I’m someone who needs goals! Whether it’s in my personal life, in business, or in the gym, I really am someone who needs to have something to reach for or attain and it needs to be very specific.  If my goals are something vague like “I want to lose 10 pounds” or “I want to be healthier” or “I want to be happier” I’ll either not get there or it’ll be half-assed.  For me to be successful it has to have a specific start and end date and it has to be measurable by some means.

One of the main reasons I need goals is because when I have a goal, I stick to it.  If I say I’m not drinking for 8 weeks because I’m training for the CrossFit Games, I’m not going to having a single drop of alcohol for 8 weeks. Or if my goal is that I’m going to eat 100% Paleo and clean because I want to look good in my photoshoot, that’s what’s going to happen, simple as that. However if I say I’m not drinking for 8 weeks just because, I’ll probably cave.  It’s that end goal that makes it possible for me.

On the business and personal side of things in my life I’m doing great!  Just Fitness is busier than ever and I’m getting married in two months, but since the CrossFit Games Open ended at the end of March, I really haven’t had much of a goal on the fitness side of things and I feel like I’ve just been coasting by with my health and fitness. I’m still killing my daily workouts, but I currently don’t have a specific goal and because of this my diet has been so up and down I feel like a yo yo.  Monday to Friday I eat 100% clean and 100% Paleo, but then the weekend rolls around and BOOM, I pretty much ruin all the work I did with pizza and McDonalds.

I think the biggest thing is that really I still have some serious food issues that I need to resolve and that I’m still that fat kid deep down inside.  I know that these small goals are only temporary and that there may be something deeper here, but in the meantime, it’s what keeps me going and keeps me motivated.

Yesterday I went and created a training calendar for myself to work on specific things I’m not great at (like effin’ pistol squats) but I currently still don’t have a short-term goal and I think I need to get one, soon. I tried the whole “I want to see my abs again before the wedding” but so far, that hasn’t worked.

What keeps you motivated? How do you stay true to yourself and your goals and what you’re trying to accomplish?

]]> http://www.yourinnerstrong.com/what-keeps-you-motivated/feed/ 4 http://www.yourinnerstrong.com/what-keeps-you-motivated/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/YIS/~3/Dt1fPKwizKQ/ http://www.yourinnerstrong.com/strong-is-the-new-skinny/#comments Tue, 11 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 Your Inner Strong http://www.yourinnerstrong.com/?p=5221

I saw a magazine cover the other day that said, “Get back to high school skinny” and I could do nothing but shake my head.  Why would you want to be skinny when you could be healthy?  If someone is skinny, it doesn’t mean they are healthy; Gina was a prime example of that.

The other day I wrote about how when we first met she was what we call “skinny fat”. She had a terrible diet and only ran on the treadmill.  She was skinny, but not healthy.  After training with me and doing CrossFit for the past year I look at her now and I drool because she’s fit, strong and healthy and I think that’s sexy as hell.  In my opinion the word skinny doesn’t describe healthy and I’ve had a hate on for it for a while now.

This all seems ironic considering the name of my blog, doesn’t it?

So, why did I pick the name “Your Inner Skinny” originally for my blog?  It was four and a half years ago when I started writing and to be honest, that was my mindset back then, I wanted to be skinny.  Well, not necessarily skinny, but I wanted to be “not fat” anymore, and in most people’s eyes, what’s the opposite of fat, skinny…

If you read my blog regularly, you may have noticed that over the last four and a bit years my mindset has changed a lot.  I no longer want to be just “not fat”; I want to be healthy, fit and strong. I eat well, I train hard in the gym, I’m now well educated about health and fitness, and I’ve actually turned my passion into my career.  For these reasons, along with a few others, I’ve decided that I’m changing the name of this website and all of my associated networks.

From this point on I will no longer be known as Your Inner Skinny; my new site name is Your Inner Strong.  But don’t fear, nothing besides my name is going to change. I’ll still be doing all of the same writing, tweeting, and awesomeness that I do now, I just feel this name better suites me and everything I represent.

So, spread the word; Strong is the new Skinny.

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pinterest

When I met Gina she’s what we now jokingly call “skinny fat”.  She had a terrible diet of take-out and processed foods and only ran on the treadmill and did zero weight or HIIT training.  She wasn’t into fitness like I was and she didn’t really show an interest in it either.  That was over three years ago.

Flash forward to today and Gina is one of the fittest and strongest women in my gym and is constantly practicing technique and movements to become better, not just going through the motions of doing exercise.  We now workout together four to five times a week and we motivate each other, we support each other and when we want to give up, or make excuses, we help each other.  We make each other stronger and better both in the gym and out of the gym.

Having my partner (soon to be partner for life) interested and loving health and fitness almost as much as I do makes us better together.  We strive for a healthy life and push to be stronger every day and it helps us outside of the gym. Being healthy, happy and supportive has made our relationship strong and when we workout together, we’re happy together.

Ingredients

• 2 Bananas, peeled
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup Almond Butter
• 1 TBSP Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• Coconut Oil

Cooking Directions

1. Place banana in a food processor and puree until smooth.
2. Crack eggs into food processor, add almond butter, and mix together.
3. Add Coconut Flour, Cinnamon and Vanilla
4. Puree until smooth.
5. Heat up a frying pan over medium heat. Once pan is hot, add a tablespoon of coconut oil and let it heat up/melt then pour around 4-5 tablespoons of the mixture into the pan. I made each pancake about 4 inches.
6. Cook the pancakes until they start to bubble then flip them over. Keeping them smaller makes them flip easier.

Optional Topping

• 1 cup of frozen berries
• 1 TBSP of Maple Syrup

1. Mix ingredients together in a bowl
2. Microwave for 1 min 30 secs.
3. Stir ingredients and pour over pancakes

One of the questions I get asked most in my everyday life is “How did you give up your full-time job in the agency world to buy a gym and what was your turning point?”.

I’m not entirely sure when I would consider myself a CrossFitter.  I had been doing CrossFit on and off for years to train for sports, doing a lot of the main benchmark ladies and following some of the programming on the CrossFit.com website, but I was always just a member of a Globo gym and did it on my own.  No matter how much I liked the functional training, I was still a “Monday is chest, Tuesday is back, Wednesday is arms…” kind of guy.

May of 2012 is when I joined my gym and started working part-time as a personal trainer and it’s when I started training using functional fitness as my full-time regime.  We are not a CrossFit box however we do programming using functional movements, bodyweight, gymnastics and Olympic lifting as well as high-intensity interval training and tabatas.  For the most part our programming isn’t as intense as CrossFit’s, but it is along the same lines.

After training and working out in this kind of environment for only a month and seeing the results I did, I decided I wanted to step up my game and learn more about CrossFit and I started reading and researching more and trying to learn how to do Olympic Lifts, kipps, double-unders and all that other fun stuff on my own.  I started training myself daily using CrossFit.com, the CrossFit Journal and a lot of YouTube and instantly fell in love with the type of programming and the feeling of almost dying after each workout.  I had a small taste of the Kool-Aid and I liked it.

At the time I was still working full-time behind a desk from 8:30-5 and then personal training clients in the evenings and on the weekends.  It made for very long days and I really felt like the desk job was slowly sucking the life out of me and killing my soul. I had been working for 13 years behind the desk and it’s what lead to me putting on over 100 pounds 10 years ago and I was now miserable doing what I use to love.  It seemed I was happiest after 5pm and on the weekends when I was training people and teaching classes.  Helping people get healthy is what I really wanted to be doing but I knew that I couldn’t afford to do it full-time financially.

Flash forward to July and I’ve got an amazing opportunity to fly down to California to attend The CrossFit Games with FitFluential and GNC as an ambassador.  At that point in time in my training I was still a CrossFit newbie and hadn’t had the chance to train with what I would call other “real” CrossFitters and didn’t really know a lot of the athletes that were competing in the games, but how could I pass up this opportunity?  I couldn’t!  I mean, it was the CrossFit Games AND California, we had to go!

So, off we went to spend 4 days in sunny Cali watching the fittest people on Earth compete against each other to see who would be crowned champion and what we witnessed is indescribable! Not just from the athletes competing but from the community and support and fitness level of the FANS! These had to be the fittest fans on Earth as well.  Meeting the people I got to meet, talking to others about CrossFit, all of the vendors that were there for CrossFit specific reasons, seeing the athletes and just the overall awesomeness inspired me to no end!  Like I said, I really can’t put it into words (which is bad considering this is a blog and depends on words!).

While we were down there we also got to workout a few times with Reebok and some of their CrossFit athletes and that was worth the trip in itself.  Just seeing how they move, having them correct my form and to see how humble and nice they were, like I said, inspiring.

I keep using the word inspiring to describe how I felt and I looked up synonyms to try and use another word to describe the experience for me, but no other word cut it. It was inspiring to the point that when we got back home I left my full-time behind the desk job and started doing personal training full-time.  I had had enough of being miserable and needed to be doing what I was passionate about and I needed to be getting people healthy.  This was all brought on by my experience at The CrossFit Games and it completely changed my life.  If it weren’t for this opportunity to see The CrossFit Games, I don’t know that I would have ever taken that step in changing my life.

So here we are, almost a year later, and I’m now a part owner of the gym I was working at last year, I’m a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer and I competed in the CrossFit Games Open this past Spring.  Who woulda thunk it?  I’m heading down to Vancouver on June 6 to watch the Canada West Regionals and to cheer on a few of my friends that I’ve met through CrossFit that are competing and I’m pumped! I can’t wait to be immersed in the CrossFit Community again!

Unfortunately this year I don’t think I’ll make the Games in July simply because I’m getting married in August and all of our funds are going towards that. Who knew weddings were so effin’ expensive?  I’m disappointed that I can’t go but  I will say, if you can go, you should! I promise you’ll be inspired!

As you may have seen, starting May 1st I’m running a 30 day Paleo Challenge here on Your Inner Skinny and at at my gym Just Fitness.  And to make it a bit more fun, intriguing and to try and help keep people accountable, I’m starting a 30 day DietBet to go along with it.

What is a DietBet?

DietBet is a game where you’ve got 4 weeks to lose 4% of your starting weight. To begin, everyone puts money into the pot (our buy-in is $20) and after four weeks, whoever’s hit their 4% goal is a winner and splits the pot.

Everything is done and managed through the DietBet website, there are step by step instructions on how to enter, and  because it’s all online, you can join from anywhere and invite anyone as well.  Check out the video below.

You can also check out all the details here and sign up for our bet here!!

This is a fun way to keep on your diet and keep to eating healthy and if you’re the competitive type, you can invite all of your friends as an added little added incentive to beat them and take their money.

Sign up now to lose weight AND win money… Seriously, it’s win/win!

Are you interested in losing weight, improving your health or bettering your performance in the gym (or all of the above)?  Do you find that your energy is low, that you’re having digestive issues, or skin problems?  Looking to reverse type II diabetes, decrease your chances of having heart disease, cancer or Alzheimer’s?  Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Or do you just generally want to optimize your health and sense of well being?  Then you are at the right place! 

I’ve been doing the Paleo lifestyle for about 8 months on and off. I’ve seen amazing results and when I am doing Paleo 100%, I feel better than ever. Lately I’ve been slipping and so I decided to do a personal 40 day challenge of strict Paleo (because you know I love a good challenge).  After talking to a lot of my members at my gym about what I was going to be doing, there was a surprising amount of interest in doing a 30 day Paleo challenge and thus, this challenge was created.

So, What is The Paleo Diet?

Broken down to its simplest form, the Paleo diet can be summed up like this; eat how our Paleolithic ancestors ate 12,000+ years ago.

So, what would our Paleolithic ancestors have eaten? Anything that you could have killed or picked; wild game, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and roots. No grains (agriculture didn’t exist), no dairy (you try and milk a wild animal ), nothing processed (there were no factories to combine the lips and assholes of a pig to make a hot dog) and no sugars (I have nothing clever for this one).

What to eat:

• Chicken (breasts, thighs,  legs, ground)
• Turkey (breasts, ground)
• Bison (ground, steak)
• Fish (salmon, trout, tuna)
• Beef (steak, roast)
• Pork (bacon, tenderloin, chops)
• Eggs
• Vegetables (carrots, spinach, bell peppers)
• Fruits (banana, apples, strawberries, blueberries)
• Nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans)
• Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower)
• Seed oil (olive, avocado, coconut)
• Healthy fats (avocado, fish oil)

What not to eat:

• All Dairy (cheese, milk, yogurt)
• All Grains (wheat, corn, rice, soy)
• Processed foods (anything made in a factory)
• Sugars
• Starches (potatoes)
• Alcohol
• Legumes (black beans, kidney beans, lentils)

How to do the Paleo Diet

There are all kinds of forms and variations of how to be Paleo. I’ve heard of some people going as far as to eat everything, including their meat, raw. Personally, I like my food salmonella free, so I cook it. Some people eat nothing but the food that they believe is native to their region and don’t eat certain foods at certain times of the year as it wouldn’t be in season. I think that bananas are a great grab and go food and as I’m in the sub-arctic and I don’t see many banana trees growing around here, I’m going to eat them anyway.

You can take this way of eating to the extreme or you can follow it to a minimum. Personally, I eat lean meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and avoid dairy, grains, sugars and processed foods. Those are my only rules.

How many calories should I be eating everyday?

Don’t worry about counting calories as it’s not the quantity of calories that matter but rather the quality of those calories.  Eat until you are satisfied then pause and wait a little bit to see if you are still hungry.  If you are still hungry then we encourage you to go back to protein or fat rather than fruit because it’s much more satiating and it doesn’t spike your blood sugar like fruit will.  It’s hard to overeat with this way of eating because the food is rich in fiber as opposed to processed and refined food which keeps you wanting more.  Counting calories is not what’s important, it’s all about where those calories come from.

What To Expect

The Hardest Part of Any Journey is the First Step.

Making the paleo switch comes with challenges. Depending on how heavy your diet is with grains, dairy, and sugar before you switch, you will experience an adjustment period of varying degrees of intensity. You may experience a dip in your athletic performance and have times when feel lethargic, cranky, or hungry but this period is temporary. Keep in mind that your body is going through withdrawals and there is a light at the end of the adjustment tunnel.

It’s Only 30 Days – No Cheating!

During my first 30 day challenge, I did not have any cheat meals at all and I recommend you don’t either.  You need to let your body detox and see how it reacts to the Paleo lifestyle without being interfered with.

During the first 30-day challenge it’s important to stay focused and strong and stick to a strict plan.  This is what allows you to see what works for you and what doesn’t. Try not to cheat. Instead of going for a cookie when you are having cravings, reach for a sweet, in season apple. If you do fall off the wagon – own up to it, shrug it off and move on – one time off the wagon doesn’t kick you out of the challenge. But try to keep with it for all 30 days. Tell your friends your mean old coaches are making you do it.

Plan Ahead

The single hardest part of starting Paleo and staying Paleo is making sure you’re prepared.  When you’re doing Paleo you can’t just go to Subway or another fast food restaurant and grab something on the run.  You need to make sure you are in control of what you’re putting in your body and having your own food prepared at all times is the key to your success.  Make sure you plan ahead so you aren’t stuck in a situation where you are left with no options.

A lot of people like to use Sunday to prep for the week. Other people make lunch for the next day at the same time as they are making dinner, so they don’t feel like they are spending too much time in the kitchen. Keeping raw fruits and veggies along with some nuts and seeds with you at your desk, in your car or in your gym bag is great for snacking as well. ALWAYS HAVE FOOD WITH YOU!!!!

Find a system that works and stick to it.

There will be places or situations where you know you have difficulty staying on diet (i.e. at the office working late, where there is an endless supply of bagels, donuts and nothing else) – make sure you have options ready available to you. Talk to your family so they know what you are doing and you don’t come home to a meal filled with food you aren’t supposed to be eating.

Final Notes

Just because it’s Paleo, doesn’t mean it’s healthy.  Don’t use this as an excuse to eat Paleo versions of unhealthy food all the time. Yes, you can treat yourself, but be aware of what you’re putting in your body.

Also remember,  you don’t have to eat exactly how our ancestors ate. You can mix and match your food and use any combinations of Paleo foods to create something awesome. I use a lot of chili powder, garlic, hot sauce and sea salt. I also make my own salsa and sauces, but you can buy organic or clean salsa and spaghetti sauce. Be a label reader, it will help you out!

The challenge will be starting on May 1st and I hope you will join us!

Good Luck and I hope you are successful in the challenge.

TO GET YOU STARTED:

I’ve reached out to some of my blogger friends who are much better than I am at writing down and sharing their recipes and I got them to share some of their favorites with you.

From the AMAZING Purely Twins (I love these girls!)
purelytwins.com
Twitter: @purelytwins
Facebook: purelytwins
YouTube: Purelytwins
Pinterest: PurelyTwins

• avocado lamb sushi wrap
• sugar-free marshmallows
• broccoli breadsticks
• pumpkin pie fudge
• triple chocolate cream cake

Sarah at FitBetty
FitBetty.com
TheFitCookie.com

• Chocolate truffles with Strawberry cream (guest post on Paleo Parents)
• Chocolate Chip SunButter Fudge
• No-Bake Coconut Macaroons

Meredith who has guest blogged for me before about being Paleo
www.dareyoutoblog.com
@Dareyoutoblog

• Tangy Tuna

Amber has gone through an awesome transformation herself
exsoycise.com
@exsoycise

• Sweet Potato Pie Pancakes
• Paleo Pumpkin Pancake
• Curry Spice Drumsticks

Fellow CrossFitter Gabrielle Brost Hoffman
www.gabbysgfree.com
Twitter: @gabbysgfree

• Sweet & Salty Carrot Chips
• Herb Lamb & Pork Meatballs 
• Easy Green Curry Chicken Soup 
• Crockpot Beef & Bell Pepper Red Curry 
• Cocoa Coffee Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork 

And yet another awesome CrossFit Chick, Gina Matsoukas
Blog: Running to the Kitchen
Twitter: @Runtothekitchen
Facebook: Facebook.com/RunningtotheKitchen

• Sun-dried tomato pesto stuffed flank steak
• Spicy salsa verde chicken
• Sriracha lime chicken skillet

A fellow Canuck who stepped up and shared tones here for yas, thanks Elle!
wecanbegintofeed.blogspot.ca
@WeCanBegin2Feed

Entrees

• Homemade Pork Breakfast Sausages
• My Paleo Meatloaf
• Spicy Meatballs
• Sweet and Savory Crock Pot Pulled Pork
• Spicy Dry Rub for Pork

Breakfasts

• Avocado and Egg Boats, with Kate’s Flax Toast
• Ham and Egg Baskets
• Savory Squash and Flax EggCakes
• Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl Scramble
• Vanilla and Cinnamon Coconut Pancakes

Soups

• Carrot Soup with Sweet Potato and Red Pepper
• My Summery Gazpacho
• Curried Coconut Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

Other Resources:

Here are some other Paleo blogs you NEED to check out for information and recipes

http://paleomg.com
http://everydaypaleo.com
http://robbwolf.com

It’s been two weeks since the CrossFit Open was over and it’s been two weeks since I’ve done any writing. Even worse, it’s been two weeks since I’ve really cared about my diet.

The last time I was up over 180 pounds was in January while I did my “You can’t out train a bad diet” experiment and that was kind of planned. Before that was at least 2 years ago. Since switching to Paleo, I’ve been hovering around 168-173 pounds and today I weighed in at 182 pounds. I’m the first one to stress to my clients “don’t worry about the scale because it’s a lying piece of shit” but because I know my body so well, for me to be up 10 pounds is pretty huge.

Ironically, my most recent goal is to put on 10 pounds of muscle and up all of my Olympic lifts, however the weight I’ve put on over the last two weeks has been terrible. I haven’t been following Paleo very closely and the two weekends previous to this past weekend involved some heavy drinking. There’s been a lot of beer, pizza, chips, pizza, McDonalds (puke), pizza…

What the hell is wrong with me? This seems to be some sort of self destructive trend! I go healthy and clean for two months and just when I’m happy with how I feel and look I decided to sabotage it and undo all of my hard work in less than two weeks.

Right now I feel like absolute garbage. My stomach is a mess, I’m bloated, fluffy, feeling lethargic, lazy and fat. It’s a terrible feeling and it’s all controlled by my diet. And the worst part is, I know all of this but I keep doing it anyway.

I had a conversation with one of my friends and one of my members from the gym a few weekends ago about eating habits and we talked about perhaps seeking help with it and he’s sparked a few ideas in my head that I will elaborate on soon in another post. But as of right now I’m back on Paleo again starting today and I’m doing a 40 day strict Paleo challenge. Doing this 40 day challenge has also inspired me to try to inspire you, so starting May 1st I’ll be running a 30 Day Paleo Challenge on the blog and at the gym. I’ll have the post up this week at some point with all the details and resources for you!

Are YOU up for the challenge?

CrossFit Games Open WOD 13.4 wasn’t as bad as 13.3, that’s for sure!

7 minute AMRAP of:

 3 Clean and jerk @ 135 pounds
3 Toes-to-bar
6 Clean and jerk
6 Toes-to-bar
9 Clean and jerk
9 Toes-to-bar
12 Clean and jerk
12 Toes-to-bar
15 Clean and jerk
15 Toes-to-bar…

The biggest obstacle for me on this workout was the weight of the clean and jerk.  I only weigh in at 170 pounds, so this is almost my bodyweight.  My 1RM (one rep max) on the clean and jerk is 225 pounds but I haven’t pushed weight like that in about 5 months due to my shoulder injury.  I wasn’t scared of the toes-to-bar at all and I knew I could plow through them fast and use them as my active recovery.

My plan of attack on this WOD was to keep a steady pace on the clean and jerk and go fast on the T2Bs.  If and when I got to the point where I was dropping the bar and doing single C & Js, instead of stringing them together, the plan was to get right back on the bar as soon as it stopped bouncing (thanks for the advice Chris Spealer).  The other plan was not to do the T2Bs until failure because I didn’t want to burn out my forearms.

For the most part I stuck to this plan fairly well.  Immediately after I did the workout, as I lay on the floor, I didn’t think there was much more I could have done but after watching the video I saw I took a few longer breaks than I wanted to.

As usual I wanted to hit this WOD a second time on Saturday but I kind of tweaked my rotator cuff again and decided not to go after it. I’m pretty sure I could have gotten to 70 reps but I didn’t think it was worth pushing my shoulder and risking further injury before 13.5.  That being said, it allowed my two good buddies, Alex and Jordan, to beat me on this WOD, letting Alex gain on me in the overall standings (I’m still just barely ahead of him) and Jordan pulled ahead of me (again, just barely).  As disappointed as I am about this, it sets up for an awesome final workout for 13.5.

I’m pumped for the final announcement on Wednesday and still crossing my fingers for some handstand push-ups.  How did you do on 13.4? Do you have any great rivalries going on with some of your friends? What do you think is going to be in 13.5?

What do I say about Open WOD 13.3?  Well, the title really says it all; it was NOT designed to be done twice, especially not twice in 60 hours.  How do I know this? I know this because I DID do it twice in less than 60 hours, and it was NOT fun!

WOD 13.3 was a repeat of last year’s 12.4;

150 Wall Balls @ 20 pounds
90 Double Unders
30 Muscles-Ups

As many reps as possible in 12 minutes.

As I have been doing previously, I hit this WOD on Thursday after studying and researching how to attack it on Wednesday, with the plan to go at it again on Sunday morning if need be.

I had set what I thought was an realistic goal of hitting 245 reps for this WOD and on Thursday I was beyond stoked to hit 243 reps. However, even though I set up two cameras to record my workout (as I’ve been having video camera issues on every WOD so far during the Open) once again technology failed me. Apparently my Canon T2i can only record 13 minutes of video which got to double-under 77 and none of my muscle-ups and my iPhone is being a spaz and froze a few times missing reps throughout the workout and missing all of my muscle-ups at the end.

Seriously? How did I get screwed over AGAIN?

I was so happy that I had 243 and I wasn’t planning on redoing the WOD at all, so to have this happen was really upsetting.  My legs were fried, my shoulders were toast, and I didn’t know if I was actually going to redo this WOD even if I wanted to.  I started an email correspondence with the CrossFit Games support staff asking them about how video submissions worked and if my videos would be accepted and I could have submitted my one video that stopped at DU 77 but not the video that froze.  This meant that I only would have had 227 reps.

After a lot of thinking, contemplating, stretching, ice bathing, foam rolling, complaining, bitching and moaning, and even though I could still barely walk, I decided to go after 13.3 again.

This time I had THREE cameras set up and two camera people running them, but guess what, that didn’t matter!  Two of the memory cards filled up and one cut short. However, fortunately for me, the video that cut short got all my reps because I was only able to hit 240 reps this time around.  The part that pisses me off is that if I had of done any of the muscle-ups, the camera wouldn’t have gotten the footage anyway…

243 reps would have put me 367th on WOD 13.3 and 514th overall in Canada West but instead my 240 reps put me at 606th on 13.3 and I sit 611th overall.  I’m still “happy” about 611th but I deserve to be sitting at 514th.

It’s official, The CrossFit GODs hate me.

I’m trying to get over this whole experience, but right now I’m still a bit rattled (mainly because I feel like I got screwed over because I know I did well on this WOD) and I’m anxiously awaiting the announcement of WOD 13.4 and I’m hoping it’s something that falls into my wheelhouse and that I can get a great score on and feel like the CrossFit GODs don’t hate me anymore.

How did you do on 13.3?  Have you had any letdowns during the Open?  Have you bounced back?  What do you do in life when you’re kicked down?  Personally, I always get back up fighting and I plan on getting back up with my fists flying like a madman!

Wednesday evening it was announced:

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
115 pound Shoulder to overhead, 5 reps
115 pound Deadlift, 10 reps
15 Box jumps, 24″ box

Son of a …

With two bad shoulders, bad hips and pelvis and a bad back, this WOD did not play into my wheelhouse at all.  I was really hoping for some gymnastics stuff like handstand pushups, ring dips or double unders.  Oh well, suck it up princess and do it anyway.

I decided to hit this on Thursday so I could have a second go at it if I needed to on Saturday.  I did a lot of research about deadlifts and box jumps and watched some videos from Mobility WOD that was awesome!  After prepping for this WOD I really thought I was going to get 9 rounds, that SO didn’t happen!  Not even close.

It really wasn’t a pleasant experience at all and I ended up having to go get an emergency chiropractic adjustment for my back and pelvis and a graston stripping for my hamstrings and shoulders.  I’m super thankful that I have an awesome chiropractor and that she also has Rock Tape and taped me up!  She really saved me! If you’re in town, check her out at Gaia Integrative Clinic; her name is Dr. Carrie Lehman and she is AMAZING!

I was not pleased with the result of 186 reps, and this WOD was going to be attacked again.  Below is the video of me doing it if you want to see me in excruciating pain!

I watched my video two or three times and I saw that my form was shit and learned that this is what I needed to improve on for the next time to save my back.  I also needed to pace myself.  My new game plan for the second attempt was a good steady pace and to really think about my form on my deadlifts and it worked!

I scored 39 more reps on the second go, getting 225.  Because I knew I wasn’t going to place in the top 500 on this WOD as it hits most of my two weakest points (back and shoulders), my goal the second time was seven rounds, so I was pretty happy with this!  My form stays pretty decent until the last round and I kept a good pace.  I’m also a bit stoked that I beat Alex in this WOD.  He got me in 13.1 and so I really pushed for this.

This week I’m going to do a few heavy lifts as I feel like my strength is going down and then I’m going to work on a bit of gymnastics and probably do one or two metcons to keep up the cardio.  I also HATE rowing so I think I’ll throw in a 5,000m row somewhere.

How did you do on 13.2? What are you hoping for in 13.3?

Monday was my birthday; I turned 32 years old. I use to love my birthday, but to be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to turning 32 and I’m not entirely sure why either.

A mere two years ago I high-fived my way into 30 and had a great year. However last year the thought of turning 31 and this year turning 32 just seem to bother me.

Last year was a great year physically, professionally, emotionally and mentally. I got engaged, I quit my job and bought a gym, I’m physically stronger than I have ever been and I’ve just grown as a person overall. So, why does turning 32 bother me?

When I started thinking of all these awesome things that have happened over the last 12 months and about how awesome 31 was, why does being 32 bother me? It really shouldn’t! If I think back to who I was when I was 22, I wouldn’t want to be that same fat guy who was out partying and drinking and smoking all the time and eating his way into an early grave. Ten years ago I was 100 pounds heavier than I am now… what the fuck?! It’s crazy to think of things that way.

After taking some time to reflect on all of this, it’s been decided; This year is going to be an awesome year! I’m getting married in August to the woman I love, business is starting to grow and I’m loving owning the gym and on top of this I’m happy, I’m healthy and I’m getting better every day.

So happy 32nd birthday to me; Let’s do this!

The live announcement WOD 13.1 was made on Wednesday; Burpees and Snatches.  Seriously?  Burpees and Snatches… Gross! It was actually a combination of 12.1 and 12.2 from last year’s Open and I had done both of those in preparation for this year’s Open, however, I never suspected they would be put into the same workout.

WOD 13.1

Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 17 minutes of:
40 Burpees
75 pound Snatch, 30 reps
30 Burpees
135 pound Snatch, 30 reps
20 Burpees
165 pound Snatch, 30 reps
10 burpees
210 pound Snatch, as many reps as possible

My plan was to do the WOD on Thursday and if I wasn’t happy with my score, hit it again on Saturday and after analyzing the WOD I figured I could get 155 reps in in the 17 minutes. I mean, I did Isabel (30 135 pound snatches) in 3:15 and I’m pretty good at burpees, so I figured I should be able to hit this one pretty hard and get a good score.

Because I’m not a part of a CrossFit affiliate gym I have to video my WODs and submit them for the Open, so me and my training buddy Alex setup the camera and went at the workout on Thursday.  I didn’t really have a game plan for the WOD before doing it so I just went at it as hard as I could, but unfortunately my camera fell over before the workout even started and it didn’t get any of the WOD recorded.  I didn’t notice this until I was almost done of the workout and there was only about 3 minutes left on the timer. I was so pissed off that without thinking I stopped my workout, and in hindsight, I wish I had of finished the workout.

With 3:30 left on the clock I was only at about 112 reps and this was a huge smack of reality to the face.  It humbled me quite a bit.  What was also an eye opener was that my buddy Dai (who is a freakin’ beast) scored 156 on the WOD.  The burpees took way more out of me than I thought they would.  135 pounds never felt so freakin’ heavy.  I also started over analyzing things and started to get in my own head about the WOD.  All of this made me a bit frightened to go after the workout again on Saturday.

I stayed up late Friday night researching how to beat this workout and I had to teach classes early Saturday morning and I actually didn’t get a good night’s sleep Friday because I had dreams of burpees and snatches. So I was a bit tired Saturday but after teaching class for four hours in the morning I had about three and a half hours to kill so I figured I’d go home, cook a great meal and chill.  Unfortunately three hours before I was suppose to do the WOD, I got a migraine… So I popped some pills and tried to take a nap, to no avail.

I decided that I wasn’t going to let this pounding migraine stop me from the workout.  I figured I had a better chance doing it Saturday than I would Sunday with what I call the “migraine hangover”. So off to the gym I went.

Alex and I wanted to go head to head on the WOD but we weren’t sure what the rules were for videoing so I volunteered to go first.  I had a game plan and I wasn’t worried.  The plan was to use the burpees as active rest and really hit it on the snatches.  My realistic goal was 125 reps and my ideal number was 151. Quite the jump, but you have to aim high.

For the most part I stuck to the game plan, getting away from it a bit on my last set of burpees because I was gassed, but for the most part I was pretty happy.  I hit 127 reps and set the bar pretty high for Alex to beat and he did, 128 reps.  I’m making him go first next round!

Overall, it was a great experience.  My nerves were at an all time high but it was a lot of fun. I miss good ol’ fashioned competition like this.  I’m hoping WOD 13.2 is a bit more in my wheelhouse, maybe some handstand pushups and double unders, but overall, I’m happy(ish) with my first CrossFit competition experience.

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One (1) pair of TrainFlex shoes

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Log in via the RaffleCopter widget…that’s it.

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• The contest is open to Canadian residents only.
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As I finish up my time in Vancouver, I’m both excited and a bit sad.

I’m excited because I’m bringing back a wealth of newly learned technique and CrossFit knowledge to my home gym in Yellowknife and I’m also excited because in less than 12 hours the first WOD of the 2013 CrossFit Games season will be announced.  At the same time I’m a bit sad because I’ve met a ton of really awesome people over the past five days that were really helpful and very supportive and I don’t want to leave them.  The CrossFit community is such a welcoming and supportive community and my new goal is to try and build the same in our gym.

I need to give a huge shout-out to the coaches and members at Studeo55 CrossFit, especially my good buddy Dai and coach Jeremy Edwards, they were/are awesome!  Keep your eyes out for these two dudes in the Open because I’d put money on it that they’ll both be at Regionals as individuals.

I’ve had a lot of conversations as to what the first WOD is going to be in the Open and I’m thinking it’s going to be something like the 7 minutes of burpees WOD that was 12.1 last year.  Maybe box jumps, pull-ups, wall balls or double-unders?  I hope it’s something like an 8 minute As Many Reps As Possible of 40” box jumps. I think I’d do great on that one.  #WhiteMenCanJump

The butterflies have officially settled in and I’m ready for whatever the Open has to bring… I think.  I’ve always been the type to get really worked up before the big game (I even make myself sick by getting so worked up) and this doesn’t seem to be any different so far.  But you know what, if I wasn’t nervous or nauseous, I think that would mean I wasn’t ready. So bring it!

The first WOD of the open will be known at 6pm PST and I can’t wait! Are you doing the Open? Will you be following along?  If you are competing, add me to your custom board and let me know and we can compare scores.

Ready? 3, 2, 1… GO…

Bake: Place squash cut side down, rind side up, on a cookie sheet with wax paper or aluminum foil on it.  Add a tablespoon of water to the pan.  Bake for 40-60 minutes at 375 F or until the squash is easily pierced.  Once the squash is cooked, use a fork to scrape the cooked strands from squash top to bottom into a large bowl.

Ingredients

1 package boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 can coconut milk
3 TBS curry powder
1 TBS paprika powder
1 TBS garlic powder
1 TBS black pepper
1/2 TBS sea salt

4-6 carrots
1 zucchini
1 green pepper
1 red pepper

Directions

1. In a small bowl mix all dry ingredients together
2. Place chicken thighs in the slow cooker and pour the dry mixture over the chicken thighs and toss until the thighs are coated with the spices
3. Pour the coconut milk over the chicken
4. Cut up vegetables into strips or chunks and layer over the chicken thighs
5. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours

We’re still 7 days away from the announcement of the first CrossFit Games Open WOD for 2013 and I’ve already got butterflies.  I’ve never done a CrossFit competition, so I can’t wait for this to start.

After explaining to someone the other day that I won’t qualify for Regionals this year, much less the actual CrossFit Games, they asked me “Why are you competing in the Open?”

Why am I competing in the Open?  That’s a great question and I didn’t have an answer for it at first. I actually had to think about this for a while…

I’ve only been CrossFitting for about 3 months now, and as most people know, I’m hooked.  It’s like a drug.  I’m stronger, fitter, happier, healthier and I have less body pain than I’ve ever had.  How could I not be hooked on CrossFit?

But that still doesn’t answer the question… Why am I competing in the Open?

I’m a competitive person by nature. I’ve played competitive sports at a high-level and I like to win.  So, if I’m not going to win the CrossFit Games, why am I competing in the Open?  I’m not in it for fame, glory or prize money. I’m not competing to beat anyone. And oddly enough, for the first time ever, I’m not in this to win it, so, why am I competing in the CrossFit Games Open?

I’m competing to prove to myself that I can compete.  I’m competing because I’m no longer that 275 pound guy that lead an unhealthy life and was slowly digging his own grave with booze, cigarettes and greasy, unhealthy food.  I’m competing because after my motorcycle accident doctors told me I wasn’t going to heal or get better and that I was going to be limited in my movements and that I would have pain for the rest of my life.  I’m competing for me!

There are currently 1,280 men registered in the Canada West Region and 3,110 men registered in the Canada East Region for the Open and over the next week, I’m sure there will be many more! However, my personal goal is to make top 500 in Canada.  It may be a bit of a reach (OK, it may be a HUGE reach) but that’s my goal.  Regardless of the outcome, I’ll have done this for me!

I posted a blog post on Saturday, which is a rare thing for me, especially lately since I haven’t had much time to write in general. The reason I felt the need to stay up late Friday night and write after working a 13 hour day, working out twice and then playing a football game was because of an incident that happened at said football game. (For the full details, read Saturday’s post.)

After posting this post and then talking to a lot of people about it, the decision has been made: I’m dedicating 100% of my time and efforts to the CrossFit Open and going into retirement from sports for the next two months.

Now to some of you, giving up sports may not seem like a big deal, and you may say that it’s only two months, but you have to understand that I’ve always been a part of some sort of sports team (minus the five years I didn’t play any sports because I was fat, lazy, a smoker and out of shape) and I have always had a huge fear of letting my teammates down. I’ve never played an individual player sport where it’s just about me, and as much as CrossFit is built on community, it’s very much an individual sport.

The worst part of all of this is the timing; we’re coming up to football playoffs and the last two weeks of volleyball and our last tournament. However, I’ve made the decision to commit to the Open and all of my teammates understand completely and were quite supportive. Hell, most of them told me to go for it, which I thought was awesome.

After taking all of Saturday off from training and using the RICE method for 48 hours, I did do some training today and the knee felt a lot better. It’s not 100% but the turn around on it was much quicker than I thought it would be and I’m hoping by tomorrow it will be back to 100% and this whole ordeal will be but a memory.

Right now I’m planning a trip down to Vancouver for five days at the end of February to train with my buddy Dai Manuel and learn from some awesome coaches. I’m really hoping it helps me learn and get some great experience before the Open.

With the CrossFit Games Open coming up in 25 days, I’ve been upping my training substantially and eating perfectly for the past two weeks.  I’ve been doing two training sessions a day, one or two heavy lifts as one and a metcon to keep up my cardio as the other.  I do this five days a week and on the other two days a week I’m either training once a day or working on mobility.

I’m also eating clean and 100% Paleo six days a week and having one giant calorie loaded cheat meal on the other, and I have not had any alcohol.

My plan is to do this up until the Open and throughout so I can be at the top of my game.

Right now I’m dealing with a slightly torn and strained rotator cuff, so I’ve been focusing a lot on my technique with lower weights and a lot of lower body exercises with the hopes that my shoulder will be ready to go early next week.  However, tonight I injured my knee and ankle as well.

No, I didn’t hurt myself during a training session, I had a knee on knee collision while playing flag football.  Now don’t laugh at flag football.  We have a lot of really great athletes who play in our 8 team league and it’s actually very competitive.  It’s also a lot of fun and I can hit a calorie burn of about 1,200 in 45 minutes of play.

I’m a HUGE sports guy; I love playing sports, I love watching sports, I love talking sports and did I mention I LOVE playing sports?  Sports were a huge part of my life and a huge part of my family growing up and I played hockey and baseball at a pretty high level.  It killed me not to play sports when I was overweight and being active on some sort of ice surface, court or playing field six times a week was a big part of my losing weight in the beginning stages of my journey.

Right now I play hockey, football and volleyball in leagues and I love every second of it, but my question is; should I stay off the ice, court and field up until the Open is over?

My knee and leg are really messed up right now and I don’t want to jeopardize my very first CrossFit competition, but do I really want to give up my sports for two months?  I know I’m not going to win the Open or even qualify for Regionals, but I am 100% committed to do well, so I’m torn.  CrossFit is “The Sport of Fitness” and I am an athlete who is in training for a competition…

I think I may have just answered my question, but I’d love your thoughts and opinions.