Where have I been?

Well, I think I said something about being terrible at blogging from the beginning... considering that it's been 5 months since my last post, I was not incorrect.

The good part about not blogging for five months is I am also slacking at taking progress photos, so this next one is some seriously noticeable progress!

I've been working on doing a pull-up progression to get to being able to do a strict pull-up. (see below).. so far I am on week 1 and my poor hands are a little frustrated at me. I managed to find some lifting gloves for barbell work at TJ Maxx of all places (Nike lifting gloves for $9.99... okay!) and some gymnastics grips with pink velco, which is always a great identifier for my things. I slept way way way later than I planned on today and missed open gym, which was okay with me until I started baking a peach cobbler.

This summer I worked really hard on recording my lifts in an app called myWOD and managed to increase my squat clean max by 15 lbs., and my back squat by 40 lbs. (other lifts we haven't done a 1RM in a while but I'm sure they're increasing as well). It's been fun sending photos to my boyfriend and Crossfitting friends and having people who can relate to my excitement!

Some of my goals for myself are to compete in a competition this fall, get consistent double unders, and get a strict pull up! I have never been able to do a pull up in my life, even in middle school PE so this is going to be a big moment for me when it finally happens! 

I take no credit for this pull-up progression, I just inputted it into Excel so I could read it better. Currently I am doing this with a band and aim to use less and less help from bands until I can do a strict pull up with no assistance.

Progress on Progress

I added another photo to the back selfie progress collage today after a butt kicking workout of cleans, running and ring rows for time! I have to say, I'm feeling stronger every day and it's great to see noticeable changes- especially in my arms and back. 

I'm finding that I'm antsy to get to Crossfit on the days I have planned to go, and sometimes edgy that I'm missing out on days I can't. By 4:30 on Monday I was sprinting out of my office to get to the gym and start lifting all of the heavy things in sight at the gym. Today I had a slightly frustrating afternoon dealing with some lack of follow-through and sure enough, I was ready to go again come 4:30.

Honestly, nothing is better than leaving your work at work, getting your ass kicked by fitness, and then leaving happily sore and sweaty. I've already rearranged my schedule and the times I'm out of the office to accommodate working in going tomorrow. Brendan and Ari, are you reading this? I'M SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO START DOING CROSSFIT.

Chapter One

One week down, and I'm thrilled that I am feeling right at home at my gym. Monday we completed the Crossfit Open 15.4 workout- I did a super scaled version of 10 push press, 10 cleans in the 8 minutes for AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) and got through 5 full rounds plus 10 extra push presses.

What was really nice about doing the open workout was seeing all of the different skill levels within class. One woman was doing the RX of actual handstand pushups, something I can pretty much only dream about at this point.

Despite not being able to fully raise my arms above my head on Wednesday thanks to the push press, we did the WOD below.

I don't think I have ever sweat so much in my life than I did in those 20 minutes. This is even including when I ran the Chicago Marathon, which was also quite sweaty! A day later, my legs stopped working randomly when I was walking because my quads were so sore. 

I've been working really hard on staying focused on where I'm at and making progress for myself, and not feeling like I'm competing against anyone else in the classes. I saw the quote below on Pinterest and it really resonated with me, because I feel like I'm doing a good job of doing things for myself instead of trying to be the best. 

Until next time!

Oh, we're doing this again?

Hello Internet!

I've made many attempts to blog consistently and frequently in the time since I graduated from college. In the past 3 years, I have started (and consequentially, forgotten about) two blogs. I start out excited with a ton of fun post ideas, topics, and goals for myself. I got discouraged when I posted about using E6000 and dollar store items to make apothecary jars and it didn't go viral. I also got discouraged when time didn't stop because I posted about my five favorite places to buy monogrammed items online! Can you believe it?

I manage to have about a million brilliant ideas each day, but sometimes lack the discipline and follow-through to make my ideas a reality. I am most proud of putting my mind to Twirls + Pearls and executing it into a brand that is sold in two retail locations, has a great social media presence and is on the wrists of women across the United States.

For 2015 I decided to skip resolutions and give the year a theme. This year's theme is follow-through and I sincerely hope that's something that I stick to.

In the theme of follow-through, I have set some goals for myself already this year that I am sticking to. One of my major goals is to save a lot of money. I am fortunate enough to have almost no expenses (living the twenty-something dream at home has its perks!) and make myself sit down bimonthly and funnel my paycheck into savings, a mutual fund, 401K and a travel slush fund. Making (and saving) a lot of money has helped curb my spending and has made me more hesitant to spend my money and go shopping as often as I used to. It's been really motivating to have big-picture things to be saving towards and not buying a ton of shoes I probably won't wear.

Another thing I've been pretty good at following through with is going to the gym. In terms of convenience, I have it made. The strip mall outside of my subdivision has a 24 hour gym in one of the units and I can walk there in about 3 minutes. Despite being a stone's throw away, the gym lacks the amenities I'm looking for and is a magnet for people who like to sit on the workout equipment and text instead of actually using it. My favorite are the people who feel the need to grunt and scream as they're working out. I really don't see why people think they need to yell as they're doing shoulder press in a small room with other people around.

At the urging of my boyfriend and best friend, both Crossfitters who were probably tired of hearing me rant about idiots at my gym, I started to look into Crossfit gyms in my area. I found a really nice looking gym on my way home from work that has a two week intro course to give new people a feel for what Crossfit will be like.

My first day went really well and I can definitely see why people get so into Crossfit! Everyone at the intro class was supportive and encouraging; all week I'd been worried that I would feel silly for asking obvious questions or needing extra help understanding something. I could kick myself for spending a few extra months at my previous gym, unhappy and stuck in a rut, when I could have been having fun and challenging myself at Crossfit. I'm going back for my second day tomorrow, and I look forward to making some progress and hopefully some new friends!

Stay posted for more!