Cjessfit

The Fear Of “Bulkiness” and CrossFit.

Holy turkey day am I jacked about Thanksgiving!  Sure, it’s probably the second biggest day of sheer gluttony right after the Super Bowl, but aside from the exquisite palette pleasing picks behind cornucopias of fake gourds, there’s so much more to be thankful for.

Breaking from the every day monotony of any routine can provide much-needed stress relief and the opportunity to re-group and set new goals.

With Thanksgiving on a Thursday, there’s no doubt going to be all kinds of  exceptions made as “dieters” break for the weekend to indulge in everything pumpkin-ey and pie-ey.  And in the grand scheme of things, why not snack a little sweetly during the holidays?  But can you do so without repercussions?  Maybe.  There’s always the risk of a gluten-induced gut ache or a dairy diarrhea  day despues de un dia of eating like there’s no tomorrow.  What else?

In my experience, it’s the mental and emotional damage that accompanies a period of reckless eating that’s almost worse than a few fatty pounds.  Sure, hit the gym, get your eating back on track, and losing weight can seem like a breeze if you have the right motivation and consistency.  But what happens if you don’t?

The task of finding time to workout every day may be daunting, but if you can muster a 4×4 foot space anywhere to knockout a routine of 10 reps for ten rounds of push-ups, v-ups (or sit ups), and squats,  then you’ll at least give your body enough of a little “hello there….you’re alive, remember?!” to boost your metabolism and self-esteem both.  The latter is especially important–to women in particular.

When I’m feeling crappy, it’s especially hard to muster the motivation to hit the gym.  Conversely, I feel the best after a workout.  But when time is tight and life on life’s terms makes it seem impossible to workout, the best possible thing you can do for your mind and body is avoid STUFFING yourself in between workouts.  True, your routine may vary due to changes in your work schedule, but so long as you keep abreast to the best food choices possible, you’ll avoid falling too far behind.

Gratitude is a subject I used to write about often, especially in conjunction with the Law Attraction which states that “what you THINK about and THANK about, you BRING about.  So think positively this holiday season, and be thankful for all the great goals you’ve already achieved and for all those you plan to tackle over the next year.

Here’s to cranberries in the can and tryptophan dreams of football and in-laws.

Last week I attended the 5^th annual Americans for Prosperity Dream Summit at the Washington Convention Center in D.C.  The two-day conference featured a spending cut rally and numerous breakout sessions with some of the leading conservative operatives and commentators from around the United States.

Inside the walls of the convention center, hundreds of fed up U.S. tax payers participated in lectures on everything from exposing the liberal bias in the media, to informative “how to” seminars on testifying before a committee.  The sessions were also a place for attendees to  ask questions of the expert panelists like Grover Norquist, founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, who accompanied me and four others from Montana to lunch to discuss Montana’s economic future.

Featured speakers included 2012 presidential candidates Mitt Romney and crowd favorite, Herman Cain, as well as radio host Mark Levin and Andrew Breitbart.  Others present were former NY Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, author Jonah Goldberg,and NJ Judge, Andrew Napolitano, and Reagan author, Dinesh D’Souza to name a few.

Outside the convention center, though, wannabe rebels sang a much different tune, protesting capitalism cloaked in signs with mantras like “Human Beings not Human Resources,” and “Occupy Everything;” quite apropos, considering the efforts of the current socialist-leaning administration to work against the development of natural resources, thwarting local economies and nationwide energy independence, while occupying ever piece of land they can get their hands on, for conservation and other “off limits” designations.

Protesting not the overreaching government, but the corporate influence possessed by “1%” of the country, Occupants have deemed wealth holders the antagonists of freedom. These protestors now declaring anarchy represent a generation born into an era of entitlements.  But there is something wrong with their estimation of unhappy riot-ready protestors…. Not all of them side with the “party of the mob.”

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization whose faith in American ingenuity and work ethic foster the principles upon which this country was founded; economic freedom and the belief that ALL people have potential, that less government yields prosperity, and that every person is guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

That more than a thousand Americans filled the convention center last week decisively implicates that an assault on the aforementioned rights has taken place, and few cheated investors in the American dream will go quietly or without a fight; I’m referring to those hardworking Americans who’ve been cheated out of the fruits of their labor by none other than an overreaching government.  I’m referring to those who showed up Saturday morning to participate in a plea to the federal government; “CUT SPENDING NOW!”

Among countless egregious acts of the current administration, including the forced passage of an unconstitutional health care bill now being challenged by half of the United States, the Federal Government has nearly spent this country out of existence; an existence as the first free Democratic Republic, the first free capitalist society in the world.

China now owns 1.2 trillion of America’s 14 trillion-dollar debt.  An environment of socialist ideals, Keynesian economics, and entitlement programs has been mandated onto Main Street from the White House and the Obama Administration.  And the results have been as disparaging as one could possibly imagine.

But the pseudo revolutionists aren’t protesting the Federal Government for intervening in the free market, for stripping Americans of their rights, or forcing the passage of blatantly unconstitutional legislation.  No.  Those now calling themselves “occupants” aren’t calling out the President and his pals for lying or bypassing congressional approval to further their liberal agenda.  No.  Their protests are a war cry from the left to undo what freedoms and opportunities we have left in this country, and why?  To be taken care of by the government.

There is a greater faith, however, in freedom and in people.  That same faith is responsible for motivating conservatives to rally together now more than ever to protect and defend our remaining rights as American citizens.

The Americans for Prosperity Dream Summit was imbued with this spirit, that of faith and trust in humanity and opportunity and freedom.  The message to the Fed rang loud and clear; “Cut Spending Now” and NEVER make apologies for this exceptional shining city on the hill, as Reagan notoriously referred to the United States of America.

We are on the brink of a revolution, and there are still many Americans who will fight for less government and more individual liberty, just as there have always been.

God bless ‘em all, and let us not forget the debt we owe to those who’ve given their lives for our sovereignty.

In a world of bigger, stronger, faster philosophies, quick fixes, 30 day shreds, overnight deliveries, instant messaging, and fast food, it’s no wonder that as a people we’re becoming less apt to take time to smell the roses.   So what gives?

I started a post on CrossFit dating, and surprisingly enough, the topic included many of the same observations I’ve decided to include in this post….so look out.  You may be in for a bumpy ride.

“Faster isn’t always better.”

I’ve been preached to religiously (haha…that pun worked well) about the ills of dating in a hurry, and the harms of rushing into a physical relationship.

As a CrossFitter, free from fear of pain and fatigue, literally callused to and by the tasks we surmount with each workout, it’s almost unfathomable that we would avoid anything which challenged us physically…and yet the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.

It is harder to abstain from a physically intimate relationship with someone than it is to simply give in.

Thanks to the wonderful world of Google, I can tell that the only search term that comes up more frequently than “perfect body” is “CrossFit dating.” For that reason, I know I’m probably not getting too far off the beaten path tying relationship talk into this primarily CrossFit blog.

While I’ve achieved many of my goals in the gym, I’ve accomplished very few in terms of romantic relationships…and why?  Maybe because for too long I was ok with the “unknown and unknowable” philosophy we talk about in the gym.  Show up, put up, shut up and you’ll be better off for it in the long run.  Well, you can’t expect for that idea to work outside the walls of the workouts.

It’s not about setting one PR and moving onto the next, or at least it shouldn’t be.  Similar to a PR (personal record) though, you may need to get a little dirty; chalk up, tear your hands a few times and even bleed before you build up those calluses…though emotional calluses tend to scar worse.  Worse in the sense that we carry them with us, wearing them on our sleeve right alongside our hearts.  Like a CrossFitter, recognizable by their scraped up shins, strong arms and calluses, you can usually spot a person who approaches dating like an AMRAP…as many rounds as possible, as many reps as possible, as many relationships as possible.  And what good does it ever do ’em?

Without getting too ooey gooey for those just tuning in to find something about Protein Powder or how to do the perfect snatch (easy there….I’m referring to one of the Olympic lifts) I can say that I’ve learned a lot through CrossFit and I love it, but there’s more to loving than personal records, constant variation, and high intensity. So why all the searches on CrossFit dating?

I get it.  I really do.  We, as a cult-like community at times, are all bound by the same camaraderie and competition that yields results.  We speak a jargon of sorts only understandable to other CrossFitters…and let’s face it, the workouts do a body good, so why not find another CrossFitter to spend your post-WOD (workout of the day) time with. For this reason, I imagine the CrossFit dating site is going rather well.

In the deepest stage of by infatuation with this regimen I keep referring to, I didn’t think for a minute that I could ever even be attracted to someone who wasn’t a part of the “cult.”  I figured for sure that I’d want someone who could tell me what their “Fran” time was and be impressed by my lifting PRs and butterfly pull-ups.  But how shallow and naive was I?

My life no longer revolves around the gym, the workouts, or the even the conversations I used to have…though I could probably afford to spend more time on them all.  I’ve realized, as I’ve been away and consumed in time and thought by another world, that there’s so much more I have yet to learn about truly meaningful “personal records.”

At 25, I’m not yet staring down the barrel of spinsterhood at cat ownership just yet, nor am I worried that’s how I’ll spend my later days, but that isn’t to say I haven’t started wondering about that Mr. Wonderful out there somewhere, and whether or not he’s waiting for me to find him, or preparing to find me.  To be honest, hell, I don’t even know if I’m actually ready to be “found” yet, but entertaining the idea is just that…..entertaining 🙂

But here’s where I look back and examine the past.  What when wrong?  Why didn’t it last? Was it all a wash, because I went too fast?

I guess that depends on who you ask 🙂

But one thing is for sure, and it’s true in lifting, CrossFitting, and in life…. timing is everything and patience is key.  Though these aren’t principles we seem to recognize anymore in society.  We’re high-tech, high-speed, and always seeking to fulfill an insta-need.

Well here’s to smelling the roses, and avoiding a few more pricks.

Women talk a million miles a minute because they think a billion miles a minute.  Makes sense, right?  The unfortunate thing about thinking so much is that we aren’t necessarily using our head for anything more than an intermediary between our gut and what we perceive through sight.  It’s a proven fact that women speak more than men, and I’m sure that’s a stat that no man’s willing to argue with.  As if we’d let them win even that argument.  It’s true…the wheels get to spinning in a woman’s head and LOOK OUT.

So long as we’re using our “power” for good and not evil, we’re in the clear.  However, some thoughts are beyond our control, and pretty soon they’re taking over our lives.

Have you ever heard (ladies), “you worry too much,” or “stop trying to analyze everything”?  Why do we do this?  What physical purpose does it serve us out in the wild that is our everyday lives?It couldn’t possibly be a defense mechanism.  Could it?  It beats the heck out of me, both physically and  mentally,to be thinking so much all the time.  Good, bad, or ugly, the obsessive nature of thinking and over thinking becomes exhausting, and not just to the thinker, but to all those around him/her too.

A detriment to ourselves we become when we fall victims of paralysis by analysis.  Thoughts can thwart the development of positive progress by holding the thought bearer hostage on the sidelines of change.  Starting a new workout regimen, entering a new relationship, changing jobs….these don’t have to be leaps of faith, but we often hold out because we figure “if in doubt, wait it out,” but how long is too long to hold off from taking the plunge and finding out for ourselves whether or not the grass really is greener on the other side?

Then there’s the “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” mentality that keeps women an arm’s length away from the next best thing.  I know in my life that the going can only be good for so long before I start to second guess my situation and I begin to fear falling from my “pink cloud.”  Call it an AA thing, but I’ve noticed it every time the pieces of my puzzled life appear to be falling into place.

We’ve got to figure out how to receive the intrinsic rewards we work so diligently towards every day.  They are, after all, as important as the tangible benefits we get from a good work ethic, especially as far as the gym is concerned.

A mirror image is only a reflection of a moment in time, and yet in some cases it can be enough to throw a woman completely off track.  I could get into a whole “love your body” shpeal, but that’s not where I’m trying to go with this post.  What I’d like to address is our unbelievably  vulnerable and susceptible nature, and uncanny ability to deconstruct literally from head to toe.  Leave it to a woman…this one anyway, not to outsmart my better judgement, but to think my way out of it.  The difference is that the latter refers to thinking as “obsessing” with no consideration for pragmatic rationale whatsoever.

We can think and think until we are blue in the face, but who wants that?  How about going with the flow, trusting what we’re told, taking things for face value without trying to analyze all their bits and pieces, and not looking for implications that we don’t deserve the good things that we are afforded in life.

I’m looking forward to thinking more like a man…and by that I mean thinking less. 🙂 yea, yea, yea…I probably offended both men and women there, but take it for the tongue and cheek compliment I intended it to be.  Sometimes I really do envy a man’s ability to quiet his mind, and wish to learn how to do the same.

Thinking—it’s a workout in itself, but who’s doing it right?