Globo Gym? No Thanks!

Yep...I confess, before CrossFit I was a Globo Gym Junkie. Leg days, tricep and chest day, back and bicep day. I loved it! My muscles where growing and I was better at running because of it.

Then I found CrossFit. I tried one 20 minute workout, and I barely made it for 10 minutes. It seemed to last forever...and I was a mess the next day. I finally met my match.

You cannot separate CrossFit workouts into upper body and lower body days. For example a power clean involves the whole body, as do all Crossfit Lifts such as Deadlifts, Jerks, Pull-ups and Rowing. CrossFit makes you mix up your body parts, just as life does. Hence the term functional movements. 20 minutes in a CrossFit gym will leave you gasping for air, like hours in a globo gym, never did. And I am still improving my running!

Sometimes, I think about taking 2 hours out of my busy day and doing one of my globo gym workouts, maybe chest and tricep followed by a 45 minute run on a treadmill. Then I remember how boring that was, and realize I'd rather shoot myself, LOL! CrossFit is a better way. It's my drug of choice.


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CrossFit Certification

At the beginning of October I went to Rogue Fitness in Columbus, Ohio for a two day seminar in hopes of receiving my CrossFit Certification. It was a jammed packed seminar with with some of the best CrossFitter in the world. In those two days it felt like I did 7,001 squats, WOW! My legs are still sore. But I didn't dare wine in front of all these fit people. Here is a picture of me with Matt Chan. If any of you have ever watched the CrossFit Games you will know this guy. He came in second place and holds the title of the second fittest man if the world. Seriously, How is a girl suppose to concentrate with all these abs around? JEEZ.

What is CrossFit? This is the question I hear the most. CrossFit is a workout that gets you good at everything, such as Running, Weightlifting, and Gymnastics. There is WOD (Workout of the day) you have to preform. Do a WOD two to six tines a week and I promise you will be in the best shape of your life. Every WOD can be scaled down to your fitness level. As you CrossFit more, you will have to scale less. Soon you will be the envy of your friends and family. This is a picture taken in my Box (term for a CrossFit gym) of some of the girls planking. Yep, that's me on the bottom.

How will I know I'm getting fit? In CrossFit there are "Benchmark" WOD's and they are named after women. Most CrossFit boxes will have a whiteboard..below is a picture of our whiteboard. On this  board we keep track of the benchmark WOD's. They are repeated usually once a year so you can see your progress, like shaving off some time or lifting heavier weight. Last Friday we did Kelly. Let me tell you Kelly is a BITC*.

I always tell my clients that want to lose weight to log their food. Now I am going to tell you to log your workouts in a book. It will be proof of your success. You will see that carrying groceries into the house is easier, or picking up your toddler doesn't cause you to make funny grunting noises. It is important to measure your gains against real life activities. At my box, if you don't have a log book the trainer will make you do burpees. I make sure to have mine with me all the time. 

Yesterday I finally received word that I passed my CrossFit Certification Test!!! If I have your interest, Please contact me to try a free CrossFit WOD. Some of the benefits of CrossFit are:

1. Helps with everyday Functioning

2. Helps to prevent injury

3. Essential to slow muscle loss as we age

4. Increases Bone Density

5. Helps to lower Body Fat

It is my passion to make exercise a regular and enjoyable part of your life. I'd like to see all of you enjoy the healthy rewards of being fit. Contact me to get started on a program that is right for you.

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Here is a small sample of a WOD taking place!

FitBit

Have you heard of this device yet? I received for my birthday in July. I love tech-geeky health related gadgets. So hubby purchased one for me. It is expensive at $100 for the fancy tracker. After a month with my FitBit, I am not disappointed. It is a huge motivator. If I sit on my ass all day, which doesn’t happen often, it knows I am sitting. And I aim to please my little tracker so I look for excuses to get steps in. 10,000 steps a day is challenging. Even as a personal trainer who is always on the move and participating in daily exercise classes, I have to really try to get these steps in. It also knows if I am climbing stairs or just walking. It suggests I climb 10 flights of stairs daily. So it is not uncommon at the end of the day to see me running the stairs in my house to get those 10 flights in. I don’t want to upset my FitBit. As your activity increases, so does the the size of your flower on the device. It also sends messages to you when looking at your device. Such as “Char, you rock” or “Char, Lets get moving”.

Another part of this gadget I like is it tracks what I eat. I have done this before with Loseit.com and I still have many of my clients on this site. The FitBit food tracker tells me how many calories I have earned as a result of my activity level. SOOOO, if I move more...guess what? I get to eat more, and that always makes me happy!

This gadget not only tracks my daily activity, but tracks my sleep patterns as well. Sleep is a very important factor to being healthy. I was surprised to find out that I get a solid 7 hours of sleep most nights. It tells me how many times I wake up in the night. Let me tell you I am a sound sleeper. Most nights I only wake up once in the night. 

The FitBit will email you weekly reports. I love to see the graphs and it lets me know what days are the most active and the not so active. I like my Fitbit. It’s not a magic pill – nothing is. It doesn’t put vegetables on my plate. It doesn’t do the hard work for me, but it does make the hard work even more rewarding.

So tell me, what do you use to keep your exercise and eating on track?


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Things Fit People Do Before Lunch!

Get Enough Sleep! Not getting enough of this can interfere with appetite, moods and energy..all things we need for a productive day!

Water! I try to remind my clients everyday of this. It is huge for weight loss, let me say that again...IT IS HUGE FOR WEIGHT LOSS. Even if you are not thirsty when you wake up, start the day with a bottle of water.

Exercise! You know I had to add this to the list. Exercise when you can, but for a lot of people if it doesn't happen in the morning it's not going to happen. After a crazy day at the office you will be glad it is done.

Breakfast! You need to "Break the Fast". Fuel your body for the day. I don't have to tell you what to eat here...I will tell you a sugary donut is not it.

Snack! If there is 6 hours between breakfast and lunch, a snack will keep your metabolism going and keep hunger pangs away.

Posture Check! I am the first to tell you I lose my posture when sitting at a desk. Thats why I have to check it a couple of times. Shoulders pulled back, core is tight, chest out.

How many of these things do you do each morning?

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A great quick breakfast

CrossFit Women

I did not write this. Found it in a magazine and wanted to share.

I am a CrossFit Woman
I do not wear makeup
I do not wear gloves
I do not do my hair
I do not ‘glisten’ or ‘glow’

I am a CrossFit Woman
I sweat
I grunt
I curse
I bleed

I am a CrossFit Woman
I will not shy away from failure
I will not hide me emotions
I will not quit
I will not hold back

I am a CrossFit WomanI am a coach
I am a competitor
I am a daughter
I am a friend

I am a CrossFit Woman
I am confident
I am strong
I am beautiful
I am a CrossFit Woman

I think it’s time we start changing this pretty little box that society has put it’s little girls in.  You should wear dress adorned in lace, be quite and polite, play with dolls and learn to cook.  Ok…..so this is an extreme exageration, but there is some truth.

Soceity has this stigma that CrossFit women are breaking.  You can be strong, confident and sure of yourself and not be a bitch.  That’s right, I used the ‘B’ word.  CrossFit women are kind, compationate, empithtic and on and on and on…..because let’s face it, we’ve all been there.  We’ve all wanted to quit a wod half way through, drop the weight or take one more break, but we don’t.  Why?

Because we are CrossFit Women!

Come try a class and bring your husband or boyfriend with you!

For Pete's Sake, Are You Kidding Me?

I am beyond sick and tired of hearing this from females, "I lift light weights for higher reps to tone", or "Will squats make my butt big?" or "I don't want to lift heavy and get big muscles".

For Pete's sake, Are you kidding me?

Please understand this, lifting heavy weights does not guarantee bigger muscles, nor does high reps guarantee becoming cut. Oh, How I wish it did! Muscle tone has more to do with diet and genetics. Females, or even males (drug free) need to seriously work their butt off for years to grow just a little bit of muscle.

I've read lots of studies that claim the more muscle you have, the longer you can live. This is more important than even blood pressure and cholesterol. So lift as heavy as you can, because it's going to take years to gain some muscle... AND GET STARTED TODAY!

Women between the ages of 40 & 50 will lose 1% of muscle mass each year, and tend to replace that with fat. If you are a female in that age bracket or any age bracket,  I wouldn't wait any longer to start pumping iron. Work as hard as you can to grow those muscles!!!


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Let's WOD it up!

Getting healthy is the hardest choice for people to make...especially for women. Now, more than ever our lives are pulled in many directions...money, stress, family, friends and work all take up most of our time. Exercise still seems to be a mans world, unless you are talking about yoga or an aerobics class. Walk into any gym and it is mostly men in the free weight area. Before I found this new craze called "CROSS FIT" I would go to the gym, get a 30 minute run in and then head to the weight room for about 45 minutes. Most of the time dreading getting to the gym, dreading the run, dreading the weights, but two hours later glad I did it. Who has that kind of time to work out? Even as a personal trainer I found it hard to find the time, but did because it's my job.

In "CROSS FIT" we do a new workout everyday. This keeps the body from hitting a plateau, but also keeps it fun. Keeping up with a workout routine is hard enough, keeping it enjoyable is the key. This is a huge reason why "Cross Fit" is so popular with women.

EXPECTATIONS: Yes, you will move weight quickly. It is part of being able to carry groceries, pick up kids, and preform the everyday functions of life. There is no whining...ok, well maybe a little. The trainers want you to curse their names. They don't care if it hurts as long as you have good form and are not injuring yourself.  No gloves allowed. In real life you do not put on gloves before lifting a box or your kids. Leave the pink gloves at home! You get dirty, sweaty, and messy hair. You will get leaner, faster and stronger but it is a progress. Try it for 90 days before deciding if it's for you. One WOD (Workout Of the Day) is not enough to decide if you like it. You will not have to spend hours in the gym anymore to get results!!

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