Health & Wellness by Lexa's Journal

My mission in life is to not merely survive, but to thrive: and do so with passion, compassion, humor, and style. – Maya Angelou

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An eternal optimist, always wearing a smile. Must haves: sunshine, fitness (jogging, weight training, & CrossFit), reading, good food, writing, music, and fun with family and friends.

  • I’m Not Okay

    John Stervens’ Tale’s post really made me stop and think about the question. Interesting post.

    When I ask you, if you’re okay, I really want to know the truth. However, when you ask me, if “I’m okay,” and I’m really not okay; I am inclined to mask my hurt, anger, or sadness with a smile and I keep moving.

    SterVens's avatarSterVens' Tales

    What does it mean when people ask if you’re okay? Yes, I can see the wrinkles on your face disappear. How do I know, I do it all the time! Smiles so the pain won’t be visible. Bite your tongue, so you can stop yourself from revealing the truth. The question I have for those curious ones! Do you really want to know the answers? When you ask others this magical demand that makes you look human? Do you expect the answer to be “my life is a hot mess and I don’t know what to do with my life”! Are you sure you want to be bothered with other people’s problems, since you have your own affairs you barely can handle. I will tell you this, every time someone asks me this question. Fifty percent of the time I’m hanging on a string, but I hold myself together. Would…

    View original post 121 more words

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  • Say WOD?

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    At school today, every time a student or colleague asked, “What’s today’s date?”  I eagerly responded, “11-12-13” and chuckled.  I know– corny! LOL!   Little did I know how much counting I would do later this afternoon.

    Gingerly I stroll into CrossFit. I glance to my left to casually read the WOD, hand written on the white board, and stop dead in my tracks. To clarify what I think I just read, I move closer re-read the board.  Mmm… the numbers didn’t change.  Oh my! How on earth am I going to do all that?

    “Angie” had been waiting for me all day. What the heck!?  Really??  All in one day?  “Angie” is the WOD (workout of the day)

    WOD:   Angie

    100 Pull ups

    100 Push ups

    100 Sit ups

    100 Air Squats

    *You cannot move on to the next exercise until you complete 100 of the first exercise and so on.

    A green band assisted me with the 100 pull ups.  After that, the WOD was all about my will and my desire to finish.  My classmates moved faster than me, but I focused on my counts, my form, and just finishing the WOD.  I was the last woman standing.  Seriously, as I started my sit ups, they (2 women and 3 men) were finished and had moved on to cooling down and stretching.  Steadily I focused on finishing.

    The best way to complete a WOD like this is to break each exercise into sets of 10.  Pause and do 10 more and so on.  It reminds me, of my approach to running long distance. You focus on each step, then each mile and before you know it, you’ve reached your distance goal of 10 miles or whatever your goal is.

    I completed the WOD in 25:39!    Until we meet again Angie!

  • Monday’s WOD

    SWOD: 5 rounds of:

    OTM (on the minute) 1: 3 Snatch (TNG) @ 75% or Med light + 30 Du’s (double under’s) or 15 Box jumps
    OTM (on the minute) 2: Rest
    3 mins for transition
    4 EMOM (every minute on of 5 back squats @ 80%, Last set do AMRAP (as many reps as possible) score reps
    2 mins transition

    WOD:
    21 – 15 – 9
    Deadlifts (225/135) use Snatch grip
    HSPU (handstand push ups)

    Today was my first day back to work since last Monday.   Family and friends don’t think that I have days when I don’t feel like working out, but I do.  Today was one of those days.   Time seemed to pass in super slow motion.  You know, like the instant replay during a Sunday afternoon pro football game.

    Folks don’t realize that days like today, I push myself just to get there.  If you’re committed to a healthy lifestyle or maybe you have a personal goal of some sort, you have no other choice but to push yourself to do what you gotta do.  I set a goal to compete in May.  And although I could not work out with my trainer today, nothing prevented me from squeezing in an hour-long crossFit class.  So as tired as I was, I went to class.  Of course, I felt better afterward, but the long day has finally caught up to me.

    Right now, I’m too sleepy to say what I really want to say.  My eyes are watery and runny like I’m watching some sad love story.  On top of that, I’m slowly bopping my head to the grove of Jaheim’s, Appreciation Day CD, which of course, is putting me in a completely different mode.  Ha! ha!

    Anyway, I’m a little irked with myself.  Why?  Because I heeded to the instructor’s warning a little too much to be careful with the deadlifts.  I only lifted 75 pounds and in the end, I realized I could have lifted a heavier weight.  I blew through the 21-15-9 deadlifts and handstand push ups, off the 20 Inch box, in less than 6 minutes.  Next time I am going to take the time to figure out my max and work my way from there.

    Okay, seriously, after CrossFit, I sat on the sidelines of B’Dazzles’s football practice til 8 p.m.  I’m delirious and have to get some sleep.

    Sweet dreams!

  • All “Barbara’s” Are Not The Same

    WOD:   “BARBARA”

    5 Rounds

    20 Pull ups
    30 Push ups
    40 Sit ups
    50 Air Squats

    My long time and best friend of 38 years name is Barbara.  She is much kinder than this Barbara!  I was so tired at the end of the workout, that I forgot to record my time.  Do the math!

    * 100 pull ups, 150 push ups, 200 sit ups, and 250 squats *

    My estimated time: Around 42 minutes

    Today’s class was large and full of energy; it was challenging, but it felt like a party!  LOL!  Laughter, moans, groans, grunts, and encouragement from all.  You really have to try CrossFit before you judge it and think that you can’t do it.  Trust me, YOU CAN!

    Enjoy your weekend!

  • Passing On the Chicken

    Chicken, chicken, and more chicken!  I couldn’t take it today, so I put my unofficial culinary arts skills to work and created a new dish!

    Ingredients (the only items I measured was the shrimp; everything else is an estimate)

    7 oz. jumbo frozen shrimp (thawed & peeled)
    1 cup of chopped mushrooms
    5 small garlic cloves (chopped)
    2 cups vegetable blend (kale, chard & spinach)
    3 Tablespoons Olive oil
    1-2 Tablespoons crushed red peppers (skip if you don’t like spicy)
    1 Tablespoon granulated garlic
    cooked brown rice

    Toss all ingredients, except the rice, in a wok or saucepan.  Cook on low to medium temperature, while stirring until shrimp is pink.  Remove immediately and serve over freshly cooked fluffy brown rice.

    Enjoy!

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