A PAR-TAY!!!

For whatever reason, about a month ago I got it in my head that we needed to have a party. Not just a family get together, but a full on... friends, family and our extended family at the gym, party. Not even realizing that this was Memorial Day weekend, we planned and cooked and shopped and, in the end, had over 96 people walk through our front door. It was such a blast.
Now, Tommy and I rarely, if ever, drink. It just doesn't really suit us with the kids and things we have seen. With that said... it was our house, we needn't drive anywhere, we have a lot of things to celebrate, Tanya made jello shots with vodka and we were having a par-tay! Whew, party we did. Our awesome friends Travis and Carey are always the ones who help close up the house when they come over. I think they carried their sleeping munchies out the door at 1 a.m.

Between the bbq'd ribs, chocolate pieces and sweet cream dip, cakes, Reese's peanut butter cups, tortellini chicken caesar salad, chips with Ruth's fantabulous home-made hot sauce, hamburgers and hot dogs, mac-n- cheese, Malibu rum and pineapple juice cocktails, green/red/purple and orange jello-shots... I am pretty sure we accommodated every single persons tastes and needs!

This get together was absolutely, outrageously funny and very much needed.

Now the fun starts again. the zone, the gym and workouts that are gonna make me wish I had never done those shots with all the girls! Heck, you only live once, you can't take it with you... and from what I was told, 5 women doing jello shots, TOGETHER, is apparently hot!

In the end, this little guy could only hang in there until 11:30 p.m. It will surely turn him into a train wreck tomorrow. Good thing we have a couple of days to recover and relax.. Thank you so much, to everyone who came over and made the day and night, such a blast!

Fun Run?

A few months ago a challenge was put out to everyone at our gym. It was more of a, "quest for takers," for a charity fund raising event. I happily signed up a five person co-ed team not even thinking about what the heck we had gotten ourselves into. It was for charity.... The Foundation for Burns and Trauma Inc. and that was all that mattered to me.

I am trying to teach our kids about helping others and giving to those who readily deserve help in this world... even when you don't know them. It is not working so well but I am not going to give up.

So at a not-so-happy early morning hour of 4:45, my alarm rang out and I immediately wanted to throw it out a window. All I could think was.... we are wasting a childless Saturday morning on this.... WHY???? But off we went.

The 4 mile obstacle course was filled with pea size gravel, sand, mud, balance beams, hay bale jumping, over under beams, 6 foot walls to scale, a gravel filled pit with a tarp over it you had to crawl under, and the infamous mud pit we had to crawl through...oh yeah, not to mention the left over horse presents we needed to avoid since we were on a ranch!

We were shocked at how serious this event is taken. Teams dress up..errr.. in some cases, dress in nearly nothing at all. (And it was freezing when they soaked you with the water) Everyone simply goes out and burns quite a few calories for little ones that need help. What more could you ask for than adults hurling themselves happily through the mud and smiling all the way!

Thanks to my amazing team for dealing with the extremely injured, non-runner of a girl who, admittedly, held you all back!

882 BURPEE'S ANYONE?

Espee Park

What is a burpee you ask? Well, from a standing position you quickly squat down, put your hands flat on the gound preparing for a push up, kick your feet behind you, do a push up, pull your feet back under your shoulders and then jump up clapping your hands over your head. (A lot of football players call them up/downs) Some may laugh and think, "Hey, not so bad." If you are that person..... find me, I will take you in to train with me for a 10 minute workout and you will never ever say that again.

Why 882? That was the number our 3 trainers earned this past month, during a rowing competition at our gym. They did them all. Our gym threw an amazing family picnic for us so the trainers could do the burpee challenge for all to see. The kids got to play all day on a jumpee they rented for us, all the swings and toys and fields to just run on!! It was a perfect afternoon of food, families, fun and fitness!

I don't know of many workout facilities that do this. We know 99% of the people that walk through the door. Our kids play together and some of us go out together, work together, shop together, go to church together and more. It is just an amazing place.

The challenges keep coming for us and it is fun to see everyone grabbing hold of pull up bars, doing a burpee challenge or (slight cringe) the big hydrostatic weigh in at the end of this month to determine our body fat.... We just love it all. Thanks to CF for an amazingly fun day... it just added to the fun of our farmers workout this morning!

Different is..

It hit me when he was working out on Sunday. I, along with about 5 other women were watching the group working out. Then the comments about him started. One woman said, "Wow, he looks REALLY good." I just smiled. There was too long of an emphasis on really for me to try to say anything. Another said, "Oh yeah, I can see his strength in his chest muscles when he is doing pull ups, or just walking by me." I watched as she ran her fingers across her own chest for emphasis. Yeah, true, I thought.

I watched and jumped rope and watched some more. His face was sweating and flushed and he was lifting a ton of weight. All I could think of was, "Oh how I love that man."

The women were talking about Tommy. We were talking about the changes people are making to their bodies and lives since they have started working out. Somewhere along mid-conversation, I stopped talking and listening all together and just watched him.

It was almost like slow motion at times. He would finish his deadlifts and turn to walk for a second and then almost as if he knew I was watching him, he would look up at me and smile. A few times I checked to make sure he was feeling ok since he was really sick on Friday night and into Saturday, but for the most part, I just watched.

I don't just watch enough. There is always something going on. A kid to help, food to be made, stuff, stuff and more stuff.

Standing there watching him, all I could do was smile. I had those butterflies in my stomach just knowing when he was done, he was going to walk right over to me and kiss me. Most likely he would hug me, via a grab and tug me close by the butt-cheeks move, and then he would laugh into my neck. We always do this. Somehow today was different.

And different was GOOD!

The Road Less Traveled

Most of our weekly schedules revolve around our gym time. We wake to our daily workout. We go to sleep dreaming, anticipating or dreading the next morning. What works for us, many don't understand. Even more criticize it on a regular basis.

Lately I have been harboring my own ill-will towards the gym in general. I finally told my trainer, Jason, about it this morning. I basically told him that I am simply, "Existing," during our workouts. Seriously. I'm not bragging because I am simply sick to my stomach sick with myself, but I'm never at the proverbial bottom of the barrel in numbers or times or weight. I've just been, "FINE," with 3rd or 4th or whatever. Didn't matter. That is SOOOOO not me.

Limitations aside, I have just been going through the motions. Yesterday's workout was 100 barbell thrusters for time. The women's weight was 65 lbs. I chose to scale my weight to 55 lbs for no other reason except the plain simple fact that, "I COULD." I chose the #5 for my rep count and once we started, after 5, I would put the bar down, rest and do 5 more. For no other reason except that, "I COULD." I told Jason that there was only one time that I was even somewhat out of breath and never really broke a sweat. And plain and simple... my 16 minutes was crap. I should have done the 65lbs and I should have put up a sub-13 minute number... then puked. I chose the easy way out. The SIMPLE ROAD.... Problem was, no one questioned it. Not that anyone should have. I chose to take the easy way out. I chose to scale when I should have gone with the prescribed way.

Jason pulled me into his office on the spot. Hit the mouse on his computer and Viola`, produced the perfect article for me. It was as if it had been written because I was in the "suckdom" section of workout success.

Managing your way to Mediocrity

suddenly kicked me in the rear and I, "got," it.

As I opened the door to walk into my workout success of the day all I heard was, "Nice talkin with you." Jason never said a word while I read. Never said a word before he opened the article. Never criticized me for being honest about knowing I am strong but not pushing hard enough to get stronger.

Somehow, it all translated into daily life for me. I know I have just been existing. Not in bad ways. In fact, today, Trish and Meeka joined me and Pudgie for driveway time most of the morning and into the afternoon. We talked at length about, "just existing." It startled me to hear that when some of her friends had made that comment, they filed for divorce soon after or ran off without their families. I am existing in other ways. Not gonna run off without the kids... oh wait, is that an option?

I told her that for a long time I have come home from here or there..bam... the television became Pudgie's babysitter, the house had to be cleaned, this that or whatever just seemed to consume me and the important things were on the back burner. Priorities were somewhat jumbled. It has been going on for about a month and a half. And it stopped yesterday!

I vowed that everyday, Pudgie and I would go outside and play before nap time (weather willing) and have fun with friends and , "DO" stuff. He is only little for another second anyway. I will have to do the dishes and the laundry and the boring stuff that we mom's exist for. That is ok. Because after all was said and done...

I rocked my workout this morning. I blew most everyone away, most boys included, and I felt good about the fact that it is normal to just exist some days...most people don't mind mediocrity but when you take the road less traveled...

You tend to learn to be the leader and discover how amazing you really are!!

Mediocrity isn't for me... I chose a new road today!

Crossfit...Anytime...Anywhere

I was more or less excited to walk into our amazing gym this morning. Probably less since the workout was going to make me wish I stayed in bed... but... when I saw Tommy was featured on the Crossfit Affiliate page I almost fell over. We both tried the pull ups on the F of California Adventure. He was the successful one!!

Way to go celebrity man!!

Questions posed~

I often to refer to my trainer as my friend. I readily think he has become that with both Tommy and me. We laugh, we yell, we push, we help, we heal... all in the matter of moments we spend in the confines of his gym.

Lately, we have been talking about other things. Things that seem to be bothering him. That is quite unlike him, but I am sure everyone has their moments of frustration. I definitely had mine last Wednesday.

Today he gave me a photocopy of an article. I am not sure if it was meant for me specifically or in general for the ladies that frequently sweat it out in the place we jokingly refer to as hell.

I, personally, find beauty in everything. Every person I see has a trait I find to be special: a look that can make someone stop and loose their breath, a smile that can melt a heart and a word they can utter that will make some loose their own train of thought. No one is perfect, but flaws are what make us all stand out in special ways.

Here is the article.

By Jon Gilson

If I were feeling a little more lawless, I'd gather all the copies of Cosmo and Seventeen, douse them in kerosene, and strike a match. I'd throw in reams of print ads from Calvin Klein and watch with delight as Kate Moss' stick-think image was reduced to carbon. I'd add copies of Shape and Runner's World until the flames reached toward the heavens, and then I'd crank call the editorial desk at Muscle and Fitness until they stopped publishing pictures of women on steroids.

I'd get the master tapes of America's Next Top Model and dub them over with "NASTY GIRLS", broadcasting the results on every television station in America. I'd skywrite, "Crossfit.com" across the Boston Skyline, and gently admonish the hoards of long distance runners trotting along the Charles River-with a bullhorn.
I'd take every woman with the mass media-induced ideals of beauty, and I'd show them what it really means to be beautiful.

Beautiful women are strong and powerful. They are athletes, capable of every feat under the sun. The have muscles, borne of hard work and sweat. They gauge their self-worth through accomplishments, not by the numbers on their bathroom scale. They understand that muscle weighs more than fat, and they love the fact that designer jeans don't fit over their well-developed quads.

They know that high repetitions using light weight is the path to mediocrity, and "toning" is a complete and utter myth. They refuse to succumb to the marketers that prey on insecurity, leaving the pre-packaged diet dinners and fat-burning pills on the shelf to pass their expiration date.

Beautiful women train with intensity. They derive self-image from the quality of their work and their ability to excel. They don't wear make-up to the gym, and they wouldn't be caught dead with a vinyl pink dumbbell. They move iron, they do pull-ups, the jump, sprint, punch, kick, and they use the elliptical machine-as a place to hang their jump ropes.

They spend their weekends in sport, climbing walls, winning races, and running rivers. They laugh as they sprint circles around the unschooled, turning the image-obsessed into bench warmers. Beautiful women don't care if they're soaked in sweat and covered in dirt, if their nails are chipped or their hair out of place. They care only about quality of life.

Beautiful women are happy, healthy, and strong, and they're right there beside me, tossing conventional beauty on the ever-growing flames of what used to be.

BE BEAUTIFUL!

Here's to all the ladies I know that are just that...
Beautiful!

Only in hand grenades..

I have a serious love hate relationship going on with my gym right now. SERIOUS. Most people think Tom and I are obsessed with our gym and our workouts. Most people think we are hurting our bodies with the things we have fallen head over heels in love with. Most people are too afraid or just lack the knowledge about this type of workout to come play with us. MOST PEOPLE ARE JUST WRONG. (MOM)

Anyway, that was not what is on my mind today. Today was my day off of the gym. So first thing last night, as I read our nightly workout update..I make the executive decision that I am going jump roping today. Not your typical jump rope. Double Unders. I am not good at them. I am not bad at them. I am working at them and that is all I could do. (I was somewhat happy with my 124 in 10 minutes but one guy did 467. He has been crossfitting for 2 years though. Big difference with my 6 weeks!!) ANYWAYS.....

Before the double unders...I finally break down and tell Jason to measure me. Yep, pinch, prod, grope, weigh...YUCK YUCK YUCK. I am so excited my clothes fit looser...in fact the shorts I wore into the gym today were too tight on me 3 weeks ago and today they were sagging! YEAH ME. UNTIL.....

I hate calipers and having a tape measure around my waist and thighs and chest. Well, maybe not my chest. I immediately got frustrated and mad and seriously pissed at the same time. I looked straight to the negative. That is so unlike me, unless it is my body image I am discussing. I skipped right over the lean muscle mass and said, "Well it's official...I am a walking beached whale."

I am seeing my results some days. I got a compliment on my arms yesterday. I am still not happy like I should be. Last night I put on last years cheapy swimming suit and it was sagging where I now have little abs playing peek a boo through my belly button.

Still, I was a little distraught to say the least. Well, a little might be slightly askew..... I was angry and I guess that is good because I did two workouts this morning instead of one.

I don't know if Jason saw the disappointment in my eyes or what but immediately said, "Today is really day one. Everything before today doesn't count. We move forward and don't look back." For me, that was just re-verbalizing my goals. I needed that. I have ever-changing goals so in reality, they are completely unattainable, but realistic.

I have decided to really work harder at the lean muscle mass my body has. It has a lot, but I looked straight to the body fat percentage and I didn't like it at all.

So, this picture has been up before. I have not had a reese's peanut butter cup in 5 1/2 months now and the jeans almost fit....

ALMOST DOESN'T COUNT!!!

Inspiration......

Every week our friend and trainer posts a video on the Competitive Fitness website for us to learn from. It is usually a video about form and function during an upcoming workout. We might watch a group of women doing one of the workouts named after a hurricane or a man doing a record number of squats. Whatever the video, we always learn from it. This week, Jason changed it up for us. This was his way of motivating us from afar! It worked!

I GUARANTEE YOU WILL COMPLETE ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO WHEN YOU WATCH THIS

HEAVEN AND.....

THE DECISION TO CHANGE THE NAME OF OUR WONDERFUL GYM IS PRETTY MUCH UNANIMOUS NOW.

HELL

SOMEHOW I DOUBT THAT CHAD AND JASON WILL GO FOR IT THOUGH!

HERE ARE TOMMY'S AND MY PLANS FOR THE MORNING WORKOUT:

This Workout is going to be very tough. It will rival the "Filthy Fifties" on the difficulty scale. The rep count is a total of 550 reps, done in a countdown format.The Workout is 1 Round for time:

100 Jumping Pull Ups
90 Squats
80 Sit Ups
70 Wall Ball 20m/14w
60 Back Extensions
50 KB Swings 53m/35w
40 Push Ups
30 BB Thruster 65m/35w
20 Burpees
10 Pull Ups

TODAY IS THE PERFECT DAY FOR THEIR MOTTO......

~CHECK YOUR EGOS AND THE WORD CAN'T AT THE DOOR~

I LOVE FRIDAYS FILLED WITH:

MUSCLE SEARING,

LUNG EXPANDING,

HEAD SPINNING,

SWEAT PRODUCING,

DRY HEAVE HACKING,

CHALK COVERING,

BLISTER PRODUCING,

WORK!!!!!

(LET'S HOPE I DON'T NEED THE PUKE BUCKET THIS MORNING!)

****ONCE AGAIN...ANYONE WANTING TO TRY THEIR HAND AT CROSSFIT...COME TAG ALONG WITH US! WE HAVE HAD TWO OF OUR NEIGHBORS COME, 4 PEOPLE THAT TOM WORK WITH HAVE TRIED IT AND NUMEROUS FRIENDS FROM AROUND THE VALLEY....AND THEY ARE ALL STILL ALIVE AND KICKING!!! A FEW HAVE EVEN JOINED ON TO PLAY ALL THE TIME!!!!****

***UPDATE***

We happily survived this amazingly painful workout. I was so glad I actually shave 4:24 off my Filty Fifties score and did 50 more reps on today's body killer....AND...This girl does real pull ups now!!!!!!!!!!!!

42:40 for me

45:02 for Tom

Tommy had an awesome day today. Not only did he do today's workout...he was mad that we missed Wednesday's so he added that to the end of this one and rocked that with 15 sets of shoulder presses as well. Let me clarify the presses... They were a continuous format...one in one minute, two in two minutes etc. In total, he rocked out 120 shoulder presses.

We will not be walking, talking, yelling, moving, or doing much more than sitting in our pool like piles of jello now. It IS well worth it though.

I slipped a size 6/7 skirt on last night and almost passed out. Tommy made fun of me at the gym that I was so excited it fit... I vaccuumed the house in it!

WHATEVER......CROSSFIT WORKS!!!

~The hurricane that is Binky~

Binky and I have been going round and round lately. She is a smart mouth little know it all and has started a nasty look while sticking her tongue out. She also thinks she knows the best punishment for Pudgie when he is doing something wrong and promptly distributes what she feels is a fitting punishment. I then have to return the favor...

For example... today a hanger was accidently thrown at her (by Jax and not very hard) and she quickly threw it right back...100 times harder....in his "boy parts."

You would have thought I was Mommy Dearest in the "no more wire hangers" scene after that little stunt she pulled. She cried herself to sleep from her little pity party.

Later on in the night Tom and I were talking about an upcoming workout. Some crossfit RX'd workouts are named after hurricanes. Meaning, the simple dynamic force they create, the power behind them, and the massive destrution left in their wake. For example, today, we met, Helen, at the gym. I am not sure if she heard the talk or not. Or, if she even paid attention to it...Soon after the exercise talk Binky started talking about what they have been doing in the kids club while Tommy and I are training. The kidz club has started crossfit training the kids...unbeknownst to us.

The next thing I know...Jax is on the ground banging out 10 mens push ups, Brinkley is doing 15 inch box jumps in sets of 20 and Pudgie is doing air squats on our medicine ball. My jaw hit the floor.

Jax wanted to finish his yogurt so he got bored after the push ups. Pudgie is Pudgie and had to chase the cat. But out of no where...

Here comes our little Hurricane Binky.

In a matter of maybe 4 minutes this little girl did 3 rounds of:

20 box jumps on my tall leather ottoman
10 modified push ups
20 air squats

Yes that is correct.

60 box jumps

30 push ups

and 60 air squats....

and flippen fast. She was winded but didn't break a sweat! Even better..the kid smiled the whole way through and wants to do it again tomorrow.

Lucky for me it is our day off!

Filthy Fifties on Friday the Fourth

Today was awesome.. Poor Jaxi is sick as can be from some little bug that is lingering in his tummy after California, but taking it in stride! After a few bouts of vomit, all Jaxi wanted to do was sleep. Tommy and I (and two little munchies) tucked him back into bed and headed for the gym.

I had mentally prepared myself all week for today. I usually have from 8pm the night before, until I walk through the door at 7:15 am, to gear up for the torture of a new day. Today was different. Jason told me about the RX'd workout, for Friday, on Monday. I watched the video everyday, sometimes two and three times. I am no dummy. I know my strengths. I know my weaknesses. I know better than to admit either, in front of anyone. I knew that this workout was gonna be a killer. I was ready.

Who the heck was I kidding?

I got smashed. Like a bug to a windshield. It was brutal. I had to modify one of my exercises because I came down way too hard the 3rd time I went up the rope on Monday and my knee has been hurting since. I hate modifying.

The filthy fifties are as follows:
50 Box Jumps
50 Jumping Pull Ups
50 KB Swings 53m/35w
50 Walking Lunges (50 steps, not 50 ft)
50 Knees to Elbows
50 Push Press 45m/30w
50 Back Extensions
50 Wall Ball 20m/14w
50 Burpees
50 Double Unders


One round for time. I watched the machine we know as Kelly, rip through this...in 39:08. She is an animal. She is 40 and I want to be in the kinda shape she is in. I tend to dream big.


Funny thing is, for me, this is no longer about the workout..or the training as it is referred to at our gym. It is about inner and outer strength. I love watching the women and men push their bodies harder and faster and more than they ever thought possible. I love knowing that my kids are seeing their parents get strong and learning to push past the everday stresses and problems that so many people complain about.


I love feeling my muscles twitch, involuntarily, 20 minutes, after I have finished my last round. Seeing the sweat drip off my fingertips when I am holding a kettlebell, feeling the burning in my thighs as I throw the wallball up and praying that I catch it without my biceps giving out. To me, this is inner emotional and outer physical strength. Beautiful, ripped up strength. Waking up everyday, waiting, knowing, I can take anything someone throws my way. It is a great feeling. It is trickling over into our entire families attitudes and our physiques.


Friday's filthy fifties brought out some serious challenges for us. People almost fainted when they got to the wallball. Some had to lay down to regain focus and some ran for the bathroom. Not one single person quit. No one stopped for good and everyone cheered everyone on. We were all a team and no one was going to be left behind.


I actually did the 50 double unders at the end of this workout. I was so physically exhausted I didn't think I would be able to jump rope (it was a 10:1 ratio for single jumps) let alone double under. I did it. My time, well, to me, it wasn't so sweet. 47:01 or something like that. My time didn't matter. (In the end, I was in the top 4. Still not good enough for me though) I helped three people push themselves harder than they thought possible when they walked through the front door. I had Tommy yelling at me to get it in gear or I was going to go above his time, while double undering. I had sweat dripping off every muscle my body owns. My lungs were on fire and my legs were numb. I have never in my life felt so physically and emotionally energized like I was, when I finished this.

Today I could have taken on the world. Our kids are seeing how this is changing the way we see things. How we feel about ourselves and others and how happy feeling so fit makes us.

A long time ago, Tommy told me, "the couple that works out together, stays together." If the past 17 workouts are any indication of this statement... this man is stuck with me for a long, long time.