Challenges

I returned to the gym this spring once more. I had to really consider the monthly price for it. Would I be able to afford it, can I budget for it?

In a way I cannot afford not to go. 

Yes, I hike and do all the work around the farm and that should be enough right? 

At this time in my life I do not take any medications or have any major health issues or joint issues [other than arthritic pain]. That makes me feel pretty blessed. I do have severe osteoporosis. 

I tried all the medications for that and found that I wasn't able to tolerate any of them. I choose to challenge my bones and my cardio daily as well as my balance and strength. 

But I can't do it alone. Working out in a group twice a week really helps. 

We do strength training and all the other stuff that keeps one's body moving. 

When I first started CrossFit, I did not have enough hand strength to do simple things like open a jar lid. 

My shoulders ached all the time as well as my low back. I could barely lug a standard hay bale up into a wheelbarrow.

I had great cardio, I could hike and run like the breeze. But I sucked at anything that needed strength. 

Now? I can jump up on a bar in the gym and hang with my body weight for a full minute or longer depending on the day. My grip strength is incredible. 

I still have issues with my shoulders from surgeries years ago, but I have gained mobility and yep, strength.

Before I went to the gym, I had to have help in mowing, feeding the animals, opening a tight jar, and you name it...except for hiking, I was a wuss.

It is never too late to find a good place to do mild workouts. That's what we do in our Legends Class. It is designed for all of us aged individuals who have age related issues. 

One of our Legend Ladies couldn't get down on the floor and back up when she started. Yesterday, after a year of coming to classes, she got down on the gym floor and back up 12 times in a couple of minutes [I think, I was counting my Burpees]. She can now do jumping jacks. For a year she did a modified version of jumping jacks and just the other day completed 10 in a row!

Those who can't run or walk far do a rowing machine or a stationary bike. They move, we all move and cheer each other on.

 
This is a support group for exercise at whatever level a person is at. We have bad knees, bum shoulders, heart issues, arthritis, poor mobility, aches, pains, shoulder replacements, knee replacements, heart issues, cancer survivors, and the list goes on and on. 

But we workout together twice a week and support each other with laughter and hugs if needed.

We ... are ... Legends.

We are not top tier athletes, but we are moving. We share our aches and pains. We talk about our grandkids. We sometimes have coffee together. We are a community together. We celebrate small wins and big wins.

When I think of the monthly price for the support and benefits I get at the gym [NOT that expensive], I feel it is probably some of the best money I've ever spent. I've avoided PT for my hands, shoulders, and back. 3 to 5 months at the gym costs less than most PT visits.

I am, we are,

so lucky to have a program like this in our community.

Oh I still have aches and pains, but nothing as bad as it was before I started with the gym. Is it the gym that is helping me? Is it the exercise program that the coach puts us through?

Is it the support from others?

I can't answer all of those questions.

But I do know that in 11 days I'm going to complete my next big challenge [unless it is storming].

I will hike 15 miles to celebrate being alive.

Some of my friends from the gym are coming along either the full hike or part of it.  
When I turned 65 I challenged myself to an 8.5 mile hike. Can that truly be?

I did!

I recall that hike. I took it with Charlie and carried him for half of the distance because it was too warm for him and his little legs.

But completing the hike was a huge goal. And I loved it. I also learned not to take poor little Charlie on warm days. It is too hard on him.

Photo below from that hike. I set my little camera up with a timer....

7 decades here on earth.

A lifetime of challenges overcome.

What's one more?

Thank you CrossFit Viroqua. 

It is never too late.

What next?

Our health department just posted a new Public Service Announcement notifying county residents that the small local hospital has twice now had to divert patients. The ER has been full along with all the beds. I think it was interesting that our tiny local paper didn't pick up that story. I don't want to be an alarmist, but there it is in plain language.

We had a 2 hour drive to the Mad-City VA yesterday and even though I usually hate the drive, it was a nice break from hanging around the farm and staring at the same walls each day.

We even had a picnic in the car on the way back home after we ordered food from Culvers. The good news is that ENT has released him from any more follow ups for his throat cancer. The doctor said he was marked as a survivor.

The ENT doctor also insisted that he get to see his Primary Doctor since she hasn't seen him for nearly two years. Last year, her check up was by phone and even though he was doing better last year, his health has declined since then and he needs a reassessment. 

Other changes are occurring too. I'm going in a different direction than working out at the gym or doing Virtual Workouts at home. I tried that routine and was fairly successful at it but when the outdoor temps dropped way below zero, I lost interest in trying to work out in the shed.

This morning I did a 20 minute Beginners Yoga session with a YouTube video instructor. I am a real skeptic and always thought Yoga was not a real workout or thing. 
After the 20 minutes, my back, hips, and shoulders felt great as well as my mental attitude and how was that even possible?

I followed that up with a morning walk to the ridge and back just to see how it felt and I think I had more clarity and focus to start my day.

Yoga? Pilates? My son said try Pilates if you want pain! 

My next goals? More of the same. Strength, balance, endurance, and a new addition. Mindfulness and inner calm.

If this mornings events are any indication ... it will be a win win for me through the fall and winter.

It is very refreshing to go away and take a break,

to clear your head,

and just get into something else.

~Francois Nars

CrossFit shake up

So this is just a jumble of things.

CrossFit:

I've had positive things happen with my CrossFit experience.

One of the misconceptions about CrossFit, is that you have to be an Olympic Athlete to do it.
Or that you will end up be a muscle bound freak. Or you have to dedicate your whole life to it.
None of that is true. In the 'Box' we are tall, thin, chunky, older, and younger folks. Just normal people who are working out together and liking it.
We sweat together, cheer each other on, and applaud each other's achievements. No one is better than another.

There are a lot of arguments that say CrossFit is TOO expensive!

CrossFit will probably cost more than the YMCA or any other fitness gym. But there isn't 'a trained and certified coach' at these places to assist you in figuring out the best way to for you to work out.

The coaches have helped me figure out how to deal with my shoulders which have always been an issue. My wrists are wracked by Osteoarthritis along with my thumb joints.

In 2008 I had surgery on the tendons in my right elbow.

When I started working out, I really had my doubts. How could I ever do a real  push up? How could I ever do a handstand without screaming out in agony?
No way I'd ever jump up on the 'rig' and do any sort of movement that required use of my arms! Nope Nope Nope!

Lift weights or Kettle Bells? No way!

The coaches modified my workouts and movements so that I could do them and still get all of the benefits out of the workout.

That said. I have worked out with people that are in their late 60's, 70's, and a fellow who is in his 80's. I work out with those who have had replacement surgeries, who are recovering from major illnesses and even brain injuries.

I went to CrossFit at the urging of my oldest son. I started and decided to stick with it for a year at least. My goal was at least 3 times a week and more if I could swing it.
I did the math. If I went 5 days a week it was really affordable. Even at 3 days a week it was affordable.

Encouragement from those I work out with keep me going.

After a year passed, I purchased CrossFit shoes and my own jump rope.

Then some firsts started to happen. I did a handstand. I didn't stay in it, but I did it. Then I did it twice and three times.
I did one double under with the jump rope. I did it again.

Then Friday the unthinkable happened. The CrossFit members got a group email that said our Coach was no longer employed at the VMH Wellness Center and there would be no more CrossFit classes.

I was stunned, then angry, and then felt terribly lost. How could this happen? I started to consider my dismal options of the other two gyms in town neither which I wanted to go to. Coach Josh and the two part time coaches made our group what they were. Some of these folks had been with Josh since he started a fitness program over 10 yrs ago. I wanted to grab the phone and cancel my membership. But I didn't.

Something was up and if I waited, things might sort themselves out. Rumours said that the Coach would set up shop somewhere else in the future and like most of the CF folks I would gladly follow him. Except, what if he set up shop 30 miles away?

In the past year and a half, I've gained so much in personal and physical strength through being in a group of like minded people that love to suffer through workouts together and who always support each other. One member said we were like a cult. Maybe that is a strong word, but when members of the gym call each other up to show up at another member's house to help him move in to his new place? I call that something different. Support from another member is only a text or phone call away.

That is what this gym/box was all about.

CF asks a person to be dedicated. A good coach is not just a coach but a Life Coach. One who cares about every person he/she works with. That is why the email was so shocking.

Over the weekend people started sorting things out. Some members have partial home gyms and are inviting other members to work out with them. I'm meeting with the early morning crew and we are going to work out together without a coach. We may not do some of the weights, but we are working on keeping up our strength while we figure out how to follow our coach to a rumored new place.

If we remain without a coach or any coaches I will downgrade my membership so I can still visit our CF section with other members and work out together until we find out what is going on.

In the mean time The Coach has given those who don't want to go to the Wellness Center workouts that can be done without being inside a gym or box.
That is incredible. Workouts we can do at home!

Until I received that email on Friday I don't truly believe I understood exactly how much working out/socializing/sweating/laughing/helping/enjoying the work out with other people meant to me.

To be continued...
~~~~
I did have a great workout this morning. Not quite the same with the Coach walking around and nudging you and saying quietly to you: "You got this Val, you are doing great!"
But we did laugh, we did sweat, and we did workout.

What does the future bring?
Not sure yet.

So why do you CrossFit?

So the title is not really proper. I know that CrossFit is not a verb, but it has changed so much for me.

Let me be frank. Last year on my 62nd birthday I started to feel a bit fluffy around the middle. Others might not have noticed it, but I did.

The idea of 'going to the gym' was already in my head but ... that was for later, when I had time.

Sure. When does one get that time?? I certainly was too busy for that time. I struggled through replacing some fencing that had to be re-done after the Bulldozer guy came through and knocked down two dead ash trees.

I only had 5 posts to pound back into the ground, but I struggled after each one and had to rest. After two posts were driven into the ground I had to quit for another day. It took me 3 days to pound 5 posts into the ground. I was surely a super wimp.

The post pounder that my husband made doesn't have handles. It is a heavy metal tube with an end on it. He made two of them. Last summer I used the lighter one because it was almost too difficult to lift the pounder over the T-post.

Last week I pulled 10 t-posts out of the ground and reset them.
Bam
Bam
Bam

I literally pounded my way across the top of the creek. 10 posts in no time flat and I wasn't out of breath nor was I fatigued.
I couldn't have done that a year ago.


My hand strength....

My osteoarthritis in my thumb joints and fingers had rendered my hands weak and tender. Some mornings it was hard just to make coffee.

I had some concern with this when I started doing CrossFit.

I told the coaches about my hand issues and they found some modifications for me to do.


I've done modified push ups, pull ups, I've lifted weighted bars and sometimes my hands ache after a work out. However not too long ago, I accomplished a hand stand against the wall. I hadn't been able to do anything like that in years!

I went from not being able to turn a door knob easily to...

Being able to repair a barbed wire fence by cutting it and making loops with MY hands.
Something else I couldn't do a year ago.
As I bent the wire and twisted it ...with nice thick gloves ... I thought about how many times I'd grabbed something and grimaced. I know I am hesitant about my hands but the our coach looks at me, smiles and says *Lubricate those joints!*

I have to say I was pretty damned pleased with myself.

Am I happy?
You bet I am.
Oh these hands still ache like crazy some days. But I'm no quitter.

For *CrossFit-ing* has made a huge difference in this 'ol' lady's life.

I'm thinking about getting that post hole digger out and finally putting up ta new tie rail for the mules next to the outhouse.

I thank all my coaches and workout friends for all of their encouragement.
And my son for his encouragement.

Jumping Rocks and other fine things

Good morning!

That is how the other members of the 6am CrossFit class greet me. The 5am class is finishing up and they all say Good Morning and actually mean it!

My husband doesn't quite get the allure of CrossFit. He calls it "Workout".

I started doing this in mid October. So what changes have I noticed?

I have something to look forward to each day and can have good social interaction and the workout relieves stress.

One of the measurable changes I've noticed is my blood pressure has changed dramatically.
I take it in the morning and the afternoon...not because I am ordered to, but because Rich is supposed to monitor his.
Earlier this summer my blood pressure readings were a bit on the high side. 
130ish/80ish.

On days I don't work out it hovers at 115ish to 120 over the 70's.
After working out? 106/68.

Hmmm. It makes one think about blood pressure and exercise. It is easy to take a pill and hope for the best...but...
I'm thinking this workout deal is much much better.
[Ok, off my soap box now!]

What else?
I used to struggle with peeling hay off a round bale and tossing it over the electric fence. I opted to shove it under the fence instead.
Over the weekend, I discovered I can easily toss fork-loads of hay with no effort.

Balance.
I used to be so surefooted. But the past year I found myself ...well, maybe not as surefooted as I used to be?
CrossFit works well with balance exercises. Most of the warm ups and many workouts promote balance.
While walking in the creek yesterday I came to a spot that I had to climb down a steep rocky bank to get to a place that I wanted to photograph.

Once I got down, I had a choice, get my feet soaked 1/2 mile from home, or jump to where I wanted to be. I used a skill learned from Box Jumping to launch to a rock clump in the middle of the creek.

And I stood there with the water flowing around me, grinning like an idiot. My balance was better!

See? Better!
Yes!
My creek jump...the banks are about 4 feet high...

And this is all worth it. Even after hiking to the end of the valley and back, I still felt energetic.

Anyway, the reason I jumped was for this shot:

And further towards home, I straddled some logs and got some very cool Ice Fingers...

I am happy that Gun Season for Deer is over. I can wander about again.

Tonight I am going to the LaCrosse Camera Club meeting and we are going to review 'night' shooting and tour the Rotary Lights by the river.

Color me happy.