Solstice Health and Fitness Challenge

The last six weeks of winter I participated in a Health and Fitness Challenge at CrossFit Solstice. My friends Elyse, Christi, Ron and I organized and coached the challenge. This was the first time we had a nutrition challenge at our gym, so we spent a lot of time researching and debating how we would organize and run it. 

The first goal of the challenge was that participants would end the challenge feeling healthy, fit, energized and rejuvenated. The second goal was that participants would adopt some sustainable healthy habits into their daily life. 

With those goals in mind, we developed the six week challenge. The challenge was developed around the concept of bio-individuality. Bio-individuality is the belief that there’s no one-size-fits-all diet – each person is a unique individual with highly individualized nutritional requirements. Personal differences in anatomy, metabolism, body composition and cell structure all influence your overall health and the foods that make you feel your best. That’s why no single way of eating works for everyone.

However, there are certain habits that we know will make us feel great (sleep), and others that we know will have a negative effect on our health (sugar)! We organized the challenge around these principles. 

Each day participants logged their points into an Excel spreadsheet that they submitted at the end of the week. Points could be earned everyday for sleeping at least seven hours, drinking 64 ounces of water a day, working out, stretching and sharing a healthy recipe or tip with the group. Points were lost for drinking alcohol, and consuming sugar and prepared foods. 

At the end of the challenge additional points were earned if participants met an individual goal they set for themselves at the start of the challenge. For example, I will perform 8 strict pull-ups, or I will lose 2 inches from my hips. Additional points were also rewarded based off improvement on a before and after workout (Filthy 50). 

We had some amazing results from the challenge. Huge goals were met, inches and pounds were lost, and a new sense of positive energy was gained in the gym. 

Click here for a great post-challenge write up with results!

Below is some of Team Conneen! We were the top scoring team. Dave was the challenge winner and Jess (not pictured) came in second place.

CrossFit Solstice Summer Throwdown

On June 22nd CrossFit Solstice hosted the 2013 Summer Solstice Throwdown. This was a fitness competition for members only. These were the first two events for the day:

EVENT #1
Performed with a 12min running clock:

1.A - 2min
1min AMRAP Pull-ups 
1min Rest
AMRAP means as many reps as possible. If you can't do a pull-up there are weighted bands that assist you.

1.B - 3min
400m Sprint
Rest

1.C - 7min
3RM Front Squat
RM means rep maximum, or the most amount of weight you can do. 

EVENT #2
8min AMRAP Ladder

3+3 Clean 135# (men)/95# (women)
5+5 Wall Ball 20# (men)/14# (women)

When I first started CrossFit I used YouTube nonstop. If you do not know what these are-look up a video.

These events were scored, and the top three men and women qualified for Event #3. All six men and women did amazing in the final event, and I was so proud of them. It was crazy to watch these six athletic individuals really struggle through the workout. However, they all stuck with it. My friends Talia and Pat were the winners of the day. 

The winners and top performers are only one small part of CrossFit though. One of the best parts of CrossFit is that even though you may not win, or even come in the top three, you can still leave feeling amazing. Here is how: It is all about setting and reaching INDIVIDUAL goals. I was jumping around just as excited as the first place finisher because I set a back squat personal record and did more pull-ups in a minute than I have ever done. 

A lot of people I talk to are intimated by CrossFit, but you don't have to be if you make it a competition with yourself; and do not waste negative energy making comparisons. For example, I was all smiles after Event #2 because a couple short months ago 95# was my maximum rep for a clean. Which means I could only do one! Five short months ago, I had no clue what a clean was and 95# sounded crazy to me. I could barely clean just the bar (so if you are thinking that-trust me you can do it)! I did not waste time thinking or worrying about my friend Holly who was flying past me. I was proud of her, remember the CrossFit Community! Also, the workouts on this day, just as everyday, were modified if needed so that everyone could complete them. Overall, it was an extremely exciting and motivating day! 

Strong is Beautiful!

 Top 3 Ladies!

Top 3 Men!

CrossFit Solstice Crew

CrosssFit Community

One of my favorite things about CrossFit it is the mini-communitiy that it forms. There is a whole book published about this by Allison Belger, The Power of Community: Crossfit and the force of Human Community. Here is a powerful quote from the book:

“The power of community is about making lives better and helping people achieve their goals."

In the book she describes the importance of group affiliation–of having a network of mutual support and human connection in the midst of our hectic, technology-driven lives. She also describes the mind-body connection and how it can relate to all of us. Through her compelling narratives, each of which intersects with the CrossFit experience, she encourages us to examine our lives and relationships so that we may find meaning in a stressful world–if we are open to the power of community.

I am a big believer in the mind-body connection, and think health is necessary for happiness. Setting and achieving goals is something I have always done. It gives me purpose and a feeling of accomplishment. What CrossFit has changed in my life, is a strong community that supports you along your journey. In return, you get the chance to support others, and to me there is NO better feeling than this. 

Here are a couple of my personal examples that might better explain this. Keep in mind I have only been a member of CrossFit Solstice since January and all the people mentioned below are members. 

• Two of my friends are getting married this month. In the winter one asked us to do the 100 Day Burpee Challenge to help him get back in shape. Three of us completed our 100th burpee together this past weekend. Read more about this long challenge. 
• This weekend one of my friends mapped out a 5k run on his bike, then paced me as I set a 45 second 5K PR. I would have never been able to do this without him. He pushed me and encouraged me along the way!
• When I organized a team for the Bring Change to Mind walk I had friends from CrossFit walking right beside me, and others who couldn't make it donate money. I definitely have extra motivation during a  workout when I see someone wearing their Team Conneen shirt. 
• One friend of mine is having some health difficulties, and we have all been able to support her. I am so proud of her ability to stay positive. Check out her blog; you will certainly laugh!  
• I email another friend of mine on average at least 6 times a day with questions that are always answered. I have changed my diet and exercise routine so much, and if you know me, you know I am extremely curious. 

These are just a few examples that stuck out in my head. On a daily basis you have people encouraging you to push yourself harder, spending extra time to show you a movement or exercise, and supporting you in your efforts to achieve personal goals. If I have not convinced you to check it out yet- I don't know what will!

Girls compete with each other. Women empower one another.

100 Day Burpee Challenge

This weekend I finished the 100 Day Burpee Challenge.
Let's start off with what a burpee is. If you are not sure check it out!

Now here is how the challenge works:
Do 1 burpee on day 1, 2 on day 2, 3 on day 3, etc. At the end of the challenge, you will have completed 5,050 burpees!

There are many different versions out there, but here are some rules we followed:
1. You can complete each day's burpees all at once, or broken up and done at different times throughout the day.
2. If you miss a day, you have to make up all the missed burpees within the week.
3. Burpees scheduled during daily workouts do not count toward the burpee challenge.

It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. After day 60 I did sets of ten throughout the day which felt like a part time job at times. The worst feeling was getting ready to go to bed and remembering I had twenty burpees left. I am really not sure if the challenge helped me become faster or stronger at burpees. However, there is something to be said for sticking with something difficult for 100 days! I realllllly considered quitting on day 50, but I am glad I was able to hang in there. This weekend my two friends and I did our final burpee of the challenge together! Afterwards we got awesome shirts and had a celebratory cheat breakfast.

Memorial Day Murph

What is a HERO WOD?

CrossFit Hero WODs are designed to be some of the most intense workouts that you could experience. They are intended to be performed with intense effort, in honor of our fallen Heroes. CrossFit recommends that you don’t think to your self, I can’t do that or it looks too hard. Instead focus on what you can do, scale where needed, and think about the Hero that has given his/her all for our freedom. Honor these Heroes with your best effort.

On Memorial Day, CrossFit Solstice completed Memorial Day Murph. Below is a description of the workout. We all worked hard and definitely gave our best effort. It was one of my favorite workouts so far. The last mile felt very similar to triathlon training :) Here is a video honoring Lt. Michael P. Murphy.

Lt. Michael P. Murphy

Still smiling after the workout

Always dressed for the occasion 

Goal Setting & CrossFit

Each Step Takes You Closer to Your Goal

As a teacher I talk to my middle school students often about the importance of setting goals, planning how to reach goals, putting in the work necessary to reach goals, and celebrating success once a goal is accomplished. As a teacher I am also expected to set quarterly S.M.A.R.T. goals. This stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Every marking period I sit down and look at student data and set challenging goals. I then plan what I need to do to make sure my struggling readers achieve these goals, and everyday I do whatever I can to help my students bridge the gap from where they are to where I want them to be.  Of course, celebrating their success is the easy part (they love my candy)!

When talking to friends I often have said things like, I want to run faster, I want to run a marathon, I want to complete an Ironman, I want to be a better biker, etc. However, I never used the same strategy I preach daily. One of my favorite teachers used to say the difference between a wish and a goal is a plan and a deadline. All of these things were wishes because I never had a specific plan to help me achieve these goals. I ran, biked, and swam a lot and sometimes even loosely followed a plan I printed offline. However, I never picked one specific goal and sat down and figured out what I was going to do to achieve that goal. An example of this is, like many runners, I have always had the lofty goal of running a marathon. This summer I signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon while in the middle of training for my first Olympic distance triathlon. I found a training plan online, printed it out, and taped it to my mirror. It was probably a good plan, and if I followed it as written I might have successfully completed my first marathon. However, I couldn't fit in all the running the plan required while also training for the Olympic distance triathlon. So, I decided that I would just make sure every Sunday I completed the long run that progressively built each week (after completing a tough brick workout on Saturday). You probably can guess where this left me- miserable on the couch the entire month of November. Not only could I not complete the marathon, I was struggling to just walk around my house. I went to the doctor who said I had plantar fascists. He gave me painful cortisone shots and made me expensive orthotics. (Looking back I would have rethought both of these decisions) I was eager to get a quick fix and start running again. I started researching early spring marathons.

December 1st hit and I started running again. I was a little smarter this time and made sure to follow the 10-Percent Rule. However, I was still frustrated because I was experiencing a lot of pain. By the end of January I knew a marathon was out of the question. My doctor encouraged me to continue exercising, but I knew I needed to scale back on the running miles. I treated myself to a bike trainer and a new bathing suit because I figured my winter would be filled with biking and running. I am an outdoors person, so I quickly grew bored of the laps in the pool and hours on the bike trainer. Instead of looking forward to working out, I was dreading it. About the same time the MHWTC offered a free trial class at our  local CrossFit gym, I signed up. I had heard about it a lot before, but was never was interested in weight lifting (which I thought was the only focus). How could weight lifting possibly make you faster, I thought. Well it did.....and I was hooked.

This post is about goal setting, so I will stick to that and save my newly found love for CrossFit for another post. The high intensity workouts I was completing, and a focus in CrossFit of setting individual goals made me finally sit down and do what I encourage my students to do everyday....

Set a goal: Set a new PR (personal record) of 23 minutes flat in a 5K
Plan how you will meet the goal: CrossFit classes, one day of speed work, and one 3.5 mile run per week
Work hard: Every day but rest days
Celebrate Success: New Sneakers, of course!

This post is getting long, so I will skip to the chase. I achieved my goal at the MikesMiles for JDRF run. I crossed the finish line at 22.51. I celebrated with a glass of wine since we were at the beautiful Cedarville Winery. Being that the run was a good portion sand and trail, I also set my new goal of 22 minutes flat! The new sneakers are coming soon!

All award winners who received a gift certificate to our local running store!

22 minutes flat!

I see this every morning. Balance is a goal that I am constantly struggling to attain, and don't we all have the goal of feeling great in our bathing suit this summer!