My one year crossfit affair (guest post).

I debated recently whether or not I wanted to post about my one year anniversary with Crossfit because I think my take on it is a little bit unique. But then it occurred to me that I should write about it because it is unique.

My Crossfit anniversary was actually in July, so about a month ago. Prior to when I began in July of 2012 I had been circuit training and doing HIIT for about three years, so I had lost about 5 – 10 pounds and at least 10% body fat.

But my mind was wondering.

I had been married to circuit training as well as running half marathons, 5k and 10k’s for so long I wasn’t sure Crossfit was going to be right for me. I had tried it once before and always felt like I was doing things wrong, yet there was no one there to correct me.

I began taking twice weekly workshops on the olympic lifts – the snatch and the clean and jerk. This was fantastic, but incredibly time consuming. Ultimately, I was still training for a half marathon as well as what would be my second and third bikini competitions. I quickly learned that these three fitness goals did not match. You can’t try to get really lean, increase your endurance and increase your strength all at once.

While the half marathon then the bikini competitions won for the time being, I still had the itch to continue with the olympic lifts.

Shortly after my competitions, I was getting restless. I needed to change things up a bit. I was tired of focusing 100% on my body fat percentage (or lack thereof,) and constantly trying to get leaner – I needed to go pick things up and set them down. My inner meathead needed to come out and I needed to lift some heavy stuff!

I knew I did not want to go back to the same box I had been at previously, so I talked to a friend who had been training at Crossfit Southie for years. So one afternoon I headed into the city and dropped into my first class. Right there on the spot I did my very first double under – something I thought was impossible.

I signed up for 3 classes a week on the very first day, which turned into the unlimited package two weeks later – I was hooked.

Since then I have competed in 6 competitions -

Northeast Garage Games Finals, November 2012 – Scaled Division, 10th place our of 60

Crossfit 2A In-House Throwdown, January 2013 – RX Division, 10th place out of 17

Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em Couples Competition, February 2013

Crossfit Free In-House Throwdown, April 2013 – RX Division

WOD For Dimes Team Competition, May 2013 – RX Division

Crossfit Newton Mass Mayhem Garage Games, August 2013 – RX Division

I am currently taking the competitor’s class at Crossfit Southie and every single day I show up excited for what the day will hold.

The next best thing to showing up to the box is looking up the workout the day before when it posts! That is how hooked I am.

In the last year I have…

Increased my back squat by 30 pounds

Increased my clean and jerk by 25 pounds

Increased my deadlift by 35 pounds

Learned to snatch properly and increased it by 10 pounds

Learned to perform kipping pullups, chest to bar pullups, handstand push ups, pistols, clean and press an axle, climb a rope, pick up atlas stones and swing a 53 pound kettlebell

I have also decreased my 500m row time by 12 seconds

And all the while I have been able to maintain my one underlying goal of having visible abs.

Part of the reason I feel as though my love affair with Crossfit is very unique is how it has gotten me past a lot of body image issues.

As you know, I was overly consumed with my weight and my body fat percentage. All I had ever known of working out was to do it to be thin. Quickly I learned that to get stronger I was probably going to have to put on some muscle.

As I achieved PR’s and set the standard for myself higher and higher, my confidence soared.

Until one day, I was going on a trip to Florida and I was trying on outfits to take with me and low and behold, my shorts no longer fit. I remember that moment well – it was not one I enjoyed. I knew that it wasn’t fat -it couldn’t be. I had been eating very clean, I was training hard and I almost always had visible abs.

I looked back on my progress pictures and I realized – I had developed muscles – REAL LIFE USABLE MUSCLES. I had wider lats and I had developed quads and my glutes were as outstanding as ever.

I had two choices – quit Crossfit or fall in love with my current body.

I was smitten with Crossfit – I’m not quitting – I want to make it to the Games! So I decided right then and there that I would love my body just the way it is. Here’s my pre-Crossfit body compared to recent progress pics…

And you know, sometimes you have to do that.

Whether you have gotten a little bigger (muscles) or maybe you have excess skin because you’ve lost fat. Or perhaps you have decided that you can’t be a slave to your perfect diet and you aren’t as lean as you once were —learn to love that body of yours because you only get one, and you have to spend your whole life with it, so you may as well show it some love.

Because let me tell you, when you do, it will love you back.

Our bodies do absolutely amazing things – we need to build them up, not break them down.
So now it’s your turn..

Do you Crossfit?

If so, do you love it? Why?

Has it changed your body or your mind? How?

Id love to hear from you!

Kyra, The Get In Shape Girl

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The FEVEROUS love affair with HEMP HEARTS.

Mizfitonline recently talked about her torrid (and long standing) love affair with Chia seeds, and I hope you’ve listened to what she had to say and incorporated it into your diet. But if you haven’t yet gone out to pick up your stockpile of Chia….get ready to add one more thing to your shopping list.

As passionate as MizFit is about Chia…I am even more so about Hemp Hearts (also known as hemp seeds).

I guess you could say it’s a feverous love affair. Actually, it’s more than a love affair; I simply cannot live without it. There are a lot of foods out there that claim to be super foods, and for good reason. But in my opinion, Hemp Hearts are the greatest super food of them all.

Okay, so you may be asking yourself “what exactly are hemp hearts” or “are hemp hearts something like marijuana?” Well, let me tell you. Hemp hearts are the shelled seeds of the industrial hemp plant, which just happens to be an innocent cousin of the marijuana plant. Related to this “cousin”, but totally legal and oh so much better for you.

I thought I’d try to match MizFit’s Chia Seeds style and incorporate a little facetime into this post just like she did. Here I am giving you the low down on some great ways to use hemp seeds:

And what about the benefits? If I would have done a video on this one, it would have been more like a full length feature film. There’s no end to the goodness it provides for you.

The oh so many benefits of Hemp Hearts:

More Energy, Exceptional source of protein, and Natural.Best source of protein, essential fats, vitamins and enzymes on the Earth.Do not contain significant amounts of sugar, starches or saturated fats.Contain more amino acids (proteins) than milk, meat or eggs.Contain more omega 3 essential fat than any fish.Is a complete protein source – much more balanced than & digestible than any soy product.Contain about 47% oil, 86% of which is omega 3, 6, 9.Contains all the essential omega 3 fats required for human health.Hemp Hearts are unmatched in Nature for their balance of all required proteins and all essential fats as well as most vitamins and enzymes.Is perfect for those troubled with constipation and for those avoiding carbohydrates.Provides more energy than energy bars — without their sugar, milk, nuts, and meat.Is suitable for those unable to eat gluten, sugar, milk nuts, or meat.The list really does go on and on.

You might not know me as well as you know Mizfitonline, but I really do hope I’ve got you convinced to integrate hemp seeds into your diet. They can be purchased at Whole Foods and many health food stores around the country. I’ve experimented with many brands and places to buy them, and I’d have to recommend Nutiva as the best organic shelled hemp seeds on the market. Here’s the link to purchase directly from them: Nutiva Hemp Hearts.

Have you discovered Hemp Hearts already? Let me hear what you have to say, and if you’re as feverously in love with them as I am.

Darryl runs a cycling lifestyle website called Loving the Bike, and has a passion for Family, Cycling, and Living a Healthy Life. Be sure to contact him if you have any questions about hemp hearts, cycling, or just want to say hi. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or catch up with him on the bike on one of the backroads of Austin.

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My torrid love affair with chia.

(ahhh nutritional powerhouse. we HEART ye.)

We’ve loved on the chia seed for ages at Casa MizFit.

For years.

It’s a love affair  which began back when Id never HEARD the word piriformis & the Tornado possessed a first half to her blog-moniker (Toddler).

I was smitten. 

I proselytized.

I yammered to anyone who would listen & *at*many who did not:

Lest you get any sort of impressed here’s pretty much how we consumed the seed:

Sure, I’d usually use a spoon and not my finger or that’s what Ill pretend on a public forum.

Yes, I’d also often sprinkle chia on salads, oatmeal & dump liberally in my shakes, but that was about the extent of it.

Recently, however, we’ve needed more fiber in our lives (you may thank me in the comments for not delving into specifics).

No longer was a finger-full a few times a day enough.  I needed a chia-conveying system which would get both of the other members of the household to consume a larger quantity.

First we tried ChiaJelly (we loved. we loved.):

Next we added it to our protein pancakes *right* before they finished ‘caking:

This was a HUGE hit in our house.  Both Ren Man & the Tornado gave it the thumbs up!

Me? Im still the odd misfit out around here (does that even make sense?).

I like to add water to mine, let it grow into GOO, & eat with a few berries on top.

(my snack mid-goo process)

Or, more frequently, cram a few spoonfuls into my CHIAhole immediately upon waking.

AND YOU?

Have you discovered the healthy fat’asticness which is the chia seed? Or do you still fear the goo?

How do you eat your chia? (blogged about it? link yourself in the comments!)

Do you spend endless hours flossing as a result of your chia-habit? Or is it only my teeth which tenaciously trap the seeds?

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