Hey guys, if you’re new to these posts, listen to this podcast episode to get the scoop on what changes I’m making in my life and you can start back at my first daily post here.
I love mornings! I was born for mornings!
I really look forward to getting to work each morning but there are definitely days when I don’t want to do what I need to do.
Today is one of those days. The work I’ve slated for this morning isn’t fun for me. Instead of putting it off and creating stress via procrastination, I work on it for 20 minutes & then give myself a 5-10 minute break to do other things. Depending on the size of the project, I can usually make great progress and avoid feeling overwhelmed with this approach.
The best part is how relieved I feel as I make progress & get things done!
I think there’s a real difference in asking “what do I need to get done?” and “what would make me feel proud/what would make life easier?”
The first question makes the answer feel like a burden I want to avoid.
The second questions help me focus on something I want – to feel proud and make life easier.
I ask the latter set of questions to give me a good reason to get busy!
My hamstrings are quite sore today AND it’s 17.3 day (the 3rd workout in the CrossFit open). Go figure, it’s a heavy squat snatch workout so those sore hammies are gonna get WORKED.
Knowing that, my plan is to carve out 20 minutes before I leave for the gym to warm up & loosen up my muscles through body weight movements & rolling on my lacrosse ball.
It’s amazing how much better I feel after patiently enduring discomfort on the lacrosse ball for a few minutes. The key is to relax through the discomfort instead of resisting & fighting against it. Breathe & be patient with your muscles. (Pretty much the key to everything that’s hard, not just lacrosse ball work, just sayin’… #thatoneisfree)
In addition to being a bit sore, squat snatch is not a movement I’m practiced in. I’ve rarely done them, so I’m going to have to really focus on form and mechanics during my warm up.
17.3 is a ladder of increasing reps of chest-to-bar pull-ups and increasing weight barbell squat snatch. As written, it looks like this:
Prior to 8:00, complete:
3 rounds of:
6 chest-to-bar pull-ups
6 squat snatches (95/65)
Then, 3 rounds of:
7 chest-to-bar pull-ups
5 squat snatches (135/95)
*Prior to 12:00, complete 3 rounds of:
8 chest-to-bar pull-ups
4 squat snatches (185/135)
*Prior to 16:00, complete 3 rounds of:
9 chest-to-bar pull-ups
3 squat snatches (225/155)
*Prior to 20:00, complete 3 rounds of:
10 chest-to-bar pull-ups
2 squat snatches (245/175)
Prior to 24:00, complete 3 rounds of:
11 chest-to-bar pull-ups
1 squat snatch (265/185)
The numbers are men’s weight/women’s weight.
I am scaling both the weight on the snatch and the chest-to-bars. My from isn’t solid on squat snatch so it would be stupid to go for a weight that challenges my strength. I’ll keep the weights lower until my form is solid.
As for chest-to-bar pull-ups, I’m substituting jumping pull-ups due to the high volume of work here.
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17.3 made me cry. In fairness, I made it through 2 full weeks in a super intimidating (new) setting without crying AND I made it to my car before crying today. #winning
Here’s the thing: I’m a strong girl and that’s something I am proud of.
I did not feel strong today.
Squat snatch is a really technical move and it’s not one I’ve practiced. It’s so much more challenging than squat cleans but I was comparing my squat clean ability to my squat snatch ability. #welcometosuckville
I was frustrated through the whole workout. The weight I worked with wasn’t heavy by my form wasn’t there. I kept putting my weight in my toes & that was impacting my balance.
On top of that, my hamstrings were cramping & I was getting pretty dizzy when locked out at the top of the movement.
I made it through, but I was incredibly frustrated with myself.
I had a couple hours in the car after the workout and when I got to my hotel, I put my bags down and went straight to the hotel gym.
Yup. Another workout. I did 100 overhead squats within 5 minutes of arriving at the hotel.
What better way is there to get better and reduce the frustration than working on my form?
I told you: it’s a push year. I’m determined.
You know what’s interesting? There was a a guy in the hotel gym – I’m guessing he was in his late 20s. Thin guy. He was doing bicep curls and he looked like he was working HARD. He was working for every single rep.
He was using 10 lb dumbbells.
I was struck by how I didn’t judge his strength or lack thereof. In fact, my thought process was along the lines of:
Good for him!
Who knows how far he has come or where he started.
Who knows what he is dealing with.
Here he is, on a Friday early evening, in a crappy hotel gym working out.
Good for him!
There wasn’t a single comparative thought. And aside for making room for me, he didn’t pay me one ounce of attention. #perfection.
I’m excited for more of that. More people who see someone trying and just think,
Good for you!
On the food front:
Since I’m starting a 5-day fast on Sunday, it’s easy to think about overeating today & tomorrow, using the fast as justification/excuse. When I notice my mind wandering to thoughts of overeating or indulging in things I wouldn’t normally eat, I ask myself two questions:
- What would make me feel my very best?
- Are the indulgences worth it?
Those two questions are super power questions for me.
Around 9am I took a work break for breakfast: a bacon & egg muffin from Paleo Power Meals.
On my way to the gym (in the snow!) I had one of the Rebbl cold brew drinks. Some of you have asked where you could find these and the Rebbl website has a locator where you can see if they are available in your area.
After the workout, on my way out of town for the weekend, I stopped by Whole Foods. I got a bottle of Suja lemonade (stevia sweetened with cayenne) & some trail mix. I thought about a salad but it was cold & snowing so the salad didn’t sound good to me.
I just finished my 2nd workout and I think I’m gonna go find some real food.
I just want something light – veggies & guac will do – I’m sure I’ll go out to dinner tonight. Meat + veggies and maybe a glass of red wine. xoxo
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One of my goals for this year is to enjoy my weekends more – I’m trying to travel or go on an adventure every weekend if possible. For that reason, I don’t want to have to worry about wifi & that’s why I won’t be doing these daily posts on the weekends. The exception will be this Sunday, the first day of the fast, and I will start back the daily posts then. So, I’ll take tomorrow (Saturday) off but I’ll be back on Sunday.