Turn up the volume!

May means volume! This month I have programmed the ladies workouts to include more reps and more time.  That would obviously mean lighter weight right? No!  We have had months of PR's and everyone is getting stronger. So the next challenge will be using that PR weight and seeing how long you can hold on to it. 

 The first week has gone well! Below is Tegra with a log complex:

These ladies will be holding on to heavy weight they would use for a 3-2-1 barbell complex, but going with a 5-5-5 or 5-4-3, possibly with more rounds. Keeping that heavy weight in your hands longer only makes you stronger and tougher! 

530 VS 615 2013 Throwdown!

It's back! The 2013 530 vs 615 THROWDOWN will begin in the morning! Here are the details: 

Rule #1: Each class must appoint one person to keep track of points the entire month.

Rule #2: There must be 10 people in class for any points to be earned.

Rule #3: Warm up push ups DO NOT count. However, push ups ( and all other moves ) count in workouts.

Rule #4: All points have to be obtained IN, AFTER, or BEFORE CLASS for Jaime or myself.

Rule #5: ALL participating class members must earn a minimum of 10 points throughout the month. 

You will have 5 total minutes to complete any points possible each day after the warm up.

How to earn points: ( one point each )

• set of 5 strict pull ups
• set of 15 kipping pull ups
• set of 10 perfect push-ups unbroken
• set of 15 perfect KB swings @20kg
• set of 30 perfect KB swings @16kg
• 500m row under 2:15
• 800m run under 4 minutes
• 30 unbroken double unders
• one rope climb
• 20 body weight back squats

An added 50 points will go to anyone who chooses to do a strict paleo diet the entire month, with me checking food logs twice a week :)

DINNER!

I was raised to be at the table by 6pm sharp or major consequences would come to life. What a bitch my mom was. NO, that is what is seemed at the time. What she was doing was getting off of a twelve hour day working two jobs and KNOWING her children. Phone was off the hook, which got very interesting and dramatic when I started dating and was expecting calls. I knew to not even LOOK at the phone. It was not happening ( even though the cord stretched to the bathroom). But I never hated it, I enjoyed talking and teasing all of my siblings about my day. Our life started at the dinner table. All major good and bad conversations happened there. It was where I grew up and fell in love with my family. So easy to see why dinner is such an important event in my day.

I have lived in Austin since 2007, been paleo since 2008. I love the ACT of the meal. The sit down restaurant that is not to loud and not too quite, the two glasses of wine before the food comes, a dinner with quality food and ingredients, all of it. I love it! Dinner is definitely an occasion for me. I have high standards when it comes to dinner. Now that I have my own house, I don't use paper towels for napkins, and there is not a piece of plastic silverware or a paper plate in my house....ever.

This all being said I pride myself on having amazing nights out in Austin. Now has come the time to share where I think you should eat! I have started a new blog to take pics and get the information out to the athletes in Austin. It's called www.FitFoodieATX.com

This site is just a private blog, nothing fancy. But I will honestly tell you what I thought about the place, concentrating on the paleo/healthy/gluten free side of the city. Check it out!

"GET RIPPED" results from Gael

Gael signed up for my program without telling me. No email, no phone call, no mindbody notification. She just strolled right on up to me at 6am on a Tuesday morning at RBG like she owned the place. I asked her who she was looking for and she said....YOU. Apparently she was in, and I had no idea! At that time my program had a six month CrossFit pre requisite. Come to find out Gael had been in a level one class for a bit....just a bit. I was tempted to let her know after the first class about this rule and why I had it in place. After an hour I just shut my mouth and let it happen. She wanted to be in there, and there was no other option for her. 

I love the fact that she asked for no permission. She took ACTION and just got her ass to the gym. Nobody deserves to not get what they want when they just stand up and attempt to take it! 

She fit right in with all my other LL personalities: Trash talker, hilarious, empathetic, supportive, smart, bitchy, mouthy, moody and strong. She has had major strength gains in the time she has been in class, and I am looking forward to the upcoming year with her. 

Gael participated in this January's "GET RIPPED" challenge, here is her story:

Right after New Year's, the women of Lean Lifting took on an "eat clean, eat light, exercise fiercely, be accountable" challenge under the watchful eye of Coach Jen Shaw. Boy, did I need this challenge! I kept a food log for the first time in my life -- while eating strict Paleo for the first time, too -- and what an amazing difference those 4 weeks have made. Gone are the sweet cravings (well, i'll be honest, almost gone). I actually feel better eating this way and have stuck with it -- so this turned out to be way more than a 4 week challenge; this changed my eating habits forever. I bumped my exercise up some, too, from 5 days a week to 6. The results? 8 pounds lost and 8 inches lost! Down a size! And while I am really, truly ecstatic about those results, what I loved most was the 4 weeks of encouragement, camaraderie, and accountability with a truly amazing and inspiring group of women. 

IAM is complete...now what??

The IAMCROSSFIT 2013 has officially ended. By now everyone is basking in the bloated belly glow of gluten, alcohol, and all sorts of desserts. I am sure there has been some sleepless nights, achy bellies, swollen eyes, acne, awful workouts, maybe even some sickness started. This goes on every year on the ending weekend of IAM. Its to be expected! If you took this challenge 100% serious and cut out all crap food you did the right thing. The question is now, how to re direct your diet to your lifestyle when you coach is not watching your every bite. 

Know yourself. Know your goals. What are you trying to do here? There are several different ways to approach this. My angle is and always as been about balance and living. You cannot expect to carry on the IAM challenge throughout the year. Its not reasonable. So first step is to be honest with yourself. What did you give up that you KNOW will be sneaking back in your diet soon? Is it worth it? What is "worth it." Here are some examples:

Hey Cupcake trailer while hanging out with the family on South Congress in the great weather= WORTH IT

HEB tiny cupcake that came from a plastic container and resembled a brick in the throat ...at work because it's just there= 

NOT worth it

Friends BBQ on the weekend with homemade salsa, corn chips, margaritas and family= WORTH IT

Out to eat with work peeps you don't really like at a shitty mexican place where you don't want to be, and you clean out the chips and salsa= 

NOT worth it

On a date with a person you like, ending it with some Lick Ice Cream on South Lamar= WORTH IT

Sitting on the couch alone and feeling like you "deserve it" for not having it for 8 weeks= 

NOT worth it

Get my drift? Its all about choices. Eat well all the time, I mean ALL the time. Have 3 to 4 meals a day with a protein, veggies and lots of water. Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are not hungry. Its literally that simple. You don't need a paleo cookbook...you just need to keep it simple and mix it up. 

Don't make one night a week a "cheat night" because you will get lost in the struggle and end up right back where you started....looking at the calendar for the next Crossfit Central challenge and just eating whatever until the challenge, because when it starts you will really get focused. NO!!!! That is an awful plan. What if your friends call up and want to go have fun..but you have already had your "cheat night" and you tell them that?!?! LAME. Don't plan...just go with it. 

When an opportunity presents itself to go have some fun...you will know that you have eaten well and its ok!!! Example: Matti is coming into town next weekend. I am going to trashbomb this city up! Anna, Catherine, Matti, Katy, and others will be BBQ'ing amazing meat and vegetables..wine..I might make my homemade salsa...its going to be great. Now, I KNOW for sure that I will be splurging on wine and desserts. It doesn't bother me a bit! Why? Because making the way you have learned to eat as a lifestyle changes everything. Its not a challenge, its life! You should live and have fun!!

GET RIPPED Results

Results are in!!!! After a solid month of cutting all sugar out and completing extra workouts the group of ladies that participated in the GET RIPPED challenge lost 45 inches all together.  

The finale party was filled with desserts, pizza, and an insane amount of dark chocolate and wine. To my surprise nobody was stabbing each other over cupcakes. They didn't want to completely de-rail their success and basically snacked around the table. Everyone was sleeping really well, felt great in their clothes, and went down sizes in LULU ( upmost important, HA) so diving in on a bunch of desserts did not seem as appealing a it was a couple weeks before.

Super proud of these chicks for staying in the zone the entire month. A group of them are keeping it up with small treats weekly. Balance is the way to go, and this was a great start to teach them how to do it.

Some things gained from cutting sugar out for the month:

• elevated mood
• deeper/longer sleep
• clothes fitting loose
• down a lulu size
• skin clearer
• more energy in workouts

If you are in need of ANY of these things, I would highly suggest going on a thirty day cleanse of sugar. This challenge is not only about how you perform and fit in your clothes- its about how you feel day in day out. How you are sleeping, how you are coping with stress. Sugar plays a role in all of these things. What you put in your body, you get out of it. So if you need something more from yourself, look at what you are nourishing yourself with. 

Here is some feedback from a couple of the girls:

• Sense of "strong chick" community was very prevalent, and a good source of support
• Being on a team challenge adds a sense of accountability 
• Recipe sharing was helpful
• HUGE benefit in being taught to increase water intake ( goal 1oz/lb of body weight)
• Amusing/informative tips from sassy coach
• Did actually encourage me to try new foods
• Camaraderie with all the ladies was awesome… kept everyone motivating
• Foodlog helped in getting ideas and keeping everyone accountable
• Extra wods were great
• Get together at completion was a great reward

If you missed all the details of what went down for the month, read THIS post. 

My spoon full of sugar....

Workouts are emotional. It can bring out the happy, sad, stressed, and the teenwolf in people. You don't walk into the gym hoping to do awful and miss every lift. You walk in planning to do well, PR, feel like a strong bad ass, and then leave. When it doesn't work out that way is when you learn to deal. When something shitty is on your mind it WILL come out in your workout. It will bother you and pick at you until you deal with it. People have said to me "Jen just put it out of your head"....that's sweet but doesn't mean shit. That's not actually going to happen. The emotion of the problem will come out sometime during the workout. 

It can be great therapy to deadlift a bar and slam it into the ground a couple times. Or, if you are not as angry as I am, doing some pretty pull ups and releasing some of that stress can completely change your day. Just do something you enjoy, something you are good at. Even if its a walk around town lake, or a bike ride. My advice is to just move!

Over a year ago I remember completing an awful chipper. The last portion was a 400m run with a plate. I was carrying so much stress, sadness, depression, I had it all. As I left for the run I felt the tears flowing...and they didn't stop until I came back. I saw Jess and Alex at the end and literally collapsed in the Crossfit Central parking lot with that 25lb plate right in their laps. I was exhausted. I was carrying all that sadness, and during that workout I let it go. It felt amazing. Just to get rid of all that shit I had been carrying that day. It happens! Its ok! Let it flow...don't be embarrassed.

As a coach, I have learned when to recognize when its happening to one of my own. I know how that feels. Its hard to sit back and let them sort it out themselves. I want to jump in and fix it for them, but I know there is nothing I can do.  If they are failing and about to loose it, just change the move to something I know they are good at. It can be an intense process, and sometimes seems mean not to give them a hug or try to console-but that won't help. Just move. Just do what you are good at. Get all that shit out, and leave it at the gym. Drive away happier and better. 

Lean Lifting at The Fittest Games 2013

I had three athletes compete at Fittest Games this year; Tegra, Jenny, and Tina. They did amazing! I was able to run between pads and watch most of their workouts. I was running around like crazy making sure they warm up, got their heat times, and had all the equipment. After tiring myself of doing that, I realized that they had it down fine! Shoes, water, tape, chalk. I had prepared them for it and realized they were completely capable athletes without me yelling. These ladies held the mental game and physical game better than most out there in their heats. I mean, Tina did let a couple of screams out- but overall she stayed happy, HAHA. I caught up with Jenny and added a video at the bottom of the beginning of "Randy". It was so fun to watch as their coach I really didn't want to go and compete myself. SO proud of these chicks and what they have accomplished over the past couple of years. 

Great job ladies!

Tina Spears

Tegra Swogger

Jenny Flemming with a strong start on "Randy"

GET RIPPED 2013

My LL ladies are two weeks into the yearly GET RIPPED challenge. This consists of four weeks of food logging and some extra workouts to complete on their own time.  After the holidays everyone needs a little kick start to get moving again, and this challenge has provided some pretty awesome results. So much that I have some ladies asking for a fall get ripped as well...but I save it for the new year. 

This four weeks everyone is assigned an accountability partner to watch each other's food intake like a hawk. Not only that, but everyone involved can see each others food on a massive google document. This keeps the pressure on! Here are a few of the rules they are abiding by:

NO fruit

NO nuts

NO alcohol

NO bacon ( easy now, don't hate me )

Why?? Why not?? 

Fruit: Yes, there are extremely healthy things about fruit; they taste great, and its a super easy snack. Because its a super easy snack, its over eaten a lot. Another issue is people have no idea what an actual serving of fruit is and just take three handfuls without even knowing it. Want an apple? That is equal to 24 spears of asparagus as one serving, over two cups of Brussels sprouts, or like 200 cups of spinach. Ok, maybe not 200...but close. So the point is cutting out that easy, over eaten, sugary snack daily. 

Nuts: Fact: They are fat. Fat is good, you should have it. But 30 macadamia nuts a day= NUT GUT. They can stop you from pooping, they bloat you up, and like fruit they are easily over eaten. 

Alcohol: I cut this out purely for the fact that going without drinking is really hard. You easily become dehydrated, and again taking in tons of sugar you don't need. 

Bacon: Because I said so. Crossfitters make shirts and ridiculous looking socks that say "bacon" on them, and that makes me angry. Bacon is amazing and everything tastes better with it being a part, but please don't put it on your clothes. I digress....My point is that you could be taking in from sources that provide better nutrition. I am not a nutritionist....but I know that eating avocado or coconut oil is better than slurping down greasy-ass bacon. So there is the reasoning on that. 

I do allow the ladies to have a "grab bag" of four different items they can indulge in during the four weeks. These are meant to keep everyone happy, and my tires from being slashed. They can have all four items at once, but then they are gone for the month. Being that I attract wine lovers ( strange?!) most people have chosen four glasses of wine. That's my girls!!!!  

Get Ripped is a challenge open to my Lean Lifting program only. If you are interested in the results, check my blog in a couple of weeks for the massive inches lost report. If you want to do it, come to class! 

Good Luck ladies, we are over halfway!

IAMCROSSFIT!

Its that time of year again! Time to dedicate eight weeks to a new routine, food, workout, sleep, mood, body, and soul. The IAMCROSSFIT challenge is what got me drinking the Crossfit Central kool-aid back in 2009. I started out on the blue band in January and ended up on the Central Team at the International Crossfit Games taking second place in the world that July. So, yes, your life CAN change.   Here are my changes in 8 weeks in 2009:

• lost 6% Body Fat
• Got my kipping Pull up
• Got my chest to bar pull up
• No passing out mid day due to sugar rushes
• Slept better
• Elevated mood
• Got an actual bod, not just a runner H with no muscle and no butt.
• New Job at Crossfit Central
• Actually LOOKED like I worked out as much as I did

SO yeah, its not corny when we say "it can change your life" because mine sure as hell did. I will never want to go back to eating every two hours so I didn't sweat through my clothes and fall on the floor while crawling towards bread to revive my broken body. Yes folks, it WAS that dramatic. 

You can paleo, you can zone, you can paleo-zone. It does not really matter, everyone is different. Find what works for you and stick with it, for life!

Here's a little pic to make you laugh, enjoy!