GOT BELLS???

I started CrossFitting almost 4 years ago (WOW, time sure does fly when you are having fun). At the time I decided to get one-on-one coaching to learn the discipline of swinging kettle bells. I would not trade the money I spent on those sessions for anything. 

It is BY FAR the most exhausting, challenging, and demanding discipline that I have ever done while standing still (save for a few movements). Now don’t get me wrong…I LOVE CROSSFIT (like in an almost borderline unhealthy kind of way) but I DREAM about swinging KB’s. I am not naturally inclined to doing anything fast (i.e. running, jumping, sprinting, short distance running, long distance running…you get the idea) but I am inclined to lift heavier weights. I can take my time, set up my lift, and GO! That is what I love about kettle bells. I use my natural ability to lift heavy while I work on improving my cardiovascular strength by performing the movements at a high intensity. Did you get all that? That is the biggest joke I play on myself with KB’s…that I am merely working on my strength when I swing. Bollox!!! I sweat more and breathe heavier in a KB class than I do in most CrossFit WOD’s. Why is that? Generally we are doing at least 45 minutes (if not a full hour) of straight swinging with very little rest in between each grouping of swings.

Each class always starts with a warm-up to get our muscles stretched out and ready to begin the day’s kettle bell workout. We warm up with a kettle bell, work out with a kettle bell (or sometimes 2), and end with core work using a kettle bell. Usually the workout combines CrossFit type elements or structure. For example, last Saturday the warm-up was 3 rounds of 5 R/L windmills and 15 goblet squats. Then we went right into a modified version of the CrossFit WOD Fran (21-15-9 thrusters and pull-ups) and I swung a 12 kg. bell on 21-15-9 R/L HEAVY KB snatches and ring rows. Can you spell SPENT and DYING after anywhere from the 5-10 minutes it took each athlete to finish? We had about 3 minutes to recover and then we went straight into 4 rounds (20 seconds on: 10 seconds hold in rack or transfer) of R/L push press & front squat COMBO with a 12kg bell. The shit kicker: You NEVER put the bell down. If you put the bell down at ANY time during the 4 rounds it’s 5 burpees on the spot. Now, if that doesn’t motivate you to hold on until you’re finished, I don’t know what will…HAPPY SWINGING! We did some other stuff too, but my brain blocked it out for my own good.

But it really is HAPPY SWINGING!!! I LOVE the challenge of swinging heavier weights for shorter periods of time and challenging myself to keep my form right (legs locked and butt clenched for dear life) while keeping my feet properly spaced and aligned AND keeping my mind sharp by actually paying attention to what I am doing (counting reps or just knowing what comes next).

The thing that gets me the most is there are very few guys in the class. It’s usually all women or at least I can safely say that each class is a majority of women. What gives? What is keeping you from this epiphany of epiphanies??!?!?!?!?!? 

GUYS…YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE MISSING!!!!!

This is NO JOKE, KICK YOUR ASS kind of training. IF you do it RIGHT. I know you think that you just need to lift heavier and run faster and lift even heavier still, but you can be brought to the edge of complete and total muscle failure and total body exhaustion with just ONE 16kg bell in 60 minutes or less. I PROMISE or your money back.

When I finally decide to set up my “home gym” it will be comprised of one thing, a 12 kg kettle bell (because I already own a jump rope). When I decide to upgrade that home gym of mine, I will invest in an 18lb, a 16kg, and a 20 kg bell. I just need one of each. I love training with double bells, but I can get a very effective workout with just ONE bell.

I want to encourage you to get back to swinging your bells!!! If you haven’t taken the workshop, NOW is your chance…We have one on 8/31 at 9am and you can sign up in the gym. Take a quick peek at some more info HERE.

If you have already taken Juan’s kettle bell workshop, then there is no reason why you can’t make it to 1 or 2 KB classes each week. We swing EVERY Tuesday and Thursday at 6am, 9am, and 6pm and EVERY Saturday at 10am. We need to keep the attendance up in ALL of these classes to ensure they stay on the schedule. Remember what happened to weekday Oly Lifting???

Seriously though, this has changed the way I think about exercise and that was after CrossFit started blowing my mind. I'll be there at 6pm sharp tonight.

I DARE YOU TO THE CHALLENGE!!!

#1 Dad

I love this picture because even though we both have our bathing suits on we look naked...which is totally awkward and perfectly Lesinski. I love you Dad!

I wouldn't be the woman I am today without your guidance and influence. You have taught me so much about everything in life. Priceless lessons that I will treasure forever. I couldn't be more proud to call you my father than I am at this very moment. Where do I begin? Sometimes I feel like you could have been the one to have given birth to me, we are so much alike. In some ways not so good, but in the most ways, GREAT. You were and continue to always be there for me, teaching me life lessons as I dust myself off when I fall. You have talked me off of countless proverbial ledges, while drying my tears. You remind me that "Everything is going to be OK." You remind me to take life One Step At A Time. You taught me that failure is inevitable but giving up is unacceptable. You helped me find my voice...N.L. all the way baby!! You and Mom brought Jennifer and I up in a house full of faith that continues to be the firm foundation on which we stand. You taught me how to drive stick. I will never forget you stopping your truck on a hill at Presidential Circle and pulling the ER break, You turned to me and said, "OK Lauren, now it's your turn" and you patiently waited for me to 'get it.' You helped me buy my very first car and gave me a love for REAL country music. I wanted to quit basketball in 7th grade and you wouldn't let me. You said "you made a commitment to this team and you will see it through" and that is exactly what I did. You taught me how to shoot pool. You taught me the game of football and gave me my love for the Buffalo Bills and also taught me that losing gracefully is the only way to take 4 consecutive Super Bowl losses. I am STILL a fan and will be forever, thanks to you. You taught me how to bowl and swing a golf club. I always love when we get together and hit a bucket of balls or play a few games of bowling. You taught me how to ride waves with and without a surfboard. You called us every morning before school to say you loved us, even when you lived in Hawaii. Did you set an alarm for 2:00am every day just to be sure you would make it? You have taken me to the airport COUNTLESS times for most of the trips I have taken, even if it was late and you had to get up early the next day for work. You are the funniest man I know and your comedic timing is downright perfect. We are always laughing together and I love that. Don't even get me started on all the road trips (and Jackson Hole!) that we have taken over the years. We need to do that again, SOON. My life is better because of you. You shaped my outlook on life and much of who am I am today. There is no gift that I could ever give you that compares to the priceless gifts you have given me. On that note, can I borrow $20?

I love you Dad...the BEST DAD IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!

Operation NEXT

What a May it has been. A May like no other, and hopefully a May I will never repeat again. Don't get me wrong though...I am thankful for it, because if I didn't learn something (or 100 things in this case) from this month then it all would have been for naught.

My successes in life teach me little, however, my failures continue to teach me volumes. I have to be honest with myself and everyone else, no matter the cost. This is not the easiest thing to do for someone who is a "people pleaser." Even if it hurts you, even if I don't want to say it, even if you don't want to hear. I MUST BE HONEST ALWAYS. I won't tell you what you want to hear, but I will tell you what I need to say, because that's fair to both of us. What you do with it is on you. Honesty first and always...no matter what.

May was the month of the "breakdown". My body, my mind, my spirit. They all got a complete overhaul this month. I spent 2 nights in the hospital with an incredibly terrible virus and I have no insurance. The running joke is that I can't get sick because I don't have insurance. Ironic, because for the almost 11 years I was at SuperClubs I hardly ever got sick, let alone needed to be hospitalized. I had to humble myself enough to admit that I wasn't going to get better without the help of professionals and continuous intravenous fluids. My mom's taking bets at work to see what my luxury stay will cost me. Thanks Mom...and yes, I am feeling better.

May brought about the realization of just how important a certain person is to me. The kind of realization that comes after a very quick phone call about an accident. An accident that could have taken this person away from me...but it didn't. The realization of just how much I love and care for this person. The thought of losing someone you love so fiercely and deeply that you couldn't even fathom your life without them. 

I also realized some of my limitations. I realized some of the things that I am not cut out for. It was hard to take this look at myself and realize that I was failing at certain things. It was even harder to admit it to others. I am not Super Woman...even though sometimes I think I should be. A BIG ole piece of humble pie for me.  

This is not a realization but let me just add here that I have the most amazing family. My parents and my sister are my biggest fans in life and they hold me up when I can't stand. They remind me of what's important in life. They bring true and honest perspective and I could never thank them enough just for who they are.

May brought me many lessons. Mostly what May brought me was HOPE. Hope for today, and tomorrow and for every part of my life. Fear is no longer going to motivate me. I am going to motivate me. I know that I know that I know that everything will work out the exact way it is supposed to. No matter the cost.

I am REALLY excited for June...

Celebrating 36 Years of Lauren!

Looking Good LaLa!

I actually never gave it much thought as a youngster...getting older that is. I remember when friends in school used to talk about where they wanted to be in life by the age of 25, 30, or 40. They would says things like "I want to be married and have 2 kids before I turn 30" or "I want 8 bridesmaids for my wedding" and all the while I was thinking to myself that I don't even know 8 girls well enough to ask them to wear a hideous dress in my honor on my special day. When I heard all the girls talk like this, all the time I was thinking to myself "should I make my goal to make my first $1,000,000 by 25 or 30?" I wasn't so concerned with wedding dresses and baby clothes back in the day. Here I am now at the ripe old age of 36, still not so concerned with those things. Or thirty-fabulous...however you count time is fine by me. Fabulous is ageless.

My focus today is on where I am right now, at this point in my life (still trying to make that first million). It's not about the husband or the kids or the car or the zip code I don't have. It's not about comparing myself to where I think I should be today based on my age. I could potentially get very disappointed that I haven't "arrived" at the predestined station in life I should have by now. Balderdash!! I am EXACTLY where I need to be today. Exactly where God wants me to be..TODAY. I don't know what the future brings...there may not even be a tomorrow for me...I just know that today I am alive, which means there is something more for me to do on this gorgeous green sphere of dirt...namely blow out the candles on my Carvel cake!!!

I am truly thankful for every experience in my life...even the bad, sad, terrible ones... because I have learned something valuable from each an every one of them and they have helped to shape who I am today. I will always stay true to me. I will always smile first (and then sometimes maybe I will cry so be ready for it...just sayin'). I will always (be proud to) wear my heart on my sleeve...because it looks so good there and since it has always been there I see no sense in moving it now. I will love you FEARLESSLY, audaciously and big (even if and when you hurt me). I will fail big and I will fail often and you can bet your bottom dollar that I WILL get back up and try it again. I will always fight for the important things in life. I will forget my train of thought at some point in our next conversation and ask you "What was I just saying?" and that will be your queue to clue me in. I will bake MY world's best banana bread. I will always assume the BEST in people until they prove themselves otherwise (and then I will still probably give you at least 3 chances to make it right before I tap out and call it quits). I will always prefer my cooking to a restaurant (and I don't need to be tipped). I will always fall short of perfection but I will never give up on "The best version of me". I will speak and WRITE! my mind and my heart without fear of judgment (still getting this one right). I will love music, and travel, and food, and wine, and dancing, and movies, and foreign languages, and different cultures, and above it all...Jesus. I will remain a teachable woman and I will humble myself to constructive criticism from those who love me. I will stay me, the true essence of me, going forward...no matter what. It has been one amazing ride up to now and I hope and pray for many more of these March 27th's to come in my life...

There ain't no one like me and there never will be.

Happy Birthday to a real ORIGINAL!!! 

Chapter 2013

Side Note:  This book starts at Chapter 1977

Since my new job will be taking me in the direction of my life's passion, I am compelled to write.

2012 was not the best year for me and I will be the first to admit it.
There were some incredibly bright highlights (don't get me wrong) but it was mostly just an uphill struggle for the majority of the year.  I finished my 10+ year career with my previous employer when they decided to shut down the business.  I knew it was coming and the last six months of 2012 were really tough...but now that a month or so has gone by since the company closed, I am grateful that it is finally ALL OVER.  I am thankful for every single day I spent at that company and I will never forget the people it introduced to me and the places that it took me.  Thanks for the memories!  Ten+ years is a LONG time and now I am ready for a new thing.

Let me start this next part off by saying that NEVER in all my years did I think that this NEW thing could ACTUALLY POSSIBLY happen at this stage in my life.  I did not even consider this when I knew that I would be needing to acquire new employment.  The thought never entered my brain, so to say that this whole thing is crazy would be the understatement of 2013.  I spent the better part of my entire career (almost 18 years) in a call center managing sellers of travel. After that I did administrative and human resources management. Very worky work. You know...the work that the company needs you to do.  Fine.  Doin' it well.  Now switch to the nights and weekends Lauren.  I LOVE to write...so much so that I started writing a blog about six years ago. Just for fun.  For me and the people I want to talk to about the things in life that are important to me.  My personal Passion Project if you will.  For fun.  Couple that with an amazingly supportive fan base of family and my Facebook and CrossFit ATP community and I could just write forever.  So that was the set-up and now here comes the good part...I promise!

One of my biggest blog supporters just hired me!  To work and write! For her.  Did you hear me?!?!  Getting paid to WRITE.  I still haven't landed on the ground yet.  You want to talk about scared and nervous?!  Check and check.  You want to talk about what just slightly outweighs the crippling fear???  PASSION and  EXCITEMENT

The essence of me (Lauren!) got me this gig.  The Lauren that gets down and dirty in the gym, cursing whatever comes to mind.  The vulnerable and funny Lauren.  The Lauren that loves food so much that I have been known to describe food in almost pornographic detail.  50 Shades of Grilled right here baby!  The Lauren that struggles with all the things in life that makes me type up a blog post. The Lauren that lost 65 lbs and won a contest and lights up a like a Christmas tree when I get to talk about it.  That one.  That's the one that got this NEW THING going.  As I type these words I still sit in amazement.

I am ready.  Everything else leading up to this has prepared me for this day.  I am going to put on my big girl boots, tie them up really tight, and start climbing this mountain one step at a time.  I will reach the top.
I believe in ME...
Victorious.