Becoming Super Woman

I love doing what most people don't do and the idea of being a woman with a LOT of upper body strength, is ridiculously appealing to me.  Especially, given my interest, in things like, gymnastics, pole dance and circus aerials, where you have to climb ropes and silks, repeatedly.

and support your body weight in a number of positions and tricks including the occasional one handed trick...

It teaches you very early on how little strength you actually have. To improve that, we typically end aerials classes with conditioning, that almost always includes 10 pull ups.  I'm still at a consecutive unassisted 3 pull ups, but occasionally I can get 4, on a good day.  On the upside, RR "recently" surprised me by bringing home a pull up bar.  I mounted it in my closet and try to max out every time I walk into my (overflowing) closet to stare at my surplus clothes, before deciding I have absolutely NOTHING to wear.  Which happens about 5 times, every morning.

Between that and crossfit, I should be a beast in no time flat!!  Now to start putting in serious work on my core strength, so I can start showing up these guys!!!



One day, Barstarzz, one day....
Candydiva04

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Gyms and Boxes

I know, I know its been a while.  In fairness, I wrote a few posts, and thought I set them to auto post but apparently did not.  The others will pop up at random in the coming months, but I'm not really sure what to do about one in particular from my Cinco de Mayo weekend.  Its a great post and I'd hate to deprive you of it. So try not to side eye me too much when it pops up in mid August.  :)

Meanwhile let me catch you up on what you've been missing.  I've retired my gym rat card.  I realized, that one of the main reasons I lose motivation, especially in the new gym is because its small which limits my choices down to the same handful of machines/exercises every week.  I don't do well with repetition and quite frankly, I was bored.  The gym ceased being fun, and instead became torturous.  It didn't help that every time I set foot out the door, the smell wafting from the local buffalo wild wings assaulted my willpower.  Fortunately, my willpower, at RR's persuasion always won.  So one day after driving RR nuts with my complete lack of motivation, he said to me "Why don't you just stop whining and just join a Crossfit gym, you won't be bored."

I'd been on the fence about joining a Crossfit gym, I like the idea that it challenges you to find your limits, then strive to exceed them, and is never repetitive.  But I also knew running is pretty big part of it, and I haaaate running.  However, I knew the gym was no longer working for me, and I wasn't making progress.  I was gaining fat and losing muscle, something had to be done.  So *WE* joined a crossfit gym and started crossfitting .  Obviously, knowing us it wasn't a simple process.  Similar to our gym search, we  went online to find all the crossfit affiliates in our area and toured most if not all of the boxes (It turns out Crossfit centers are called boxes, not gyms.  In general, they seem to frown on gyms and don't seem to want to be confused with the "Globo gyms").

So we eventually settled on Crossfit Equity, its a relatively new box and is probably the smallest in the area.  The smaller size allows RR and I to get really personalized training, which was important to me because I understand the importance of correct form.  I also realize that my form is often subpar, especially when I'm tired.  In some of the bigger boxes, we saw people doing things with bad form but because the classes were so large, no one noticed or corrected them.  That scared me.  The some of the other deciding factors were the Coaches.  They're a really awesome pair of brothers.  Who immediately struck us as great guys who are

enthusiastic about Crossfit and really love what they do, and their enthusiasm is infectious. You see that same enthusiasm in every member of the box. Well except maybe me... well at least, until I've finished the WOD (Workout of the Day), then I'm happy.  The sense of accomplishment you get from knowing that you finished the WOD is AMAZING.   You don't even mind that you're dripping in sweat and panting, you finished something that seemed borderline impossible, and that sense of accomplishment always feels great.


I've only been crossfitting for about 3 weeks now, so we haven't repeated any WOD's yet.  Which means I don't have previous times to use to assess my progress, but I can already tell I'm making improvements.  Initially, I think I spent more time gasping for air than anything else.  Now I pause for a couple of breaths, or a quick stretch and keep pushing.  About a year ago, I went on a very brief running kick and tried to run outside.  It was an epic failure, I got about 50ft before I had to stop and walk, I was miserable afterwards. I gave up on running not long after.  The other day, on a whim, I decided to jog back to my house from RR's house.  Its 0.35 miles(or ~550 meters), but I jogged all the way back without stopping, and was even able to chat with RR as he biked along beside me.  The next day, I pushed my luck a little more and ran around the neighborhood, I'm not sure how far it is yet but it was at least a mile.  The thing that impressed me most was that when I felt tired and wanted to walk, I just ran faster because I had decided, I was NOT quitting.

I need to get this printed on a shirt!

I've clearly been drinking the same Kool-aid, that I accused a friend (who's husband owns a Crossfit gym.. ahem box, in Ohio) of drinking, when she first suggested Crossfit to me.  So I had to chuckle when I told her that I'd joined a gym and she said "How's that kool-aid taste? Pretty damn good, right?"  Indeed, it does, but I'm still keeping my gym membership.  ;)

Pushing on,
Candydiva04

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What motivates your workouts?

Initially, I started l this process to get skinny but lost motivation once I started liking how I looked again.  It wasn't until I discovered aerials that my workouts, especially my lifting, became important me because it made me prioritize being strong over being thinner.  So I could have the strength to do things like climb the silks, or flip myself upside down.

All the way to the top!

I would still love to be thinner but I know that my efforts to get stronger will also burn fat and help me get thinner.  Now that I'm approximately 12 days from resuming my Aerials classes, I'm far more motivated in the gym.  I'm pushing myself more, lifting heavier and focusing on doing the movements very slowly to work on my muscle control, because the ability to control your tricks goes a long way to making your tricks look prettier and more graceful than when your arms are shaking and you're pausing to gasp for breath. 

So what motivates you?  If you aren't sure, might I recommend Aerials?  :)

 

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Are shrimp dumplings healthy if you make them yourself?

This probably shouldn't be on my list of recipes to try, but how freaking yummy does that look?!?!?  I might sub in ground chicken or turkey for the pork and give this a whirl! 

Shrimp Dumplings (adapted from Taste and Tell):

Recipe from: http://damndelicious.tumblr.com/post/43551512932/shrimp-dumplings

Yields 36 dumplings

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and diced
• 8 ounces ground pork
• 1 cup shredded green cabbage
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon mirin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 36 gyoza/pot sticker wrappers
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Soy sauce, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine shrimp, pork, cabbage, green onions, ginger, sesame oil, mirin, salt and pepper, to taste.

To assemble the dumplings, place wrappers on a work surface. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the shrimp mixture into the center of each wrapper. Using your finger, rub the edges of the wrappers with water. Fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape, pinching the edges to seal.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the dumplings and cook until golden and crisp, about 4-5 minutes.

Serve immediately with soy sauce, if desired.

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Food For thought: Two Sketches

 In this video, women described themselves to a sketch artist that couldn't see them. He then drew them based on their descriptions and on OTHER people's descriptions.  This video below reminded me to be more cognizant of the fact that I like most people, especially women, are our biggest critics.  We often see flaws where there are none. Remember its easy to look at how far you have left to go in your fitness journey, when you should really be looking at how far you've come.

Moral of the story: You are more beautiful than you think. 



What would your two sketches look like?
Candydiva

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