I do crossfit so that I can be a functionally strong women, not sex appeal. As I get older I want to be able to carry my own bags and not carry extra LBS on my body.



Fitness and Functionality are my goals.

I've always been active and enjoyed sport. Crossfit gives me both of those. I've not always been happy with my body but still pretty secure with it.
It's an added plus to look in the mirror and be happy with what I see. It makes me happier still to be able to properly squat and transfer a patient two times my body weight into their wheel chair. Or carry 60 bags of mulch into my back yard every spring and not be sore for the rest of the week.
I listen to some of my friends talk about how they can't do this or that because of bad knees or bad backs. With fitness you can work around injury. I have a messed up shoulder and have continued to find new ways to stay in shape.

I do Crossfit to be Stronger more flexible keep my agility. In hopes that as life goes on it will give me one more day, minuet or hour of Independence.

Hey Blog peeps. Here are two new Links for you of people I follow via there blogs. Two Women who are strong and fit, Ya gotta love that!

A Philosophy of Strength and Health:
This blog is devoted to physical health and performance for everyone. My primary interest is in athletic development, particularly the appropriate application of resistance training, weight training and weightlifting movements in young athletes.

Pamela MacElree:
Keeping up with the conditioning without losing the strength. Inspiring training for women

You'll find the links on the Right side of this page.

Play this so you can listen as you read. It captures my mood.



"SAD CINDY"
10 mins's
5 jumping Pullups
10 push-ups
15 squats
How many rounds? I'm sad to say that my numbers were 8! It was the pushups that killed me. I've not done pushups for months since they bother my shoulder. Today I figured, " well I'm getting my shoulder fixed so just go for it!"
I hit utter failure with them, as in I fell on my face! Yikes!
Today I have been off from work taking it easy and feeling sorta unmotivated. Then I got so mad about my health insurance or should I say American health insurance companies that I just had to work it out of me...Thus "Sad Cindy"

AM before work workout.

Warm up: wall squats

5 minuets of Squats
Focuse on form.
Don't go any lower then were my Butt wink starts. My hamstrings are so tight which has increased my butt wink.
My total number was 120

5 min's Sots Presses
100 was the number with this. I had two 10# Db's (that's the biggest we have at work.)

Have you heard of Catalyst athletics? If not you should take a look at there site. They have great information on Oly lifting. I highly recommend there journal. It's worth the money for sure, You get one free issues to check out. That's a must do! If you have questions about Oly lifting or Crossfit the Performance form is very helpful. The guy who runs the site Greg Everett is really cool, he just taught the Oly seminar that I went to a last weekend.
"The Olympic lifts and their derivatives are the most effective training tools known for improving hip and leg power, arguably the most important athletic characteristic in nearly all ground-based sports. Unfortunately, while the need for the lifts’ incorporation into athletic training is great, qualified instruction is extremely limited."

They also offer....
"We offer hourly training consultation and ongoing remote training through email, phone and video for Olympic weightlifting, strength & conditioning, and CrossFit training."


Even though I workout for the most part in my backyard or at parks I've found it priceless to have a stronger knowledge of the Olympic lifts. Don't think I'm going all fancy on you here. The Oly lifts are so dynamic and technical that some solid information and coaching are really useful. Even with my rusty old Oly bar and two 15# plates I've needed technical help.

MY WOD (workout of the day)
Run 400 meters: 1:54
rest two minuets
Run 400 meters 1:56
Rest two minuets
Run 400 meters 1:54
Rest two Minuets
Run 400 meters 1:53


Walking lunges with 45# BB with Bar on shoulders 10 steps out
Walking Lunges with 45# BB in OHS position 10 steps back
Four rounds.

I hate Running!

WOD:
10 hang cleans with 75lb BB
5 swings right with 16k KB
5 swings left with 16k KB
Run 400 meters
Five Rounds for time.
18:34
Whew...That was gross!



The Crow, I loved this Movie. Brandon was so cool in this flick. He died during the filming of the movie oh strange is that.

On another note. My surgery is on NOV 13 for my shoulder. At this point I just want to get it done and start the Rehab.

If you've never had Kostritzer beer your missing out! It has a very deep mahogany hue. Bready and lightly smoky aromas follow through on a medium-bodied palate with chewy malt character and a surprisingly clean finish where light hop bitters and smoky notes linger. YUUUMMMM! Because it's really not like other beers Germans say that Köstritzer is the "Black Beer with the Blond Soul"!

Warm up:
30 Burpees for time= 2:27

My Bear: 1.Hang Clean
1. Front Squat
1. Push Press
1. Back Squat
1. Thruster
One time through is 1 rep. I did 5 sets for time. On my first set of 5 I forgot to start my watch.

My rest was 10 hang cleans with the 45lb bar, 10 split jerks.

Then I repeated the above for time, which was 2 minuets flat. Not very fast because I have to think about my shoulder which hurts and form which can be weak at times.

Someone asked me why my workouts are short. Well that's what got me into this whole deal. Yes, I could and do at times spend more than 40 minuets doing a workout. The point is to get a lot done fitness wise fast. fast without giving up good form and being safe. Because I'm into the coaching end of this fitness/Crossfit deal I do spend more time than I should "playing". Let's remember this is a get fit and stay intrested kind of workout I'm doing. What keeps people doing CF is that they can get really fit in a short amount of time. Epic workouts have there place, but not everyday. I can't go to work at the hospital all beat up for a 12 hour shift. My Am workday workouts are mostly Tabata or something like that. When I have time to spend hours working out I plan them so that I have days to recover or I end up sick.

This past weekend I went to the Oly Seminar at Primal Fitness here in DC. Thanks to Tom and Primal for making that happen by helping me out with the cost.
I learned so much I can barley walk! My calf's are so sore I can't believe it.
Greg Everett from Performance menu was the coach of this seminar. It was great to meet him. He's a very down to earth kinda guy which makes for a great coaching style. Thanks for your help this weekend Greg!

By far the most helpful thing I learned was the difference between a Crossfit Air squat and the Oly squat.
The air squat is back and down while keeping the torso tight and flat or straight. With the feet under the hips with the toes turned out a little.


The Oly squat is keeping the back tight and flat or in good lumbar curve while dropping your butt as close to sitting on your Calif's as possible. You don't want to crash down onto your calf's. You control and stay active in your quads on the way down so that you have power to come back up. By having your heels pointed more in to each other you can open your hips so that your knees go out as you lower down onto your calf's.

My issue...Oh there are so many. The one I can actually work on is becoming more flexible in my Oly squat and open my hips up.

My clean needs work as well. Dip and pull up while getting under the bar without going forward. Also another point that was that in the dip it's straight down not forward.
Oh the list is endless.

Let's remember I'm a Crossfitter. I'm never going to be a great Oly lifter. The reason I do all this is to stay fit and help others get fit. It's a jack of all master of non kinda deal. That being said I do want to be as good as I can in as many areas of crossfit as possible. It's quite a challenge with crossfit staying on top of so many skills. Which as I have stated before is part of the attraction to CF. You sure as hell should not get bored. There's always something to work on! If you think you're good at all of it..your wrong!


It was a great weekend hanging out with the crew. Watching Fred and Steve kill themselves during a lunch workout, going out to lunch with a bunch of area CF'ers. Meeting Judd from Crossfit Rockville was really cool. I wish him luck in his new CF gym. I can't wait to go over and get my ass kicked!

Hydration

Over the last week I've slacked off on my hydration. Water is not my favorite thing to drink. Sometimes I just forget. Even with yesterdays workout being half ass I felt it more today because I've not be hydrating in general. It's not just because I did not drink enough during or after the workout. It's the 3 or 4 days before that caused me to be more sore and fatigued more than normal.

I really fucked up yesterdays workout!
Maybe I was sleepy or just foggy. I went into Crossfit Old Town Challenge. Jerry said he was going to do "Nasty Girls" which is

50 squats
7 Muscle ups
10 hang power cleans 135lbs for Men and 85lbs for women

To scale this for me it should have been

50 squats
14 jump to supports on the rings
10 hang power cleans with 85lbs

This is what I did

50 squats
7 jump to support on rings
10 hang power cleans with 75lbs

WTF!
Well, what can you do.
My time was 6:30 not that it counts for anything.
I will be hitting this again soon.


I was pleased with...
Being in a class and coaching while learning.
Doing a Turkish Get up with a 45lb bar!
Doing a barbell hang clean of 65lbs with one arm and then jerking it up once.
Now that's fun!

I was off today and had a list a mile long of things that needed to be done.

I was on point in the morning....but got side tracked and ended up at Primal.

Sophie and I put the tire in the back of the car and headed to the post office.
Then we went to the Bank.
On the way home we stopped at the field by my house for a little workout.
30 seconds pulling the tire 10 seconds rest. Not running because I've had a cold so I was just walking fast.
We did 8 sets and Sophie did great!
Got home and did some things around the house.
Ran/walked to the metro and headed down to the New Primal fitness building.
Wow! What a space! It's huge and has huge possibilities.

Since my plan had been to stay at home and get some things done and workout more, I put in a short and sweet sprint of a workout at Primal. Three laps with two 45# DB's. Up and back for time.
So I did get some workout in today nothing killer just enough.
I have hopes of getting a crew together for a workout outside tomorrow.

A while back I did an on-line power lifting meet. At Virtual Meet.com. I did horrible! So in this vid you wont see much of me. It was not that I was not lifting really bad, it was that I did not follow the rules for most of it. My only lift that counted was my 195# Deadlift, which is a long way from my max. I did get my max that day of 235# but at the top of the lift I drooped the bar. At the time I thought that was my exclamation point, not knowing that you have to lower the bar for the lift to count. DUMB ME! Anyhow it was fun. My friend Emmie did well also, she's the tall skinny chick....who is strong as hell! Over all power lifting is fun. I'm glad I do Crossfit. If you know Crossfit you know that the theorie is Jack of all fitness master of as many areas as possible. Which makes it so fun. Just when you "master" one thing you start to suck at another! Crossfit Makes you Fit...that's the goal.

Fight Gone Bad Video.




No workout today since I had to get my Rabies shot.
Yup, today was number five of my rabies shots. It sucks alright and hurts too. Last week I got bit by a dog of some street kids in Adams Morgan. It was a strange situation one that I tell better in person. It hurt and the shots hurt as well, not to mention they make me sick. Just a general blah feeling with a headache.

So if you know me and I'm a bitch to you....watch out I bite!

At Crossfit DC I ran my first Elements class. If your in the area and want to get a feel for Crossfit please come in on Oct 21 at 9am. We will cover some of the basics of Crossfit. You'll still get a kick ass workout with an emphasise on form.

As Crossfit Grows in the DC area specifically Crossfit DC we really want to make sure that,
A. No one gets lost in the Crowd

B. That form is always a priority

This in not a class just for folks who are new to exercise. It's a class for the In and out of shape people. A time to make sure your moving as well as you can before your jump into a big class.
Let the ego go and come get an Elements class under your belt.

Fight Gone bad went really well for Crossfit DC. It also looks and sounds like it went well at Crossfit Challenge.

My personal score is not so great, 211. Not to make excuses....but..
I used the 24' box for box jumps because I like to jump. I jumped every rep no step ups. So there!
It's amazing what mental hesitation can do to you. With my shoulder I've had weeks that are so horrible because of the pain. This caused me to "play it safe" in my speed and out put. I'll be honest it was a hard ass workout and I have been working out at 70% since Feb. This is the first time since then that I have gone up to 80% or 85%. In saying that it was not all wisdom and restraint, it was lack of ability to put out any more do to lack of metabolic capacity.

In the end I raises $700 for the fundraiser and our team raised about $7000!

Over the last week I've been busy. Too busy! Doctors appointments and running around before and after work.

I've decided to get my shoulder scoped. After my visit with doctor Branch it looks like its time. The bottom line is that it's not getting better. My shoulder is loose, a grade 3. Zero being the tightest 4 being the most loose. At this point I'm not sure when, I have to fill out my family Med leave and do all that kinda stuff.

I will be out of work for a few months as it looks right now. My fitness goals are being re-arranged in my head. Once the initial pain is controlled I will have to keep in shape without using my Left arm. I need to get a belt to pull things with! The one armed KB swings will be a good movement for me as well. My head is swimming with plans. Tabata squats will be my staple!

It's been a week! I got my car fixed but it still needs work...lot's of work.
Diane had a death in the family this past week. Which was a very emotional time for her whole family. I feel so bad for them right now, death is never an easy thing to deal with. It has however made me and her family closer. Which is always a good thing.
Then on my first day back to work I was attacked from behind by a patient. She had to be 180# or so. I was hanging her shirt up so my arms were up and she football tackled me from behind. I flew out of the room onto the floor, hitting both elbows really hard. As I was Turing to get back up and defend myself four or five medics jumped her and took her down. She was later arrested. We have a court date next month. My back is sore and my pride is a bit damaged. It pisses me off that it happened. Now I'm a little jumpy around aggressive patients, Where I used to be very sure of myself. Being attacked from behind is a weak move!
On top of all that I've been menstrual which just adds to the drama.


This photo makes me cry! Victory is so fucking sweat!
Ok, So Fight Gone Bad is in the Morning! Crossfit DC is going to have a blast! We raised a lot of money and have a strong team. I hope my shoulder holds out!
Thank you for your support.

So I've been Tagged by another blogger. Rules: Having been tagged, I have to blog 5 things about myself that mostly no-one knows and then tag three more blogger friends.

1. I'm a cryer. Yup, I cry at lest once a week, at stupid shit. When I watch a sporting even like the Olympics the Tour DE France. I just can't help it. I cry when I watch the Biggest loser. I'm not ashamed...I cry!

2. I started a huge fire in my town when i was a teenager. No one was hurt! It was in the woods behind a convent,in there compost pile. We were smoking and thought it was funny to flick our butts into the leaves. We ran home and then heard the Fire trucks going up to hill. I'm pretty sure my parents knew it was Gene and I. It scared the shit out of me!

3. At 19 I moved to Africa for a while to do Missionary work. For the first week I would not come out of my Hut. I've never felt so scared and homesick. Eating was out of the question. I felt paralyzed by fear. Once I got myself together I had an awesome time.

4. My mother left my father when I was two. My father let my Grand parents take care of me. He got re-married and had my step mother take care of me. They got divorce when I was 16. My father chooses not to have a relationship with me now. Over this last year my former step mother who brought me up decided that she did not want a relationship with me. She feels I don't like her. This is her choice. I have prenatal issues. I think the problem is they all think it's my responsibility to make the relationship work.

5. When I have to pee....I have to pee! Enough said!

The three blogs I tagged Coach Rut, Cheap Appearances, and Tracy's blog. All can be found in my link list.



Today's workout.
Fight Gone Bad style.

Sledge hammer tire 1 min
jump to support on rings 1 min
kettlebell swings 16k 1 min
Three rounds then one min off
Repeat and done!

Today has been a challenge just in a general way. The Clutch in my car went and that means big cash that I don't really have....aaaaagh!

This was my workout
21-15-9
Hang power Cleans
Juming Pull-ups
It was going to be Squat clean and Jump to support on the rings. I hung my rings wrong and on the first jump they slid down. So it was a quick change to Jumping Pull-ups. Because I was in my back yard doing squat cleans was just not working. My second change was to do Hang Power cleans.
What a day.

Don't have time to workout!?!? That's bullshit!
Yesterday
1 minuet intervals
Kettlebell swings
Tuck Jumps
Four rounds no rest. The clock is always running. It's not a beat down workout. Yet, it's enough to fit into my busy day!



Today
1 minuet intervals
Hang Power cleans with 75# Barbell
Kettlebell cleans
1 minuet Right
1 minuet left
Two rounds

Went to store to buy stuff for dinner

1 minuet intervals
Air squats
push-ups
Two rounds of one minuet

Started the grill


Same thing with One handed Kettlebell swings
1 minuet each arm
Two rounds.

What do you think about when your alone?

I found myself thinking about death. I've dealt with alot of it in my life. As a teen I lost a good friend Eddy Green in a car crash. He was my first real boyfriend in 8th grade. Then in high school we lost a few people to DWI's. Later in high school we lost a good friend Tina fonzo in a car crash. She was a very unique women I can only wonder what she would be doing if she was still with us.
In Africa I saw a lot of death. At 19 seeing how death was delt with in another country was scary yet enlightening.
As an adult I was with my Pop when he passed away. It was by far the hardest death to that point. He is why I went back to Castleton for a while. Taking care of him was more important than collage. It was strange to be with him at that last second as he inhaled and exhaled them nothing. He was free from his pain, yet I can say with much certainty that he felt cheated. Russ loved life very much and felt that he had so much more to do. He told me he was angry that his life was being cut short. So was I, since I loved him more than anyone. Russ and I were very much a like. I don't look like the rest of my family nor do I have a lot in common with the rest of my family. Russ was sporty and outgoing. We even look more alike than anyone else.
I wanted to pull him back from death so bad at that time. Now I see that he had a good death. At home with his family no pain just peace.
At work I deal with death all the time. Two strangers meeting at the last seconds of one persons life. They're between life and death...at a crossroads.
You may think this is strange but the lost of my dogs has been as painful as some of the people I have lost. Seeing them go reminds you that it's inevitable we all die and we don't know when or how. That's the part I hate!
Don't read this and think I'm depressed, I'm fine. It's a very real part of living...dying that is. It has taught me a great many things.
"Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying"

"I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Henry David Thoreau



Every time I enter a workout or ride...I don't know what I will learn. Will I learn a new limit? A new kind of pain or skill. Who knows? Not me. It seems when we push our bodies to limits we find things out good and bad. I want to known myself. As a coach I'm learning to know other peoples fears and limits. Is it failure or pain? Is it ego or confidence? Is it enthusiasm or jealousy?

What represents your woods?

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche



It's been a while since I filled you in on my adventures.

Ok, last week at Crossfit Challenge Jerry and I hit some short Fight Gone Bad circuits.
After that in BarBell class we worked the push press. The big news for me was that I got 4 reps of 95lbs!


I took it easy on Friday and Saturday. Since I knew that I was going to do the Virtual power lifting meet on Sat am. Then on Sunday we did a 50 mile ride.


The V-meet went ok. It was fun for sure. Just not the best lifting for me. Todays ride crushed me.
A word to the wise..Don't do 195lb backsquats, 235lb Deadlifts and then go for a ride in the hills of MD. It was so hard on me that I cried at one point. My legs were burning my shoulder was in pain and I just did not have any juice in my body. Not to mention I was VERY grummpy to my riding peeps. Humbling for sure!
Even my ass hurts right now. My pride is hit in it's oh so pretty face..SMACK! I have a long week looking at me. Three days in a row at work and Friday is going to be a landscaping side job after Crossfit Challenge.
Recovery will be intresting. I'm happy to say that I found a Chriopractor close to home. That will be great!
Fight Gone Bad is coming up soon. If you would like to make a donation to this cause follow the links on the right.