"Before" Photos

With the hope that my body is going to change by doing Crossfit - and I can actually already feel changes - it seems only fair to take some before pics and then compare with the after pics. I was a little slow taking these shots - it would have been better to take them at day 1. These are dated July 29, 2010. I really hope nobody is looking at this blog!!!

My Crossfit Goals

For the On-Ramp course, I have set myself the following goals:

To be able to do 1 full pull-up
To be able to do 5 real push-ups

And, to notice a difference when looking in the mirror or when I take my measurements again.
It's not really fair to do a weight comparison, because I will be gaining a lot of muscle in this month, which is heavier than fat, and also, I don't have a scale :-p

I also still have to take my before photos, which I will upload tomorrow.

So, I have to achieve these goals by the end of the On-Ramp course, which will be on August 12th, 2010.

Lesson 5 - Wednesday July 28

From now on I will post after each lesson.

Today we warmed up with a 1000m row at resistance level 5.

Then we did a short workout that consisted of 3 rounds of each:
5 sit-ups
5 push-ups (I'm still doing girlie push-ups)
50m farmer's walk with 2 15lb kettlebell weights

Then we did some squat therapy because a good squat is the foundation of good crossfit. After this, we learned the "Thruster", a combination of the front squat and the push press.

For the WOD (Workout of the Day), we did Jackie, which consists of:

1000 Meter Row
50 Thrusters, 45lbs men (30 lbs women)
30 pullups

(for time)

As we are still learning, we adjusted this to using 6 lb bars for the Thrusters and instead of pull-ups, we did ring rows, and it was still pretty insane!!! I cannot imagine being able to do this with 30lb!!! My time was 12.11.

Getting Started in Crossfit

I first heard of Crossfit when some friends of mine in Panama started planning their Crossfit gym, Top Level Gym, which will be a Mixed Martial Arts and Crossfit gym. Intrigued, when I moved to Chicago, I looked for a Crossfit gym and did some research. It's a very no-nonsense kind of fitness plan, and because it's very team-oriented, there's really no way for you to back out once you get started. Not like going for a run and after five minutes calling your buddy and heading to the nearest bar. That happens to me, you see.

So, after I decided Crossfit was a good idea for me, I found Windy City Crossfit here in Chicago and instantly signed up for their On-Ramp course, a 4-week intro to Crossfit. I say instantly, because that's the only way it was going to happen. You sometimes have to throw yourself into these new hobbies/lifestyles.

The On-Ramp course lasts 4 weeks and comprises of 3 one-hour workouts a week. I am in a group of 4 people - that's me, Anthony, Diane and Doreen and our instructor is Vince. They're a great bunch of people and all super-enthusiastic and ready to get in killer shape, which is awesome.

What is Crossfit?

According to Crossfit.com, CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

The Crossfit program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Crossfit's specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist.

The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. The program has been used, with the same routines, for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. Crossfit scales load and intensity; we don’t change programs.

The needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind. Our terrorist hunters, skiers, mountain bike riders and housewives have found their best fitness from the same regimen.

Thousands of athletes worldwide have followed the Crossfit workouts posted daily on this site and distinguished themselves in combat, the streets, the ring, stadiums, gyms and homes.

Starting Measurements

I am a little slow off the mark with the measurements. Should have taken them at the beginning of Week 1, but I forgot. These are the measurements after 3 Crossfit classes, taken on July 23, 2010.

Middle of Bicep: 12.5 inches
Top of Thigh: 24 inches
Belly (measured to belly button): 37 inches
Calf (Widest Point): 14 inches
Chest (Under Bra Line): 35 inches

Hips: 39 inches

Weight: I currently don't have a scale in my house, and haven't been anywhere with one for a while, but I will add this in later!

Height: 5ft 9in

I am still missing the "before" photos which will then be compared to the "after" photos to see how my body changes.