Wake Up, Be Awesome

I make no claim to have coined this expression--I first heard this from a good friend over glasses of wine one evening. He said he had heard it on the radio and that guy probably heard it from someone else. "Wake up and be awesome" is going around, and unlike most things that "go around" I like it.

Even so, I have not been feeling awesome lately, and this is reflected by my dearth of blogging and my over-indulgence in things like Facebook and Angry Birds and other less than optimal expenditures of my time. It's the springtime funk, and it happens every year. It might have something to do with pollen, or spring cleaning, or daylight saving time. I can never figure it out, so I won't try. I am attempting, however, to stop fighting this funk and just kind of roll with it.

So while I was in my little springtime funk, Whole Life Challenge ended. I am glad that I participated. I did not win, nor was I really attempting to. (I finished 13th out of 28.) What I wanted from WLC is to see how our lifestyle measured up against the dietary and lifestyle standards that WLC set, as well as push us a little and do even better. We have come so far in our eating, opting for a whole and real food diet that would best be described as primal or nearly paleo. I still include beans and occasionally rice in our diet, so technically we are not always "paleo." Even so, we have made huge strides. During WLC I banished all sugar, most wine (I "cheated" some), and all grains. I did not miss them. I exercised hard three days per week and sometimes more. I paid more attention to my sleep and water consumption. I learned how to kip. I lost pounds and about 6 inches combined waist and hips, and improved my baseline WOD by a full 20 reps! I feel good. I feel no need to go back to pre-WLC eating habits and patterns, though I cannot lie--I am glad to have the challenge behind me.

One significant thing that happened during the challenge was a change in my overall strength and endurance. I found that I was starting to walk away from WODs not feeling sore or terribly winded. I was also increasing my weight significantly in my lifting. I realized that it must be time to go to the next level and push myself even harder, so I have been. Fewer rests, heavier weights, more reps are the name of the game, and I am hating loving CrossFit again. It is time to beat the funk and wake up and be awesome.

With this in mind I was really stoked when I saw that today was a strength day. The WOD was:

1 RM push press (100#, PR)
3 RM back squat (145#, PR)

I wanted very much to break the 100 lb. mark on my overhead lifts, and I did. I wanted very much to lift heavy on the back squats, and I did. Can't wait for the next lifting day. I love seeing the "PR" beside the weight.

Today I woke up and beed awesome at lifting. Now to wake up and be awesome with blogging. I'll get back in the groove, here...