DT and why Benchmarks are important

So today I tried out DT (5 rounds of 12 Deadlifts, 9 Hang Power Cleans and 6 Push Jerks at 50kg) again – 🏋🏼‍♀️ this workout is my biggest love in CrossFit. I first tried it out in the late summer of 2015 and at the time I could most definitely not Rx it (do it as prescribed)… So I chose to try a “heavier” weight for me at the time which was 32.5kg and boy oh boy did I struggle it must have taken me the best part of half an hour to complete and from that day forward this became my benchmark workout….

What do I mean by ‘my benchmark workout’? Those of you who do CrossFit have surely heard the term Benchmark workouts – this includes all the Girls workouts and the Hero workouts… in fact DT is a hero workout – but I call it ‘my’ benchmark as it is the workout I use the most to track my progress as it is a weight that is challenging for me (it took me a year and a bit to work up to being able to Rx and the first time I did I was back up to that 30 minute mark) and a workout that I enjoy doing…

I finally made it below ten minutes and shaved off 3 minutes of my previous time and the sense of happiness, pride and motivation this gives me is fantastic… and that is what inspired me to write this post… I wouldn’t be able to really enjoy this achievement if I didn’t have this benchmark workout that I test myself with approximately every three months, and if I didn’t track my times every time I did it….

So my advice is, apart from always tracking what you have done, to choose 1 or 2 benchmark WODs which include a variety of movements but that you enjoy and aren’t super super long workouts (or at least shouldn’t be super long ones 😂😂😂) and plan a quarterly appointment with them and then you can really see your achievements as you go along – this year since January 2017 when my time for DT was 26:54 I have improved to 7:14 today and the exhilaration and motivation this gives me is really worth all the time I put in to tracking my workouts so if you haven’t started yet – DO IT! 🙂😘

Amy

Macros, my Fitness pal & Smoothie life 🍍🍓🍒🍊

So I finally joined the NutriBullet club – my Christmas present 🙂🙂🙂 – I figured it would be a fantastic addition to help me with my healthy lifestyle 🏋🏼‍♀️🍓🍍 I’ve been using it to help me reach my macros goal… I have a very loose macros goal of 1500 cals split into 35% Fat, 35% Carbs and 30% Protein (more on how I got this figure in a later post) which I keep track of using the most awesome app on the planet – MyFitnessPal 😍😍… This app is fantabuluous it knows most foods including Benna milk 🥛😲 and can recognize barcodes 💪🏻👊🏻 so makes it super easy to keep track of everything… I find this especially great as it also stops me from feeling guilty* if I’ve had something that might not be necessarily healthy as I can just log it and work around it for the rest of the day 🙃🙃🙃 So of the smoothies I’ve enjoyed most – when I need some more carbs and vitamins/veg and fruit in my day I do this one:

It’s just a mixture of a handful of spinach, frozen mango, papaya and pineapple and one orange – add some water and blend and you get a beautifully colored green smoothie 😋😋😋

If I am missing on my proteins I’ll pop in some milk 🥛🥛 (200ml), one scoop of protein powder (I like ON vanilla flavours myself) and a handful of berries 🍓🍓🍓, and if I need more fat I’ll add in some peanut butter 😋😋😋 and if I need some carbs I pop in a tbsp or two of oats 😋😋

*this guilty feeling is another one I want to post about at some stage – food SHOULD NOT control our LIFE – a little chocolate won’t make you fat in five seconds and it’s shitty that we think it might 😤😤

Let me know what you think of the smoothies and more coming soon 

💪🏻✌🏻🙂

A New Beginning

So I have been a bit MIA for quite a while now 😰- primarily because I had no laptop on which to type and unfortunately life got on top of me with very little time left for the things I love to do… I have finally invested in a laptop 💻 and found some more time and hoping to get back on track!

This post is more about what I plan to do from next week – I am going to experiment with the so much talked about intermittent fasting.. This has come recommended by a couple of our gym members 💪🏻💪🏻…  And on their suggestion I began to look into it – I have read a number of articles which suggest that this is slightly more experimental for women than it is for men but I shall test it out 🤔… So firstly – what is intermittent fasting? – it sounds a little bit mad to start with but basically you fast for periods of time – there are a number of options of how to do this; I shall be going with what I think is the simplest – 15-16 hours of fasting per day – so I will start to eat at 12:30pm and stop at 8:30pm… I have already started to introduce this pattern into my daily routing in order to get used to it but I haven’t been paying too much attention to my calorie intake/macros 😳 – it is Christmas time after all!🎄🎄

Over the next week I shall be posting a few recipes and ideas 👩🏼‍💻 I have for all this to work since my life is very much on the go and I do not have access to a kitchen during the hours I am planning to eat I need to be super duper prepared. Especially since I plan to not only to eat only for 8 hours but I am planning to eat only healthy foods during these hours – which are much less easily accessible.

Basically this is just an intro post as to what is coming next for me

In the meantime wishing you all a fabulous Christmas 🎄 with all your loved ones and a fantastic New Year 🎊 ahead!

Amy 💪🏻🏋🏼‍♀️👊🏻

That First Competition 🏋🏼‍♀️🏋🏼‍♀️

Boy oh boy was that a weekend!!

So we just had the only yearly local CrossFit competition – The Rock Throwdown – and it was an absolute blast! It was one tough and long weekend but I would do it again in a heartbeat!! I must say a heartfelt thank you to first and foremost my amazing team partner, also all the CrossFit Martell members and Vitaly for their support as well as CrossFit 356 for organizing this amazing event‼️

So why I’m writing this post – this was my first ever competition and I wanted to share my experience – so I was super nervous to register and thought I would never be good enough and stressed a million times about how on earth we were going to manage – but you know what?! That was the exact feeling that pushed both my partner and I to our limits and to really train our hardest till D day 💪🏻💪🏻

Then when D day arrived there were the expected butterflies, the Tummy aches, the jelly legs, the lack of appetite, etc. but once the first event began that was all gone and all that was left was excitement to make the most of this weekend and really have a good time ❣️💪🏻 we had some ups and downs – some disappointments and some great achievements – which is of course to be expected with the amount of output that is expected of you in these competitions… so all in all it was a super awesome experience and I could not be prouder of our performance and if any of you are considering if you should or shouldn’t do any kind of competition my advice is just go for it – I promise you will never regret it‼️☺️ 

If you want to give them a try Our workouts for the weekend were:

DAY 1

Event 1

3 rounds

21 synchro Single arm Dumbbell Snatches (15kg) and 42 Toes to Bar 

Timecap 8 mins

Event 2

70cals Assault Bike shares

50 Box jumps, 50 Overhead squats (30kg), 35 Box jumps, 35 Overhead squats, 20 Box jumps, 20 Overhead squats all shared

Max cals Assault Bike 

Timecap 14

Event 3

8mins to find your maximum for the following complex:

1 power clean, 1 hang power clean, 2 power clean, 2 hang power clean

Event 4

1 athlete follows the other 

1 min handstand

50 cals row

40 chest to bar pull ups

30 shoulder to overhead (40kg)

20 pistol squats

10 deadlifts (85kg)

Timecap 18 mins

DAY 2

Event 5 

4km run with hills

Event 6

4 rounds

5 rope climbs, 50 wall balls (6kg), 30 Dumbbell cleans (15kg)

Timecap 16mins

Event 7

30cals row each, 30 synchro burpees over bar, 30 snatches (40kg) and 3 ring muscle ups each

Timecap 12 mins 

If you wanna check out the event have a look at The Rock Throwdown

Until next year – till we are stronger, better and faster 💪🏻🏋🏼‍♀️☺️

 

🥞 Healthy Oat Pancakes 🥞

Hey everyone!

So… as I have told you guys I have a super duper sweet tooth and so I keep trying to find ways to trick that sweet tooth with healthier variations of classic sweets 🍪🍩🍰🍭… one of my favourite things is pancakes and when I get a pancake 🥞 craving I whip up one of two recipes either banana pancakes or these oat pancakes… (these are my favourite for their consistency)

Ingredients

1 cup oats

1 egg 🥚

1/2 cup milk 🥛

3 drops vanilla essence

1.5 tbsp agave nectar 🍯

pinch of baking powder

coconut oil 

greek yoghurt (2% fat)

blueberries/strawberries/fruit 🍓🍒

agave nectar 🍯

Instructions

•  First place all the dry ingredients (oats and baking powder) into a blender and blend till a flour like consistency is achieved.
• Then add all the wet ingredients (egg, vanilla essence, agave nectar and milk) and blend until you get a pancake batter.
• Put a frying pan on medium heat and add one teaspoon of coconut oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot add one ladel of the pancake mix and allow to cook for about 5 minutes (until the pancake no longer seems liquid-y) and then turn it over for another couple of minutes until both sides are brown.
• This mixture makes about three large pancakes.
• I usually then garnish with greek yoghurt, berries and agave nectar – but you can have your pick of garnishes 😁

Thanks for reading and if you give them a try don’t forget to comment below! 

Enjoy‼️

 Amy

☺️🏋🏼‍♀️✌🏻

 

My Favourite Granola

Hey guys!

So I always loved granola and I was extremely disappointed when I found out that the majority of commercially bought granolas are full of nasty ingredients – as the base is a pretty healthy one – oats, nuts and seeds – so I decided to start making my own – I generally use the same basic recipe and then just add something different depending what I have in the house! The following is the recipe I generally use:

1 cup wholemeal oats

1 tbsp coconut oil/any other oil hat hasn’t got a strong flavor – I have also found peanut oil works pretty well

1 tbsp cacao powder

2 tbsp almonds

2 tbsp mixed seeds (I get a mix which contains sunflower and pumpkin seeds with a few pine nuts)

1 tbsp raw honey (or agave nectar if you prefer this but I find honey gives that nice sticky texture)

Instructions

1.  Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl (this is where you can add some dried fruits or different nuts of your choice – sometimes I like to add pecans or dates)
2. Once all the dry ingredients are mixed in well together add the honey and coconut oil (melted) and mix everything to an even consistency once again.
3. then place the mixture on a tray lined with baking paper and place in a preheated oven at 180°C for approximately 10 minutes until the mixture is a bit toasted but not burnt.
4. Finally remove from the oven and leave to cool – once the mixture has cooled I usually place them in mason jars or containers, refrigerate and then use as required!

I love to add this to my greek yoghurt in the morning or just use it as a sweet snack when I am craving something sweet – Hope you like the recipe and let me know if you try it out and any nice additions you may come up with!

Amy

☺️🏋🏼‍♀️✌🏻

Which shoes? 👠👡👢👞👟

Hey guys!

So this post is inspired by a discussion/experiment we had in the gym a while back ☺️… as you all probably know there are a multitude of shoe options for workouts including lifting shoes, Crossfit shoes, Crossfit speed shoes, running shoes, barefoot shoes, etc. etc. and very often I get asked – but which shoes should I wear? And which are best?… and, as with most things, the answer to this isn’t straightforward 😐…
Let’s start with the difference between the shoes – so weight lifting shoes tend to have a rigid heeled sole so it’s as if you are on a slight wedge which is super hard; running shoes tend to have soft cushioned soles which are relatively thick (depends on brand and model) in order to reduce impact on striking the ground; now Crossfit shoes are in between they are flatter with less cushioning but not as hard as the weight lifting shoes – the speed versions tend to be lighter and a bit softer than the non speed variety; and finally barefoot shoes are meant to emulate the barefoot feel so they have little to no cushioning and are not rigid at all…. Now onto the real question – which ones are right for you? first you need to choose which athlete of the below you are:

I am an outdoor runner  🏃🏼‍♀️🏃– if this is you – especially if you do a lot of road running – you should definitely invest in a pair of good and well cushioned running shoes – the cushioning is of utmost importance to protect your knees and body from the impact of the floor… when it comes to choosing between which running shoes – I strongly suggest you have your feet checked out for pronation – this along with running style and usual distance should all be taken into consideration to determine the right type of running shoe for you (there are a multitude of articles which compare the brands and latest models out there – though very commonly mentioned are Saucony, Asics and Nike)

I do CrossFit/Functional training and focus more on long endurance style workouts or lower weights – if this is you I strongly recommend the speed TR version of the Reebok CrossFit shoes (I believe Nike do something very similar for indoor training) – these have a pretty flat and sturdy sole but are also lightweight and pretty flexible for a little bit of running or those burpees and box jumps.

I do CrossFit/Functional training and like to lift pretty heavy 🏋🏼‍♀️🏋🏼-  in this case you need the classic CrossFit shoes – so the nanos or the metcons – these have nice and sturdy flat soles as the speed version does but they are a little heavier – this extra weight comes with a lot of extra stability which is super helpful when you come to lift those heavier weights.

I do a lot of Weight Lifting … HEAVY! –  in this case I would strongly recommend you try out some lifting shoes – they can add some kilos onto your lifts pretty quickly – but beware of becoming reliant on these shoes – they are nice, sturdy and rock solid so they really help you keep your balance – but this doesn’t mean you should use them every time you lift heavy.

I do a mix of everything – so in this case I suggest the speed TRs as they are nice all rounders and light and easy – though if you often take long runs I do believe you should have a specific shoe for those runs as your knees will thank you later.

What about barefoot? Those of you that know me know that I love training barefoot – and with good reason – all that stability offered by flatter shoes – there is no better stability than having your bare feet in contact with the ground! So I like to mix it up especially with lifting – sometimes lifting shoes, sometimes nanos, sometimes barefoot, etc… It is also great for my confidence – that I can lift a weight no matter what the shoes I am wearing❣️

So I in fact have a pair of all types of shoe I mentioned (see pic  ✌🏻😍🙈) but I collected them over time and now select according to what workout I plan to do 💪🏻☺️ – FYI my first pair were the speed TRs (these are the purple and orange ones in the pic) 👊🏻

I hope you found some useful info in this post and should you want to ask something just comment below and I can try to answer 🤷🏼‍♀️

✌🏻😊🏋🏼‍♀️

🍒 Cherry & Oat Muffins 🍒

Hey guys and girls 👋🏻

So I reallly like my sweets (in case you haven’t realized 😂😂) so I’m constantly looking for new and healthier ways to make something that will satisfy my sweet tooth – and this is one of my favourites 🙈😊 these cherry and oat muffins are easy to take with you for breakfast or have as a healthier dessert option – I often make them on sundays as part of my meal prep – also you can most definitely play around with the different fruits instead of cherries if you have any other preferences or cherries aren’t in season ☺️

The ingredients are:

1 cup oats (I use wholemeal Quaker Oats)

3 tbsp Greek yoghurt (I use the 2% fat but any will do ☺️)

2 scoops Protein powder of your choice (I used ON vanilla and chocolate)*

1/2 cup of chopped cherries 🍒

200ml soya milk (or any other milk ☺️) 

1 tsp baking powder 

Coconut oil/butter/your choice of fat to line muffin tins

A sprinkle of cinnamon 

Dates for garnish

Method:

1. Place the Greek yoghurt, oats, milk, protein & baking powder in a bowl and mix together (hand mixing is sufficient as you want to keep the chunkiness of the oats to add to the texture) 
2. Then stir in the cherries 🍒 and the cinnamon 
3. Line the muffin tins with coconut oil (or your preferred fat) and preheat the oven to 200•C
4. Distribute the mixture between muffin tins (you should get about 7-10 muffins depending on the size of your muffin tins) 
5. Then top the muffins with a chopped date (or any other garnish you prefer) and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes
6. When golden brown remove the muffins and leave to cool – and then eat away 😍

I hope you like the recipe and let me know what you think if you give it a try ❣️☺️

*I know some people are not so keen on protein powders (I use them to help me get in enough protein) but you can easily replace this with about ten dates soaked in hot water which you blend and add to the mixture and about 3 tbsp of raw cacao added in there too ☺️☺️👊🏻👊🏻

✌🏻🏋🏼‍♀️😃

Why Bar Complex?

Hey everyone 👋🏻 
So those of you who know me know I ❤️ bar complexes – but I also ❤️ burpees – so I might be a bit crazy 😜.. but my love for bar complexes comes from what an amazing effect they have on your performance in general – in workouts and in lifting! 

Sooo – maybe I should start off this post with the definition of a bar complex – a bar complex is a group of interconnected movements (generally weight lifting movements – hence the ‘bar’) which are generally done in close succession with the same weight… A bar complex is very often given with a stipulation of either time or that you cannot let go of the bar during the complex 🏋🏼‍♀️… I tend to find that you either love these complexes or simply hate them – but either way – the important question is why is this useful as part of our training?

Especially in CrossFit WODs where we have to cycle through movements and lifts quickly (think DT – 5 rounds of 12 Deadlifts, 9 Hang power cleans and 6 Jerks) or do multiple reps in succession (think DT or even Grace etc.) these complexes are fantastic for preparing your body and your mind (and your muscles) for these kind of workouts.. Why? -they help to train your grip strength, to learn how to catch short periods of rest with the barbell off of the floor and also train your mental strength to push through those last few reps…. I like to experiment with movements that naturally flow into one another and I generally program them into an EMOM so as to push you to learn how much rest you really require… I also find that these complexes are a great way to practice heavier than usual lifts and a bit more fun than your avearage 5 sets of 5 back squats for example… These are also a fantastic way to track your progress as the more bar complexes you do the stronger you will become and the heavier you can load your bar for the same complexes… So – I think a natural end to this post is to give you three complexes I really love to do and which I think are super for tracking progress:

1 – The Bear 🐻 Complex – this one is a classic that I surely will not take the credit for – this is basically 5 rounds of 7 sets of 1 clean, 1 front squat, 1 push press, 1 back squat, 1 push press – the only rule being that you have to do the 7 sets in succession without releasing the bar (i.e. touch and go) – then you may rest between rounds as required.

2 – EMOM 12′ – 1 Squat Snatch + 2 Hang Snatch + 3 Overhead Squats – I loved doing this one as I really got the chance to practice my snatch (which is very shakey on a good day) but the more I do it the better it gets and this was a really fun way to practice it.

3 – 5 Rounds of 3 sets of 2 Squat Cleans, 2 Front Squats and 2 Push Jerks unbroken – This was another super fun one which is an absolute leg killer.. This is on similar lines to the bear complex in that the three sets must be unbroken but following that you may rest between rounds as needed.

So these are my top three bar complexes at the moment but I try to create a new one every week so I might have more updates at a later date!

Hope you enjoyed this post and found something useful and if you try out any of these complexes and have any comments just drop me a line below!

Amy

✌🏻🏋🏼‍♀️😊

 

 

 

 

What weight should I use?

Hey Everyone 👋🏻

If you have landed here it is probably because you ask yourself/your coach this question very often and just can’t seem to figure out how to answer it.. As a CrossFit Coach, I felt the need to write this post about what weight to choose during a workout (generally any kind of CrossFit or crosstraining or functional training workout will require you to perform some kind of weight bearing exercise).. I am asked this by more than one person in every class I coach – and I get it 👍🏻 – you don’t want to over exaggerate but at the same time you don’t want to finish the workout and regret not having taken more weight 🏋🏼- I completely understand and I have completely been in both those scenarios and have been equally frustrated by both of them 😨… So – the big question- how can you choose your own weights correctly? – this isn’t a foolproof method and you are definitely going to have days where this goes wrong but my 5 top tips are:

1 – Determine your mood – this is especially for those of you who, like me, though training is the most fun part of your life, it is not the only part of your life.. you need to check in with your mood – are you tired today? Have you ate well and drank enough water? How did you sleep yesterday? Did you have a stressful day at work? Basically if you are angry/stressed/happy you can handle more weight; if you are feeling sluggish or lethargic – listen to your body and don’t push too much today – you can leave it for next time! ✌🏻🙃

2 – Go with your instinct! No one knows you better than you do – yes sometimes you need that extra kick up the butt (cue good coach) but – in general you have a very good idea of what you can handle so you will instinctively be thinking of a number and as a rule of thumb you should stay within +/- 5kg of that.

3 – Invest in a good gym and a coach you trust (you don’t need a personal trainer for this – but you need a coach that you can trust and will take the time with you to help you determine the best weight for you) – if you do not trust your coach for whatever reason this is a problem which you should address – Is it because you lack confidence in yourself? – if this is the case you need to try push your boundaries; see if your coach is right! Or is it because your coach never takes notice of you (cue – time to look for a better coach)? Maybe there is a lack of communication? What is the reason for this? No need to overanalyse – but THIS is a key thing and – from a coach perspective – can be very hard to develop as it is very subjective but is crucial to progress 💪🏻💪🏻

4 – Always look at volume of reps and intensities and the particular movement in question – so if you do something like CrossFit there is always a so called ‘Rx’ or ‘as prescribed’ weight – this is a super indicator of what weight would work for you – before you kill me – No I am not suggesting you go with that weight but from that weight you can determine if this was meant to be easily cyclable or if you should be struggling with every rep.. What do I mean? so for example let’s take Power Cleans in the workout ‘Grace’ – generally for a mid-volume, intense workout such as this one is – the as prescribed weight is 43kg – which for the pros is pretty easy to move around so find the weight that for you would be as easy to move around – this is your ‘comfortable weight’; from then on if the prescribed weight on cleans is 30kg you know that this is a workout where the reps are high or the intensity is high as now you need to be able to cycle the bar faster and quicker – therefore you are going to take a lower weight than usual – but if it is 50kg then reps are low or intensity is low and you can handle a bit more than usual… As you get stronger this ‘comfortable’ weight will get higher and higher and closer and closer to that as prescribed weight but this can be a good starting point… so Recap look at number of reps, time caps & expected intesities or unbroken reps (your coach should be able to answer these questions pretty easily) and this should help you make that decision a bit more easily.

*EDIT* 

4A – My gracious WOD partner reminded me that another awesome thing to do that a lot of us do is to keep a LogBook type thing to log what weights you used on which date for what workout – this is a great way to track your progress 💪🏻💪🏻

******

5 – Finally, DO NOT OVERTHINK! – as a coach I see this on a regular basis where a member will stare at the weights and try to imagine and plan and hope for some divine inspiration in the meantime… Realistically this is one workout which is a maximum of one hour long – in the grand scheme of things it is only a small piece of the puzzle – warm up and practice the movement with increasing weights – when the weight feels right- GO WITH IT!! If you feel it was too easy (usually the case) you know this for next time – If it is too heavy you can always drop down the weight!

So these are my tips – but something I really wish to point out is – if your technique is not quite down yet you SHOULD NOT be lifting heavier weights even if you are strong enough to do so! First get the technique in he bag with that lower weight – once you have that technique you will surely be able to fly with the heavier weights – but lifting heavy with bad form is not only VERY DANGEROUS but it is also very hard to fix in the future… I hope this helps and if you have any questions or any additionaly advice feel free to comment below!

✌🏻🏋🏼🙃