Once Upon a Health and Fitness Plan

Chapter 1

Once  upon a time, there was an overweight 30 year-old who lost 68 pounds using Weight Watchers.  This teacher and soon-to-be-father-of-two ran his first half marathon and over the next few years ran three of them.  Soon enough, the pounds found him again, all but 9 of them. 

Two years, four globo-gyms, another trip to Weight Watchers, and a personal trainer later, this thirty-something said to his good friend, "I wish there was a place with a boot camp atmosphere, that was as into working out and keeping me healthy in a sustainable way."  Enter:  Crossfit.  

Now, at age 39, this "young" man is in the physical shape of his life.  He's a school counselor by day, a father, husband, and Health and Nutrition Coach as well.  At the same time, this foodie/fitness junkie recently pontificated the following:  "Now that I've changed my body, my strength, endurance, and relationship with food, what do I want to do?  What is next?  And so he came to a crossroads.  Enter:  The Crossfit Carmel Training Challenge. 

He became part of an eight person team that trains and tracks food together with three goals in mind:

1.  Compete against 4 other teams in the gym.

2.  Enter the 2012 Great Lakes Invitational.

2.  Train for The 2012 Crossfit Sectional.

So what does this entail for this almost 40-year-old father of two/husband to a wife who has gone back to work/School Counselor/Health and Nutrition Coach?  It means if he wants to lose the weight to be more competitive in the gym....if he wants to do more than five pull ups without having to drop off the bar, if he wants to run longer distances, if he wants to finally shed the last-to-go-belly fat, then he must, I repeat, he must without fail and with full focus do the following:

1.  Write out his goals on paper.

2.  Make those goals visible and read them every day.

3.  Plan his meals in advance in a reasonable time-efficient manner.

4.  Decrease weekend beer consumption.

5.  Work on shoulder and hamstring mobility every day.  EVERY.  DAY.

6.  Track food intake 

7.  Track workout information.

8.  Be mindful of food intake while still indulging from time to time.

9.  Work on things that are difficult.

10.  Be positive!

Stay tuned for

Keeping Track of it All:  A Great Tool For You

Hilton Head, Crossfit, and a Daily Affirmation

So I spent the last week under the sunny skies of Hilton Head Island, a family destination and tradition of ours for the past couple of decades.  This time, we went with family and friends, which meant instant entertainment (and built in babysitting) for our children.  That meant.....daddy and mommy could actually vacation a bit.  THAT meant.......a week of food that I normally do not eat (stay tuned for a follow up post on that, for I have a lot to say on my return to "food reality").

After a few days of fun in the sun, I ventured away from the family to Crossfit Hilton Head, just a couple of miles from our beach house.  I was excited to be at a new gym, away from home, and I was a bit nervous not knowing what to expect.  I was a bit insecure about working out with a younger guy who played college lacrosse at Syracuse!  BUT.....I was more nervous about how my body would react after treating it like a playground the night before (again....more on that in a post to follow).  I'll give you an idea of SOME of what I ingested then night before.....

Daiquiri bar at Hilton Head's famous Frosty Frog

Walking in, I was immediately greeted by Craig, the owner (of Crossfit...not the Frosty Frog!)  After some idle chit-chat, a couple of others walked in, both visitors to the island like me.  We spent time stretching together.  We all did two minutes of as many double unders as possible, and then we all spent time working on our shoulder mobility with a lacrosse ball.  The workout of the day was brutal on a normal day let alone after stuffing myself with toxic food and drink the night (ok...NIGHTS!) before.

Here's the WOD (Workout of the Day)

That is a total of....

150 squats
105 pull ups
45 ring dips (I used a resistance band under my knees...just can't do them alone....yet)

My time:  24:23

At first it was a bit intimidating working out with a guy who played college lacrosse at Syracuse, however once the workout started, I never thought about him as Craig, the owner, was coaching, motivating and pushing me just like I was at home.

  It was nice to go 12 hours away from my home gym and get the same kind of instruction, coaching, and motivation.  Reminded me of this....

So I retuned the next day to complete the Crossfit Games Sectional WOD #3. (If you don't want to click on the link, I'm competing in the sectional workouts of the Crossfit Games to see how I stack up against others out there in the world as this truly is a world-wide event.  No way in hell, I'd advance, rather it's a litmus test for me to see where I am fitness-wise.)  

As Many Rounds as Possible of....

165 lbs squat clean

165 lbs. jerk

In case you don't know what that is......here's an idea of a guy much lighter than me doing much better than me

I have to say...I did not think I'd even get one rep.

My score:  7 reps.  I was fine with that as again....I spent the last several days not caring for my diet.  BUT.......as previously stated....stay tuned for my next post on how my food impacted my second attempt at this workout.  

It was great and energizing to be at a new Crossfit gym.  It was awesome to get the same kind of experience as I do at home.  It was great to compete away from home and do better than expected.  At the same time.....I returned home feeling physically unfit, lethargic, and thinking like this.....

Stay tuned for a full report on my return to reality......

Vulnerability

Has it all come to this?  That statement is a bit too permanent for me.  I don't view my fitness as having an end.  Rather, this weekend brought an opportunity to see how far I've come with my fitness since I started this new path back in June.  For those who don't know, back in June, I was pretty heavy.  I could not do one pull up.  I was down.  I was lethargic. And I was creeping back to my heaviest weight ever near 270 lbs.  

Crossfit changed my life in many ways.  At first, it made me more sore than I knew possible, but after sticking with it, listening, watching, and being patient, I knew this regiment and community was going to help me transform my fitness....my health.....my life.  I'm now stronger than I've ever been.  I've decreased my body fat and increased my lean muscle mass.  My endurance has increased, and I know what it means to eat well as a lifestyle.  Now THAT is permanent.  

Enter The Crossfit Games

Now, now, now.......I am not going to the Crossfit Games.  I am not going to even come close to making the cut here.  These guys and gals are elite world athletes who train full time for this stuff.  However, the great thing about Crossfit is that it is open to everyone and anyone.  I figured I'd throw myself out there.  I figured it's time to see where I compare.

WORKOUT #1
As Many Rounds as Possible (AMRAP) in 10 minutes of.....

30 double unders (two revolutions of a jumprope)
15 Powersnatches

Check out this video for official rules if you are interested on learning more.

The official rules state that you don't have to do a powersnatch as long as you use proper form getting the bar above your head, so I actually push pressed it.

And my results:
4 rounds plus 17 double unders.

My rank:
As of today, that is good for 265th out of 445 in the Midwest Region....and....
5,119th out of 7,486 in the world!

Not sure I care too much about that, it's interesting to see where I compare to others ages 18-44.

There are 5 more workouts to go.  One per week.  For me.....it's about learning where I am, how far I've come, and enjoying great competition.