The Final CrossFit Friday

Week Four

It's official, we tested out of the intro classes : ) but before we got there, we had a really tough week.

Monday was one of the toughest days of CrossFit to date. The warm up wasn't tough, but man did it burn my legs! We did the Samson stretch from one end of the gym to the other (which is pretty much a really wide walking lunge), then duck squats going across and back, then another hoping squat thing (I am blanking on the name right now) across and back. Needless to say, lots of squats/hops = legs like jello. And that was just the warm up! 

We did a ton of strength on Monday too. Bench press, goblet squats (squats holding a kettle bell for added weight), and reviewed all of the lift moves we have learned. Then, after all of that, we did Fran. 

I have heard the term "Fran's a b*tch" on multiple occasions, but I had no idea what it was. Here's the breakdown: 21-15-9 of thrusters and then pull ups. So basically this means three rounds, first round 21 thrusters and 21 pull ups, then second round 15 of each, last round 9 of each. I have never hurt so bad in my life (until Wednesday that is, more on that in a minute). 

Thrusters are basically squatting with a bar, then when you stand up you push the bar overhead. These aren't so bad in theory. I didn't have weight on the bar but I was still feeling the burn. The last round of these were really tough. Then, the pull ups were no fun since they aren't something that I have mastered yet. I can't even do one unassisted, so I used a double green band. This was super easy at first, but getting to the last few in the set I still struggled. When will they get easier?

I finished in 9:24 while H (who did unassisted pull ups) finished just after. I was proud of myself for finishing but I know it would have been way worse had there been weight on the bar and if I had to do strict pull ups. 

Wednesday was the big day - the last intro class to determine if we were ready to join everyone else and get into the real deal. The test wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. We started with a quick warm up of mobility stretches, nothing too taxing. Then we went right into the lifts. H and I had to show we knew each of them by name. There were only a handful to remember so it wasn't bad. And he cut us a break with the snatch since it is one of the tougher lifts. 

Then came the workout. It's a wonderful workout by the name of "Fight Gone Bad". As you can imagine, it was a serious fight that went south fast. This is why Wednesday was tougher than Monday. This WOD consists of 3 rounds (though we did two) of as many reps as possible in one minute, changing exercises each minute. So we started with wall balls, as many as we could do in a minute, then went to sumo dead lifts, same deal, then box jumps (I did the 20" box this time around), then push press, then we hopped on the row machine. I can't even describe how hard this was, and it was only two rounds!

It really doesn't sound that bad on paper, but after doing as many reps as possible in a minute and having to move to something else, I was seriously dragging! It's not like you are doing 5 reps of each thing, it's more like 20 or 25, then immediately swtching to something else. It was nuts. Fight gone bad is the perfect title for this WOD. My final score was about 160 and H's was somewhere near 180/190. 

After two rounds we were spent. Rolling on the floor, taking a solid five minutes just to catch our breath. Are we seriously ready for classes? I don't know but apparently we are starting April 1st. 

This is the last post in my CrossFit Friday series. I really just wanted to write about our experience as beginners and only working out twice a week has allowed me to really get into the nitty gritty of it all. We are hoping to work out 4-5 times a week now so it would be impossible to write everything down. But, I am hoping to post once in a while to share our progress as the weeks go by. 

If any readers are thinking about joining CrossFit, I hope you found this series helpful and inspiring. You CAN do CrossFit, even if you haven't worked out in over a year (like me) or haven't work out ever! There are so many ways to scale back to help you achieve your goals. It's all what you make of it. Just give it a try and remember my motto - Everyone Starts Somewhere : )

Happy Friday!

JP

Lemon Meringue Pie - Deconstructed?

H's birthday was last week and his all time favorite pie is lemon meringue. I'm not a huge fan but since he loves it, I figured I would make it for him this year. I've heard that lemon meringue wasn't the easiest thing to make but I've made lemon curd before for different things like lemon blueberry bars (which are delicious by the way) so I figured it couldn't be too bad. Hardest part would be to temper the eggs and I've done that a bunch of times with different recipes so I figured it would be a somewhat simple pie to make, right? Wrong.

I followed Alton Brown's recipe on the Food Network website. He is usually my go to for straight forward, traditional recipes as he usually breaks down the science behind each dish. Yup, science nerd alert. This is helpful, for me at least, so I can see what it's supposed to taste like before adding anything to the recipe or changing it up. Then I know how everything will react together. Anyway, I thought that since lemon meringue isn't something you can really spice up by adding different flavors, a more traditional recipe would be best. Alton, you let me down on this one pal.

I followed the recipe, measured everything out, didn't stray too far from what he suggested and when all was said and done the pie looked awesome! I left it to cool for about 2 hrs and then popped it in the frig for another hour or so but when I took it out, the pie still hadn't set up. The meringue was nice and browned, still holding its shape, but the lemon filling was straight up liquid. I couldn't believe that the filling never set! It didn't make any sense, I followed everything to a tee, I measured, and I even let it cool for longer than it called for. I don't know what happened. All I know is H had lemon soup for his birthday instead of pie : (

At least the flavors were spot on. It was tangy, but sweet at the same time, and the meringue held up nicely. I just hope next time I attempt this (which probably won't be until H's birthday next year) that it comes out like pie and not soup. I didn't bother taking nice pictures of the pie, but I did take a few iphone photos to show you what I am talking about. I was so disappointed!

Does anyone have a tried and true lemon meringue pie recipe and have a few tips they can throw my way? Or have any idea what could have gone wrong?

CrossFit Friday

Week Three

We only have one week left of the intro classes and then it's on to the real deal for H and I. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. But that's next week, one week at a time.

Tuesday we learned a few new lifts, the hang clean and the snatch. Apparently these are two of the harder lifts so we weren't expected to get them the first time around. These, like all the rest, require coordination. H struggled with the snatch but that is mainly because of his previous shoulder surgury. The way you have to twist your shoulder to have it sit in its pocket is awkward and near impossible for someone who has had dislocated shoulder. Dave mentioned a few things that will really help to work the tissue, improve mobility within that shoulder, and build strength. We will see how it goes, H and I both need practice with all the lifts before we try to test out of these intro classes.

We also did a 14 minute EMOM (every minute on the minute) of 5 stones then 7 burpees and 3 push-ups. I had no idea what stones were. Just the name intimidated me. We watched Dave as he squatted over this large cement ball or "stone" and then lifted it up from between his legs without breaking a sweat. The idea is to squat over/behind the stone, wrap your hands under it and then use only your legs (not your lower back) to just stand up, lifting the stone with you. I couldn't get the hang of this. I don't know why, but my first instinct was to go on my toes and lift my butt up into a flat back. Not good. So instead of hurting myself while I was learning, Dave had me use a weighted medicine ball, a lot lighter and easier to manage. H of course was a pro at this. 

I'm beginning to realize that while I have the coordination, I really lack the strength to do some of the moves. H is the total opposite. He lacks coordination but has the strength to muscle through anything they throw at him. As I have said before, I know that the strength I lack (core, leg, upper body, pretty much everything) will come in time. It's just frustrating when I know I can do a move, I understand how it's supposed to be, but my body just physically can't do it. So I scale back, switch to knee push-ups or use a smaller "stone". I am just looking forward to the day when I am strong enough to do everything even if it's only a few reps at a time.

Wednesday was actually a lot of fun. We learned how to climb a rope! Yup, this girl climbed the rope. Not to the top, but two to three strides which is better than I thought I would do. I think I can make it the whole way up, I am just nervous for when I get to the top in case I'm not able to get back down. Maybe next week I will just go for it. We also did a bunch of back squats and rowed 500m. Then, before our main workout, we learned how to Roman Deadleft. These were really fun, mainly because I'm flexible enough to get really low with the weight. It was tough, but fun. Is this what CrossFit is supposed to feel like?

Our workout was a 7-7-7. 7 rounds of 7 push presses and 7 toe to bars (knee to elbows). H and I both finished at about the same time, though he was pushing way more weight than me. This week I had a tough time with the knee to elbows. My hands just couldn't hold onto the bar! I got to round 4 or 5 and almost slipped right off the bar. Grip strength - another thing to work on. Are we noticing a pattern yet? I have a lot to work on.

So next week is out final week before we start with everyone else. The is assuming we pass our final test.

Catch you next week!
JP

CrossFit Friday

Part Two (week two)

So this week was an odd week for us. We went to the gym Monday, went snowboarding on Tuesday (in 60 degree weather), skipped Wednesday because we had a work meeting, and then went early on Thursday to get one more workout in this week.

Monday was killer. We learned a few more lifts - strict press, push press, and push jerk. We also did a 400m run as a warm up as well as used the PVC to stretch out our shoulders. This was all fine. What came next was miserable. Our main work out for the day was supposed to be 3 rounds of a 400m row then 20 wall balls. Well, since it was so nice out, Dave decided it would be a good idea to run the 400m. What?! You want me to run that, three times, AND do more leg work with 20 wall balls?! Now most of you are probably like, oh that's not so bad, but for a non-runner, it sucked. The first run wasn't bad. The wall balls weren't bad either until I realized I lost count and then only did ten and tried to go run again. Oops! I really have to work on my counting. So back I went and did ten more. When I went outside to run the second 400m, my legs were jello. It felt like I forgot how to run (by run, I mean jog slowly). I was dragging, but I didn't walk so that made me feel better about myself. By the next run I was spent. Dave was nice enough to run with me the last time which gave me just enough energy to get it done. We walked a small portion but I think I finished strong. The last set of wall balls I did in sets of 5 which was way more manageable than trying to do 20 in a row. When I finished, I wanted to die.  

Then we went boarding Tuesday. When I woke up that morning I thought I was going to kill who ever decided Tuesday was the day to go to the mountain, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. I am used to boarding so while my muscles were tight, getting on the mountain actually felt really good. I think it helped me recover faster from killing myself the day before. We had a great day despite the warm weather. It was nice to get one last ride in before the end of the season!

On Thursday we warmed up with 20 lunges, 10 burpees, and I can't remember how many hollow rocks. This definitely had my heart pumping. After the warm up had me catching my breath I was actually really nervous for what was next. The rest of the day really wasn't so bad though. We did a bunch of front squats and then learned the hang clean lift, and again, not bad, just required some coordination. I think I am going to have to start writing these down so I don't forget them all!

Our main workout was 5 rds for time of 5 box jumps, 7 toe to bars, and 9 kettle bell swings. Box jumps, along with overhead Olympic lifts are the two things I am most nervous about with joining CrossFit. So today I conquered one of my two fears. Granted, my box was only the 12 inch with a weight on it to bump it up a bit, but after doing the WOD I realized I could have probably done the 20" (next time). Dave also upped my kettlebell weight, though I'm not sure what it was just know it was purple this time instead of orange. Somehow the swings were easier with the heavier weight, at least as far as form goes. The toe to bars were tough for me so I scaled back, doing knee to elbow/knee to chest (or at least as close as possible to that general area). Which went well. I felt really good after this workout and it only took me about four and a half minutes. Much better than Monday!

I think there are going to be some days where I totally rock the WOD (ok, maybe rock is a strong word, at least feel really good about myself after) and some days where I will want to keel over and hate myself for doing this whole CrossFit thing in the first place. Let's hope there are less and less of the later as the weeks go by!

Week two down, week three,.. Bring it!

Foyer and Powder Room Paint Colors

I am very excited to share that we have finally picked paint colors for the foyer and powder room! If you remember way back when we had someone out to help us pick colors for the house and while I was happy about our choices for the main living areas, the colors fell short for the foyer. They were all too light and too beige for my taste.

So I dug through some of the paint swatches I collected (yes there are so many it's officially a collection) and found a few that H and I both liked. We narrowed it down to three choices:

Nimbus,Smoke Embers, and Revere Pewter

I was really thinking Revere Pewter was going to be the winning color. I have seen it all over Pinterest and we were even considering it for our main living spaces. But instead of just jumping into buying however many gallons of paint, we decided it might be wise to get samples this time around. We plan to have a professional paint our two story foyer so we figured it would be worth the $15-20 investment to be sure we loved the color before putting it on the walls. 

(Top to bottom) RP, Nimbus, SE

Much to our surprise, we really disliked Revere Pewter! So glad we bought that little test pot! We didn't like it mainly because in our space it was way too tan/beige instead of that nice greige color we were hoping for. I refuse to have any wall in our house be tan so we nixed the one color we thought would be perfect.

We also thought that Smoke Embers was way too dark and too blue. It was very similar to the dining room color Anonymous by Behr. We also painted the front room this color because we loved it so much. But painting the whole foyer would be a bit much. 

That left us with Nimbus. While we were putting it on the wall, H and I were both surprised with how nice of a color it was. Light enough to not be overpowering but also dark enough to feel like there is a color on the wall. It has a nice greenish/blue tint to it which, surprisingly, I liked. I think it works well with our hardwood stairs and bonus that it is more of a grey than tan : )

We figured since we were having someone come in to paint the foyer we might has well have them do the powder room too. Then the entire first floor would be painted meeting my soft deadline of 'finish painting the downstairs before my birthday' I made up at the beginning of the year. 

For those who have done DIY paint jobs in your own houses, you know that the small rooms are sometimes more of a pain than the big ones. By having the painter do it just takes the stress off of us and we are only going to be out an extra $100 bucks (including paint which is really closer to $50). This is one for the win column. 

For this room we decided to do something totally different - a dark purple/grey color. Why you ask? Well, I originally wanted to wallpaper this room just to do something fun and dramatic. But ever since I started Googling powder rooms for ideas, I have seriously loved the dark, dramatic spaces with a few glamorous details. Hence, dark purple. We are going with Silhouette by Benjamin Moore and praying it turns out the way we want it to. I know it's going to be really dark at first, but once we add some white canvas prints or frames, and a new, larger mirror, I think it will all work out. Fingers crossed!

So that's all for now. We haven't set a date for the painter to come but should be within the next two weeks or so. Be sure to check back for updates!

JP

CrossFit Friday Part One

This is my first attempt at a series. Yup, sh-tz gettin' real. I have been wanting to try to find ways to post more often so what better way then to start a series entirely about my CrossFit experience? I thought of this for two reasons: (1) in light of my recent technology meltdown I need to find ways to write without the use of photos (I mean who really wants to see pictures of this girl all gross and sweaty? Na, didn't think so) and (2) is that I want to stay true to my original goal for this blog - having a creative outlet for my everyday endeavors.

The JP Project is about me and my life. This just so happens to be centered around building our home and cooking, well and my pup : ) but with the recent addition of CrossFit I figured it would be nice to give that part of my life a little time in the spot light too. I also think this will be a good way to hold myself accountable for actually going to the gym (or the box as they call it). So what do you think? CrossFit Fridays? All in favor, say "AYE!"

Day One wasn't too bad. I was expecting the worst workout of my life but I didn't even break a sweat! Now looking back on it, it was day one, what were they really going to expect us to do? We learned a few things like front and back squats, as well as some mobility techniques. Dave, our coach, also showed us how they do push-ups (military style - awesome) and sit-ups (frog style - again, awesome). Basically everything they do is meant to be efficient and use the correct muscle groups instead of flubbing your way through things. At this point I was totally on board, feeling good, thinking, "wow, we can do this!" Then at the end of the class our coach said to us that this was just a starter and next week he's gonna make us sweat.

Day Two - much worse. Dave had us doing kettlebell swings, burpees, more squats, pull-ups, etc. Kettlebell swings look a lot easier than they actually are, well at least as far as form goes. You can't squat, but you have to bend your knees to bend over, but you don't want to use your arms coming back up, and don't let the bell move around too much... WAY too much to remember. But hey, practice makes perfect right? Right. So practice is what we did.

We had a mini workout of 5 rds (rounds) for time, (meaning you keep going until however long it takes you to complete 5 rds) of 5 kettlebell swings, 7 burpees and 9 sit-ups. Doesn't sound too bad right? Wrong. We got our sweat on. H finished in about 7 minutes and I was just over 8. Not bad for first timers but man were we spent after that. My sit-ups could use some work too. I was fine until the end, apparently my core strength is nonexistent, cool. Everyone starts somewhere right?

Day Three was more of the same. This time we did our warmup using the medicine balls. Throwing them, kicking them, doing sit-ups with them, you name it, we did it. Then we learned how to do deadlifts and sumo deadlifts. Again, looks easier than it really is. And again, it's all about the form. Are you seeing the pattern here? It's all about putting your weight in the heals and driving your body upright from a squatting position bringing the barbell with you. More practice is definitely needed in this department, at least for me. So we did a bunch of those and then another mini workout. This time it was a modified Cindy.

What's a Cindy you ask? It's a 20 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats. CrossFit has a bunch of "benchmark" work outs (WODs) that allow you to see how you are progressing and they all happen to be names of women, don't ask me why. Anyway, so instead of doing the full Cindy we did a 10 minute AMRAP of 3 pull-ups, 6 push-ups, and 9 air squats. H was a champ with the pull-ups and push-ups where I struggled with them significantly. I was able to do two rounds of push-ups before I had to modify to my knees and even further to worming my way up, man I was terrible! But hey, it's something I know I need to work on (trying to stay positive here). I killed the air squats though so 1 out of 3 ain't bad. H and I both finished with 11 rounds, but like I said, I modified big time. I am wondering if it would have been better to do fewer rounds and take breaks so I could continue to have better form with the push-ups. Trials and tribulations of a beginner I guess.

So, all-in-all, not bad. Though I did wake up this morning unable to lift my right arm because my tricep was so swollen. Muscle strength is not my strong suit but I know it will come in time. I am just hoping that it is sooner rather than later. I am going to try to do some push-ups and core work at home on my off days to help build that strength so I can do more during the WOD and not make a total fool out of myself. Just gotta find the time.

Check back next week for Part Two!

JP