Love List (Fall 2013)

Some things I've been a little obsessed with lately...

 

 

The October issue of Real Simple:

It's got tons of awesome recipes, including 10 different ways to use butternut squash!

 

 

 

Pumpkin EVERYTHING:

Pumpkin candles, pumpkin tea, pumpkin beer, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin butter...oh, yeah, and pumpkins.

 

 

The Isabel Dalhousie books:

I'm just finishing the fourth in the series and adore them. Perfect reading for rainy days.

 

 

Codeword puzzles:

 If crosswords and Sudoku got together, their offspring would be the mighty codeword puzzle. I found a book of these at Barnes & Noble and am now totally addicted.

 

DoYogaWithMe.com:

This free site offers videos for all levels of practice. It also allows you to search by length of video (20 minutes or less, 20-40 minutes, 40-60, etc.), or by type of yoga. I love the hamstrings, neck & shoulder, yin yoga, and post-run videos. Great way to fight off tension headaches!

 

 

My "blanket" wrap:

I bought this at a local used clothing boutique. Jared calls it my Native American blanket. It's so comfy, and I love the pattern.

 

 

Vintage Pink:

 Holy smokes...this store is dangerous. I found a white rolling cart for our kitchen, a blue lamp for the living room, and a gnome for the front yard. It's on the east side of Portland - good thing it isn't closer or I would probably go broke.

 

 

 

Austenland:

Saw this with a girlfriend over the weekend, and it was adorable! Great for Pride & Prejudice fanatics and casual moviegoers alike.

 

Image source

Recovery Week: Workout Recap Week of 2/18 (Kelly: Girl WOD)

Recovery!!!

 

If you read much, you probably know that taking regular recovery weeks is part of a smart, healthy training cycle.  I read in one of the CrossFit magazines a while back that you should probably have more recovery weeks than you think you need.  To begin incoporating recovery into your fitness, the article suggested starting with 13 weeks of work followed by one week of recovering.  Then 12 weeks of work followed by one week of recovery.  Then so on counting down, and then start over again at 13.

 

I wasn't totally sure about how to plan things, but I put some recovery weeks on my 2013 schedule back in December of 2012 and worked down to my first recovery week of 2013: "week 0" (2/18).

2/25 is week 6, counting down to my next recovery week 0 starting 4/7.

4/14 is week 5 counting down to week 0 starting 5/19.

I based these dates in large part on knowing I will be crazy busy the week of 5/19 and wouldn't get to workout much.

 

It worked out really nicely that this week was a recovery week, since last week's workouts were crazy and kinda brutal!

 

Monday: Shoulder Stability and Mobility

 

My hands were still in sorry shape from Saturday, plus I had to pick up our car from the shop.  I did shoulder stability exercises with a band while at the office, then had time after picking up the car to go to Half Price Books!  Landed a killer haul for less than $40.  (One of the many perks of recovery weeks...you get to remind yourself that you DO have a life outside of CrossFit.)

 

That evening, I got in 45 minutes of mobility while reading one of my new books.



 

Tuesday: Mercer Island CrossFit

 

Went to 6am CrossFit.  Skill was push press - starting really light (#15) and just focusing on good form.

 



 

The WOD presented challenges even with my taped hands.  I had to alter a lot...and it took me forever to do only three rounds!

My WODHub notes on the workout:

Scaled to 3 rounds (recovery week) and scaled movements due to hand:

200m row

4 burpees

1st round 12 pull ups w red band, 2nd&3rd 18 ring rows

1st round 15 Strict Press at #45, 2nd & 3rd 15 Snatch high pulls at #65

16 V-Ups

rest 2:00

 

When I finished 3 rounds it was time to go to work!  

I got a really pretty view on my walk to the office.

Wednesday: Out Sick

 

Thank God I scored that loot on Monday.  I woke up with a sore throat and decided to take a sick day.  After 10 hours of sleep I still felt totally tanked.  I don't know what I had, but I could barely walk around the apartment to get food, tea, water, and use the bathroom.  Spent the day pretty much on the couch watching Gilmore Girls and reading Dorothy Sayers.

 

Note to the ill...I have found it helps to have a ton of tea, make sure to get my vitamins and veggies, and to avoid as much sugar as possible.  Sugar messes with the immune system.

 

Jared made me dinner which was really sweet, and then we went to bed early.

 

Thursday: Partner Mobility and Yoga

 

After 11 hours of sleep, I felt a lot better than I did on Wednesday, but not 100%.  I had the day as a vacation day but cancelled all my plans for fear of spreading my germs around.  I had the energy to do some chores but still focused on resting and fighting off the end of whatever it was.

 

When Jared got home from work, we did some partner mobility.  Nothing like a good tricep and calf smash session to bring people closer together, right?  I also did some mobility by myself...almost an hour total.

 

Later in the evening, I felt like I had some energy but not enough to throw weights around or get my heart rate up.  I hadn't done yoga at home in ages, and since the place was looking clean and pretty, I felt super zen and decided to unwind with a few sequences from my favorite yoga book.
 

 

 

 

 So relaxing.  Seriously, I wanna do this every week!

 

Friday: Racquetball and Lifting

 
By Friday I was finally back to normal.  After work I met my dad at the gym for racquetball...AND BEAT HIM BY 5 POINTS!!!  This is a milestone for me as I've pretty much only beaten him one other time.  He said it was "the smartest game" I'd ever played.
 
Afterwards I went on to my Wendler lifting.  I thought about CrossFit, but the programming was a Hero WOD and I just didn't feel like I had enough energy to do it justice.  I was on week 4 for Wendlers, which is the deload phase, and I actually took it even lighter than my normal deload.  No reason to overdo it after being sick!
 

Satruday: Mercer Island CrossFit - KELLY

 

Got to work out with some of my favorite Mercer Island athletes. 

 

 

 

We were excited about the strength and skill, but a little mutinous about the WOD since usually Saturday is a Girl WOD and the programming listed a regular old run of the mill workout. Coach Jared took pity on us and let us choose between Nancy (5 rounds for time of 400m run and 15 overhead squats at #95/65), Isabel (30 snatches at #135/95) and Kelly (5 rounds for time of 400m run, 30 box jumps, and 30 wall balls at #20/14). I voted for Isabel (which I would have scaled). I don't like running or wall balls and box jumps kinda scare me...and of course I got out voted and we did Kelly!

 

 

 

The wall balls took me forever, but I wanted to get at least 3 rounds before the time cap and I ended up getting through the fourth round and 20 of the box jumps!   It made me realize how much I need to work on my wall balls, though...particularly my attitude.

 

Finished up Saturday with a great Leadership and Coaching seminar over at Stoneway CrossFit.  I'm not even a coach and I found it SUPER helpful!

 

CrossFitters and their coffee with butter...they crack me up. 

 



Presents of Mind

I made an important decision...well, maybe not to you.  But to me.

I recently altered my workout schedule from 5 days per week to 4 days per week.  This is giving me more time at home to get chores done and relax and consequently helping me be less stressed and anxious, which I think we all can agree is a major win?

New plan:
Monday - lift (currently on dumbbell rows and overhead dumbbell presses), core work, mobility
Tuesday - REST (this can include walking to or from the bus, shoulder stability, yoga, and mobility)
Wednesday - CrossFit, core, mobility
Thursday - REST (see Tuesday)
Friday - CrossFit, core, racquetball, mobility
Saturday - CrossFit, mobility
Sunday - More Happy REST!

Yesterday was a Thursday and I was crazy sore from my attempt at Diane (and also my successful handstand pushup).  Thank God it was a planned rest day.

I was at the office for over 10 hours and was ready to be done for the day.  I ate a crap ton of food for dinner (1 spinach salad with dried cherries and olive oil, 2 eggs with 1 piece of prosciutto and half a piece of Swiss cheese on an English muffin, 2 MORE eggs with another English muffin).  I say your body is a pretty good judge of what you need.  After the first round of McMuffin, I had some water and waited a little while and read Self magazine.  When I still definitely felt hungry, I went back for seconds.  I didn't feel at all stuffed or like I overate.  Clearly I needed those calories!

Wednesday I'd made myself a small list of To-Dos for Thursday evening.  I tend towards two extremes: either make a huge list and leave no time for relaxing, or make no list and waste an evening being totally unproductive and later kick myself for it because I get stressed the next day.  I limited the list to 5 things:

Take out trash/recycling
Unload dishwasher
Reload dishwasher
Fold laundry
Yoga/mobility

I got everything done except folding laundry.  I realized we were set on clothes at least until Saturday and if we needed anything...we could dig it out of the baskets of clean clothes.

I took a bath instead of folding laundry. 

Massage bar (works in place of post-bath lotion) from my dear friend Meghan.  Apparently this one is for people with "tired muscles and busy brains."  Yes, that would be me.  It smells like lavendar.  Mmmm.  Poirot murder mystery from the library.  Not precisely a Christmas present but definitely crucial for relaxing.

Bath bomb from my sweet sister-in-law, Lauren.  You want a bath bomb, too? (Of course you do.) Here's the one I had: LUSH party popper! It makes fun fizzy and popping noises and looks pretty and smells incredible:

After bath bombing, reading, and lavendaring myself to bliss, I threw on the comfy sweats Jared bought me at H&M.  They make me feel like a little kid cause I think they look like Jasmine pants...they swell out before bunching in at the ankles.

And then I busted out 15 minutes of moblity and another 10 of yoga.  Great way to celebrate a rest day!


You tell me: How many rest days do you program per week?  Do you notice emotional burnout before you see physical burnout?  What's your favorite way to unwind?

Advent Mobility: Day 6

Have you noticed a trend in moving up? Yesterday we focused on our back and lats - today we're gonna work on our shoulders and chest.

My chest gets really tight from working on a computer all day and sometimes I get actual shooting pain in my pectorals if I go too long with out stretching them out. Yikes! And my shoulders (especially my traps) get tight from carrying my heavy gym bag loaded with clothes and protein everywhere I go.

K-Starr is going to help us out with shoulder work.

And here is a great yoga pose to open up your chest!  Here's another good stretch - I do this often.

Keep up the great work! Have you gotten your massage yet? I can't wait to hear about it!

Earn those points by posting your score (what you did and for how many minutes) in the comments below. 

Remember, you don't have to do shoulders today just because I did - work whatever you feel needs a little loosening up! 

Extra points if you post on TheMeghaMix's Facebook page, or tweet about the challenge with the hashtag #AdventMobility. 

Upping My Game

How often should I CrossFit?

That's the question I'd been asking myself lately.  I made a commitment at the beginning of July to go three times each week, and by the end of the third week, I'd lost 1% body fat.  I was pumped!  Then I started thinking about what new goals I wanted to set this year...and what I would need to do in order to achieve them.

This spring, I participated in the CrossFit Open for the first time. I honestly surprised myself with how I did...but at the same time was a little sad that I hadn't been CrossFitting long enough to RX many of the workouts.


Me doing WOD 12.1: 7 minutes of burpees!

When I started CrossFit in November of last year, my goal was really to continue getting in better shape, and to be able to finally nail my first "real" unassisted, dead-hang pullup (which I finally did on 6/12/12).  But now I feel like I want something a little more challenging. 
I decided I want to actually make a good showing representing our box at the next Open in 2013.  Which means I would need to be able to RX...everything.

I know enough to realize that my current regimen of coming three times a week and refusing to try Paleo will not get me to a competitive level in seven months.  I will need to make some changes.

I went to (where else?) The Google and searched the great wise web for an answer to my question.  The first result was a total winner: How Often Should I CrossFit, from the CrossFit Impulse site.

Here was the main point that really stuck out to me: "Train 4 or 5 days per week. Generally, don’t train more than 3 days consecutively or less than 2 days consecutively. Above all, listen to your body, but be aware that you must work through soreness and fatigue. However, never work through pain, especially acute pain." (Emphasis mine.)

Currently I have one day on, followed by one or two days off.  My new plan? One of the following:

Option 1:
Monday - CF
Tuesday - CF
Wednedsay - Rest (possibly active rest with mobility work and/or yoga)
Thursday - CF
Friday - CF
Saturday - CF
Sunday - Rest (see Wednesday)

Option 2:
Monday - CF
Tuesday - CF
Wednedsay - CF
Thursday - Rest (possibly active rest with mobility work and/or yoga)
Friday - CF
Saturday - CF
Sunday - Rest (see Thursday)

And...I am taking the Paleo plunge.  This, as you may remember, did not go so well for me when I tried it the first time in January.  But I now eat substantially more vegetables and less grains in general, so making swaps is a lot easier and less of a shock to my system.  Plus, it's amazing how non-freaked out I can be if I don't psych myself up about how horrible something will be (go figure).

Paleo-ish snacks: carrots and hummus,
Raw Revolution bar,
banana w/peanut butter & chopped almonds

I did a trial run on Sunday (if you're hard core, I ate hummus which I know does not officially count).  I had no dairy and no grains...and I lived.  And I didn't even cry in any grocery stores.  So this week I am Paleo-ish, with a cheat meal of tacos (I LOVE tortilla chips) on Tuesday night. 

Here's my workouts so far this week:

Monday: Tabata Something Else with my new CrossFit buddy

My mom liked her first week of CrossFit (even after a 45 minute Saturday team WOD!) and was back on Monday night to start her second week!

I STINK at wall balls.  This may be in part due to the fact that I hate them and I kinda (sorry, Coach!) have been skipping WODs that involve wall balls.  I was glad to see them as the skill and put some work into them!

The kettlebell swings are usually a strong point for me.  We were supposed to pick a weight for this skill that was heavier than what we'd generally use in a WOD.  I usually have the #35, so I took a deep breath and went for the #44, which I'd never swung before.

I got 20 unbroken reps both rounds!  The wall balls were another story...I started with the #16 and eventually had to move down to the #10.  I don't know if I even linked 10 reps with the #10.  Boy do I need work on those!

Our WOD was all body-weight.  It sounds so easy until you get going...I started out with the red band for pullups and had to switch to blue later.

Our Monday scores:

Our quads were still sore from Saturday, so my mom and I spent some time stretching post-WOD.  Here's a great one...the couch stretch!

Tuesday: Meet Three of "The Girls"

For strength, we worked front squats. 

I got through the last three reps at #95, which I think is a PR?  Love using WODHub now - wish I'd started earlier!

Then, on to the WOD, which included three CrossFit benchmark workouts rolled into one:

For Fran, I scaled to #45 with the red band.  I was able to link the first 20 pullups!  I scaled Grace to #65 and was gonna do Isabel that way, too...but ended up having to scale to #55.

Wednesday: Active Rest

I read a magazine on the elliptical (haven't done that in AGES) and did some mobility work and yoga. 

Extra cool?  I was IN the magazine.

I'm reading away at breakfast, and I thought, "aw, this girl sounds like me. WAIT THIS GIRL IS ME." And then I squealed and had to explain myself to Jared.

Follow me on Twitter @meghamixer since clearly I'm famous now.

Tonight: WOD time at Mercer Island CrossFit

Have a great Thursday everyone!

REVIEW: Hot Yoga, Inc.

Welcome back to The MeghaMix! 


If you want to know what I've been up to for the last three months (besides that full time job thing)...think CrossFit Endurance training for the Portland Half Marathon, feeding a husband studying for his MCAT, and full bore volunteer work for my junior high/high school musical theatre class:

I may or may not have choreographed a burpee into the closing number in the show:

The hubby and I got to put in a "guest appearance" as Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey for the hit song from Dirty Dancing - I totally wanted to steal this dress from Sarah at Coming Unstitched.

And to top it all off...my students signed and awarded me a prop from the show...so I now have Justin Bieber hanging on my cubicle wall. 

It's been an incredibly busy but good spring...and I'm excited to settle down to a relaxing summer and get back to blogging.

To kick things off, here's a post I've been dying to write for a long time - my review of Hot Yoga, Inc.!!!

 
As you know, I'm a huge proponent of diversified workouts.  Doing the same thing day in and day out ups your odds of getting injured...and frankly, it gets a little boring.  In consequence, I try out new workouts fairly regularly, some that are fun to try once (fencing, barre3) and some that resonate with me and become part of my weekly regimen (racquetball, Mercer Island CrossFit). 


Hot Yoga is a big thing these days (news flash, right?) and so it had been on my list for a long time. 

I'd been doing Tara Stiles' Slim Calm Sexy Yoga at home since my therapist recommended yoga as a way to battle stress and anxiety last year.  I really enjoyed finally doing something good for me that I was naturally good at (like corpse pose).  Like many people, however, I find it hard to workout at home when the dishes and laundry are calling my name, so my little yoga routine had dwindled from almost nightly to if-I-had-time-after-a-run-which-was-basically-never.

I'm not really one for New Year's Resolutions, but this year I had two: 1) get at least 3 servings of veggies each weekday, and 2) get on with it and try Hot Yoga.


Hot Yoga, Inc. has seven locations across Seattle and the Seattle Eastside.  They offer a KILLER deal where local residents can try hot yoga: 10 classes for $10.  No, that's not $10 per class.  That's $1 per class. (I do math for a living.  Can't you tell?)


This was obviously too good a deal for my cheapskate self to pass up...plus I live and work near both the Bellevue and Kirkland studios, so I knew it wouldn't be too tough to get my 10 classes into 30 days (they expire - you can't string them out for months).


Because I like to organize my crazy thoughts whenever possible...as always, here's my point by point breakdown review!!!

• Environment - 5 out of 5.   I can't speak for the other five studios, but Bellevue and Kirkland are excellent.  Bellevue seems newer - it's larger and fancier, with real showers in the locker room (well, in the ladies - I assume in the men's as well, but don't know from first hand experience).  This is a HUGE perk since I am genetically predisposed to sweat like a pig and my hair is often dripping by the time I'm done.  Kirkland is tiny but they make great use of their space and it has a cozy, not cramped, feel.

Bellevue interior



• Instructors - 4 out of 5.  Like anywhere, it depends a little on who you get.  Most of the teachers are good, a very few not so good, and some truly excellent.  My only real complaint is that they don't post who will be teaching what class...so if you have a favorite teacher, you may need to hunt them down and find out for yourself what classes they're scheduled to teach.
• Affordability - 3 out of 5.  I so enjoyed my $1 classes (okay, the first four I couldn't tell if I liked or hated it - by class #5 I was hooked) that I signed up for their newbie 6-month unlimited (the best long-term deal.  It's $399 for 6 months.  This may sound steep, but I checked about a dozen studios in the area, hot yoga and non-hot yoga (technical terms, I know) and couldn't find a better price anywhere. 

• Convenience - 4 out of 5.  They offer a great class schedule, some as early as 6am if you want to get your zen on before heading to the office.  There are evenings, lunch hours, weekends - short of just giving you a key and an instructor manual, they let you practice almost anytime you want!

If you forget clothes, mat, towel, or water, never fear!

• Cardio/endurance - 2 out of 5.  Although you'll be sweating your butt off every time, getting cardio out of yoga depends mainly on what class you tae.  You won't suddenly be able to run 5 miles after a month of Hatha.  The best bet for building some endurance here is the Power class, if you get a good teacher and keep up with the flow.  I'd view this as a side benefit of Hot Yoga and keep getting good cardio elsewhere.
• Muscle building/fat burning - 3 out of 5.  I still haven't made it to a Sculpt class (if I'm gonna be lifting weights, I may as well be at CrossFit), so I'm speaking strictly about Hatha and Power - Hatha will build some strength, particularly in your lower body.  It's excellent for runners and athletes who do a lot of lateral movement - the balancing poses really strengthen your feet and ankles, and most poses are done one side at a time, which will help you even out.  Power helps you build some muscle in both your lower and upper body from body-weight exercises like planks, flowing lunges, core work, and pushups.  I'd look at this as a supplement to a good weight-lifting regimen.

Don't wear long sleeves or pants! 
You will sweat like crazy.






Bring flip flops -
nothing worse than putting socks on slick feet.

• Flexibility - 5 out of 5.  Improved flexibility is the number one reason to try Hot Yoga.  Most runners, CrossFitters, and athletes of all shapes and sizes are guilty of prioritizing workouts, diet, and ignoring flexibility.  The Yin class is absolutely the best for focusing solely on your future bendy self, but all of the classes involve relaxing and lengthening.  You will be more agile and less injury-prone if you march yourself into a Hot Yoga studio a few times a week.

For your first class, be sure and bring a mat,
 a large (beach) towel, and a water. 
Otherwise they won't let you in. 
A hand towel is awesome, too. 



• Body awareness - 5 out of 5.  In my MeghaMix laymen terms, the whole point of yoga is not stretching, but rather connecting your movements with your breath.  This means that a yoga win would not be a class where you struggled valiantly to achieve a shoulder stand...while holding your breath due to concentration on the pose.  A yoga win might instead be a class where you were too tired from the week to complete all the poses...but stayed focused on your breath even when you were resting in corpse or child pose. So if you approach the class with the right attitude (a good instructor will help a ton), you will be gaining some incredible body awareness.  Rather than trying to force yourself into things, you'll learn patience and humility can really go a long way.
• Fun factor - 4 out of 5. Some days, particularly if I'm dehydrated, I find it really tough to make it through a class...but in almost 6 months I've only had one class that I regretted (the room was too dang hot and at least 7 other people scooted out early with me).  Every other time I come out feeling more relaxed, limber, and at peace than I was when I arrived.  (And a lot more sweaty.  See below.)





Me after my first class!


• Community - 2 out of 5.  Classes are designed to be chatter-free.  Other than the instructor's voice and the pranayama breathing of the other students, you're supposed to feel pretty much like it's just you and your mat.  For me, this is awesome, since usually after a long day at the office, I'd like to be in my own little world and not have to worry about making small talk.  The nature of hot yoga does lend itself to a less tight-knit community, since no one talks during class, and after class everyone's too busy panting or racing home for a shower to carry on much conversation.  Most people are friendly and polite, however, and probably if you're more of an extrovert and have some time to spare before and after classes, you'd feel plugged right in.

Final verdict As I mentioned earlier, I was so impressed that I signed up for a membership and have been yogaing (that's a verb, right?) regularly for 6 months now.  I'm more flexible, saner, and stronger as a result.  I've seen results in my CrossFit, racquetball, and running, and learning to focus on my breath has helped me so much in fighting my anxiety and stress.

I highly encourage you to give Hot Yoga a try.  Come armed with mat, towel, and a big bottle of water, and promise yourself to stick it out through at least half a dozen classes.  And then come back here and let me know what you think!

Do you Hot Yoga?  What's your experience?  Love it?  Hate it?  Tell me!!!