Kettlebells & Ropes

I dropped in to Coach Chris Hartwell's 12:15 Kettlebell class today. It was challenging, creative, and, fun. It is amazing how a rope and a kettlebell can kick your butt.

I know how to climb the rope, but Chris taught me the "breaking" technique with my feet so I could be more efficient. I had a blast working out along side my SHOWOUT friend, Rob Miller. ClearLLLLLy we had to take a pic at the end of the workout since he was sporting a Showout tee.

KB WOD:
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes--
2 rope ascents
3 windmills on L/R
30 rope waves

I highly recommend the Kettlebell classes at CrossFit Central. Every time I drop in to a class I am challenged and get in a great workout in a short amount of time. My arms, shoulders, stomach (especially my obliques) are shot today.

3 month & 12 month Updated Goals

(chanting) MAKE IT HAPPEN...MAKE IT HAPPEN...MAKE IT HAPPEN...MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

Career--
3 MONTH
1) I have 10+ clients in all boot camps- January 4th, 2010
2) I am coaching 2 groups of 3 personal training clients- Dec. 25th
3) Monthly boot camp newsletter- January 6th, 2010
4) Training up new, upcoming coaches

12 MONTH
1) Relentless Boot Camp is a household fitness name in Austin- June 2010
2) 6-figure coach- November 1st, 2010
3) Level II CrossFit trainer- as soon as a Level II opens up
4) Developed Pillars of Movement exercise book- March 2010


Personal--
3 MONTH
1) Patented SHOWOUT- January 16th, 2010
2) 10% body fat- December 1st

12 MONTH
1) Completed the gymnastic, olympic weightlifting, and running/endurance certifications- Nov. 1st, 2010
2) Financially free of all credit cards- Nov. 1st, 2010
3) Paid off car and bought a new and larger one (wayyyyy too much boot camp equipment)- Nov. 1st, 2010


Health--
12 MONTH
1) Capable of doing every CrossFit WOD thrown my way as prescribed
2) CF Total-- squat: 215; shoulder press: 95; deadlift: 265-- Dec 31st

Goal Reassessment continued...

I decided it was time to review my goals I set in August. Once I make myself set down and really evaluate where I am and where I want to go, I am fired up and motivated to do it. It is simply allowing myself to take time out of my day and take a good look in the mirror. I like a lot of what I see, but I also see defeat, and plenty of room for improvement. Wendell Phillips quotes it perfectly, "What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better."

Below is an update. Tomorrow I will have my new goals posted and current ones adjusted. Ardith, this post is especially for you, because you call me out and hold me accountable. Thank you!!

Career-
1) I am a silver pin in Advocare- Oct 30th--Did not happen but introducing Advocare to more people daily. Who needs some Spark =)
2) Relentless boot camps have added value for each athlete--shirts, KB/DB workout book, and KB for class- Aug 31st-- Taking place now...no shirts and book but added value via Relentless website and other boot camp Events & Challenges in the making
3) I completed the Olympic weight lifting cert-- Oct 18th-- Did not happen but attending Kettlebell certification on Dec. 5th

Personal-
1) I am financially free of 2 credit cards-- Oct 2nd -- Paid off one credit card
2) I am spending a minimum of 20 mins 5x a week on personal development- Only about 3x a week
3) I am 10% body fat and 2 inches smaller in my waist line-- Oct 2nd -- I am still around 12-13% but have lost an inch in my waist line. Sept. 30th I started to really Zone and not just eat gluten/dairy free, and now I am edging closer to this goal.

Health-
1) I am doing 5 consecutive hand-stand pushups-- Oct 2nd --I can do handstand pushups on the ab mat now, which is a huge improvement. Still not where I want to be yet but getting closer...
2) I am doing a muscle-up-- Oct 16th -- Nope. Not quite there. I can only push myself out of the dip of the muscle-up
3) I am doing 10 consecutive chest-to-bar kipping pull-ups-- Sept 4th -- yep, yep. Pull-ups are wayyyyyyyyyyy better. Still improving. Not all chest to bar but way more consistent. Yayyy!!
4) I have increased CF Total-- squat: 215; shoulder press: 95; deadlift: 265-- Dec 31st -- Max deadlift is at 245 and shoulder press is still at 85. Not sure about back squat.

OAG Wellness Fair

Coach Alex and I attended the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) Wellness Fair last Thursday. We got to spend the morning talking about Relentless boot camp and CrossFit Central programs to all kinds of people. Our booth was set up next to another fitness group. After talking with my fellow booth neighbor, I was reminded once again why CrossFit Central programs are the best. Our clients have fun, get results, and are constantly challenged. Attending these events are so easy for me because I am simply speaking from the heart. Nothing salesy. The honest truth. CrossFit works.

November programs started today. Bring a friend to Relentless boot camp this week and give them a chance to experience the same fun and SIC FIT results you are seeing.

What attracted you to CrossFit Central programs and keeps you coming back for more?????

Veggies...Veggies...Veggies

I love salads! I eat one pretty much every day. The image above is a picture of the salad I will be eating for lunch. It is homemade chicken salad (chicken, apple, bell pepper, canola oil mayo, spicy mustard, onion, tabasco) on top of spinach leaf lettuce with 1/4 cup grape tomatoes and 1/4 cup of shredded carrots. Yumo!!!

However, during the winter there is not as many fruits to include in my salads so I get a little bored. I came across this great article by Nell Stephenson discussing salads and veggie intake. Some great salad ideas are listed below. Enjoy!
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Salads Are Great For Increasing Veggies at a Meal- by: Nell Stephenson

Salads are a great way to get all your veggies in a single meal. You can also include some good fats if you add avocado, flax seed oil, and raw walnuts.

Raw broccoli adds crunch and powerful phytochemicals to a salad. Besides being colorful, radishes contain vitamin C, sodium and calcium. Shredded cabbage is rich in vitamin A, B, C and E, as well as high iron and sulphur. Onions have antibacterial properties, and are gentle blood thinners. Colorful carrots add crunch like broccoli, and they are rich in beta-carotene.

The sweetness of fruit can also balance nicely with the savory taste of whatever protein and veggies you may be serving. I like to stick with what is local and in season as much as possible.

In the summer, I love to add organic strawberries, raw cashews, avocado, red onion, heirloom tomato and basil.

As the fall rolls around, I may add some raw or roasted pears with pecan and a sprinkle of currants. Apples tossed with lemon and then cinnamon also are a nice twist on an old standard.

In the winter, citrus fruits or grapes with slivered almonds, poppy seeds and flax meal are tasty.

In the spring, I love to include edible flowers for color, along with foods giving a hint of the bounty of summer to come! Early season berries are great this time of year along with baby veggies, like broccolini, bok choy, and asparagus. I steam these, and then put them in cold water for a nice spring dish.

I generally stick with the same choices for dressing - olive oil and freshly squeezed lime juice - but you can vary that as well. Blend your choice of fresh herbs with different types of oils for a different taste. Try walnut oil with tarragon or flax oil infused with rosemary, and get ready for an explosion of sweet and savory all from a single salad!

CrossFit Women Nutrition Meeting
7:30 tonight at RunTex on Lake Austin Blvd.

Striving for Fullness

"Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile." - Sir Wilfred Grenfell

Last night I attended the Impact Austin Speaker Series with Carey. Kristin Armstrong and Caroline Boudreaux were the featured guests. Impact Austin's motto is ordinary women making an extraordinary difference. Both of these ladies hit a huge turning point in their life at age 28 (my age). A lot of what they had to say last night really hit home.

I am now 1o months in with working at CrossFit Central, and I could not be happier from a career perspective. I can honestly say what I am doing on a daily basis matches the desires of my heart. Just like the quote above by Grenfell, I am experiencing true joy in my life from my career. However, I still feel there is something missing. I cannot pin point it quite yet, but I feel it. I just know I am at a point in my life where something big is about to happen. Something that pushes me out of my comfort zone. Something that requires me to persevere and dig deep. Each of the speakers last night said they define success as peace and being full. In other words, contentment, freedom, alignment--their intentions matching what they are doing daily. That absolutely made sense to me. There is something still out there that will happen and allow me to then say--I am full. Until then, I will stay the course, persevere, put 1 foot in front of the other. I will not quit.

Weigh & Measure

Do you weigh and measure? I will admit I was very hesitant to Zone. The thought of weighing and measuring food sounded crazy to me and a bit over board. Simply eating Paleo or gluten-free/dairy-free was a much better philosophy for me. Two weeks ago I decided I would give the Zone a try and see what I thought.

The first day I was made aware very quickly that I was not eating near enough carbohydrates. When you get your carb sources from mainly vegetables and 1 block of fruit that ends up being a lot of food. I also realized that I was eating far too much "good" fat. Avocados, almonds, walnuts, almond butter, coconut oil, olives are just grand--but too much of a good thing will not get you to your fitness goals.

My scale (pic above) is my new best friend. It really helps me with getting enough protein in my diet and not going under or over. I highly recommend getting one. I found mine at Central Market for $25.

I am all about balance so I will not take the weighing and measuring to the extreme. However, I do challenge each of you to take it up a notch. Zone your meals and snacks for a week and watch the changes take place.

I am available for Nutrition consultations if you need some help tweaking and figuring out your Zone blocks. I am at 6 block carbs, 14-15 block protein, and 18-20 block fat. Every one is different. It is important to find out what works best for you and your goals.

Level II Nutrition Meeting at CrossFit Central on Tuesday, October 2oth at 7:00PM. In order to attend you must bring 30 days of completed food logs with you.

Pumpkin WODs

Go Ale! Keep up the hard work!!

The 6:30AM Tu/Th Deep Eddy Relentless boot camp got in the Fall season spirit with a workout using pumpkins, courtesy of Coach Crystal Nelson. The beauty of CrossFit is that it is functional and fun. Instead of doing the ordinary and using medicine balls and dumbells in class yesterday, we were creative, used pumpkins, and got in an intense workout.

Are you thinking outside the box when CrossFitting?

WOD#1: with a partner--
7 pumpkin cleans
Max pushups

WOD#2:
10 stations, all which had pumpkins, consisting of the following:
deadlifts, lateral jumps, pumpkin-to-pumpkin sprints, thrusters, push press, russian twists, situps, plank holds, lunges, virtual pullups

Celebrate with pushups

One of my good friends, Emily, emailed me the following article the other day and she said it reminded her of me.

Emily writes, "I’m sure you’ve heard of this guy Jack LaLanne. He’s a 95 year old fitness guru and the city of SF celebrated his birthday WITH him by all doing pushups. That is so going to be you – doing pullups in your nursing home at age 90+ (that would be jealousy in my tone, not sarcasm!!!)"

I, of course, laughed and absolutely loved it. That is exactly one of my goals. I want to be remembered as someone who made a difference in someone's life. A woman who represents fitness and health. A person who celebrates life. My Dad tells all of us kids that he is going to out live all of us. I will definitely give him a run for his money.

How do you want others to celebrate your 100th birthday?

45 Lessons

I love my family and friends! We laugh together, cry together, CrossFit together, argue with each other, and comfort each other. I cannot imagine life without my support group. My brother is one-of-a-kind (see pic above). He forwarded this email to me the other day. I added my own little comments in red and bolded the ones that hit home the most.

The list is written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH. Regina states, "To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3 Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month. - on my way. 1 down...

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. - practicing this daily.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. - Preach it!

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. - sometimes I think a CrossFit WOD may just kill me and then in the end I am stronger than I've ever been, mentally and physically.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40.. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Egg, Peach, & Walnut Combo

I tried a new recipe yesterday morning for breakfast that I found on the Performance Menu called Peach & Pecan Scramble. I made a few changes to the recipe to adjust my fat blocks, but you can go HERE to get the exact recipe. It was a good change of pace for breakfast. I honestly felt like I was eating a version of french toast minus the bread. It took about 5 minutes to make and was very satisfying.

Meg's version of Peach & Pecan Scramble (see pic above):
• 1/2 peach, diced
• 2 Tbsp chopped pecans- I used walnuts
• 1 tsp olive oil- I used 2/3 tsp of coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon- added some extra cinnamon

Relentless Happy Hour

Deep Eddy 6:30AM Tu/Th Relentless boot campers working out in a parking garage due to rain

Relentless boot camps are spread all over the city of Austin. No one ever has a chance to meet other boot campers sooooooo...why not have a happy hour and give everyone an opportunity to meet and showout! We will have tables set aside for Happy Hour by our very own Relentless boot campers and Partner's of Key Bar, Vince & Cheray Ashwill.

Location: Key Bar on W. 6th St.
Time: 5:00PM - ???
When: Friday, October 9th
Who: Relentless boot campers, friends, family, EVERYONE

Happy Hour Prices:
$3 Well Drinks
$3 Key Margaritas
$6 Margarita Shakers
$8 Perfect Margarita
$8 Shaker Favorites
$2 Bud Light and Miller Lite Draft
$7 Bud Light and Miller Lite Pitchers
$3 all other draft beers
$10 all other pitchers

Wahoo's will be available for food.

Alcohol-Free Drink Options

I love to play, I love to showout, I love to CrossFit, and I love to enjoy a drink or two or three... Many clients ask how they can stay "Paleo" or "Zone" and still include alcohol in their diet. Below is an article I read today from The Paleo Diet newsletter that addresses this exact issue. The suggestions below have no sugar and no alcohol; however, they would also make a tasty drink if you added your own liquor of choice. Enjoy!

Jess, this article is for you =).
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Hosting any parties? If you’ve mastered serving exclusively Paleo foods at dinner gatherings at home, but feel daunted by only serving water to accompany the meal, then try some of the following ideas to liven things up a little.

Planning a tropical island-esque dinner? How about a Pina Colada? Just mix 8 oz. of ice cubes and water with 6 oz. of frozen pineapple cubes, and 1 T of extra virgin coconut oil. If you want to offer it as more of a snack than a drink, throw in a scoop of egg white protein powder. For you athletes, try this as a recovery drink as well - what a nice alternative to a banana! Serve in a tall glass, and go ahead and add a little umbrella!

Going with a lighter fare menu? One of my favorite ways to offer water is to serve it spa-style. Slice oranges, lemons, cucumber and kiwi, and put a few of each in a large, attractive glass pitcher. Fill with water and chill; not only is it refreshing and tasty, but it looks quite handsome on the table!

Serving Mexican Food? A blended, icy citrus drink pairs well with the flavorful spiciness inherent to some of the dishes you may be serving. Thus, there’s the good old, familiar tendency to have a Margarita, of course!. Whip 8 oz. of ice cubes with water in a blender with some frozen lemon and lime slices. Serve with a small piece of lime rind and a straw. Don’t forget how important presentation is! While you won’t fool guests into thinking they’re having a Virgin Margarita, you’ll be sparing them all the sugar you find in a pre-made mix.

Want something with a little color? Rather than serving juice (which is often quite sugary), use just a splash of juice with some sparkling water over ice (perhaps just an ounce with 8 - 10 ounces of water).

Finally, keep in mind that an occasional glass of red wine may be consumed in keeping with the Paleo Diet, as per The Paleo Diet book. Just save it for special occasions, and you’ll enjoy it even more than if you had it all the time!

Mental toughness

I am jumping right in with the clients at CrossFit Central and doing The Girls and The Heroes WODs this month. Little did I know that my mental toughness would be stretched so far in a matter of 1 week.

I absolutely agree that all CrossFit WODs are hard. However, the intensity with The Girls and The Heroes is different in nature than a typical WOD. On Monday I did Angie, I was honestly the most sore I have been in a long time. Grant it, I am pretty certain that was the 1st time I have ever done the WOD completely prescribed. Then there was Grace, Jeremy, Christine, and I also decided to throw in a lovely .com WOD on Tuesday. Needless to say my body is feeling the greatness.

Each of these WODs has forced me to dig deeper within myself and push harder than usual. I am teaching my body how to perform at higher intensities; the little voices in my head telling me to rest, grab water, slow down...they will NOT win. I got so use to the 30-45 minutes of cardio followed by 30-40 minutes of weights before joining CrossFit, that my body literally forgot what it was like to workout at such a high intensity and push mental toughness barriers. I remember running running Cross Country in high school and digging deep within myself to make it through some of those workouts and really stretching my mental toughness. Now here it is a decade later and I am revisiting the same battle, and I love it.

Whether you are involved in Indoor, Relentless boot camp, endurance or kettlebell class at CrossFit Central, I challenge you to push your mental toughness further than you ever have before. You will be amazed by the outcome.

Vince Lombardi sums it up, "Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It's a state of mind--you could call it character in action."