Motivate Me Monday-Reaching Goals

It's nearly August can you believe it?!!

CrAzY!!

 I'm not looking forward to August because I know it will go even faster than July.

At the beginning of July, I sat down and wrote a few goals I wanted to work towards for the month. 

This past week I finally found that paper (another reason why I needed a notebook) and looked over what I had written..

By the end of July, I wanted to be able to do a pistol squat on both legs, plank for 2 minutes, and do one regular pullup. At the time I wrote this, I was unable to do any of these! 

So here we are, at the end of July already which means it's time to test myself to see whether or not I made my goals. 

First I tested myself on the plank.

These pictures pretty much sum up how I was feeling. 

At the beginning, I was quite hopeful and thought a 2 minute plank wouldn't be too hard.

Mid-plank, the doubts started to creep in and I was almost certain I wasn't going to make my goal.

Post plank, I collapsed. My muscles were shaking from holding myself for that long!

And now you're probably wondering whether I made my goal?...

Here is my time:

I made it!! 

And even better than that, I passed my goal by 5 seconds!!

You may think 5 seconds is insignificant, but YOU go plank for 2 minutes and you will find those 5 seconds are worth celebrating.

As for my pullup...

Why oh why must pullups be so difficult?!! 

Thankfully my little guy (peeking in the corner) was there to root me on and I was able to get my one pullup.

The other day I nearly got TWO pullups..but today I was struggling to just get one! 

But I'm content with one. 

A month ago I couldn't even pull myself half way up! 

And last but not least, I wanted to be able to do a pistol squat on both legs.

As you know, I can do it on my right leg..

..but unfortunately I am not able to complete one on my left leg.

I can get down but I lose my balance and do not have the strength to lift myself back up!

I'm still working on it and will continue to try until I get it. 

All in all, I'm pleased with the accomplishments I've made!

I reached 3 out of 4 of my goals within just four quick weeks. 

I wanted to share this with you today in hope to motivate you.

Reaching my goals and seeing myself improve is the biggest motivation for myself, but I hope it motivates you as well. 

Because if I can do it, so can you.

All it takes is determination, practice, patience, and more practice.

(Oh, and a little hard work)

But trust me, the hard work pays off.

So whatever your goals are, don't give up.

If you don't have any specific goals, I encourage you to make some.

It will keep you focused and motivated to work toward something. 

I will be writing down new goals each month and encourage you to join me in doing so!

If you already do, how are your goals coming along?!

Bad Good Great

I've told you before, I have good weeks and bad weeks. 

Last week wasn't a great week for me... 

But this week has been a GREAT week!

I've been committed to my workouts and stretching plenty.

I'm feeling good.

I'm eating good better.

Which hopefully means I'm looking better too!

I also told you I wanted to get better about logging my workouts..
I have gotten better about writing them down!
Now I just need to get better about where I write them..
I haven't been to the store to buy a notebook so I've been writing my workouts down on whatever is close by!
For instance, a napkin. 

 Obviously, I desperately need to write them on something other than a napkin..
So I found my husband's lesson notebook (he's a teacher if you didn't know)
He's never used it so I stole it from him.
It's not the most fancy thing but it beats a napkin!!  

And is it just me or has the week flown by?

Summer needs to stop going so fast!!

This week has been busier than most.

I've been helping my church with VBS in the evenings each night.
I also took my little one to the outdoor pool this week for the first time! He loved it!!
We have a cold front moving in so it's actually been enjoyable to take Ashton for a walk!
He get's really excited when I tell him we are going to go outside.
He always rushes over to the door and waits for me to put his shoes on him.
I'm so glad he is an outdoorsy little guy!

It's raining right now so hopefully I can get some actual housework done today!
(while I watch the Crossfit Games of course)

Are you rooting for anyone in particular in the games?

Out of my League

 For all you women crossfitters out there, does this ring true for you?! 

Pretty lace bras are over-rated.

Shout-out to all you girls who would rather spend $40 on a Nike sports bra versus a Victoria Secret bra!

And although men may think otherwise, a girl can never have too many sports bras..am I right?!

Enough about bras..

(sorry for any men who may be reading this)

 

The Crossfit Games have begun!! 

I was bummed thinking I wouldn't be able to watch it because I only have local tv stations...

then I discovered they have live coverage on the Crossfit Games website!

Wahoo! Except I'm not getting any housework done because I'm too busy watching the games. 

Oh well! 

I am beyond impressed by the athletes I have seen.

They are out of my league!

Today I was watching the 55-59 age division do their workouts..wow. 

My mouth was down to my chin as I watched these powerful women and men complete their workout.

They made it look so easy..& might I add, they look GOOD!! 

I could tell they were older but I didn't know they were quite that old! 

(And I mean that as a compliment!)

They are amazing.

They are fitter than I am and 3 times my age!

I am quite impressed and inspired by such athletes.

Aside from the games, I've been thinking about some things I need to get better at. 

It seems as a beginner in crossfit, I have too many goals to count. 

It can sometimes be overwhelming because sometimes it seem the things I can't do (yet!) out number the things I can do.

Things like pullups, handstand pushups, pistol squats (left leg), muscle ups, etc. 

You know what I mean, right?

I'm trying to take my goals in baby-steps. 

Right now I've been focusing on getting those pistol squats. 

I'm half way! Once I complete one on my left leg, I'll move on to a new goal.

Along with my goals, I have a few things I also want to get better at. 

There are three of them.

#1. Drink More Water

I need to get better at drinking more water. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't drink soda or anything bad. I just need to drink MORE.

It is SO important to drink plenty of water and I'm not always the best at drinking enough.

#2. Stretch

My muscles can get so tight and my flexibility quite poor.

I need to set time aside in the evenings to stretch my achy muscles and work on my flexibility. 

#3. Time & Record

I wish I had been keeping track of my workout times and weight I've been lifting.

I want to get a little notebook specifically for my crossfit workouts so I can record everything.

I'm going to begin timing my workouts as well writing down the amount of weights I lift. 

I should have been doing it all along! It would help me see if or how much I have improved.

I'm excited to begin recording everything so I can see my progress on paper!

It reminds me that I am my own competitor.

 I don't need to beat anyone's time except for my own previous time.

For the next month, I'm going to really focus on these 3 areas.

 Feel free to join me if you need a boost in these areas as well.

If you think you are already great at drinking a lot of water, stretching plenty, and recording...

What other areas do you have to work on?? 

 

Motivate Me Monday-Carrots 'N' Cake

It's Monday again already?!
Last week FLEW by!!
I'm really needing some strong motivation today & I'm going to go look for some over at a blog I love! 

It's called Carrots 'N' Cake. 

A fitness blog with the word cake in the title is bound to be good right?! 

If you haven't already, you should check it out. 

Reasons I love this blog:

#1. She Crossfits and she loves to run! She actually has a crossfit training certification.

The girl knows her fitness stuff and not only writes for her blog, but has contributed to multiple fitness magazines, fitness websites, and has her very own book.

#2. She has a 15 minute or less at home crossfit workout 

 

#3.She shares recipes. 

Even Paleo recipes for those who diet paleo-style.

Check out her Gluten-free & egg-free cookie dough recipe!

Need I say more?

Boom! A Pistol Squat

I am excited to share with you today the progress I have made in doing pistol squats!
Remember this past Motivate Me Monday post, I talked about how I am determined to get a one legged pistol squat?!

Well, I've been working on them all week and look what happened today...

 Needless to say, I'm quite proud of myself. 

I worked really hard to get this.

For now, I can only do it on my right leg. 

My right is much stronger than my left so it's going to take a little more work until I can fully complete the squat on my left. 

I can squat down left, but I have trouble lifting my body back up once I'm down.

But I'm working on it so I hope to get it soon!!

Have you been working on your pistol squat?

I'd love to hear how it's coming along or feel free to share a picture of your pistol squat! 

Message me a pic on my MommaCrossfitter facebook page!
 

Zonked!

Wowsa!!

The workouts this week are kicking my butt! 

I am sore from head to toe...and I LIKE it! 

It's reassuring to know I have been giving it my all during my workouts.

Yesterday's workout was brutal. 

It was too HOT in my garage to workout so I took what I needed outside under some shade.

Occasionally there was a breeze..every now and then. 

 My wod consisted 5 rounds of 10 burpees, 10 pushups, 20 kettlebell ab twists, 45 second plank, and 30 goblet squats.

I've done that WOD before, but doing it in over 90 degree weather gave it an extra challenge to say the least.

By the end, I was covered in grass and sweat. 

And I don't mean I was a little sweaty, my shirt was soaked in sweat. (Gross I know!)

Post workout...

I didn't want to move. 

I didn't want anyone to bother me.

 I needed some alone time where I could just sit and do nothing but drink my hard-earned protein shake.

And that's what I did.
Luckily, I was able to relax and cool down for a half hour before my little one woke up from his nap!

I don't normally feel this way after a workout, but I my workout left me zonked.

Do you ever feel this way after a workout? 

Motivate Me Monday

Sunday's are usually my rest days, so when Monday creeps up on me I have a hard time getting the excitement to exercise. To get motivated, I turn to fitness magazines, blogs, or funny crossfit pictures on pinterest. I thought I would share with you what motivates me.

Today I'm motivated by this picture:

 Have you tried to squat like this with just one leg?

If you haven't, stand up right now and try it.

It's much harder than it looks!

I've tried and tried and I am still unable to do it. 

I'm getting closer though!

This picture reminds me that I can't do it and motivates me to keep trying.

I am determined!

For those of you who may not know who is in this picture, this is Christmas Abbot.

She is an amazing crossfitter! 

I like to say she is small but mighty!

She looks so small and lean, but she is ALL muscle. 

Well I'm not going to get that kind of body by just looking at her so I better get my WOD on! 

Today's Wod looks like this:

Run 800m

21 Chest to bar pullups

15 kettlebell swings

9 squat cleans

Run 800m

15 kettlebell swings

21 Cheast to bar pullups

Run 800m

 Now go your sweat on!

 

Twenty-Two

Wow! Time has escaped from me!! 

I better catch up from the past week or so. 

I recently got my hair cut. 

I call it my mommy cut. Its fast and easy to do in the mornings.

I love it! It's mommy friendly but...

..not quite crossfit friendly.

(Pic taken post workout-yikes!)

This past Tuesday, my brother and I celebrated our 22nd birthday! Everyone always asks me if I mind sharing my birthday or how I like being a twin. I guess it's all I've know but I've always LOVED it! We have always been really close. We were one another's shadow growing up. Everyone always teased us that when we grow up we will have to buy a condos next to one another because we would never stand to be seperated. Imagine all the teasing I got when he recently moved into my upstairs! ha!

For our my birthday, my hubby took me to HuHot for lunch! YUM!! We drove an hour and a half for this food and it was worth the drive! Once we got back, my mom always makes a special birthday dinner. She made my favorite meal; homemade enchiladas! So good! And to end the day, my husband bought me Birthday Cake Ice Cream! It was quite the day of feasting! I think I may avoid the weight scale at the end of the week! yikes!

After our birthday, Independence Day showed up! I ate way too much once again. Am I the only one? I was doing pretty good for awhile. We even brought our own meat to grill at our family gathering. Our turkey burgers were delicious and I ate a plate full of fruit. Not bad, right? And then I spotted the chips. My enemy. 

Hello, my name is Whit, and I'm a chip addict. 

Why can I just not say no?!! I am terrible! It is something I really need to work on. I'm kicking myself for eating them! Ugh!

Guess I'll need to work extra hard in my workouts this week..and next week...and pry the week after that for all the junk I've eaten this week. I'm not proud of it. 

One more thing, I'm thinking about a doing a little giveaway. What would you think of that?! 

Yay or nay?

(as if anyone actually turn down free stuff)