13th of February

Today, I did my first benchmark ‘Helen’ RX. It felt awesome and I could go harder, so I will try it again sometime soon.

3 rounds for time:

• 400meter run
• 21 KB swings, 16kg
• 12 Pull-ups

Time: 15.02.

Pretty happy for a morning WOD at 6am!

11th of February

Warm up at Crossfit Tay Ho. Awesome KB game. “How far can you go?” 30 sec. 30 sec off and for every round you climb the KB weight ladder: 12-16-20-24-28-32!

I reached 32kg and managed to do 6 highswings in the 30 seconds. So happy!

+

WOD:

Minute 0-2: Complete 2 cleans + 4 Push Press + 20 Double unders

Minute 2-4: Complete 3 cleans + 6 Push Press + 20 Double unders

Minute 4-6: Complete 4 cleans + 8 Push Press + 20 Double unders

Minute 6-8: Complete 5 cleans + 10 Push Press + 20 Double unders

etc. until failure.

I reached to round 4, where I only managed to finish the 5 cleans and some Push Presses

+

Strength: Backsquats with 50kg on the bar: 2-4-6-8-6-4-2 reps

Skills: Negative pull-ups

Rowing: 2*500 meters

Finisher: for 6 minutes 10 burpees over obstacle(boxing bag) on the minute.

10th of February

Strength session and WOD @ Crossfit Tay Ho.

First 3 rounds complex consisting of:

• 3 power cleans
• 2 front squats
• 1 Push Jerk

Each round we had to increase the weight and we had 10 minutes in total. I went 35-40-45, but it felt light, so I decided to go for a 50 as well, which felt pretty good 🙂

+

WOD:

7 min amrap:

• 5 Toe-2-Bar
• 6 jumping lunges with each leg
• 7 KB swings, 20kg

Result: 7 rounds minus 1 rep.

+

Own strength session: I am testing my husbands strength program leading up to the open.

• Backsquats with 50kg bar focusing on perfect form 2-4-6-8-6-4-2 reps
• Push Press with 40kg bar focusing on perfect form 2-4-6-8-6-4-2 reps
• Row 500 meter for time
• Hang 2 minutes from the bar

7th of February

I have been super sick with ‘Vertigo’ and unable to exercise at all since the Bangkok Brawl. I have literally been craving going back to the gym and I am super excited I could actually go for a while today. Taking it easy though.

My husband has strongly recommended me to focus on strength divided into 4 sessions/week until and during the open and few short met cons to finish of the session. So I am doing just that and started today. And then skills work, like chest -2-bars, that will for sure be in the open.

Strength:

• Front Squat with 40kg with perfect form 2-4-6-8-6-4-2 reps
• Shoulder Press with 35kg with perfect form 2-4-6-8-6-4-2 reps

Team WOD with her awesomeness Rhi:

Team wod
3 min plank cash in as a team
then
2 rounds
40 med ball push up, which partner does Kb swings
20 med ball sit up each, so 40 in total each round
40 burpees over partner

PALEO Bounty Bars

So I have been needing PALEO treats at home for when having a craving. I decided to attempt PALEO Bounty Bars

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of shredded fresh coconut
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 200 gram dark chocolate

How to:

• Mix the shredded coconut, the coconut cream and the fresh vanilla really well.
• Spread in a rectangular/square form on top of baking paper in a 7-8mm thick layer as flat as possible.
• Put in the freezer for 2 hours or until solid frozen.
• Cut in the size of your taste. Put back in the freezer and take the pieces out of the freezer exactly at the time you need them, so they are frozen.
• Put a pot of water to boil and in stead of the lid, add a bowl with the chocolate and let it melt. Stir and when it reaches the preferred texture, turn off the heat.
• Now, take one piece of coconut at the time and turn it in the melted chocolate. Place on a piece of baking paper on the cutting board and repeat until no more chocolate or coconut mixture.
• Repeat
• Now, put them in the fridge until the next day and store in a jar in the fridge.
• Eat only 1 at the time – these are heavy in calories and addictive 🙂

29th of January

Run 6km

28th of January

Testing Bangkok WOD nr 4:

• Shuttle runs: 4 + 8 + 12 meters
• 7 front squats, 47,5kg (power clean it up)
• 7 burpees over bar
• Shuttle runs: 4 + 8 + 12 meters
• 11 Deadlift, 52,5kg
• 11 burpees over the bar

Time: 4.16

27th of January

Testing WOD5 for the Bangkok Brawl this weekend.

For 16 minutes:

• 50 Thrusters, 30kg
• 40 KB swings to eye sight, 20kg
• 30 box step-overs(20inches) with 6kg med ball
• 20 Toe-2-Bar
• 30 box step-overs(20inches)
• 40 KB swings to eye sight, 20kg
• 50 Wall-balls, 6 kg 9foot target
• For the remaining time, as many Chest-to-Bar pull-ups as possible

I reached 33 wall-balls

Paleo Banana Coconut Bread

Ingredients

• 4  eggs
• 1/2 cup liquid coconut oil (melted if necessary)
• 2 bananas (3 if small/tropical bananas)
• 1/3 cup almond flour
• 1 tsp bi-carb soda
• 1 vanilla rod
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• An additional 1/2 banana, chopped to garnish the top to make it look pretty

How to

• heat up the oven to 160 degrees celcius
• Grease the tin or fold in baking paper
• Mix eggs, coconut oil, bananas with the blender.
• In a separate bowl mix all the other ingredients well
• Mix the content of both bowls together, not using a blender, but perhaps a whisk
• Pour mixture into the baking tin
• Cover with thinly sliced bananas
• Bake in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes

Serve immediate as a hot cake. Serve as a breakfast treat cold or as a dessert with some yoghurt (1/2 cup yoghurt, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon)

Bon appetit 🙂

25th of January

Today was strength day! After walking 3,3 km, where at least 1 km was with Arthur on my shoulders.

+

Warm-up: testing different resistances for the rower. I think 7-8 is best for me.

+

Strength:

• Power clean up to 1 rep max: still ended up with 55kg
• Back Squat up to 1 rep max: 75kg
• Back squat volume: 5 sets of 50kg

24th of January

Morning: 4km run/walk with Arthur on the scooter.

+

I wanted a serious revenge on Benchmark JACKIE from yesterday, because my time annoyed the f… out of me, because I knew I could have done better. And I got BADASS revenge! I went from a time of 16:22 to 12:35. Both RX. Beaking them down.

• 23rd of January: 4:17 row finish. 8.40 Thruster finish. 16:22 Pull-ups finish.
• 24th of January: 1:16 row finish. 6:50 Thruster finish. 12:35 Pull-ups finish.

What made the change was definitely, that my legs were no longer sore, so I could do the thrusters in sets of 20 -15-15, where I had to do 10-10-10-10-10 yesterday and it was badly painful… And then I decided to do 5 pull-ups on the minute in order to have a strategy for them. AS I can barely string two pull-ups together, it was awesome to be able to keep that pace.

+

Strength:

• Frankenstein front squats with the bar: 5 sets of 10 reps just with the bar.
• With a running clock do 3 shoulder press with 75% of max, then rest 1 minute for 12 sets. with a 30kg bar.

+

Team WOD:

Both team members need to complete all and one team member cannot progress to the next movement without the other.

• Cash in: Run 400 meter/80 DU
• 50 deadlift, 70/50kg
• 50 KB swings 24/16kg
• 50 box jumps 24/20 inch box
• 50 sit-ups
• 50 med ball overhead lunges 10/6kg

I did it with coach Loris and we finished in 14.48. We went RX and went for the running to challenge me. I gave everything I had on the running, because I knew that Loris would be slower than me on the deadlift, so I would have plenty of time to rest after the run. And the plan turned out to work. When Loris said he was going to jump for the box jumps, I decided to do the dsame. All in all an awesome WOD and so glad to do it with my fab coach. Loads of fun. We were good at pushing eachother.

+

Getting there with the 80km run/walk challenge in January. On the 24th of January I’m at 61,8km. Awesome!

“You look good – you should go out more!”

Hello, I am Emilie and I am one of those “women who want it all”! I want a career job with perspectives, I want a happy husband, I want a happy family with kids and playdates, I want to exercise a lot, I want to compete in Crossfit, I want to go out and have lovely dinners with friends, I want to travel, I want to write… And probably a lot more too, but this is all I can list right now.

Sadly, I have to admit that having it all is not possible(I am sorry to reveal this to you, if you had not discovered it yet) But prioritizing is possible! So a few months ago, I started prioritizing the things I want and for the time being, it looks like this:

1. Happy husband and happy family with kids and play dates and eating clean
2. Career job with perspectives
3. Crossfit and Paleo challenges WITH friends (because Crossfit is a very social scene and I ❤ it)
4. Travel
5. Writing
6. Go out

It seems to work for me. I work close to 45 hours/week, I exercise 7-9 hours/week, I take my son to swim class and gym class and make sure the family eats clean at home. And then when I have time I blog, because I like it and because I know that I would like to do something at some point that involves writing.

Then, last week I went to the opening of sportsbar O’Leary’s in Hanoi and it was fabulous. Peter had been involved in it and I showed up to show my support because I am proud of him. I did not come to go out or to hang at a bar, because frankly is not my scene to do so(Anymore, I might add). I had my two first and only glasses of wine in 2015. Then we met an  Asian acquaintance of Peter:

“Why don’t I see you more often going out with Peter?

You look good – you should go out more!”

Due to the loosing face aspect of it, I had to squeeze Peters hand hard not to crack up laughing. And so did Peter. But as Peter said “that sentence probably sounded a lot better when he said it in his head before saying it out loud.” I think it is hysterical that he would think that I stayed at home because I felt I did not deserve to go out??? It cracks me up. And since when did going out become equivalent to a catwalk…

The thing is that it is all about priorities if you want to make the most of life and it is very individual. For me making the most of life is the top 5 on the list above, because frankly, hangovers do not a happy family make… So when I had been at the Opening night for 2 hours, I left and let Peter party on with his go out friends and in the taxi I was counting up how many hours I could still sleep before my little man would wake me up the next morning. The day after, we had a fabulous morning all happy family and loads of training (1 WOD, 1 PALEO briefing and a 10km run). And then a Paleo dinner with friends and kids at night. This is my kind of fun and what I think I deserve, when I want to be good to myself based on my priorites.

I can highly recommend looking at what matters to you, prioritizing it and living accordingly, it makes life so much easier and makes you laugh at unintentional insults 😉

With ❤
Em

23rd of January

Early morning Benchmark “Jackie”:

For time:

• 1000 meter row
• 50 Thrusters, 15kg bar
• 30 Pull-ups

Time: 16:20 RX

Psyched to have gone RX. Annoyed about time. The Thrusters took me 3,5 minutes, due to my legs still being super sore from all the squats on Tuesday, where I should be able to go in 2 minutes normally. And the pull-ups should be doable in 6 minutes for me in stead of 8. But well, I did it and just a few months ago, I would have never even thought to ever do 30 kipping pull-ups… Next time I am targeting at below 13 minutes.

22nd of January

Run/play 3 km with  son on his scooter ❤ Lovely early evening ❤

+

1km warm up run

+

Testing WOD for the Bangkok Brawl: For time:

• 100 Double Unders
• 1000 meter run
• 1000 meter row

Time: 12:50

21st of January

Absolutely amazing WOD session

3,5km walk with my son on my shoulder to school

1,5km run wearing a backpack to make it to Crossfit on time…

+

Crossfit WOD: For time:

• 100 double unders
• 200 meter run
• 15 pull ups
• 400 meter run
• 15 pull ups
• 200 meter run
• 15 pull-ups
• 100 double unders

This WOD may not look exceptionally hard for most, but for me it was a breakthrough! It was quite special, as I have never done 45 pull-ups before, the most I have done was 28 pull-ups in 14 minutes… Today I did this WOD RX in 16:30 and it felt absolutely awesome!

+

TABATA Handstand

+

5,4km jog home with my backback and a kilo of oranges that I bought on the way…

20th of january

Strength:

• Front Squat working up to 1 rep max 65 kg (PR)
• Shoulder press working up to 1 rep max – but no new PR – 40kg 1 rep max
• Clean from the ground working up to 1 rep max – 55kg (PR)

WOD:

2 rounds

• Max plank hold
• Max unbroken squat

It was awful! And long. Results:

• 6:00 plank
• 206 squats
• 6:10 Plank
• 152 squats

PALEO Bread

Ingredients:

• 100 gram pumpkin seeds
• 150 gram sunflower seeds
• 100 gram almonds
• 100 gram walnuts/hazelnuts
• 150 gram sesame seeds
• 5 eggs
• 0,5 dl extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt

How to:

• Heat up the oven to 160 degrees celcius.
• Mix seeds, nuts, eggs and salt well together.
• When all nuts and seeds are wet, add the extra virgin olive oil and mix well again.
• Take a bread baking tin and add the mixture to it. (I prefer to use baking paper in the baking tin, so the dish washing is less demanding…)
• Place the baking tin in a 160 degree hot oven.
• Bake for 60 minutes.
• Leave in the tin for 5-10 minutes after taking it out.
• Storage: I like to keep it in a zip-log bag in the fridge and it also freezes perfectly. However for the freezer, I would slice it before freezing.

17th of January

Morning: Testing Bangkok Brawl WOD 3…

8minutes AMRAP:

2 reps of in the first round, then 4, then 6, 8, 10, 12 etc of:

• Snatch 35kg
• Hand release push ups

Result: 4nrounds + 7reps

+

Afternoon:

10km run. Major breakthrough.I walked 500 meter, then ran 4,5km(longest distance I have ever run without stopping), then walked another 500 meters and ran 2,5km, then I walked 500 meters and ran the last 1,5km. These stretches of running did not feel like it was something I had to endure or survival. Incredible!

I have fought with running, as it has been my Achilles ever since meeting Crossfit in 2009. After having my son in 2011, I celebrated running my first 1000 meter without stopping, when my son was about 6 months old. I have tried regularly to learn to run, but just never got motivated enough. I did my first 10 km run ever in September 2012 in SAPA and had been doing a few occasional 10 km races since to have something to train towards. As a crossfit enthusiast I thrive with competition and pushing myself and that just works really well with races in running – it motivates me to give a little more.

I have never found my running pace before today! It was an incredible experience. I would go as far as to say that it is literally the fist time that I actually enjoyed running! And now, 3 years  into my ‘getting to like running’-project, I finally get it! I LIKED RUNNING TODAY! I love crossfit and it is forever! But I really never thought I would reach the point of liking running. It just  shows that everything is possible in this world!

16th of January

So, today, I went for the 6am Friday Benchmark – always an awesome crowd!

Benchmark was “Adrian”: 7 rounds for time:

• 3 Forward rolls
• 5 Wall Climbs
• 7 Toe2Bar (For some reason we did burpees – grrr)
• 9 box jumps 30in/24in

I don’t like mix-ups in Benchmarks as it is difficult to track your progress if you did not do it as prescribed. Forward rolls definitely the worst part of this WOD, which sounds odd, but I get so dizzy to the point of fainting from when performing this movement… Coach was holding his breath for every forward roll I did. I stayed conscious throughout the WOD and even finished it and that must be considered a success 😀

I went RX. Time was 22:20

It was fun though being back with the 6am crowd, that I LOVE!

14th of January

3,5km walk with 3 year old on the shoulders. Carrying him to school 🙂
1,6km run to Crossfit, carrying a back pack
+

WOD at Crossfit Tay Ho:

Clean &Jerk Ladder:

• 10 reps, 25 kg
• 10 reps, 35 kg
• 10 reps, 42,5kg
• Max out on 1 rep max 50kg (only managed to load the weight, did not lift one…

+

Strength: Clean&Jerk 1 rep max 52,5

+

Skills:

• Tabata handstand
• 15 Pull-ups

+

5,2km jog home

13th of January

Strength session, although I felt weak. I worked on the following:

• Handstands
• Front Squats
• Overhead Squats
• Clean PR: 55 kg

+

WOD:

8 rounds for time:

• 200 meter run
• 10 Deadlifts, 50 kg
• 7 Toe-2-Bar

My strategy was to go relatively light on the deadlift (appropriate weight would have been minimum 60kg for me, as I flew through them), because I knew the run and the T2B would be hard on me. I finished in 22:34 and I have rarely been this proud. I completed all the T2B RX and RAN (no walk) throughout the WOD, which was my goal for this WOD.

12th of January

6am 6,8km run (19,6km to date)

Chicken apple cinnamon meatballs

These chicken meatballs with apple and cinnamon are absolutely delicious and easy to make too.

Ingredients:

• 1kg minced chicken meat )
• 2 large apples, peeled and grated
• 6 shallots, finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 6 tsp cinnamon
• 4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground pepper
• 4 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground chili (more if my hubby was to decide, less if my son gets to eat them too)
• 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped

How to:

• Mix  all ingredients well.
• Fry at low heat in extra virgin olive
  oil. I prefer smaller sized meat balls, as they can be used as fingerfood and my son loves them too.
• These are awesome to keep in the freezer and they go with almost everything and kids love them too. I like to keep a huuuge stash of these in the freezer as they are delicious and PALEO.

10th of January

Finally back in the gym after having been super sick! Kidney Stones, ouch! Finally allowed back at the gym today and almost feeling back to normal.

Morning:

Team WOD:

Each team member does 10 rounds:

• 10 KB Highswings, 16kg
• 20 Double unders (unbroken ALL 10 rounds!!!!)

Then the team needs to deadlift 4000 kg in 4 sets (2 sets each). We went for 70 kg bar!

Afternoon:

7,5km run (to date this year: 12,8km)

6th of January

Strength:

• 5 rep OHS: 30-30-25-40-45
• Snatch Practice

+

WOD:

5 roudns for time:

• 12 burpees
• 5 kipping pull-ups
• 20 sec. hand stand hold

Time: 14:13

PALEO Brownies

These PALEO brownies are absolutely to die for. I also use them as snacks for my sons playdates, though I always check that there are no kids with nut allergies, as the substitute for flour in these brownes is grounded nuts and seeds.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut oil
• 10 whole eggs
• 25 dates, pitted
• 1 vanilla bean, hard stem removed (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder, sifted
• 1 + 1/3 cup of sunflower seeds
• 2 cups almond flour
• 2/3 cup chopped pecan nuts
• 200g dark chocolate (I prefer 70%+), melted
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 can coconut cream
• 1/4 tsp sea-salt
• 3 tsp baking soda

How to:

• Turn your oven on 160 degrees celcius.
• Chop the dates in small pieces.
• Add dates and coconut oil to a pan and heat it up, stir frequently (the aim is for the dates to soften). When it starts to boil, add the coconut milk. Before it boils, add the melted chocolate and stir.
• Meanwhile whisk the eggs fluffy and then add all dry ingredients(excluding the freshly shredded coconut) to the eggs and blend with a blender in order for the sunflower seeds to be crushed.
• Now, add the wet ingredients and mix again with the blender.
• Finally add the fresh coconut and fold it in (no blender). This leaves the shredded coconut in bigger soft pieces and makes the brownies more fluffy.
• Use a 20 x 30 cm baking tin and  use baking paper to cover up the sides and bottom of the baking tin, this way you can easily remove the first batch from the tin, before you put the second one in the oven. I like to use the latter, as it is easier to get the cake out and less dishes to do… In this recipe, there is enough dough to fill the baking  tin twice. I like to make large badges of cake when I am at it and store half in the freezer for later occasions. I find that being a Mum often generates needs for an awesome cake for spontaneous play dates etc…
• Now, bake it in the oven for 40 min. (if you prefer muffins, you can use this recipe also for muffins, simply take them out of the oven after 30 minutes)
• The cake is quite soft right when you take it out of the oven, but is ready to be eaten after 15 min.

TIP: I like to keep freshly grated coconut in my freezer in a container. Next to the pieces of PALEO brownie, because then i simply defrost both together, so I don’t have to grate fresh coconut every time (ie. have fresh coconut in the fridge at all times…

Bon appetit.

5th of January

6 AM home training. 100 burpees for time: 8.27.

+

Evening:

Playing around with 2 reps of a full clean ladder: 30 -40-45-50

+

20 Pull-ups

3rd of January

Team WOD with coach Loris:

5 rounds for time:

• 200 meter run, carrying 6kg wall ball (person A)
• 15 KB swings, 16/24kg (Person B)

Then rest 1 minute and switch., It took us 16 and some minutes, but only due to my poor running skills…

Goals for 2015

My training goals for 2015 consist of the following:

• General:
  • Train consistent and smart.
  • Eat clean 75% of the time.
  • Learn to be on time
  • Sleep min. 7,5 hours/night min. 6 days/week.
  • Sleep 9 hours/night 2 days/week.
  • Prioritize 5 training sessions/week
• Running:
  • Run 400km outdoor in 2015 (Using the endomondo app)
  • Run the Anchor Wat Half Marathon 2015 in 2:15
• Training
  • min 2 MetCons/week
  • 2 strength sessions/week
  • 2 endurance sessions/week
  • Skills focus: Gymnastics

1st of January

Run for 30 minutes

My best advice for YOUR Paleo Zone Challenge

• Decide in advance on how many cheat meals you will allow yourself/week. Anything from 1-3, no more. I reserve these for work related events, where there might be a better time or place for the great ‘I am doing this thing called PALEO’- talk…Plan the cheat meals a week ahead.
• Write your goal with this challenge on post-its (on your fridge, on your desktop at work etc.)
• One of the first days on the PALEO diet, make a large stash of PALEO treats, so you have something , if you get a treat crave. I like to make a big badge of PALEO brownies and/or chocolate muffins to keep in the freezer, as I am a chocolate addict.
• Bake with QUALITY chocolate, which is expensive, but totally worth the cost.
• Also make sure to make a large badge of meatballs/ratatouille or other to keep in your freezer, for the days where you just don’t want to cook!
• Contact me at any time throughout this challenge, I am more than happy to share recipes and ideas on how to make this easier for you. I can also provide you with a copy of a PALEO cookbook, should you be interested.
• FINALLY remember that it is not so bad, because PALEO loves BACON and Bacon loves PALEO!

Tips for social life during the PALEO challenge

Here is a list of my best advice for your social life during PALEO, as this is what most people find the hardest:

• In stead of Alcohol: go for a SODA water with lime, it looks like a G&T and does not immediately invite questions about quitting alcohol for a while. (Feel free to laugh at me for this, but seriously, it works ;))
• Eat a sweet potato at home, before going to a dinner party or alike and then go for meat and salad at the party.
• Have espresso/American coffee or go for tea
• for a while.
• You could also switch from your regular coffee house to ‘Cong Caphe’, where they have coffee with coconut milk on the menu.
• If there are snacks, go for the nuts.
• Dessert, go for fruit and raw chocolate

Getting started eating Zone PALEO

Below you will find links to good reads for getting started with eating PALEO, using Zone measurements:

• PALEO: http://thepaleodiet.com/
• Zone: http://crossfitimpulse.com/the-zone-diet-explained-
  edited/
• Zone block calculator: http://www.dbhonline.com/zoneful/
  p_calculator.htm
• PALEO ZONE incl. Zone block download: http://
  crossfitfenrir.com/paleozone-dummies-part-ii-step-step-
  guide-started/
• CROSSFIT HQ on nutrition: http://www.crossfit.com/cf-
  info/start-diet.html
• A personal story with the Zone and Paleo: http://
  myjourneyrx.com/2014/03/11/my-experience-on-the-
  zone-diet/
• Must read article about crossfit and nutrition by Coach
  Glassman: http://journal.crossfit.com/2004/05/

40 DAYS IN THE ZONE CAVE – CHALLENGE KICK-OFF

Alright, so today I kickstarted the 40 day ZONE PALEO challenge at Crossfit Tay Ho. It was awesome and something I have been wanting to do for a long time! This first group had 3 new people at our box and 2 newbies to Crossfit.  It is always exciting to have new people join our box and I hope the new ones will like it, in particular!Group 2 will start the PALEO challenge next week.

RULES:

• We eat PALEO foods, following the ZONE measurements.
  • we use Zone measurements, in order to customize our results, so we reach our respective goals.
• We eat meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds, good oils.
• We don’t drink alcohol, we drink water.
• We eat nothing that has been processed.
• We don’t encourage cheat days, but if you want cheat days, decide on a specific number/week and plan these one week ahead.

Kickstarting the challenge entailed:

• I made this special booklet for everyone participating at the gym.
  • A chart to write measurements and weight progress as well as details on the Benchmark WOD for Day1 and Day 40
  • Coach Glassmans first article on Nutrition for Crossfit from May 2004
  • A shopping list on where to buy what for PALEO in Hanoi
  • A list of good delivery options for people on PALEO
  • A few recipes
  • Do’s and don’ts on Zone Paleo and reason why
  • And a list of my best advice for every person going PALEO
• We weighed and measured everyone and wrote it town in our booklets.
• Then we did the Benchmark WOD JACK.

My personal goal is to move my body fat percentage from 29% to 20%. And then my aim is to help other people experience first hand how important nutrition is to training. What an awesome way to start 2015. So happy that so many people wanted to join me on this journey! Thank you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

31st of December

Benchmark: ‘JACK’:

20 min AMRAP:

• 10 Push Press, 35kg
• 10 KB swings, 16 kg
• 10 box JUMPS, 20 inch box.

This is my benchmark WOD for the PALEO Challenge and my result was 9 rounds + 20 RX.

My aim is 11 rounds next time.

30th of December

20 minutes AMRAP:

• 3 Thrusters, 30 kg
• 6 Overhead lunges, 30 kg
• 9 Push Press, 30 kg

Result: 10 rounds + 5 reps

My strategy was to go full during each round and then rest for 40 sec. Reviewing my strategy, I should probably have rested for 25-30 sec in stead. Lesson learned for next time.

29th of December

3 rounds:

• Front Squat until dropping the bar, 40 kg
• 1 minute to do 100 mountain runners (rest for the remaining part of the minute

Ouch

27th of December

WOD: 10 minute AMRAP:

• 32 Double Unders
• 16 Power Cleans, 40kg
• 8 Wall climbs
• 4 Pull-ups
• 2 Hand Stand Push Ups

1 round  + 52 reps

26th of December

WOD: 5 rounds for time:

• 20 mountain runners
• 20 KB swings, 20kg
• 20 sit-ups
• 20 squats

11.30

Cool down: TABATA handstand

25th of December

WOD: 2 rounds for time:

• 25 thrusters, 25 kg
• 6 Toes2Bar
• 20 Double unders
• 14 burpees

At 6 am on Christmas morning… Ouch!

24th of December

WOD: For time:

• 21 Front Squats, 40kg
• 21 burpees
• 7 pull-ups
• 15 Push Press, 40kg
• 15 Burpees
• 5 Pull-ups
• 9 Power Clean, 40kg
• 9 burpees
• 3 Pull-ups

23rd of December

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:

• Deadlift, 60kg
• Burpee Box Jumps (20 inch box, but every single one was a solid JUMP! Focus area of mine)

Result 10:35. I am super happy about this. So happy Krissy went lighter, as she was the reason I kept going. I love trying to keep up with someone.

22nd of December

7 minute AMRAP:

• 3 Thrusters, 35kg
• 3 pull-ups RX

Each round, add 1 rep of Thrusters, but keep the pull-ups at 3 reps.

I reached 40 reps, which means 5 rounds completed and I did ALL the pull-ups as prescribed! Again ecstatic! It has taken me quite some time to get here and now I am just grateful for every single pull-up I make.

17th of December

WOD:

12 min AMRAP
50 double under
40 deadlift, 40kg
30 power clean, 40kg
20 burpees facing the bar
10 pull up (RX)

First time EVER going through a WOD doing the pull-ups RX’ed. It felt rocking awesome! And I still crushed it. 1 round + 50+40+1!!!!!!! I was ecstatic!

15th of December

WOD:

EMOM 6 min
5 c&j (heavy)
1 min rest
EMOM 6 min
7 c&j (lighter)
1 min rest
EMOM 6 min
9 c&j (lighter)

I went for 40/35/30, but should have gone 45/40/30. The first two rounds were far far too easy.

12th of December

Last workout at CF Tay Ho with his awesomeness Shawn ❤

Benchmark “Diane”:

21-15-9 of:

• Deadlift 100kg/80kg
• Hand Stand Push Ups

I went for a 70 kg bar. Very close to RX, but I was tired and not feeling it, so I decided to go lighter in order to keep up the intensity, as the HSPUs took me forever. I felt weak.

Time 10:50 and there is no way I could have done more today. I am very happy with it.

10th of December

10 rounds
3 turkish get up, 16kg
10 kb swing, 16kg
15 sit up

Today I was ‘lazy’ as my coach pointed out. I should have gone 20kg KB. But I was super tired and decided to listen to my body, rather than me ego. One of those tough days of parenting, where your kid wakes you up at 4:45 and you spend the first 2 hours of your day having more ridiculous discussion with him than you ever thought possible. BUT I am glad I did go to the gym.

I also did

• 10 kipping pull-ups
• TABATA bar hang
• TABATA handstand
• 10 hand stand push-ups

8th of December

Today, I did a little session at the gym. Aim recovery and moving a bit

• 7 sets of 1 strict pull.ups with the thinnest band
• 10 minutes: 2 kipping pull-ups on the minute
• Shoulder press: 5 sets of 3 reps, 35kg

+

90 minute complete body massage

1 year of consistency – and its results

So, it has been 1 year today that I decided to be consistent with my training AND determined and I am so happy I did. I want to share with you what happened, what changed and why.

Skills I have acquired this year:

• Kipping Pull-ups (I can do 3 stringed together – wooohooo. This skill  took me close to forever to learn and I am so proud to finally have it, that I do these every time I am at the gym)
• Kipping handstand push ups (I can do 8 stringed together – yeah)
• One armed handstand (one I am really psyched about as I think it rocks being able to do that :))
• I can do box jumps, resting on top of the box! At least on a 20 inch box in sets of 10 reps.
• I can do T2B  (3 stringed together) – I need to get more efficient on them though.
• And then I have gotten stronger.

Change in body composition:

• BW: 75kg –> 69kg
• Chest: 89cm –> 89cm
• Bust: 93cm –> 94cm
• Waist: 86cm –> 75cm
• Hips: 115cm –>102cm
• Thighs: 65 –> 60cm
• Calves: 40cm –> 36cm
• Upper arms: 31cm –> 28cm (development I am least proud of, as I am now working in the other direction :D)
• Forearms: 25cm –> 24cm

(Sharing these numbers was very intimidating, but I hope to inspire someone along the way and therefore results must be shown, because this is so much more than a weight loss. My goal is not to get skinnier (a tad would not hurt ;), but my goal is to be happy and fit and that requires constant determination to make time to make the things I want to happen happen. If you want to get smaller, focus on getting fitter and the inches/centimeters will show to see that your body is changing)

How did I do this: On this day 1 year ago, I had my first session with Fit Bird (online personal training, which is truly amazing), who really got me kick started with this life changing thing. I must admit, that I thought the measuring centimeters and even sending pictures of myself was very intimidating and shameful and a few tears were shed, but I am so happy I did, because the results now speak for themselves. I followed the Fit Bird programming for 6 months, focusing on strength. During this period I also challenged myself to 1 entire month of full on Zone Paleo to try it and it was amazing, both health wize, fitness result wize, lifestyle etc. Then Loris opened Crossfit Tay Ho and that was amazing and I started to focus on that full on. During the summer in Denmark, I don’t know what I would ahve done without coach Bjørn from Silkeborg Crossfit. And then when I came back after the summer, it was full-on crossfit and strength with coach Loris and some occasional running. And this is what I keep on doing. My schedule looks more or less like this:

• Monday: Squat + Shoulder Press + WOD + skills
• Tuesday: Short run/Row/sandbag carry on shoulders up and down my building (I live on the 15th floor)
• Wednesday: Squat + Push Press + WOD + skills
• Thursday: rest (rest does not equal couch potato-day, but means that I can go for a jog(not a run) or a swim or a bike ride), which in my case usually entails swim lesson for my son and some playtime at the pool pre or post swim and perhaps a bike ride and then when Arthur is asleep I can be the couch potato.
• Friday: WOD
• Saturday: Deadlift/Snatch/clean
• Sunday: Endurance row/run + skills

Accomplishments this year:

• My first live Crossfit Competition in July 2014 Silkeborg, Denmark. This was awesome to try! And I would do more competitions, if it were in any way possible from where I live.
• A half marathon on December 7th 2014 (first time ever) and it took absolutely forever – my legs cramped up at around 14 km and I seriously thought I would not finish. But I did get through it. It took forever, but I did it, as I had to walk the vast majority of the remaining distance! Huge mental accomplishment. As it really was pure mental to keep pushing through that much pain of cramps (I’m feeling with Spealler Crossfit Games anno 2012). And my coach who was amazingly my pacemaker mentally held my hand throughout the whole thing – I am eternally thankful. And as I told Loris at 20,5 km, this was worse than going through delivery and that says a lot.

What is next:

• My primary goal is to keep having fun. Crossfit and fitness have become my outlet and my social outlet aswell when Loris opened his amazing box Crossfit Tay Ho in Hanoi. It is the place I enjoy the most going and the people I see there are the people that I have become closest with in Hanoi, through what we do together. Even when we just ‘hang’ (literally from the bar for a post wod hanging tabata…) It is what drives me and I truly believe it makes me a better person, Mum, wife, co-worker and friend. It also makes me feel like a child again, playing around at the gym, learning new skills, it is awesome and I would love to keep this as much part of my daily life as my schedule allows me to.
• I keep on following the Paleo lifestyle at approx. 70% of the time using Zone measurements(the zone things sounds a bit obsessive, but after a few weeks I knew most blocks by heart). The remaining 30% is to have that occasional glass of wine, licorice, chocolate, an occasional juicy burger or some rice or whatever other craving I may have.
• I want to join the Crossfit Open 2015 and I am anxiously following the development in the organization of this (ie. Scaled vs. not scaled, regions, country champions etc.). I love the concept and structure of the Crossfit Open. I am doing this for me and have no further goals than participating and seing where I stand for those 5 weeks and discover new weaknesses to work on.
• I want to complete a half marathon row before the end of 2014 and another half marathon run within the next year.
• Concerning skills, next focus is strict pull-ups, strict handstand push ups, ring dips and then hopefully I can progress to focus on steps for the muscle up.
• Concerning strength, I simply plan to keep getting stronger, sticking to my programme and challenging myself out of my comfort zone.
• I want to get better at posting awesome pics from the gym on this blog.
• I need to get more efficient on my burpees, but then again who doesn’t…
• Basically just keep doing what I am doing now, because it makes me better at life – and lets face it, that is what really counts.

I hope I have inspired someone out there. xxx Emilie

7th of December

Today I completed my absolute first half marathon and it feels amazing. 21 and some km and it completely demolished me. Time 2:58 and it felt even longer. I had cramps from the 14th kilometer and had to walk the majority of the remaining distance. So happy I kept going. And so proud.