WTG Cardio!!!! I too feel good today.(And it is not because I am doing great on the weight loss)-- but I have made it to the Gym 3 days in a row this week so far!!!!! I am on my way to a 5 workout week!!! I am back. (now I just need to get back on the wagon with my eating)-- one step at a time.

My son is turning 2 tomorrow and so we are having people out of town and a party on Sunday but I am sticking with my gym routine regardless of who needs what. I went today and feel great. ;)

Great commitment Inna!

Back from hols a few pounds heavier to much drink!!!!!

BUT i'm ready to continue where i left off the week before my hols

How is everyone???

I'm down another 0.8 lbs since Thurs

Welcome back Stuper Man!

Started the onehundred push up programe today. managed to push out 57 on my initial test which surprised me lots as i've not done any exercise for the last 14 days.

Well done rachael are you seeing a difference in your times??

3 days in a row at the gym. I can already see some improvement in my arms...my chest and gluteus maximus are sore!!!

Good times

I'm not really keeping up with my times so much since I'm not actually training for a specific tri right now. I don't want to push myself to hard after surgery so I haven't committed to one yet.

Edit: Thanks for the congrats!!

I'm back in the saddle after my crash, training for August 30 triathlon in Laurens.

Today's 5k felt like an average 10k from a few weeks ago.

Looks like my motivation is back

Started Yoga DVDs last night, been meaning to do it for a while.

I was amazed at the effect it had on my mood and my body. It will now be a part of my workout program

Also started the onehundred push-up program and went for a quick run this morning

I got back in the pool yesterday! First time since the surgery. I did about 2/3 of the workout I usually do, and I felt pretty good. I made sure to give myself enough rest between sprints. I was glad to find that good form is like riding a bike - you don't forget how to do it that easily. Tonight I will be going to spin class. I'm hoping to really get a good work out in tonight since I did well last night, I feel like I will be able to push it more tonight. Less than 4 weeks to the next tri. The big question: will I be ready in time? After work out #1, I'd say it's looking pretty good.

WTG Rachael!!! I was in the pool this morning and made 1500 yards!!!! 250 more and I will make a mile. (just need to be able to do it in 40-45 minutes -- that is my scheduled time in the morning) It felt great to push to make that 1500 yards.

Keep up the good work. I am still working toward my goal of completeing a Tri next year. I just have to schedule another 5K to keep myself pumped up.

Thanks, Stephanie! WTG to you too! 1500 yards is awesome! What length pool do you swim in? The one at my gym is junior olympic so 25 meters. I think it would be cool to swim in an actual olympic length (50 meters) pool.

So my w/o last night didn't go perfectly. I was giving around 80% effort for most of the spin class until this one song/drill that particularly revs me up. I was pretty much giving max effort. Then I threw up a little in my mouth (yes that is a new level of gross). I quickly unclipped, ran out, spit in the trash, sipped some water, and went back in. I finished, but didn't push quite so hard for the rest of the class. You might think this should be on the negative thread, but I finished the class, and I still think that I am on track to compete in 3.5 weeks.

We have a 25 Yard pool, not bad, but different than swimming in a meter pool. The place I used to go had a 25 meter pool.

Positive for today. Although I did not make it to the Gym today (watching swimming kept me up late, and actual swimming wore me out good) I did eat very well. Kept my calorie intake with in a reasonable range, and ate my fruits and veggies for the day.

I ran last night! First time in nearly a month. It felt great, and I feel great today! I'm so pumped. I did 5k, about 4 km were running and about 1 km was walking. When my heart rate got too high I walked some. But no upchucking and I felt pretty solid. Still feeling good about the upcoming tri. If the rest of this week goes well, I'll feel confident to really push myself next week.

It's amazing how much I enjoyed getting back to running after taking time off for sickness/surgery. Woo!

Hearing ya, Rach! I too just hit the trails for a run today, (and after 2 months without running), and while it was challenging at times, it was also mightly invigorating.

Congrats on your return to the magic.

Funny that we both started back to running the same day after time off.

On a side note, I haven't purchased a sweatband yet. However, I gave the hat thing a try (actually it was a visor) in spin class and then while running last night, and it worked wonders so I will definitely be purchasing a sweatband in the near future. I mean if a sweatband is good enough for Misty May-Treanor, then it's good enough for me.

I often just use a dew rag when the weather's hot, (which lately hasn't been much of an issue ; ). Enjoy your sweatband shoppin'!

I'm home, after 2 months of hospital beds and 2 weeks at the rents

(and down about 80lbs now)

Yea! I'm glad you are home, Dave! How is the rehab going?

Sweatbands rule...I want to find a superman one

WELCOME BACK, KOTTA!

It must be insanely awesome to be back in your own damn nest again, Dave.

And 80 pounds??!?!? I think it's HIGH time for a new profile pic, Slim.

BIIIIIIIG HUGS from France to one of my favo. people on traineo!



M.

Hooray for Dave!

We all miss you, Dave! Welcome back!

Dang it, I ate too much for lunch. Why is this on the positive thread you may ask. Because I am absolutely stuffed from about 600 Cal. Used to I would eat that much and be looking for dessert.

I broke a personal best last night by more than 2 minutes. It's still not as vicious and mean as I'd like, but I'm satisfied with my performance.

WOD "Helen"

3 rounds for time of:
425 m run
21 kettlebell swings (overhead) [24 kg kettlebell]
12 pullups

Previous: 17:46.59 (29 July 2008), 28:02.15 (16 kg KB) (31 Dec 2007)
Goal: 16:00.00
Time: 15:30.51
Best by: 2:16.08.
Next goal: 14:30.00

Great job, Apollo! I've checked out the crossfit web site a few times and wow I do not think I am ready for that kind of insanity.

Sure you are, Rachael. The first tenet of CrossFit is that we scale back the things we don't have the strength and stamina for. The first time I tried Helen, I did this:

"3 rounds for time: run 400 m, 21 kettlebell swings (35# kettlebell), 12 jumping pullups" => 19:44.54

Jumping pullups involve jumping chin over the bar and resisting on the way down. I'm much stronger now.

I think the first time I ever did a WOD as RXed was a run (5k), but most of the weighted ones saw me doing them with dumbbells. I still don't use a barbell, but I'm gonna get one soon and ramp the weight up. However, I did what I could, pushing myself hard, but recognizing that I was a tub of jelly and whine a year ago.

The formula I used to scale my WODs was the APFT. On the Army Physical Fitness Test, I decided not to feel one way or another about the numbers. Each event has a maximum of 100 points (technically, you can go over 100, but I was not in danger of doing that). It's 2 minutes of pushups, 2 minutes of situps, and a two mile run. Hard? Watch:

APFT A (19 Aug 2007): 30 pushups, 42 situps, 21:59 run. According to the scoring sheet, that was worth 136 points. Average those, we're talking 45. So, I scaled weights and large amounts of reps to 45% if I had the equipment and skill.

A few months later, I'd improved a lot.

APFT B (20 Oct 2007): 35 PU, 52 SU, 16:57 run => 197 pts => scale at 65%.
APFT I (13 Aug 2008): 44 PU, 72 SU, 14:32.48 run => 257 pts => scale at 85% if necessary.

The APFT isn't the ultimate test of physical fitness, but it's a pretty decent one to get a benchmark for a program like CrossFit. I figured a 45% scale at the beginning would challenge me enough to make me improve quickly, but not kill me. I tried not to feel one way or the other about the fact that I maxed the APFT when I was actually in the army over 18 years ago.

Next month, I'll hit my 1 year anniversary and I'll get myself the 300 pound bumper set with a nice new barbell to celebrate.

If you're interested in CF workouts, you can also try out some of the pre-scaled versions at BrandX. Today, for example: Angie for Big Dawgs, the Pack, and Puppies.

The thing that scares most people off is realizing they can't do 100 pullups right now and holy crap! But, according to the intro:

"If some or many of the exercises are unfamiliar to you and you are only modestly acquainted with elite athletic training then we recommend that you follow the WOD and substitute other exercises for those where you don't have either the equipment or skill and then devise a plan for acquisition of the necessary skills or equipment needed to participate completely. We are developing a Substitution Chart in the FAQ for replacing exercises for which you've not developed the skills or don't have the equipment."

I love the program because it works phenomenally. Every time a run is assigned, I set a new personal best. I don't run every day. I set a new personal best on most WODs.

My mantra has become:

Your only competition is the person who left the entry in your log book yesterday.

What do you do in your program?

My positive for today-- in 2006 i tried running and couldnt run 0.30 miles without my tummy aching and i gave up. Today i ran/walked 8 miles and i could go on and on. This is probably the longest i have ever run/walked and it was so nice to be able to do it early in the morning . My aim is to be able to run a half marathon by the run/walk method!

Wow...it's been awhile since I checked in & I'm so happy to see everyone's positives!!! :-D

Culinary school is awesome! I'm doing very well...AND I've managed to lose weight! haha...In fact, we just finished up the Viennoiserie (bread) section & I lost 5 lbs during that one alone! (Who knew chocolate croissants were good for weight loss??? I ate soooooo many of them!! LOL)

Anyway, since moving to NYC in June, I've lost about 20 lbs...I'm not really exercising daily, but I'm walking a helluva lot more & since my apartment is on the 4th floor (no elevator), I get plenty of exercise (you don't want to know about grocery & laundry days!) ;)

Anyway, congrats to everyone here!! Much love & stuff....