I do it for the DOLLAR$$$

Posted on Aug. 24 in Uncategorized with no comments

For the last two months my schedule has been a little challenging. I work a typical 40 hour a week job in addition to working as a trainer at a CrossFit gym. This schedule is nothing new, but in the summer I tend to spend more time at the gym then during the slower winter months. Questioned about it at my “real” job, I took some time to consider why it is that I continue to do this.

Let’s be real, it’s the money; 40 hours in July at $100/hour, who wouldn’t like that? And yes, that sentence is a complete lie. I worked more, my hourly rate is no where near that and while the money is helpful; it’s not the sole reason I’m there.

I’ve been down and out lately, about my diet, about my training, but never about coaching. In fact, that is one of the strongest motivators I have. My last post (which apologies in the delay in getting a new one out) mentioned some things I wanted to talk about. Ignore that, I’ll get to it another day. There’s only one thing I want to focus on and it’s PRs, but not mine.

Shelley is a friend of mine; she’s a CrossFitter and Level 1 trainer just like me. But until recently, she didn’t even consider herself a CrossFitter. Shelley competed in her first CrossFit competition in the beginning of August. She hit a thruster PR at 65lbs. Then she hit it again, 35 more times. THIRTY-SIX thrusters at a weight she had yet to attain, even once. I was feeling sorry for myself about how I made it through the workout, but watching her hit that over and over again cleared my head. She did awesome. It was a happy, proud moment. In the last workout of the day, she cleaned 75lbs from the ground. Yep, first time for that too.

Two weeks ago, Julie hit a 30lb PR on her clean & jerk. A month ago Scott reached a PR on his turkish getup and last week worked up to a new deadlift PR. PRs are great moments for members and as a coach, I am thrilled by them too; in fact, sometimes more then the member. But that still isn’t everything. It’s the conversations and questions after a member takes their Level 1, teaching someone how to use a GHD and do a handstand pushup for the first time, the Facebook posts following up a 5am conversation. It’s about when a member feels like they’re a CrossFitter for the first time.

My schedule will calm down soon and probably gear back up after that. But it’s okay. It’s okay because of the PRs, the laughs, the instructions, the smiles, even the 4:35am alarm because I know at 5am a conversation may start that ends up deciding that HSPU stands for Hippos Skip Pretty Ugly instead of Hand Stand Push Ups. Instead of why do I, why wouldn’t I want to do it?

 

You asked, I answer.

Posted on Aug. 08 in Uncategorized with 2 comments

Deciding between two topics to cover in today’s post, CrossFit or Diet, I’m going back to expand on last week’s. Blame this, an enlightening email from some dude I don’t know:

“If it has worked for you in the past why are you doing it now? If you need to use it now then I would say it hasn’t worked for you.” – Steve B.

That’s just a portion of the email, where lucky for me, Steve B. agreed that paleo and zone are not for everyone, otherwise I would have to respond to a whole lot more. But he poses a very interesting point, if I have to go back to a program like Weight Watchers, how can I say it is worked in the first place?

When I abided by the program in the past, I lost weight – plain and simple. The circumstances of my life during that time almost two years ago are very different then they are now. And I will also say I never reached my goal weight so even then there was room for improvement. Two years ago, it was easier. I was babied. I had someone encouraging me to meetings and making most of my big meals for me. Today, that’s not the case. After I had to do the work myself, I did well for a long time of keeping the weight off. I was able to loosely monitor what I ate, but did not gain weight. Then it was like the $hit hit the fan of my life. I’m an emotional eater and went overboard. Emotional eating became less emotion-related and more how I ate when I was hungry. Weight Watchers gives me the framework to eat better while still having a wide variety of the foods that I enjoy. I don’t have to kick carbs, cupcakes or cookies completely out of my diet, but (re)learn how to eat them in moderation.

The last time I went through WW, it worked until I quit. In the meeting I went to yesterday (3rd week in a row!), someone joked that “Weight Watchers will only work on the days you want to lose weight.” True dat homie. Give yourselves the tools to succeed and with hard work and determination, you will. You can’t give up on yourself like I did. While this time, I don’t have someone making food for me or going with me to meetings. I have this blog. I have you. Interactive is what I asked for and it’s already working – that email (plus a couple of others), conversations sparked with members at my gym. Yesterday a coworker offered me half her donut, then immediately rescinded the offer, because she was being supportive.

Weight Watchers may work this time, it may not. Either way I am going to try. What I anticipate and hope will happen is that Weight Watchers is the catalyst I need to get me started, that’s all I’m looking for right now. Get back on the right track; loose weight in a healthy fashion. I honestly hope my diet evolves in the future. Evolves from crap to clean. Start small. Start slow. Start realistic.

Steve B., thanks reading and thanks for the email.

Jillian

Next Post Preview: A fun little CrossFit event recap where I talk about PR’s, working smarter not harder and try not to describe in detail what it feels like to drop a barbell on your head.

Why not paleo?

Posted on Aug. 03 in Uncategorized with no comments

The key to that question is in the inflection. Per my typical sharp banter, that would be the equivalent of yes, let’s do it! Today read: why I am not choosing the paleo diet. In fact, you could replace paleo with zone or a cleanse.
 
These plans can be terrific. But they’re not for me, not today at least. Today is about setting myself up for success. Taking inventory of how well different diets have worked for me, or you, in the past is vital to achieving the next goal. I’ve crashed and craved with short stints of paleo and cleanses; didn’t spend enough time figure out what blocks were with the zone diet.
 
What has worked for me? Weight Watchers – so not a CrossFit “thing.” I think sometimes people come on so strong with their ideals of the perfect diet that they forget how hard it can be for the average person, by today’s standards, to make the transition to a healthier lifestyle.
 
I would love to say I eat 100% (or even 80% paleo), but I know that if I made that commitment today I would fail. Weight Watchers gives a layout to get started in a better direction. Points (plus) are generally simple to follow. I know how many I have each day, I have a mobile app that comes with me on the go and I can eat Subway. Take Subway as any symbolic “food on the run.” The point is – I know it works for me, because I’ve succeeded with it in the past. With the others, I haven’t.
 
My #1 goal right now is to lose weight in a healthy fashion. It’s not a skinny thing, it’s an obese thing. After finishing my workout this morning I felt “like a fat kid having an asthma attack,” is how I think I put it. And I meant it literally – I have asthma and it gets worse the heavier I get. I was able to kick my inhaler for a while when I was doing better with my weight and workouts. I want that back. There’s no reason I should be as large as I am. And I’m not writing this in a self-deprecating fashion. I have the ways and means to give myself a healthier lifestyle.
 
There’s a lot more to say about why I’m choosing this over another diet, how I still think those other diets work spectacularly and I’m sure I’ll get to it in the future, but here’s the main thing to take home…
 
I want to make a change. I’ve started to make a change. And I know that this change will work.
 
– Jillian
07-31-2012
 
Progress so far:
Three workouts in the last five days. Day nine of keeping a food diary. Day one of my recommitment to my diet.

Over my own excuses, the intelligen​t decision

Posted on Aug. 03 in Uncategorized with no comments

Where to begin? Tomorrow night’s workout is to work on our weaknesses. My latest weakness has been excuses, not action. My training plan has gone out the window as has my diet and that is inexcusable. As a trainer, I ought to be a model for what I ask our members to do each and every day – exercise regularly, eat healthy and make intelligent decisions.

The intelligent decision making starts now and you’re reading it. I help my members stay accountable through their workouts. Now it’s time for others to help me, keep me accountable. Make sure I live up to your and my own expectations.

While this site will cover my personal journey getting back on the bandwagon of health and fitness, I expect to cover many more subjects along the way. I run – completing my first marathon three months ago and fifth half marathon six weeks ago. I lift – my basic lifts remain strong and as the foundation for more complicated movements the others are not far off. I coach – spending hours at the gym instructing foundational movements, beginner’s and introductory classes as well as general membership and advanced classes. I CrossFit. I eat. These last two are what need work.

In my effort to improve those aspects of my current lifestyle, I anticipate sharing more about what they are, who I am and how to make it all better.

Borrowing a CrossFit motto here, when it comes to my website “expect the unexpected” and be ready that I may come across as a jack-of-all trades, master of none. Let this be an interactive outlet for us – myself and you the reader. Agree? Please share. Disagree? Again, share. Interested in learning more about a certain topic? Let me know. Picky about grammar, let it rip.

And with that, we begin.
– Jillian
07-26-2012

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