Jeans, OHSquats, and FRAN

Terrible cell pic of my new jeans!

I have decided that one post I will give you a bit about my the present day adventures I'm having, and then in the next post, a bit about the journey over the last several years that gave life to this blog in the first place.  I have to continue to share the present day stuff since it keeps me going and charging a head fearlessly is the proof in the pudding that what I am doing is working.

First of all: Until today, I only had one pair of jeans.  I wear jeans almost everyday of the week, so I am wearing my one pair of jeans out fast. They were a pair I got in the end of September that have been slowly getting bigger on me. I was looking to buy some other kinds of pants, maybe a cargo or a cord but honestly I just love blue jeans. I have track pants and sweat pants for WODs and coaching but otherwise, give me denim.  Buying a second pair of jeans had been in my mind for a while but I wasn't sure my ego had evolved enough to go through the pain of jean shopping. In recent years it seemed that they all look pretty on the rack until I pulled my size from the back of the rack. I would try them on, somehow be shocked at the size of my ass in the 3 way mirror and leave the store sans jeans and quickly shove the tears back with the first chocolate bar or piece of fudge I could find. Not fun and totally counter productive. Anyway, this December, while Christmas shopping, I ventured into a little boutique downtown, Mangos.  Right away I noticed high end bags and beautiful boots and shoes. Peeking at me from a rack in the corner of the store was the sparkly pocket of a pair of designer jeans that were simply calling my name. "Go ahead Sully, test your ego" I thought, after all, there is a chocolate shop on the next block." So I pulled a size I was hoping to fit from the middle of the rack and quietly asked for a change room.  Hellooooo Lovelies!!! Ok, first off all, they are a size 30 aka size 10.  In the world of Sully 10 years ago, the thought of my body at a size 10 was laughable and horrifying at the same time... I was then, a size 5 and very particular about maintaining that. Little did I know that a few years later I would be a 14+.  Back to the size 10, I have this to say WAAAAHOOOO!! I'm sure most women would be trying to squeeze down just one more size, not this Momma! I'm a frikin' size 10 people! My quads and glutes don't fit skinny jeans very well but a boot cut designer with just a touch of tasteful sparkles on the pockets... looks goooood! So as I'm doing the holy crap happy dance in the change room, trying very hard to not shriek out loud and fall over in this tight little change room and tight little jeans,  I hear the sales lady say "would you like to use the butt cam?" HUH? Saaaay what? Butt Cam?? I quickly poke my head out the curtain to stare right into the face of a woman who knows all too well the signs of a happy dance by the fluttering change room curtains and mirror bouncing on the adjacent wall. I boldly say "Yes. Show me the butt cam." I have NEVER been into a store that has one of these!! A camera behind you and a tv in front of you so you can get the full view baby! I swoon with delight at my size 30 butt! Sounds dramatic right. Not when you love the skin you're in Ladies! I did a little shimmy and a little shake and giggled ridiculously while stating,  "this is the best sales pitch ever!" So you can imagine how heart broken I was to hand them back and walk out of there empty handed since my name wasn't on my list of shopping, and commitment to household budget forced me to put them out of my mind.  All in time. January hits, I have a few GC's from Christmas and managed to squirrel away a couple of bucks for post season shopping.  My husband wisely advised me to only buy jeans if they are on sale since I am constantly changing shape right now.  Great point Babe, thanks, see ya!   He actually agrees with me on the point that you have to dress the body you're in with pride but knows that dropping $140.00 on a pair of jeans I might shrink out of in a couple of months might be wasteful.  I used to only buy the cheap clothing($ 20 jeans) because I thought I either didn't deserve the good stuff or didn't plan on staying big so spending too much moola was a waste. sigh. Until and while you make the change you still need to look and feel good.  Buy good quality clothing on sale if you can!  Anyway back to today, doodiieedoo (thats the sound of me strolling downtown maybe, just maybe strolling by the store with the jeans) uurrrchh....what do I see!? A big sign in the window of said store that says 50% ALL DENIM. Well guess what I did? New Jeans.

Ok, Over head squats. I LOATH doing them in a WOD with running because then I'm wearing my running shoes, not my lifting shoes and then my feet are incredibly unstable and I'm cursing like a trucker because OH squats are hard enough never mind unstable feet! frik! Added to this WOD, my favorite male nurse, Focker aka Andrew Roodbol, was making me laugh during my OH squats so then I was really unstable. He actually distracted me from the foot issue so... well if you're reading this Focker, thanks you big jerk! :)  Some of you may be saying, well Sully, unstable feet will help you prepare for the unknown and the unknowable. If you always lift in lifting shoes how are you going to be able to manage in an emergency situation without your lifting shoes... hmmm Sully, how? (insert your smirky smart ass face here if you would like)  Answer : Adrenaline. Gets a body thru every time. Next time that WOD comes up, Im going with the lifting shoes. I will let you all know how it goes.... Wait! I do have advice on the wonderful OH Squat.  Too many times I see people looking at the ground while trying terribly hard to keep that bar over head.  Look out at a point in front of you.  If you look down, your chest falls forward and then so do the arms over your head.  Keep the core tight.  If you collapse in the core, same thing, chest falls forward and arms follow suit.

FRAN:

21-15-9

Thruster m-95lbs w-65lbs

Pull Ups

Dear Fran, you frighten too many people. Stop it would you. Just be nice. Life is much better that way but then I suppose nobody talks about you and thats what you're all about Fran, people making a big fuss and saying you're a somebody.

For those non CrossFitters perhaps reading this, Fran is THE bench mark CF WOD.  A CrossFitter either knows their Fran time or can't wait to get their first Fran time so that at the next CrossFit gathering  they too can answer the question "What's your Fran time?" A good Fran time is a fairly good indication of your CrossFit ability and fitness level. This past Wednesday was my first date with Fran as RX'd.  My Fran time, 6:16. I will take that all the way to the bank for sure!! My modification had always been a band to complete the pull ups.  Getting in and out of the band slows you down not to mention the pull up is then assisted and therefore modified and not "as rx'd".  Obviously as I lose weight my pull ups get better.  I am working on the speed coming down from the bar.  I tend to control the decent and therefore slow down, this leads to fatigue and dropping off the bar more often than I would like.  One thing controlling the decent does for you is "works the negative" and helps build strength.  This is a great thing to practice using a jumping pull up.  Jump up, chin over the bar and then lower yourself down as slowly as possible to full bottom position, then do it again. I used to add these into my pre warm or post WOD routines all the time and believe they made a huge difference for me even before weight loss.  I was able to do unassisted kipping pull ups at 175lbs.  Try it in your mix of tricks, see where it gets you ;) So back to my Fran time. I am proud of it but of course want a better one. Sub 6 mins next time Fran.

Thanks for Hanging out with me :)
Sully