jiggle.

So yesterday I was choppin' it up with some folks after yoga and belly dance. Among the list of riveting topics was running because one of the gals was going to do the Nike Women's Marathon in October.

One of the things we talked about was how running made us gain, instead of lose weight. When I did the marathon, I gained 10 pounds. Although people told me that I looked like I lost weight, the reality was I actually gained weight. I jokingly told the gals and my yoga teacher that, "Underneath all this fat is some lean mean muscle. The fat is just there so you all can feel normal."

We had a good laugh about my silly joke. But my yoga teacher chimed in and said, "It's true. I believe that about you, Joanne." Huh? She continued, "Yes, when I see you dance, I'm always expecting to see more jiggling from you. But I don't see as much flesh moving. It tells me that you have a really solid build underneath."

Yeah. I know this is a really odd thing to share. But my yoga/belly dance teacher's comments were striking to me in a few ways. (1) She paid more attention to my body than I thought she did. (2) She understood and saw my body in ways that even I don't see it. This is what I appreciate about her.

So yes. Though I bitch and moan about my fleshy body all the time. I'm glad to know that someone thinks that I'm not nearly as fleshy as I think I am. Make sense? Hmph.

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
5 Rounds of:
Run 100 meters
5 burpees
Samson Stretch
30 second bar hang
30 second bent over hang

WOD: Row, Row, Row from hell...
Row 500m for total calories burned five times. Rest no more than three minutes between attempts. Post total calories burned for all five rows to comments.

Theo's Final Count - 31/32/32/32/32 Total - 159
Joanne's Final Count - 26/26/26/27/28 Total - 133

Notes (to myself) about this workout:
I had a lot of fun working out with my nephew, and wish he could train more with me. I forget how great it is to have a training partner, since I do all my workouts alone. We both agree that working out is about doing, and not about winning or beating everyone. It's great to hear that from someone who is so competitive. I brought him and Marc to last week's workout, where they had to do walking knee lunges for 400 meters. They asked me why I didn't workout with them and I said, "Because I need you two to still respect me!" Much to my surprise, Theo was happy that I worked out with him today. Good times.

It had been a while since I worked out in the afternoon and I forget how popular CrossFit has become. Also, the folks are still great! By the way... though I haven't been doing full-on burpees with the push-ups, I've been doing sprawls, which is a big thing for me because I hate those things - or anything related to burpees. Yea for me!

Finally, Freddy posted the top three male and female performers of the day. Though it didn't last long, there was a 30 minute period where I made the top 3. It was the most glorious 30 minutes of my CrossFit life. ha ha ha!


OWMA Quotable Quote
"Konichiwa Motherf---ers!"
- Joanne screaming for joy when she reached 28 calories

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
Apologies. Forgot to record.

WOD
Complete 5 rounds for time of:
Run 400m
20 d-ball slams (12# for the first 4 rounds, 8# for the last round - someone put my 12# ball away and I didn't have the time to reclaim it.)
20 knees to elbows (on the floor)

Joanne's final time - 29:46

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
Row 1000 meters

With a wooden dowel, THREE sets of:
Samson stretch
10 Shoulder rolls
5 Squats with shoulder raises
10 Shoulder presses
5 Front squats
10 Push presses
5 Overhead squats
10 Push jerks

WOD: Something a little different....
Complete five rounds for time of:
1 thruster 45#- rest 10 seconds
2 thrusters 45#- rest 10 seconds
3 thrusters 35#- rest 10 seconds
4 thrusters 35#- rest 10 seconds
5 thrusters 35#- rest 10 seconds
Row 200m

Joanne's Final Time - 18:42

Notes (to myself) about this workout: First off, a big thanks to Nick for carrying me through this workout - especially the last two rounds! It helps when someone is cheering you on as you moan and groan to the finish. I went for a 50 minute run before class and noticed that my blister from last week was acting up again. Unfortunately, it hasn't fully recovered. I think I might be taping it wrong or something. So when I realized that there was running in the original workout, I swapped the running for rowing. This made the WOD much harder because the run at least gives the upper body a break. The rowing isn't as forgiving. That's why I had to drop the weight after the second round. My upper body couldn't take the full 45#. UGH. Oh well, I still think I did okay. Plus, I think my form was better today.

OWMA Quotable Quote
"This would be a lot easier if I wasn't rowing!"
- Joanne

a bonafide running goal

Today I got to spend some time with my dear friend Jaz. We've known each other for years! Jaz is one of my dear friends from college who I wish I got to see more often. She's moving to Maui in a few weeks, so this was basically the last time I'll get to see her until I actually fly my ass out to Maui (not something I would mind, but I need to figure out how to afford this sucker!).

Anyway... we made a pact today. In 2008, Jaz and I will be running the Maui Half Marathon. Yea! This is my first bonafide running goal, which I plan on keeping. That makes the half marathon over a year away. In fact, I'm planning on doing the Maui Half followed by the Nike Women's Half (if I get to sign up for it) in San Francisco and the Rock-n-Roll Half in San Jose (should I feel up to it).

These are my goals for next year. I figure if I write them down, someone will hold me to it!

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
Run 800 meters
Practice lifts with the wooden dowel:
Deadlift
Bench press
Hang Power Clean

WOD
For time, five rounds of:
10 deadlifts 65#
10 bench press 65#
10 hang power cleans 45#
50 jump rope turns

Joanne's final time - 17:31


Notes (to myself) about this workout:
This is a slightly different version of the posted WOD. I'm not big on lifting extra heavy weights and the posted WOD suggested lifting your body weight. (Ahem. Lifting your body weight means sharing what your body weight actually is. Um. Not for me.) On days like this, I try to honor the exercises, but will modify. I did double the reps, but lighter weights. I also added the jump rope turns because I hate doing jump rope, but need the practice.

The next time I do this WOD, I have to bump up the weights on the deadlift. I think I need to go up to 95# or even 105#. I also need to bump up the bench press weights to 70# or 75#. The hang power clean weight was fine.

i want to run again.

I've decided that I want to run again. I like running. I don't love it, but I like it a lot. I want it back. I haven't run since the marathon (which was two years ago next month!) because of my blister problems. I wanted to start up again this week. Yesterday, I made sure I did a little bit of running (under 2 miles in intervals) for my CrossFit WOD. Even with body glide, I ended up blistering in my arches. This is with running for less than 2 miles!

I wanted to run today, so I used some moleskin. After 10 minutes on a machine and a little yoga (I intended to run after yoga), the moleskin fell off. I was feeling really frustrated. Even in yoga I was frustrated - all because some freakin' moleskin fell off! A friend recommended this book. She's an ultra marathoner (yeah, she does 50 and 100 mile runs) and said that it's a great source if I'm having foot problems.

I just orderd my copy and am paitently waiting for small blisters to heal. But I've decided that I want to run again. I'm going to run again. End story.

huh?!

You Are Destined to Struggle With Your Weight

Like most people, you find it a little difficult to stay at at weight you're comfortable with. If you change a few habits and make food less important, you may find the struggle hardly exists anymore.

Are You Destined To Be Overweight?

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
Run 800 meters
Stretch

Technique: Sumo deadlift hi pull-up
1) Hold stance.
2) Deadlift.
3) Deadlift shrug.
4) Sumo deadlift hi pull-up

Technique: Push jerk
1) Racked stance.
2) Shoulder press.
3) Push press.
4) Jumps (no dowel).
5) Jump arms at shoulder.
6) Jump arms overhead.
7) Push jerk.


WOD
For time, four rounds of:
Run 400 meters
10 Sumo deadlift hi pull-up 35#
10 Push press 35#
10 Push jerk 35#

Joanne's Final Time - 27:52
(Note: I did a slightly different WOD because I don't like the weight-based WODs. I did a modified version of a WOD from last week and incorporated today's lifts. Tough WOD nontheless.)

re-start

So I went 12 whole days without fried food. For me that's a HUGE thing. I broke my challenge because the night before Caroline's wedding. We were up doing last minute touches for the wedding and to help me not fall asleep, I helped myself to some chips. It wasn't a bad thing and I didn't feel guilty or anything. I did, however, take a challenge break that lasted almost a week. So my NO FRIED FOOD clause re-started on August 16th. It's a lot better this time around.

This challenge is letting me know that though I love fried food, there are a lot of other healthier options out there. At the same time, there are a lot of options that are just as bad as friend food. I find myself trying to make better food choices. Also, it's not fried food that I love so much. It's the texture of the crunch. Knowing this is making the NO FRIED FOOD clause a lot more manageable. I've decided that when this challenge is over, I would limit myself to having friend food just once a week. It's a good healthy habit to have, and still allows me to indulge in somethings I love, like tempura.

In terms of working out, this month has been a slow start. I'm averaging about 4 hours a week, which is mostly yoga and dance. For me to get healthy, I need to do things such as running, CrossFit and spinning - the real hard sweat kind of workouts. This week is treating me much better. Let's hope I can keep it up. I've been slacking on my health way too long.

I'm also trying to eat in and cook more. Challenging, but I'm slowly trying to develop better habits.

This is what the road to good health is. Starting and re-starting. It's tough. It sucks. I hate it. But I'll do it.

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
50 calorie row
THREE rounds of 10 reps each:
Samson stretch
Shoulder rolls
Overhead squats
Sit-ups
Back Extensions
Push-ups
Dips

WOD
For time 30/20/10 reps of:
Tuck jumps
Sprawls
Dips
Band assisted pull-ups

Joanne's final time - 16:58


And then...
Two rounds with a 5# weight of:
20 GHD sit-ups
20 GHD back extensions

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
N/A

WOD

Complete the following for time:
100 squats
15 jumping pull-ups
15 dips
75 squats
30 jumping pull-ups
30 dips
50 squats
45 jumping pull-ups
45 dips
25 squats
60 jumping pull-ups
60 dips

Joanne's Final time - N/A

health check

Last night I received some semi-devastating news (devastating to me at least). I've been seeing this new doctor for diabetes, and she wants to keep a really close monitor on my numbers. My HbA1c (which measures out the average of my blood sugars for three months) was 6.9. Ideally it needs to be under 6.5, but preferibly at 6.0-6.2. 6.9 is okay, but it's the highest it's been in a long time - and that's with a higher dosage of diabetes medicine, so that was a bit of a scare for me. I really need to be more dilligent with checking my blood sugars, making sure that I don't eat too many carbs/sugars, and that I get plenty of exercise.

My cholsterol levels were a little higher than my last test, but those numbers were good. The doctor is concerned because it did go up. My cholesterol was at 170, with my HDL (the good stuff) at 63 (they recommend that this be over 40) and my LDL (the bad stuff) at 77 (as a diabetic, the LDLs need to be under 100; I take a small dosage of lipitor because even Lance Armstrong couldn't have LDLs under 100!). My triglycerides are 149 (the doctor wants this to be under 150, so this is cutting it close!).

The doctor also gave the lecture about pregnancy. Not that I'm going to be pregnant anytime soon. She said that if I don't monitor my diabetes now, if I plan on having a child, there's a high chance that the child will develop some kind of malfunction. Apparently, it's pretty common for diabetics who don't monitor their levels and are pregnant, to have children with undeveloped body parts such as the brain, liver, kidney, etc. This was a total shock to my body and gave me yet another reason to HATE it! I'm still swallowing this reality and will deal with it privately.

I spoke to my chiro practor about this. He recommended that I do a thirty day challenge for myself. He said to start with something small and simple. Name something that I will (or won't) do each day for thirty days. At the end of the thirty days, give myself a treat. So here's my first challenge to myself: NO FRIED FOOD for thirty days! This is tough because I have such a penchant for fried food, but I think I can do it. My health is worth at least that. The 1 hour deep tissue massage I promised myself is worth it too.

In the end, I just really need to get my ass in gear and get healthy. This is why today is the first day to doing all of this - slowly but surely adjusting eating habits, making sure I get at least 1 hour of good exercise Monday-Friday, and monitoring my blood sugars. It's hard and ambitous. But I just need to get through this one step at a time. Wish me luck and feel free to cheer me on along the way.

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
Row 1000 meters
Three sets of 10:
Samson stretch
Cobra stretch
Pull-ups
Push-ups
Sit-ups
Squats

WOD: "The Filthy Fifty"
Complete the following for time:
50 box jumps 12"
50 jumping pull-ups
50 kettlebell swings 15#
50 walking lunge steps
50 knees to elbows (on floor)
50 push press 25#
50 supermans
50 wall ball shots 10' 8#
50 push-ups
50 high jumps

Joanne's Final time: 31:49

OWMA Quotable Quote
"Does this mean we'll have bathrooms before the second anniversary?!"
- Joanne

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
N/A

WOD: The Filthy Fifty

Complete the following for time:
50 box jumps 12"
50 jumping pull-ups
50 kettlebell swings 15#
50 walking lunge steps
50 knees to elbows (on back)
50 push press 25#
50 supermans
50 wall ball shots 10' 8#
50 push-ups
50 tuck jumps

Joanne's final time - 31:49

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
N/A

WOD: Twenty-One
20 push-ups/1 sit-up
19 push-ups/2 sit-ups
18 push-ups/3 sit-ups
17 push-ups/4 sit-ups
16 push-ups/5 sit-ups
15 push-ups/6 sit-ups
14 push-ups/7 sit-ups
13 push-ups/8 sit-ups
12 push-ups/9 sit-ups
11 push-ups/10 sit-ups
10 push-ups/11 sit-ups
9 push-ups/12 sit-ups
8 push-ups/13 sit-ups
7 push-ups/14 sit-ups
6 push-ups/15 sit-ups
5 push-ups/16 sit-ups
4 push-ups/17 sit-ups
3 push-ups/18 sit-ups
2 push-ups/19 sit-ups
1 push-up/20 sit-ups

Joanne's final time - 28 minutes and some odd seconds

OWMA Quotable Quote
"Yea for sore abs!"
- Freddy

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
Row 1000 meters

THREE rounds of 10 reps:
Samson stretch
Abmat sit-ups
GHD sit-ups
GHD back extensions
Deadlifts
Overhead squats
Shoulder rolls

WOD: "Cindy"
Complete as many rounds as you can in 20 minutes of:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats

Joanne's Final Count: 12 rounds plus 11 squats

OWMA Quotable Quote
"Who you are in CrossFit is who you are in life!"
-J-Ro

OWMA Bonus Quote
Laura: Go J-Ro! You love those pull-ups!
J-Ro: Yeah... I love pull-ups like I love unwanted hair!

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
N/A

WOD
Complete seven rounds for time of:
Row 200m
10 pull-ups
10 ring dips
10 double unders

No time recorded.

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
N/A

WOD
Complete the folowing for time:
Run 400m
21 box jumps
21 push press (45#)
21 push-ups
Run 400m
15 box jumps
15 push press
15 push-ups
Run 400m
9 box jumps
9 push press
9 push-ups

Joanne's Final Time - 18:34

CrossFit One World W.O.T.D.

Warm-up
N/A

WOD
Row 500m five times. Rest two to three minutes between rows. Your score is the total calories burned in all five rows. Have your trainer show you how to row the distance than change the monitor to get your calories burned. Tip: Row hard not fast!!

Joanne's Results: 26/26/26/27/27
Total: 132