Choosing Gratitude

So, last week, I told you about my latest and not so greatest CrossFit news…the less than wonderful world of injury (I still shudder when I use that word to describe myself).

Happily, although still not 100% better, and I’m still trying to be really careful and avoiding certain movements, things are (*I think*)  improving.

As I sit and reflect on the past weeks, I can’t but feel grateful (although blogging “al fresco” on a beautiful summer night (see photo) certainly doesn’t hurt feelings of gratitude either :)).

It might sound crazy, but at the end of this week, despite all the challenges I’ve faced lately, and the fact that my training has somewhat of a different focus than I thought it would for summer, I am filled with gratitude.

Injuries and setbacks, whether they are physical or otherwise, can be blessings in disguise. They force us to sit back, shift our perspective, and see things in a different light.

So what is there to be grateful for….?

1. That, until recently, and, for the most part, I live my life pain-free and able to do whatever exercise I want. This is something that I think those of us in good health truly take for granted. I said to another friend at the gym who’s been struggling with a back injury, I don’t know how people who live in chronic pain do it! I can’t even imagine…

2. That I have found a sport and community that I truly love. I already knew this, but after being out of the gym for a few days completely and then cutting back on my time there for a week, I realized just how much that my CrossFit community means to me. Not only did I miss my friends, but when the times I was at the gym, there was always someone asking how I was doing.

3. That I go to a gym with great coaches who care about form and quality of movement. I mentioned last week that since my back has been acting up, Coach Duncan has really been on me about form. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t want to push through a workout with poor form just to RX it. I don’t want to keep lifting heavier weights if I’m not doing it safely. I want coaches who will call me out if they see me doing something improperly or unsafely, and thankfully, I’ve got them.

4. That, on top of great coaches, I also have two great healthcare professionals working alongside my coach to not only help my back get better, but to help me move better to improve posture and prevent future injuries.

Let’s use today as an example of just HOW awesome this team is and how lucky I am to have them. 6 AM WOD, we do Cindy and I am laser-focused on form, under Coach Duncan’s supervision. After class, chat with Mandy, the massage therapist I see who also personal trains at our gym. She says my squats are looking way better (and they should be with the amount of mobility I’ve been doing the past week, I might add). I ask if she’s chatted with Lisa (the chiropractor at the same clinic who I see, who is also a gym member). Lisa saw my posture on Wednesday at the gym for the first time (we don’t usually work out at the same time) and had some new insights (hello hyper-extended knees, my lifelong habit). Mandy texts Lisa and asks her to call her before I see her at 11:30.

11:25 I get to my appointment early. Turns out Duncan had an appointment right before me. Lisa is between appointments, and him, Mandy, and her are chatting about me (all good things I’m told) and how they can help me move better.

11:30 Mandy works on weaknesses to help support my posture (who knew the back of your knees could be so painful?!?!?) and gives me a boatload of mobility work to do (on top of my mobility homework and postural check-ins that Duncan has me working on).

Aside from professional athletes, I really don’t think there are many average gym-goers that have such an awesome team working together to support health, posture, mobility, and better integrity and quality of movement. Am I right?

5. That I have a job with benefits that pay for the above-mentioned healthcare professionals. Thankfully, I can get coverage for both massage and chiropractic, which is AMAZING and makes it much easier to see “my team” more often.

6. That this injury has help expose longstanding postural and movement issues. As previously mentioned, I have always hyperextended my knees when I stand (not sure why). It’s one of those things I’ve always known wasn’t good, but I am just so used to it, I keep doing it. Now I’ve got hourly “postural check-ins” assigned as homework to help correct that, and other faults (my mom is sighing with gratitude right now after a lifetime of telling me to stop “boinging my knees”). Fixing my posture will pay off both in and outside of the gym, and my back will be healthier for it I know.

7. Snatching!!! I went to Olympic lifting class today (I can’t go during the school year due to my teaching schedule) and snatched for the first time in month. I didn’t do anything crazy, but it felt *so good* to get under weight again. I’m still being careful, but a bit of time off made me realize how much I love my Oly lifting.

8. That I am surrounded by people who care about me and will give it to me straight. There’s the gym friends who told me to be careful and asked how my back was doing. Of course, there’s family who don’t want to see me injured. There’s my CrossFit friend Soph who knows how hard and how much I like to work and push myself, and helped me see that taking rest was ok, and important.  And I knew that when I asked Coach Duncan straight up if it was ok for me to go ahead with the team competition I’m doing in a week (I got the go-ahead – yay!), he would give me an honest answer and wouldn’t let me do it if I was going to get hurt. I wouldn’t trade any of these guys for the world!

So, whether you are injured or not, or even if you’re just not where you’d hoped you’d find yourself, or progress is stalling, take a step back. Stop and look around you. I’m betting you’ll find you’ve got a lot to be grateful for too.

Stay tuned…lots of exciting things to blog about in the weeks to come: vacation WODs (going to a resort with my family next week), re-cap of upcoming competition (it’s outside! on the beach!), the long-awaited part 3 of my nutrition series, and of course, updates on how my back is doing and what I’m dubbing the #summerofmobility. Oh, and in case you forgot, JESS IS HAVING TWINS SOON!

Nutrition Part 2: Carbs are your Friend

So…in case you missed it, last week was Nutrition Part 1, where I talked about my why, and my reasoning behind this whole process. I shared a photo, and explained how it all got started, but stopped just short of telling you how and what I’ve been doing (gotta keep you coming back for more, after all. 😉 ).

We left off at my first meeting with Duncan to talk nutrition, mid-November of last year. Like I said before, it’s much less scary and daunting than you might think. Basically, we sat down and talked about what I was currently eating, talked about goals, and then he made suggestions on what I could do differently.

So, what was I eating? I already shared last time about how I’d tried the whole low-fat/low-calorie thing (like pretty much any and every girl in high school/college/university in the early 2000’s, am I right?). I’d also been around CrossFit enough to have been influenced by the whole Paleo hype. I had tried going Paleo for about a month earlier in the year and had seen some results, but ultimately found being 100% Paleo wasn’t really sustainable for me. But I had settled on my happy medium: eating a  totally non-Paleo, but healthy breakfast (often Greek yogurt, homemade granola and fruit or my protein-packed oat bran), and for lunch and supper, being “paleo-ish” (translation, eat a protein, a ton of veggies, and maybe sometimes a bit of starch, but not a ton of carbs), and some small snacks before I worked out. And then of course, my sweet tooth meant I HAD to have something for dessert (Usually something small-ish). If there were parties, special occasions, or anything else out of the ordinary though, I had no problem indulging. Another thing: in addition to the raging sweet tooth, I also bake A LOT.

So, I thought I was doing pretty well. Tons of fresh veggies, and lean protein, and leaving room to treat myself. Not too bad, right? But I clearly wasn’t achieving results. The habit of undereating at meals and then indulging is years in the making. I think it stems from when I did Weight Watchers back in my university days. I would often eat smaller meals during the day, saving my daily points allowance for desserts, snacks and treats at night (which I’m pretty sure is NOT the recommended way to go about the program). But it was a mentality that I’ve held onto for years now: I like to treat myself and indulge, and so if I eat less at meals, I’ll have more room for those indulgences later on, right?

You can probably guess that Duncan put an end to this fallacy. He took a look at my diet, and said that I needed to eat more. Specifically more carbs. My breakfasts were ok, they just needed to be bigger. My half cup of Greek yogurt needed to become 3/4 cup, keep the fruit and even add more, and go for 1/2 cup of granola instead of 1/3 cup, keeping my chia seeds too.

At lunch and dinner? Vegetables and protein were fine, but I needed to add more carbs to the mix: cue the potatoes, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and even (gasp!) pasta (but not all once). And my beloved dessert? I negotiated: I could have a small chocolate or something every night (gotta keep that quality of life after all).

The funny thing about talking about nutrition and lifestyle with Duncan, is that he not only asked about how much I eat out in a week, but how often I bake (he knows me so well). I’m pretty good at not eating what I bake, but am terrible at eating a ton of cookie dough and tastes along the way.

So the plan was, basically, don’t eat what I bake, cut out dessert except for my small daily allotment and eat more food at meals. It makes sense: I work out so hard and so much, I wasn’t fueling my body enough, so when it got those treats, it was holding onto the calories for dear life. If I wanted to achieve results, both weight-wise and in my performance, my body needed to be fueled with those carbs that I had been denying it for so long.

Given that it was mid-November, we agreed that I would be pretty strict for a month, but then at Christmas could have a couple of weeks to eat whatever I wanted (again, quality of life: who wants to be cutting out treats over the holidays?).

I think I went straight to the grocery store to buy some quinoa and got ready to get started. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to skip treats and say no in the month leading up to Christmas, but I also knew I had a goal in mind: that strict pull-up wouldn’t happen on its own, and I was willing to do anything to get there.

Another side note: when you’re eating as an athlete, you have to look at food in a totally different way. This might not be news to all of you reading this who have done some sort of sport for years. But remember, I’m the girl who hated exercise. I only worked out because I had to, and never played or participated in any sports. So, basically, when I looked at food, it was either: what do I want to eat? or what can I eat to lose weight?

Seeing myself as an athlete and thus someone who eats as one has been a huge perspective shift. Maybe before I could get away with eating less during the day and then treating myself later on, but when doing CrossFit 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day, that just isn’t going to work. What and when I ate became a lot more important. I was no longer thinking about eating to look a certain way, but started considering how I’d feel after eating something, would it help me achieve my goals, and how would it affect performance?

This made the whole process of being pretty strict with my diet leading up to Christmas less painful. I kept my eye on the prize, and that was consolation as I stayed strong and said no to treats and indulgences. Like I said last week, thinking about being able to get better at something I love is waaay more motivating than the dieting mentality of self-punishment and trying to look a certain way.

So the first month came and went, I didn’t lose a crazy amount of weight, but saw definite results (aided in the last week by a horrible case of pre-Christmas stomach flu, unfortunately). And, then Christmas happened.

I texted this pic of my giant bowl of oat bran to Jess the first week after tweaking my diet. My breakfasts seemed SO HUGE all of a sudden.

I enjoyed unlimited, delicious treats while being home for a few days over the holidays. We’re talking two-a-day Hagen Dazs instead of two-a-day workouts. It was awesome.

But then I went back to the gym. I felt horrible. I gained a whole bunch of weight. My workouts sucked for a good 4 days. It was then that I realized how much of a difference nutrition makes to an athlete. When you’re used to eating whole foods to fuel performance, then you don’t give nutrition a second thought for over a week, your performance is going to suffer. And it’s ok. I’m not saying not to indulge or treat yourself (although in hindsight I wish I had showed even a teensy bit more restraint). Just be prepared, especially if you’re someone who typically pays attention to what you eat, to suffer the consequences of a few days of lackluster WODs.

…January came and I got back on track, following the plan, and (thankfully) WODs were good again. I loved how I was looking, feeling and performing. The pull-up still wasn’t here, but there was no stopping me now.

Once again, I’m gonna wrap this segment up for this week and come back with another installment. Stay tuned for where I’m at now, how this journey continues, and a few snapshots into what I’m eating these days. If there’s anything specific you’d like to know about, leave a comment and I’ll do my best to address it.

Five Signs you’ve got a Great Coach

Coaches. We see them every day we come into the gym. They are there whether we’re having a great day or an awful one, PRing or struggling just to make it through the WOD. They see the good, the bad, and the ugly, can push us to success or cheer us out of the depths of self doubt.

I am extremely grateful for the awesome coaches we have at our gym. Although Alchemy is my first CrossFit experience, so I don’t have much to compare it to, in my opinion, we are blessed with some really great coaches who know their stuff, care about their athletes, and want to see us succeed.

You may find that you have a greater affinity for one coach or another at your gym (and I think that’s normal, given differing personalities and coaching styles), but I have noticed there are certain things across the board that make a great coach.

1. They know you well enough to know when you’re not giving it your best.

Sometimes you’re just not feeling it. Sometimes you’re sandbagging it on a workout. Sometimes you don’t push yourself as hard as you could. A good coach will know you as an athlete, see when you’re not working at your full potential, and call you out on it (case in point: that time I re-did 15.3 because Coach Duncan said he knew I could do better).

2. They’ve told you to take weight off the bar.

…or scale back a movement if you’re not performing it with good form. Look, everyone wants to be a badass and RX the heck out of every WOD, am I right? And coaches love to see you push yourself and succeed. But what they love even more is seeing you do a movement with perfect form, even if it means sacrificing those precious two letters beside your name. A good coach will make you work on form over and over again, and not let you go up in weight if that means compromising integrity of movement, or safety. A good coach will see you start a WOD, struggle, and come off and tell you to strip off some of the weight. Because a good coach wants you there for the long haul.

3. They’ve told you to put weight on the bar.

This is related to #1, and the flip side to #2. If your coach knows you and what you’re capable of, and sees flying through a movement that should be heavy or difficult, he should come over and tell you to up your game. A good coach knows the stimulus of the workout, and doesn’t want you to make something that is meant to be long and heavy into more of a metcon because the weight is easy for you. A good coach knows the time and place to go heavy and challenge yourself, and will challenge you to add weight when appropriate.

4. They help you set realistic (but sometimes ambitious and scary) goals.

If you’ve been reading for awhile, you’ll know how important and valuable I think goal setting is (full post on 2015 CrossFit goals here). I think a lot of the success I’ve had in Crossfit is owing to the goals I’ve set for myself. But I didn’t start out with that direction. I would say that, although I worked hard from the get-go and devoted some extra time to skill work, for the most part, the first 6 months of me doing Crossfit were more just about trying not to suck (my own words). It wasn’t until my coach saw all of my focus and discipline, took me aside and helped set some goals that I began to have something to work towards. Since that first goal setting session, we sit down every few months, or after I’ve achieved a milestone (like my first competition or getting a pull-up) to re-evaluate and set new goals. A good coach will help you set goals that are achievable, but at the same time, push you out of your comfort zone a bit and go for things that you might not have on your own (like doing Fran or Mary RX. Gulp).

5. They put everyone on the same playing field, regardless of ability.

This one was huge for me starting out. I tell people all the time what a non-athlete I am, and how nervous I was when I first started. But from day one, I never felt any better or worse than anyone else. All of our coaches are really inclusive, and give all the athletes the attention that they need. No one is singled out for being more or less experienced. That’s not to say that the coaches won’t give you extra attention if you’re new or struggling with a movement (they will), or sometimes use a more experienced athlete to help demonstrate technique, but, ultimately, everyone belongs just as much as the next person, and a good coach will be sure to maintain that atmosphere of equality, no matter how great the range of athletic abilities in the class.

To all of the Crossfit coaches out there, at my own gym and around the world: THANK YOU. You are a huge part of what makes this community great, and often don’t get the appreciation you deserve.

If you are reading this as an athlete with a great coach, go tell them how much you appreciate them. I guarantee it will make their day!

Am I missing anything? What would you add to this list?