CrossFit 914, CrossFit Toronto and CrossFit LA

At the end of April I announced that I would leave my old position under the Omnicom Group of Companies and take on a new role with MDC Partners.  One of the luxuries this change afforded me was some time between jobs to explore a new fitness challenge that I've was dying to try out.  Ever since I had kids, the only way to fit in a good workout was in my home gym - my favorite room in my house!  I did P90X several times, Insanity, Insanity Asylum, TurboFire, Jillian Michaels, Biggest Loser, Spinervals, etc.  You name it, if it was a good hard sweat at home, I was into it.    My good friend Sage in Colorado kept telling me about CrossFit, and I wanted to try it out.

In come CrossFit 914 in Elmsford, NY.  I had no idea what I was really getting into, but in order to try it I had to buy 4 personal sessions of "elements" classes.  These are the classes that teach you the basics to make sure you don't really hurt yourself.  In one session I was hooked.  Coach extraordinaire Phil Itwaru met me at 5:30 in the morning to show me the basics, and introduce me to the MetCon concept - short metabolic conditioning workouts that build strength, endurance and metabolism.  I was hooked on the first class and after 4 there was definitely no turning back.

CrossFit has exposed me to all sorts of things I never even heard of before:

• AMRAP:  As Many Repetitions (or Rounds) As Possible – typically in a specified timeframe
• WOD:  Workout of the Day
• Box:  A CrossFit gym
• Box Jump:  An exercise where you jump onto and down from a 20 or 24" box
• Burpee: ouch
• Clean & Jerk:  I still have no idea
• Double Unders:  Two turns of the jump rope per jump. Another ouch, not to mention the pain of the jumprope literally whipping your skin when you miss.
• HSPU – Hand Stand Push-Up
• Kipping:  I still can't do this
• Muscle Ups: Muscle Up – A combination of a pull-up and a ring dip.  No I cannot do this.

And so much more...

These workouts I have to admit are amazing, and unlike anything I've ever done before.  Every day is a total body workout, and every single workout I've done in the past three months have been different.

So I found myself back to same question as yesterday, how do I keep it all going when I am traveling on business?  CrossFit 914 is my home "box", but I want to keep it up all week long when I am not in Westchester County.  

Last week I took a leap of faith and took advantage of the CrossFit cult that apparently is all over the country.  I called CrossFit Toronto and went to visit them. Twice.  Once again I encountered things I had never done before: Belgian split leg squats, split leg jerks, and snatches.  WTF?  Suffice it to say, I managed to get two amazing workouts and by the third day I was so sore I could hardly walk.  To me this is great!  CrossFit Toronto and coach John Vivian were amazing, welcoming and warm, and really patient with a person who isn't and won't be going there regularly.  John took the time to show me the new moves, correct me frequently, and cheer me on.  Thank you John!!  In addition to the general hospitality, the box itself was amazing - HUGE, had a store front where I bought a new jumprope, and had about 30 people working out at 5:30 in the morning. 

This week I was in LA, and decided to try out  CrossFit LA, and yet again I found a completely different experience again.  This time at 6am, there were two coaches welcoming me.  When I looked at the WOD (Workout of the Day) online it simply said:

4x4 100m Franklin Hill Sprints on :90. 
- 3 mins between sets. 

How bad could it be?  100m isn't far, and only 4?  Well as soon as I walked into the box I realized this gym was very serious.  They were all about competition - against each other, yourself, and the clock.  Go go go.... the people there, who really were lovely, were even competing about who had more gray hairs and who's skin was whiter.  Really?!  I could show you gray hairs people!!!  After our normal warmup we hit the road - up hill to the base of Franklin Hill.  It was steep.  Not only was it steep, but what I hadn't realized was that we had to do the 4x4 100m Franklin Hill Sprints 4 times.  Now I am not really into the competitive thing as it relates to CrossFit, and I've always been more of an endurance athlete than a sprinter.  So up the hill the first time I went.  Not bad.  I was last, but that's ok.  Up the hill the second time... still last, but I did it.  Up the hill the 3rd time - not last anymore.  A younger guy was hurting...  Now I feel better, but it's hard.  Up the hill the 4th time.  Still not last, and now I know I can make 4 in a row.  3 more sets to go.  In the end I did it, and I got to hear how "old" the person who I thought was the oldest person there was by turning 44, and got some praise at how I looked 10 years younger than I really am! Go me (other than the fact that I was the oldest one there).  Seriously though, I was proud of myself.  I finished all four sets.  It was hard, I felt nauseas on some, but I did it and some of the young people who were showing off in the beginning, couldn't do all 16 sprints.  

It took courage for me to start CrossFit, and even more to try out the two new CrossFit gyms.  I've learned it doesn't matter where you come from, how young you are, how strong you are, what your goals are compared to others.  All that matters is how you feel for yourself, what keeps you going, and how you move yourself towards your personal goals. If you've got a goal of your own, something you think might be out of reach, reconsider it.  All it takes is one step forward, one phone call,  one little question of "maybe?" in the back of your head.  Who knows what might happen if you take the risk. After all, it worked for me.

Business travel, CrossFit and keeping it all going

Two months ago I started a new job with a company where travel is significantly higher than I've done in the recent past.  Being a full time working mother of two wonderful boys, crazy about fitness, and loving what I do, I find myself asking how the heck do I keep it all going?  Obviously not by maintaining this blog - that's where I've been and why I've been missing.  Until now.  A colleague suggested I blog about all the CrossFit Boxes I go to, and that got me thinking about business travel, eating healthy and all sorts of things to share.

Those who do business travel, or any kind of travel for that matter,  know how hard it is to keep healthy when on the road. Eating out can be such a pleasure, especially for the working mom because someone else preps the food, chops the veggies, cooks the meals, worries about everyone having different things, etc.   The average business traveler gains weight, and for the weight obsessed, this is a real challenge.  I've actually gotten my normal diet so clean that I don't even like to eat out anymore because I end up feeling stuffed and bloated after each meal.

So what's a business traveler to do?  Here's what I do:

1. I plan to workout as many of the days as physically possible.  When you are eating more calories, you have to burn more calories.  Since I've been doing CrossFit, I do the research ahead of time and find a Box that I can go to while I am in whatever city.  This is new for me, and will be my next blog post - maybe later today, or tomorrow.

2. I buy snacks and bring them with me.  I eat a mostly paleo, sugar free diet.  In my bag I am the most amazing beef jerky I've ever found (Beretta family farm - organic, no soy, no sugar), protein powder and a shaker bottle, individual nut portions, low carb bars, etc.

3. Breakfast is always an egg white omelete, low on grease, with some avocado slices, no cheese (I'm allergic and it's a lot of calories).

4. Dinner is almost always either a salad without dressing, olive oil, lemon and salt on the side, and a protein (grilled shrimp, chicken, whatever).  If it's not the salad, it could be a fish in a light sauce, and veggies.  No starches - that means no rice, bread, pasta, desert.  None.  If I feel like having an appetizer, I make sure it's something light and low carb - tuna carpaccio, shrimp cocktail, you get the idea.

I know most of you are probably saying, "yeah right, that's not going to happen".  My reason for sharing this is to say it can be done, and it can be managed, and you can be in control.  I know, because I do it.  And this style of eating becomes addictive.  You might just find you want to eat this way every time you eat out.  I know I do.