sweet potato fries. It's really good. And might do a little baking in the form of gluten free chocolate chip cookies. Healthy eating doesn't have to be boring, you can still enjoy all your favorite foods in healthy ways! When making nachos, use low fat sour cream (or plain greek yogurt), low fat cheese and black beans instead of refried. Bake your wings instead of frying them and buy baked chips instead of the usual Lays. Kettle has baked chips that are pretty good, pop chips are another option!

Image Source

Hope everyone enjoys their superbowl eats, it's just one day. Just moderator how much you eat!

Sore, Sore, Sore

Did I mention sore? Wednesday's WOD killed my quads. But it is one of my favorite ones to date:

4 ROUNDS:
100m sprint
10 push-ups
15 KB swings
20 walking lunges
25 squats
100m sprint
90 second rest

When I took off on my second sprint on the first round my quads felt like thick lead. I could barely move and a couple swear words may of made their way out of my mouth. I used a 12lb KB and might go up higher next time. But then I probably wouldn't be able to walk at all. Did I mention it was 14 degrees Celsius at 7:30pm?! It was so warm that the run outside was wonderful. I finished in 15:45.

I took the next day off but my legs felt good, they were so fatigued immediately after the WOD but on Thursday were only a bit stiff. Today I took to my box for another WOD, I have been warned this one is fatal and people can't walk for days.

3 ROUNDS:
1 min front squats
1 min rest
1 min back squats
1 min rest
1 min air squats
1 min rest

I think I've done enough squats for the rest of the month. I used a 15lb bar with 10lbs on each side and then added 5lbs to each side during the second round. It was hard, my legs were still sore from Wednesday and I felt it. I manged to do 236 squats over the 3 rounds and am pretty proud of it. I pushed myself to the last second when people had given up and didn't stop. I stretched afterwards and then walked home. My legs feel pretty good, but ask me again tomorrow when I wake up.


When was the last time you were sore?

Monday Rambles

Hey there! Today has been a quiet day. We got an unexpected snow fall last night that resulted in quite a bit of snow and my brother ended up having his exam cancelled. This morning I woke up pretty hungry and was going to a Crossfit class at 10 so I wanted something filling but wouldn't weigh me down. French toast it was!

 

I took two slices of Udi's Gluten Free Millet/Chia Bread  and dunked it in a cinnamon, vanilla and egg white bath. I cooked them in some coconut oil and they were delicious! I slathered on a bit of peanut butter and of course had to have my banana and peanut butter on the side :). I prefer to dip my french toast into the maple syrup so I have some with each bite. I probably only used half of what you see there. That's pure maple syrup, we only use the Canadian best in my house.

After I walked to my Crossbit box since I couldn't get a ride. Let's say that the next hardest thing to running in snow is walking in it. My calves were burning and I was sweating before I even got there.

When I got to the box there was the earlier class finishing up the WOD, and they were totally beat. I was nervous to what I was getting my self into but told myself I would do the best I could. After warming up we did the buy in:

EMOM for 6 minutes 3 reps of front squats.

I started with 10lbs on my bar but it was pretty easy so near the end I switched to 15lbs and it definitely made it tougher but I was still capable of doing the squats. And then the WOD.

20 Wall Balls, 15 Pull-Ups, 15 Ring Dips (Push-ups for me!)

20 Wall Balls, 12 Pull-Ups, 12 Ring Dips

20 Wall Balls, 9 Pull-Ups, 9 Ring Dips

20 Wall Balls, 6 Pull-Ups, 6 Ring Dips

20 Wall Balls, 3 Pull-Ups, 3 Ring Dips

I do a less intense Crossfit class so this was scaled down from the regular class but it was just as tough. I used a blue band for the pull-ups (the thickest there was) and a 8lb ball for the wall balls. I finished in 15:45 and was dripping sweat by the end. After Crossfit I snacked on an apple, kind bar and some almonds. The corn muffins I had with my lunch. I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix. I like to top them with raspberry jam, yum.

Pomegranate, Blueberry, Pistachio - My favorite!

I was so tired when I got home I just wanted to take a nap. Whenever I do an intense workout I always want to take a nap, anyone know why?

The rest of the day has been spent eating, sleeping (I did take a nap) and some grocery shopping. Now I'm sitting on the couch relaxing before I tackle three straight days of work. I'm going to wake up early tomorrow to do Level 2 of the 30 day shred. Wish me luck!

Hooked

It's official, I love Crossfit. I went to my second class at my box and it went great. I was a bit nervous going as I feel a bit out of my element, but once I start going it fades away. There were seven other people that showed up today and I liked the smaller class. The instructor that taught my first class was the instructor today and helped me throughout the hour.

We started with a buy in push press. We did four reps on the minute every minute for 6 minutes at 75% of 1 rep max. Honestly I don't know what that means but basically we chose a weight that was challenging but still doable for the push press and it four times every minute for six minutes. And rested after we had completed the four. I was using a 15lb bar with 15lbs on each side. I did pretty well and I think next time I can go higher. 

Then we got ready for the WOD (aka workout of the day). Today's WOD was:

12 Overhead Squats
9 Ring Dips
6 Box Jumps

4 rounds, after the four rounds finish with 50 sit-ups.

However, as I am a weakling and couldn't even hold myself up on the rings my WOD was modified to this:

12 Overhead Squats
12 Push-Ups (on knees, still challenging though!)
6 Box Jumps

For the push-ups I thought it was just down and up, but in Crossfit your chest has to go all the way down. Yeah, that wasn't happening. So he told me to go on my knees and move my arms closer together. That was just as challenging and I definitely felt it.

Another thing I found out, I hate overhead squats. Every time I would squat down the bar doesn't stay straight and comes over my head. It's hard for me to keep my arms straight and the bar high. 

Image Source, What I should look like.

A thing I have to work on I guess. Also I put 5lbs on each side of th 15lb bar, on my second round I took them off. Way to hard. Right now I just need to get my form down on these things and then start adding weight.

I finished the WOD in 10:45. Everyone was really encouraging and told me to keep going. I didn't care I was the last one done. I did it the best I could and I know that's a number I can work on in the future to get down. 

In case anyone is interested. I bought the unlimited monthly classes for $190 (including tax). I thought it was pretty good because I like to do both strength and cardio. A spinning studio near my house has spinning classes for $130 and bodypump classes for $190! So with Crossfit I get the best of both worlds for a lot cheaper. This is a start of a beautiful thing :).