 |
| We carved a pumpkin, and my azalea bush sprouted a blossom the same week. Make up your mind, weather! |
My 22 month old is going through a sudden and fairly intense bout of separation anxiety. I was kinda resisting it for a while, but now I'm accepting of this phase where noone else but Momma will do. Thus, my only true 'me' time in a given day is usually my early morning Crossfit - thankfully that is enough to give me a mental head start on everything else, including managing my sweet permaclinging girl.
My 4 year old is reveling in preschool activities - and the excitement of the upcoming holidays. I'm trying to maintain a sense of humor while planning a little bit of damage control on this 10 week long season of treats -- hence my willingness to flex and make a few more paleo treats here and there like the gluten free grain free soul cakes. I don't want to clamp down so tightly (full on orthodox paleo) that sugar or other baked naturally sweetened treats become irresistible forbidden fruits in the long term, you know? So my goal for this upcoming Halloween through New Year's is to make extra efforts to craft most of the treats we'll enjoy at home, with my 4 year old's help wherever possible, so that I can use those times as a teachable moment in talking about why we use the ingredients we do, what the traditions are behind the treats, and so on. Call them studies in indulgence.
Finally, I just wrapped my first month at Crossfit. Every weekday I am going through the ringer, and I love it. Am I still one of the slowest ones in the class? Of course! But I'm also noticing little things:
- Since I'm not jumping or running to give my ankle (which I sprained a few weeks back before Crossfit started) full recovery time, I'm doing squats to substitute for double unders, and rowing to sub for running. And whadya know? Since I'm squatting instead of jumproping and we already do plenty of airsquats anyway, I'm suddenly (go figure) finding my squats are vastly improving. An 4 minute 20-seconds on 10-seconds-off tabata round of squats the other day yielded 17 or 18 squats per 20 second set.
- Though the scale isn't budging much, a fellow Crossfitter remarked to us newbies that we were looking more toned already. Also, my jeans are fitting a lot better. Wahoo! I'll take it!
- I don't wake up feeling atrophied and "creaky" anymore - though there's delayed onset muscle soreness in areas we've worked particularly thoroughly, my mornings kick off feeling all-around more loose and energized head to toe, with much less creaking and popping!
- Stuff that used to have me out of breath, like hauling my 30 lb. + sleeping toddler up the stairs, no longer do, and in fact are feeling much easier to do.
I'm so glad to have a jump start on getting fit as the onslaught of indulgent foods and sedentary indoor activities approaches, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next month of Crossfit!
How are YOU mentally and physically preparing to dive into the holidays?
~
I have been sorely tempted to give Crossfit a try. So much so, in fact, that I went and sat in the lobby of a local one waiting for the next session to start... but I chickened out. I feel so awkward jumping into those situations.
ReplyDeletePlus, at 5 months pregnant, would they even take me on?
Congrats on making it through your first month though! I love your ideas on how to handle the holiday sweets, too. :)
Less creaking and popping in the morning? Just that alone has me sold on Crossfit.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the body improvement!
I have 2 on-ramp (beginner classes) of cross fit under my belt and I'm on the fence about it. I loved it while I was doing it, couldn't BELIEVE how sore I was afterward, and am hating how late at night I have to do it. I was away last week on vacation, so now I need to decide if I'm going to commit and just DO it. Once I finish 8 on-ramps, I'll have more flexibility in when I can work out.
ReplyDeleteDo you like the early morning? Do you find that you're sore all day long?
I am usually a bit sore in one or two spots (spots I worked) all day long, but it subsides in a few days. This is NOT the same debilitating soreness that I experienced the first week of Crossfitting - the "thighs on fire/can barely walk" feeling. The site-specific soreness is occasionally slightly annoying but manageable, and the fact that I am getting better and stronger at certain things shows me that something is working, so for that I consider it worthwhile. If you're on the fence, maybe sign up for a month or three months to WOD, and see what your conclusion is.
ReplyDelete