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Arrrggghhh!

Around 230# 2007ish
This morning @195#….not happy!

I knew this was coming…I was getting “too comfortable” and not doing what I was supposed to be doing 🙁 So I took the #$%&@ pics this morning THEN did an InBody this morning – What the What??

Just being very honest an vulnerable here because I don’t want to go back to that first pic(pre-CrossFit days obviously)…In almost a year I’ve gained 19#, however my muscle weight has gone up 5# so I’m not “that” upset with that. I am though upset how I’ve been letting one bite here and one bite there get me and I make excuses for it.

I’m doing the exact opposite of what I’m telling my clients!! I need to start walking the walk more and today is Day One instead of “One day I will start…”

I’m looking forward to starting to train with my Couch To 5K + Core group next week (there’s still spots available if you would like to sign up!) Here’s the link: Couch To 5K + Core I think this is just the kick start I need to one get back into running and two, shed this extra weight I’ve put on in the past several months.

So anyway, that’s my story and I’m stickin to it…I don’t want to go backwards so I better get my butt in gear – literally!

Here’s to great results, one day at a time! 🙂 I’m off to clean that dirty bathroom mirror 😉

Work Hard, Eat Clean, Be Blessed!

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New Week…New Attitude!

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” — Mary Engelbreit

I’ve talked a bit about shifts in our own thoughts and shifts in attitudes towards our progress. Believe it or not, I’ve had to really focus on my own “give a damn” attitude. Between quarantines and worries about all the things, I find myself many times trying to keep myself in a good place.

I met with a member the other day and one of the suggestions was to focus on the little things or small wins throughout the day. I’m now heeding my own advice and finding the little blessings that keep me going towards a good day. Taking one day, one hour, or one workout/meal at a time is going to get me closer towards my goals. It will you too!

Don’t focus on ALL the things, focus on what you CAN control and make it happen. A little attitude shift towards the things that you GET TO do will go a long way for a successful week. Here’s to a Happy Monday and Wonderful Week!

Work Hard, Eat Clean, Be Blessed!

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Super Bowl Weekend!

Go Chiefs!! 🙂

Super Bowl “Weekend” is usually a big deal to most people; particularly when the Kansas City Chiefs are playing for their 2nd straight title!

Wanted to throw out some tips and tricks to manage it through the day tomorrow without overindulging and derailing your previous weeks progress! There ARE ways to have a good time AND be healthy!

*Go with a Game Plan

*Don’t stand by the food table

*Offer to bring a healthy option to a party

*Beware of what you are drinking-stick with water or have a water in between drinks

*Skip the chips and go for the veggies

*Be mindful – Are you eating because you are hungry or bored?

Try a couple of these recipes to go into your Super Bowl party prepared!

Buffalo Cauliflower

Crockpot Chili

Have a Great Weekend! And since we may be stuck inside because of the snow and cold weather – Meal Prep for the week! Ready GO! 🙂

Work Hard, Eat Clean, Be Blessed!

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Seriously…Stop!

We have been doing goal reviews here recently and it’s crazy how our mindsets work…Quit beating yourselves up!

Seriously. Stop.

Stop telling me how your WOD wasn’t impressive because your pullups were banded, or your run was slow, or your pushups were on your knees.

Stop feeling embarrassed that you have the least amount of weight on the bar, or finished last.

Stop thinking your WOD was unimpressive because you scaled.

Stop degrading yourself for not getting a PR, or a new skill, or the next modification up.

Stop all of it because YOU. ARE. AWESOME.

Stop it because no one else sees what you are doing as unimpressive, because no one else is judging you for your choices.

We are celebrating in your successes – even if you can’t see them yet.

You are in there.

You are fighting – fighting through the pain, through the misery, through the reps.

You are finishing – even if in last place, even if you use a band, or your knees, or a light”r weight, or reduced reps – you are finishing.

You are progressing – even if it doesn’t look like it at the moment, you are progressing. You are getting to your goals and finding your strength.

So stop judging yourself so harshly. Stop throwing yourself in the dumps because of a bad WOD. Stop holding your head low because of your scale.

I don’t even know some of you reading this, and yet I know that you are awesome. I know that you are trying, and hurting, and pushing. I know that you are improving and progressing. I know that every day you are fighting a battle, and on the whole, I know that you are winning.

Can you even begin to imagine what the athletes next to you know? Can you even comprehend how much you will grow when you start believing in yourself?”

Conceive, Believe, ACHIEVE!!!

BETTER THAN YESTERDAY!!

When you step into CFU, remember that YOU are doing MORE than those who CHOOSE to sit on the couch!!

What are YOU going to do this week to BETTER yourself?? SHOW ME!!

Work Hard, Eat Clean, Be Blessed!

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Fall Forward…

Don’t Look Back

(Inspired by a motivational video I watched/listened to this morning…Think of how you start your day; get yourself in the right mindset in order to set yourself up for SUCCESS!)

-You can’t keep falling down and staying down-how will you EVER get to where you want to be??

-You are responsible for your actions – it’s not someone else’s fault; stop blaming others for your failures…

-Nothing is impossible, you just need to believe in what you are trying to accomplish – the word impossible should actually be I’m-Possible!!

-Set yourself up to win the day – find small wins you can celebrate – these small wins will allow you to keep moving forward to your goals!

-Roadblocks will happen, but you must remain stronger than those excuses that will come up! No Excuses!

-Remember where you want to be for you! Don’t try to make others happy before making yourself happy – Love yourself enough to do what’s best for YOU!

-Own your future and keep falling forward towards your goals – one step after the other!

-You are WORTH it!

Have a great Friday Eve!

Work Hard, Eat Clean, Be Blessed!

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Yeah, but…

This article deals with scaling…why do we have you scale? To MAKE YOU BETTER!!! Please focus on your overall goals and how some modifications can make you stronger and better in the long run!
Yeah But…
by Erica Saint Clair

“Dude, that was awesome, way to fight through”

…“Yeah, but I scaled”

As if scaling is something to be ashamed of, as if scaling is for the weak and the untrained.

As if scaling means you didn’t do the workout – or your workout was less worthy because you scaled.

It isn’t.

“You did SO good!”

…”Yeah, but I used a lighter weight”

As if choosing the right weight for you means you will never get stronger and work up to the Rx’d weights. As if it is somehow the weaker choice.

It isn’t.

“That was amazing, great job today”

…”Yeah, but I used a band”

As if you should feel guilty using a band for a week, a month, a year or a lifetime. As if the band is something to hate and despise.

It isn’t.

“Good job finishing, way to not give up!”

…”Yeah, but I was last”

As if where you finish matters more than THAT you finished. As if finishing last means your WOD was easy.

It doesn’t.

We are all in a constant state of scaling – even the elite of the elite, even the few who make it to the finals at The CrossFit Games

Double unders are scaled triple unders, MU are scaled weighted MU, 15′ rope climbs are scaled 20′ climbs.

Sure, they aren’t called for in the WODs today, but what about tomorrow?

Scaling is how you get from where you are now to your future kickass self.

Scaling is how you stay safe and healthy.

Scaling is how you improve your technique and learn to lift heavier.

Scaling is how you finish the workouts and feel obliterated after, using a band instead of just staring at the bar for 10 min willing yourself to get a pullup.

Scaling, is NOT, however, something to be ashamed of or something that you can use to write off your WOD as a poor performance.

So next time you are crumpled on the floor gasping for air, be proud that you choose the right scale for you.

Be proud that you killed the WOD, and that the WOD killed you.

You ARE a CrossFitter! Be PROUD of that and BE BETTER THAN YESTERDAY!!!

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Transformation Tuesday

More than the “numbers”…

Lindsey Howard

“For as long as I can remember, I longed to be skinny.  Not just thin, but super model SKINNY.  I developed earlier than other girls my age and throughout high school, I despised my muscular build.  My cure was to do as much cardio as I could stand and start a new crash diet on a monthly basis.  This cycle continued until my late 20’s. 

Fast forward through marriage, three back to back pregnancies, and a bunch of weight gained later…

I knew we weren’t having any more children and wanted to get control of my health/become the super model skinny version of myself I had always dreamed about.  I started an eating plan and in home workouts.  I was very motivated for a while and found success.  Then I got bored and motivation to get up in the morning to work out by myself became a struggle.  This is when I found CFU.

I was at a fundraiser with my husband and we were browsing the silent auction items.  I came across a one month membership to CFU available to bid.  I had heard about CrossFit through friends and they encouraged me to try.  It was something I was interested in, but let’s face it, the thought of CrossFit is INTIMIDATING and I always thought I needed to “get in shape” before I started.  However, after a little liquid courage at the fundraiser, I wrote my bidding number down.  I secretly had hoped someone would outbid me but, in the end, I was the lucky winner of a one month membership to CFU.  I immediately emailed the gym and scheduled my 101 with Coach Debbie.  The following Monday, I completed my first official WOD.  It was hard and I thought I was going to die, but I left the gym proud of myself and strong.  It was the start of me realizing my body is capable of some pretty amazing things.

Four years later, I still don’t look like I had once intended and I never will.  But I have come to value my body for what it can do rather than what it looks like.  Discovering my strength (and CFU) has put an end to a 20 year old war of me versus my body and that is a bigger transformation than what I had envisioned when I first stepped onto the black mat.”

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Habits

Last night I posted a picture of my January calendar…I had decided not to really make any resolutions for 2021. Why? Well, in the past they just haven’t worked out that well for me. So I went in with a different plan – habit tracking!

For the most part it worked! I picked a couple things that I knew I could do on a regular basis – water intake and exercise. Proud to say that I got all of my water in and exercised all but 4 days in January. Exercise and water do the body good for sure! 🙂

For the other 3 things I thought this would be a struggle, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other…I will tell you this, I love a good cold beer here and there, but I know they are empty calories so I set out to try and limit my alcohol intake. I went nine days then had a beer with dinner one night out with Jerry. The following weekend we had a members night out and let’s just say I had a “few” 🙂 This was probably the hardest “habit” to conquer because it’s easy to come home and reach for that beer or wine to “wind down”…but I chose other things to focus on instead. I know it’s not the same, but I’ve started having some tea in the evenings (decaf!) and that has helped.

I went 31 days with NO Ice Cream!! During January, I wanted to cut out as much junk food as possible (had 2 days where I had some cookies 🙂 ) The ice cream win was HUGE! To combat that sweet tooth I just had healthy options available at home; a go to favorite is protein ice cream – mash 1/2 banana, scoop of protein powder (I use vanilla), almond milk then freeze for about 45min! Yum!

The last thing I did was try to eliminate at least 5 pieces of “clutter” from home/work. This is definitely helping as I ridded our house (and part of my office) of the unnecessary. It really does feel freeing!

I’m going to continue in February and continue to focus on these 5 things as well as add one more “habit” to track…a daily blog post! I keep meaning to post every day, but then I get sucked in to other things. So I’m going to provide a post (try to any way!) every day in February…Should be easier at the end right?? Tune in for information, inspiration and motivation in the next 27 days or so!

Happy Tuesday!

Work Hard, Eat Clean, Be Blessed!

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Meet the Trainers at CFU

Annie Crider

Spouse/Significant Other: none

Kids/Pets: none

Occupation: Teacher

Month/Year started CF: Nov 2018

Month/Year became Trainer: Aug 2020

Favorite CF Movement: Squat Snatches

Least Favorite Movement: Burpees

Why I became a trainer: to help people transform their lives by small, daily actions. 

Favorite Food: Ice Cream

Hobbies: CrossFit, volleyball, board games, reading

Annie brings her contagious smile and attitude every day she is at the gym! Thank you for everything you do for the CFU family!

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Meet the Trainers at CFU

Christine Core

Significant Other: Keena Lynch

Kids: Just my 20ish softball “kids”

Occupation: Head Softball Coach at Lincoln University

Month/Year started CF: August 2019

Month/Year became Trainer: July 2020

Favorite CF Movement: Double unders, power cleans, wallballs 

Least Favorite Movement: Overhead squats, box jumps 

To share my love of CrossFit and fitness with others and help them feel welcomed and loved when they come to CFU. I also love to see people set goals, push them to work towards them, and see them succeed! 

Favorite Food: Anything Mexican and cookies

Hobbies: Reading, traveling, and being outside. I’m also working on my Masters Degree in Positive Coaching through Mizzou.

Christine, you have been such a huge addition to the CFU Team and family! Thanks for all you do for our community! 🙂