Holy Handstands!!

My how quickly 2 weeks go by....and THANK YOU TO JAMES P. BOND FOR MY REMINDERS THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN BLOGGING!!  I'm sure I can come up with some valid reasons for not keeping this updated.  I've been deciding about taking a new job at work, I've been working out consistently, I don't know how to put this, but I'm kind of a big deal....people know me.  I'm very important and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.  So there you have it folks, I'm part of the Channel 4 News team with Ron Burgundy.  Only 2 sentences of this paragraph are true, choose wisely young padawan.

My love for CrossFit Chicago continues to grow.  I actually look forward to going there - this is something that has never happened in my life, looking forward to exercising.  I still get completely scared about some of the workouts but I know I'm not going to die and I will get through it.  Lately I've noticed that I've been "getting through them" better than I did a month ago.  Being able to see and measure my  progress has been huge.  I've lost 10lbs since the challenge and while I'm excited about this, I think I would've lost more if I had been stricter (more strict?) with it.  However, I acknowledge that for me this isn't just a 6-week go, it's a lifestyle change and I have a ways to go still.

We are in the final week of the Paleo Challenge and I have no idea what the team standings are or where my team ranks, but I do know it's been a great experience.  I continue to learn more about nutrition and how/what my body reacts to.  When I say "react" I'm referring to the scale not reacting in a very friendly weigh...or way!  It's been a zig zag of losing weight for 2 weeks, not losing a pound for 2 weeks, dropping a little, etc..  Coach Zack very generously went through my food log for 3 weeks and made notes on what I had been eating/doing.  It made a HUGE difference for me. I really think my accountability factor is good in that I was honest with everything I ate and recorded it.  But, I am also very generous with my "little cheats" as I call them.  I'll sneak them in here and there, or so I thought it was just "here and there" when really it was several times a week, which all add up.   I do think taking the fish oil has helped out and I can see a huge difference in my skin especially in the last 5 weeks.  It's much clearer and I swear my cheeks have a rosy glow on most days :-)

Finally getting to "Holy Handstands".  When I titled this blog Holly's Journey, I meant it would be a journey. Ups and downs, falling & getting up, etc..  One of my first fears at CrossFit occurred in the form of the handstand.  I actually thought it was a joke the morning when Rudy told the class to go the wall and kick up into a handstand.  I just stood there thinking he wasn't talking to everyone and especially wasn't talking to me.  Oh, how wrong I was.  Within 5 seconds almost everyone was upside down with their feet in the air & against the wall.  Again, I just stood there staring at the wall.  Rudy told me that the wall wasn't going to bite & I shouldn't be afraid of it.  I laughed and said, I can't do handstands. I knew before the words came out of my mouth that I shouldn't say "I can't" but it flew out of my mouth.  Also, I was really, really hoping he'd just go walk around to everyone else and not notice that I wasn't doing a handstand.  Next thing I knew I had 2 people on either side of me and I was trying to kick up.  I'll spare the gory details, but it wasn't pretty, I felt like a wounded elephant with my legs being lifted but not really moving up and my arms collapsing, etc..  Thankfully no on laughed at me (except of course, I did) and they told me I'd get it, just keep trying.  So, for the next couple of months every time we had to do handstands, I'd give it a shot (we don't do them every week, so it took a while & I never practiced on my own).  Progress wasn't pretty - it was a mixture of being able to kick up on my own but not really get anywhere, some days staring at the wall and all of a sudden being very afraid of it, one day falling right over and into the bucket of chalk - classic graceful Holly move.  Then came this Tuesday morning.  Out of the blue and on the 1st attempt I not only got up on my own, but I held it for 15 seconds!!  I was so happy that when I came down, I screamed out "I just got up for the first time on my own!!"  My 6AM buddies have all born witness to the "not-so-pretties" and cheered & clapped for me.  It was THE BEST feeling!  I was actually really proud of myself.  Next, onto the handstand push ups!!

I'm not going to list out the workouts from the last 2 weeks but only put out that I have been keeping to 4 - 5 days a week.  I haven't made CFE this week because of my schedule and only got in 1 last week. I need to re-up my commitment to get that workout in whether I make the class or not.  I'm very good about saying I will do it, making it happen has been a little more challenging.  I now owe 2 big workouts....