It’s time for a rest!

 Finding the balance between work and play

If you are anything like me and addicted to training and particularly CrossFit, the thought of missing a training session is often disappointing.  Sometimes work gets in my way, which I totally resent, sometimes it‘s other home commitments, and sometimes I’m just plain tired! However, on the increasingly rare occasions when I am injury or niggle free I just want to make the most of it and train, train, train.  Obviously there is a floor in my logic, as it’s probably over training that causes the injuries or niggles in the first place.

Struggling to know how to best handle the balance of work, training and rest I sought out expert advice from the oracle himself – James Jowsey (check out Jowsey’s website and blog if you want to know the real deal about training, and looking after your body). I asked him if he could explain to us how we should be addressing rest and also to explain the different requirements the more mature athlete has compared with the younger ones.

“Rest is a vital and often long forgotten aspect of training just like mobility. Rest and nutrition are more important than the training itself as this is the time when the body adapts to the stress or stimulus that you have trained in. Training breaks down the muscle fibres creating small micro tears, it then takes the intake of protein to rebuild the fibres and also time/rest for this to occur. Neurological recovery also needs to happen – notice how more tired you are after a competition? This is partly because of the extra volume that a competition would have but also massively due to the nervous and hormonal systems that have been under fire with all the extra pressure you are under. A week off post competition is a must!

“So….. How does this affect the over 40′s? Unfortunately, as we all age everything gets slower so after you train it takes longer for you to recover than a CrossFitter in their twenties due to slower cellular repair etc. How do you implement this into your programme? Look at your own training and ask yourself how many days in succession do I train? How do I feel on those days – do you feel ‘good to go’ every single session or do you feel like you are clinging on and dragging yourself through it? If so, the likelihood is that you have either had inadequate food or insufficient rest!

“Think about adding a rest day every other day or every two days if you feel good to. It is better to able to hit each session going in with a tank of energy and recovered muscle system at 80-100% full than it is hitting the sessions at 50-75% full. Working with a tank at 50-75% is not conducive to creating intensity where all results are achieved and the whole ethos of CrossFit (with form of course)! Not only will your training benefit, you will get less run down and less likely to pick up niggly injuries.”

So, it sounds like I need to reign in my enthusiasm and “train smart” as Karl Steadman is always telling me!

But I thought it might be interesting to find out if any of our newly crowned “European Masters Champions” had a training/rest plan in place, and if they adapted their training before and after the competition.

Martina Calgey, (winner 40-44) trains and is a coach at Crossfit Waterford in She took a few days off from training after the masters and was in another competition the following Saturday in Ireland.  “This was a big mistake and my body had not fully recovered and I felt very tired during the second competition.  I learned the lesson that you should listen to your body!

“I learned a lot about myself and my abilities at the Masters, particularly thanks to Andy Edwards programming of Wod 5.  I know I need to get my speed and skills up so I have started to do some track work (sprinting) at our local track and I am working on my weaknesses after class as I hope to get better at CrossFit.”

Maz Glover (winner 45-49) is not known for taking it easy! Usually training twice a day with 2 days rest, Maz listens to her body; “If I have overworked myself or feel any DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness), I will either take that time off or work a difference muscle group.”

“Strength is my strength and I suit more short explosive wods, but I guessed that Andy would keep the weights reasonably low, so I trained accordingly, but rested for the two days before the competition.

“The following week my body was feeling the effects, Andy had just about hit every muscle group with the five wods, but I felt I had prepared for it well. I rested well the following week as I was attending the Outlaw Way course and knew that we would be hitting heavy weights.”

Sharron Lowe (winner 50+) didn’t do anything different in her actual training leading up to the competition and said; “Because of my full time job I am limited to when I can get to the gym and I can usually only get to the pre-programmed classes at 3D. I just do what Coach Steadders throws as us each day.  I usually train 4 days a week, it was five but Jowsey recently told me I need to have more rest days, and I am trying to be sensible.

“I did actually increase my mobilisations before the comp and made sure I had plenty of Fish Oil, Vitamin D and Nurofen!  Post comp I made the mistake of only mobilising on Monday and Tuesday and then getting right back into training on Wednesday, and I felt very tired the rest of the week, and really struggled with niggles and tiredness since – it’s extraordinary how much five wods in one day can affect your body.”

So it seems rest is critical to the success of your training programme.  Which leads me to my next question … how much training is enough training in one session?… next time…..

Anne has the spirit

Anne Brannigan was presented with the “Spirit of the Games” at the Raising the Bar Masters competition. Although Anne was our oldest competitor – she’s 63 believe it or not – she was not content with competing in all three heats, she also took on the 20 minute charity wod and still looked fresh as a daisy at the end of it.

Obviously a prime subject for Raising the Bar I asked her a few questions and her answers blew me away:

When did you start CrossFit?

One of the coaches from my previous gym had been talking about CrossFit for ages, I didn’t take much notice as it seemed too extreme a form of exercise for me and quite different from anything I had done before. Sometime later Chris left the gym to set up his own with another fella and CrossFit Clitheroe gradually emerged. My daughter joined, followed by my other daughter and her husband, my six year old grandson also went. I went to look at it and that was enough to convince me it wasn’t for me. I was also waiting for a prolapsed op which didn’t help. This was in Oct 2010.

After a couple of weeks I gave in and tried it. It was hard for me, I had done the usual spinning and body pump, etc, classes at my last gym but nothing like this. I hadn’t skipped since I was a child and 10 continuous ones made me out of breath. (Skipping was part of the WOD the other day and we 150 a number of times, I thought back to those early days then, as I can skip for ages now without even breaking into a sweat – progress eh?). I can only do a few double unders yet, so working on that.

I had two months off last March to May to have my op and it was so scary going back. The first time I did a squat I looked down to make sure my insides hadn’t dropped out!

Do you have a particular training buddy?

I do have a friend who trains as well but she only does the WOD once a week so it’s a matter of who is there at the time and who is around my level. I often go at 9.00am (nicknamed the housewives class by the coaches) and that is more relaxed than the evening ones which seem much more serious with more obviously competitive people going. This still puts me off a bit and I have to be in the mood for that

Do you have any kind of sporting background?

I have always gone to classes at the gym and always been a gym member since my mid 30s, working out has always been important to me. The older I have become the more intense I have trained, which seems the wrong way round. I have done rock climbing for many years but not in last two years and still walk loads. Like many people I wish CrossFit had been around when I was younger.

How often do you train?

I do Crossfit four or five times a week plus spinning, Fight Club, a stretch class and a Kettlebell class. I don’t usually go on Sundays. I probably do too much, trying to do it in while I am still fit enough. I do two classes on three or four days a week, (a WOD and something else). I think I will just end up a pile of bones in the corner of the gym one day, so I make the most of it. I could do with knowing the best way to train, rest days, number and type of classes etc. I just do it rather than go into the theory of it – which is wrong really.

What’s your favourite exercise and wod?

I dont mind, anything really, but I prefer a session made up of different elements, some strength and then box jumps, burpees, toe to bar etc. I like the way CrossFit brings people together, and I love going to events and supporting others, it’s such a friendly world and you meet some really lovely people. It’s worth standing in a cold draughty box somewhere in mid winter!

 What do you dread the most?

I am OK with deadlifts but I am weak on the overhead weights so tend not to like these as much. It’s not nice scoring least in the room all the time. That’s why competing with others my age is attractive to me, I am the oldest woman at our gym, think I am the oldest overall in fact.

What progress have you made?

Well loads of progress, both in terms of fitness and strength. Skipping I mentioned above, along with running, weights, just all of it. I still manage to keep increasing my 1 rep max and I am good at endurance and beat many younger ones at this, I don’t give in.  At Team Games on Saturdays we are put into teams and although I can’t do the weights I can whip many of the young blokes at GHD’s and anything based on staying power. My confidence has also improved, it has given me an identity other than a 60 plus retired woman. I have also learned that I have an ability to keep going even when I know I have only completed 2 hard rounds, with still seven to go. I think I can’t go on but I know somewhere I won’t give in. This has transferred to other parts of my life, I know that if there are bad times they won’t last forever and I can get through them (if you know what I mean!)

Did you enter the Open?

After reading this question I said to my friend who also trains, why didn’t we think of doing the WODS, it didn’t occur to me but we will another time. I guess it wasn’t talked about enough by the coaches or maybe I just didn’t hear. I didn’t know what they were but should have been more aware and looked them up!

How did you hear about the Raising the Bar Masters Comp?

Rodney Templeman, son of Chris (owner of CrossFit Clitheroe) was thinking of going and I guess he got the info from his Chris. I wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. I should look around on Facebook a bit more, I will now!

 Was is a hard decision to enter?

Yes it was. It was proper scary, the thought of exposing myself like that. We had also been on holiday for eleven days and only came back a few days before the competition. So I hadn’t trained for nearly two weeks and sorting myself out after getting back was also off putting.

Just before I went on holiday Rob Orlando had been at our box for a weekend. He also came last year and put on a WOD for members. I watched it last year and was green with envy and when I saw how nice he was and his team, I thought I would take part this year. I turned up for the WOD on the Friday and when I saw the heading, Strongman Competition, I nearly died, then I saw the board with the workout and I nearly went home (that will teach me to pay more attention). Anyhow everyone was really great with me and I did so well. I scaled some stuff but not all. Other gym members had seen that it was a Strongman competition, and therefore only mostly the young and fit took part. Afterwards I got so many positive comments about my doing it, but also it encouraged them as well and some said they wished they had done it and would next time so that was good.

After feeling so good after that it was  easier to put my name down for Raising the Bar, but putting my name down and actually going were two separate things!

What did you enjoy about it most?

Well the best thing was meeting all of you, the friendship I felt from you all, the encouragement and my prize, it means such a lot. When I got back to Clitheroe, I felt like a celebrity for a bit and that has never happened to me before. It has given me the confidence to ‘go for it’ and to encourage others to do it too and this is wider than just CrossFit. I drove down to Cardiff on my own saying “why are you doing this when you could be getting straight and dong your holiday washing?” “Why are you putting yourself through this? I stood there at the start of the 1st WOD feeling so so sick and scared but then many others said the same and once I started something else just took over, it was just great. I had a difficult couple of years recently and I was filled with extreme anxiety, depression and a loss of confidence, CrossFit and the competitions have helped me enormously. If you wake up in the morning feeling bad and get up and go to do a WOD, it’s like a magic wand over the rest of your day and its 100% guaranteed.

I know that having done the Strongman and Raising the Bar competitions have made people look at me in a different light, I have broken out of the stereotype that we put people in and people are so much more interactive with me now. I have gained respect and respect myself more as well I guess.

I couldn’t get over how Tess organised the evening do and how many people turned up; it was a really nice thing to do and was such a good end to the day.

 Will you be entering next year?

 I really do hope to, I had the time of my life this year.

We pulled it off!

The Masters Raised the Bar!

Well it’s been a week since the competition and I am slowly coming back down to earth!  What a day!

A few of us arrived in Cardiff on Friday afternoon to finish some last minute jobs like making up the goody bags, bringing in rowers, hanging up banners, and general odd jobs, to be honest there wasn’t a whole load to do as Tess had pretty much got everything under control.

“The biggest thank you to everyone involved in this weekend, I had an amazing time. I’ve not been doing crossfit very long and was overwhelmed by the help and encouragement given by my “carers” and fellow competitors.  I’d convinced myself that I couldn’t do the 1st WOD and had to physically be pushed into the ring – well I finished and it’s only made me more determined to get better, well that and the awe inspiring competitors you should all be so proud..Age is definitely not an excuse!” Allison White

So we had a bite to eat, and an early night all set for the big day ahead.  Waking up and opening your curtains to the site of Cardiff Arms Park and the Millennium Stadium in touching distance, got me pretty excited and arriving at Dragon CrossFit and seeing queue of people waiting to register was amazing. I knew a few people already and there were some familiar faces from new friends I’d made on facebook on the run up to the competition, so it was great to actually meet these people in person, such as Tankgirl Elledge, henceforth to be known as “smiler”, Alyson Hughes, Melissa Gee all of whom were almost shaking with nerves at that point… but if you read some of their comments you’ll realise these soon dissipated.

“You ladies organised something really special. It ran like clockwork thanks to RSM Andy Edwards and his team. I’m so glad I got involved in the first one (…of many I’m sure). Lots of great memories at a great venue with awesome people. Best day of the year so far by a country mile! Well done all of you “- Darren Stiles

After a quick welcome and thank you to the sponsors Andy and our crew of awesome “Carers” took over and before you knew it I heard 3-2-1 and the first event was underway.  That was a poignant moment for me .. after weeks of talking about it, discussing the delivery of portaloos, chalk, how many stopwatches, do we need rowers or not .. what tee shirts sizes do we need.. to seeing the first heat in action was – well weird I guess, I felt very proud that the team had pulled it off, but also couldn’t quite believe that this was all happening on the back of Maz saying “let’s organise a masters comp!”

“Amazing day! Thanks to all the carers and the crowd who just made for an incredible atmosphere. see you next year!” -Russ King

It’s difficult to pick out any competitors that shone more than others .. every single competitor was amazing.  Nerves just seemed to fly out of the window as each and every one gave their all in every one of the heats, culminating in the third heat, the one rep max clean in five minutes, when I witnessed pb’s being smashed all over the place – although sadly not mine!

“I was nervous when I first arrived but that feeling eased within minutes & changed to being excited to be part of such an awesome event & to be surrounded by amazing people” – Melissa Gee

The level of competitiveness alongside the level of support for each other was what you would expect from any CrossFit competition, but I think maybe the difference with this was the air of fun and laughter that was also enjoyed, I felt that everyone was so happy to be there and that was more important to everyone than winning – not that people didn’t do their best either.

I can’t remember all the weights but the wods were:

Heat 1

Tabata – Thruster/Push Press – then 2 minutes of bar facing burpees

Heat 2

21-15-9

Sumo deadlift, box jumps, kettlebell swings

Heat 3

In 5 mins set a 1 rep max clean

Semi-final

Men

Row 400m

5 rounds –  5 Ring dips – 10 pull ups

Row 400m

Women

Row 400m

5 rounds 5 pull up – 10 hand release press up

Row 400m

Final

180m sand bag carry

15 overhead squat

20 toe to bar

Overhead lunge (2 x width of gym)

35 hand release burpee

180 kettlebell farmers walk

Excellent inclusive programming by Andy Edwards and great judging by a team of enthusiastic and encouraging “Carers” (one person – who actually wasn’t there on the day) has commented that he thought calling the judges Carers was patronising .. I think you had to be there to realise just how wrong he was!

The comments we have received have been brilliant and I think one of the best legacies of all are all the new friendships that have been forged.

Since the event we have been congratulated by the sponsors who are talking about next year, and Andy and Dragon have confirmed they would love to hold it there again, although those of us that organised it will be taking a breather before anything else is decided.

However, and you heard it here first, there is a whisper of a “Raising the Bar Regional Series” taking place in the not so distant future… watch this space!

In the meantime, we have launched a new facebook page – Raising the Bar – Masters, which will eventually replace the group, so if you haven’t already liked it please do so.

Also check out the awesome video that has been produced by Jamie Brown and our friends at BoxRox – which to me has perfectly captured the whole day.  Jamie also took some great photos which are on the facebook page.. thanks Jamie. http://www.boxrox.com/2012/04/raising-the-bar-european-crossfit-masters-2012/

“Let’s have a Masters Comp” …

I haven’t been updating the blog as much as I would like to recently, this is for three reasons, my “day job” is pretty manic at the moment (a slight staff shortage prevails); I have been writing some articles for the CrossFit Games site, which is great fun, and I have been quite busy helping to organise the “Raising the Bar European CrossFit Masters Competition” – which will also be great fun.

I think the competition itself can claim to be “Raising the Bar” in many ways and has been a massive learning curve for me and the rest of the team that are organising it, and I really feel the need  to acknowledge the contribution of a number of people who have helped to make it all possible and made the organisation a lot easier than it could have been.

The competition came off the back of a conversation about the blog and was the brainchild of Maz Glover, when the rest of us; Tess McKenzie, Jules Sterling and Sharron Lowe all thought this was a great idea and set about sorting it, I don’t think any of us expected the reaction we got, from fellow masters, from fellow CrossFitters and from the community as a whole.

Our first choice venue was Dragon CrossFit, because of its location, and Andy Edwards and the Dragons have been incredibly helpful and supportive in putting the event together.

I don’t know what the others had in mind but if I’m honest I was hoping that we could attract 20 or so Masters and probably a few other people would join in to make up the numbers.  After one week of the entry form going online this was looking pretty much how it would be, in fact we joked that the five of us would probably walk away with all the prizes as we were the only people who had entered!  This soon changed however, and by the time we closed entries we had 62 people signed up, and this had surpassed all of our expectations.

Expectations continued to be surpassed as people stepped forward and offered us support in many different ways;

Jo Briggs of Train Manchester and Corporation Pop contacted me to say she had designed a logo for Raising the Bar and for the competition as well as awesome tee shirt designs – you have all seen them now so you know how amazing they are, and in one fail swoop we had a highly professional, beautifully designed branding that we are all really proud of – thanks so much Jo we owe you big time!

When I mentioned to fellow Dizzler Paul Ramage of Gear As RX that we were looking for sponsors he put his hand up straight away and offered to pay for the competitors shirts – and he has also secured us prizes of a pair of Innov8’s for each of our group winners, as well as training diaries for runners up.

A few days later I was contacted by Gary Butterfield who was setting up his new business GRex Fitness, which will be manufacturing boxes, rings and other gym equipment.  A fledging business but Gary wanted to be involved in the competition and has put his hand up to sponsor the “Spirit of the Games Award”, this is for the male and female competitor who are deemed to have displayed true spirit throughout the competition.. the best thing about these awards are that anyone can win them.

A word with Dicko and SBH at Reebok resulted in the amazing donation of Reebok apparel for the group winners – how much more incentive do you need to really go for it!

Boditronics, who sponsor Jules, have also come up trumps by providing goody bags for all competitors and some prizes for runners up.

We also received an email from Atlas Power Wraps in the States, offering some of their products for prizes.

And Bob Rice of Castle Welsh Crafts, where Tess works!  very kindly and generously offered to pay for our Volunteers shirts (these are awesome by the way).  Bob, whose shop is opposite Cardiff Castle, is a superstar!

Tess has been working extremely hard putting everything together at Dragon, including arranging First Aid, Insurance cover. Refreshments are covered and include the launch event for Paleo Wales, and a student of sports massage offering his services throughout the comp – for free!

Working with Head Judge and Chief of all Andy Edwards, Tess has not stopped since we first decided to run the comp and I firmly believe that it will be a huge success due in large to Tess’s efforts.

I can also safely say that without Facebook it probably wouldn’t be happening either – everything from First Aid, Insurance cover, chalk, stopwatches are portaloos are being discussed by us and I am pretty sure that if we’d realised how much was involved we might have thought twice before taking it on, however, we all relish a challenge, we’re all CrossFitters after all, and so we are secretly enjoying every second of it.

We’ve had a bit of help from Karl and Rachel at CrossFit 3D too.

The enthusiasm of the competitors has also been awesome that, and the fact that we have so many proves to me that it was definitely time for a competition of this type.  We have all be slightly amused and bemused by the amount of comments we have had from people saying stuff like, “can’t make it this year, but definitely up for it next year” and “I’ll be old enough next year”!  so – it’s already being seen as an annual event and we haven’t had the first one yet – that’s scary.

It wasn’t until I was talking to Nicola Simpson, (awesome CrossFitter from Leeds, who will be amazing at Regionals this year) recently that I realised how important the Masters is for all CrossFitters, as Nicola pointed out – it’s a sport that you can keep on doing and still be competitive.

I’m sure there will be a few updates throughout the week,  so please keep your eyes peeled on the Raising the Bar Facebook page and the European Masters Facebook page.

In the meantime I will be checking my to do list and counting the days until we all get together  – see you on Saturday!

How not to be a couch potato!

Heather Wynne has raised the bar once again by being selected from thousands of hopefuls to run a leg in the BBC One Show 1000 mile relay race. Heather, who is 63 and trains at CrossFit Tameside, will run her leg of the relay on Thursday 22 March through the familiar streets of Stockport. She said: “Twelve months ago I wouldn’t have even considered applying as I struggled to jog just a hundred metres, but now I feel great, I’ve got so much more energy and feel years younger. I’ve also dropped a couple of dress sizes which is a nice bonus.” Chris Worrall, head coach at CrossFit Tameside and also proud son-in-law said, “Heather is on a roll at the moment, being chosen to do the mile whilst still on a high from winning a bronze medal at the English Indoor Rowing Championships last month. We are really proud of her and the progress she is making and it is great that she is seeing the rewards for all her hard work.” Heather is doing the run for Sport Relief and if you would like to support her you can give via: http://my.sportrelief.com/sponsor/heatherwynne

Get off the couch!

How do I start? Inspired by Heather but not quite sure you are ready for CrossFit and wondering how to start .. a good way is to … Get off the couch!

Actually getting off the couch really is a great way to start – do it without using your hands, every time you get up from your office chair, your couch, your toilet seat.. you are performing functional fitness. Get off the couch, sit down again, get off the couch … hey guess what? You’re squatting! You do it all the time, but exercising and training means you’ll do it better!

Couch to 5k

My next door neighbour, Becky, has alerted me to an initiative called “Couch to 5K” designed to get just about anyone off the couch and running 5km in nine weeks. This isn’t a new initiative and since I have mentioned it to a few people I have found out that a few of my friends have tried it, in fact Amy, my colleague, is doing it with some of her friends and really enjoying it.

She loves the fact that you don’t have to work out what to do, the commentary tells you what to do as you go (through an app that you can play through headphones as you run/walk).

It starts in Week One with a brisk 5-minute walk then alternating 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking for 20 minutes – building up with up to 3 outings a week to be able to jog comfortably for 30 minutes by Week Nine. Sounds like a good plan to me, and as the NHS scheme is free and supports participants with podcasts, exercise plans and support – it seems a great way to get fit. Becky started on New Year’s Day and I can’t believe the transformation, this was after she had already managed to lose two stone in weight last year. She was determined enough to make it happen and is reaping the rewards of her great work … well done Becky!

Sharron Lowe – 50 and leaving the young boys standing…

Just  a quickie post to wish my friend and training buddy Sharron Lowe a very happy 50^th birthday.

Shazza has been CrossFitting for 5 years along with husband Rob and me and my old man Gaz, and we are all members of the recently renamed  Reebok CrossFit 3D.

Shazza is a fine athlete who leaves most of the younger girls .. and  boys way behind in regular wods – her press ups are “to die for”, she can climb up a rope, do over 60 double unders without stopping, has a 4 minute Grace, a  6 minute Fran, 60kg c&j and thrusters, and she currently stands 70^th in our Masters Group (out of 600+ starters) in the world.  Last year her performance at the Open earned her a place in the 3D team at Regionals.  She will fight hard to move up the standings this year but, as she keeps telling me, it’s all about next year and my prediction is she will qualify for the Games.  To top it all she only looks about 35!

She will kill me for writing this – but I wanted to pay tribute to my fit friend.. even if she did dob me in for leaving my wall ball out last night!!!

Happy birthday Shazza  x

It’s a Mum’s life!

The great life – kids – training – pregnancy balance…..

Rachel Steadman, coach at Crossfit 3D, mother of 21 month old Ellie and expecting her second in August, has been asked many times about exercising when pregnant and the challenges being a Mum of a young child and training presents and she has kindly provided us with some really useful information and insight on when to exercise, how much to exercise and generally coping with it.

What scaling did you use when pregnant?

Mostly weight-related – I didn’t have much energy for max lifts and my body was busy doing other things. It was prudent to work at percentages, and also much more productive in terms of getting back to it post-pregnancy.

Any exercises you stayed away from?

Sit ups stopped after about 16 weeks as being on your back can cause problems with pressure on a major vein and cause blackouts. Instead I did things like knees to elbows and when my belly got massive I just had to bring my knees up to the outside of my torso doing them, same with rowing. Then around 6 months running became uncomfortable.

Kipping pull ups etc I kept til 8.5 months and then they started to pull on my bump. Even on the day Ellie was born I was doing double unders and handstands though!

Once my bump started to really stick out I had to scale down weights for Olympic lifts or use dumbbells rather than a barbell – straight bar paths became a thing on the past, and developing a reverse curl technique was detrimental to the form I’d worked hard to get right!

Did you stop training at all?

I kept going until about 8.5 months with proper WODs and then just dabbled with stuff for the last few weeks. I remember the last WOD I did was ¼ Angie, with kettlebell swings instead of sit ups. I felt a pull on my bump doing the pull ups, and discomfort on the squats and decided it was time to take it gently.

What exercises/wods/movements/time domains did you like? Did this differ from when you weren’t pregnant?

The main thing was just going with how I felt on any given day and doing what I could. First 12 weeks I was tired and feeling sick a lot, so short, gassy workouts with medium weights were best.

During both pregnancies I started to feel a bit more energetic at about 13/14 weeks so back to lifting and normal WODs, but again just taking each day as it comes. Then towards the end, running will become uncomfortable (was about 6 months last time). Just a case of if something doesn’t feel right, stop.

My muscle ups went very quickly this time round (didn’t have them last time!) but instead I’m just continuing to work my progressions again so hopefully they’ll come back stronger. I’m also going to follow the Outlaw Way lifting percentages and see how that works in terms of keeping my strength up so it returns faster afterwards as I found I struggled with my strength for ages after having Ellie – probably as I was so tired for a long time! I’ve managed one or 2 PBS since having her but not many and that’s quite frustrating, I was so close to getting a lot more as was just starting to really progress again! It’s worth it though.
This time round I’ve still got Ellie to look after as well as being pregnant so I’ve been more tired and had less time to train because of looking after her too, so short/sharp/intense has been ideal for me, but I’ve also tried hard not to cherry pick and just do what I want as that wouldn’t benefit me! And nutrition hasn’t been the best either, a case of eating what didn’t make me sick, so not optimal WOD fuel!!!

How long did it take you to get back to previous CrossFit levels after having Ellie?

I won’t lie, it was hard work! It took a good year or so to get back there, but I not only got back to my previous levels but surpassed them, which gives me confidence that I can do it all again. With breastfeeding too I had to wait until my body was my own again before I could properly push. I think it depends on how much time you can dedicate to it – I went back to work as well as taking on the Kids classes at 3D when Ellie was 6 days old, and struggled to find time to train. Hopefully it’ll be easier this time round as I’ll be working in the gym!

How do you manage to prioritize time with the gym, toddler, and another baby on the way?

Well, simply put, Ellie comes first, then the gym and if I have time to train after that then I get on it! If the stars align right and Ellie is still asleep when I get to the gym, I try to use that time to get some training in.  Ellie has many surrogate aunties and uncles at the gym who are more than happy to look after her if needed while I train. There have been many sessions that I’ve had to stop halfway through or just not start because Ellie needed looking after. This time round, the chances of feeling up for training when I’ve finished running round after Ellie has been quite a challenge, and if it hadn’t been for a few people throwing down the gauntlet and getting me going, I would quite happily have sat the session out! Other times I feel good and have the time to probably do too much in the session because I feel I ought to as I don’t know when I’ll next get the chance!

A heads up and belated Happy Birthday to Sandra ..

Maggie Howe  53, Sandra Tearney-Ellis 51, and Sue Hollis 46, are pictured here after tearing up Sandra’s 51^st birthday wod at CrossFit Teeside last week.  As Sandra explained: “The WOD was based on my age so lots of 51’s, squats, sit ups, kettle bell swings, press ups, then running with a 10kg plate and finishing it all off with a sled pull!!  What a way to start your birthday…..it was great!”