Weighting and Gaining

I read an interesting blog post on Robb Wolf's website today. Amy, a guest blogger, discusses the fallacy of playing the "weighting game" with yourself. The article rang true for me as someone who always has another 10 pounds to lose.  When you spend you entire life being overweight, it is so easy to get sucked into the weighting game. There were times when I would weigh myself daily to see if my new fad diet or exercise program was working. You know what? I never won the game.  I was always a couple pounds short of happiness.

This year, I decided to play the "gaining game" with my life.  What if I measured success by what I gained as opposed to what I lost? When I ran the numbers, I actually gained more than I could ever lose.  I gained close to 150# on my deadlift. I gained bar muscle ups. I gained handstand push ups. I gained a community of people that care more about me finishing the workout than how long it took me to finish.  I gained the confidence necessary to coach other athletes.  I also like to think that my wife gained a happier husband, my employer gained a healthier employee and my friends gained a better friend and reliable partner for the zombie apocalypse.  I mean everyone knows that strong people are harder to kill and more useful in general.

You know what though, I also lost some things too.  I lost unhealthy eating habits, negative friends, a couple pounds of body fat and the scale.

In this season of broken resolutions and excuses, I encourage you to make the choice to "gain" this year. I promise you will win the game.

You can read the full Robb Wolf article here. 

Prague

Or: How I learned to love the squat.

CrossFit Praha
We had an incredible 4 days in Prague. It is such a vibrant city with a bustle all it's own. We arrived late Monday evening and after a couple missteps at the train station, made it to our hotel. Still recovering from jet lag and Berlin, we managed to sleep in until noon on Tuesday. Nice way to start the Prague party for sure. We figured out the Metro and attempted to locate CrossFit Praha. Turns out the European gyms we have gone to thus far do not really hang a big sign out front. The entrance to XFP was merely a tag on a doorbell, down an alley in a strange part of town. We rang the bell and were buzzed in for our first Prague experience.

CrossFit Praha is located in the basement of a classic Czech building with exposed bricks and arched supports running the length. It has that classic damp smell associated with basements and I like to think I contributed to that with sweat during 3 crushing workouts. The coach was very friendly, if not a bit shy. He showed us around the gym, told us to warm up and come find him when we were ready to go. Classes are very open with people grabbing their own stopwatch off the wall and getting started on their own. Coaches shout encouragement and press stop, but for the most part you grind it out on your own. Music is kept low, so it is you and your thoughts as you push it just a bit harder. Playing the mental game added a new dimension to it for sure and I will revisit that aspect in a future post.

The first work out was the worst. Still battling jet lag and incoherent eating cycles, Sonja and I struggled through the first WOD, "Jackie love Helen." 2200m row, 66 pull ups, 33 KB swings and 50 thrusters. It was bizarre to see 2 benchmark WODs on the board, but what the hell. I was finished, hungry and feeling like I earned my newly purchased CrossFit Praha shirt. The following day we came back, traded some shirts for socks, and got ready to battle another double WOD. Zdenek told us that because of the holidays he wanted to do twofers the entire week. Lucky us I guess. Sonja decided to skip the WOD in favor of Olympic lifting so I was on a solo mission to crush "Karen dates Kelly." 300 wall balls, 2000m row and 150 box jumps. I went for a ten round strategy to break it up a bit and not stay on a movement so long I lost time due to fatigue. I was cruising along for 8 rounds until I fell hard on a box jump. Sharp pain erupted in my legs as my feet missed their purchase, driving both shins into the rough edges of the box and my hands glanced off the other side leaving me folded on top of the box. The shins swelled immediately as blood mixed with sawdust, my forearm looked shredded and my palm was having a little trouble closing. Adrenaline kicked in at that point and I pushed through to finish the WOD. Zdenek was worried about me and by the end of the WOD, the blood had travelled the length of my shin and into my shoe. Good thing I despise socks.

Day 3 found found me back for the final WOD of "Michael Does Annie". 150 double unders, 300 sit ups, 2400m row and 150 back extensions for time. Sonja threw down alongside me and we both finished with great times. It was an epic way to end the day and really capped an incredible time in Prague. As for the touristy part of our trip Prague delivered. Sonja and I geeked out over castles and cemeteries, ate ham and sauerkraut at the Christmas markets, wandered through monasteries, quested for the ultimate crepe. Turns out my wife is a bit of a connoisseur, and scored a custom one with chocolate and strawberries one that was at least 16" long.

A beautiful city for sure and a great midpoint on our European adventure. Off to Munich next for the final leg of the journey home. Be well. Be powerful.

Playlists

Playlists

We left Berlin today and it was a fond farewell. We had finally Become familiar with everything in the city and probably logged over a 40k in walking tours. It was a fantastic city to kick off our trip and provided us with many highlights and firsts. I traveled close to 75,000 miles last year but it was a rare trip when I was able to do it with my wife. This is our first international trip together and I couldn't ask for a better partner. Our playlist was definitely jazz inspired, as we constantly improvised on the fly, often times with chaos and discord, but we always found our way back to the heart of the song. Becoming lost a few times often led to gems of the city so maybe Tolkien was on to something.

Yesterday was our historical day and we travelled to the Jewish museum, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie and the Memorial for Homosexuals killed under the Nazis. As a former history dork, to see the places that history happened was beyond belief. It was also terribly sobering to see what evil the world is capable of inflicting upon itself. To walk the claustrophobic pathways of the Holocaust memorial, ponder the powerful simplicity of the homosexual sculpture or reflect on the empty spaces at the Jewish Museum, reminded me that we must never again turn a blind eye to injustice no matter the religion, race or sexual orientation. As I often translate my tattoo: "We are all God's children." Playlist: Adele & Death Cab

After an emotional day, we rode the S-Bahn for one last time and boarded a train for Prague. Berlin truly is a city that does not sleep, so it was calming to my usually introverted soul to watch pastoral countryside roll serenely past our window. Fields of green, small farms and buildings that have seen more history than PBS specials, dappled by the sunlight that waged war with the grey clouds and won the day. Perfect playlist: Naked and Famous (Passive Me, Agressive You is my new favorite album).

Now I sit in a Prague hotel lobby, enjoying wifi, ultra grotesque american techno remixes and second hand smoke. Oh well, it's castles and CrossFit tomorrow. If that doesn't get me through, savory memories of roasted pig knuckle with sauerkraut will carry me off to my happy place. Playlist: Gaga, Britney and all things 80's. (not my choice, but when in Prague...)

-Brian

Day 2: Guest Blogger (AMLAP)

I am so very honored to be the very first guest blogger on 'Brian as Rx'. ;)

Berlin day 2:
Today's adventure WOD was........ walk. AMLAP (as many locations as possible) in 1 day.

We started out with breakfast at the legendary Einstein's cafe. Round 1 consisted of a cafe au lait (Sonja), a cafe latte (Brian) and 2 Herbed omelets with mushrooms, sheep cheese and fresh arugula, all nestled on a slice of fresh baked olive bread.

Round 2 began with our first experience on the U-Bahn headed toward Schloss Charlotten (Charlottenburg Palace). Once there, we spent too many Euros on the self guided audio tour of the Old Palace. Best room in the house: the Porcelain room. You can save yourself a trip and see it via Google. Most of the palace was destroyed in WWII - so it is largely reconstructed - which was a bit disenchanting. Schloss down, we ticked off the first touristy thing of our trip.

For round 3 we stopped off at another coffee shop near the palace just as the freezing rain began and planned out the remaining locations. We hopped back on the subway toward the famous shopping center nick-named KaDeWa. It's a huge 7-story department store; like Bloomingdales on steroids. Brian dorked out over the insane amount of chocolate truffle varieties and what girl wouldn't love window shopping boots. A fun experience but a little spendy for ballers on a budget.

Next stop was Rogacki, an incredible market full of meat, seafood and cheese. The best part was they also had communal food courts where the delightful, multitasking staff served up fresh food. Both of us committed our very first social faux pas. Over a bowl of fish soup - Brian got a spoon literally shoved into his hand by a staff member who was miffed that he dipped his bread in the soup broth. I got called out for taking picture of fish without asking for their permission first. Of all the times to not speak Fishy.... Oh well.

We lost count of our AMLAP reps after the 3rd kaffee but the highlights are- hunting for sub-$50 Euro hats, (thanks H&M), a visit to Stilwerk (a modern design wet dream), more coffee, a beautiful photo gallery, a book store, a Nutella crepe from a local Christmas market and our very first Currywurst.

It was a great team effort. See you soon with details from our next adventure.

For time.
Sonja

Weakness

Or: Don't Hassle the Hoff

"So tell me what your biggest weakness is in CrossFit?" asked our CrossFit Werk coach, Florian Hasslehoff. Interesting way to start the evening. I was hoping he would ask me what my FGB score was or my Fran time. I mean those are important, kind of impressive and are my strengths. Nope, Flo wanted to know my weaknesses so he could train me in my worst place. Even better, Sonja and I were the only ones that showed up at the hidden door, in an old rail yard, in south Berlin for the 6pm class. We would be working on a skill for an hour and then joining the 7 pm class for the regular WOD. No hiding from the 'Hoff tonight.

"Rings" I mumbled, knowing I would probably be sporting gigantic blisters on my wrists tomorrow and bruises to my ego from failing over and over. (feel free to Google muscle up progression if you are lost) But we did not work wrist blistering turn overs or tricep killing dips. Instead Flo had us work the fundamentals like shoulder extensions, planks, hollow rock holds and push ups. Bonus points for having us do all of it on the rings no less. Did I bust out my first muscle up? Nope. Will I? Someday. Today was about more than the end result. It was about Flo setting the foundations of confidence and building the skills in me that I would need do a muscle up one day.

I loved it tonight and it was a valuable lesson for me as a future CrossFit coach. Teach people fundamental skills and to believe in themselves through small victories, and they will become powerful beyond measure.

As we were finishing, the UN of CrossFitters walked the the door. Spain, Ireland, Australia, America and Germany were in the house. We all threw down with medicine balls and Toes To Bar for a pretty killer workout Afterwards a new friend gave a us a ride back to our hotel. He didn't really know us, but it worked out fine. I guess sweat and camaraderie transcends all languages.

polar bears

Guy- "Hey girl how much does a polar bear weigh?"
Girl- "No clue"...

Well if I was said polar bear 16 months ago, the answer would have been 254.  That was the heaviest I ever was and the unhealthiest I ever felt.  So I decided to make a change.  I tweeted two of my virtual friends to see if they could help, but Jillian and Bob shot down my dream of Biggest Loser glory. Turns out ratings are worth their weight in gold and 254 wasn't heavy enough.  Next option: MMA Fighter.

I walked into Zingano Brazilian Jiu-Jistsu to see if I could take a class.  The idea of me wrestling and fighting others was just crazy enough to possibly work. I dreamed of getting in a cage just once before I was too old.  I started training 4 nights a week and soon I was down to 230.  Eventually I plateaued and needed something else to keep me on the shred sled. Option #2: CrossFit.

CrossFit. The Elite. The Hardcore. The Cult. The Fire Breathers. The Achilles Rupturing, Shoulder Destroying, Puking Workout... You know, I found CrossFit to be a group of people pushing their bodies in ways they never dreamed possible while cheering on their fellow WODers to be just a little better than yesterday. I am still looking for the Greg Glassman Shrine to genuflect at prior to chalking up and I would have drank the Kool-Aid if it didn't spike my GI something fierce. Call it a cult if you must. Sadly the only mass suicide you will get to experience is death by burpees. Even then everyone comes alive afterwards, no comet required. It works for me.

16 months later, I have yet to puke, no longer take anti-depressants, added 250 pounds to my deadlift, earned my blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, collected some sweet bruises, took second at the MBS Turkey Challenge, first at a Fight To Win Jiu Jitsu Tournament and I have made weight twice at sub 195 pounds.

Welcome to my journey.  Thanks for stopping by. This is Brian As Rx.

PS: The answer to the polar bear question is, "Just heavy enough to break the ice!"