Here are the goodies from December (2016) Barbella Box:

Vull Sport Leggings Exclusive Barbella Leggings

These are like a muted navy color with mesh cutouts in the legs.  They fit really well and are super comfortable.  Unfortunately I’ll only be wearing these at home. I’m not sure how women can wear colored shorts, leggings, and tights while working out.  I sweat down there.  And I sweat a lot so if I wear colored workout pants then it just looks like I peed myself.  Because sweat happens.  I’m not sure if other women don’t sweat as much down there or what but sadly I can’t wear these to workout.  They also hug tight, not in an uncomfortable way, but in a very snug way and they show ever little bump and lump.  I just wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing these to the gym at this point.

Junk Brands Ear Warmer Headband

I love this headband so much!  It’s fun colors and super soft material.  It has the Barbella logo on it and fits my head like a dream. So far it doesn’t slide around or ride up.

Barbella Ornament Car Freshener

I didn’t realize this was a freshener at first and was about to hang it on my Christmas tree when I realized that it had a fragrance to it.  That’s when I checked the item card and realized that it was a car freshener.  It’s adorable, smells delightful, and has #LikeAGirl on one side and Barbella on the other.  It’s hanging in my car and I’m not sure I’m going to take it down even when it runs out of freshener.

Go Cubes Coffee Chews

These I’m passing off to Scott or someone else.  I can’t have caffeine so I can’t have these. Here’s what the website says about them:

“GO CUBES pack half a cup of coffee (50 mg caffeine) into a single cube. But it’s more than just coffee. Through Nootrobox’s R&D, we’ve reduced the jitteriness of caffeine and added nootropics for a well-rounded, steady and focused feel.”

Quest Nutrition Breakfast Bar

In Cinnamon Bun flavor.  I don’t normally eat stuff like this but I was at work one day and had this with me so I gave it a try.  Holy balls it was so gross.  Sorry, but it was like eating chalk infused with a bunch of fake sugar.  I spit it out and tossed the bar.  Ugh, not my thing.  Give me an RXBar anytime over that!

Summary: 

This box was just alright. There wasn’t a ton in this box that was super useful for me.  The headband I can use all winter long but the leggings I can only wear around the house in the spring.  The other stuff aren’t things that I go for.

That said, I’ve been doing Barbella Box since May of last year and overall the amount of boxes that I didn’t really care for were small.  Most of the boxes had awesome products in them that I use all the time.  I’m still going to keep my subscription because I love getting this box each month and getting exposed to new products.  Plus I love that it’s geared specifically towards lifting.  It makes it feel more special and makes me feel like a badass.

I highly recommend it giving Barbella Box a try!

 

 

 

I’m in a situation that most of us find ourselves in at some point, we’re a little more fluffy than we’d like to be and we want to do something about it.

Right now I’m not a runner anymore.  I’d love to be a runner again but my stupid hip won’t stay on point and I’m not sure what I have to do to keep it strong and balanced.  It seems that doing leg exercises everyday is my only option at this point which seems silly. By that I mean, I was given exercises in physical therapy to do which helped but once I stopped doing them my hip went right back to being weak.  Doing them everyday for the rest of my life seems a bit much.

But I do CrossFit and I lift weights on the regular.  I thought for sure that I would lose some pounds and inches doing CrossFit and after a year of it, I have not.  That is beyond frustrating. Like what am I doing wrong? Maybe I’m not pushing myself hard enough? Or maybe it’s something in my eats?  I’m choosing to focus on eats right now.

I follow a bunch of weight lifters on Instagram and they fall into two camps; Those that act like since they lift they can eat junk and still look amazing (Side note, I unfollowed most of those, it was just too much).  Or those where they talk about counting macros and weighting their food and timing every bite they take, and all I keep thinking is, Dear God is that what it comes down to?

Because seriously? I don’t have time for that shit.

Oh I tried it counting things.  I watched calories and tried to count macros using My Fitness Pal and I could not do it.  I could never get my macros and calories to match up.  My macros were always under and not even close to what was prescribed to me. If I got my macros close to the numbers given to me then I was over calories for the day.   I gave it the good college try and did this for three months.  Not once did I ever get close to my numbers.  I also did not lose any weight during this time. (PS: I know that people usually either count one or the other but I was tasked with both.) I was freaking miserable counting stuff all the time.

When I was a runner, I lost weight no problem and did it by eating real foods without weighting or counting anything.

But now? I’m stuck.  To me portioning out meals for the day and eating chicken and broccoli every. single. day. Seems a bit much and not something I’m willing to do just to get the lean strong look I want.

I mean, can’t I eat whole real foods, limit or kick junk to the curb, and have a few drinks and still lean out?  Is that possible? Because all the lifters make it seem impossible unless you count and be sure to get your pre and post workout shakes/drinks/chemicals in!

And I’m not down with that.  There has to be a middle ground, right?  Something?

Happy 2017! I’m kicking of the new year with a review of November 2016 Barbella Box.  This box was customized by Lauren Brooks.

EXO Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle:

Gold water bottle with a screw top and open mouth. I’ve linked to a similar one on their website. The one that came in the box was made especially for Barbella and is double in size.  Personally I don’t like water bottles that have an open mouth top.  However I can see this being useful to bring on hikes or picnics.  It can keep water (or wine, no judging) cold and would be easy to pour into travel cups.

EXO Wrist Wraps:

These are purple! They are such an awesome color and match the new Nano 6s that I got (more on those later).  That said, I do have a love/hate relationship with them.  They are soft and way more flexible than other wraps I’ve used, which I love.  However they are “universal” wraps which is a fancy of way of saying, they are the same.  Meaning, there is no right and left wrap.  If you’ve used wrist wraps before, then you know they usually come in right and left.  The fact that this does not DRIVES ME BANANAS.  Because it means that you are not wrapping your wrists the same way which can throw things off a bit.

So it’s taking some getting used to. I love them and I’ll use them but Imma be cranky about it.

Barbell Beanie:

I love this hat so much! It has fun colors, it’s soft, and the adorable barbell on the front is awesome. I’ve gotten so many compliments on it too.  It’s warm, it doesn’t ride up when working out or running and did I mention it’s soft? So it doesn’t cause my forehead to itch when I wear it for extended periods of time.

doTERRA Bath Bar and Deep Blue Rub:

I’ve been wanting to try out doTERRA for a while now and I’m stoked to see these products! I have not used the soap yet but it smells divine and I cannot wait to try out the rub on some sore muscles.

Summary:

Over all this box wasn’t too bad.  It probably has the most items that I’ll actually use and that fit my current needs.  If you’re doing any kind of weight lifting and want to treat yourself, definitely checkout Barbella Box. It’s such a fun box to get each month and you can customize the frequency of shipments as well.  If you don’t want a box each month, no worries! Skip it and go with your own schedule.

 

*Disclaimer: Some links are referral links which doesn’t change the price for you at all but does help with site maintenance. 

 

I don’t have a ton to report for the week but I did workout and I ran so let’s get to it!

Monday:

Rest day because I had to take Miss Penny to the vet.

Tuesday:

I did a mile run/walk with my running buddy before class.  The workout was an AMRAP for 14:

• 10 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls
• 10 Push Press

My weight was at 45lb thanks to my shoulder.  At this point it cannot handle heavier weight for multiple reps.

We also worked on strict presses before the AMRAP and I could only work up to 50lb x 3. I tried for 55 and it wasn’t happening.  My 1RM used to be 60lb and I’m going to have to test that again to see if I can still do it. I’ve been having to go light on weights for shoulder heavy workouts and I feel weak and like I’m losing strength.

Wednesday:

Umph! This was a tough workout!

AMRAP for 20 (Artie)

• 5 Pullups
• 10 Pushups
• 15 Squats
• 5 Pullups
• 10 Thrusters

Ugh. I got in 5 reps + 35 at 40lb for the Thrusters.  Since we did a ton of shoulder stuff on Tuesday, my shoulder did not want to cooperate. 40lb was the heaviest I could go and even that ended up being really heavy after the first round.

I hate dealing with this! It’s frustrating and I also feel like it’s not getting any better since it’s been months. *Grumble*

I also did another mile run/walk before class.

Thursday:

1 mile run straight through before heading to class. It was slow going but I did it and my shins were tired but didn’t cramp up on me.  Rolling them out seems to be helping a ton!

We worked on back squats for a bit today and I worked up to 100lb x 3. I wanted to do heavier but my legs did not. I’m also testing out a new bar position for squats and it makes a huge difference on how the bar feels.

Workout was AMRAP for 7:

• 25 Overhead Squats
• 25 Box Jumps
• 25 Power Snatches

OHS weight was 25lb and Snatch weight was 40lb.  OHS is something that I just cannot go heavy on, again with it being related to shoulders. They aren’t strong and stable enough to do a heavier weight.

Snatches, I wanted to do 45lb but my shoulder was pretty fatigued from being hammered with workouts this week.

I got in 1 full round in 7 minutes.

Friday:

Surprise rest day because I overslept and didn’t wake up till 9:30am. Whoops! I work till 10pm on Thursdays which is way past my bedtime and lately it’s been causing me to oversleep on Fridays.

SUMMARY:

The workouts this week were shoulder heavy and I definitely felt it. My shoulder got very fatigued leaving me feeling weak and frustrated.  It’s probably time to suck it up and see a doctor about my shoulder just to make sure nothing crazy is going on.  I still think it’s a strain and since I’m still using it for working out that might be why it’s not healing as fast.

That said, I’m not going to stop going to CrossFit if that happens to be the recommendation. I’m just going to have to seriously modify workouts so that I’m still exercising while letting my shoulder heal.

I got a pair of Nike Metcons thanks to a sweet Black Friday deal and I have been wearing those lately for my workouts. I have to say that I don’t think I like them as much as the Reebok Nanos.  They are a little heftier feeling and feel more bulky as well.  For a regular AMRAP or workout they are fine but if the workout focuses a lot on lifts, I don’t feel as stable in them as I do in the Nanos.  I’ll probably switch out to my old Nanos for lifts and wear the Metcons for workouts.

I took the week off from training and did absolutely nothing.  Not a damn thing but stuff around the house and I also binged on Criminal Minds.  It was glorious and also difficult.

This wasn’t something planned out but something I decided on last minute.  I realized the past few weeks that I’ve been getting tired more easily and feeling a lot more joint aches after workouts.

Going 5 days a week to workout was not a big deal but lately it’s been a struggle.  My body gets so worn out and exhausted that I end up taking a day off.

It sucks.  This isn’t a place I want to be.  It makes me feel like my body is falling apart.  The worst is that it makes me feel like I’m old.

I hate feeling old.

So this week I decided to just chill and give my body a full on break.  It was difficult because I like working out and I like seeing my FitFam each day.

Yes I said it, FitFam. My gym is my second home. I miss lifting that bar and cursing with each stupid burpee.

But I feel like my body just needed this down time.  I’ll be back next week and hopefully this rest will prove to have been helpful.

Have you ever taken a break from training?

For those that may remember, I got a fitbit Flex a few years ago and at first I loved it.  Then I hated it so very much. For starters, it would go to sleep way too easily without my knowing.  I could be driving down a particularly bumpy road and it would go to sleep.  Making a smoothie? Yup, it would go to sleep.  You get the idea.

Plugging in exercises on the app was a pain in the ass.  You would have to create exercises if you did anything other than run or walk.  Then you had to guesstimate how many calories you burned because the app required that you put in some number.  Instead of being easy it became cumbersome and I hated it.  I tossed it back in it’s box as I cursed it and moved on.

Fast forward a few years, once I was doing CrossFit consistently, I wanted to be able to track my workouts, calories burned, and so on.  Wearing a traditional heart rate monitor during the workout was uncomfortable. I also started running again so wearing a GPS plus wearing a HRM was annoying.  Isn’t there something that does all these things? In frustration, I started looking for other options.

I went back to fitbit site and saw that they know have a whole line of devices.  The Blaze is what caught my attention because the features seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.  Plus it connects to your phone (iPhone AND Android) alerting you to text messages and phone calls.

It took me a long time to decide to make the purchase because I was afraid of spending the money then hating the device.  Scott finally convinced me to take the plunge so I purchased the Blaze with a purple band.

Hands down, I am in total love with this fitness tracker.  It has everything I was looking for and fits my needs perfectly.

It has a HRM and while I’m sure it might not be as accurate as the old school ones, I don’t mind. I can go to the “Today” tab and see all my stats which is so handy and much preferred over having to open the app each time.

It does track sleep and it goes to sleep on it’s own.  I assume it detects sleep by lack of movement and slower heart rate.

It has multiple workout modes to choose from:

• Run
• Bike
• Weights
• Treadmill
• Elliptical
• Workout

YEEESSSSSS! Weights is what I use if I’m doing an hour weight session and workout is what I pick for CrossFit workouts.  Run for running, clearly.

The run option does have connected GPS, meaning it uses your phone for that.  I went in with some apprehension on this because I thought that I would have to have my phone out and have to read that for distance.  Nope, the watch just connects to your phone via bluetooth and then mileage is displayed on the watch screen. The watch will buzz when you hit a mile.  Once you’re done, you can check your stats and see pace, distance, splits, and even elevation.  It’s awesome!

And because you are logging the workouts right on your phone, you don’t have to worry about logging them in the app saving lots of time and frustration.

There is a timer on the watch as well if you want to time yourself doing whatever.

There is also an alarm feature so that you can set alarm reminders or sleep alarms.

Plus it connects to your phone so you’ll get buzzes to let you know if you have a text or phone call.  I believe that if you use the calendar and mail program native to your phone, you’ll also get buzz alerts to let you know about mail and events.  I use Gmail and Gcal so I don’t get those.

I was afraid that it was going to be bulky and while it is a bit large, it is not a problem at all.  Sometimes while getting dressed or putting on a jacket, I have to be sure it doesn’t catch on a sleeve but otherwise it is just like wearing a watch.

Seriously, I cannot say enough good things about the Blaze!  If you’re looking for a fitness tracker or perhaps considering gifting a tracker to someone, definitely consider the Blaze.  And if you have any questions about it, give me a shout and I’ll answer them as best I can.

Disclaimer: This post is not associated with fitbit, they don’t even know I exist. I purchased this product myself.