Last week I talked about changing up my routine. I could feel myself getting a bit addicted to CrossFit again, meaning I was continually increasing my weights and I wasn’t physically feeling my best. I explained this last week and had so many people support and understand what I was going through. Many women have experienced the same thing but don’t always want to talk about it. I also had some who didn’t understand. I just want to quickly mention something. Feeling my best both physically and mentally is incredibly important to me. Not everyone cares about that, but I do. For a long time, I have loved who I am on the inside, but it’s taken longer to become comfortable with the physical piece. Because of that, I’m continuously finding new ways to become more comfortable in my skin. And I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. I want to know that I’m earning loving myself. I want to know that I’m working my ass off to become a better person, both inside and outside.
I’ve had people tell me that it’s what on the inside that counts. But that person inside is an incredibly hardworking, positive, happy, thriving human being because of the work I do on the outside. Because of working out, I work harder at my job here for you guys. Because of working out, I’m happier in my relationship. Because of working out, I drink less, eat better, sleep better, and have more energy. Because of working out, the person inside better matches the person outside. I’m not striving for perfection, I’m just striving for the best Juli.
And right now, that means trying different kinds of workouts to see how my body responds and changes. I’ve done CrossFit 5-6 days per week for over 6 years now and it’s changed so many things in my life and my body. But I don’t really care about getting better at it now. Sure, I’m always happy for my form to get better, but I’m not interested in PR’s or increasing my weights. So I’m now looking for things to get better at that will also make me happier in my skin at the same time. That means I’m doing CrossFit a couple times per week, I’m wake surfing because there is LOTS of room for improvement there, I’m doing Fit classes for a longer amount of time working out with lighter weights, then I’m also doing Barre because it’s a total different kind of challenge compared to CrossFit.
I’ve been doing this for over a week now and I already can see some changes, especially in my legs. I’m LOVING barre because it’s a big time mental challenge during some of the workouts. When your legs are shaking uncontrollably, telling your body to give up, it’s your brain that has to take over and push through. I’m getting pretty sore from the workouts, especially my calves and my upper butt where the back meets my butt. I never get sore there from CrossFit, so it’s cool to know I’m working something different. And because I’m mixing up all my workouts, I’m seeing the difference physically. I’ll continue to change it up every week, sometimes doing more CrossFit and sometimes not. Because I think that’s good for my body. I want my muscles to work hard in different ways, but I also want them to be able to recover and that’s sometimes hard with CrossFit workouts.
Anywho, that’s my experience so far. I live in an incredibly active place with so many options and I’m trying to take full advantage of all of them. So far, I’m really happy with that decision. If you have any questions regarding any of the workouts I’ve been doing, feel free to leave them in the comments. I’m faster at responding to those than I am at emails! I’m excited to share this new journey with you guys and different experiences I have over the next fews months! For now, let’s talk about last week!
Sunday – Wake surfing
Monday – Fit Class – video here
*Warm Up before and quick core workout after*
Workout: Three 10 minute AMRAPs (no rest between the three, go right into the next)
#1 – 10-8-6-4-2: Dumbbell thrusters then 200m run between sets
#2 – 40-20-10 calorie row and 80-40-20 air squats (butt to wall ball)
#3 – 20-14-8 front rack lunges, lunges and 300m run between sets
Tuesday – Barre Forte Lohi Class
Wednesday – CrossFit Broadway Class
Every 30 sec for 15 mins – Alternating.
On the :00 – Strict HSPU
On the :30 – Strict Pull Ups
* Choose a number of reps to perform for each movement between 2 & 6. Keep that number the entire workout. This is 15 sets of each so choose wisely! – I did 4 reps every set
Then 2 Rounds For Time: (15 min time cap)
500m Row
20 Toes To Bar
400m Run
20 Box Jump Overs (24/20)
I finished in 12:59 rx
Thursday – Rest day
Friday – CrossFit Broadway Class – video here
Back Squats: 5 x 3. All sets at 88% (18 mins) – I used 155#
10 min AMRAP Of:
10 Double KB Russian Swings (2 x 55/2 x 35)
10 Double KB Front Rack Lunges (2 x 55/2 x 35)
5 Muscle Ups / 7 Burpee Pull Ups
I got 4 + 23 using 35# and doing burpee pull ups
Saturday – Fit Class
*Warm up then core workout*
With a partner:
Buy in: 800 single unders (between 2 people) – Partner 1: jump rope while Partner 2: 26 lunges
200 ab mat sit ups (between 2 people) – 1 person works while partner holds boat pose
150 air squats (between 2 people) – 1 person work while partner holds air squat
100 push ups (between 2 people) – 1 person works while partner holds TRX row
50 pull ups (between 2 people) – 1 person works while partner hangs from pull up bar
Buy out: 50 burpees (between 2 people) – Partner 1: burpees while Partner 2: 25 jumping jacks
Then sprint: 3x stairs, 30 box jumps, 3x stairs, 30 donkey kicks, 3x stairs, 30 jumping lunges
__________________
At Home/Travel Workout:
20-15-10 dumbbell bicep curls (weight increasing each set)
20-15-10 weighted step ups (per leg – weight increasing each set)
400m sprint
20-15-10 tricep kickbacks (weight increasing each set)
20-15-10 weighted lunges (weight increasing each set)
400m sprint
20-15-10 shoulder press (weight increasing each set)
20-15-10 sumo squats (weight increasing each set)
400m sprint
*try to not rest much between any of the sets of reps
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Thank you so much for your posts on this the past few weeks! I feel like this describes exactly where I am in my fitness journey. I’ve been doing strictly crossfit 5-6 days a week for the past 3 years or so, and I think I need to start switching in other forms of exercise as well! I’ve been nervous to shy away from crossfit a few days a week, but now after reading your posts I am excited to try! When you decided to stop working on constantly achieving heavier weights at crossfit, did you feel like the coaches understood? That is the one think I am nervous about.
I am moving to Denver in a couple weeks, so I will definitely be trying out a barre class now! Thanks for the recommendation and thanks for sharing your input!
You’re literally the greatest human. Thanks for posting these every week.
Have you ever heard of or tried The Barre Code? They just opened one up in Denver. We have one in Milwaukee and I LOVE it! They have barre along with cardio classes (HIIT & cardio kickboxing). You should definitely check it out.
Since I work for a school and am out for the summer I have been able to attend our gyms conditioning classes in the morning three times a week. They do similar workouts to the regular Crossfit classes but they are longer and include more cardio less heavy barbell. Even though I hate everything that is cardio, I am seeing improvements in other areas of my fitness from this change. We also have a barre class at our gym and I randomly was at the gym last week when it was about to start and our instructor convinced me to try it. It was so hard and burned like nothing else I have ever experienced. I have been told that I need to work on my glute msucles so am going to try to incorporate that into my schedule once a week. My second class is tonight. Wish me luck!
Keep up the good work. I love how honest and real your posts are. Thank you for that! 🙂
Tracy Anderson method streaming will get you there! Just try a month and you won’t believe it ❤️????????????????I haven’t looked back to any HIIT since I discovered streaming. Lots of info on her web site and on INsta. It will not bulk you in any way and It is crazy hard. I also do barre and Pilates – def recommend the reformer too if you can find a good studio. Good luck!
Hi Juli!
I’m not big in commenting but now felt the urge. I’ve followed you for years and I know there have been a few bumps on the road. The thing is we all have those but it seems you’ve actively looked for ways to overcome them INSTEAD OF GIVING UP. And now look at you: you’re thriving and you look so well because you’ve carved your own path, which I admire.
I sometimes read your posts and look at your amazing body and almost feel jealous for a second. But the thing is, we are all responsible for our own lives. So I rather use this feeling to inspire me to continue my OWN journey.
You see, I fu**ed up my body by training too much, stressing all the time about work and life and eating too little and generally not appreciating myself and my health. I finally decided to take responsibility and I went to the best doctor in the world who is now treating my symptoms and hypothyroidism (result of overtraining). I’m determined to NOT GIVE UP but treat myself better and really give my body what it needs to thrive again. I miss the gym so much but I’ve had to learn new ways to be active.
What comes to looks I think they very much reflect the way we treat ourselves and the way we feel inside. So I understand where you’re coming from – looks matter to me too. Looking good makes me feel confident. Not looking after my health makes me feel (and look) like s**t.
I could write an essay here but here is the main thing: you’re an inspiration and I look forward to seeing what happens next in your life. We only have one life and we can make what we want of it. I’m here across the world continuing my own journey determined to be the best version of myself. Yeih! Lots of love!
don’t ever feel jealous. remember that we see certain things on social media. we see certain angles, certain situations, certain everything. we don’t see the real life. it’s so so easy to feel jealous of others (i find myself doing that too sometimes) but i try to remind myself that jealousy is pointless and gets us nowhere. hard work and dedication will lead us to a healthier and happier path. and being proud of all your accomplishments in the end is even more fun. i’m with you, i think what’s happening on the inside truly affects what’s happening on the outside too. thanks for the positive comment and good luck with your own journey and taking good care of yourself!
Thanks for sharing how you have been changing up your workout routine! I have been part of a local fitness group for almost two years now, and lately I have been changing up my routine as well by adding in a Body Pump class once a week–it’s totally different from my usual exercise routine (which is running x 3 and body weight workouts x 2 every week). I love it!
Another thing that I have started doing is taking aerial silk (not aerial yoga..they are different :))…. I LOVE it! It is a huge challenge for me (similar to how you have picked up wake surfing), it is a great ab and arm workout, and it’s just really fun! If you have a place that offers it near you, you should give it a try!
Thanks for the reminder that we all need to switch it up every once in awhile! You look awesome and you’re a great inspiration! 🙂
i actually tried that a few years ago but couldn’t really get into it. thanks for the recommendation, though!
Hey, juli
Glad you are mixing it up fitness wise.
I am much older than you. I was a professional dancer for a while but always loved getting in my hard pass weight workouts.
I had multiple children and kinda focused on that, still getting in my heavy duty weight workouts.
You’ll see as you get older, that only training one way isn’t even good for your body. I started to miss my flexibility from dance over time. I became a certified Pilates instructor, so I could teach and get my workout in.
I now incorporate all kinds of workouts. It helps with over training and boredom.
Love your recipes and “common sense” attitude.
Keep on keeping on.
that’s great to hear! just from my short experience so far, mixing it up it definitely what the body needs to thrive best! i tend to overtrain with crossfit since it’s such a demanding workout, so i think my body loves the rest from doing different things! thanks for being awesome and giving that future perspective!!
Hi Juli!
Thanks for these posts-Honestly you can tell how hard you work at being the best version of you and its very inspiring.
I had a quesiton about the home workout you posted-I am not 100% sure how its supposed to be done. Are you supposed to do for example the bicep curls and step ups 20-15-10 and then do the sprint and then do the next exercies 20-15-10 and then the sprint so on and so forth.
Or are you supposed to do the bicep curls and step up 20 reps and then sprint and then do all the other exerices 20 reps and sprint and then do all the 15 reps?
Sorry I am sure I am not making sense but it looks killer so I wanted to give it a go!
Thanks for all you do.
Hi. You mentioned “I want my muscles to work hard in different ways, but I also want them to be able to recover and that’s sometimes hard with CrossFit workouts.”
I’ve never done CF before and am starting the foundations program next week. So I’m wondering what you meant that you cannot recover from CF? Also, what do you think of the idea of doing CF once a week and own training other days of the week?
when doing crossfit with decent heavy weight 5-6 times per week, i think it’s hard for the body to fully recover and muscle turnover to occur. but that definitely has to do with the weight you choose, how hard you push in the workouts and what the programming is like. no one person is the same, but when i do cf, i go decent heavy with my weight and i push it as hard as i can most of the time, so i need a bit more rest. for a person who is staying light and not breaking much of a sweat or breathing heavy, they won’t need the same recovery time. i can’t say what i think about you do cf once a week and training on your other days since i’ve never met you and i don’t know what your actual goals are. sorry i can’t be more help!