Rx is more sleep!

Jordan - 2 Weeks Old

Quick little update:  The first 2 weeks of Jordan's life were incredibly sleep depriving!  Of course, you would expect that, but I was not expecting that because I was able to get a lot more sleep when Morgan was a newborn!  This time, we're talking nights with just a couple of hours of sleep.

Given that, I decided I would take another week or two to let our sleep improve before getting back into any workouts.  Any extra time I have would be spent sleeping, not working out.

Now, Jordan is 2 weeks and 4 days old, and our sleep is already much improved this week!  He and I are sleeping for at least 2 hour stretches, sometimes up to 3 hours at night.  I think it will only improve from here.

So, I've decided to go ahead and start the nutrition portion of my plan as well as some light exercise, tomorrow.  I've got a date for yoga tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. and will enter the IsaBody Challenge at that time, too! 

I'm thinking my regular workouts will begin the week of May 5 - not only will that have given me 4 full weeks to get into the swing of things and get some more sleep, but I am super busy next week preparing for a JustCleanse presentation that I am hosting here in Bend next Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3.

Oh, and I have gotten out for a few walks and a few rounds of disc golf.  I have not made it out every day (again....sleeping has taken precedence there) but I have not been entirely lazy ;)

Introducing Jordan

Jordan Cody Dodge made his appearance on Monday, April 7, at 6:39 a.m..  My water broke while climbing into bed at around 10 p.m.  True labor started around 1 or 2 (I lost track of time).  After a  few pushes he flew out into the world, still in the caul!

I've been taking it easy the last 11 days, focusing on enjoying the new baby and letting the family adjust.  However, I am getting antsy!  I plan to begin my fitness/nutrition regime on Monday, April 21.

The rough plan:

• Join the 16 week IsaBody Challenge!  (www.isabodychallenge.com).  Nutrition will be isagenix + whole foods.  I'll write up a plan and post in a few days.  There will be no caloric restriction, as I am still breastfeeding of course!
• Walk as much as I can - I'm shooting for every day of the week, but it will be at least every non-WOD day.  I'll be wearing my barefoot shoes for this of course!
• CrossFit 3x/week, in my garage.  Right now, since I am lacking a barbell, it will be very metcon focused.  However, we will be getting a barbell and squat rack ASAP!  At that point, I will switch to a strength program.
• Start my 6 weeks of running homework from the CrossFit Endurance seminars.  I plan on doing this barefoot and repeating weeks as necessary to make sure I have my form down. 

The goal:

• Get back to the 120s if possible!  Otherwise at least 132# (aka 60kg)
• Be able to run 5 miles without IT band pain, or other pain.  Long term goal (2015) is to run a trail ultra marathon, and/or possibly the Bridger Ridge Run again.
• Get my muscle up back (I haven't actually done one since Regionals of last year....I need to work technique big time, which is why I stopped doing them.  I'll start doing technique work and see if I can get my MU back and BETTER this time!

 I don't have any more specific goals at this point because I am not sure when I will get my squat rack, etc.  I don't want to set strength goals without knowing when I can begin strength training!

I am also throwing around the idea of competing in the Oregon Summer CrossFit games, since they are right next to my house :)  We shall see....

I'm back

So...I kind of stopped updating this blog last August, for various reasons.  Namely, I felt that my fitness came back pretty darn quickly, and that I didn't have much to post about.  Well, that has all changed.  I have been seeing Dr. Phil Cameron at the Bozeman Wellness Center on a regular basis.  He is an applied kinesiologist.  It appears that my major problem is that my adrenals are fried.

My workouts have been steadily decreasing for the past 3 months, but without any or at least much decrease in strength.  So, that's odd, particulary for a metcon queen like myself.  Take, for example, the CrossFit Games Open Sectionals WOD #2 (AMRAP in 15 minutes of 9 DL at 100#, 12 push-ups with hand release, and 15 Box Jumps).  The box jumps were about darn near the hardest thing I have ever done.  Contrast that to my last Fight Gone Bad, where I was able to get 25+ box jumps per round.  I can think of several workouts I did last fall with Box Jumps where I was able to link them and go really, really fast.  In the past I had strugged with them a bit, so I really noticed when they started to come together for me.  But, all that has changed now

And I know we all have our ups and downs when it comes to CrossFit, and particular movements.  But, this is just ridiculous.  I know my body and my capabilities and what I should be able to hit in certain workouts.  And I have been repeatedly off the mark.  By a lot.

Another thing that clues me in to the fact that it's my adrenals is that, for the most part, my upper body movements are okay.  It's the lower body stuff that kills me - box jumps, air squats.  Oh god, don't even talk to me about air squats.  I used to be able to easily knock out 100 air squats, in a row.  Now, it feels like everything I can do to do 25 of them.

I think I can narrow this down to a single event that pushed me over the edge - the Montana Winter Challenge.  For the 2 nights prior to the Montana Winter Challenge, my son (then 7 1/2 months old) decided not to sleep.  And I don't mean like "ohh, he was a little hard to put down" or "he woke up every hour or two".  No, I mean he was wide awake from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. like it was party time!  The first night, I hadn't even gone to bed yet when he decided to party, so yes, that means I slept from 3 a.m. to...I forget, let's say 7.  Not too bad, 4 hours of sleep.... (I have no sense of sarcasm, don't forget that).

Night 2, I went to bed at 8 p.m. because I was exhausted!  It was lucky that I did that, because he was up again at 10 p.m., and didn't go back to sleep until 3 a.m., again.  You can ask my husband - I was ready to pack up and go home at 1 a.m.  The following day was our competition, and he had bailed on it at the last moment the year before, so he really didn't want to bail on it again.  I decided that since I was there, I might as well do the competition, as well.  We set the alarm for 6 a.m.

That competition was probably the dumbest thing I have ever done.  I felt horrible.  Worse than horrible. Just downright awful.  The first workout started, and it had 24 inch box jumps, which I had been practicing a ton lately and actually gotten really good at!  I could barely, BARELY jump onto the 24 inch box.  It was everything I could do to finish that workout!  I could go on and on about the workouts and how I felt, and what not, but that's not even important.  Because since that day, my workouts have been taking a steady downhill slide.

So, I have a plan of action.

1. No more coffee.  I am officially off the sweet bean nectar.  I should have probably done this months ago.  For some great information on this topic, read what the Whole9Life has to say about coffee.  
2. Fewer workouts.  I plan to workout 3x/week, and that's it.  I am going to focus on strength/lifting and go easy on the metcons.  I might lose some metcon fitness, but hey, that's okay with me.  I just want to feel normal again.
3. More sleep.  I of course am always trying to get more sleep, but I am going to make an even more concerted effort .  Hopefully Morgan will do his part ;)  In all seriousness, this will be the easiest change, because it's actually not much of a change for me!

Hopefully this, combined with continued visits to Dr. Phil, should help turn around my performance!  Hopefully it's in time to qualify for Regionals, but if not, I guess that's what's in the cards for me this year!

And just because I can't have a blog post without a photo, here's my adorable son:

Highlights from the past month!

Okay.  I suck at updating my blog.  I'm going to do my best, and that's all I can promise.

But first, I will make excuses.  I thought that returning to fitness after having a baby would be more full of problems and issues that I had to work around.  It's not.  I feel completely and 100% normal.   Yes, I am out of shape, compared to before.  Yes, my core is a little bit weaker than it was before.

Actually I think my core is a lot weaker than it was before, but it is by no means weak.  That's my biggest issue.  Even the peeing of the pants is almost 100% gone.  (Yay!)  There just aren't any lingering problems.  I just feel like a beginner again.

Cutest baby ever.

And now, it's just been fun.  I love working out.  I even love where I am right now, because every day, I get to make huge gains in the gym.  Like today, I got a ring dip!  I can't believe I got a ring dip again so soon.  I am looking most forward to my first post-partum muscle up.  But, every single day, I set a PPPR (post partum personal record).  It's like I am starting CrossFit all over again.  Except this time, I know where I am headed.  I have these old PRs in the back of my head that I can't wait to reach - and then smash!

I've also been thinking a lot about competing in the CrossFit Games next year again.  My biggest concern is maintaining lactation through the event (if Morgan is still breastfeeding, that is, which I hope he is).  I'm not sure I could do that, but we'll just see.  I also want to compete on an affiliate team.  Sitting at home, nursing Morgan, watching the CrossFit games this year....I just couldn't help but want to be there.  I would never in a million years trade Morgan for being able to go to the Games this year, but it did get me all fired up for next year!

So, for now, let me fill you in on the highlights from the past 4 weeks:

7/13/10:  Back Squat 145 x 5
7/17/10:  "Helen" in 9:36 (2 minutes off my time of 3 weeks prior!!!)
7/20/10:  Deadlift 190  (which reminds me, I need to go for a DL max again!)
7/24/10:  Front Squat 125 x 5
7/28/10:  Back Squat 155 x 3
7/30/10:  Split Jerk 130!!  (Thank you Sage Burgener)
7/31/10:  Olympic Lifting Meet, Snatch 96.8#, Clean and Jerk 125.4#

And, today:  I got a ring dip!  AND, I front squatted 155# for 1 rep, which was 10 pounds above my goal of 145#!!

"Helen"

For those of you who know me, you probably also know that "Helen" is one of my favorite workouts of all time AND that I have a pretty darn good time, compared to all other CrossFitters.

"Helen" is:  3 Rounds for time of:  400m Run, 21 Kettlebell Swings, 12 Pullups.  My PR is 8:12.

So, when Ben suggested that I do "Helen" last Sunday....I thought he was insane.  My first thought was that it was going to take me about 14 minutes.  I KNEW I wouldn't get under 10 minutes.  I KNEW I certainly wouldn't come close to my old PR.  But it was really hard to face the truth, that I was going to be SLOW.  I said I would consider it, but I thought I would do something else.

But, when only Izo showed up for the Sunday 9 a.m. class, and Morgan was behaving....I got talked into doing "Helen".  Izo has never done "Helen", and for someone who is as bad-ass as she is, and has been CrossFitting for as long as she has....she should do "Helen".  So, we decided to ditch the workout of the day and go for the girl!

I started off the first round with a 400m Run in 1:31.  I was pretty pleased with that considering I would probably only be 10-15 seconds faster if I were in "tip top shape".  You never want to go out TOO hard on the first run....  Anyway, I came back in right behind Izo, did all of my kettlebell swings in a row (much to my surprise!), and headed to the pullup bar.  I did not make all 12 pullups in a row, but I was definitely not planning on that!

Each round got progressively slower, of course.  My kettlebell swings were no longer done unbroken, and of course the pullups got harder and harder each round.  The run, too!  It was everything I could do to not walk in my last 400!  This was just not like me!

I finished in 11:32, which was a few minutes faster than I thought I would do, so I am very pleased with that!

Here's a photo of Izo and I after the workout:

I want to be just like Izo when I grow up.

I suppose I shall just post the rest of last week's workouts and musings here as well.  I have been so bad at posting, but now that Morgan is almost 6 weeks old I feel like I am finally a little bit of free time, so I should be able to post more regularly.  Plus my workouts are starting to feel much better, which excites me and makes me want to post more!

WOD 100628

Clean and Jerk, work up to a max for the day of 115#  (compare to PR set April 2009 of 155# in the clean, 146# in the jerk)

Then, 5 rounds for time of:
Deadlift 115#
10 Pull-ups

I used a red band for the pull-ups.  I was toast from "Helen" on Sunday and this workout is basically the same!  HELLO posterior chain - we fried you yesterday, let's do it again today!  I could not do a deadhang pull-up today!

7:something

I could not concentrate, I was exhausted, and Morgan was hungry and all I could think about was how I should be feeding him.  Not my best performance....

WOD100629  (1 month postpartum!)

Soccer.  I played 1/2 the game due to a hungry baby.

WOD100630

Front Squat 3-3-3-3-3

85-95-105-110-115

(compare to previous PR of around 160# I think.  Maybe 155#.....)

I really should have taken this as a rest day.  Again, exhausted, cranky baby.  I did not realize that this would effectively be day #4 in a row, and with soccer the next day, that would make 5 days in a row!

WOD100701

Soccer.  I played almost the entire hour.  Very tired, but played hard.  I played mostly left forward this game.  I liked it.

Week 3 and 4 Workouts and Thoughts

I spent the better part of the past week with an infant attached to my boobs, which made it nearly impossible to do ANYTHING, nevermind update my blog.  Ahhh, the joys of breastfeeding a growing baby....

So, last week, I did manage to get in 3 workouts PLUS 2 soccer games/practices.  I was pretty exhausted by Friday evening, after my 2nd "workout" of the day, which consisted of kicking a soccer ball and practicing my dribbling skills with the soccer ball, so I rested over the weekend.

This week, I also got in 3 workouts, but only 1 soccer game.

WOD100614 (postpartum day 16)
5 Rounds for time of:
5 Thrusters 55#
10 Burpees

7:22

Thrusters felt heavy!  Wow!  I am OUT OF SHAPE!  No problems in this workout, but I had quite the Fran cough later.  Since this was my first workout (besides the 5k), I was afraid that I had gone too hard, but I experienced no ill-effects.

WOD100617 (postpartum day 19)
Deadlift 5-5-3-3-1-1-1
85-125-145-155-165-175-185f

 

My back felt like the limiting factor here.  Well, that and my grip.  I feel good with this 1RM.  It's more than my first-ever 1RM deadlift, which is a good thing :)  I had no idea what to expect going into this workout, but I am okay with the results.

WOD100618 (postpartum day 20)

Front Squat 5-5-3-3-3-1-1
65-85-95-105-115-125-135

Then, 21-15-9 reps for time of:
Overhead Squat 45#
Push-ups

6:46

Very happy with the front squat.  I was feeling the deadlifts from yesterday in the left side of my back.  I could have maybe even done more, but my knees were starting to roll in, and I promised myself I would not push the weights to those that caused my knees to roll in.  I have tight IT bands and weak adductors, and I want to make sure I build up that strength along with the rest of my legs.

WOD100622 (postpartum day 24)

Deadlift 3-3-3
135-145-155

Press 3-3-3-1-1
45-55-65-70-75

I didn't increase the weight in the deadlift from last week, but they felt easier.  I am pretty happy with the press today, as well.  Again, more than I could do when I first started CrossFit, though a good 15 pounds off of my PR.

WOD100623 (postpartum day 25)

Back Squat 5-5-5-5-5
85-105-115-125-135

Then, "Death by Pull-ups"
With a continuously running clock, complete 1 pull-up the first minute, 2 pull-ups the 2nd minute....continue until you cannot complete the required number of reps.

Result:  8!

WOD100625 (postpartum day 27)
"Isabel"
135# Snatch, 30 reps for time.

3:34 with 65#

I have ALWAYS wanted to do Isabel.  Well, as soon as I thought I could do it prescribed (with 95#), anyway.  I'll have to work up to doing it as prescribed, again, and do it in a few months!

THOUGHTS
I've been focusing more on weightlifting and strength work than metcons, lately, which you have probably noticed.  The reason for this is two-fold.  First, because I am playing soccer twice a week (weather depending), and I play midfield, I will be getting some extra metabolic conditioning outside of the gym.  That, and I plan to go mountain biking this summer, at least a few times.  Second, cardio-respiratory endurance comes back the most quickly out of any of the 10 general physical skills, especially for somebody like me, who has a natural strength of cardio-respiratory endurance.

I opted against making a plan for the next couple of months.  As in, I am not going to program for myself ahead of time.  Right now, it's just so hit-or-miss as to whether or not I am going to get a workout in on any given day.  So, I play it by ear.  I know that in a couple of months it will be easier to get a regular workout schedule going.

Nutrition.  I have been mostly paleo.  I did have a couple of early cheats, like I mentioned, which were accidental (food given to me by family - didn't want to be rude!).  I have been eating peanut butter still.  Ben and I had pizza once, and last week I feel prey to the oatmeal cookies.  I have also been eating oatmeal the last couple of mornings because we are all out of fruit!  Need to go to the store....

Anyway, I had an off-week, but I am ready to get back on the paleo.  I feel good about my diet because it has been about 90% good.  Even though I have fallen off the bandwagon, I did not go off the deep end.

At some point, but not yet, I am going to look into zoning my protein, but nothing else.  For you non-crossfitters out there, that means that I will weigh and measure the protein I eat (meat, eggs, fish) each day, but I will not weigh or measure my carbohydrate or fat intake.  We'll see.

Peeing your pants can be funny

It's only funny because I'm 2 weeks postpartum (Hello Box Jumps!).  If I were 6 months postpartum, it would be less funny.  If I were 2 years postpartum, it wouldn't be funny at all. 

Luckily, I came across this great article by a woman named Kara whose blog, Mama Sweat, chronicles her adventure as a Mom of 4 (four!) who finds time for fitness.  If you pee your pants EVER, you HAVE to read this article.  I've really enjoyed Kara's blog, and I hope you do too.  Her blog isn't about getting the perfect post-baby body, but more about being a role model for her four children.

Which reminds me.....

I named this blog Mama Gets Her Six Pack Back because, well, it's catchy.  I wanted to name it "Mama Gets Her Fran Time Back" but that really alienates those of you who don't do CrossFit.  (Are you wondering who in the heck is Fran?  See, I told you, it's alienating!  This is "Fran" ) 

However, upon giving birth to Morgan, and sitting in the tub taking a bath that very same day, staring down at my saggy stomach, I had a thought.  IT DOESN'T MATTER.  It doesn't matter that I might never get my pre-pregnancy body back.  I might never fit into my size 4 Lululemons (though I hate to waste the money!), or my size 2 Levis (which were never really that comfortable anyway), and I might never have the six pack I once had.  Do I care?  No.  I don't.  I have the most wonderful son in the entire world, and that's what really matters.

I DO still care about my Fran time, and my Deadlift, and all that stuff.  However, I am confident that sometime in the future, I will get that 3-minute Fran I am after, and maybe even that 300# Deadlift (pushing a kid out is supposed to make you stronger, so I'm told!)  I'm not in a hurry, either.  When I first started CrossFit, I was really not in good shape, and it took me a while to get into shape for the Games.  That was a long road, and although I might be in a little better shape now than when I first started CrossFit, I fully expect that it will take me as long as it did the first time to reach the kind of shape that I used to be in.

I have worked out twice this week at Bridger CrossFit.  I will post on those workouts next time.  But, being in the gym is very humbling and reminds me that I used to be in really good shape.

This photo is a test.  Ben said he would stop taking pictures of himself upside down with the camera (he does that every time he picks up a camera) once I post one of those shots on my blog.  Here it is!

Birth Slideshow

We had Kelly Kuntz of Kelly Kuntz Photography at the birth, and she created a beautiful slideshow of the birth.  Check it out:

The Birth of Morgan

Pull-ups and Running!

I got a workout in!  Woot woot!

But, first, on Friday, I was hanging out at the gym while Ben worked out.  I just couldn't resist the pull-up bar, so I went over to do a pullup or two, and much to my surprise, I did 2 chest to bar pull-ups!  Unfortunately, they still felt pretty hard.  After that, I tried a deadhang pull-up, and I just barely got it.  Wow!  I used to be able to do 25 pound weighted deadhang pull-ups!  I am a little shocked at how much strength I appear to have lost.  But, I guess I didn't do CrossFit for the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy, and then of course not for the last 2 weeks, so I shouldn't be too shocked.  I am sure it will come back quickly, but I was hoping that when I lost 30 pounds, I would be good at pull-ups again :)

 ANYWAY.  Saturday, June 12, was the preliminary round of the 5k Challenge that we are holding at Bridger CrossFit.  I didn't run the 5k with everyone else, but I decided to do the 5k in the evening by myself.  Actually, I ran with my friend Maggie who was also doing the 5k Challenge.  Oh, by "with", I mean "way behind".  :)  I didn't want to run with the group because I am too darn competitive and I knew I would push myself too hard if I had some competition.  I was able to let Maggie go and not try to keep up, because I know how fast she is and that there is absolutely no way I would be able to keep up.

So, I started on the 5k course, which is basically 4 laps around the Gallatin Valley Regional Park, located on West Oak in Bozeman.  The last lap takes a slight detour up and across the hill, runs the loop backwards (clockwise), and finishes across the bridge where the trails merge.  If you've never been to this park, I apologize, because you have no idea what I'm talking about.  But, for those of us who have been there, it's a pretty obvious route.

I felt good........for about 100 yards.  Then, I felt tired.  Really tired.  Not tired enough to stop.  I was listening to my body and aware that I might have to stop at any time.  But, my LUNGS.  Oh my god, they just.....burned.  I felt like I was doing "Helen", or "Fran".  The only difference is that I was going really slooooooooooooow.  All of a sudden my (unarticulated) goal of getting sub-30 turned into a goal of just NOT WALKING.

It took me 33:13, which is approximately 12:18 slower than my all-time PR in the 5k (which was set 10 years ago!  I haven't done a 5k in several years....) and probably 6 minutes slower, at least, than any 5k I have previously raced by myself.  Yikes.  I was disappointed, to say the least.  BUT, I did manage to complete the 5k without walking.

Afterwards, I decided it was probably not the best idea in the world that I had run the 5k.  However, I have recovered just fine with no detrimental side effects to speak of.  I am slightly sore today, but really just slightly.  I took it easy enough in the run that I don't think I overdid it.  Also, because my lungs were the limiting factor, my muscles weren't pushed enough to get super sore or anything. 

I'm looking forward to the start of working out more "full-time" again.  I know that I have a lot of work to do, but I am just so stoked to be able to be active again, that I'm excited for the journey.

My postpartum journey so far

Okay, I guess I promised all of the embarassing, immediately post-partum belly shots.  We'll start with a photo of me taken on Friday, May 28, just over 12 hours before Morgan was born.  Weight:  Not exactly known, but 165-170 pounds, -ish.  I kind of stopped weighing because it was getting a little depressing :(

Here I am, on Saturday, May 29.  Not sure of the time of day, i.e. how many hours it had been since delivery, but probably less than 12.  Weight:  Unknown, because I FORGOT to get on the scale!  Grr, I was so interested in how much baby+placenta+amniotic fluid really weighed.  I can't believe that I forgot...

Isn't that.....weird?!?!?!?  The amazing thing is that I felt soooo small when this photo was being taken.  Looking at the photos now, of course, I'm thinking " I look huge!!!".  I look 7 months pregnant...only saggier!

I did get on the scale on Sunday afternoon, when I finally remembered and had the time, and much to my dismay, I weighed about 155!  However, I was not discouraged, because I read somewhere that after delivery, your weight will actually go UP on the 2nd day, or so, and then it will start to go down.  I decided to not get on the scale again for a few days so that I wouldn't obsess about weight.  Though, I was trying to collect some data for this blog.

Throughout the week, my swelling continued to decrease, and each morning I woke up feeling smaller and tighter throughout the midsection.  I had planned to use a Belly Bandit, which is a belly binder designed to help tighten your midsection and get you back to your pre-pregnancy size sooner.  I had ordered an XS which, based on the sizing chart and my measurements in the 8th month, should have fit just fine.  And, I was able to squeeze it on on day 3, but it wasn't comfortable at all and I didn't foresee myself wearing it.  Not only that, but I felt that my abdominal strength was returning rather quickly.  I decided to return my Belly Bandit.

Saturday, I decided it was time to get on the scale, since it had been 1 week.  That's a good "benchmark" that I should make sure to measure.  Weight:  142!

These photos were taken this morning, so, Day 8.  I weighed 141 this morning.

My pre-pregnancy weight was between 128-132, weight taken in the morning.  So, that gives me about 10 or so pounds to lose to get back to pre-pregnancy weight.  I figure that my boobs weigh 5 pounds each with all this milk!  So, I think I'm doing pretty well :)

I am not dieting by any means, except I am sticking to the paleo diet, plus peanut butter, for now.  That's because the store is out of almond butter and I just don't love apples without anything on them for breakfast.  I am finding that I am really hungry and eating a lot.  I decided to stick paleo for 2 reasons - number one, I am hoping, of course, to shed the fat I gained while pregnant and get back to my prior shape.  Secondly, I want to give Morgan the best possible start to life, and wheat, dairy, and soy (not that I eat soy, anyway) are common allergens that are passed on through the breast milk.


I have heard that breastfeeding is a sure-fire way to shed the pounds and is likely to actually get you way below your pre-pregnancy weight.  We'll see how that goes.  I'm just stoked to actually have a lot of room in my belly for all this delicious food AND all the horrible food aversions have completely disappeared.  Yay, I'm back to normal!  Well, almost...


Overall, I'm feeling pretty good.  Still trying to take it easy because I know the recovery will be better in the long run.  My midwife says that if I take it super easy the first week or so, I can probably do some light exercise starting around 2 weeks.  Yay! 

And here's a cute photo of Morgan: