Rx Girls: Miami

Click to read: Warped Beauty Standards and Embracing the Buff

This is a GREAT post from our friends over at CrossFit South Bay in California. I realized it’s been a while since I wrote about women in the CrossFit community and I need to start researching about this year’s upcoming Games competitors. We have some amazingly strong and awesomely athletic women to look up to in this community, and they deserve a shout out. More on that in the weeks to come…

Knowledge is Power

best cf women pic ever - from Orange Coast CrossFit

Hello Hello! I know it’s been a while… I try my best to keep up once a week but with all I have going on, it gets tough sometimes. I promise that I will update more after mid-December when I finish my internship and have more time! I was in Ramona, California this weekend for the CrossFit Kids cert and it was awesome! While on the plane, I had some time to sit down and start reading The Paleo Solution. Great so far, and there are some awesome inspiring stories throughout. One of them got me thinking about my journey transitioning from typical eating/working out/living to what I do now. All of this was so new to me, so different and so not what I wanted to do at first. This woman went through the same… unhappy with herself, 2 kids, feeling blah about life and wanted something new…

Most people don’t want to work hard. If you are reading this blog and you eat clean (and the real definition of clean, not the general public’s definition) and do CrossFit, you are different than most people. You have to get used to that. Basically anything you talk about that involves Paleo or lifting heavy weight or liking the muscles you have and calluses on your hands is gonna get you some weird looks. Most people I talk to (outside of my gym) think I’m crazy. Luckily I found an awesome group of people who love the same things I do; workouts that challenge my limits, having a hard muscly body, and feeling awesome and energetic most days of the week. I don’t care about partying, I don’t care about eating cupcakes and cream puffs, and I really don’t care about doing a workout that makes it easy for me to get “fit” in 5 min (which doesn’t exist by the way)… unless you’re doing something like Fran.

If you are new to all of this, you might be wondering how you can take your training to the next level. Well… I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor or anything but I can tell you what has worked for me and tons of other women, and I have the stories and photos to prove it (if you’re interested, just ask me). That to me is better than any infomercial, advice from a dietitian (unless they’re a crossfitting dietitian and know what’s up), or doctor. Seriously…

1. Forget everything you have ever been told. This is different and that’s why it works and is getting so much attention now. So basically, you won’t get big cause you lift weight, it’s good to squat, whole wheat isn’t good for you, and machines are retarded and cause injuries cause they work your muscles in unnatural ways.

2. Challenge yourself! Every day should be a new day to hit a record, so do something new and leave feeling good about yourself. Go 10lbs heavier, use the taller box, hit a higher target, etc…

3. Sorry vegetarians and vegans, but eat some meat and fat! It’s good for you, I promise. If you are afraid of all the hormones and chemicals (and you’re not alone) or horrible ways these animals live or die, go grass fed, organic, cage free, and local! Yes I know it’s more expensive, but so are the doctor bills and the medications you’re on… and you can get off of those if you do things the right way with diet and exercise (another thing I have seen with my own eyes happen to our members).  Protein from soy, beans, nuts, etc. will “get you by”, but real protein (from real food like fish, meat, chicken, etc…) will make you thrive… and that’s what we want. I have heard stories of vegetarian or vegan girls who can not get pull ups for the life of them, and then start reintroducing meat back into their diet (after lots of convincing) and BAM! They got stronger… weird? Nope.

4. This is a sport and you are now an athlete. You’re gonna get bruised and scuffed up sometimes, so what. Participate in local events and join the fun! Whether you are cheering someone on or competing in the event, this is what the CrossFit community is all about. Get in on it!!

5. Try to do things this way for 30 days. That’s it, 1 month… what do you have to lose? The benefits that will come from this will be much much more than that.

till next time…

Happy Halloween!!! I hope everyone stays safe and has fun with whatever they do this year…I was planning on being a deviled egg, a costume I made for my husband last year that was so good I wanted to be that this year. It was too expensive for me to get everything though, so I settled on cavewoman… or rx paleo girl? That was cheesy. But yea, we’re having a Halloween Party at CrossFit Soul tonight at 7pm if anyone wants to come! I will be working out in costume and then partying after!

Anyway, I read this blog post today that was supposed to be inspiring to other women about CrossFit and how it changes you. One of the things that stuck out to me in this post was this girls confidence. Confidence is something MAJOR that comes with doing things you never thought you could do. It happens here all the time, whether its a pull up or a run or a weightlifting movement. That’s what is so cool about CrossFit, it takes normal people and turns them into confident athletes.

Your perception is another thing that changes. You can be nowhere near the gym and have to face something challenging and you will see it in a whole new light. That “challenge” instead of being something scary is now something fun to overcome. Your heath improves too, which makes illness and pain and all that start to go away. It’s amazing how many people I’ve known and heard of that go from being on meds they think they will have to take for life, to being on NOTHING thanks to CrossFit and healthy eating.

Body image and self-esteem is the last part. Yes, you likely will have to buy new clothes because you will start to get lean in places you always wanted to, and muscle will start to develop. BIG DEAL! That doesn’t mean though that you will not be able to fit into anything because you have muscles and the majority of “regular” womens clothes isn’t made for that. This belief is what keeps a lot of women away from CrossFit because of the fear of getting bulky and manly. It couldn’t be more untrue!!!  Come meet me or Coach Jessica… you’ll see.  The weightlifting we do here is in combination with a ton of other things, so you get strong while you get lean. The cardio endurance benefits are just as huge as the strength benefits…. not to mention the flexibility, posture, emotional well-being, energy, and ability to pretty much do any sport without a problem, because that’s how we train.

CrossFit is such an amazing program and it works for everyone… whether you are young or old, out of shape, lifelong athlete, yogi or gym rat. Yes we have our top athletes that love to compete and be bad asses, but in my opinion, doing something you’ve never done before or something that most of America doesn’t really care to dedicate time to…that’s pretty bad-ass too. I do CrossFit because I love how it makes me feel, I love how my body has changed, and I love working with people and helping them to improve their lives. The competing is great too (although not in public for me). So I wanna know… in what ways have you been changed because of CrossFit and what are your favorite aspects of this program?

Be Safe tonight!

We have a whole new group of women starting at CrossFit Soul and I couldn’t be more happy about it! I love to see women learn about how to do handstand push ups and oly lifts and swing kettlebells around. I love the smiles on their faces when they pull themselves up over the bar the first time or when they switch to a thinner band and get closer to an unassisted pull up! I think that has to be my favorite.

This work schedule has been really rough for me. It’s hard to dedicate so much time to so many different things and still stay stress-free and full of energy. I really feel grateful to have such an awesome job that gives me energy and motivation though… It happens almost every day: I’ll come in super tired at 6AM and meet with my early bird crew. Even though I couldn’t imagine working out at that ungodly hour, they KILL IT! They put so much into learning the movements and keeping their intensity up at the same time, I love it. Then comes my 8AM who are just awesome… they have been here a little longer and just amaze me sometimes with how far they have come. All this builds on my mental strength so come time for me to workout before I go to my night job I can get through it, usually by myself, and not let myself give up or slack.

This is what happens here in the CrossFit community. You feed off other people’s energy and you start to build on your strength… mind and body. Seriously. For some of you who are new it’s gonna be hard… but you’ve heard it before “nothing that is worth it is ever easy”. And this is SO worth it!

The one thing I can suggest to those of you who are new is to get your nutrition on track. That is SO important. Nutrition is the foundation of your heath and fitness. It’s what’s gonna make you feel better faster and get stronger, it’s gonna get you those results you want quicker, and it’s gonna be the reason you realize that this program is not a short term quick fix weight loss thing. I HATE hearing that… someone told me yesterday that they overheard a personal trainer at another gym talking crap about how CrossFit is not for people new to fitness and how it’s a “weight loss fad”. REALLY?! That guy obviously knows nothing about anything….

You belong here, wherever you are at in your fitness and health. The best part about it is that you are not alone here, this community will carry you through and help you continue reaching your goals for as long as you want… hopefully for life 

Unlearning Negative Self-Talk

I’m reading this book called “Fed Up! Free Yourself From the Diet Trap”. Mostly, I’m learning about how to treat people with eating disorders who come through the doors of CrossFit Soul. The mental health field has a lot of great treatment out there, but there is always room to grow the field. I really hope that once I graduate (only 6 months away!) I can start helping people find a healthy way of life through CrossFit training and eating clean.

So anyway, one of the topics in the chapter I’m on is about negative self-talk. We all hear about positive self-talk and how to pump ourselves up for certain workouts and competitions, but what about the negative stuff that still lingers in our heads? Especially when you are first starting a fitness routine, lots of negative stuff might be floating through your head without even noticing it…

“I can’t do something that intense!”
“I don’t think CrossFit is for me”
“I’m too old/ fat/ skinny/ lazy, etc..”

All of these things that we think and say reflect how we feel about ourselves internally. If you don’t FEEL confident it’s gonna be a lot harder to find motivation, to do well at your workouts, and to push yourself to new levels… past those limits that so many of us set for ourselves. One of the tips in my book is to imagine saying these negative things to a young child or to your best friend…

“You could never do something like that”
“You are too fat/ ugly/ skinny/ lazy to do that!”
“I really don’t think CrossFit is for you”

Never right?! I would NEVER tell someone I cared about that they just didn’t have it in them to do something challenging! How would I ever inspire? How would I help people? How would I ever get any members!!? haha. All that would do is cause someone embarrassment, shame, and pain. Well, when we say things like that to ourselves it does the same exact thing. So think about that…. Wendy Oliver-Pyatt, the author of my book, suggests each time you notice yourself saying something negative to imagine a huge stop sign. Stop those thoughts and then rephrase them for something less abusive…

“I should try something new”
“Lots of people do CrossFit, maybe I can too”
“I am unique, special, motivated, and willing to work hard”

“Look at yourself with affection and compassion, just as you would look at a loved one. When you do, you will be amazed at the psychic energy you free up to pursue your goals and the lessening of the burden you carry.” – Wendy Oliver-Pyatt

Strength Training for Women

Heather Bergeron at the 2010 CF Games

So here I am, a couple weeks from opening my own gym and thinking about how I’m gonna market CrossFit to all the women I speak to… Even with all the arguments out there about how great strength training… and I mean REAL strength training is for women, you still hear the same things about women not wanting to “get big”, being afraid to lift heavy weight, and feeling like programs like CrossFit just aren’t for them. People like my mom for example, insist on working on machines and avoiding doing things like deadlifts and weighted squats because they are afraid to get hurt, when really they can avoid getting hurt by getting stronger! Yes CrossFit is appealing to very athletic types, but it works for everyone. I was NOT athletic at all when I started, shit I could barely do a push up, but it really does help you to find that strength…

So here is another article I read today about all the benefits you can gain:

1. You Will Be Physically Stronger.
   Increasing your strength will make you far less dependent upon others for assistance in daily living. Chores will be easier, lifting kids, groceries and laundry will no longer push you to the max. If your maximum strength is increased, daily tasks and routine exercise will be far less likely to cause injury. Research studies conclude that even moderate weight training can increase a woman’s strength by 30 to 50 percent. Research also shows that women can develop their strength at the same rate as men.
2. You Will Lose Body Fat.
   Studies found that the average woman who strength trains two to three times a week for two months will gain nearly two pounds of muscle and will lose 3.5 pounds of fat. As your lean muscle increases so does your resting metabolism, and you burn more calories all day long. Generally speaking, for each pound of muscle you gain, you burn 35 to 50 more calories each day. That can really add up.
3. You Will Gain Strength Without Bulk.
   Researchers also found that unlike men, women typically don’t gain size from strength training, because compared to men, women have 10 to 30 times less of the hormones that cause muscle hypertrophy. You will, however, develop muscle tone and definition. This is a bonus.
4. You Decrease Your Risk Of Osteoporosis.
   Research has found that weight training can increase spinal bone mineral density (and enhance bone modeling) by 13 percent in six months. This, coupled with an adequate amount of dietary calcium, can be a women’s best defense against osteoporosis.
5. You Will Improve Your Athletic Performance.
   Over and over research concludes that strength training improves athletic ability in all but the very elite athletes (See Article). Golfers can significantly increase their driving power. Cyclists are able to continue for longer periods of time with less fatigue. Skiers improve technique and reduce injury. Whatever sport you play, strength training has been shown to improve overall performance as well as decrease the risk of injury.
6. You Will Reduce Your Risk Of Injury, Back Pain and Arthritis.
   Strength training not only builds stronger muscles, but also builds stronger connective tissues and increases joint stability. This acts as reinforcement for the joints and helps prevent injury. A recent 12-year study showed that strengthening the low-back muscles had an 80 percent success rate in eliminating or alleviating low-back pain. Other studies have indicated that weight training can ease the pain of osteoarthritis and strengthen joints.
7. You Will Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease.
   Weight training can improve cardiovascular health in several ways, including lowering LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, increasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol and lowering blood pressure. When cardiovascular exercise is added (like in CrossFit!), these benefits are maximized.
8. You Will Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes.
   In addition, weight training may improve the way the body processes sugar, which may reduce the risk of diabetes. Adult-onset diabetes is a growing problem for women and men. Research indicates that weight training can increase glucose utilization in the body by 23 percent in four months.
9. It Is Never Too Late To Benefit.
   Women in their 70s and 80s have built up significant strength through weight training and studies show that strength improvements are possible at any age. Note, however, that a strength training professional should always supervise older participants.
10. You Will Improve Your Attitude And Fight Depression.
    A Harvard study found that 10 weeks of strength training reduced clinical depression symptoms more successfully than standard counseling did. Women who strength train commonly report feeling more confident and capable as a result of their program, all important factors in fighting depression.

God, I can attest to so many of these. My in-laws have had amazing benefits, for example. My mother in-law has had horrible back pain her entire life, and tells me now that she feels no pain. My father in-law, once on 11 different medications for diabetes, cholesterol, and a bunch of other crap is now down to only one. This program works. Plain and simple. If you feel like you are at a point where nothing has worked for you, it’s about time to try something new right?! My new gym CrossFit Soul will be opening in South Miami very soon. Maybe it’s time to make that change…

Happy Birthday to me!

That’s me at Venice “Muscle” Beach, taking a lunch break during the CrossFit Games. I just went to watch and network that weekend, but what an inspiring event that was… Those women (and men) who compete are so strong and amazing.

So another awesome year has gone by and I gotta say, this one has really been a good one. A year ago I found CrossFit. A year ago all I knew was spinning, pilates, yoga, and the occassional “weight training” class. I was intimidated when I fist stepped in…. I saw all the kettlebells, boxes, barbells and rings and thought “there is NO way I can do this stuff”. Aside from that initial feeling though, I also felt really excited because this was something I had never seen or tried before. The atmosphere was welcoming, there were women lifting heavy weight and they didn’t look like dudes, and actually, they made it look easy. I loved the challenge!

After that first workout I committed to 3 months and I haven’t stopped since. In fact, I completely fell in love with CrossFit. I wanted to learn all I could about how to lift, how to do pull ups, how to use the rings and how to become a Coach. A year later, here I am. The experience I’ve had this past year has been amazing. I have met so many cool people with so much knowledge that have helped me to become the Coach I am today… and I don’t plan to stop growing any time soon. The more I learn the more I become inspired to work with people and introduce them to this program that has changed my life. I feel better physically and mentally, I look better, perform better, and I care more about what I eat and how I treat my body… something I was never taught from any fitness facility before joining this community.

So I read the CrossFit Central website a lot because I love the programs they have for women. I found some quotes on there recently that I really liked:

“The CrossFit Women classes buzz with energy, commradary, and achievement. It seems that the reoccurring experience is empowerment. CrossFit empowers women, not only in fitness, but in everyday life. When you achieve something that was deemed too intense for women or something you thought you weren’t capable of – you can conquer the world. You can overcome your battles, fears, and mental barriers outside of the gym.”

“It may sound extreme, but there’s an undeniable connection between our physical health and our mental health, and I’m the happiest I’ve been in years. It’s not about losing weight, but becoming confident and watching myself make progress every month, knowing that I can push myself hard and be stronger because of it.”

“There are no mirrors, we all know that we look like hell, because we’ve just been through hell (and survived). I know that with this group of ladies, it’s the one place where I’m expected to be powerful instead of pretty.”

How do you all feel about your experience with CrossFit? How has it changed you and how do you feel it’s different (or the same) from other programs you have tried in the past? Lemme know!

I have some good recipes coming soon so stay tuned!!