My CrossFit gym usually offers weekend classes, but they cancelled those classes last weekend. They are working on moving locations, and also getting some deep cleaning done on the current one. So the last time I went in for a CrossFit workout was Friday, because my husband started feeling ill over the weekend, and I decided it would be best not to go to CrossFit once classes restarted Monday since there is no way I can distance myself from him. Whatever he's got, I'm going to get it soon.
I've been working out at home in the meantime. Arbor is providing at home workouts, and I've been doing some of them, as well as my gymnasty tabatas, a handstand challenge, and other odds and ends as they come up. Arbor has started an athlete challenge of the day, so I did that yesterday and then came up with my own since I was next up. I did that one today, and I'll probably do it again tomorrow to try and beat my score. I also followed along on Kari Pearce's Facebook Live workout on Sunday. Naturally, that was an ab burner, but it also got me sweating. There are a lot of resources out there for at home workouts; it's really a matter of making sure that I pick something and DO something.
At least, I'll keep working out as long as I don't get too sick to do it. I'm concerned that my husband (and I) have COVID-19, but it's just as likely that we've caught a cold since we aren't feverish. And we do usually catch one last cold in the spring.
It's been interesting trying to do workouts from home. Especially since I don't have any weights, per se. Though, thanks to my husband's interest in new workouts, I do have resistance bands to supplement my homemade 4 pound weights. Plus we've got 20 one pound weights from a weight vest that was pretty horrible to use. We got rid of the vest, but kept the weights and now they're in a backpack for the at home workouts. Now, if I just had space enough in the apartment to jump rope, I'd consider myself pretty well set up.
Jeanne Bustamante on fitness and backpacking, new posts every Wednesday
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Working out from Home
Well, I did a trial run yesterday of working out from home. It was inspired by our planned test of work from home at work on Tuesday. We were supposed to work at our desks, but only using our laptops so that we could iron out any bugs in our processes. This was to last all morning, so I decided to start the day off in the proper mindset and do my workout at home as well.
My CrossFit box has started offering At Home workouts through Wodify, so I knew that I had something to do, as long as I was willing to improvise a bit. Some of the warm up moves were not things that I could easily do. For example, I live in a studio apartment. While the ceilings are actually high enough to accommodate jumping rope, there's no space wide enough to do it. So I just jumped in place as if I were jumping rope, with faster, higher jumps for double unders. I also don't have anything to use as a step, though I might be able to fashion or figure out some sort of step - but it wouldn't be a very high one. I substituted some high knees for step ups this time.
After the warm up, I took a little bit of time figuring out exactly how I wanted to time out the main workout, which had a 9 minute segment, a 2 minute segment and a 3 minute segment. I ended up deciding to set the stopwatch running and just stop when it hit 14 minutes. On my phone, the stopwatch function keeps the screen from locking, while the timer function does not, so stopwatch was much better for having to know when my segments were starting and ending.
I used a backpack with some weight in it for some lunges and jumping squats, and made it through 32 burpees in the final 3 minutes. Overall, I got very sweaty and breathed hard and it was a good workout. There was an optional segment that I did after I had cooled off and caught my breath a bit. It was some core work, and I enjoyed that. I also took some time to stretch after that, since I had time to spare before I'd normally be home from CrossFit.
I'm not really looking forward to more workouts from home, but it's something that I need to get used to now. It's unsettling, but I know that I can do it. I know that I can continue to improve my fitness, even if I can't get out to the gym for a while.
My CrossFit box has started offering At Home workouts through Wodify, so I knew that I had something to do, as long as I was willing to improvise a bit. Some of the warm up moves were not things that I could easily do. For example, I live in a studio apartment. While the ceilings are actually high enough to accommodate jumping rope, there's no space wide enough to do it. So I just jumped in place as if I were jumping rope, with faster, higher jumps for double unders. I also don't have anything to use as a step, though I might be able to fashion or figure out some sort of step - but it wouldn't be a very high one. I substituted some high knees for step ups this time.
After the warm up, I took a little bit of time figuring out exactly how I wanted to time out the main workout, which had a 9 minute segment, a 2 minute segment and a 3 minute segment. I ended up deciding to set the stopwatch running and just stop when it hit 14 minutes. On my phone, the stopwatch function keeps the screen from locking, while the timer function does not, so stopwatch was much better for having to know when my segments were starting and ending.
I used a backpack with some weight in it for some lunges and jumping squats, and made it through 32 burpees in the final 3 minutes. Overall, I got very sweaty and breathed hard and it was a good workout. There was an optional segment that I did after I had cooled off and caught my breath a bit. It was some core work, and I enjoyed that. I also took some time to stretch after that, since I had time to spare before I'd normally be home from CrossFit.
I'm not really looking forward to more workouts from home, but it's something that I need to get used to now. It's unsettling, but I know that I can do it. I know that I can continue to improve my fitness, even if I can't get out to the gym for a while.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Incremental Improvement
A few weeks ago, when I was rowing at CrossFit, I came to another realization about my form.
Months ago one of the coaches told me not to pull with my arms until my legs and hips were extended. I could see that my arms were not only bending early but that I was pulling while they were bent. I tried to keep them straight, but I didn't really grasp this concept in my body until a couple of weeks ago.
It was during a workout that had us moving from a row to a farmer carry to a couplet of double unders and handstand push ups. I scaled the handstand push ups to box handstand push ups and went heavy on the carry with two 53 pound kettlebells. The row portion was 400 meters in under 2 minutes, which is pushing the pace for me, so I didn't hold to it for all 4 sets. I scaled to 350 so I'd have time to transition over to the farmers carry.
But on that row, with my hip flexors quite sore from being worked on outside of class, I finally started to feel how rowing works in my body. My arms had no role to play other than connector until the last minute, kind of like how you don't actually lift with your arms when you deadlift. The arms are just there to transmit the action and power of the legs. And the legs are not just pushing with the big muscles, but also, right before the end of the stroke, with the hips.
When I tightened my core and really felt that hip extension, I saw my 500 meter pace jump up with no additional increase in stroke rate. And I thought, wow, this is how I'm supposed to be doing this, just wow.
Of course, the next time I rowed, I didn't feel that. I thought I'd lost it, having barely gained comprehension, as if understanding rowing efficiency were nirvana and I had caught only the briefest glimpse of enlightenment.
But I did get it back one more time, so I think it's just a matter of breaking my bad, old habits and instilling new ones so that my body naturally rows more efficiently. That's the goal. Not sure how I'm going to measure it exactly, but I think if I can make this change, then I'll see my rowing times get faster as a result. They might just slow down a bit in the meantime as I experiment with my form, but that's a worthy sacrifice.
Months ago one of the coaches told me not to pull with my arms until my legs and hips were extended. I could see that my arms were not only bending early but that I was pulling while they were bent. I tried to keep them straight, but I didn't really grasp this concept in my body until a couple of weeks ago.
It was during a workout that had us moving from a row to a farmer carry to a couplet of double unders and handstand push ups. I scaled the handstand push ups to box handstand push ups and went heavy on the carry with two 53 pound kettlebells. The row portion was 400 meters in under 2 minutes, which is pushing the pace for me, so I didn't hold to it for all 4 sets. I scaled to 350 so I'd have time to transition over to the farmers carry.
But on that row, with my hip flexors quite sore from being worked on outside of class, I finally started to feel how rowing works in my body. My arms had no role to play other than connector until the last minute, kind of like how you don't actually lift with your arms when you deadlift. The arms are just there to transmit the action and power of the legs. And the legs are not just pushing with the big muscles, but also, right before the end of the stroke, with the hips.
When I tightened my core and really felt that hip extension, I saw my 500 meter pace jump up with no additional increase in stroke rate. And I thought, wow, this is how I'm supposed to be doing this, just wow.
Of course, the next time I rowed, I didn't feel that. I thought I'd lost it, having barely gained comprehension, as if understanding rowing efficiency were nirvana and I had caught only the briefest glimpse of enlightenment.
But I did get it back one more time, so I think it's just a matter of breaking my bad, old habits and instilling new ones so that my body naturally rows more efficiently. That's the goal. Not sure how I'm going to measure it exactly, but I think if I can make this change, then I'll see my rowing times get faster as a result. They might just slow down a bit in the meantime as I experiment with my form, but that's a worthy sacrifice.
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
I Hate Shoes
That's not quite the truth. I enjoy having my feet protected and covered in the outdoors. Even indoors, when appropriate. But my feet, for whatever reason, just don't have the standard shape. I mean, they look like feet and all, but when I put them into shoes my toes typically get painfully smushed. I don't like the way that feels, and so I try to find and purchase shoes that have a wider toe box, and I purchase shoes a half size too large, and sometimes I try on men's shoes and sometimes I even buy men's shoes.
Sometimes, I wonder if other people have the same problem that I do and they just don't care. Like, my irritable bowel syndrome could be a result of nerves getting oversensitized, so maybe, in addition to sensitive bowels, I have sensitive toes. Especially the pinky toe on the right. That's always my first clue that the shoes just won't do. That toe is a loud complainer.
The left foot is a bit narrower than the right. I've learned not to try a shoe on with my left foot first, because that way lies disappointment once I put the right shoe on and find that what I had hoped was a good fit was, in fact, the usual shite. It cuts down on time, too, since I often only need to put the right shoe on for about 5 seconds before I know.
For a long time, I would convince myself that a shoe fit, even when it didn't. Even when my feet were in pain just from trying them on, let alone wearing them for hours at a time. I just wanted, so much, to have normal feet that fit normal shoes normally. But I've learned not to do that. The pain isn't worth it. And there's no reason not to say no to a shoe when it hurts. Even if the salesperson is very kind and has run out of shoes to show me.
About a year and a half ago, I got a pair of shoes from Costco. It felt like a minor miracle that these random Costco shoes just happened to fit me right. They started to wear out last December, but I didn't replace them until last week. I can tell they're wearing out when my feet start to pound at night. That's the sign that it's time to start searching. But my search went on way longer than I thought it would. Costco didn't have any shoes that fit me; I tried a pair ordered from Amazon and if I didn't want to wear socks and the insides were a little less scratchy without them, I might have kept them. But they were too tight with socks and too pokey without them.
Finally, my husband and I ventured well out of our shopping comfort zone (bounded in the west at REI). We headed over to Sierra Trading Post for only the second time since we'd been together.
It was the right call. I needed some decent looking, comfortable shoes that I could wear to work regularly. I found several possibilities after cruising the 8 and 8.5 sections. One of them worked. Now I just need to replace my workout shoes, because they were pretty much worn out when the others were and I still haven't replaced them. I've got a pair on order, but I don't know if they're going to work. . .
I hate shoes.
Sometimes, I wonder if other people have the same problem that I do and they just don't care. Like, my irritable bowel syndrome could be a result of nerves getting oversensitized, so maybe, in addition to sensitive bowels, I have sensitive toes. Especially the pinky toe on the right. That's always my first clue that the shoes just won't do. That toe is a loud complainer.
The left foot is a bit narrower than the right. I've learned not to try a shoe on with my left foot first, because that way lies disappointment once I put the right shoe on and find that what I had hoped was a good fit was, in fact, the usual shite. It cuts down on time, too, since I often only need to put the right shoe on for about 5 seconds before I know.
For a long time, I would convince myself that a shoe fit, even when it didn't. Even when my feet were in pain just from trying them on, let alone wearing them for hours at a time. I just wanted, so much, to have normal feet that fit normal shoes normally. But I've learned not to do that. The pain isn't worth it. And there's no reason not to say no to a shoe when it hurts. Even if the salesperson is very kind and has run out of shoes to show me.
About a year and a half ago, I got a pair of shoes from Costco. It felt like a minor miracle that these random Costco shoes just happened to fit me right. They started to wear out last December, but I didn't replace them until last week. I can tell they're wearing out when my feet start to pound at night. That's the sign that it's time to start searching. But my search went on way longer than I thought it would. Costco didn't have any shoes that fit me; I tried a pair ordered from Amazon and if I didn't want to wear socks and the insides were a little less scratchy without them, I might have kept them. But they were too tight with socks and too pokey without them.
Finally, my husband and I ventured well out of our shopping comfort zone (bounded in the west at REI). We headed over to Sierra Trading Post for only the second time since we'd been together.
It was the right call. I needed some decent looking, comfortable shoes that I could wear to work regularly. I found several possibilities after cruising the 8 and 8.5 sections. One of them worked. Now I just need to replace my workout shoes, because they were pretty much worn out when the others were and I still haven't replaced them. I've got a pair on order, but I don't know if they're going to work. . .
I hate shoes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)