A New Toy

I had to run to the store yesterday for a few things. I was walking by the electronics department and decided to take a peek at the wii section to get ideas for Christmas gifts. Imagine my surprise when I saw they had not one but two wii fit! I thought about it for about three minutes, then bought one.

My family is totally into wii. It's fun, but I have too much other stuff to do. Still I thought the wii fit might be just what we need.

First, the rain will be here soon so outdoor play time will be at a premium.

Second, with hubby's travel schedule it's harder for me to get to my Crossfit sessions or even running with no one to watch the kidlets so I thought this might be good for me during those times.

Third, I want hubby to workout even with his blown out knee soon to be operated on.

Hubby raised a dubious brow when he saw the box. The kidlets jumped up and down with glee.

Tonight, however, hubby is a total wii fit convert. The five of us created our own mii character and did the basic fitness testing. We've set weight loss goals too! Well, not the kids, but hubby and me.

I have to boast a little, too. When it came time for the balance check, I amazed my family with my near perfect center of balance. Even the wii said it was incredible. Hubby just stared at me, looking both amazed and dumbfounded. I don't know why he was so surprised. I do climb quite a bit, even if it's mainly indoors. I'd think a person's center of balance would improve from climbing, wouldn't you?

Anyway, the wii fit should be fun. I think it'll be a nice compliment to my Crossfit routines, too!

So have you been working out lately?

Mountain Athlete

The Climbing Cutie attended a seminar at Mountain Athlete last weekend in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was about how to train to improve your climbing. He said it was great and I can't wait to hear more about it. This picture of him ended up on the home page of the place's website!

I'm still a newbie, sucky climber, but I've learned one thing as I've used Crossfit to get in shape. Too much Crossfit actually hurts the climbing. At least my climbing. A body needs time to recover. The key is finding the right balance between climbing days and workout days. And that's where I need help so I'm thrilled Cutie went to this seminar. My hands might still hurt, but they aren't all tingly and numb anymore so it's time to start climbing again. I spent all winter and spring gym climbing a couple of times a week to get ready for this summer only to have to stop completely in June. It's a bummer and I know I'll have a lot of ground to make up.

I can't wait to sit down with the Climbing Cutie and talk to him about what he learned. I need a solid workout routine that will help me get stronger and improve my climbing. And I'm hoping what he learned is scalable based on fitness level ala Crossfit!

Speaking of Crossfit, I had a session with Nichole yesterday.

Warmup: 400 m run
Skills: Back Squats 45#
WOD: 3 rounds (21, 15, 9) Deadlifts 65#, Push ups (on rounds 2 and 3 I did ring rows instead of push ups)

I was dying. It was hot and I was hurting. But I did it! My max deadlift is 95#, but Nichole said it will be higher based on the reps I've been doing lately. I can't see what it is!

I'm also losing weight. Finally. Nothing like getting off deadline, stop eating donuts and chocolate and get the butt off the chair. What's really helped though is I stopped eating anything with gluten and sugar. That's pretty much put me onto a Zone diet without too much effort and planning. Already people are noticing, so that's good. And the pants that were too tight are starting to feel looser. I am allowing myself one dessert a week. On Sunday, I had a ice cream sundae with Butterfinger sprinkles at Great Wolf Lodge. Oh-so yummy!

I'm going to start taking the kids on hikes. Chaos needs to get out more and though the kids are having a fun time at Crossfit kids a couple of times a week, they need more fresh air than just playing in the yard and riding their bikes.

What physical activities will you be doing this summer?

Crossfit - more deadlifts

So I've been gaining weight. All this working out and the scale is going up not down. Talk about depressing, but I mentioned it to Nichole this morning and she said it was normal to gain weight when you start Crossfit. Restart in my case. She reminded me about not stepping on the scale (she'd told me that last fall) and go by how clothes are fitting instead. I guess I'll take her advice because people keep asking me if I've lost weight. I've been saying no (no way am I going to say I've gained weight anywhere but here and in the gym) but that I started working out a lot more.

This morning's session:

Warmup: Stretching and 2 rounds of 100 jumping ropes, 5 wall squats, 5 sit on medicine ball and stand up. (My squats are finally getting lower, but they need to get even lower. I have a hard time pushing from my heels to stand up with out bending over.)

Skills: Deadlift again (bar, 55 lbs, 75 lbs) and shoulder press (35 lbs) I finally feel as if I'm getting the correct form. Though on one of the deadlifts I took a deep breath and got so dizzy I thought I was going to pass out.

Workout: 1000m row

Cool down: Lots and lots of water


Speaking of fitness, I came across a couple links I wanted to share with you:

Building Muscle 101 talks about how everyone no matter what age or sex should be doing strength training. It also talks about diet.

From that blog, I followed a link to Fat Loss 101 which sounded right up my alley. The blog posts talks about fat loss being hormonal, and is worth a read.

And here's another from the second blog on intermittent fasting. This is a series of posts on intermittent fasting and longevity so keep scrolling down!

Do you weigh yourself and if so, how often?

Kitty Exercise

Since my return to Crossfit, getting fit has been a big topic around here. The kidlets have been doing Crossfit Kids since February. If you want to see a cute Crossfit Kid's WOD, check out the Climbing Cutie's blog. I'm even trying to get hubby involved. How could I not? Not only is exercise good for the body, but the mind.

This got me thinking about the other members of our family. The one's covered in fur. What do people do to keep their pets fit? Check out these kitties on a treadmill!



I just love this clip. The two paw walking is priceless! Cats provide so much entertainment. You don't even need to own one now thanks to YouTube!

Our cats don't do much in the way of exercise. They are sprinting and jumping more now that Chaos is here, but that's about it. Chaos, on the other hand, gets tons of walks and plays in the yard to stay in shape so I don't have to worry about her.

What about your pets if you have them? Are they couch critters or active animals?