Baby Steps

This poster hangs in my office.  By day, I'm a school counselor, working with kids and families to help solve their problems....to get them to arrive at their own answers for themselves, and give them the motivation to do so.  

By night, I'm a dad and a husband and I try to model such a positive attitude to my kids.    

The other part of me is passionate about eating well and keeping fit.  I say PASSIONATE because I'm not obsessed about it.  While I think about it a lot, I have my ups and downs.  I ebb and flow like everyone else.  I think the difference is, I thoroughly enjoy working out.  I enjoy just about everything about it.  And who doesn't love eating?  (Those who need a counselor is the right answer.)  So because of this, I come to my point before I digress too much......

I've been injured as you may have read in prior posts.  As I fight through this injury, I have found myself craving foods I normally do not eat much of anymore:  chips, cheese, sweets, Chipotle!!!  I've also had a tough time accepting that I can not run right for now.  I've struggled with not being able to do the prescribed weights, movements, etc. of my Crossfit workouts.  For instance, yesterday.......The workout called for the following:

5K run

100 kettlebell swings.  

I can't run yet.  Grrrr!!!  So I took to a 5K row instead.  I can accept that.  But I usually swing a 50 lb. kettlebell.  Lin, the coach and owner of Crossfit Carmel says, "Dude.....swing a 35 lb. kettlebell.  You don't want to tweak that groin any more."  Stubborn me goes over the 44 lb. kettlebell and all seemed well.  Lin, being the great coach that he is says, "Dude....trust me."

And so I did this....

  

Low and behold............28 minutes later............I felt like.......

Well.....maybe not so patriotic, but it was a GREAT WORKOUT and it wasn't what was prescribed, called for or the RX for the day as is the Crossfit jargon.  But it was MY WORKOUT.  So after three weeks of an injury that isn't going away any time soon, I've learned the following:

--Focusing on eating is paramount no matter what I do for a workout.

--It's MY workout.  Focus on me and not keeping up with or beating someone else. 

--Injury is a part of life.  Letting things heal will only lead to a healthier life.  

--Good coaching is undervalued, overlooked, and not appreciated enough.  

--Listening to those I trust is very important and often taken for granted.

And the most important thing I've learned through this injury:  

Staying balanced does not just come to me.  I have to work at it and it takes baby steps!

Report Card

It's been a few days since I've had anything to share mainly because I'm still nursing that damn groin injury.  If you read my previous post from Monday, I talked about focusing on three things.  Well, here's my personal assessment as the week draws to a close.  

1.  My Diet:  A-

I vowed to eat Paleo 100% for the entire week, and I've done mostly that.  My thinking was that if I want expedite the healing of my groin, then I needed to eat foods that do not cause any sort of inflammation or add to the inflammation already going on in my body.  Aside from logging my food, I can tell you that the only food I've crept back in is one bowl of oatmeal and I added pure maple syrup to it yesterday.  Grains are known to cause inflammation.  You can read about that here.  

2.  Stretching:  C

Why is this so difficult for me to do?  It's simple.  It does not take much time.  I need it just like eating well and exercising, and I know I will be injured the more I neglect it.  My answer:  I have to remember that I need to do it even when I'm not working out.  I returned to Crossfit the other night and took it easy, modifying any movement that would put strain on my groin.  I took time to stretch a fair amount before the workout, but of course, I raced home afterwards so my wife can get out the door to go do her thing. So I neglected my post-stretch which is probably the best time TO stretch.  I have done some light stretching even when not working out, but not like I need to.  If my teacher were reporting it would say, 

"Craig is a pleasure to have in class, but he needs to really get organized with his stretching."

3.  Yoga:  A

Monday, since I was off for President's Day, I subscribed to Yogatoday.  While I'd much rather go somewhere to do yoga, I don't need another expense and another thing to schedule around the family, so I decided to do the online thing.  While it's not optimal, it is better than nothing.  I held my commitment in that I did it and plan to do it at least once per week for a month.  It's ten dollars a month for unlimited access to countless yoga videos.  However, it's very difficult for me.  I made myself start at the Novice level as I am very inflexible and need a review of some basic movements.  I find that after about 30 minutes, I lose focus and it becomes uncomfortable.  Hell, they say downward dog is supposed to be a rest position?!?!?!  

I have a long way to go, but I like the relaxation, spiritual side of yoga.  Very relaxing amazingly enough.  

So I'm going to add a new section to the Report Card:  

4.  Rest/Recovery:  

Perhaps I should just call this Being Smart.  As much as I love working out, I know that I'm in the middle of one of the worst injuries I've had in quite some time.  And....it's a stupid one in that it was totally avoidable.   I've been very good about returning to exercise and listening to my body.  Last night was the third time back at it and I went to Crossfit with every intention of doing the complete workout.

Here was the WOD (Workout of the Day) from yesterday.

Skill:  Accumulate the following:

1:00 of L-Sits

2:00 of HSPU hold

3:00 of Hollow Rock

4:00 of Plank (face down or on side) holds

Wod: 5 rounds for time of:

21 OverHead walking lunges w/45 lb. bar overhead

21 Burpees

If you are not accustomed to Crossfit, the Skill stuff is all core work.  I omitted everything except the Plank as my groin was pissed for even trying the others. Because the 45 lb. bar added extra strain on my injury, I bagged it and decided to sub in 30 step ups to a 20 inch box instead.  So my WOD became:

5 Rounds for time of...

30 step ups (20 inch box)

21 burpees

TIME:  18:27

I got a great sweat.  I worked at a steady pace, and I just listened to my body.  

GRADE FOR REST/RECOVERY/BEING SMART:  B 

Teacher Comments:  "Craig tends to want to do more than he should and sometimes needs an extra reminder not to be stupid with his injury.  I know he really wants to compete in the Fight Gone Bad WOD this weekend, so I hope he'll be smart and wait for the next time this great workout comes around.  I hope he will continue to make strides in listening to his body so he can make a full recovery."

I'm struggling today to accept that I need to take a week off from Crossfit.  I don't say this to prove how much I exercise or gloat.  Rather, I say this because I have never been that excited to work out day in and day out before I met Crossfit.  It's what I look forward to (albeit some days with anxiety depending on the WOD of course).  


After throwing my lower back out and seeing my chiropractor who just happens to be a personal friend and after listening to my coach at Crossfit Carmel, I am accepting that I need to take at least a week off.  


One of the best resources I've come across is from Robb Wolf, who wrote the book The Paleo Solution.  He talks about recovery being mandatory and how diet is a necessary part of recovery.  As I read articles in The Crossfit Journal, I like when he says, "recovery comes down to: Eat a Zone favorable or other hormonally intelligent diet with predominantly antioxidant rich "Paleo" foods. Sleep 8–10 hrs per day in a completely dark room. Go to bed as early as possible. Laugh. Avoid excessive stress." All great things to focus on in a time of letting my body heal.  


As I struggle to accept that I can not work out in a way that I FINALLY love doing, I look to credible folks like Robb Wolf, my chiropractor, and my certified Crossfit coaches, who know what they are talking about.