Sea Kayaking

On the final day of my vacation in Bonaire, my brother and I couldn't dive because our flight was within 24 hours (and divers need enough time to off-gas before increasing altitude 30,000 ft), so we went on an adventure above-water!

We rented sea kayaks and paddled around Klein Bonaire (11k) and to/from (3k)...thats over 8 miles (!) in less than 3 hours!! Before we paddled back to Bonaire we snorkeled for a half hour or so. Snorkeling was worlds more relaxing than scuba diving, and I loved free diving down to a couple schools of fish (and to avoid the jelly fish at the surface).

On our way back to Bonaire we paddled fully into the wind-- there were whitecaps crashing against the bow of my kayak! It took us more than an hour, compared to the 15 minutes it took us to go to Klein Bonaire-- what an exhausting workout! We battled the wind, waves and fatiguing arms/shoulders/torso, adding up to one sore core, today.

I couldn't wait to finish that final stretch of paddling-- it was so grueling that I never want to see (sea) kayak ever again! ;) Not any time soon anyway. Overall, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment after my longest paddle ever.

Scubaaa

For the next 7 days I'll be scuba diving in Bonaire! We'll see what adventures I can get myself into, in addition to 3-5 dives each day. Merry Christmas!

Muddy, Icy Toes

After one of the most stressful 24 hours in recent memory because of multiple setbacks while preparing to depart for an international vacation, I made sure to set aside time to consult my number 1 coping mechanism, running. I can always count on a solid runner's high to obliterate all the doubt and frustration thats been piling up inside of me.

This afternoon, I went for a 5 mile run on the trails in the nearby park. I went out sans running tights or hat because it was in the low 40s and sunny. That is not to say that my toes did not get extremely chilly; in fact, I was covered in icy mud from the knees down after only a mile.

As I type this, my fingers are still stiff from the cold. Every other runner I saw (read: passed) had on pants, mittens, a hat, a fleece, etc-- totally unnecessary. However, let's just say I was channeling my loyal cross country gods the entire way, and once I "finished" I decided to keep running some more and also alternate between some sit ups and walking lunges for the remainder of the workout.

It was about a 35 min run and a total of a 55 min workout with the sit ups, crunches and lunges at the end.

And with that, I jet off to a hot, tropical destination for 10 days early tomorrow. I'm sure I'll keep blogging, but I definitely will not be contemplating putting on my sexy running tights any time in the near future. Yay!

Busy Little Workout Room

When I'm at home, my parents' apartment complex has a cute little fitness center of which I take full advantage, since it's usually pretty vacant.

Tonight however, it was bumpin'. I bet with all the snow and ice today people were feeling cooped up and wanting to work off some energy, much like my own motive for heading down to workout. It was a great 40 minute burn, despite the crowd.

3 rounds of:

12 burpees

16 dead lifts, 120#

16 back squats, 120#

15 chin ups, 20# assistance

15 toes to bar

+

5 dips

30 ab mat sit ups

ab ladder

I felt like I had an audience the entire time, so I was extra intense and hardcore tonight. My arms feel wasted. Feels good to be home :)

A run around the pond

Yesterday I was in Asheville for a job interview and to see a friend, so I wasn't able to get a workout in. PLUS it was 19 degrees with a 15 mph breeze all day-- HOLY *&#@ IT WAS SO COLD. I had imagined frolicking around down town in the Christmas-y winter wonderland (and I did), but outdoor frolicking was kept to a minimum. What I enjoyed most was exploring the aisles of Malaprop's (famous) bookstore with a delicious, warming mug of rainforest yerba maté. Also, I got an amazing cup of dal and a papadum plate from Chai Panis and read. Papadum's my favorite...I should learn to make it.

Today, to celebrate the fact that its still "warm" enough to run around outside down in the low country of North Carolina, I went for a 4 mile run in my lovely running tights and beanie with snowflakes on it. It was about 35 degrees out but the air was still and the late-afternoon light filtering through the tree branches and down on to the straw-colored fields was gorgeous. I ran around the cross country course, stopping every mile to do 15 to-the-ground push ups. The pond was frozen and motionless. I found a heavy stick and tossed it out onto the surface hoping to disrupt the calmness of the icy surface; Alas, the ice was too thick.

When I got near home I found a handrail to do pull ups on and did some sprints near the apartment complex too. I was quite warm throughout most of the run, but I won't lie, the post-run hot shower felt heavenly.

Holiday break is here!

In celebration that final exams are finished, and I am now on vacation and counting down the days to my tropical scuba diving Grand Adventure, I did:

3 Rounds:

Row 500m

115# back squats, 16 reps

5 unassisted chin-ups

5 assisted chin-ups (30#)

10 unassisted dips

+

60 abs on incling

40 leg-ups on recline

Ab ladder

WOOoooo!!! IM SO READY FOR ADVENTURING!!

Cold, Rainy Sunday for running...

But a beautiful day for relaxing, post workout.

This morning I went for a quick 4 miler around the campus perimeter. I splashed in some puddles, slid on a mud slick, and did a few plyometrics and push-ups mid-run. Now, time to finish my final take-home exam thats due tomorrow. Happy Sunday!

Filthy Thirty-Five

For time:

35 Box jumps, 18-20 inch box

35 Jumping pull-ups

35 Kettlebell swings, 30#

Walking Lunge, 35 steps

35 Ab-Mat Sit-ups

35 Push press, 45 pounds

35 Back extensions

35 Wall ball shots, 20# ball

35 Burpees

35 Double unders

in 27:00 mins.

WOoooo this was exhausting, but FAST. I'm pretty sure my body is going to feel really pathetic tomorrow...just destroyed my arms, shoulders and lower back muscles in the past two days, basically. Bring on the soreness! Bring in the guns!

Power snacking?! oh...SNATCHing

21-18-15-12-9

60# power snatch

20# wall ball

knees to elbows

+ 30 abs on incline and 30 recline

Icy toes

I've been cooped up in my apartment studying for final exams in the midst of a major cold snap in North Carolina for the past 4 days. We got 3 inches of snow last week, beating New England for first snow of the season. North Carolina is the new Maine, thanks to climate change.

I got a bit o' studying-induced cabin fever around 9pm tonight. What's the remedy, you ask? Well, a nice 3-miler in running tights, mittens and a beanie, listening to "District Sleeps Alone Tonight." It was about 30 degrees out, with a slight rustling breeze, and pitch black darkness. I felt so solitary jogging around the back fields and around the dimly lit track. It was all steamy and warm and I felt like I could've been the last person in the world. It was perfectly epic.

While I was at the track, I also did 80 walking lunges and 4 sets of 13 pull ups on the balance beam (like an upside-down push-up).

Last night I ran 1 mile along the roads around 9:30 too. Perhaps I'm becoming one of those creepy, late-night jogging creatures of the dark, winter months...

I WANNA DO THAT!

5 rounds of:

row 500m

75# thrusters, 7 reps

+ 5 burpee pull ups

+ Ab ladder

My roommate came up behind me in the gym today after I had finished doing a round of thrusters and was all, "Wow, I wanna do that too! I'm so impressed" #duh ;)

But WHOA was it a chilly jog to the gym and back today...good thing this workout left me dripping with glory---I think my body was leaving a trail of steam all the way home. I felt like I had mutant Xmen powers. #endorphinsgoingtomyhead

Tabata bata swinggg

Woooo nelly.

Tabata pull-ups
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Weighted squat, 35# plate
Rest 1 minute
Tabata dips
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Deadlift, 115# barbell

+ Ab workout (60 inclined sit ups, 60 reclined leg-ups)

The Tabata interval is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 intervals.

Back in the groove

Gotta burn off all that sweet potato casserole somehow! :)

Run 1600 meters (4 laps)

20 push-ups

Run 1200 meters (3 laps)

20 reverse push-ups

Run 800 meters (2 laps)

100 bicycle crunches

Run 400 meters (1 lap)

Ab ladder (7 sets of 30 ab crunches at varying leg heights/positions)

12 pull-ups

800 meter cool down and stretch.

This was a fun workout and felt like it went by really quickly. It was so overcast and windy this morning, yet strangely warm-- the perfect setting for a mind-altering post-workout runner's high. I'm still basking in the after glow...ahhhsighofrelief.

In other news, my calves are still pretty tight from the Tofurkey Trot on Thursday because I rarely run barefoot over 1 mile on hard asphalt. You know what that means....bigger CALF MUSCLES!

Go ahead, I DARE you to question where I get my protein.

I get quite tired of being asked where I get my protein and frustrated with the unnecessary concern about if I'm getting enough. Truth is, sufficient and accurate knowledge about plant-based protein sources is uncommon within the general American public these days, even personal trainers and exercise scientists with degrees focusing on human anatomy and physiology, surprisingly...It is woeful how the meat industries in America have so influenced the populous to the point where common belief is that a meal is not a meal without a piece of meat. Beef, it's not the only thing that's for dinner. The Standard American Diet revolves around animal flesh to meet protein requirements for several traditional and political reasons, when plant-based sources are more beneficial and more than sufficient in countless ways.

Muscle-building vegans are not some myth; In fact they're likely more common than you think.

I read nearly every word of all of the following extremely informative and current resources and I encourage you to read them as well if looking to be a high-performance vegan athlete. Some of these articles and reports are more scholarly than others, but they're all very fascinating and enlightening.

http://www.criticalbench.com/build_muscle_vegetarian_diet.htm

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=menu_nutrition

http://www.nealhendrickson.com/PDF/PDFMc030900NL.pdf

http://connectiondev.lww.com/Products/dudek/documents/PDFs/2724-03_pp44-64.pdf

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler53.htm

http://frontrangecrossfit.typepad.com/nutrition/files/the_zone_diet_for_crossfit.pdf

http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/04/vegan-protein-faqs-sources-of-weight.html

http://www.vegsource.com/news/2010/03/gladiators-were-vegan-video.html

http://engine2diet.com/

Tofurkey Trot

On Thanksgiving, my brother, dad and I ran the Turkey Trot 5k at Cary Crossroads. Dave and I ran in our vibram bikilas and got lots of fun attention from other runners. We each performed very well in the race and felt great afterwards!

I got 19th out of 348 runners, was the 2nd female to finish, and got 1st in my age group (20-24). My time was 21:25 and my pace was 6:56 min/mile. I'm so pleased with how strong I felt, and I really think I could've run faster and beat the girl that was running the 6:50 pace in front of me. I hadn't run in a race in over a year, and it was SO fun!! It was an incredible way to see how my crossfit training is really proving to be exceptional for keeping me in running shape, and great shape overall. I sort of expected to run a 24 min 5k, but I haven't run under a 22 min timed 5k since highschool cross country! What a wonderful way to celebrate Tofurkey day!!

Click here for the race results.

super quick session

On Wednesday I did a quick workout consisting of:

3 rounds:

10 burpees

10 L-sit toes to bar

10 shoulder pulls (machine thing where you pull the bar down), 120#

10 leg presses, 200#

ran 1.25 miles on the treadmill at 7-8mph

Custom werkout

WOD:

5 rounds of:

500 m row (each under 2:25 mins)

12 pull ups (30# assistance)

105# squat, 15 reps

12 dips (20# assistance)

+ ab ladder #pain

Collin meeee

(Call on meeeeeeee, call on me... :)
WOD:

Five rounds for a time of:

Carry 35# plate 400 m

65# push press, 12 reps

15 box jumps,

65# Sumo deadlift high-pull, 12 reps

+ abs on incline and recline (30 each)

And then everyone cheered...

WOD:

7 rounds of

400 m

10 burpees

10 pushups (lifting hands off ground at bottom)

10 chest to bar

+ ab ladder and oblique workout

I did this workout at the track because it was a beautiful, mild day and there was a home football game happening next to it. It's really exciting to run there while a game is going on because it feels like everyone is cheering me on, and occasionally a drunk frat boy will come do sit ups with me. Plus I can hear the announcer so its like watching a football game except I'm doing something and not getting bored just sitting in the stands. I did this last Saturday when Elon played Furman too. Elon has won both times! Maybe I'm their good luck charm...

This was an awesome workout because I felt really strong. It took almost exactly an hour, so it was a long and intense one. YEY.

"Harry"

WOD: Hang power clean 3-3-3-3-3-3-3 reps

This workout goes out to the big HP. You know who I'm talkin' about.

45-55-65-75-80-85-85 in 8:00 mins + 75 sit ups w/ 25lb plate resistance

Vegan potluck tonight is Harry Potter themed-- duh. Pumpkin pasties, butterbeer, and treakle tarts followed by the midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

Full handstands OMG

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
30 second Handstand hold
30 second Squat hold
30 second L-sit hold
30 second Chin over bar hold

= 5.5 rounds

+ 2000m row in 9:58 mins. That was challenging after all those squats and chin over bar holds!

I felt so powerful holding those handstands against the wall for several 30-second intervals. My favorite part of the workout was going from handstands and flipping over into squats and watching the sweat just DRIPPING off my face while holding the squat. I felt kickass. But who wouldn't?

So my old crossfit blog was on Tumblr...

...but no one could comment on it unless they were involved in tumblr too, so I've finally gotten this one up on Blogger.

I began doing Crossfit in March 2010 and kept the blog up for about 2 months until summer arrived. During the summer I was traveling and doing research [http://jlschnaak.wordpress.com/] on North Carolina's local food movement and relationships people have with it, so that kept me very busy until school started up again in the fall. I was still working out all summer and doing lots of cycling, but only the occasional Crossfit WOD. Since August I've been very into Crossfit and have been spreading my enthusiasm for it to lots of friends and gym buddies.

Each time I go to the gym, I bring with me a post-it with the WOD on it. Here are most of this fall's WODs that I have done:

Some highlights of my progress over the past few months include:

Benchpress PR: April 2010 - 85lbs... --> October 6, 2010 - 120lbs!

Push-ups: October 13 - 35 in 1 minute

Row: November - 500 m - 2:09 mins

HSPU: greater range of motion, but still doing progressions

Burpee Pull ups: could never do them before --> now I can do 10! so intense!

I'm vegan. I do crossfit. I wear vibrams.

Hello! I’m Jenny, and this is a fitness blog designed to add some organization, fun and improvement-tracking to my workout routine as I continue to thrive with CrossFit, cycling and yoga. This will be carried out while passionately continuing my very conscious and health-minded vegan lifestyle. CrossFit should add some excitement and suspense to my fitness regimen and help me build more muscle and gain power in my core, arms and most importantly, my pistons, the money-makers, my LEGZUHHH. Onward and upward Hoo-Rah!