@ legs

Just one word.

WOW!

To do something very few can/are willing to do!

I too was suprised about what you said about how close to the edge bodybuilders push it to look so fanastic.

Glad you met and surpassed the goal!

Yes Chi Chi  lifted me as I was crouched over. I had to hang on tight to my own arms. It was a lift to his front, then a lift overhead. Just a small grunt on his part and a audible giggle on my part. WeeEEee! The dismount was kinda funny...did a butt plant. :D I had Trevor Koot lift me as well....LOL - I was having such an innocent blast with all these famous people. He he he. I may have had TOO much fun. There were alot of "serious" people there....of course....but I was there for the ride. For me, and just the self promise end. The climax of 6 months. Not there to win, just to enjoy. Will I do it again? Probably not. It is pretty hard on a body to maintain 4-7% BF. I didnt like me looking like that. Either did my family. I have already put on 5# of fluid no doubt, and I feel alot better today already. Hydrated. Still kinda tired, and still need to watch how much I eat in terms of portions, and dairy....but happy. Happy it's over. Happy I did it. Happy I fulfilled my self promise.

Run4Life - don't EVER be fooled by the leaness you see of BB in mags or on stage. What you see, is NOT maintainable and the athletes will all tell you that. They get to that point for ONE DAY and that is it. It is dangerous to maintain. We ALL were dehydrated. I stopped water Thursday noon. I got sips  Friday night, but had to maintain dehydration into Saturdays show. I got water from my vegys, and some baby food fruit...but that was it. Saturday night, after the show, I got to gradually rehydrate. I still am not guzzling water in fear of freaking out my organs. A person definately needs a qualified trainer to go through a competition in my opinion.

Legs - I had no idea it was such a process and 'formula'.

For sure it sounds like extreme dedication to get there and a science on how to take it to the edge.

You don't have to worry about me...yet...I am so far on the other side of the mountain lol.

I can tell you really acheive a life goal and that is important...now, where to from here ...right?

...a great job well done!

howdy Folks,

LEGSY!!!!! waving frantically here... WOHOOOOOO, well done woman, YOU DID IT!!!!!

tick it off the bucket list, been there and done that and done that IN STYLE!!!!

you made my Easter weekend, seeing the pics, updates. wow so super in awe.

So i went into easter with one goal in mind, not to overeat chocolate, easter eggs... man i should of had 2 goals, that and keep the rest of foood intake in moderation. its not that i at ebad, i just feel like my portions were out of wack....

and easter eggs..... you know those gold coins???? well its foil wrapped chocoalte coin. i had ONE!!!!!

thats it, nothing else, no easter eggs at all..

but i did have some biltong(jerky) and i nom nomed that instead, then we had a roast for easter lunch and i so overate there, i didnt even have supper that night i was still full. so i know i blew it there.

BUT no easter eggs.

i used to eat those caramel filled eggs.... i just inhale the things, and they for sale EVERYWHERE, i swear every time i pay for something the things are right there next to the cash register just waiting for me to cave in... and i REALLLLLLLLYYYYYYY want to eat one. REALLLY want to.

*** things....

feeling a bit stuffed, went to CF last night, was the only class for the day, then went back like 12 hours later for the workout this morning... f*&^ng RNG is showing me a real *** number so thats messing with the head.

ahh well...

crap happens.

back at work, short week so thats ok, except we the boss paying others to have a short week so that sucks in a way.

a few folks at CF have asked me to go with to Sydney for the regional games.... part of the screaming shouting swearing group, or support group as they call it... iand i really want to go, like super bad, just can't afford it right now. sucks super bad. but will just have to accept it and move on... will be there next year, maybe, as long as it doesn't effect my canada states trip.:-)

got some folks to throw out a plane at serious altitude. HAHAHAHA

k, gotta get to work, chat soon,

cheers

HA HA serious altitude.

FML.

Been on stage with next to nothing on.

What's a plane jump now. Pfft. Bring it on Donald.

I was so proud of my boyfriend this weekend - so out of his element, yet so 'with me'. He was telling people of our summer holidays, this year being nothing spectacular...the winter probably Cuba, then next summer Eastern Canada. YA BABY - you and me, and some random plane. Bring it on!

oh how we are so brave NOW.... HAHAHAHA wait till that "random plane" is sitting right there, 20 feet away and they zipping up the jimp suit saying thing slike 15000 feet, 1 min freefall, reserve shute, perfectly safe..... HAHAHAHAHA bring some adult diapers, BOOYA!!!!

Sure as hell is going to be a day that will NOT be forgotten in a hurry, Cant wait Cathy, i know Jim will be all over it in a heart beat.:-)  and Danica.

i'm still working on getting Anne to say yes, i know she wants to, must just keep asking her. will get her there eventually.

but you right, thi sweekend you took a HUGE step into uncomfortable, a little skydive will be nothing...

Legs-Let me just say how proud I am of you.  It was so cool for me to see you go through this journey, you have come so far!  What an inspiration you are.  BTW..that pic of you and all the girls...you look the best out of all of them  :-)  

Week 2 off to a good start...I shouldn't be able to walk by tomorrow afternoon from my awesome LBWO.  I was done and I played around with some pullups, dips, kettlebell swings, and wall climbs...  I LOVE the atmosphere of my gym and I want to be in it all the time...I'm guessing that's a good thing  :-)  So my gym is named Fuel Fitness..here are some of the logos I've made up for it  LOL

sorry guys, I've been missing for a whole bunch of days it feels like!

LEGS!!  oh my, i just loved catching your pics everytime I would peek on fb!  Wondering if the girls in that other category (don't know what it's called) but they looked more like bikini models with not as much muscle definition.  Do they have to get super-dehydrated too?  Or maybe just don't lift as heavy 'cuz they definitely didn't have as much muscle as the ladies in your group did.

And the tans----k, some of those guys looked really really really really dark.  So dark, I didn't think a white guy COULD get that dark.  I don't think the sun can even get you that dark.  I think only brown paint primer can get you that dark.  I know it's to show off muscle definition, but SOME OF THEM WERE SO DARK!  too dark, imo.  Like the guy's face looked like milk chocolate, and his body was 80% cacao.

Darcy--glad you are loving your gym!  And wall climbs, yaay!!

Went to Ironman boot camp last night, the trainer's last day is next week.  I wanted to nail the handstand b4 he leaves, but I don't think it's gonna happen.   hips hurt every time i try.  When they hurt, I don't have the power to push off the ground.

BUT I CROSSED OFF A DIFFERENT GOAL ON MY CURRENT GOAL LIST1!!!!!!!!:

I had  a goal to do 10 real pushups with correct form in a row.  During class our WOD was:

25 pushups

sprint

25 squats

sprint

25 situps

sprint

25 rows

sprint

25 kettlebell swings

sprint

Do that circuit 4x total.

In round 1, I was counting my pushups, got to '8', big smile on my face, then '9' and I'm almost laughing but didn't want to lose focus, then 10, and I loudly whispered "YES!" i then started to get distracted by fatigue but I think I made it to 13 pushups in a row!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Good ones too!!

The rest of the rounds I only got to '1', before I had to start using my knees, but that's ok.  

After 2 rounds, we all wondered how we were going to ever get 4 rounds done, but we did!!  And I didn't come in last this time!  Some of the people grabbed some heavier weights and pushed through, I was so proud of them!!

as for eating,.... well I didn't have any CANDY on Sunday.... but we hung out at a friends' house who loves to entertain.  she put out some food that I could have easily duplicated for me free day later in the week.  (I can't list what the food was 'cuz I don't want to give you guys cravings) but I dived in anyway and of course cursed myself afterwards.  bloating, gas, stomach hurt

LEGS - You are my favorite female superhero! Way to go and what a way to celebrate 6 months of hard work and dedication. I was inspired by you to stay strong with my running goals these last 7 months.

OptiGirl - You gotta love some ciruit training workouts. That sounds like a tough/fun one.

Darcy - I like the Fuel Fitness graphics. How much do you charge for a guest pass?

I will be looking for new and different goals as this is the last week of my 18 weeks of training and the end of being focused on running 4 days a week and time time to enjoy the weather and just have fun. I have been running 4 days a week 32 of the last 36 weeks. I need a break and time to enjoy myself. Ellen has committed and is excited about doing a 4 week Primal Blueprint Challenge with me. I bought her the book and she reads it to me every night. We plan on starting on Monday and we are using this week to plan out our meals and get ready. Back in August/September I read The Paleo Diet and The Paleo Diet for Endurance Athletes by Dr. Loren Cordain but I like The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson way better. It is an easier read and covers the same information. I am almost over halfway thru reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. One of the main character of the book, Micah True aka "Caballo Blanco" died March 27th. He went out for a 12 mile run in New Mexico and did come back.

Since 1-9-12 Ellen has lost 10.6 pounds of fat and I have lost 6.9. She was doing amazing dropping 5.8 pounds the first 3 week of the year but breaking her wrist was a real setback. Right now the motivation is back an her wrist is healing but she might have to have the plate removed.

Hi all!  Week 2 is going well. Since I started adding in some CrossFit moves into my workouts I feel like I have already added a ton of strength.  I am very excited as to where I will be at the end of this challenge.

Bryan-Friends are ALWAYS free!  Come on over :-)

bryan--wow!  glad that Ellen is still having some weight loss even with her wrist!  It is so easy to just quit all attempts once something like that happens!

i'm stuck in this cycle of eating well, then eating horribly.  Like I'm waiting for the time in my life for that cycle to just stop, like it's going to magically happen one day, right!  Eating when I'm happy. Then not eating when I'm worried, then eating crap when my stomach growls 'cuz i wasn't eating.  Tonight one of our cats sprayed my tennis shoes, out of nowhere.  And found out my step-daughter got fired a month ago but was too afraid to tell us.  Then she goes and buys a dog....  while having no job....  and she lives in an apartment that doesn't allow pets......  This must be the 'super-irresponsible' phase.  She had her head on straight when she was in high school.  But now, I just want to ask her "WHat were you thinking??"  she's jumping into decisions without thinking them through.  We loaned her some money with a payment plan b4 all this happened.  So we're not bailing her out of this current mess.  She's going to have to face the consequences and move in with nearby relatives if she doesn't get a new job soon.

@bryonL - I know what you are saying about taking a little break from running...and I know you will keep the exercise going by substituting something to take up the slack

I know one of my yo yo weight problems was my stopping running training but not stopping eating. I rediscovered running about 16 years ago and was doing summer training for a 10 mile run in Aug every year. SO the spring-summer months went great...getting in great shape, weight dropping, good cardio and stamina...Race time fun and fantastic...then I just spent the next six months carbo loading over the winter for my spring training again in the summer. I hated that as I was going through it but did not have the will power to break it. Funny the last four years I ran a New Year’s Resolution run to kick off the training earlier. It was last year that I saw some photos that my daughter's boyfriend took of me running and all I could think of is ..."Yeah, there is that guy who is running that the EMT guys along the course keep a close eye on." How did I let myself get THAT WAY." SO thank god for you guys and BFL. BFL is definitely be a huge part of my fitness routine.

Sounds like you have a plan to keep going even when you easing up on the running a little...and your wife - doing it with a broken wrist...amazing.

I am getting my wife geared up...she has been struggling with a foot injury the past 3 months but she is interested in joining me on this cycle ...we'll see.

@optigirl...we have some in laws a couple states away that are always on the edge financially and at times they make some decisions that set them even further back and I just wonder why. Don't get me wrong I am not perfect in this area either...I do know that I struggle every year and talk to my wife about our responsibilities with helping out. Which we have done like you several times. My thought as I told my wife is that what we have given, I do not expect back…it would be nice but I don’t want it to be a problem with our relationship. If they return the favor great. It is never easy to find that fine line. No matter what you do, it seems like it is never enough.

… so without taking up too much more bandwidth. I just wanted you guys to know that I started C2 on Apr 8th.

Actually the date crept up on me… My plan wasn't ready… Had a home maintenance issue and tore up the workout area. So  my start was three cardios in a row...good efforts but no weight lifting yet until last night...I will flex the lifting schedule around a little and should be able to catch up by alternating upper and lower and sacrificing my free day as a lift day.

One thing I do know is that I gotta get a solid plan in place before the summer busy season...or this ‘winging it’ will derail me.

Not gonna let that happen. Hope to put the workout room back together this weekend.

Oh...I did my first plank last night, 1 minute   (-:    

...not sure if that is good or bad. I do know my whole body was shaking when I stood up...lovin it!

DEFINATELY putting that into my routine...I want to shoot for five minutes by the end of week 12...is that realistic?...too soft of a target goal...too hard? OK you Crossfitters, what is your advice?

Stay strong group

I know you are not going back there

Hey, all!

Donald told me I needed to stop by, so here I am.  

Bryan, great job on all your running. With all my training for this comp, I think I'll be okay with running the Tough Mudder.  It's the obstacles that make me shake in my boots a bit.  :-)

Darcy, isn't it great to have a home gym?  I've spent a lot of time in mine the last 8 weeks.  Four more to go.  Then I'll be focusing on training for the Tough Mudder.

Run4life, glad you're in another challenge.

Legs, I nearly feel alone in this journey now.  Silly, eh?  I liked knowing we were heading in the same direction, knowing you were logging time on the treadmill just like me.  I love the success you've had over the last 2 1/2 years.  What an amazing journey and transformation!  Thanks for being such an inspiration.  You get me.  I like that.

Donald, keep up with Crossfit.  I think I'm turning my head that direction once the competition is over.  30 days!  Oh, my!  I have to admit that stage has me a bit terrified.  Okay, let's be honest.  It isn't the stage.  It's showing my rump on that stage.  That alone should be motivation to steer clear of junk!!!!  After the comp, I'm preparing for the Tough Mudder.  I think Crossfit will be a great way to do that and change things up a bit.  Then 3 weeks after that I'm debating another (much smaller) competition...which is probably where I should have started.  Oh, well!  Go big or go home!

Keep pushing that comfort zone!  We've got this!

Michelle

Hey Crew -

Dang right I "get you" Michelle!

I've been reading and cheering, just have alot on my head and really, to be honest, dont know what to say that hasnt been said. You all just make me smile. Such amazing VICtors here. All in your own ways.

CF, Nutrition, Blogging...waking up at 3 am, going to sleep at 8pm, on the TM all times of the day, kids, candy, cravings, injuries...we see it all here, and WE KEEP ON GOING!

No stop.

I am here. Started another challenge with myself today. It began like this....I used to do 12 weeks, then I did 6 months...now Im doing 12 months. See where I am this time next year. :D I have a weight I want to keep, clothes I want to keep, muscles I want to enlongate as well as keep toned, people I need to keep....SO many blessings and goals and ideas.

Donald an Opti - keep us in your CF loop!

Darcy - work that gym girl!

Run4Life - great to see you reach your goals, and know that mind is sure thinking "this is it - THIS TIME!!"

Michelle - you are going to ROCK THAT STAGE my friend. You are NEVER alone. :D Text anytime. Mean that..... I have 2 suits too now! Want them?! ha ha.

OK - gotta run - time to fuel up here.