Operation Lift-o-Lot/Eat-o-Lot*

Hey everyone! Meagan's done a great job of ramping us all up, and I am PUMPED to get this six-week show on the road. You've seen the ground rules: 6 weeks to work towards your goals (whatever they may be) with check-ins at least twice a week.  First week check-ins should happen under our Day 1 post.  Original goals can be posted here.  A new check-in post will go up everyday.

Invite your friends for encouragement. Invite your enemies and invoke fear in them as you grow lean and mean. Do whatever you want, as long as it continues you on your path to badassery. Folks, we are going to OWN these next 6 weeks. 

This time around I'll be embarking on what I like to call "Operation Lift-o-Lot*/Eat-o-Lot." After years of everyone telling me how to focus on losing weight, I'm going to spend some time focused on gaining some serious muscle mass. That's right--I'll be working a mass gain plan.

My inspiration: Staci. She's a few inches taller than me and a whole lot heavier than me, but it's clear that each pound is full of 100% certified badassery. And I want in. It's no secret that I have a life-long goal of becoming generally badass. Staci has revealed a whole new path towards it.

My Plan: After a plateaued year at the Monkey Bar Gym, and a ridiculously sad 30-Day challenge with them full of fail (after 30-days of 1-3 workouts per day, I ended up losing a pound of muscle, gaining 2% bodyfat, and feeling generally terrible), I'm going back to what I love: crossfit and paleo.

Workouts:
I've joined up with Crossfit Sanctify, who conveniently believes in heavy lifts and short metcons, just like my favorite trainers Tony and Karen taught me. The goal is 3-4 sessions of lifting per week. I will also (hopefully, fingers crossed pending the third cut coming up this week), be going to roller derby practice 3x a week. That's 9 hours total of pure tabata/strength/endurance/metcon goodness.

Nutrition:
To make sure that all this hard work results in more muscle and not exhaustion, I'm going to be stuffing my face full of paleo goodness.  I've just wrapped up a Whole 30, and am adding some cheese back in, but that's about it.  My household has gone full paleo and our garden is starting to bloom, so really there should be no excuses.  I'm not shooting for a number of calories per day as much as I want to make sure that everything that goes into my body is doing so for the right reason: to build powerful muscles.

Sleep:
I've noticed that my recovery suffers a lot when I don't sleep enough. On the flipside, I'm also much more tired when I'm lifting heavy.  After working on my cleans on Friday, I needed a nap later in the day.  Two days of derby practice with strength components also left me snoozing in the afternoon.  My goal for the next six weeks is NOT to fight this with coffee .  Instead, I'm going to give my body the rest it deserves.  I'm also going to add Natural Calm back into my daily bedtime regime. It always gives me a deeper, sounder sleep.

Odds & Ends:
There are few benchmarks I'd like to hit along the way:

1.  Keep my knees from collapsing in derby. 
2. Work on ankle flexibility and calf stretches. 
3. Make it to the office by 9am each day.  (I know, I know. The sad thing is, I'm up by 6, just not in the office.)

LET'S DO THIS!




*It's o-lot and not a-lot because 1) I'll be doing O-lifting, and 2) I like to think Gideonstrumpet is giggling at the idea of Operation LOL.

Goals for the six-week challenge

What I will do for the next six weeks:

1) Attend crossfit at least 4 times per week;
2) No more than 1 non-paleo meal per week;*
3) Go down a band size in my assisted-pull ups. I am currently using the biggest band they have (like 4.5 inches, I believe);
4) Do one thing to tidy up at home every night.

*I have a family wedding in the middle of August, and while I won't veer from paleo for the most part, I will allow myself to drink alcohol that weekend.

Mirriam and Trace's Goals.

Day 1: And we're off!

Did we all sit and think hard this weekend about what we want to accomplish over the next 6 weeks? Let's get this party started!

Tricia and I haven't quite worked out how this is going to work, but I'm thinking that I'll check in here at least M-W-F, and y'all can check in as frequently or infrequently as you'd like, BUT a minimum of two times a week. The less frequently you check in, the more you'll miss out on the totally-not-annoying-and-yet-totally-enthusiastic cheering on, which is half the fun of a challenge. Trash talk is welcome, but within the spirit of comraderie, obviously.

Also, if you're into this challenge but still not sure what kind of goals you want to set, post in the comments! We're here to support each other, and I'm sure that whatever dilemma about goal setting you're having, someone on the interwebs has struggled with it already. Don't be shy. If you think you need a little extra push to keep on top of this, let us know. We're happy to email you and check in, but would only want to do that if it motivates you, rather than make you reach for the oreos out of spite.

I'll post my goals in a separate post. I'm setting dietary, fitness, and personal goals. Ambitious, I know. But that's how I roll.

*Post script: GAH where is my head? Groundrules: 6 weeks, August 1 through September 11. Check in 2 times a week here on this blog and let us know how you're doing keeping up. Supportive badasses only, please.

How The Roomies Got Their Groove Back (and you can too)

The roomies have been sending emails back and forth that contain an increasing number of words in ALL CAPS. You know what this means: we're starting another challenge and we're pumped about it. (Nothing gets us quite as pumped as a challenge.)

This time we want you to join us.

Starting August 1, we're doing a challenge and inviting all of our friends to join in. If you ask our trainers Tony and Karen, they'll tell you that our enthusiasm is contageous. If you ask my boyfriend, it's annoying unless you're in on the venture. So start thinking of fitness and dietary goals that you want to achieve over the next six weeks, and we will cheer you to success.

This is all about choosing your OWN goals. Make it ambitious but doable. We encourage you to get fairly specific in your goals (it will help you feel more accomplished, I promise), but with measurements that are meaningful to you. If your goal is going to the gym three times each week for the next 6 weeks, that's great. Tell us what kind of exercises you'll do there (this will help keep you honest and on track). If it's doing a sub 4 minute Fran, that's also great. We don't judge where you're at, just that your goals are a good faith effort to find yourself healthier six weeks from now.

Oh, and, do not set yourself up for failure because, well, with our enthusiasm, it's not going to happen.

Badass Inspiration Thursday

Sometimes, when I think that eating paleo/starting back up at CrossFit after almost a year off is *ohhhh sooooo haaaaaaard* and I just want to feel sorry for myself while munching on the Hershey bar my client sent to me and sticking out my bottom lip as far as it will go, I turn to the internet for inspiration.

Let's talk about hard. I don't know the meaning of the word, I realize, after watching this clip. And I need to buck up and get it together, because there is someone out there who is doing something much harder, with a smile on her face.

So, may I introduce you to Irene? Irene is this Thursday's badass inspiration:



Watch this and tell me you don't feel kind of awed.

Not just for a hot bod...

We all have different reasons for exercising. I recently started up crossfit again because I was tired of feeling (and looking) weak. My boyfriend is probably the #1 fan of my doing crossfit, because he thinks it makes me a nicer person. (Apparently I get cranky when I don't get my endorphin high. Harumph.)

But if a better bod and a better 'tude don't convince you/r friends, how about a stronger brain?

Having had one grandparent who died in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's, and another who lived for ten years with really bad short term memory loss, this is no joke.

If this is what they mean by "fiber," count me out.

15 food companies that use wood (cellulose) in their products. 

Just more reason to eat from the source.