Great quote on the white board this morning.

“Even if you are dead last every single WOD, remember that you finished the same WOD as the person who finished first.  Yell “TIME” loud and proud, you did it!”

Love that.  CrossFit, and any fitness activity, is about improving oneself.  Push hard and compete against you. Try to do better than yesterday and move forward with a good attitude, being confident that the person you see in the mirror tomorrow will be stronger and tougher than the one you see today.  This is all about you, don’t worry about what anyone else is doing or how quick they may be doing it.  It doesn’t matter if your activity is walking, running, biking, swimming or maybe CrossFit.  Do it for you.  Compete against you.

Today’s workout began with two new moves.  Handstand Push-ups and Kettlebell Swings.  Yay!  I’ve wanted to work my way up to handstands since I first saw my friends and fellow F’N Runners in this photo below (April 2013).  From left:  Jeni H, Amy C & Tina B.

I saw this photo via Facebook months before I started CrossFit.  I was green with envy.  These ladies are normal people.  They aren’t big and muscly and nobody would probably pick them out of the crowd as being overly “strong”.  They are moms who run.   Ladies I know.  Regular people like you and I.  If these ladies can do it, so can I.  So can you.  But as with everything, we have to put in the work.  These ladies obviously did that.  Wow.  This photo is what convinced me that CrossFit was something I needed to add to my life.  I’m not saying that I’ll ever be coordinated and/or strong enough to replicate this move but I’ll never know if I don’t try.  I learned a long time ago, never say never.

Handstand Push-ups – They are just as they sound.  Kick up into a handstand, then dip down to do a push-up.  Took me a few times to be confident enough to actually kick up with enough force to actually stay up but it was something that became more comfortable with each attempt.  The goal was to do the handstand, then 10 push-ups, then kick down.  Here I am below.  Yes, I always wear my Aspaeris Pivot Compression Shorts and Pro Compression or SLSTRI  Compression Socks to class.

I couldn’t dip down very far for the push-up but it’s a start.  I also wasn’t able to complete all 10 before I lost my balance and had to kick out.  I did make 9 on one attempt though!  Super excited!! 

Kettlebell Swings are super fun too!!!  Demo below.  I added the last photo too because the range of motion isn’t complete until the kettlebell is above the head.  Sequence from Todo Entrenamientos and then the lady in blue is from South Coast CrossFit.

After the new moves, we did a quick “2 minute AMRAP” (as many rounds as possible) workout of:  Box Jumps (12” box), Abmat Sit-ups, Squats & Ring Rows.  2 minutes on each activity, doing as many as possible in the 2 minute timeframe. 

Done.

Anything you are excited to tackle in your upcoming workouts?  Maybe your first 20 miler of marathon training?  Handstands in CrossFit?   It’s a beautiful things to watch the progress of a good training cycle.  Be proud!!

** Getting Stronger ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **