The Husband Tries CrossFit

So Alex loves going to the gym...let me correct that...Alex loves going to HIS gym...He has his routine that he does (chest day, leg day, etc)...your standard gym rat type thing. (Don't worry, he never reads this blog so there's no way he'll get offended) I've been wanting him to try CrossFit for a long time now & yesterday, he finally conceded!

He was supposed to go to Edmonton in the afternoon, so I went to bootcamp in the morning.  Then he decided he would go Edmonton this morning instead & as a result went to his gym.  Part way through him being there I decided I would go to the 4:30 CrossFit...even though I knew THIS was the workout:

“Shilly Chipper”

50 Pullups

50 Pushups

50 Box Jumps with step down (24/20)

50 Shoulder to Overhead (95/65)

50 Med Ball Cleans (20/14)

50 Double Unders

50 Burpees 

I texted him, asking if he would come with me & he texted back "No way, I'm at the gym right now!"  So I replied that I had already worked out & was willing to go again, so why couldn't he?  Well... after some debate, he accepted the challenge!  Now, Alex has come with me to bootcamps before, but never CrossFit.  I told him what the workout was, but he didn't seem phased or nervous.  He even started doing push ups BEFORE the class (as I was stretching) to "warm up", he said.  One of the instructors afterwards commented on the push ups thing, saying "You knew there were push ups in the workout, right?" 

It was cute though...to see him do things his way. Regular style push ups vs. CrossFit style push ups, for example.  And pull ups... he's used to only doing strict pull ups & so it was neat to see him learn how to do beat swings & then kipping pullups. And let me tell you... he could do them & man, it was hot!

So in the workout, we worked away at each task & I could quickly tell that it was a style of working out that he wasn't used to.  He was working hard, but I was soon able to pass him in what we were doing. It gave me a little sense of pride to know that even though he's quite fit, I was able to keep up with him & even pass him, finishing before he did.  I think it was just things he wasn't used to doing. But he worked really hard & finished strong & I was so proud of him for coming with me.  I hope he'll decide to come with me again sometime & maybe even get into CrossFit instead of being a gym rat.

Love you Alex!

Faux Artisana Cacao Bliss

So a 6oz jar of Artisana's Cacao Bliss is $9.99 + TX + Shipping. Ugh.  So I decided to try to make my own.  I looked at the ingredients on the jar & winged it.  And let me tell you, it turned out pretty good!  So here's what I think I threw into my food processor... (It makes a lot, so feel free to adjust the amounts)

3/4 C. homemade coconut butter *see below
1/2 C. virgin coconut oil
4 TBSP unsweetened cacao powder I used a combo of this & this)
2/3 C. melted Cacao Butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 packages Grace brand pure creamed coconut (softened in warm water first)
1/3 C (maybe less?) Coconut Secret Coconut Nectar - (I used this because I didn't have Agave Nectar like it says on the Artisana Cacao Bliss packaging)

All blended together in my little food processor until smooth.  Poured into glass jars & then I put them in the fridge just to set (it was liquid when finished blending).  And you're done! YUM!

***Homemade Coconut Butter
300g package unsweetened medium coconut
4 TBSP virgin coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 dash of pink Himalayan sea salt

Ground in food processor until it forms coconut butter!

Cortisone Shots = YUCK!

So last week, (as per recommendation from my attractive orthopedic surgeon) I got a cortisone shot in my left knee.  I was thinking there would be freezing first, but nope...he whips out a HUGE needle & tells me to take a deep breath. PAIN...I can feel the liquid make its way into my knee, PRESSURE...Ugh, it was so gross. I asked..."What was that, a 16 gauge?"... "Nope, an 18 gauge" he says.  Well...after a day or so of stiffness & pain, I have to say my knee feels much better than it has in a long time. So, that's a plus :)

Then, on Thursday (2 days ago), I got a cortisone shot in my lower back. That was even less fun. Luckily there was freezing first, so all I could feel was weird digging around & pressure. The thing that made it a little bit better was Alex. He was waiting in the waiting area (just a few feet away from me...I was behind a curtain getting a sterile procedure done, so he couldn't be there).  He'd gotten a cut on his thumb & when we first got there we had asked for a band aid.  So he's just sitting there while I'm getting poked & prodded in my lower back & then a nurse (that didn't know anything about the band aid giving situation) asked him what he was doing sitting there.

Well without missing a beat, Alex replied that he'd gotten a cut & one of the nurses had asked him to stay for observation; that they wanted to "monitor him"... "But it's just a cut", he says, "I don't understand why I can't just go..."  Well the nurse started to freak out a bit & it was hilarious. "What do you mean they want to monitor you?" It went on for a little bit until Alex admitted he was just there waiting for me to be done.  It was so funny...I love my husband...he makes me laugh every day.

So once I was all done I got the bad news about having to miss CrossFit not only for that day, but for Friday too :(  I wouldn't have been comfortable anyway as I was pretty sore & am even sore today (Saturday).  But I went to CrossFit today & it was a killer WOD:

300 skips (100 Double unders - ya right)
50 Handstand push ups (scaled to DB push press)
50 Toe to bars (scaled to knee ups)
50 Shoulder to overhead
100 Walking lunges

but I did it & I'm glad I went.

And I'll keep going...I was so worried when I met with my attractive orthopedic surgeon that he was going to tell me I had to stop CrossFit & needed to do Aquacize or something...but lucky for me he was very supportive of CrossFit, providing I keep doing what I'm doing now, which is monitoring how my body feels & scaling things back (no jumping or running or box jumps, for example).  And then once I've lost the weight that I need to I should be fine to do all of those things.  The cortisone shots are a means to help me manage my pain while I work towards the weight loss & then I should be fine once I've reached my goal weight. (So excited!!)

Another piece of exciting news (which will most likely help me in my weight loss) ... I've been asked to be a mentor in the upcoming Grande Prairie's Biggest Loser competition (the one that I won in 2011).  This year there will be 2 teams & no eliminations each week, just a winning team and a losing team...& then the overall winner will be the one with the highest % of weight lost.  And it's extended to 12 weeks (instead of 8 weeks) so they'll have a longer time to see results.  The winner from 2013, Barb,  is the other mentor. We will get to work out with them at least 3 times a week & go to the weekly challenges & weigh ins. I'm so excited!!!

Alright... I think that's enough for now... until next time!