Is there a benefit to lifting only three pound weights?

I was absolutely horrified and mortified when I saw this video, courtesy of Oprah's website.  I encourage everyone to watch it, but in a nutshell, it's Gwyneth Paltrow of promoting her "pint-sized miracle,"personal trainer Tracy Anderson, for helping her "stay thin." Paltrow exercises six days a week for two hours a day, focusing mainly on cardio.  Oh, and Anderson only allows Paltrow to lift three pound weights, because, according to Anderson, "no woman should lift more than three pounds," as lifting more will make a woman "bulky."  (Perhaps I should send Anderson some before and after photos so I can show her how much better I look.  And Anderson, having muscles and muscle definition does not mean I'm "bulky" -- in fact, it means I'm healthy, physically fit, and strong).

Paltrow, you look seriously emaciated.  

Honestly, I think I'm mostly disappointed in Oprah for posting this crap on her website and airing it on her show.  Oprah, women all over the world look up to you.  How could you feed them even more bad, baseless information?  I really would love to see Oprah cut out processed foods and try CrossFit!

Well, the joke's on Gwyneth, who has developed osteopenia, a pre-cursor for osteoporosis.  The irony of the situation -- current research has shown that weight training prevents bone loss, and may even help build new bone.  For Tracy Anderson, I'd like to ask -- how is it realistic for a woman to never lift more than three pounds?  Even Gwyneth makes a flippant comment about lifting her 30 pound son all day, so I don't understand how she can claim that there's a benefit of lifting such a puny weight.  Wouldn't being able to lift more weight be much more practical for her lifestyle?  From my own personal experience, strength training has made daily tasks much easier, from carrying in groceries or kitty litter, organizing the desk and chairs in my classroom,  and gives me more energy to get through my day.  I think I find Anderson's workouts to be so disturbing because they are anti-feminist and reinforce an idea that women are supposed to be frail and weak.  

I highly recommend Graeme Thomas's article on why being "skinny fat" is unhealthy and unattractive.  He does a great job of describing how trainers like Anderson perpetuate the myths and misconceptions about female weight lifting.  My favorite part of his article is where he analyzes what Paltrow eats in a day, which averages out to less than 1000 calories.  Clearly, Paltrow's diet is less than ideal.

Ultimately, I hope that women realize that trainers like Anderson are bogus and unhealthy, and I want women to know that being strong is beautiful.  So, how to we debunk the myths that Anderson, et al. spread?  How can we convince women to stop being scared of weights?

P.S. Gwyneth: if you did CrossFit, you wouldn't have to work out for two hours, six days a week.  Just sayin'!

One size fits... none?

As a kid, I remembering hearing all the time that Marilyn Monroe was a size 12/14/16.  Point being, the sexpot of the 1950s was a "real" woman with curves.  But the reality is, what was a size 14 in 1955 is probably closer to a size 6 today.

A recent NY Times article, reposted on MSNBC, discusses the difficulties women face in trying to figure out what clothing sizes will fit them in stores. It's an issue that all women (and even men) find all too familiar -- at one retailer, a woman might be a size 4, and at another, she might be a size 10. Even more frustrating: being different sizes at the same store.

While companies are trying to streamline the clothing size dilemma, part of the problem is "vanity sizes." Stephanie Clifford writes, "As the American population has grown more diverse, sizes have become even less reliable. Over the years, many brands have changed measurements so that a woman who previously wore a 12 can now wear a 10 or an 8..." So, vanity sizing has been a huge marketing ploy to get women to buy clothing by making them appear "smaller" without losing an inch.  Essentially, it enables women feel better about themselves because they can wear a smaller size.  A huge part of the problem lies in the fact that most people (and I fall victim to it as well), place too much self-worth on clothing size.  It's a very ugly, messy self-esteem battle.  Much like BMI, an arbitrary number has been given far too much credence and weight (pun intended).

Oh, vanity sizing.  For years, I justified weight gain as long as I could still squeeze into my size 6 Ann Taylor pants.  Had they been a size 12 or 14, would I have pushed sooner to lose weight?  Perhaps.   I don't really know.  But clearly, fitting into size 6 clothing didn't mean I was at a healthy weight or leading a healthy lifestyle, but it enabled me to hide behind the label.  Even though I was overweight, I could justifying it by saying, "but I'm a size 6!" And if a size 6 was ever too snug, I just didn't buy the garment.

But I've lost weight and body fat, and while I've been excited to buy smaller clothing sizes, my elation has worn off quickly.  It feels too arbitrary and artificial, and honestly, I have no idea what "size" I am.  What I do know is that I have a lot of muscle, strength, and I'm healthier than I've ever been.  At the same time, it's hard not to feel connection to the number on the clothing tag.  But I'm determined to just buy clothes that fit my body, regardless of what a random number tells me.

Thoughts on vanity sizing?  Brilliant marketing ploy or a pain in the butt?  Self-esteem boost or self-esteem bust?

Make Our Garden Grow

"Make Our Garden Grow," the finale of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, is perhaps one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.  Sung between the main characters, Candide and Cunegonde, and the ensemble, the gist of the song is that the best possible life is one that is personally industrious and hardworking: "We'll do the best we know/ we'll build our house and chop our wood/and make our garden grow."  I tear up every time.  And while I've always loved listening to this song, I never thought of literally applying its message to my life until recently.
When my husband and I bought our house this past fall, we thought the small garden patch box along the fence was cute and endearing.  "Maybe we'll plant a garden!" we exclaimed, although I felt that it would merely be a passing fancy; just something to point out as another reason for why our soon-to-be house was wonderful and charming.
But the more my husband and I have read and talked about leading a clean, healthy lifestyle, the more it made sense to try our hand at growing a vegetable garden.  I'm happy that our house already has a special place to do this.
First, our own garden is the most local way we can get our own food.  We decided to buy seeds and plants from a nearby, family owned farm, and after that, all care, maintenance, and consumption would be on our own property.  Very sustainable and environmentally friendly indeed.
Second, if successful, this should cut down somewhat on our summer produce grocery bill.  The rising cost of fuel is driving up food prices (this article claims that five staple foods are rising in prices, but it essentially translates to the fact that all the foods my husband and I consume, and then some, are rising in cost).  Saving money while doing a small part to limit fuel usage seems like a win-win situation to me.
Third, while it may sounds self-righteous and obnoxious, there is something exciting and slightly romantic about the prospect of eating foods that we've grown all by ourselves.  The idea of literally reaping the fruits and vegetables of our labor makes me feel like we're productive, self-reliant, and competent.  Instead of expecting food to magically appear in the produce section of Roche Bros., we'll work hard to produce it.  Gosh, I hope I don't accidentally kill this garden.
Yesterday, we picked our produce -- some, we planted indoors from seed packets, and others went straight into our little garden patch.

Thyme, cilantro, basil, and tomatoes.  Hopefully we'll see sprouts soon!

Our other purchases from Tilly's, our local farm: an assortment of lettuce, brussel sprouts, and yellow onions.  On the right is a willow tree from dear family friends which we'll plant in our yard.

My husband began weeding our little garden patch.  The bucket to the right will be for our herbs when they're ready to be transplanted.

Nothing better than getting my feet dirty!  I took over the weeding process and cleaned out the pot as well.  Honestly, if I never had to wear shoes again, I think it'd be a very happy individual.  And while I don't have much of a green thumb, there is something very therapeutic and satisfying about weeding.  I like it because I don't have to think very hard about it, and I can see tangible results from it.  Excellent.

My husband has such a knack for making things look beautiful.  Our purchases, including some squash, zucchini, cucumbers, asparagus, and garlic, which he planted in our little garden.  

Cunegonde sings to Candide, "I thought the world was sugar cake/for so our master said/But now I'll teach my hands to bake/ our loaf of daily bread."  These lines carries so much sentiment for me.  I'm learning how satisfying it is to prepare our own food and cook our own meals.  While I'm not making a loaf of daily bread, if I did eat bread, I'd probably try my hand at it.  Why?  In short, it's partially self-serving, but I also help it's a small step to conserving resources.  Food was never meant to be pumped with corn derivatives, processed with unrecognizable ingredients, shaped to an aesthetically pleasing circle or oblong, and wrapped in coloring packages to be sold with expiration dates nine months from now; it was meant to come out of the earth, beautifully rich in color and imperfect shape, by our own hands.  So, we will see how this garden grows, continue to buy food from our local farmers market, and try our best to be clean and healthy eaters.

Any tips for our garden over the next few months?  What have you done lately to lead a clean lifestyle?

Weekend musings, with links

Boston is buzzing with  preparations for tomorrow's big marathon, which will actually pass near my house as eager marathoners head into downtown Boston.  As I question whether or not I want to sign up to run a 5K, the impending marathon (which I will watch tomorrow) has made me wonder if I'm a slacker for being so adverse to going for a weekend jog.  This article from the Boston Globe doesn't really make me all that excited by the prospect of running, but provides some slightly helpful information for remaining relatively injury free throughout the running process.  But, this article hints at the thought that running shoes impede our ability to run correctly since these shoes encourage our heels to hit the ground first, which could compound knee joint pain, although there apparently isn't a lot of evidence out there to make much judgment either way.  So, should I put on my running shoes for optimal fitness?
This past week, the New York Times also pondered the "single best exercise."  While walking was entertained, especially for sedentary adults, researchers argued that for the already physically active, just walking isn't enough to cut it.  The best single exercises nominated?  Burpees and squats.  Burpees build "muscle and endurance," and squats work the biggest muscles in the body while fighting muscle loss equated with the aging process.  Overall, the article makes it clear that resistance training, done in the form of weight lifting or interval training, are the healthiest exercises, and weight lifting increases endurance more than cardio.  Plus, interval training can be a lot more fun than slugging away at a steady pace cardio workout.  The point I take away from this article: to be as healthy and fit as I can now and later in life, mixing up my daily workouts to be short, intense, and with lots of body weight and resistance training (a la CrossFit).

But while exercise is incredibly important and essential to our health and well-being, the foods we eat are a huge determining factor in our weight.  Even if a person exercises, if they eat too much of the wrong foods, they will gain weight.  While I'm not personally a big fan of running, this article from the Boston Globe reminds us that while exercises like running can be good for the body, diet is the main determining factor of weight loss.  Often times, runners compensate huge calorie deficits with mindless, indulgent eating (i.e., I ran seven miles yesterday, so I can eat all the bagels/cookies/pasta I want!)  With that said, dieting (meaning, hopping on the band wagon of a fad diet for temporary weight loss) is not the answer, which Darya Pino cleverly tells her readers in her "10 Reasons Dieting Is Idiotic." While I don't have all the answers to healthy eating, unprocessed, natural foods definitely seem the way to go.

No doubt, all of this is tough, hard work, especially as we've become, according to Richard Conniff, a "Fat Nation."  Between clever market from food companies, swelling food portions at restaurants, and jobs which encourage sitting rather than physical labor, it seems nearly impossible to make good choices against the waves of messages from food manufacturers who make money off of us eating their highly sweetened, highly processed crap, no matter how "healthy" they claim their food to be.  They inundate the market with cheap food and hundreds of new food products every year -- how do we stand a chance against them?  One solution that Conniff suggests is to act as a community to fight obesity together.  He totes Somerville, MA, as a prime example of taking the right steps to be healthy.  By adding bicycle lanes to roads, encouraging families to walk and exercise together, and by urging restaurants to serve up healthier food options, Conniff argues that Somerville empowers residents to make better lifestyle choices.  My two cents: changing food and exercise habits is a daunting process, but small changes go a long way.  Example: I quit Diet Coke cold turkey this summer and haven't looked back since.  It was a small step that has led me to better choices; my main drink of choice is now water, and I feel much more hydrated and satiated than I ever did in Diet Coke binge days.  Once you make these baby steps, other food choices fall into place.  It gets easier and better each day.  I promise.

While I am happy and excited to support my local marathoners tomorrow, I'm glad I get to be on the sidelines rather than pounding the pavement for over 26 miles.  I will get up in the morning, spend an hour at CRCF, cheer runners along, and go about my day.  I may be tempted to add a short run here and there in my exercise routine, but for the most part, I'll stick to my weight and interval training and do my best to keep up with my clean eating habits.  For me, it's the smartest and happiest choices I can make for a healthy life.

Hitting a CF roadblock

I apologize for the hiatus -- the NewFitter competition left me so excited that it was hard to come down from my cloud of giddy excitement/overall happiness.  And then, bam!  All excitement ceased when I came back to my regular CrossFit workouts to confront two tough moves for me -- the power snatch and the pull up.

My Olympic weight lifting can be pretty horrible at times, (which I'll talk about in the future), but my pull ups!  Goodness gracious, they are my enemy.  My nemesis.  Pull ups are one exercise where I literally cringe and want to run in the bathroom and hide when I see listed for a workout.  Each time they're in a WOD, they bring me nearly to tears.  Why?  Because I can't seem to figure out how to do one.  Even though I'm a pretty strong girl, pull ups are still a mystery.

Everyone I know has encouraged me to kip, but I have yet to really get the form/momentum to get even a successful swing down.  And it's something that I so desperately want to be able to do, but each time I try, I get impatient, frustrated, and become a self-loathing monster.  It's pretty ugly, actually.

In WODs, I've been using resistance bands to try dead hang pull ups, and I become so angry that there's practically steam coming out of my ears.  My normally chipper attitude and general exercise excitement flies out of the room.  I get cranky.  And I'm not very pleasant.  And I still can't figure out the damn kip, even with a resistance band.  I'm so over these dead hang pull ups, but I'm so impatient with pull ups that I feel like I'm running around in circles with absolutely no progress.

(It looks so easy here!  From CrossFit Revival)

One thing that's clear to me -- this pull up problem is largely a mental roadblock.  But now, I need to figure out how to slow down, take a step back, and meet my goal of ten unassisted pull ups in just over two months.  (Am I allowed to cut that goal down to five pull ups?  Or one?  I'd prefer not to, but...)

Alright, community: I need your help. 
How did you overcome an exercise roadblock (or another life roadblock)?
How should I approach my most loathsome enemy, the pull up? 
What goals are you looking to meet (or you've met?  I could use some good news!)
 

The NewFitter

After blogging about my fears for the NewFitter competition, I think it's only fair that I share not only the results, but my assessment of the day.

I have been no stranger to admitting my lack of athletic prowess that was pretty consistent throughout my life.  So, the mere thought of entering a competition based on physical ability was mind-blowing and slightly masochistic for me.  Any accolades I've received in the past were usually academic based, with a few exceptions.  This competition was going to be a whole new world for me, and I was unsure of how I felt about it.

Anyway, I thought I would take you through the workouts (WODs) first.  When I arrived at CRCF, the whiteboard there had the following three WODs listed:

WOD 1:
Three rounds of:

400 meter run
15 thrusters (35 pound weight for women; 65 for men)
15 box jumps (20 inch for women; 24 inch for men)

Time limit: 15 minutes

WOD 2:
7 minute time limit to:
Row a 1K
Do kettlebell swings until time (35 lbs for women, or one pood; for men, 53 pounds or 1.5 pood)

The catch with this one was that your score was only based on your kettlebell swings.

WOD 3:
15 minutes to:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:

Deadlifts (95 lbs for women, 135 lbs for men)
Burpees
Sit ups

And I was going to be in heat 3.  (There were three heats for the WODs, because of space limitations).

Oh goodness, after reading this workouts, I panicked.  I knew that the run would be partially uphill outside, and I'm also not the best rower.  CRCF was packed full of people, and I just felt overwhelmed.  All I could think about was not vomiting and making sure that I actually moved.

After a warm up, I cheered on my fellow CRCF members, and had a pep talk from one a fabulous member.  It helped me calm down before my heat:

(Sidenote: All photos are courtesy of Saint Clair Studio.  Evan and Erica are fantastic photographers and their photos have a great photojournalistic quality.  The best part?  I never even realized my picture was taken the entire day.  They are good at what they do).

When the time came for my heat, I found my position, my judge (who was very nice), and anxiously waited for time to be called.  And then, the run began:

It seemed fine and dandy at first, until we got to the hill.  I definitely felt the burn in my quads.  It was frustrating, because I felt like a 400 meter run shouldn't be that hard.  But it was tough.  I flew through the thrusters, but the box jumps were rough.  I kept going, and tried to keep up with the guys who were competing.  And thankfully, my awesome coach did part of the run with me.  At one point, I told her that I couldn't keep on going, and she emphatically said that yes, I could, and I would.  She left me no choice but to put one foot in front of the other:

I finished the WOD in 10:50, and was in third place.  A part of me felt giddy; another part of me wondered if I could have pushed it faster.  Honestly, I don't think I could have, but when I found out that the woman who won the WOD finished in well under ten minutes, I had a blip of a defeatist attitude.  There was no way I could have completed that WOD any faster; did that mean I wasn't up to snuff?

Before the second WOD, I spent some time with my fellow CRCFers, which took my mind off the WOD and helped me put it in perspective.  After chatting and laughing together, I remembered that it was pretty awesome that I had placed, and now all I had to do was keep on going.

Before WOD 2, I had to figure out a strategy.  If I tried to row too fast, it would just destroy my endurance, and I wouldn't be able to kettlebell swing.  If I rowed too slowly, I'd lose time on the swings, and I love kettlebell swings, and besides, my score was based off of my number of swings.  So, I decided to aim for a 1K in 4:30, and see how many swings I could get after that.

My score: 73.  While I placed fourth in WOD 2, my proud accomplishment was that I did all 73 swing unbroken -- I didn't once put the kettlebell down (in well over two minutes!)  But, even though I didn't place in that WOD, my score still put me in second place overall.  All of a sudden, I had a brief thought: if I didn't stop once, there might be a chance I could win the NewFitter event.  Seriously?  I had to keep going, full force ahead.

Before the heat began, I spoke to one of my CRCF friends, and together, we came up with a time in which I decided I would try to finish the WOD: 7:30.  It seemed ambitious, but having a goal was helpful.  Anxiously, I got into position for my deadlifts.  I had already asked my coach to hover nearby.  I covered my hands in chalk, hoping I wouldn't lose my grip on the bar.  I was sweating before the clock even started.

And then something really awesome happened.  My fellow CRCFers surrounded me throughout the entire WOD and cheered me on.  My coach, Melissa, was with me every step of the way, encouraging me to keep on going and not to stop for a moment.  Hearing others scream my name kept me going.  Knowing that I had the support of my friends provided an almost out of body experience, and it gave me an adrenaline boost.  I felt nauseous; slightly delirious.  The WOD was a blur, but all I knew was that I couldn't stop.

And I finished the WOD in 7:37 -- by far, the fastest female time, the third time overall.  I was more than forty seconds faster than the next woman.  It was definitely an "OMG" moment.  I was tired, I was sweaty, and I was sore -- but I did it.  And with my own family members and my CRCF family with me, I felt invincible.

Right after finishing, I barely had the energy to give my coach a high 5 -- but the attempt was made.

The results were calculated:

And folks, I won my first athletic competition.  My goodness, I gave it my all.  It was, by far, one of the most mentally and physically draining days of my life.  But it felt great; I felt great.  I did something I never thought I was capable of doing, and even when it felt impossible, I didn't stop.  I've worked very hard to get to this point and I'm proud of myself.

As I reflect back on Sunday, I know that I have a lot to still learn and do at CrossFit.  But I also know that none of this would have been possible without the amazing community I belong to.  Yes, we're slightly cultish; yes, we have weird slang; yes, we do some bizarre workouts, but I have such a supportive, lovely network, and it means the world to me.

(Such a wonderful group of people!)

Sunday reminded me that I am one tough chica, and that I've come a long way since this summer.  I'm strong.  I'm athletic.  And I have the perseverance to keep on going.  CrossFit has given me a great outlook on life; it's boosted my confidence significantly.  It's taught me that I can do things that I never thought were imaginable.  And I feel so lucky to have met so many wonderful people in the process.

Alright, sappy post over.  A big thanks to all those who have helped me reach this point.  And now, I think I may finally be allowed to call myself an athlete.

CrossFit Competition

Tomorrow, I will be competing in a CrossFit competition for beginners.  It's aptly named "NewFitters," and it's between my CRCF and two other local affiliates.  Really, it's a great opportunity for people who are still trying to learn the ways of CrossFit to have the chance to get their feet wet into the competition world.  Honestly, I think it's a lovely idea, and I'm scared out of my mind.

First, I can't believe that I'll actually be a part of an athletic competition.  It's not necessarily a lack of self-esteem; it's a "I can't believe that I am seen as being competent at anything remotely athletic."  I mean, gosh, it's really only be a few months since I've taken athletics somewhat seriously.  I've never played a physically competitive game in my life; heck, I haven't even played a pick up game of basketball or ultimate frisbee.  So, in a way, it's somewhat humbling.  But I'm unsure of how I should approach it.

Second, the competition involves three mystery WODs.  It's perhaps the feeling of the unknown that's scary, although I don't know if knowing the WODs would be particularly useful knowing the workouts ahead of time; in fact, that might be more terrifying!  I also want to do a great job representing CRCF -- what if I fall on my face or can't finish a WOD?  What if I vomit on a judge's feet?  Nerves are starting to get to me!

Third, I really don't know how I'm supposed to prep, other than stretching and drinking some water.  Do I bring food to eat between WODs?  A change of socks?  How do I calm myself down?  How do I approach each WOD?  I want to make sure I have enough stamina to make it through.

So, I ask all of you:  how do you prepare for a competition, race, etc.,.? Any words of wisdom or advice?