The soup was good

The abrupt ending to the last post was worth it. Shelley and I went to the Spicy Pickle. I originally ordered the butternut squash, but they were out, so I got a tomato/roasted red pepper soup instead and it was great.

I wanted to write a bit about a new endeavor I started called Crossfit. I've only been to two classes, but it's pretty amazing. I don't think I can really explain what it is, but if you googled it you'd get plenty of videos/write-ups. My friend Yelena got us all a deal at a Denver gym (www.crossfitbroadway.com). It is like nothing I have ever done before.

I've always struggled getting into weigh lifting. I think part of it was feeling like I wasn't really getting a good exercise because I wasn't running. I also just assumed I'd never really be one of those people, the people that lift in the gym. But crossfit is pretty active and I definitely feel like I'm getting a workout in. Yesterday I was sweating so much drops of water were coming off my face, it was pretty gross. Additionally, the instructors so far have done an amazing job breaking down the lifts. I am going through the "elements" class which teaches you how to do all the different crossfit moves. So if you are interested in starting I recommend doing something like that so you can ask a lot of questions. I'm hoping that I can keep going and stay consistent because I feel like it will really help me in sprinting and overall fitness for running.

One thing I really struggled with at last nights class were squats. I am embarrassed to say I was a catcher in fast pitch softball (both high school and college)and I am horrible at squatting correctly. I try to excuse it by saying I needed to always be on my toes, which is true, but I should still be better at it. I just have a really hard time getting my weight on my heels and outside of my feet with my chest up without falling forward if I go down past my knees. I can barely get my quads parallel to the floor. The instructor told me to practice at home and I tried some today. I kept falling over (forwards and backwards). If anyone has any good tips I'd like to hear them. I'm not sure if it is more lack of flexibility, lack of muscle strength, or too much boobage.

I have also enjoyed crossfit so far because it focuses on you and not you trying to beat everyone. There's a competitive aspect, but a lot of it is competing against yourself not the class. So far the workout sets have been designed in a way to let anyone do it at any ability level. You can be squating a 35lb bar with two 10lb weights on each side and the guy next to you can be doing it is 25lb weights on each side or my friend Tina can be behind you with a 45lb bar with 10lbs on each side. You get to do it at the weight that is right for you. Except burpees, there is no really easy way to do burpees because no matter what you have to do a pushup. Ick... I've done more "big girl" pushups in the last week then I think I've done in my whole life.

I'm happy to answer any other questions people have about crossfit. I'll keep you posted on what new exciting workouts were doing and if I think it's helping with my running/ultimate/lobbying. I'm pretty sure it will pay off for lobbying. Look at Michelle Obama's arms, she's ripped. I'm just 8 classes away from being just like the first lady.