Challenge updates

10 in 21 Challenge:
This was tough! The Master Food list was limiting and I got pretty bored with spinach, broccoli, and asparagus as my only green veggies. The meal replacement shakes were gross and the lack of healthy fats left me lacking a bit of energy. I did get back on schedule with eating smaller meals every 3 hours, and back into the habit of drinking a lot of water throughout the day. My goal was to lose 10 lbs in 21 days and with only a few cheats, I managed to lose 5lbs. I'll keep this in my arsenal to use again in the future if I need a quick fix. I'm definitely happy to be back to eating Paleo and enjoying my favorites like kale, eggs, salsa, grass-fed beef, and healthy fats. Oh how I missed coconut oil and coconut butter. Mmmmm...

100 Day Burpee Challenge:
I'm kicking myself now for underestimating how tough this one would be. Not because of the burpees themselves, but rather finding the time and energy to do them EVERY DAY. Dang! I was going strong until 40, then I really started slacking. After missing 2 days, I had to start reevaluating my commitment to this challenge. Ultimately, I decided I'd go to 50 and call it. I'll be posting the video of my 50 burpess this weekend. Although I won't be moving forward with the challenge, I will incorporate burpees into my weekly routine. I have gained a lot of strength in my triceps from pushing myself off the ground, and have been able to complete the sets unbroken - which for me is as much mental as it is physical. So, this is progress indeed. To all of you who are still participating - I'll be cheering you on all the way to 100! Best of luck. 

Fight Gone Bad:
This was hands down, the TOUGHEST CROSSFIT WOD I've ever done. Period. The 2 rounds we practice in class do nothing to prepare you. I went into it thinking that based on my 2 round max score of 187 (completed in the early spring), it would be possible for me to get to 300 following a basic strategy of hitting a set number of reps at each excerise for each round. Here's how it went:

Round 1: Started off strong! Hit my goal of 25 reps on wall ball and push press, but SDHP and box jumps gave me some trouble. Only ended up with 20 box jumps and 18 SDHP. Got my typical 12 calories on the row and ended up with 100 for the round. 

Ok, so just keep that same rep count for the next 2 rounds and I got it, right?! 

Round 2:  Started off strong again with wall balls, but only got 20 reps in time. SDHP and box jumps got hella tough - I had to rest more than I wanted and got further behind. Push press was my only hope to catch up. Unfortunately, I used so much shoulder in the SDHP and row from previous rounds, I totally failed after 18 reps. Leaving me with a final round score of 76. Booo!

I want to quit.

Round 3: At this point, I didn't know if I could continue. I was already mentally beaten from Round 2. I managed to get double digits on each movement, but I'm ashamed that I couldnt get more than 15 reps on wall ball, which usually saves me. I completely failed at SDHP, Push Press, and the row, managing to get only 10 reps/cal for each. As soon as "time" was called, I collapsed onto the turf. Dead.

I ended up with a final score of 234 and got to enjoy post-workout recovery margaritas with fellow participants:

Although I muttered that 'I never want to do that again', I'm already strategizing for next year. My desire to hit 300 outweighs the pain. Clearly I need to work on SDHP and maintaining my endurance throughout the 15 minute WOD. I will be better prepared and stronger next year. I'm happy with my score, especially since it was my first time doing FGB as Rx'd. Consider this my benchmark.

More news to come soon...Cheers!

Day 25 - Burpee Benchmark Time!

This morning, I did 25 consecutive burpees for our first benchmark in the 100 Day Burpee Challenge. I finished them in about 1:28. Not stellar, but I wasn't going to do them over! 25 burpees is still 25 burpees.

The video is a little dark (since it was a monsoon outside), but you get the idea:



25 days down...75 more to go! Who else is still participating?!

100 Day Burpee Challenge...who's with me?!

This morning while I was checking my Twitter feed, I came across a tweet from my tweep, Lisa. She and her tweep, Heidi are starting a 100 day burpee challenge this Sunday and were looking for people to join them! I jumped on it right away - this is exactly the kind of challenge I need to help me reach my goals of becoming mentally tougher and better at things that suck. And, believe me burpees suuuuuck.

So, here it is (drumroll) ...the 100 Day Burpee Challenge!

100 days, a shit ton of burpees (actually 5,050), a . Who's with me? Before you tell me I'm nuts, consider this: could you be faster, stronger, and mentally tougher? I know I can be! What better way to train ourselves to push through the "suck" in life than to take on burpees...lots of them...daily?!

We are going to do one burpee on day one (August 15th) and add one each day until we get to 100 burpees on the 100th day (November 22nd). Heidi will document this challenge on her blog (http://www.runwithheidi.com/) and post the benchmark videos of all participants. Check it out here. 

The Rules:

1. Use Burgener's burpee standards for form - or - the standards as set by your CrossFit affiliate
2. You can complete each day's burpees all at once, or broken up and done at different times throughout the day
3. If for some reason you miss a day, you have to make up all the missed burpees the following day
4. If you don't start the challenge with us today, you can "buy-in" at any time by doing ALL the missed day's burpees on your first day
5. Any burpees you complete during your regular workout can count towards that day’s Challenge burpees, if you want them to
6. For performance tracking purposes, the 25 burpees, 50 burpees, 75 burpees and 100 burpees days will be timed and video taped (Heidi will post the videos on her blog to track our progress)

 Burpee Challenge Form Standards: 

1. Start with hands on the ground in front of your feet. Keep your back straight.
2. Kick feet out behind you into the top of the push-up portion of the burpee. Your body should be straight and tight in a flat plank.
3. Lower your body into the lowest part of a push-up. Your chest and thighs should ultimately touch the ground at the same time. Remember to keep your whole body, especially your midline, tight.
4. Push up into the top of the push-up position again.
5. Jump your feet up to your hands into your starting position.
6. Jump into the air and clap your hands overhead so that your ear is exposed in front of your arms. Your feet should leave the ground.

Like this:

I've created this PDF to help track our progress. I'm posting this on my fridge at home. The dates in gray are the benchmarks that should be timed and video taped. Woo-hoo!!