If you’re like me, and probably millions of other people, you’d like to be in great shape… Naturally. That’s right, just perfect without ever having to workout or move from your bed or couch. Wow, wouldn’t that be awesome. Well, it doesn’t work that way and it never will. “Sawwies!”

Today Emma and I agreed we would start working out again. When you’re 11 it’s easy to hop right back into it. Plus she is in gymnastics and stays in pretty good shape. Now, I’m going to be 50 this year and I’m kind of broken. I have had foot surgery, half a thyroid, arthritis in my knees, and both hands are fused at my wrists. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you this so you’ll feel sorry for me. I’m telling you so you don’t feel sorry for your self. I’m tired and broken and I’m always still trying to get moving. We have no excuses. I watch videos of people doing pull-ups from wheelchairs and with one arm. I’ve seen amazing things from people who are less than whole. So, when I think I’m too tired or not fit enough I remember these people so I stop feeling sorry for myself. I am impressed and inspired.

Today, we started with the site workout. This refers to the Crossfit site where they post a new work out of the day (WOD) that anyone can follow. The secret to crossfit is that every WOD can be scaled down to the level that anyone can do it. The worst thing is when people see a crossfit WOD and say they would never do it because it’s too extreme. I’m not and never will be doing anything close to what you’d see on the Crossfit Games. Let’s say you haven’t gotten out of your chair for a few years and you want to start a crossfit workout. Instead of doing squats, you could sit in a low chair and then stand up. Just do that over and over until you become stronger and can move the chair away. That’s what I’m talkin’ about as far as scaling goes. Every move can be made easier until you begin to build more strength. 

So after about two months off I’m back at it. One time I started up and I just threw myself into a workout and got what I like to call “swell-bow.” When I do too many pull ups out of shape I get really swollen in my elbows and can’t straighten out my arms for a few days. It’s horrible and painful and now that I’ve had it it seems like it happens very easily. So, with that being said, I start very slowly. I will not do more than 20-25 pull ups for the first couple of weeks. Now, you should also know I use a giant rubber band when doing pull-ups because I can’t do one alone yet. See? I’m becoming more and more bitchen as we go… Again, just making my point, all scalable. So, today’s WOD is Cindy. It’s 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats. Do as many rounds of these sets as you can in 20 minutes. This is what I did: 5 sets of each. I used a band for the pull-ups and I did the push-ups on my knees and used handles on the ground because I can’t put my hands flat anymore. The squats I got, all that stuff still works pretty well. I chose to only do 5 rounds so I didn’t do more than 25 pull-ups. My slowest for Cindy is 8 rounds and my best is 12 rounds in 20 mins.

I’m not tearing it up but what I am doing is moving. I’m doing the best with what I have. I’m making sure I don’t hurt myself in the beginning and I’m building for a lifetime, not a moment. Getting in shape is not a race and if you’ve gotten yourself into a place where it is, you may want to rethink it. Pace yourself.

After our workout Emma thought of riding our bikes to the park, running a lap around it, and riding home. She’s so cool. So we did! I realized while we were running that I haven’t lost as much fitness as I thought, and that made me happy. She then made a fabulous breakfast for us and now we’re off to stock up the fridge with healthy fresh foods. Day two and we’re doing great…

Go get some!