Solcana blog

Hi, Friends.

It’s week ten and I could tell you all about the week I had last week – a slew of early morning meetings and late night social engagements, open mics, and shows…but I won’t. You know what those kind of weeks are like so I’ll spare you the details. Let’s just say I wasn’t able to make the early am classes I wanted, and most nights had me late at work or already tied up with a comedy commitment. It was one of those weeks, and, I wasn’t able to make it to Solcana until Friday. But, you bet your butt I got right in there, directly from work at 5:30pm. That to me is a win, peeps. With the kind of week I had you’d think I’d be bee-lining it to a patio for a plethora of patio drinks. But I didn’t. I opted for the gym. OMG WHO AM I.

Friday night, we focused on overhead squats. We had just started this skill and since I hadn’t been at the Friday class the week before, this was my first time doing it. Lifting a weighted barbell above your head, keeping it there, and squatting a bunch of times is a totally normal movement which is probably why it was a little tough for me the first set. See, us girls tend to be a little top heavy already so it took a little getting used to for me to balance and feel confident doing so. But, I got there…eventually. I only managed to do 65lbs, mostly because we were focused on me getting the right form. Next week will bring the heavy lifting.

And then we had to do burpees again, too, you guys. I still suck at burpees. I really do. I suck so bad at burpees that I’ve been asking everyone I know to do a few so that I can see if I’m the only one that sucks at them. I mean, even this three year old can do one – but then again, toddlers still have good credit so I can’t exactly say we’re operating on level playing fields.

The good news is that I’m not the only one of my friends who sucks at doing burpees. Power in knowledge, I guess. Despite the suckage, though, I can tell I’m getting better at them so that brings us to this weeks theme: PROGRESS. Not like the 2008 Obama campaign kind, but like the workout/life kind. Just in case you were confused.

I was also back in full force for a 2x CrossFit Saturday….bright and early for the 9am ladies class, with Coach Hannah and two new CrossFitters, Amy and Heidi. I really love the Saturday 9ams because we chat and laugh and also get our booties kicked. There just really is something about an all-girl party…sorry boys, but it’s true. Heidi and Amy were brand new and they worked it! 20 pull-ups (I’m still doing modified pull ups like this, as I work my way up) before sprints. Ugh sprints. Still working on pose running, which is a running technique that makes a ton of sense, but it takes a lot of practice that I wish didn’t come in the form of sprints. But I did it without dying though I still sat out 2 rounds. But that means I did 14/16 when last week I did 10/12. PROGRESS.

Then I actually went home, ate a healthy breakfast, AND CAME BACK for powerlifting club at noon. Yes, I left the comforts of my own home to come back to a place I had just left to DO MORE WORK. Anyone who knows me knows this is a huge achievement. I really like powerlifting so I was looking forward to this all week. I made some progress, adding 5lbs onto my squat and bench – nearly at 100# now for both. Still a long way to go, but hey, I’ll take it. I had to leave at 1pm to go catch some pals in the Fringe Festival (have you seen any shows yet? YOU SHOULD BE SEEING SHOWS! If you need ideas on who/what to see I’m happy to help or check out www.fringefestival.org!) so I wasn’t able to get in my deadlift this week. But….I’m super pumped that I’ve gone from a 65lb to a 135lb 5×5 deadlift. See what I mean? PROGRESS. Still have in the back of my head that Hannah thinks I can make a 200lb deadlift for the meet. It’s nice to have people rooting for you…makes you work harder.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how this experience has helped me over the last ten weeks and I’ve come up with a list that I’ve actually written out and carry around with me (make fun of me if you want, I have a therapist. It’s okay) and will share with you-

HOW I KNOW CROSSFIT IS HELPING ME PROGRESS

A Listicle by Me

1. 1 month, 13 days, 12 hours of no smoking
2. Down 10 lbs since June 1, 2014
3. I pay more attention to the food I put in my body
4. Nearly completely eradicated alcohol from diet, 1-2 drinks per month
5. I SHOW UP TO WORK OUT (um, this is huge guys)
6. My body is changing shape. I know this because I now fit a pair of jeans I bought two years ago that were too tight to wear when I bought them (it’s a girl thing).
7. I feel stronger
8. My mental health has improved exponentially
9. Even though I still suck at Saturday sprints (this week we did 20:10 sprint:recovery for 16 rounds) I could tell that my recovery time has diminished incredibly, which is a HUGE win
10. People are paying attention and noticing all of the above changes, too.

I still haven’t bought those weightlifting shoes yet. Or high socks. Or tight workout pants. But I will. PROGRESS.

Thanks, buddies. See you next week.

Jenn