morning day dreams

Tag: Crossfit

• Wrist recovery.

  Posted at 9:12 AM by morningdaydreams, on November 18, 2016

  I find it interesting that such a short moment in time can have such a huge impact on your life. This goes for just about anything, a split decision we make that changes the course of your day/month/year. That decision might improve your day or make it horrible, but it was one short moment that got you there.

  For me this moment was back in May when I broke my wrist. I can’t explain why it happened or exactly how it happened, but I did learn that bones can break even when we try our best to be careful. I was in denial up until the moment they put me under to set my wrist, there was no way at 27 (just days shy of my 28th birthday) I could possibly break my first bone ever. I have played sports since I was a kid, I have fallen and slipped. Why now?

  Like I said, it was just a short moment in time, but one that even today has had a lasting impact. Once you lose function of something, you realize how important (and insanely amazing) a functioning body is. My doctor was hopeful that I would get back to 95% use of my wrist. I believe him. I am not even close to being there, but I still believe him.

  6 months later, I am still in recovery mode. I have full use of my hand, but my mobility in my wrist is mediocre at best. I do all of my everyday things, cooking, cleaning, writing, typing, so why am I hear talking about moments in time that change your life. It all comes back to CrossFit. I have never been so committed and involved in one sport. I used to filter in and out of gym memberships, on and off of teams, but CrossFit was 5-6 times a week for 2 and a half years, including 8 months of my pregnancy. So did my life change. Yes. I have days where I think I will never lift anything significant over my head again, swing a kettle bell without pain or even do something as simple as a push up.

  I still identify myself as a CrossFitter, even though I haven’t been to a box in 6 months or really done what I would consider a CrossFit workout. My life has had spurts of running, one-armed kettle bell lifts and attempts at planks and push ups, but my mental game has been crushed almost as badly as my wrist.

  So what do I do to improve this. Continue with physiotherapy, long hikes with my dog to improve mental health and telling myself everyday that I will get there. I will lift again. Just give yourself time. Don’t give up.

  

  July 4: At the hospital 20 minutes post cast removal

  Until next time day dreamers.

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  Posted in Fitness | 0 Comments | Tagged Blogger, Broken Wrist, Canada, Crossfit, Fitness, Guelph, Mental Health, Mommy Blogger, Physiotherapy, Recovery, Support, Workout

• Eat clean, train dirty.

  Posted at 9:13 AM by morningdaydreams, on July 12, 2016

  Hello Day Dreamers,

  I mentioned in my previous post that I am finally free of a cast and I am trying to get back into a routine, but I am definitely still struggling with my wrist and will be working though physio for a while.

  What I wanted to mention was the importance of physical activity and mental health. Over the past few weeks I have had a lot of down moments. I was feeling sad/angry/annoyed about breaking my wrist and after having my routine turned upside down I was not in a great place. In fact I got into a cycle. I was upset so I stopped working out, then I became  sad/unmotivated because I wasn’t working out, and then since I was sad/depressed I couldn’t get myself to work out.

  I can only speak on my personal experience, but the effects of working out on my mental health are huge. Not only do I feel good about myself, I am happier, nicer and all round a better person when I workout. Do I suffer from depression, no. Do I think I have mental health issues, no. Am I a doctor, no. However, I believe that I have better mental fitness when I follow an active and healthy lifestyle. What I consider mental fitness, is the ability to have a positive body image, to be happy, to treat others with kindness and to overall feel good about myself and my life.

  When you are in that negative head space, the hardest thing to do is workout. For weeks I would tell myself, Monday, I will get back into it on Monday. About 6 Monday’s came and went and I still sat on my couch miserable. So I told myself, when my cast comes off there is no excuse. Finally last week I started working out again. Only twice (I was very sore from my first workout), but you know what, my entire mentality changed that week. I was a better mother, a better wife and when I looked in the mirror I had positive thoughts about myself. This is the power of 2 workouts, and about 60-90 minutes of my life.

  All you have to do is get your body moving once. See how it changes your day, your mood, even your whole week. It is likely that you will feel good and do something active again and again, until you find your cycle of fit, happy and healthy. For me I like a fast paced workout, something to get my heart rate up and my sweat on, for others it could be as simple has taking a long walk everyday to brighten their mood.

  I am not saying that working out can deter all mental health issues, but there is no doubt it can improve your day, your mood and get you on the path to being happy and healthy.

  

  Image from leanitup.com

  Until next time day dreamers.

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  Posted in Fitness | 0 Comments | Tagged Broken Wrist, Canada, Crossfit, family, Fitness, Health, home, Mental Health, Motivation, Movement, Summer, Toronto

• Day 1.

  Posted at 11:15 AM by morningdaydreams, on July 6, 2016

  On Monday my cast came off after 8 long weeks. I tried my best to keep up a workout routine while I had the cast, but I am not going to lie my workouts after the first few weeks were few and far between.

  Today though I told myself that I was going to try out my new shoes and get back into a routine, so here is to day 1! It is hot hot hot out this morning, so got a great sweat on with with this 20 minute routine.

  

  

  
  20 minute AMRAP*

  • 400m run
  • 20 air squats
  • 10 kettle bell cleans (35lbs) (left arm only)

  Cool down

  • 50 sit ups
  • stretching

  *as many rounds as possible

  Also watch out for a few thoughts I have had over the past 8 weeks in a new Eat Clean, Train Dirty post on exercise and mental health.

  

  Post workout selfie

  Until next time day dreamers.

  ---

  

  Posted in Fitness | 0 Comments | Tagged Canada, Crossfit, Fitness, Health, home, Home Gym, Motivation, Routine, Summer, Toronto

• Eat clean, train dirty.

  Posted at 9:06 AM by morningdaydreams, on April 7, 2016

  *This is not a promotional post. I was looking for a kick start program and found this one. I loved it so I am sharing it with you all!*

  ---

  Here we go again!

  I had no trouble at all getting back into CrossFit post baby and find myself at the gym 4-5 times a week, which is where I was before having B. My biggest thing has been eating. I generally eat clean and good quality foods, but I suck at portion control. I eat like a 15 year old growing boy…. It’s scary how much I can eat in one sitting.

  So to help me with portion control and getting started I purchased the Fit Girls Guide 28 Day Jumpstart. This comes in the form of an ebook and provides helpful tips on ways to embrace the ‘fit girl’ lifestyle, a 4 week meal plan (with vegetarian, vegan & gluten free substitutions) and a 4 week workout plan.

  Overall the plan is super easy. Here are some key components:

  • SLOW DOWN and chew your food! This is actually a huge one for me. I have been taking my time and eating meals over a 20-30 minute time period (rather than the 30-40 seconds it normally takes). I have also been trying to chew more and focus on eating while I eat.
  • Advance Meal Prep. This is super helpful. To get started you prep 3 breakfasts and 3 lunches and your snack for the next 3-4 days. This made the first 3 days a breeze. At meal time I just grabbed my meal from the fridge and didn’t have to think about measuring/prepping etc.
  • Drink Water. When I was working this was no problem for me, I liked an excuse to get up from my desk and stretch my legs, getting water was perfect for that! Being at home, I have found this tougher. I get caught up in organizing the baby or cleaning that I forget to slow down and hydrate!
  • Get Moving. The Jumpstart comes with a 4 week workout plan that recommends 3 rounds  of the prescribed movements each day. Since I am already active I upped this to 5 rounds each day, plus I am doing CrossFit in the evenings (so this will likely impact my overall results as well). Every day also requires at least 30 minutes of cardio. This can be anything from walking or jogging to dancing, just something that gets your heart rate up. I have opted for walking/jogging with baby and pup in the mornings.

  I was shocked at how easy this was to follow. You are eating about 1400 calories a day and it is a mix of veggies, grains and protein at EVERY MEAL. I was not hungry once and by day two I could not believe how great I felt. This meal plan focused on portion control, low sodium and eliminating processed food. It was not a 28 day diet, it was a 28 day lifestyle switch – which I love!

  

  

  Meal prep time!!

  So… lets see how I did.

  Day 1 Starting Stats:

  • Weight: 175.4 lbs
  • Bust: 35.5 inches
  • Waist: 32 inches
  • Hips: 42 inches

  Day 15 Midway Stats:

  • Weight: 167.8 lbs
  • Bust: 35 inches
  • Waist: 31.5 inches
  • Hips: 41 inches

  -7.6 pounds & -2 inches!!!!

  Day 28 Final Stats:

  • Weight: 162.4
  • Bust: 34
  • Waist: 31
  • Hips: 40

  -13 pounds & 4.5 inches!!!!!! AND I am officially back to pre-baby weight (Happy dance. Happy dance!!!)

  

  

  Week 3 Quinoa Cleanse Bowl & Vegan Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls

  If you are looking for a fun and easy way to kick start yourself into a healthy lifestyle, I highly recommend this. Fit Girls Guide can also be found on social media and they post some great motivational posts to help you stick to it! They also do monthly challenges, I started before the March one, but if you need a bit more support for getting started sign up and do a challenge along side others!

  I am off to start round two! Are you ready to check it out! Click here to see all of the Fit Girls Guide Plans!

  

  

  Week 4 Mediterranean Polenta & Week 3 Pita Pizza Party! 

  Until next time day dreamers!

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  Help me become a top rated Mommy Blogger! If you enjoyed this post, click the Top Mommy Blogs button in the sidebar or below! If you clicked, you voted.

  Thanks Everyone!

  

  Posted in Fitness | 0 Comments | Tagged 28 Day Jumpstart, Crossfit, Fit Girls Guide, Fitness, Health, Healthy Living, Motivation, Post Baby Weight, Vegan Friendly, Weight loss

• Eat clean, train dirty.

  Posted at 9:18 AM by morningdaydreams, on April 4, 2016

  As you all know, a few weeks ago I announced that I was participating in the CrossFit Open. I started the Open as a scaled athlete, but as it turns out I was able to do the last two workouts Rx’d (as prescribed). Each workout had its difficulties and I am so proud to say that I participated.

  Here is a run down of this years workouts:

  Workout	Scaled (Women Ages 18-40)	Rx (Women Ages 18-40)
  16.1	20 minute AMRAP* 25ft walking lunge  (35lb bar front racked) 8 bar facing burpees* 25ft walking lunge (35lbs bar front racked) 8 jumping pull-ups	20 minute AMRAP 25ft walking lunge  (65lb bar over head) 8 bar facing burpees 25ft walking lunge (65lb bar over head) 8 chest-to-bar pull-ups
  16.2	Complete in 4 minutes or under to move to next round. Round 1: 25 hanging knee raises 50 single skips 15 squat cleans at 55lbs Round 2: 25 hanging knee raises 50 single skips 13 squat cleans at 75lbs Etc. Number of squat cleans reduces by 2 reps and weight increases by 20lbs each round you advance to.	Complete in 4 minutes or under to move to next round. Round 1: 25 toes-to-bar 50 double unders 15 squat cleans at 85lbs Round 2: 25 toes-to-bar 50 double unders 13 squat cleans at 115lbs Etc. Number of squat cleans reduces by 2 reps and weight increases by 30lbs each round you advance to.
  16.3	7 minute AMRAP 10 power snatchs at 35 lbs 5 jumping chest-to-bar pull-ups	7 minute AMRAP 10 power snatchs at 55 lbs 3 bar muscle ups
  16.4	13 minute AMRAP 55 dead lifts at 95 lbs 55 wall balls at 10 lbs 55 calorie row 55 hand release push ups	13 minute AMRAP 55 dead lifts at 155 lbs 55 wall balls at 14 lbs 55 calorie row 55 hand-stand push ups
  16.5	21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3 reps Thrusters at 45 lbs Bar facing burpees	21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3 reps Thrusters at 65 lbs Bar facing burpees

  • *AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible)
  • * Bar facing burpee (do a burpee then jump over the bar before doing the next burpee)

  

  

  Doing the 2016 CrossFit Open was such a great experience! I never expected to do any of the workouts Rx’d, let alone two of them!! Since I made the jump I was automatically ranked as an Rx athlete which is kind of cool. I am happy to say that in my division (Canada East) I ranked in the top 48% and Worldwide I am in the top 42%. To me that is a HUGE accomplishment and gives me a great starting point to beat next year!!

  

  

  16.2 – Squat Cleans & Hanging Leg Raises at RHCF

  

  

  

   16.4 –  A doing Hand Stand Push ups & D doing Deadlifts

  

  

  16.5 – Willing myself to pick up that bar & top of my thruster at Crossfit Potcake in the Bahamas!

  Only 11 more months until next years Open! D and I are going to be training hard this year! Congrats to everyone that participated.

  Until next time day dreamers.

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  Help me become a top rated Mommy Blogger! If you enjoyed this post, click the Top Mommy Blogs button in the sidebar or below! If you clicked, you voted.

  Thanks Everyone!

  

  Posted in Fitness | 0 Comments | Tagged beast mode, Canada, Competition, Crossfit, CrossFit Open, Crossfit Potcake, Fitness, RHCF, Scaled Athlete, Toronto

• Eat clean, train dirty.

  Posted at 9:12 AM by morningdaydreams, on February 25, 2016

  Hi all,

  It has been awhile since my last eat clean, train dirty post. I have been focusing on everything baby and vegan and I haven’t chimed in about much else! I have been training hard and I am happy to announce that I am doing the CrossFit Open!

  If you don’t know what it is, it takes place over 5 weeks, with 1 workout a week and you compete against crossfitters across the globe. From here the top athletes go on to Regionals and the Games in July. For me its a cool way to compare myself across my age category and within the different regions. What is even better is you can do the workouts at your local box. D participated last year, but this will be my first year. I have been hitting PRs [personal records] like crazy and working hard to get my pre-baby bod back. So I am super excited to see what my results will be!

  The first workout will be posted tonight at 8:00pm EST. Since D and I are attending a wedding this weekend, we will be doing our first workout tonight as soon as it is posted! I will be sure to keep you updated on how I do at the open and what it was like to participate.

  If you want to learn more, check out the official CrossFit Games site here!

  

  Image: CrossFit Games Official Website

  Until next time day dreamers!

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  Help me become a top rated Mommy Blogger! If you enjoyed this post, click the Top Mommy Blogs button in the sidebar or below! If you clicked, you voted.

  Thanks Everyone!

  

   

  Posted in Fitness | 0 Comments | Tagged Competition, Crossfit, CrossFit Open, Fitness, Health, PR

• The mom life: baby weight.

  Posted at 10:58 AM by morningdaydreams, on January 11, 2016

  Throughout the days of my pregnancy I had very big goals of losing my baby weight super fast. I have a friends wedding at the end of February and I was determined to be my ‘old self’ by then. This was before the reality of how your body feels post pregnancy, not being able to breastfeed (I am told this helps loose the baby weight a bit faster) and just the reality of how much time I spend focusing on the baby and not myself.

  Not to say I haven’t been working at it! At 5.5 weeks postpartum I was back at the gym and I have been getting there 2-3 times a week ever since. However the reality of this wedding and oh a little trip to the Bahamas in 2 weeks has set in… So I felt that I needed a bit of a kick starter to help get me into high gear.

  Now that the cold weather has arrived I have shortened the walks with the dog (sorry Lucy!!) but man it’s cold out there, and I have moved my mini workouts inside. To help me get my six pack in order and get some cardio in I have challenged myself to this little basement workout every other day until the wedding.

  5 rounds:

  • 20 sit-ups
  • 10 burpees

  Day one complete. Bring it on!

  What have you done to kick start your postpartum weight loss?

  

  Picture via google images.

  Until next time day dreamers.

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  Help me become a top rated Mommy Blogger! If you enjoyed this post, click the Top Mommy Blogs button in the sidebar or below the comments! If you clicked, you voted. Thanks Everyone!

  

  Posted in Baby | 0 Comments | Tagged Baby, Burpees, Crossfit, Fitness, Goals, Health, Mom Life, Motivation, Postpartum, Weight loss

• 2016, here we go.

  Posted at 1:11 PM by morningdaydreams, on January 1, 2016

  It’s that time of year again! Every year I love looking back at my New Years posts to reminisce on how I thought the year would go and write out a few new resolutions. To start, click here to view my New Year’s post from 2015.

  I had 4 goals last year, 3 of which I am happy to say are 100% still going strong. The first was to “Keep at it” in terms of sticking with Crossfit. Not only do I not see this leaving my life anytime soon, I showed my commitment for a good 8 months while ‘keeping at it’ through out my pregnancy!! If that isn’t commitment… not sure what is.

  My next goal was to eat clean. This one lasted…. for my first trimester of pregnancy. I then wanted nothing but white pasta and tuna sandwiches…you win some, you loose some…right?

  My third goal was to travel more. I still made it out to England in March despite already being 11 weeks pregnant, but this didn’t hinder the travel bug. D and I have some great travel plans pending and I am already kicking off the New Year with Bennett’s first trip to the Bahamas!

  Finally, if you follow my blog… you know by now that there was one HUGE change in our lives last year. My final resolution was to get settled. I didn’t come out and say it, but part of that was thinking about children. D and I didn’t know the timeline of making this happen, we were just insanely lucky to get pregnant and have Bennett so soon! Now all we have to do is buy a house (one day SOOOOON!)

  So whats up for 2016?

  • Enjoy motherhood. I will be spending the majority of 2016 on maternity leave and I couldn’t be happier. Being at home with B is a totally different experience from working, but it has been amazing so far. I feel as if I have a full year to focus on me. I know that sounds a bit odd because my life revolves around a baby, but I think it really helps to put my life in perspective. My family and my well being are the most important things in this world and being able to be home and experience every moment of Bennett’s life is truly amazing.
  • Work hard. Having a baby is no easy task for your body. Everything has changed. I don’t have all the time in the world to eat well and go to the gym. It is going to take determination, super scheduling and hard work to keep on track and get my pre-baby body back. With the support of D I know it is possible though. We have already managed to get our workout routines sorted despite juggling a baby.
  • Go vegan. This one is more of a lifestyle change than a New Years resolution, per se. I have been pescatarian/vegetarian for a very long time, but I decided it was time for a change. I stopped eating most dairy products a year or two ago, but didn’t quite kick cheese. Realizing that my only reason was ‘because it tastes good’ was not a good enough excuse for me any more (especially when I think that is a silly excuse to eat meat). So feeling like a bit of a hypocrite I am making the change. It won’t be easy (at first) but I am excited to make the switch!

  So 2016, here we go! Happy New Year everyone!

  

  Ready for New Years! Bow tie and all!

   Until next time day dreamers.

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  Help me become a top rated Mommy Blogger! If you enjoyed this post, click the Top Mommy Blogs button in the sidebar or below the comments! If you clicked, you voted. Thanks Everyone!

  

   

  Posted in Life-General | 1 Comment | Tagged Baby, Canada, Crossfit, family, Goals, Motherhood, New Years, resolutions, Toronto, Vegan

• Eat clean, train dirty.

  Posted at 9:11 AM by morningdaydreams, on December 18, 2015

  The holidays. We all love them and we all hate them. In years past I have gained 10 pounds over the holiday period (so not healthy!). This was often due to diets where I restricted full food groups followed by eating large meals with family and all of the chocolates in the world. Not a good choice.

  I no longer cut out carbs or fats or whatever it is you can’t eat these days. Eating clean is just more realistic. The basics: eat real whole foods, no processed junk, stick will whole grain rice/pasta/bread.

  That being said, there is no need to loose your hard work over the holidays. Here are a few of my tips:

  • Don’t skip your workouts. Yes, you are busy with parties and family, but if you find the time when you are working, you can spare an hour or two on holidays. Plus, the more calories you burn the less impact ‘cheating’ will have.
  • Indulge. Its the holidays have a few chocolates, have some wine, have that big white carb dinner. When you wake up the next morning just get back on track and eat clean again. If you say no you will probably just binge on something anyway, might as well keep it in moderation!
  • Skip the appetizers. If you are anything like me an open buffet of food is hard to handle. I can’t keep track of how much I have eaten and I often find myself just chilling with the chips and dip all night. If you can resist, try and hold off until dinner – you generally make your own plate and can control what foods and the amounts you want to eat. Or try having something to eat before heading out to the party/get together, this way when all of the food is out you are not starving and more likely to over indulge.
  • Be booze wise. There are drinks that are lower in calories than others. Want to eat more food…well drink less or have something low cal (vodka soda, vodka water) skip the sugary mixed drinks or beer. Also just remember how horrible it is when you over indulge on drinks anyway. Keep it to 1 or 2!
  • Host the party. It might be more stress, but you choose what you serve, so treat your guests to yummy and healthy holiday foods!

  These tricks have helped me in the past, not to say I haven’t lost my way more than once. I hope these help you stay happy and healthy over the holidays!

   

  

  Image courtesy of: Goggle Images

  Until next time day dreamers.

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  Help me become a top rated Mommy Blogger! If you enjoyed this post, click the Top Mommy Blogs button in the sidebar or below the comments! If you clicked, you voted. Thanks Everyone!

  

  Posted in Fitness | 0 Comments | Tagged Canada, Christmas, Clean Eating, Crossfit, Fitness, Food&Drink, Holidays

• Eat clean, train dirty.

  Posted at 9:11 AM by morningdaydreams, on November 12, 2015

  Its official I am back in the game!

  After about 4 weeks postpartum I was starting to become antsy about getting back out there, but I wanted to get the go ahead from my midwife before I did anything more than walking. I have to hold out on a few lower body movements for another week or two, but I am good to go for cardio and anything upper body, so here I go!

  As of last week I decided it was time to get into a routine and shed the baby weight. This I might add is no easy task. I am not sure if you know this or not but having a newborn is a lot of work and attempting to juggle eating well and moving in the hour time frame I might have during the babies nap is not easy. So here is the plan:

  1. My Garmin vivosmart (step counter) promptly went back on my wrist. My goal for now is to get to 10,000 steps a day, last week every day but friday I actually exceeded this goal (wooo go me!)
  2. Track my calories. MyFitnessPal is a great app AND it links with my Garmin and adjusts my remaining calories based on activities that I do throughout the day. It has been a breeze to track my meals and I love just watching my intake rather than cutting a food group (or two) completely out.
  3. Walk the dog. I let my dog walker go – a little sad for Lucy, but it means I HAVE to get out with the dog everyday. So as soon as baby has his breakfast (between 7-8:00am) we all head out for an hour-long walk. I pop in my head phones and just wander around the neighbourhood. This has actually become my favourite part of my day and it is a great mental break to just walk and listen to some tunes.
  4. CROSSFIT. I have seriously missed it. Yes, I did go until the end of August, but it just wasn’t the same. Last week I went to my first class in about 2 months and it was amazing. It was tough, but it felt good to be back and to know that I can start to push hard again. D and I are taking shifts so we are both able to get to the gym 3 or 4 times a week. Again, this is a great mental break and gives daddy and baby some alone time too! :)

  So we are officially into week 2 and I am feeling great. Just making a few small changes last week and I am already feeling better and loosing a few pounds too (wahoo!). As Bennett gets older I am hoping I can do more and the poor guy might become a weight now and again, but I will keep you in the loop with my progress.

  

  Until next time day dreamers!

  Posted in Fitness | 2 Comments | Tagged Baby, Crossfit, Fitness, Garmin, Health, MyFitnessPal, Postpartum, Toronto, Walking

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