Dream Big

Dreams - Some are attainable, some are not. How do you know? You try. You put yourself out there and you see what you can do. You obsess, you sweat, you bleed, you research, you practice, you sacrifice..........put in work. Having a dream is one thing, telling someone is a whole other thing. Saying it out loud makes it real. What if don't reach that dream? Then you have to explain to people what happened? Nope. You don't. Your dream is yours. You choose who you share it with. You choose what you say about it.

Typically with sports/athletics you have one big dream and a bunch of stepping stones to get you there. I'm going to share my dream - not because I'm close to getting it, but because that's what I'm working towards. It's why I put extra weight on the bar, spend extra hours a week practicing, and love every minute of it. I want to make it to Regionals (team or individual). Whew. That was scary to put out there. Now you know. I'm not trying to make it 2015, it's a long road and a process. Last year I was ranked 2020, this year I was ranked 1321. It's all about progress. I'm getting stronger and faster every week. One of my smaller steps is to start doing RX competitions. That's scary too.

It's very hard to reach a dream without 100% commitment. They are big. When you get there all the hard work was worth it. You earned it. Dreams do not happen by chance, but by hard work.

A friend of mine has recently put 100% effort into his dream. Going to Nationals. His dream is to go to the USA Powerlifting Raw National Championships, in Colorado. I really admire his guts. Not only is he reaching for a dream he is traveling for it! The meet is in Colorado and he needs some help getting there. He has a GoFundMe page to accept donations for this dream. 

Here is Philip doing a back squat that I actually got to witness. So inspiring and fun to be there when people go big. Let me tell you about Philip with some pictures - that's the most fun way :)

First in Deadlift and Bench

1st in Deadlift 2nd in Bench

Training with friends always makes it more fun

2nd place Raw

Training that dead lift

Even at the gym when he's hurt. Dedication

This picture always makes me laugh. Every. Time.

Philip trains hard and plays hard. He loves what he does and is taking that big leap into the world of "Dream Big". 

You can help Philip reach his dreams by donating HERE

Reality Checks

This week of workouts has been hard - the kind of week where you are frustrated and want to cry. Thanks to friends and coaches I got a few reality checks that I needed when feeling a little down that helped me put things in perspective.

Reason 1: Cleans. I'm terrible at them. My form is awful, I'm working on it, but it's a work in progress for sure. Here is my clean from this week: 125# clean and a push jerk. I cringe when I watch, it's OK if you do too.

Reality Check: I do NOT practice cleans enough. In a whiny text to my coach I was informed/reminded that I need to practice some everyday. It's not JUST that I suck - I haven't put in the time and practice to get better. There is no magic, it takes a lot of work. That made me feel better. I'm not banging my head against a wall going nowhere.....I need to put in more work. I can do that. The hubs is picking up a 45# Olympic bar (thanks craigslist!) this morning!!!! Also, the PVC pipe and I are going to get to know each other REAL well. Clean drills, welcome to my programming.

Reason 2: Strength. I want strength. I do not want to be just strong. I want my lifts to look good. I want them to feel good. I want to be efficient so I can keep getting stronger and better. Here is my back squat from this week @185# for 10 reps

Reality Check: Yes, this is a good amount of weight. I got down, I got up. Form? BUT I need to keep my chest up. Need to use my legs, not my back. Not terrible, but this is why I video tape. I will keep video taping so I can fix my form and see progress. Also, I love those socks. They are my favorite.

Reason 3: Wall Balls. I don't like them. I mentally die a little when they are in the WOD. They were in Wednesdays and Thursdays WOD. Barf. Oh, they were also at the Throwdown on Saturday. My shoulders were smoked, wall balls suck, you get the idea. I'm using the men's standards now of 20# and 10 feet - just plain hard.

Reality Check: Day 1 I did them one at a time at the men's standards. I couldn't even catch it on the way back down, I just let the ground do it's job. By the end of that workout I was at least catching the ball (using the wall) so I didn't have to pick it up every time. Progress. Workout 2 was 25 wall balls 4 times. Yep. Four rounds of those bastards. I started on the first set and was able to get sets of 2!!!! No dropping, using the wall, just moving. I had to talk myself through that first set. I wanted to stop, get the lighter ball and move faster. BUT this is not about fast. Not yet. This is about skill and strength. I completed the next two rounds of 25 doing sets of three and four. PROGRESS!

Reason 4: DNF. Did Not Finish. Yesterday was my first time not completing the workout by the time cap. It did not feel good. But why? Who cares? I wanted to curl up and cry.

Reality Check: I did not cry. I sat for a minute and thought about why I was upset. I didn't fail anything. I didn't quit. I did the work I could do in 20 minutes and that was that. Why did it take me a long time? Because of my choices. I did heavier wall balls, I did snatches focusing on form - If I'm going to put in work, weights, and use standards that are going to push me harder then I might not finish a workout here and there. It's making me better. Also? It's my choice. I want to get stronger, faster, better.....guess what that means?

It's all about the magic

So, I'm done feeling sorry for myself. This week kicked my butt, but I'm still standing. Today is a day off. I'm getting my toes done with a friend. I'm going to keep my head up, keep my focus, and smile all the way.

Trust the Process - Capital Throwdown Recap

Saturday was The Capital Throwdown in Sterling, Va. It was beautiful outside, I had a great partner, another team of boys from CFA was competing, and we had lots of cheerleaders. What more can you ask for?

WOD 1: Finished 7th place

Calories: 70
Tire Flips: 14
Thrusters: 31
Bench: 29

rowing for calories. NEVER fun....they tick up soooooo slow

bench time!

Thrusters 

WOD 2: 184 Snatches for 5th place

Snatches for 12 minutes was ROUGH

WOD 3: 13:59 for 15th place

So we did those workouts and found out (as I stuffed a peanut butter cup in my mouth) that we finished 10th overall. What does all that hard work mean? We earned another WOD!!!! Go team CFA!!!! The boys made it too. Awesome-tastic!

The Semi-Final WOD was for time:

20 dumbell snatches
20 situps
shuttle run x 2

My mom came and watched and was SUPER impressed. :) I tell her about Crossfit all the time, but seeing it is a different story. Of course she's super proud of me. My husband was there cheering his head off and my boys saw two workouts!

They might have had TOO much fun

What am I most proud of? Only two bathroom trips. Nervous poo? Not this time! We each did 25 pull ups. BOOM. We completed EVERY movement and EVERY WOD. We were very close to the 1st place team in many events. Our goal was to get top half, 13/14th place. We finished top 10 out of 27 teams. Feels so good! I do have my list of things to work on - but NO REGRETS!

CFA Boys and CFA Girls

You can find Holly and me next at Superfit DC in Oct!!!

Fear of Success - Really?

Fear of Success - it's real. Promise. Google it. Why would someone be afraid of success? It's awesome. It feels good. For some reason I self-sabotage really well. I have a hard time with compliments and I find myself creating excuses for success - "I'm not sure I really did it right", "I'm sure so-and-so could have beat my time", "I'm not sure how I was able to do that at all"....... How hard would it be to say "Thank you. I put in a lot of extra work to make that happen"? I don't know why, but I'm going to try and figure it all out.

You know that phrase:



I have never done that. NEVER. At the end of a game, WOD, competition, etc. I have ALWAYS had regrets. I should have pushed harder, I should I rested less, I should have.....goes on and on (maybe even messing with my nutrition goals???) I actually convince myself that I need to keep some in the tank....what if I need it later? Later? What later? I have never felt unprepared. I'm typically over prepared - but for some reason I tend to choke when it's game time. I played lacrosse in college, then dabbled in road racing and triathlons, and now Crossfit - this is not a new thought process for me. Clearly it's not keeping me from The Olympics, The Games, or world domination. It's frustrating though. Fear of Success.

I've been caught using the word "Can't" a few times. I cannot tell you the %, but let's say 99% of the time I say that someone tells me "let's see what you can do" and then I can do it. Oops. Promise I'm not trying to get out of work. I honestly think I can't do it. Why did I think that? Who knows. I self defeat. My husband hates it. He honestly believes I can do anything. Anything.

Something I'm going to start doing

This whole subject came up last night and my husband instantly started Googeling "Fear of Success". See, it's real, it's on the internet. Tons of articles and websites dedicated to not being afraid came up - One really hit home (from www.tinybuddha.com):

1. Be Positive - I'm getting better, but this is hard for me. I tend to doom and gloom and then see the silver lining. I need to keep positive people around me, people that believe in me, people that believe in themselves too. I get sucked into drama, I get sucked into fixing others and worrying about other peoples actions. No more.



2. Remind yourself you are part of something bigger - I'm a control freak. Not everything is in my power (what?!) and that's ok. Things happen for a reason. I need to be able to say "Well, I did my part", take a deep breath, and move on. Being a part of something bigger means helping others too. Encouraging others is something I really like to do - makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Let the cheering begin!



3. Figure out your purpose - Do you know what makes you happy? What are you passionate about? Make time for yourself - even ten minutes a day - this can make you happier, lower stress, improve health.....I'm pretty good at making time for myself. My husband is VERY supportive in this. I have family around, TONS of friends......you make time for what is important. I am important.



4. Create a success library - Thanks to Pinterest and Instagram I have this already. Do I look at Pinterest much? Nope. Will I now? Yep. Instagram is a daily thing for me. I mostly follow fitness/crossfit/weight lifting peeps with a few fashion people thrown in. I also have a few posters around work and home so that I can see my goals, where I want to be, and where I've come from. I write everything down. I enjoy reading other peoples blogs and talking with others about their successes.

Inspiration for sure

5. Learn - This is not SO scary. I do not pick WODs based on skills. I do WODs Mon-thursday no matter what they are. Friday and Saturday are off and Sunday is "work on the stuff you suck at". I sign up for competitions - even filled in on two that were terrifying, but I learned a TON and I'm still alive. Weird how that works. I set goals. I work hard. I try not to kill my husband when he is coaching me :)



6. Live in Balance - I hyper focus on things. When I get into something I go full speed ahead. This can be a blessing and a curse. I actually was told to take the week off recently to just be a mom and realize that my strength, abilities, and Crossfit will still be there when I come back. Guess what? They were. I went a week without juggling schedules, rushing from place to place, finding babysitters......it was nice. Glad to be back at it though.



So, here's to a positive and balanced life!!!! Time to do work and believe!!!!

My plan this week: Relax

The last few weeks have been busy. The Open is done. Whew! I finished 1332 (5596 signed up in the Mid Atlantic) - which meets the big goal I had!!!!! I wanted to finish in the 1,000's - even if it was 1, 999. I was able to complete all the workouts and got my first chest to bar pull ups. Great 5 weeks. I already have my tickets for Regionals, which is across the street from my neighborhood this year!!! I have a few friends that are competing and I will be cheering my head off.

With The Open finished, Crossfit Annandale planned a ladies night. So fun. Awesome turnout of about 25ish women. We did Cindy (5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 air squats in 20 minutes). I was able to PR - which is always a bonus. Then we all went out for Korean BBQ and ate meat until we popped.

Then Fran was programmed. I had not done a true Fran before. I've done a Fran ladder (15-12-9) but not Rx (21-15-9 thrusters and pullups). I geared up to get sub 2:00 (yeah, right) and tried to muster all my pull up strength. I finished it Rx in 9:18. Not breaking any records with that time, but I'm very happy that I have now done Fran.

Knowing that I was about to take some time off I had to get in a few lifts too. I PR'd my front squat (175#)
and my back squat (245#).

 I Am Beastmode Tshirt - always good for a PR

This week is a programmed break. Thanks Coach. I don't take breaks by choice. I don't like them. I feel like I'm missing out. I don't sit still well. All that. So far this has been a great break though. My son, Mason, turned 6. How is he that old?

Mason the cheeser on the left

I've also been catching up on emails, reading, winning squirt gun fights, cleaning (I'm supposed to do that, right?), and trying out some new products. I've gotten my hands on some Quest Bars (yum) and a pair of Natural Grips (yes!).

Quest Bars. Oh, how I love a pre packaged on the go high in protein low in sugar bar. I've tried vanilla almond crunch, chocolate chip cookie dough, apple pie, and coconut cashew. So far the coconut cashew is my FAVORITE. They all have about 20 grams of protein, 170-190 calories, and no added sugar. I did find out there is a GNC across from my work that sells them - thought that was dangerous - BUT then I found out they are on Amazon. Prime. Don't worry, I ordered a box and they are probably already at my house. How do they do that? My love affair with Amazon Prime is a problem.

so yummy

Natural Grips. These bad boys are gonna save the world.....or at least my hands. I'm not sure what I do, but pull ups and toes to bar can really destroy my hands. First thing I noticed was how SUPER soft they are. They are hand made based on your ring size and they even write a little L and R so you know which hand is which. They are comfortable. Easy to put on. Glorious. They last a few months (depending on how much you use them). I recommend getting these unless your hands are made of steel and never rip. I plan on using these bad boys. A lot.

Saving the world. Two hands at a time.

This rest week is also giving me lots of time to figure out my Macro's and meal planning. The saying "Fail to plan, plan to fail"??? Could not be more true with nutrition. Especially for me. If dinner is not planned it's so easy to order pizza, eat a bowl of ceral, eat a bowl of noodles....you get the idea. Last night dinner was shrimp on the grill, hummus, and green beans. Way better than pizza any night. But that took planning. I'm also using lots of measuring cups, a food scale, and a journal. Takes extra time - but it's been great to see what pile of stuff I SHOULD be eating. I'm using my fitness pal so that I know my macro's on the go. I write out my daily totals too so I can see where I am going wrong. I'm hitting my calories mostly, but falling a little short on protein and carbs. Brandon (LBEB) said I need to check my fat intake - that can throw everything off. So I will be paying more attention to that as I plan my meals. Here's to getting lean and strong!

Hope everyone is having a great week and Hump Day!

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13 Things you didn't know about Streaky

If only I could say this interview was done in Florida, on the beach, actually getting to meet Streaky (Jenn) Yates. One day.....but for now this was done through the internet. Still super cool. I first heard of Streaky as I was scrolling through The Facebooks and stumbled on Lift Big Eat Big (LBEB). I love to see who the sponsored athletes are, so I scrolled through and found Streaky. I instantly had to do research and find out everything about her. You can also read more about her here, here, and here.

 I reached out to her a few times to tell her she inspired me, I commented on a few pictures.......you know, your basic Facebook stalking. Streaky didn't just let me stalk her though, she actually responded, interacted, and even reached out to me (commented on a few pics!). When I asked her to answer a few questions for my blog she instantly responded "absolutely - I'd love to" - WHAT? So excited. We are obviously friends for life now. 

Doin her thang

1.  If you could sing one song on American Idol what would it be?

The warmth -Incubus

2. If you were on an island and could only bring three things what would they be?

Mascara

Protein

Electrolytes

3. If you were a box of cereal which one would you be and why?

Fruity pebbles -cuz I'm fruity as hell

Being Fruity

4. What was the last song that played on your Ipod?

Rob Zombie-SUPERBEAST 

5. You always have a smile on your face, but what movement or lift just frustrates you?

Butterfly pull-ups-hand stand walks - snatches. Frustrate the hell outta me. So I practice almost erday. 

Awesome action shot

6. You inspire so many people. How does that affect your workouts, or not wanting to do a workout?

I find nothing but inspiration from my peers/followers/friends etc. it inspires the hell out of me to go as hard as I can 

7. What do you hate to do outside the gym?

What do I hate to do outside of the gym? Umm ... Nada. I find the best in all I do. Love my job -social circle-and life. :) 

8. What do you love to do outside the gym?

Love to practice my sweet yoga moves at the beach outside of the gym--corpse pose is my fave. I'm really good at it ;) 

With fellow LBEB athlete BadKat

9.You can be any animal. What would it be? Why?

Pretty sure I'd be a hybrid mutant freak animal- a hippo-QUADIMUS  or a unicorn hahaha. Mythical-magical-strong-and stealth 

10. What is the one food that you can't say no to, even though you know you shouldn't eat it?

The one food I should say no to ..... Hmmmm .... I eat what I want. No shouldn't a here. Lol . But sugar is my nemesis 

11. What song best describes you and your work ethic?

Work ethic song- rob zombie SUPERBEAST. 

Always so positive!

12.What is your proudest accomplishment in and out of the gym?

3 proud moments- the day I snatched my body weight 145#

Last year right before the open I got my Muscle ups greatest day EVER!!! Set a goal 4 years ago to attend Regionals with miki Carey and represent Gardens Crossfit & LiftBigEatBig --ACCOMPLISHED!!!! 

*Streaky is currently sitting in 101st place in The South East Region as an individual and her team Garden Crossfit is currently in 3rd place in the same Region. 

13. What is it like to have your own shirt? (which, of course, i own)

It's very humbling  I'm just a normal chick with a big dream to save the world one lift at a time.. Having my own shirt makes me giggle inside but super amped that when people PR in it ITS LIKE IM RIGHT THERE LOL ---I live for this shit. Experiencing others epic moments is what I live for️

This shirt is bound to send me to PR city

I am currently working with LBEB right now on my nutrition. Only a matter of time before I bump into Streaky in real life!