Let's Have Another Party

~ Winifred Atwell ~

 

So, 23 days till Christmas and still so much to do.  Just in the next week I have to organize (and go to) an end year function for a group of hyper kids & a baby shower for a group of ooohing & aahing ladies, and then attend two further Christmas functions. This week is going to be so hectic that I resorted to cutting my own hair over the basin last night.. Crossfit peeps everywhere be proud - I chose going to Crossfit over (my dignity) going to the hairdresser.

I hate the madness that goes with December. It's "sales", mad traffic, no school (so the kids & their 'rents are in the shops) and I'm just trying to buy a cucumber for my salad, standing in a queue that has 3 Sinotech flat screen TV's and a couple of bikes in it's collective trolleys.

And while you are attending all these extra festivities, you still have to find time to exercise, willpower to stay away from all the desserts & alcohol and the patients of a saint not to kick that girl that is walking in front of you at a snail's pace in the crowded mall corridor. Seriously, I have an hour lunch - can we make a deal?  You go to the stores between 8:00 and 12:00, go home, come back after 14:00. Then it doesn't take me 40 minutes to buy said f*cking cucumber.

And it's not like you can bunker down till after New Year's, so you have to find your coping mechanisms, even with Boney M blaring about Babylon in the background. This time of year people seem to forget how to drive, and everyone is in such a rush! Courtesy becomes non-existent and idiots come out in their droves. 

When things get a little overwhelming I just have to remind myself that this season will also come to pass. Eventually everything will be calm and quiet once more. People will be overfed and flat broke & then I will have the shops all to myself again.  

We did a Clean Ladder at Crossfit and I have the shoulder & collarbone bruises to prove it.  Was such a nice feeling to get a new personal best on the weight - I can now do a 55kg power clean.  The power clean is derived from Olympic lifts and is explosive by nature - in other words, it can’t be done slowly (and when your new - gracefully). The “pull” part of the power clean utilizes all the major muscles of the core, hips, quads and hamstrings.  

Power cleans are technically considered a shoulder exercise, but they do so much more. They give you well-developed muscles in the legs including the calves, glutes, and hamstrings & also targets the muscles in the lower and upper back and traps. It requires the coordination of every muscle group in the body & in time, the exercise adds muscle density and functional strength over your entire body.

I cut waaay down on the coffee today, only 2 cups. Ok, I might be having a 3rd one while I'm typing now...

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Not an Addict

~ K's Choice ~

I am physically twitching....these exercise withdrawals are baaad.  I haven't done any exercise since Saturday & it's taking it's toll mentally. Which is a worrying thing, I'm so desperate to get back to exercising but I can hardly make it up the stairs at work without breathing hard. So I'm trying really hard not to cave & give in to quickly - I promised myself I will see if I'm ready on Saturday (not a day earlier!) & then take it easy (pfft...).  This means Boyfriend is going to Crossfit alone this week; which is a total & utter bummer.

Exercising or playing sport makes me happy, and I feel like I've accomplished something when I'm done. I know if I'm in a bad mood the endorphins will kick in & make me (slightly) less grumpy. If I have bad cramps during a period I go to the Box anyway, because afterwards it definitely feels better. But at what point does exercise become an obsession?  Exercise addiction may not necessarily sound like a bad thing - after all, it is essential to our well-being, however it can have harmful consequences.

Firstly, exercise addiction is maladjusted:  instead of improving your life, it causes more problems. It can threaten your health, causing injuries & physical damage (because you are not getting enough rest) and malnutrition (when coinciding with an eating disorder). Secondly, it is unrelenting: you exercise too much & for too long without giving you body time to recover. We all overexert ourselves, but usually with a rest day every now & then. Exercise addicts will exercise for hours every day, regardless of being tired or ill.

What's scary is that there are several similarities between exercise addiction & drug addiction, including effects on mood, tolerance and withdrawal. Neurotransmitters and the brain's reward system have been implicated in addictions - dopamine has been found to play an important role in overall reward systems, and regular, excessive exercise has been shown to influence parts of the brain involving dopamine. Like other addictive substances and behaviors, exercise is associated with pleasure, and social/cultural desirability.

The Sport Psychology Journal had a trial where the types of sensations experienced by runners who missed a run was studied. Most of the 345 runners reported some kind of distress:  irritability, restlessness, frustration, guilt, and depression were reported most often. Sleeping problems, digestive difficulties, and muscle tension and soreness were reported less frequently. Three causes of exercise withdrawal were proposed: (1) a misinterpretation of the return of dysphoria that had been temporarily masked by the effects of running; (2) an inability to cope with stress in periods when the coping mechanism of running is temporarily unavailable; and (3) the loss of regular, predictable reinforcement of feelings of self-fulfillment gained through success or achievement in previously unimagined and unattainable ways.

There are several warning signs that can confirm if you are in the danger zone ("Daaaanger Zooonnneee" - anyone who has ever watched Archer will appreciate that) - this handy article lists them.  I don't think I'm quite there yet, but I can see how stressing about every little thing you eat can let you slip into this kind of thinking quite easily.  If your need for exercise is greater than your ability to manage your relationships & feelings, you may need help.

So tonight while Boyfriend is practicing his overhead snatch & snatch balance (grumble) I'll shoot at things on Battlefield...at least I can exercise my aiming finger....

Even with a coffee shop lunch date I was able to keep within my macro's today - even had two glasses of water that only mildly tasted like mucus...this nasal drip really needs to pack it's bags now.

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