Paleo Challenge

Hi y'all.  It's been way too long!

Thanks so much for all the encouraging words on my last post about my grandpa.  Y'all are so sweet!

I've been so busy and can't wait for the weekend so I can catch up on the Real Housewives  sleep.

Yesterday was my first day at CrossFit this week, so my first opportunity to complete my Paleo challenge pre-reqs.

I signed up, payed my $10, took my "before" pictures (gross!), and completed the following WOD for time:

10 pull ups --->green band
20 push ups   ---->"real" push ups
30 deadlifts 225#/185# -----> 115#
40 wall balls 20#/16# ----->14#
50 kettle bell swings 1.5/1 POOD ---->25#
60 sit ups
70 burpees
800 m run

Finished in 29:16.

(The weights listed next to each exercise is the prescribed weight.  The weight in pink is the weight I used.)

I got to the burpees in a little over 12 minutes and thought, "well this isn't as bad as it looks."  I ate my words.  Those burpees were BRUTAL!

So, for 6 weeks, I will follow a strict paleo diet.  At the end of those 6 weeks, I will retake pictures, turn in a food journal, and redo this WOD with the exact same weights and see if there is any improvement.   The combo of those 3 things will be examined by the coaches and the person who "did the best" will win the pot of money!

The challenge doesn't officially start until Monday, so I have a mexican feast with margaritas planned for the weekend!  But last night I realized I already took my pictures, so gorging on beans, chips and salsa, and margs will hurt my chances. :(

Honestly, I can't wait to start.  I can't even begin to explain the amount of awful things I have put in my body over the last 6 days! 



source

 

Have you ever done a challenge with your gym?

I'm Not on a Boat

Boat day cancelled. :(  Thanks, tropical storm Lee. 

Not only that, Saturday mornings are usually reserved for running. I woke up, considered running in the rain (which I've done before and usually enjoy), went to feed and love Lola, and realized the strength of the wind.  No running for this girl in this crazy wind.

The rain is supposed to continue for 2-3 days.  I have no gym membership other than CrossFit, so I have nowhere to work out except my house.  I'm trying to come up with an at home workout.  Here are some ideas:

100 burpees - Yes, I hate them, but they are a total body workout.  And it would be a challenge.

another option:

2 rounds -

50 squats
50 lunges (25 each leg)
50 sit ups
50 push ups
50 dips
50 bird pickers (25each leg)

Dinner

I was lonesome for my dad last night, so I convinced him to come to see me by telling him Lola missed her paw-paw.  I'm already using the grandkids against my parents. :)

He and my sister came over, then we went to Fat Cat Cafe in downtown Lake Charles for dinner.

I ordered the Tuna Salad. 

Tuna Salad- Baked  Ahi Tuna mixed with Shallots, Fennel, Roasted Red Pepper, Almonds, Dates, Sun-dried Tomato Aioli. Atop a bed of Mixed Baby Greens w/ a Lemon Peppercorn Vinaigrette  $9

It was delicious. They put the vinagrette on the side and I didn't even touch it. 

This was probably the best tuna salad I've ever eaten.  The texture was phenominal; the tuna was tender and flakey, the almonds were crunchy, the dates were chewy.  The flavors all worked very well together.

They put a HUGE scoop on top of the lettuce, so could only finish about half.  I took the other half home to put over some greens and eat for lunch today.

My dad had the burger with sweet potato fries and he said it was good.  He especially like the sourdough bread.

My sister had the Tom with garlic fries, which was a roasted eggplant, zucchini, and onion sandwich.  She said it needed meat. Go figure, a vegetarian sandwich needed meat.   She said the onions were delicious, though. 

There was  a very talented musician playing while we dined.  This can sometimes be a huge issue for me, because often they play too loud and you can't hold a conversation over the music.  But I am pleased to say, it was not too loud.  Maybe because they had him in a cubbie/closet in the window front of the restaurant.

Are you ready for some Football?

I'm off to enjoy my Saturday.  Football tonight! Geaux Pokes and Tigers! 

Stay dry, South Louisiana!

Any ideas for an at home indoor workout?

Coconut Love

I came down with West Nile yesterday. Now, I am no doctor, but I was raised in a house full of nurses, therefore I am qualified to diagnose myself.  I pulled out my Communicable Diseases Handbook (Yes, I own this book.  I'm a little bit of an infectious disease nerd) and sure enough, the symptoms are there.

Exposure to mosquitoes: check.  I do live in Southwest Louisiana, after all.
Body aches: check.
Headache: check.
Fatigue: check

My head was throbbing so much I could feel it in my teeth and my back was hurting from the lower, all the way up to my shoulders.  :(

Definitely West Nile. Or maybe a sinus headache and some serious fatigue/soreness from my previous days workouts.

Either way, the thought of going to bleacher club made my stomach turn.  I changed from scrubs to workout clothes, anyway, hoping it would be a jump start and get me going.  Nope.  So then I foam rolled, hoping maybe stretching out my aching muscles would be a jump start and get me going.  Nope.

I layed on the couch. 

I absolutely HATE missing Bleacher Club.  Since its only twice (sometimes 3 times) a week, if you miss it, you miss it.  Unlike CrossFit, which if I miss, I can go at another time or another day.

Missing a workout was so disappointing because I was on a roll this week.  Monday's and Tuesday's workouts were awesome! I throughly enjoyed them, and thought you might too.  So I am sharing:

Monday
Bleacher Club with Mike and his new "Gym Boss." (It is an interval timer, and he is so in love with it that I think he would marry it if he didn't already have a wonderful wife.) He titled the workout "Burpee Buster", which made my stomach turn.  Everyone knows how I feel about burpees.

We did 50 seconds exercise intervals followed by 15 seconds of rest. The exercises were as follows:

1. One legged burpees - left
2. One legged burpess - right
3. Side to side burpees
4. Wide stance burpee, push up combo
5. Front & back lunges - left
6. Front & back lunges - right
7. V-ups, alternating ball between hands and feet
8. Supermans with ball between feet

5 rounds

Tuesday
CrossFit. 2 rounds of the following:

21 pull ups (I modified using a green pull up band)
21 kettlebell swings (I used a 25# kettlebell.)
21 straight legged deadlifts (I used 65#)
21 knees to elbows
21 double unders (I modified to 63 single unders.)

Completed in 12:49.  My hands are sooo torn up from those knees to elbows, but no pain, no gain!

Lola and I went for a long, evening walk.  About 3 miles.  It was good excercise for us both and it gave me the opportunity to have a long phone session with my bestie, Seth, and catch up on the goings on in his life. He learned to fry chicken!  Can't wait until he fries me up some!

Me & Seth

Back to yesterday
I eventually was a little productive and went to the grocery store, where I rediscovered unsweetened coconut.  Where has it been all my life?  I had a green monster smoothie with cherries and coconut for breakfast this morning.  Yum! I love coconut.

After the grocery store, I soaked in a long, hot bath, took some ibuprofen and benadryl, and read until I fell asleep.

I'm feeling a little better today.  Hopefully, I will feel good enough to tackle this WOD by the time I get off. 


Oh, and my sister completed her fit test at CrossFit yesterday.  She is going to be a CrossFitter, too!  I'm so excited to have a new workout a buddy.  Also, there is nothing like a sibling to bring out a little competitiveness and make you push yourself harder!

Me and my sister on our way to Warrior Dash last spring.

Do you feel guilty for missing workouts, even when you are sick? How do you make up a missed workout?

what I'm excited about today

I was right about yesterday's workout...it was a toughie!  Mike is always finding new ways to make me hate burpees. Yesterday, it was what he calls the "dead man burpee".  It's name is appropriate because you want to die after doing 50 of them. And he promises Wednesday will be tougher....sigh.

Right now, I'm excited about:

My lunch!  I'm going on my 3rd meal with my ducks I cooked Sunday (yesterday for lunch I had a duck baked potato and dinner last night was duck salad).  Did I mention duck is my favorite source of protein ever?!?  I packed my lunch box with grits, duck & gravy, and smothered onions and mushrooms.  I'm going to cook the grits and mix it all together. Only 2 hours until I get to put that savory, salty, goodness into my belly!

My running buddy!  Andrea, my original running/workout buddy, has decided to run the half marathon with me on November 19. I'm ecstatic to have someone to train with, especially on my long Saturday runs. My official training schedule starts September 6.  I will post my half marathon training schedule soon.