Wow, my last update was May 27th. A little pathetic on my part. I haven't actually been on my computer in a long time and I find it tough to write a blog with my phone. I will be more diligent in the coming months because I will have lots to post!
So! I starting doing CrossFit and eating Paleo on June 1st and it has been amazing. For those who don't know what either of those things are, CrossFit is a high-intensity, compact workout that is short in duration but intense. Typically, workouts take 12-15 minutes to complete but you don't stop from the time you begin and you keep the intensity at the highest level you can. The types of exercises you do incorporate Olympic weight lifting, gymnastics, running and much more. To get an idea, the following is an example workout day for me:
1 round:
15 squats with 45lb bar
8 burpees
10 jump squats
100 meter dash
10 power cleans with 55 lbs
15 minutes (as many rounds as possible)
Following this, Natalie and I will go for a run around the campground. The run varies from a mile for time or for a total 30 minutes. It really just depends on the WOD (workout of the day) that I just completed. We do this combo 6 days per week. Yikes. CrossFit has a bit of a cult following and for those who do it, they love it. I was pretty skeptical that I could get a decent workout in 12 minutes (I was used to at least an hour in the gym on training days) but after the first day, I was begging for mercy.
On the nutrition side of the equation, CrossFit promotes two diets: the Zone and Paleo. Natalie, my sister, has been doing Paleo for about 4 months now and her results have been incredible. With the Paleolithic Diet, you avoid grains, dairy, legumes, salt, processed oils and refined sugar. The explanation is as follows:
There are a lot of theories on both sides of this diet (some strongly for, some strongly against) however, all I know for myself is that since cutting out all of the above, my body has experienced drastic changes. The first few days were rough. I had to white-knuckle my way through the caffeine and sugar withdrawls. Caffeine was the worst. However, once I got through it, it has been amazing. I don't feel bloated, I have incredible amounts of energy (no more 2:30 pm crash!), and my sleep patterns have normalized. I'm no longer up until 12 am every night, and I usually get tired around 9:30 pm. I know this sounds like I've become a boring old lady. In a way I guess I have. But I would rather be boring and be awake and alert to train at 5:30 every morning than stay up watching re-runs of "Say Yes To The Dress". lol
You might be wondering what my results have been for the month! I lost a total of 10lbs and 3.5 inches. Considering that we didn't do much running for the first two weeks, I'm pretty thrilled. In the past I would have been dissatisfied with 2-2.5lbs/week, instead wanting 4lbs or more but this time around, slow and steady is going to win the race. Ultimately I know that I am doing all I can do--eating clean and training like a beast! For the second month, Natalie and I are kicking up the running (had a personal best for my mile run today!) and we have started the Advocare 24 Day Challenge. It's just a cleanse with a variety of supplements geared to cleaning out your system and promoting a bit of weight loss. We figured since we're doing Paleo, we may as well take advantage and do the cleanse. I'm just looking at it as a bit of a kick-start. So far, so good!So I'm hoping that this month I hit another 10+ lb drop. Considering how clean my diet is (no mayo this month!) and how much we're running in addition to CrossFit, I think it's doable. ;)
As I said, I'll be posting much more on here from this month forward and I hope that you follow my progress and let me know how all of your training is going! I really do find it interesting and inspiring to hear about other people's training.
Any questions or comments, feel free to post on my facebook page for "Iron and Asphalt". Thanks for reading and happy training!! :)
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