Tag Archives: Odds and Ends

Odds and ends

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Andy found something really funny in one of our old cookbooks the other day.  Check out the note I made:

I wrote the the recipe needed carbs“Add carb for more full/complete meal.”  WOW.  My cooking habits and I have changed SO much!

If anything, it should say — “Add vegetable.”

This is actually a really good cookbook — weeknight meals by Deborah Madison, who is an amazing cook and writer — which we hardly use anymore because it’s vegetarian and falling apart from constant use.  We were flipping through it and there are several things in it that we would still eat. Sometimes I just need to shake things up.

I actually highly recommend Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, because many of the recipes are primal, and you just have to add meat.  A home run dinner — EVERY time.

I have to admit that my son constantly amazes me everyday,  (My daughter, too.)  But with my son, it’s food that particularly amazes me.

Luke holding MadelineHere is a child who will devour all of the meat on the table if left to his own devices.  Burger patties are his favorites but pork cutlets and pork chops are right up there.  But what made us laugh lately is his insistence on licking the spatula that we use to scrape out the coconut milk.  Unsweetened coconut milk.

He loves it.

This past week, I made my first milk drop at the Mothers Milk Bank.  I hadn’t quite collected the initial 150oz, but apparently supplies are really low, and they needed me to bring in the milk ASAP.  Demand is high for milk, so I was happy to oblige.  I picked up new bottles and I’m ready to collect more.  (For more on why I started, see my post about healthy milk.)

It feels really good to help out all of those babies.

Cheering on progress

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I took a rest day today — it was unexpected, since today is kung fu conditioning day, but we all need to rest periodically, and who am I to argue?

I timed the workout for my class this morning.  It was a workout I borrowed from a Crossfit coach and the brother-in-law of one of my close friends.  My friend told me he did it, and I loved the idea, so I immediately wrote it down.

Darrin, Hugh and ManojWOD:

At the top of each minute:
3 burpees
6 clean & press
9 situps

– Go until you can’t finish the set within the minute.

I had a really good time cheering on my class.  They were really strong with this one, and it was cool to see them working so hard. I know this wasn’t an easy workout, and I plan to do it myself at home (hopefully this weekend), when Andy can time me.

I have noticed significant progress in nearly all of the regulars who come to class, but one in particular has stood out.  Darrin (in red) used to struggle with the workouts — particularly situps and squats — but gradually, he has grown much stronger.  In fact, today, he was the last guy standing.  He made it through a full 16 rounds before he finished.  And you know what?  He could have kept going.  He finished the 16th set well within the minute — he was just too tired to go on.  We were all cheering him on in those last few minutes.  He just powered through, keeping his form and his pace steady, with a determined look on his face. 

Brian does a clean and pressWay to go Darrin and everybody who came out this morning!

It’s so awesome to see others succeed, particularly people I’ve been working out with for so long.

We finished up this morning by doing a little bit with the focus mitts (about 2 mins of freestyle) and then reviewing short katas, sparring techniques, and four of the lower belt long forms.

What’s Next?

Tomorrow’s a busy day — activity-wise — for me.  I’m running with my buddy Jenny in the morning.  We’re getting ready for a couple of runs (my first evah!) this fall:

Race for the Cure — 5K! Terri Gruca asked me to be a part of Team KVUE, and I’m totally pumped.  Jenny’s going to be on our team too.

Turkey Trot — 5 miles!

I have zero desire to run any further than 5 miles. In fact — I wish the Turkey Trot were a 5K, but my friend Jenny wants to do it, and it seems like it should be fun. Plus, both benefit awesome causes, particularly the Race for the Cure.  My mother is a 15-year survivor of breast cancer.  Wow… 15 years ago my family turned upside down.  But she made it through all the chemo and radiation.  And she’s still kicking.  Might as well celebrate that!

Oh!  But running is not all!  I’m still thinking about showing up for black belt boot camp.  Plus… I have challenged Andy to the Friday WOD at Crossfit Central — “Helen!”  My friend Brian‘s been talking about it so much, I decided I wanted to take her on.  Can’t effin’ wait.

Overcoming barriers I put in front of myself

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The other day, I received a really nice comment on my recent
Fight Gone Bad blog post.  It was from my
friend and sifu, Ryon, and it both lifted my spirits and made me think.

First of all, thank you Ryon.  I didn’t think simply commenting in reply on my own
post would do justice to how nice it was to read your words.  It’s always awesome to hear encouragement
from both our peers and those who we admire.

Secondly, the thinking part. 
I got to thinking about my relationship with lifting weights, how far I’ve
come, and how far I have to go.  I’m not
talking about how much I can lift (although, the same applies).  I’m talking about how I think about them.

For years, I thought I couldn’t lift very heavy weights –
heck… I used to make my boyfriend (now husband) do the heavy lifting around the
house.  If it was sort of heavy and on a
high shelf, “Help!”  The lawnmower needs
to be lifting over the 4-foot fence?  “Help!”  Sifu Bren, you want me to use a 15 lb
dumbbell?  “No way.  I can’t.”

You get the idea.

I grew up thinking I was too weak to lift heavy weights, and that remains so ingrained, I still have trouble overcoming that mental block.  The years of “I can’t” set up
an obstacle I’m only now beginning to break down.

The idea of just what I have to overcome is also clear from
a conversation I had in the not-too-distant past with my mother, who told me
that I will surely hurt myself deadlifting so much weight and that people should
never lift bodyweight (or even less weight) without a device that nurses use to move patients. (I can’t
remember the name.)  I remember looking
at her, unbelieving, and saying, “Mom, that’s simply not true.”

Now, I love my mother, but it’s painfully apparent that the
words of others have also helped to cement that mental barrier into place.

Now, what to do? 
Realizing the problem has been the first step.  Challenging myself has been the second.   Replacing
the words “I can’t,” with “I will” has also helped.  The words “I can’t” now grate against my ears
and I cringe when I hear them.  It’s
tough to keep my mouth shut when others say them, especially my son.

Setting goals has also been an excellent way to overcome
barriers.  I set a goal for my last max
deadlift and I reached it.  In my head, I
saw myself lift 175lbs; I felt it; I practiced it in my head.  I will set new goals the next time – for all
of the max lifts.   I’m doing the same
with pullups  – another area where I had
a mental block for years (ever since the 4th grade when I couldn’t
do the flex arm hang in PE).

And I’m reading up.  I
just finished The Paleo Diet, and Starting Strength is waiting for me.  It’s hard for me to find time to read at home
with nearly zero spare time, but I will find the time to read.  Technique is just as important as mental
preparation, and I’m ready to be strong.

11, moms and music

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Today is 9/11.  I don’t want to relive the feelings I went through on this day 8 years ago.  I was producing a morning show in Nashville, and it was a day of hell, and a subsequent 6 months of having to relive the hell day after day.  Nothing like what they experienced in New York and Washington….

But I don’t want to ignore the day, so my little tribute was included in the WOD I came up with.

Burpees 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Med Ball Cleans 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11

This was tougher than I thought it would be.  My time was 14:04.

I had a whole followup workout planned, but everyone was so dead from the burpees, and there were only 15 minutes left in class, that I decided to save it for another day.  Instead, we did tabata side crunches, flutter kicks and feet to ceiling.  Good workout!

I took the skin off my knee in yesterday’s WOD, and during this morning’s warmup pushups, the wound opened up.  The knee of my pants was all bloody before I realized what was going on.  A little band-aid helped keep the blood from getting all over the mat, but it sure made the subsequent burpees fun.  Can’t wait until I have enough strength to do pushups to the floor from my toes!

I have a pregnant woman in my Friday morning class, and I realized that I really need to brush up on the options for scaling the workout for her.  A few days ago I read about the site Crossfit Moms.  Awesome site!  Great workouts that focus on strength and staying healthy, rather than intensity. It even has a warmup, specific for expentant moms — I’ll need to make a note of it somewhere so I can pull it out for her the next time she comes to class.

My class has also started asking for music while they do our workouts.  I have a ton of music on my iPod, but there are no inputs into the CD player at the Kung Fu studio.  The CD I grabbed from the car was also the worst music for what we were doing.  I put together a CD of music for spinning, but it did not work for what we’re doing.  It generated a ton of complaints, particularly from me — so it’s got to go!

Fortunately,  I have an extensive music collection, so I’ve been compiling a playlist for workouts.  It includes a bunch of rap that has a really nice heavy beat, and some of my favorite artists, like LCD Soundsystem, Franz Ferdinand and the HorrorPops.  I just need to burn off a CD and we’ll be good to go for next week.

Floreio

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Andy does some Floreio practiceI turned around one night and saw Andy doing a headstand like this.  I insisted he do it again tonight so I could take a picture and write about what he’s been training to do: Floreio.

What is Floreio?  I will quote from the blog of the man who introduced Andy to it, Ido Portal:

The name of the art presented in the videos above is called Floreio.
For a lack of better term, I will use this word to represent what I
intend to teach you. The Floreio Art.
Floreio means flower in Portuguese. and it is a sub-art of Capoeira which includes a very sophisticated form of floor flow work.
In
the last 15-20 years this art has made big steps and developed a great
deal, but only by a select talented individuals in the Capoeira world
that showed a much higher level of Floreio work than the rest of the
99% of Capoeiristas.

 Andy told me several weeks ago that he wanted to start building up strength to do this after reading this post from Ido.  The videos Ido posted of Floreio are absolutely amazing.  I was mesmerized when I saw them.  He made it look so easy! 

Then one evening, Andy invited me to join in on the practice, and I realized just how much strength one needs to perform this “body art.”  I was huffing and puffing, and struggling to hold myself in awkward positions that tested every level of my flexibility.  Fortunately, Ido posts workouts often that help build strength for Floreio, from beginning to advanced. 

Andy practices just about every evening, and it’s been fascinating to see his progress. Andy often writes about his workouts, including the Floreio training, in his blog– AndyFit.

Workouts with Andy

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 The past two nights, I’ve invited Andy to workout with me — like the good ole days when we did Ross’ 50-day challenge or went to the gym together.  It’s harder to find time to workout together with our busy schedules, but when there is time, he’s really fun to workout with.

Last night, we did an AMRAP of Andy’s creation:

AMRAP 15 minutes
5 pullups
10 burpees
10 swings (with the homemade kettlebell)

I insisted on using the band to do my pullups, but the step stool isn’t quite tall enough, and every time I hit the pullup bar, I needed Andy to pull down the band so I could stick my foot in it.  Also, that is the last time I do a burpees without a towel on dead grass.  Yuck!  Still, I made it through 6 rounds, and finished the pullups on round 7.  I didn’t push myself as hard as I could of, but logistics also slowed me down. 

Tonight, I wanted to try a scaled version of the Crossfit.com workout — “Elizabeth.”

21-15-9
135 lb cleans
ring dips

I did not even get close to the weight on the cleans.  I used 2 15 lb dumbbells, and they still wore me out.  I had to jump on the ring dips.  But again, logistics slowed me down a little.  Andy and I had to readjust the “rings” for our different heights, and I also had to wait to get to them a couple of times.  I think the stopwatch said 11:15 after I was done.  It was more about the comradery  rather than the time.

Holding my own

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Cindy holds in the ring pullup position So… I was out back watering the plants tonight when I glanced up at the rings hanging from that brand spankin’ new pullup bar.  There was nothing around to give me a boost to the bar, so I figured I would do a couple of jumping pullups on the rings. 

I jumped, and I held it.  And held it.  And held it.

OMG!  I ran in the house to tell Andy, because that is seriously the first time I’ve been able to do that.  I dragged him out after Luke was in bed to take a picture — just to document the moment.  It’s hard to tell from the picture that my feet really ARE off the ground or that I held it for at least 10 seconds.

Of course, I know it’s not the same as doing that on a bar, because my arms are in a different position with the rings.

By the way, those are homemade rings that Andy rigged up a while ago.  PVC pipe covers part of the chain.  Not as nice as real rings, but a heckuva lot cheaper.

There’s not much to report from Kung Fu today.  We did some Push hands and I was asked to teach the new black belts Pa Qua section 2.  I felt pretty uncomfortable doing this, as I don’t feel I’m qualified to be teaching any of the internal arts, but I did the best I could.  I didn’t screw it up too much.  I had to leave early anyway because of work.

Building a pullup bar

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The pullup bar

My boys spent the bulk of the day putting up a pullup bar in the backyard.  We’ve had the materials for what seems like ages, but it was only today that there was enough time for Andy to dig the holes, put up the posts and the bar, and mix the concrete.We set the bar about 8 feet off the ground. 

We’re planning to build a
box so that I’ll be able to reach the bar and put up a band.  Andy can
jump to the height of the bar.

I need a stool to reach the bar, but it’s what I want.  I don’t want either of us to worry about hitting our feet on the ground.  That’s one of the problems with the bar we have set in the doorway to our room — there’s no way to hang from the bar and let our feet dangle.  It’s worse for Andy, since he’s half a foot taller than I am.

This is a photo of the assembled bar, waiting to have concrete poured around the post holes.

The neighbors love us.

I think it will make a nice entrance into the backyard — don’t you?

 

So anyway, I took some photos of the “quickcrete” process.  Andy had a helper during this phase.  It was very hot this afternoon by the time they got to the concrete.

Andy mixes the concrete

Luke helps spread the concrete

 Smile!

 Concrete around the post

 The pullup bar again

 So inviting… I can’t wait for the concrete to set!  Next step, a box and a low pullup bar for the little guy. 

Oh, and now it will be easier to work at home toward my goal — a kipping pullup by the time I hit my 1 year anniversary at Crossfit.

Morning magic

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Ahhh…. nothing like an adrenaline rush at the end of my work day three days in a row to make me feel exhausted.

After what felt like a month of a news drought, every evening we’ve had breaking news.  The rush is the same.  My heart beats fast as I hurry to write, proofread and post, continually updating until things slow down again.  Afterward, it’s always the same.  I feel drained, and parts of me that I didn’t realize had been tense tell me how unhappy they are from being tense.  Tonight it’s my back — sore, but not from a workout.  It’s from sitting on the edge of my chair for an hour, not realizing my position until the situation passed.

What does this have to do with workouts?  Everything.  It’s why I exercise before my work day begins — not after.  After a day like today, the last thing I want to do is workout.  I feel like collapsing.  Stress on the body from my job wears me out too much.  I don’t want to think — I don’t want to move.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve flaked out on a workout after a crazy news day.  It just doesn’t work for me.  I exercise to wake up and get my body moving.  

It took me years to figure out what works for me.  I finally found my formula, and I do my best to stick to it.  Kung Fu is in the morning, Crossfit is in the morning, running is in the morning.  It just works for me.  It’s how I can stick with it.  It does NOT work for my husband.  He can’t stand waking up to work out.  He would rather workout in the evening or in the middle of the day.  That’s what works for him.

Exercise only works its magic if you figure out what works for you.   You can’t benefit from exercise if you don’t enjoy the activity or you find yourself dreading it because it’s too early or late in the day.  There’s no one time that works for everyone.

Speaking of Kung Fu — I had a good review this morning, which we started a week early.  We worked on sparring techniques, both left and right side, which is great practice both mentally and physically.  And then I went through my Tigers… concentrating on one that’s been giving me trouble,,, Mantis and Pa Qua.  It was so nice to have some time to work out the kinks.

Cotton kills

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The clothes make the man they say — or in my case, woman.  I’ve been running/working out in mostly cotton clothes for the longest time.  Lately, the shorts I usually wear to Crossfit or to run in has been a pair of cutoffs that I used to wear skating when they were long pants… but I fell in them and tore up the knee, so I cut them up into shorts.

They are comfortable and fairly light, but lately, I’ve been wishing for something more.  When Jenny and I ran up on the swimming area at Bull Creek, I wished I could get in.  Two things stopped me — the fact that there was a ban because of a sewage spill earlier in the week AND the fact that I was wearing cotton.  It’s no fun to wear wet cotton.

Wouldn’t it be nice to wear something that would dry fast and wick away moisture?

So on my next trip to Target I broke down and bought a pair of running shorts.  They were shorter than I usually wear (I hate exposing my legs) and had an attached pair of underwear.  I also picked up a tank top, because it’s been so hot, I really don’t want to run with sleeves.

I wore my new outfit this morning to the Greenbelt, and set off on what I decided would be a short run.  My clothes were cool and comfortable, and they definitely did not hold the sweat next to my skin.  I was dripping, and it was a little weird at first not having a sleeve to wipe my face.  The shorts reminded me of bike shorts, which are also designed to be worn without underwear.  They moved well with me, and I never felt like the unders were riding up.  It was nice for a change not to have to fiddle with my clothes in the middle of a workout.

My run was good — fun and good.  I think I went a total of nearly 2 miles.  It sure felt like 2 miles, But they were a slow 2 miles.  There were lots of areas where I needed to walk in order to make sure my footing was right.  I was back at the car in about 45 minutes.

One thing I needed, though, was a towel.  The water was running off of my back when I got back to the car, and my tank was not doing snything to stop it.  I tried to dry off before getting in the car, and when I finally did, and tried hard not to touch the back of my seat.  Ewww…