clevermanka | Before

Y'all, I have totally got this 300 swings thing. Yesterday was a little rough, but Doge bless my trainer Andrew who incorporated 120 KB swings (with a 25lb bell) into my routine for the week. Rolling out for nearly an hour last night helped a lot, too. My trick to getting the swings in is pretty simple. The biggest help is to get up a little early and bang out 100 swings before showering. I don't even do them all at once. It goes something like twenty-five swings and then empty the dishwasher; twenty-five swings and brush teeth; twenty-five swings and get everything in the backpack for work; twenty five swings and shower. Boom! I'm one-third of the way done for the day. The twenty-pound KB I have at the office feels a bit like cheating after swinging the 36lb one at home first thing. But I know from yesterday's experience that I am not up to swinging the 36lb bell for all 300 swings yet. Depending on how my strength improves, I might switch the bells halfway through the challenge so I'm doing most of my swings with the 36lb one at work and then I can warm-up with the 20lb bell at home.

Not gonna lie, dealing with the Before Pics was tough. I've been photographed in more generally revealing outfits before, but these Before Pics, man. It's not just that I'm wearing shorts (my legs--never my favorite) and a sports bra (my fantastic boobs, almost smooshed past recognition), but I'm so incredibly naked. No makeup, no fancy hair, no persona. Just plain old me, in less-than-flattering lighting. Also, thanks,

mckitterick for not noticing that my tag was sticking out in back of my sports bra. *sigh*

I'm going to post the Before Pics here, but for the love of god no comments about how great I look already, or any of that shit, okay? I am not doing this for anybody but me. So no comments about how I look. Come April 1 you can talk all you want about how I've changed my body (or not, depending on how much my body does change this month), but I want ZERO judgement or opinion on how my body looks, okay? Even if those judgements and opinions are positive, they are still judgements and opinions and I have no interest in hearing them.

I'm a 44-year-old secretary who discovered the joys of weightlifting just last year. I've always been sedentary, disinclined to sports, and slightly overweight in addition to being diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome two years ago. I have problems with adrenal fatigue, too, so being able to spread the swings throughout the day is perfect. I can participate in a movement that requires some work, but I can stop and resume as my body needs without stressing it too much. I hope that regular, dedicated, daily movement like this will get me to the point where I can return to WODs at my local CrossFit box. Until then, I might continue the 300 daily swings on days I don't lift.

Also, for reference:
Weight: 160
Waist: 31.5"
Navel: 39"
Hip: 42"
Right Thigh: 25.5"