Here's to another year of training!

So the Open is over. I apologize for the delayed post, but it took some time to get my bearings back.

I had 2 goals going into the open-
1. Place in the top 3 girls every week
I won't lie, I didn't have high expectations for my first goal. I workout with some amazing ladies, some of which have been doing CrossFit for years. With just over a year of CF (only 7 months of actual training), I tried to remain objective (read: not get my hopes up). Also, this would be my first competition experience so I had no idea how I'd react under pressure.

2. Make a muscle-up during an Open WOD
I made my first muscle-up a month before the open started. It was awesome and crazy and I had no freaking clue how it happened. I then spent the next month trying to figure out how on earth I did it. I could make the occasional MU, but they were no where close to consistent.


To make an extremely long story short, I somehow made top 3 every week (one week there was a tie, so not sure how that works). And I managed 1 muscle-up during one of the most hellish workouts I've ever done (Karen on crack), whilst being sick.

I'm definitely not trying to toot my own horn, AT ALL. In fact, I'm sure there were times I dropped the bar, or took a break when I should've kept going. I know that there is no way I could have done even a fraction of what I did without my coaches or friends supporting me. I tried to stay grounded and humble throughout the entire 5 weeks. Making my team's success priority over my personal victories definitely made that easier.
Overall, I'm glad I have a starting place and a something to compare for next year.

My Capstone Team ended up placing 50th in our region, which is in the top 22%. That being said, we didn't qualify for regionals this time. However, I know with another year of training under our belts, next year will be a different story!

My favorite thing I've taken away from the Open wasn't a new PR, or the feeling  of people cheering, or anything personal at all. The Open solidified our motley crew of athletes into an actual team. WODs and training has a new feel these days. Walking into the gym and knowing that it's not just about me, or my personal gains (#gainz) is an amazing feeling. I'm excited to see where this year take us!

Fab Ab February!

It's already March (read Spring Break... and the OPEN eeeek!) and I cannot believe it! February went by in a flash, but the good news is that now I can do my Fab Ab Feb post! Patience isn't my strong suit, so waiting a month for something is a big deal for me. And I'm rambling.

I asked a couple of friends/fellow CrossFitters if I could track their Fab Ab Feb progress, and thankfully they agreed.

-disclaimer- We each used FAF as platform to focus more on  our core. That being said, we did not follow the original FAF Calendar

Kate's results:

1) What is your prior athletic history?

 I have been an athlete my entire life. I played multiple sports in high school, club volleyball during my undergrad, competed in triathlons during my masters degree, then finally began Crossfit in 2010. During both my undergrad and masters degrees, I taught group fitness courses. 

2)What type of diet did you use? Was it close to you typical diet or did you switch it up for FAF?

 I am typically paleo 80% of the time. I cleaned things up a bit and eliminated all wine (the only form of alcohol I drink) and soda (I love diet coke) from my diet. 

3) What type of diet did you use? Was it close to you typical diet or did you switch it up for FAF?

I continued to do Crossfit. I did add some extra cardio (running and rowing) and core work (GHD sit-ups and back extensions daily) to the mix. 

Christina's Results:

1. What is your prior athletic history? 

When I was in high school I did a lot of different sports, lacrosse, swimming, cheer, soccer. In college ad after I mainly did my own thing and took the occasional yoga and Pilates class. Then I had to have knee and foot surgery so that set me back and after I finally recovered I decided to start Crossfit about 9 months ago.

2. What type of diet did you use? Was it close to you typical diet or did you switch it up for FAF?
I just paid more attention to eating clean. I usually do 80/20 paleo but for FAF I was actually more 70/30 mainly because I discovered balance bars and couldn't not eat them. But other than that just high protein and high veggies.

3. What type of workout regimine did you use? 

I started doing extra work outside of just one WOD a day so it would either be 2 WODs or 1 WOD and about 30-45 minutes of extra work. I also run 1-2 times a week.

My results:

1. What is your prior athletic history? 

I was a competitive cheerleader throughout high school. In college I thought sitting on my rear and eating everything in sight sounded like a great idea. I start CrossFit just over a year ago.

2. What type of diet did you use? Was it close to you typical diet or did you switch it up for FAF?

I eat 80/20 paleo pretty consistently. I'll have 1 cheat meal a week and I cut out alcohol completely. Honestly, I didn't change my diet hardly at all. 

3. What type of workout regimine did you use?

I stuck to my typical workout schedule. I workout 6 days a week with 3 days of extra pull-up & muscle-up work and 2 days of extra olympic lifting work. I also try to do a light run on my rest day. 

So proud of each of my ladies and all the hard work they put in! Next week is the first week of the CrossFit Open. I'm going to try to blog throughout the competition and include some videos, so check back!