Author Archives: kpjenn

Halfway Through… the Summer

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How is July halfway over already?

I’m having a really hard time believing that in just a month and a half, September will be here and cooler temperatures will be on the horizon. There are so many things I want to do before the summer is over and I’m rapidly running out of weeks to do them in. Clay’s work schedule also limits the amount of fun things we get to do together (he’s traveling or working nearly every weekend between now and the end of August). But, instead of lamenting the fact that our time in the sun is dwindling, I’m looking forward to the things we have on the calendar so far.

1. Dave Matthews Band Weekend in Virginia Beach

Since we don’t have many weekends to spend together for the rest of the summer, Clay and I are capitalizing on the Dave Matthews Band being in Virginia Beach and making a small vacation of it. In addition to our second Dave show of the summer, we’ll (hopefully) be dropping in at Crossfit Krypton (Crossfitters may recognize that as Ben Smith’s affiliate!), hitting up the beach (away from the crowds, hopefully), and finding some good eats. It’s been a few years since we’ve made this trip and knowing it’s the last weekend we have together for nearly a month, I’m looking forward to it.

it’s not hawaii, but it’s not half bad.

so. excited. for more Dave.

2. Family Reunion in Wisconsin

I may have been sad when my parents moved from Alaska last year, but one great thing that has come from their move is the fact that they are now much closer to the rest of our family. Their lake house in the north woods is the perfect place to host the aunts and uncles and cousins for a weekend of family time.

this is only a small group of my cousins (and husband, duh), and I’m so excited to see them and many of the rest in just a few weeks!

my mom’s hammock game is on point.

the view out of my parents’ kitchen window. lake life yes please.

3.  Staycation

Clay leaves for two and half months of MOS School (in California) at the beginning of September, which means he will be performing with his unit for the last time in August and then hopefully taking some much-deserved time off before he has to go. I’m hoping to do the same. Hiking? Camping? Gym time? Donuts?  Probably all of the above, if we can swing it.

pool time.

love this guy.

any time we get to scramble around on the rocks outside is a good time.

donuts. duh.

The next few weeks might be crazy and busy, but I’m excited for what we have on the schedule – even if I’m not super excited about the two and a half months we’ll be spending apart. Summer may be waning, but there’s still plenty of time to enjoy it!

ColoRADo Weekend

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You ever have those trips that you wish could last just a few more days? Just so you could squeeze in a little more time with people you love or places you want to adventure?

That was my trip to Colorado last weekend. A too-short, but entirely wonderful weekend in the mountains with my family and good friends.

Our purpose for the trip? A wedding. For two of my favorite people in the world. The bride is practically my cousin – our moms have been best friends since they were 13 and though we grew up states away from each other, Hilary and I spent our visits riding horses, playing dress up, singing showtunes, girl scout camping, and snowboarding… among a great many other things. Now, we’re lucky enough to live about 20 mins apart – and we do our best to see each other as often as we can. In living so close, I’ve gotten to know (her now husband) Duncan really well over the last five years, too.

When we found out their wedding was going to be in Colorado, Clay and I knew we had to make the trip – but it was pure luck that Clay’s work schedule allowed him to go. Approved-then un-approved-then conditionally re-approved leave and a canceled gig later meant that he could travel over the weekend, something we didn’t know for sure until the week before we were supposed to leave. WHEW!

But, our last minute scrambling for a suit and a dress worked out (I went with an option from Rent the Runway, which is kind of my favorite way to find dresses for special occasions), and we left for Denver early Friday morning. When I say early, I mean EARLY – we left the house around 3am and arrived in Colorado around 6:30am. But, that worked to our advantage, because we arrived about five hours ahead of my family, so we were able to go in to the city, grab some breakfast and groceries, before doing a little sight-seeing.

Our first stop was Denver Biscuit Company where we ate the most ginormous cinnamon roll I’ve ever seen.

Clay for scale

In addition to that cinnamon roll, I had shrimp and grits that were so, so good – being the first real meal I’ve had out in months, it was a real treat to have something so yummy.

After walking off breakfast and heading to the grocery store to get some provisions for the weekend (you can’t have a road trip – no matter how short – without snacks), we decided to check out the Denver Zoo since we had a couple hours until we needed to be back at the airport to pick up the rest of the crew.

While we were there, the weather got a little stormy and the animals were all worked up about it. This Rhino was blustering about and pacing, the Tapir was squeeling (or whatever you call that high pitched sound it makes), and the birds were going bonkers. We sort of sped-walked the last half of the exhibits, but the animals we did get to see were pretty amazing. I always feel kinda sketchy about zoos (animals in captivity and whatnot), but the Denver Zoo is pretty clear about their conservation work and the efforts they make to ensure the animals’ enclosures are large and similar to their home environments. I would love to go back and see more!

Once we found the rest of my family, we headed up into the mountains to Estes Park – a small mountain town about two hours northwest of Denver. Situated just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes sits in a valley and is surrounded by some of the most gorgeous vistas you can imagine. Our first evening in town was pretty low-key. We checked out a brewery for dinner and spent an hour or so exploring the downtown area. Saturday, though, we hit the ground running. Clay and I wanted to get some fitnessing in, so we dropped in to CrossFit Estes Park for a WOD before meeting back up with my family to head in to RMNP for a hike. We headed to the Upper Beaver Meadows Trailhead and found a 2.5 mile loop that suited us perfectly. It was a gorgeous morning to get out and see the mountains and all the Park had to offer. It probably goes without saying that post-hike we were all very sweaty, a little dirty, and pretty hungry. We found some eats at Smokin’ Daves BBQ and then worked on getting gussied up for the weekend’s main event. The wedding was taking place at The Stanley Hotel – made famous as the inspiration for Stephen King’s The Shining, and complete with an actual hedge maze. Though Jack Torrance isn’t chasing anyone through this one.

Hilary and Duncan were married on Long’s Peak Lawn, overlooking the valley and the weather was absolutely perfect for their ceremony. It was remarkably beautiful and the rest of the evening was a wonderful party with delicious food, lots of dancing, and plenty of cake. I did my due diligence and tried all the desserts: almond cake with raspberry filling (I think?), banana cake with a chocolate ganache filling (omg you guys, I need more of this in my life immediately) and lemon bars. I could have had like, five of those.

The whole fambam. These nerds are the best.

Emmie is getting real good at the third wheeling.

By the end of the night, I realized I hadn’t gotten a picture of the bride and groom, so I remedied that the next morning before we headed back down the mountains to grab lunch in Boulder before heading to the airport to go home.

love these goobers.

It wasn’t a long trip, and by the time we got home we were completely exhausted, but I would do it all over in a heartbeat. I’m already looking forward to our next opportunity to get the whole family together in a beautiful place to celebrate something as big as love.

Ready, Set, Camp!

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Last weekend, Clay and I celebrated our one year anniversary (!!) which is really crazy to think that a year has already gone by – time is weird and I don’t understand it. 
Crazy. All of that silliness doesn’t feel like a year ago. Clay and I just really want to throw our wedding again every year in celebration. Maybe we’ll actually do that some day, because it was really just the most fun day ever.

Anyways. To celebrate reaching this milestone, we decided that instead of taking a vacation or staying at some fancy hotel we’d rather go play outside and sleep in the woods. We reserved a camping spot at Westmoreland State Park, about and hour and half south of DC and on the banks of the Potomac River. When we arrived, we set up camp in record time (the upside to a small tent!), and decided that since it was already so hot out (90 degress, natch), we’d check out the trail that went down to the beach, because sitting by the water seemed like a good way to cool down a little. When we got to the beach, we discovered the best little coves, and we had one all to ourselves so we scrambled over the rocks for a while, enjoying the view of the river and the Chesapeake Bay. It was really beautiful and the perfect place to spend some time relaxing.  When we headed back to our campsite, we had to climb back up the bluff – which was a great workout (lololol), but it did make for a great picture.Once we got to the top, we decided to find another trail and keep up the hiking for a little while longer. We wound our way back to a lake where we ended up sitting and listening to bird and frog songs for a good half an hour, while watching for turtles. It was the best way to wind down and really take in the natural world.

Typically when we camp, we like to cook over the fire, but since we’re still in the midst of our adventure with RP, we prepped our food before we left home and just kept it in the cooler. However, we did stray from the RP templates a little with dessert, because we feasted on our wedding cake! It was delicious the first time around and a year later? Just as delicious. It kept really well in the freezer! It was really fun to bring ourselves back to our wedding day with that cake – so many good memories, and more added with the celebration of our anniversary.

I’m really excited for so many more years of camping and hiking and building fires and going on adventures with this dude. He’s really just the best.

Adventuring in Asheville

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What do you get when you gather 9 ladies in a new city and a weekend full of bachelorette-ing plans?

A whole lot of fun, is what.

Last weekend, I joined some of my favorite friends (and some new ones) in Asheville, NC to throw a hen do for one of our best girls. Ladies came from Georgia, Colorado, Texas, New York, London and DC and we brought our party pants (and maybe some penis confetti to boot).

Any weekend adventure that starts and ends with a road trip is good in my book and this was no exception. Four of us traveled together from the DC area (about an 8 hour haul), and during the drive made sure to set the tone for the weekend by creating a playlist with some of our favorite 2000s kids throwback jams. Lots of NSync, Britney, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Ginuwine – because what bachelorette party is complete without Pony?

Our first evening in North Carolina was pretty laid back – dinner and drinks and a drum circle (not in our plans, but witnessed in the center of town). The tame evening and relatively early bedtime was necessitated by the jam-packed day ahead.

Saturday morning dawned with promise of Pilates…. accompanied by puppies. The class – which took place at the humane society – was pretty low key, all levels welcome type stuff, but I still managed to get a decent workout in. That is, when I wasn’t trying to cuddle all the puppies in the room. Those little stinkers were so fun and they seemed to love all of the attention. They tolerated being picked up and used as Pilates props, which seemed like a great way to socialize them before they are adopted. It’s lucky that the pups weren’t eligible for adoption while we were there, because I would have 100% gone home with one. No joke.

10/10 would Pilates or yoga with tiny animals again. Few things are better than puppy breath.

After begrudgingly leaving the puppers behind, we went straight down to the French Broad River for some stand up paddleboarding. Somehow, I’d never done SUP before and to be honest I was a little nervous. Mostly about looking stupid. Which is dumb, so I got over it pretty quickly and once we were on the water we had so much fun. Three of us were on individual SUPs and the other six had a party sized SUP. Paddling that thing made you feel like a real life Moana. Yes, I did sing that song, too.

We managed only one casualty toward the end of our float, and most of us stayed pretty dry – except me, when I got a little too cocky when doing a snatch with my paddle, slipping, and nearly falling in. #crossfitproblems

After we expertly guided our party barge to the boat slip, we returned donned our best flannel and headed over to the New Belgium Brewery – now is when I remind you all that in January, Clay and I decided to take a year off of drinking – visiting the brewery was awesome. The tour was great, and the view was spectacular (they are situated along the same river we had floated earlier!) and from what I understand, the beer was pretty good too. We hung around there for a good chunk of the afternoon and into the early evening before heading back to our hotel for dinner, bachelorette games and an evening of frivolity. What happens in Asheville after midnight, stays in Asheville. 

The next morning came too soon, and after a lovely walk around town to find coffee, we were off to brunch and then back on the road home. I would love to visit Asheville again – I’m sure there is so much more to the city that we didn’t see. Until next time!

 

Renaissance Periodization and ALL the Food Math

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Who loved math in high school?

Okay. I know that there are some of you that genuinely did, but I was not one of those people. I hated math. It didn’t come naturally to me. I had to work twice as hard to get a good grade and since high school I feel like I haven’t flexed any of those math muscles at all.

At least until I started doing Renaissance Periodization and doing literally ALL of the food math ever.

Let me rewind for a second and explain what I’m talking about. Renaissance Periodization, or RP, is a diet template (not a “diet” in the traditional sense, but diet like “the food you eat”) that is scientifically formulated to optimize nutrition and training.

Renaissance Periodization was founded with the understanding that science is the surest path to the truth, and in this field, to results. Our approach is the rigorous application of scientific principles to nutrition and training. Everything we do is built on a foundation of peer-reviewed literature and experimentally confirmed theory.

I’ve worked for a long time at making my body healthy and strong, but I know there is more I can do to be stronger and healthier. I’ve written before about my relationship with my body image and I’ve talked a lot about my philosophy on healthy eating. I generally do a pretty solid job of eating whole, nutritious foods, getting the right nutrients, and maintaining a healthy relationship with food in general. However, stepping on the scale showed me that I was still “overweight” (by BMI standards) and for as frequently as I work out and as healthy as I eat, I couldn’t seem to make that needle move even a little bit. I suspected my problem was, in fact, undereating.

I exercise 5-6 days a week, typically for 1-2 hours a day. Based on MyFitnessPal (where I was tracking my meals), I was only eating around 1800 calories a day. That is NOT enough, given my calorie output. However, I was in a food routine and it was hard for me to make myself eat more than that. Chronic undereating can really eff up your metabolism and ultimately tell your body to store fat because it thinks you need the energy.

That’s where RP comes in. A number of folks at our gym have used it to great success, and I’ve followed a bunch of athletes who also use it (olympic weightlifters and crossfitters). I thought that maybe following a template with a little more structure and expertise than I could offer myself may work a little better in my effort to lose some body fat and build strength. Clay, who has the opposite problem as me, wanted to use RP to do a muscle gain. We bit the bullet and each purchased our personalized templates.

According to RP:

Each diet offers the option to structure your meal timing for training days on which the training is done first thing in the morning and in every 3-4 hour interval later, all the way up to a late night session before bedtime. Non-training day diets come standard with every template.

Each fat-loss and muscle gain is designed to be run for approximately 3-6 months, with the programming to help you gain or lose anywhere between 5 and 25lbs in that 3-month span, depending on your body size, caloric expenditure, and goals.

The included maintenance diet (the base tab) that comes with both the cutting and massing plan can be run for as long as you want if your goals are to maintain your weight and improve your recovery and performance.

This is an example of the template I’ve been using

The best part about RP is the mentality. Yes, you are given a set of templates that dictate what your meals should be. However, the minds behind this business know that humans make choices and life happens and sometimes we fall off the wagon, sometimes we have life events we want to celebrate, and sometimes we mess up. There’s no penalty, there’s no guilt, they just say to get back on track tomorrow. That’s it. I love that way of thinking because I know that over the course of 12 weeks, I will be 99% compliant, but my birthday is next month, so is my anniversary. I want to celebrate both of those things and I will and I won’t worry or feel bad about it at all.

We started our respective templates at the beginning of the month and are currently in our fourth week. I’ve been doing SO much food math (lots of cross-multiplication) to determine the quantity of food I need to meet the required macronutrients per meal. So much math, that we’ve started to keep notebooks with our meals written out in grams and formulas that tell us what we need to make sure our meals are complete. Not to mention, our meal prep skills are ON POINT. Every Saturday, the fridge is packed to the brim with groceries, and every Sunday, those groceries are turned into 25 meals, neatly packed in tupperware.

So, yes. High school algebra has found a way back into my life. Much to my chagrin. But, this time, I’m happy to do it. I’ve seen small progress – which is appropriate given the time period I’ve been on the template – both on the scale and in the mirror, the latter being the more important of the two for me, honestly. I just want to feel confident in my body and know that I’m fueling it the best I can to achieve the goals I’ve set for myself.

Here’s to 8 more weeks of food math!

Gains and Gratitude

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YOU GUYS. How pumped are you that it’s Friday? I am very, very pumped. Friday means rest day (best day!) and it seems like Spring has finally clawed its way here in Virginia. At least for the foreseeable future the weather looks warm and mostly sunny. Let me tell you, I am OVER this whole “winter” thing. 

I really shouldn’t complain, though, because my parents are getting hammered with another snowstorm in Wisconsin this weekend. I guess Winter will leave when it’s good and ready. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

It’s spring here though, and things are looking brighter. This week has been a great one in the fitness department and I’m excited to be rolling in to summer making strides in the gym. 

On Tuesday, I PR’d my snatch, making a huge jump from 115 to 155. It’s amazing how repetition and accessory strength can help one feel comfortable catching a heavy barbell overhead. Snatching is such a technical lift and truly be an expert at it, it takes years of dedicated practice and drilling. I’m still learning and perfecting my form, but this week the barbell and I got along really well. I’m proud of how far I’ve come with something that until a few months ago I’d never done before. 

Last week, Clay and I retested our 1 rep max back squat and deadlift – and I made big gains there too. Up to 280 for my back squat and 315 for my deadlift. I may not be the fastest in our gym, but I am one of the strongest… I’ll take it where I can get it! (Under a heavy barbell, apparently.)

None of these gains would be possible without support though – and I’m very lucky to have a husband who is just as dedicated to my fitness as he is to his own. I know I always have a lifting partner and someone to suffer through a metcon with – and even when he’s not able to be in the gym with me, he’s still offering feedback and pumping me up (Facebook livestreams are great for that). Clay pushes himself in the gym too, and watching him make progress and improve skills alongside me is so motivating. I’m proud of how far he’s come and the habits he’s building in and out of the gym. Being surrounded by his energy keeps me on track, too. Simply put, he’s the best. 

When Clay isn’t around, I have some of the best peeps in the gym to keep me motivated – and honestly, my progress in the last two months would have been minimal without our little crew. Pushing me to try new skills, lift heavier weights, take new classes, get in extra workouts before class… we learn from each other and challenge each other every day. I’m grateful for all of it.

So, yeah. I’m looking forward to what the next few months bring – if the past few weeks are any indication, spring and summer 2018 will be great. Bring on the sun! 

Weekly Workouts (Or, “Why I Have to Go to Bed at 8pm Every Night”)

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Okay. I think I’ve sat staring at this computer screen for about 30 minutes trying to come up with something to write about. I always struggle with this – I don’t feel like my life is particularly interesting at the moment, I’m not running and I haven’t run regularly in more than a year, I work out nearly every day doing CrossFit and I love it, but I never know how to talk about it. All of this is to say, I feel like I’m in a writing rut.

So today, we’re going to talk about this week’s workouts, because I can actually write about that.

Thursday

Currently, crossfitters are in the middle of the CrossFit Open – a worldwide competition that tests your fitness and your skills, and gives you a benchmark to compare your progress against. This is my first year doing the Open, though I’ve followed it for a number of years. Being a competitive person, I knew going into the Open that I wanted to push myself to do well. That being said, I also knew that if I let myself get too competitive, I would only end up getting stuck in the cycle of anxiety about the workouts, and then disappointment in my overall result. I’m relatively new to CrossFit, I’m still learning a lot of the higher skill movements, and I have quite a way to go to become proficient at many of the movements I can do. Things like handstand push-ups, handstand walks, muscle-ups… all things that I’m working on improvement and all things that have shown up so far in the Open. It’s been an empowering and humbling experience all at the same time. We have one more week to go and the last workout will be announced tomorrow. It will probably be some wicked form of torture, but it’s the last one, so I’m going to give it all I’ve got.

I did last week’s Open workout on Thursday as part of our gym’s Thursday Night Throwdowns – where, after the workout is announced, a handful of our athletes complete the workout in front of our friends and workout buddies. I was pretty amped and nervous about doing this because, like I say, I’m pretty competitive and I hate failing at anything. I was really hoping for movements that I could do and would have really preferred a heavy barbell. When the workout was announced, I was really happy – in nine minutes, we were to complete 21-15-9 reps of deadlifts (155 pounds for women) and handstand push-ups, followed by another 21-15-9 of deadlifts (205 pounds for women) and 50 ft handstand walks.

I got through 70 reps that night, making it through 21 deadlifts, 21 handstand push-ups, 15 deadlifts, and 13 handstand push-ups. I love deadlifts, but while I like the push-ups, I’m still learning how to be more efficient at them as well as strengthening my shoulders to be able to lift my body weight off the floor.

Friday

Rest

Saturday

After resting on Friday, I decided to re-do this workout on Saturday, attempting a different strategy (breaking up the push-ups earlier and managing my rest better). The second time, I got 12 more reps – finishing the round of 15, getting 9 deadlifts and 1 more handstand push-up. I was ecstatic with that, especially given how sore my shoulders were from doing it two days before.

Sunday

Headed to the gym for SpinFit Sunday morning – this class is similar to spin, but uses a bike erg instead of a traditional spin bike. I followed this up with a 5×5 back squat set, working at approximately 70% of my max. My legs were pretty smoked by the time I finished.

Monday

4 rounds for time

9 power cleans

12 alternating pistols (one-legged squats)

48 double unders

I finished in 7:33

As Many Rounds as Possible (AMRAP): 5 minutes

1/1,2/2,3/3,4/4, etc.

Snatch (95#)

Box jumps (24 inches)

Rest three minutes

AMRAP 4 minutes

5 pull ups

10 push ups

15 air squats

Rest 2 minutes

AMRAP 3 minutes

D-Ball to Shoulder (70#)

Tuesday

4 rounds on the 4:00

12 thrusters (65#)

12 calorie bike

18 x 10 meter shuttle sprints

then…

Build to a heavy thruster. I worked up to 165#. I stuck around for the class, as well, and did that workout, too, as it was all skill work, specifically rope climbs. I can do these, but under fatigue, they get really hard. It was good to practice these with how tired I already was.

Rest day is on the horizon and I am SO looking forward to that. Clay also gets home from more than a month and a half away in a few days, so things are looking brighter for sure. Now, if winter would GTFO of here already, I’d be really happy.

#Read2018 Check In

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Somehow, it’s March, Team. I don’t know how we got here, but we did and this month is nearly halfway over. The Ides Of March are upon us.

In the spirit of a little Shakespeare, I thought I’d check in on my reading list so far this year. You may remember that one of my goals was to read at least 15 books in 2018. As of March 11, I have finished nine books and have started my 10th!

My list so far has been a mix of memoir and make believe. Historical fiction and fantasy. I thought id give you a peak at what I’ve finished in 2018:

 

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Even at 19, she was already a better writer than just about everyone else. I’m grateful we have her words left to us.

Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden
It’s rare to find a book – by a politician, no less – that manages to eat at every corner of your heart. Joe Biden’s memoir of the last years of his son’s life, juxtaposed against the responsibilities and pressures of the vice presidency reveals a man who’s most important duty in life is to care for people around him. It’s vulnerable, it’s genuine, and no matter your opinion of him politically, it’s hard to deny the honesty with which he addresses tragedy and loss. Grief is a universal language and it knows no political affiliation. “Promise Me, Dad” is a meditation for those in mourning and a vision for a brighter future.

Thank you, Joe, for sharing your grief in such a beautiful way and for reminding us that we all have something to work and hope for.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
If you enjoy historical fiction, the WWII-era, and the complex emotions woven throughout our collective memory.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Can Celeste Ng just write all the things? Please? This was such a beautiful story to read. (Go read it and “Little Fires Everywhere” now.)

Fierce by Aly Raisman
I’m a sucker for sports memoirs, and Aly’s Fierce met all my expectations. I’m so proud to see the voice she’s found and the courage she’s shown, not only in the last few months surrounding the Larry Nassar trial, but also in her career. She’s an impressive young woman.

Girl at War by Sara Novic
Sara Nović’s Girl at War is an incredibly vivid account of the Balkan Wars of the early 90s. I’ll admit, I know shamefully little about this period of history, and this story gave me some incredible perspective. For as much literature as there is about the Holocaust, it’s easy for us to say “but that was so long ago…” – the same types of things were happening in Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and the other nations that made up Yugoslavia not even 30 years ago. The same things are happening now in Syria. In Myanmar. We still have so much to learn.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
I decided I wanted to read some Shakespeare that I haven’t read before, and somehow I graduated with an English degree without having finished Macbeth. Done and done. I enjoyed this one, though not as much as King Lear, if we’re picking favorites.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
This book made my heart happy and sad at the same time. It takes place in Alaska and reading it felt like home. But the characters’ experience made my heart ache. It’s a beautiful story about the wilderness and the wildness of Alaska and humanity.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Again, not sure how I have an English degree because I only just read this book. I loved it. A young female protagonist saves her family? Yes please. I so badly want to see the movie now, too.

Number 10 is Leading with the Heart by Mike Kryzewski – one of my favorite coaches and sports minds. I figure March is the perfect time to crack this one open.

I’m well on my way to meeting my goal, but I could always use more suggestions! What books are you currently reading?

What’s In My Gym Bag?

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Since starting CrossFit, I’ve managed to acquired a bunch of new swag. My gym bag is full of some gear that I definitely could not do without – and I want to share some of it with you!

Because CrossFit is made up of so many different movements and skills, it’s important to make sure that your body is taken care of – especially when a workout includes a high rep scheme or heavy lifts.

I was hesitant at first to just go out and buy gear, primarily because I hate buying things just to be a cool kid. I want to know that if I’m buying gear, it’s because I know it’s something I need, that will protect me in some way, or support my performance. For example: I have yet to buy olympic lifting shoes. These shoes are specially designed to assist ankle mobility and help athletes lift heavier weights by allowing their bodies to get into optimal position. Knowing that my ankle mobility is pretty good and that I’m still very much learning and improving in my olympic lifts, I don’t feel like it’s necessary that I drop $200-$300 on shoes just to look good.

After a few weeks, though, I did some evaluating and determined that there was one thing I could definitely use: grips. The volume of pull-ups, toes to bar, hollow holds, and other bar work that we do results in some gnarly calluses and puts me at risk of ripping my hands. Anyone who has done gymnastics knows just how AWFUL hand rips can be. They are the literal worst. Clay and I did a lot of research (the CrossFit market is flooded with products… not all of which legit), and found Victory Grips. These are designed by a former gymnast, are durable, provide great hand coverage, and are really easy to break in. Since using them, my hands haven’t ripped once. I started out with their leather grips, which I liked, but didn’t do well with the bars in our gym, and have since switched to the stealth grips (pictured), which are synthetic. I love them.

For Christmas, Clay filled out the rest of my gym bag needs. He hooked me up with a weight belt – something I’ve wanted for a while, but like Oly shoes, I didn’t want to use it as a crutch for bad weightlifting form. Belts provide more core stability when lifting heavy loads – but if you don’t take the time to learn how to brace your abdominals and low back properly, even a belt isn’t going to help you. I use mine when lifting heavy or when the volume of a workout is pretty high and I’ve found that it’s helped make me even more aware of keeping my midline tight and consciously working to protect my back.

While I wish I looked as badass Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, I do have those knee sleeves she’s wearing, so that’s close enough for now. Clay also grabbed me these Rehband knee sleeves for Christmas and I’m really glad he did. Now, I’ve never had knee problems, thankfully, but in the past year or so I’ve noticed that my knees crack and pop a lot more than they used to. I also find that they get sore a lot easier – which is probably the result of me becoming decrepit. These sleeves are made of some sturdy neoprene offer compression and support when I’m lifting heavy. We found new 1 rep maxes last week for our squat cleans and hang snatches… I was definitely glad I had my sleeves on when I pulled 205 from the floor and caught it in a front squat!

I generally try to be judicious about what gear I buy – I want to make sure that the equipment I’m spending money on is going to help me improve as an athlete and ensure that my body is protected and can stay in the game for the long haul. Each of these items has so far proven to do just that.

January Wellness Challenge Wrap-Up

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Okay. I know everyone on the internet has been convinced that January was the longest month in the history of ever…. and while I can kind of agree, it’s also hard to believe that February is already here. Like, what?

Anyways. During the 74-day eternity that was apparently January, Clay and I participated in a wellness challenge put on by our gym. This week, we wrapped up the challenge (Clay had a few more pull-ups to complete to get his full 500 for the month), and I think it’s safe to say that we are definitely better for having participated.

Our week four goals were centered around mental health and mindfulness. I generally try to be pretty good at taking time for myself and making sure my head is right, but this time of year always, always, stresses me out. At work, we’re preparing for our annual conference and there are so many balls in the air that it inevitably feels like one (or more) will drop and things will explode or catch on fire or collapse.

Okay, I’m exaggerating, but you get my drift.

I’m also heading into the time of year when Clay is gone for a month-and-a-half for work, which isn’t so much stressful as it is a bummer.

All of this is a long way of saying spending a week focused on destressing and self-care was a good thing.

Week Four – Mental Health and Mindfulness

  • Complete a de-stress activity at least twice this week. I make time to read every day and it’s my chance to slow down, turn my work-brain off, and just relax for a bit. Some days, I relax so much that I fall asleep in the middle of a chapter. Other days, I stay up too late and finish a book. Either way, I enjoy taking the time to quiet my thoughts.
  • Write down one thing or person you are grateful for each day of the week. This was easy – I have a lot to be grateful for.
  • Eliminate the words “I can’t” or “never” from your vocabulary for one week at the gym (1 burpee penalty for each time you say either). Fortunately, I have a pretty positive attitude in the gym. I try my best to approach each workout with the mindset that I can do what’s put in front of us. It might hurt, it will definitely be hard, but I can do it. Being aware of not using the words “I can’t” or “never” just made me more determined to push and challenge myself instead of worrying about what other people were doing.
  • Be in the moment. Turn off the phone during dinner for the entire week and engage the people you are with. Clay and I are notorious for spending dinner and the remainder of our evenings with our noses in our phones. Reading Reddit, catching up on social media, reading articles, general mindless blather, etc. Putting our phones down while we ate dinner last week was a nice change. It didn’t help me eat any slower, but it did allow us to have more conversation time, which is never a bad thing.

This month has been a good one, in spite of the stress of work and other nonsense – doing this challenge has helped bring that into focus. I think many of the activities we participated in are actually going to be positive habit-forming experiences. 33 days without alcohol (so far) and 8:00 pm bedtimes have been really, really great. I’m hoping that we continue to see improvement over the next two months, too, as we enter into a less regulated schedule and a busier period of work for both of us.

Happy February!