Sometimes the things you do, you were hoping it will cause a positive effect and at times it does not. Then you just sit there and reflect why. I guess there is no why. I have a choice and at times those choices are painful to think about. So instead, right now, I focus on what I need to do to stay positive and what I need to build a strong emotional foundation for myself. Some would think I am just evading the issue and they may be right. But right now I need to do what is best for me at this moment!
My last posting, I was thinking of what I want to do, where I want to go in regards to my workout. I grew somewhat accustomed to working out on a daily basis. Oh, I am still somewhat a couch potato during the weekends and I still like eat some junk food. We have to keep life interesting and happy especially with eating.
I did wind up signing up for Foundations class at Crossfit Goliath. As I said doing 3 classes of Foundations at the other two gyms, my brain just could not mimic the exercise pattern. I learn visually and I hope repeating the class will help. Goliath foundation is 6 classes, meets twice a week for the next 3 weeks. With the Living Social or Groupon, it is an excellent deal; 2 months purchase is the first month is foundations and after that you got 2 more months to figure things out, like it, not like it, etc. What do you got to lose! There were other options but I chose this one!
Also besides doing the Foundations at Goliath, it is closer to my workplace, that I can go during lunch if I have to work late. At Marvel as well as Exchange, they are not close to my workplace even though they have morning class times. I realize when i was working tremendous amount of overtime, I was not able to get to class along with not getting a chance to train with my trainer. So I made a decision to try Goliath.
December was the start of Foundations! I was still afraid to walk into a Crossfit gym. To me, I felt intimidated with the people, they are so strong, they are so fit, I can't run, I can't do these heavy weights, I can't do rope climb, I can't do pull ups, I can't do handstand , let alone handstand pushups. So all these negatives going through my mind. For those who know me and my environment growing up, you will understand why!
The first night of Foundations, there were maybe 6 of us, all starry eyed, not knowing what to expect.
Mitchell, the owner of the gym and coach gathered us around and we were to introduce ourselves, our name, where are we from and what is our favorite food. Then we did a group warm-up as well as a group cool-down which I really like so to get to know the people better.
Then he explain what is usually the structure of regular class which composes of warm-up, strength, WOD, cool-down. Then he would tell us about Foundations and what 9 movements would be covered. Some of us look dumbfounded because we never heard of these terms.
That first night was all elements of the squat: front squat, back squat, air squat. Using a PVC pipe, we would go through progressions of the movements and what each of us need to focus on like squeezing the butt, tight core, feet little more than shoulder width apart, etc. Mitchell and another coach would watch and correct or help us if we are not able to squat low enough, which was me big time. Since squat involves the core and upper body strength. We were introduce the abmat to do our situps with feet together and pushups of different scaling - Then we cool-down together by doing stretching , flexibility and mobility exercises.
All the subsequent classes were of that format or similar. Each class he would introduce to us other exercises such as the pull-up, use the bands, or do ring rolls, how to row on the rowing machine, how to use kettlebells, It was not totally just going to Foundations and no other classes until completion. Mitchell would announce to us that a certain day would be a good class to go to because it would not be anything that we have not done before or learn. So this way, we get to meet the rest of the members.
I remember the first night Ron, Shelley and I met together to do a regular class. We were met up with some real friendly people and them greeting you is genuine. There were some ultra strong people there and they would cheer us on and encourage us when we were doing the WOD which some of them can be excruciating. But we will have that smile on our face that we did it. Mitchell or one of the coaches would never be too far away.
Some of the foundation classes, we would practice the movement with the PVC pipe, then practice with the barbell utilizing progressions and we would have a workout to do that pertains to the movement we learned and again another form of exercise we will do such as wall balls and box jumps. One of the classes we did a named WOD Helen. OMG! Running is so hard for me but I was allowed to scale the distance. This WOD I repeated again - and in as much running is hard, I did not scale on the running and I felt so much stronger than when I first started. I was happy with that!
Oh the other thing I like about Goliath, we have yoga class once a week and every first Sunday talk by a certified yoga teacher and the best part of it all, I met back with someone I miss and respect so much. Michelle used to teach at the YMCA and it was so great to see her again.
Yes, yoga and crossfit go together, just like running and yoga goes together! It is a mind and body connection.
So overall, I enjoyed Foundations. Once in a while, I would go and listen again to the next foundation class. I am the perpetual foundation student :-) Oh, oh, one more thing, besides talking about exercise, barbells, lifting, part of Foundations was to talk about nutrition, what the body needs, etc. I found that informative.
This is my new beginning for 2015. I am going to stay focused and have more discipline with my fitness activities.
Besides that, I am going to go back to doing what I love most- cooking! I created some dishes with no added salt, sugar and could use a little bit of oil. I chose coconut oil of choice. I will post picture.
But I made a cauliflower mash that my husband don't like cauliflower ate this:
I used fresh garlic minced up, some almond milk for creaminess, some parsley, and bacon bits for enhancing flavor and salt - viola!
Enjoy reading! This is a long post!
