I'm still here

Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I haven’t forgotten though; I know I have some faithful readers :). 

 

A week and a half ago, Jade and I dragged the boys out to the fitness competition that we were planning on doing way back in December/January. Obviously we didn’t compete but we still wanted to go and catch some of the action (seriously how much action can you get from girls prancing around). There were so many girls competing in the fitness model category. It still made me want to compete again. We did see some ‘most muscular’ poses so the trip was a success.

 

Things have been going well at Crossfit. Still getting stronger but it’s definitely slowed down a bit. I’m not PR’ing as often as I would like of course, but I always try and remember baby steps. Any little improvement is a step in the right direction. That includes improving on my form and stamina, on top of strength.  Recently I’ve PR’d both my back squat and front squat at 75kg and 70kgs. I still have a lot of weaknesses though; my core being the main thing (and those gd double unders!). I also have an issue with hyperextension in my back and it comes back (haha) and bites me during some of the moves that we do (handstand push-ups, kettle bells swings). I try to be conscious of it no matter what move I’m executing by pulling in my bellybutton and not letting my lower back sag. It’ll be a long road ahead but one that I’m willing to put the time into. I am not trying to fix it completely, it’s just the way I’m made, but I’ll focus on finding a way to make it work for me.

bro do you even deadlift?

Thanks for the video coach! Such a great way to see how my form is. This is 95kg/209lb and I went on to do 5 reps at 100kg/220lb.

no joke

Australian seasons as experienced by a Canadian in Queensland:

1. A bit of sweat (Sept-Oct)

2. Sweating buckets (Nov-Apr)

3. Light glow (May)

4. Canadian summer (Jun-Aug)

holiday fail

So I’m an idiot. Actually, my day planner is an idiot. I totally thought that today was a public holiday but turns out that it was moved for this year to October I think. Apparently the day planner people failed to reflect this in their 2013 diaries. Maybe that’s why they were on sale :S

Regardless, the weekend was great. We had a BBQ on Saturday night and had some friends over to dine on some meat. I think there were some potatoes and sides as well but they don’t matter. We met up again Sunday morning in Surfers Paradise at a place called Pancakes in Paradise (see what they did there) and whatever your little pancake fantasies were made of, they probably served it. I chose two buttermilk pancakes topped with cream (whipped cream for my canucks), ice cream, strawberries and powdered sugar (icing sugar). I probably could have licked my plate. I’m bulking.

and now for an important update

I hate hand stand push-ups.

hero week

It’s been a week since my last post and it was a crazy one. After doing four hero wods I was completely burnt out going into Friday’s session. It was a really tough week but everyone did an amazing job and pushed themselves beyond their limits. I managed to Rx my first wod with pull ups so I was pretty pumped that day but I also realized I really need to stop second guessing myself. On Tuesday we did ‘Randy’, 75 power snatch for time. The weight was fairly light (can’t exactly remember what it was) and I ended up getting the fastest time for females. I remember thinking to myself “did I count wrong” and went over it a few times in my head thinking there is no way that I could have done 75 power snatch in four and a half minutes. I eventually realized what I was doing and decided to give myself some credit for working so hard and being able to do it really fast. Coach picks up on my self-doubt too. He often says to me “you need to believe you can do it” and how right he is. Believing is half the battle.

Ryan and I had a great long weekend. We went golfing on Friday and shared the course with a few little kangaroos. Anything furry and cute is a huge distraction for me. Ryan had to really work hard to keep my focus on putting since there were people waiting on the tee box, oops!

short week

It’s a short work week here in Australia. Thursday is a public holiday (or stat holiday for my c’nadians) and I’m awaiting an email reply from my boss approving a Friday day of leave as well. Hello three day week! Still getting used to these mid-week days off but it’s a nice way to break up the week, or lengthen your weekend! Its Anzac day on Thursday, which is a day to honor the men and women who are serving/have served in the Australian forces. So in celebration of this, and the fact that our very own Coach Master Craig has served over in the Middle East, we’re doing Hero WODs all week at Crossfit. Fun right? WRONG!

This is what I see on my phone this morning:

Murph. For time:

Run 1600m
100 push ups
200 pull ups
300 squats
Run 1600m

Now that’s just not cool. My legs are still not functioning properly after those runs, lunges and squats last week.

However, we do have a shiny new box to workout in starting today so hopefully that’ll make us a little more excited about today’s shenanigans.

change of heart

I think my feelings for double unders has change from what I had previously expressed in one of my posts. I'm finally getting the hang of them. I never thought I'd see the day.

i'm so preppy

I know a lot of people say they don’t have time for food prep with all they have going on in their lives. Sure Ryan and I don’t have kids to chase around yet but the less time I’m in the kitchen, the happier I will be. I don’t particularly care to spend hours cooking meals for the week, but after doing it a few times I think I have it down to a science. It only takes me between an hour and 1 ½ hours to get it all ready. I don’t prep all my meals, just lunches and snacks for work. Ryan and I cook our suppers each night after we finish working out. Sometimes we eat the same thing, sometimes different (he loves his pasta and bread).

Here is a little run through of my method.

Sunday is our grocery day and my meal prep day. I buy cherry tomatoes and apples for snacks and keep a bag of almonds at my desk, so that doesn’t require any prep at all. I preheat the oven and put four chicken breasts in a baking dish with just a bit of olive oil and some spices. They take about a total of 45 mins. I use a meat thermometer so it makes it a cinch to know when they’re done. I usually take it out when it’s about 10 degrees under the recommended temp because it’s going to be heated up in the microwave at work and I don’t want it overcooked. I only use three of the breasts for four days at work. Friday is pub day!

While the chook is cooking, I hard-boil 5 eggs and chop up my sweet potato and my veggies. The sweet potato goes in the oven for 30 mins after the chicken is finished and I fry up my veggies on the stove at the same time. Everything gets put into containers and that’s it! Lean protein, veggies, nuts, fruit and complex carbs!

ahoy matey!!