Week #4

On Monday, I took my measurements and weighed myself for the first time in four weeks. As a frequent scale user, this was difficult, but lessened the pressure of the challenge on a day to day basis. The results of the first four weeks of the challenge were...drumroll... 3 inches and 5 lbs gone! Now, even though this seems small, I have to admit that I actually had already lost 10 lbs and dropped 2 clothing sizes since beginning crossfit in November, so this was actually solid progress for me. In fact, at this point, weight is not the focus--I am trying to tighten and define as much as possible, but hey, a few bonus lbs lost is fine by me :) The measurements are affirmation that I am doing all the right things. And believe me, I am. There are so many days when cutting carbs by 2pm sucks. I might just want a bag of chips after work, but instead I grab protein or veggies. At lunch, I dip fresh sweet peppers in salsa and pretend they taste as good as tortilla chips. Of course they don't, but being able to fit into all my clothes is much better than chips or cookies! Being able to deadlift 160lbs, complete 35 pushups a day, and destroy boot camp workouts at lunch...those are all so much better than a few minutes of snacking.

In the next few weeks I will actually be packing away a lot of clothes, not because they are too small, but because they are falling off me. I did not think at age 30 I would be in the best shape of my life, but that is where I am. Don't get me wrong, I have a LONG journey to reaching some of my goals (chin ups, lifting heavier weight, etc.); however, I have made some steady progress...24 perfect bricks complete at the end of week 4.

Tomorrow, I have my first half marathon since starting crossfit. I am curious to see how this will impact my time. My PR was 2:03:46 at Big Lake in 2010, so I am trying to beat that time! That race day was very cool and rainy. My focus had been on long runs with no weight training. I'll find out tomorrow if a different approach will be more effective. Even if it isn't, I am ok with that because I really would like to move away from the endurance races for awhile.

Week 4 Workouts:
Monday- AM Swim/AM XFit (Bench, Squats, and G Row)
Tuesday-AM Run & Walk/ Lunch Boot/ PM Xfit (Jerks and conditioning)
Wednesday-AM Elliptical/Lunch Boot
Thursday- AM Run & Walk / Lunch Boot/ PM yoga
Friday-AM Swim/ PM Xfit (Deadlifts, Press, and G Row)
Saturday- AM swim (isolated legs to focus on arms and rest legs for race tomorrow)
Sunday- Half Marathon

Weekly Pushup Total = 210
Fasted Cardio Workouts = 6
Pefect Menu Days = 6

Goals for week 5: add more burpees and chins

*New Update: PR at Hampton Half Marathon 629 59/149 F3034 LAURA SAXE 30 F 1274 Concord NH 1:58:33.8 9:01 *

Week #3

I've completed three weeks of the transformation challenge and am still feeling great! I had 6 more perfect bricks to add to my wall which puts my wall at 18 bricks. Not too shabby. Honestly, it was a relatively uneventful week. I did everything I was supposed to including my half marathon training. That race is next Sunday and I am eager to be done with long runs for awhile. Clearly, snowshoeing is not in the cards for this winter, so my focus after the Hampton half marathon will be a combination of crossfit at White Mountain Crossfit and Bikram yoga. I'm looking forward to incorporating more stretching into my week. Right now, I attend yoga class at Quest on Thursdays, but I am always up for more yoga! Next week it is time for more photos and measurements; I'll find out if my hard work is paying off so far!

Week 3 Wrap Up:


Monday- AM Swim/AM Xfit
Tuesday-AM run/walk/PM run
Wednesday- AM elliptical/lunch boot camp
Thursday- AM run/Lunch boot camp/PM yoga
Friday- AM elliptical/PM xfit
Saturday- AM run/PM run (8 miles total)
Sunday-REST

Week #2

The second week of the transformation challenge felt even better than the first. I am comfortable with my daily menu and exercise routine. I was able to get up for my morning fasted cardio workouts with a bit more gusto than week one. In everything I did, I felt stronger and healthier. If this is only two weeks in, I can't wait to see the results of fourteen weeks of hard effort. Also, I deadlifted 150lbs this week! Now, I know this is really not very much in the world of crossfit, but it still is exciting for me! I think I did 1/2 a chin up as well...still working on that goal. Finally, the pictures I selected for this blog entry are of two strength moves. One is obviously a push up--something I could not do before I started crossfit. The second is a one leg, hover, yoga move (not sure of the name) that I learned at my yoga class at Quest this week. Stay tuned for more about my challenge.

Week 2 Wrap Up:
Monday- AM elliptical/AM xfit (press and conditioning)/5X5 pushups
Tuesday-AM run/walk/ PM xfit (G Row and conditioning)/5x5 pushups/ 3 sets of 10 burpees in 30s
Wednesday-AM elliptical/lunch boot camp/5x5 pushups/3 sets of 11 burpees in 33s
Thursday- AM run/walk/Lunch run/PM yoga/5x5 pushups
Friday-AM swim/PM xfit (squats, deadlifts, and conditioning)
Saturday- REST & 24-hour cheat window :)
Sunday-long run (15 miles)

Week #1

In order to better accomodate my schedule, I am blogging on Saturday this week. Tomorrow is going to be dedicated to homework, errands, wedding stuff, a long run, and, of course, prepping my food for the second week of the challenge.

Week one of the transformation went very well. In terms of workouts, I completed all morning cardio, lifting workouts, conditioning workouts,frequency method pushups, and burpees. Each day M-F I completed 5X5 pushups throughout the day. Also, between my conditioning workout on Tuesday and timed burpees on Thursday, I completed 150+ burpees this week.

Additionally, I followed my nutrition plan exactly. I added in more veggies, protein, and drank a gallon of water almost every day. I also had my 24-hour window of "free" time which was something I looked forward to! I feel great so far! Bring on week 2.

Workouts for Week 1:
Monday-AM elliptical/AM crossfit
Tuesday-AM run/walk/PM crossfit
Wednesday-AM elliptical
Thursday-AM run/walk/Lunch boot camp/PM yoga
Friday-AM swim/PM crossfit
Saturday- Rest
Sunday- 12 mile run

Winter, Maybe?

The week of January 16th brought snow and cold. Despite the weather, I was able to get most of my workouts done as my cold was finally going away. I will admit that I did not work to my maximum potential most likely because tomorrow starts my 14 week transformation challenge. I know that it is not going to be an easy 14 weeks (98 days), but in the end, I hope it will be worth the effort. We had our nutrition seminar on Saturday and that gave me some great ideas for food for the week. I stocked up on good proteins and veggies. Yesterday, I hard boiled eggs and cooked up a large quantity of brown rice. I have the supplies and tools to be successful, but the rest is on me. I'll be slightly adjusting my weight training, adding in frequency method pushups, and continuing to train for the half at Hampton.

Here's the recap of last week, for future weeks, I'll be labeling them #1-#14 for my 14 week challenge

Monday- AM crossfit
Tuesday- PM crossfit
Wednesday- AM run/ Lunch bootcamp
Thursday- Lunch boot camp/PM yoga
Friday- AM run/lunch boot camp
Saturday-AM crossfit
Sunday- 11 mile run

Transformation Challenge 2012

In a little over a week, I will embark on a 14 week transformation challenge with other members of White Mountain Crossfit. Today, I took my body measurements, BWT, and my first round of photos. It was not pretty, but it had to be done :) I am hoping to make some serious progress in my goal to look lean and fit in my wedding dress by September. But more than the superficial goals, I hope to become significantly stronger and maybe even complete a pull up or chin up. Our first seminar is next Saturday and I am ready for the challenge!

As a follow up to my blog posting two weeks ago, my workouts definitely did not follow the exact plan I had set up because, of course, I was overtaken by some sort of viral infection or cold just to make things interesting. Therefore, the week of 1/2 was modified to this schedule:

Monday- AM crossfit
Tuesday- AM run/ Lunch boot camp
Wednesday- Lunch boot camp/PM crossfit
Thursday-AM run
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday- Rest because I was sick :(

Then, the week of 1/9, I eased back into my workout routine:
Monday-AM crossfit
Tuesday-Lunch run/PM crossfit
Wednesday- Lunch boot camp
Thursday- PM run
Friday- Lunch boot camp/PM crossfit
Saturday- 10 mile run (finally back to where I was at before the virus!)

As I am now getting ready for the transformation challenge, snowshoe races, and the Half at the Hamptons, I have a busy week ahead of me. In addition, I am taking a graduate course at SNHU that is quite a bit of work. Finally, I am trying to chip away at wedding tasks, so an organized workout schedule is important. My time is very limited, so I have to make sure I follow it as much as possible.

Here are my intentions for the week of 1/15/12:
Sunday- Rest
Monday- 9am crossfit
Tuesday- PM crossfit
Wednesday-AM run/Lunch boot camp
Thursday- AM cardio/Lunch boot camp/PM Yoga for Athletes at Quest
Friday-AM run/PM crossfit
Saturday-Rest
Sunday- Long run

New Year, New Goals

Hello 2012. I'm not sure how this year will go, but I do know that I have switched my goals in training. Last year was all about endurance training and putting in a ton of miles. I'm certainly not going to cut that aspect from my training completely, but my current area of focus is strength training and conditioning. After Pumpkinman, in October, I took a month and relaxed a bit. Then I tried out a short boot camp lunch workout in Manchester. I enjoyed this different approach to fitness and decided to take it a step further and check out Crossfit. Crossfit has earned both positive and negative attention due to the super intense nature of the sport. Additionally, if people are not doing the moves correctly, it can be very dangerous (as is any new fitness routine). Given some of the results I had seen, I was definitely willing to give in a chance. In late October, I wandered into White Mountain Crossfit in Concord, NH. I was uncertain if this warehouse style gym run by an intense, former U.S. army paratropper would be the right fit. I have never been one to enjoy getting dirty and sweaty. However, after doing the three week intro session (on ramp), I was hooked. With serious changes in my diet and exercise, I was already seeing results. Since starting in October, I have gradually increased my weightlifting, completed actual pushups, and pushed myself to new limits. In addition, I look and feel better than I have in years! 30 is the new 20 if you treat your body well :)

With 251 days until our wedding day, I plan to continue to up my focus on strength training and eating the right things. I have been following a modified paleo diet with some success. In addition, I will incorporate more yoga and will continue to run. If we ever get some snow, I'll participate in a few of the Granite State Snowshoe Series races. Also, I signed up to run in the Half at the Hamptons half marathon in February. However, after those shorter endurance events are over, I am all about the strength, yoga, and morning cardio.



The frequency of my blogging is undetermined at this time, but here is an rough look at what my upcoming week will look like:
Sunday- rest (aka working at Hermanos)
Monday- AM cardio/9am crossfit
Tuesday- AM run/NLP lunch boot camp
Wednesday-lunch boot camp/PM crossfit
Thursday-AM run/lunch boot camp
Friday- AM swim/PM crossfit
Saturday-long run/light yoga