Kelly Trepp, Author

Holy cow! It's been nearly two months since I've made a blog post. That really shouldn't be allowed. February, being the short month that it was, flew by. Then March came in like a lion. Here are the highlights: Began attending Academic Lectures for the Instructor Training Program ( more on that here ) Registered for the CrossFit Games Open. Celebrated Valentine's Day with Bacon-Covered Roses from my hubby Began the Whole Life Challenge Which required a purchase from US Wellness Meats Entertained a weekend with the in-laws and managed to stay WLC compliant Dominated the CrossFit Games Open WOD 13.1 with a new PR Experimented with new recipes... How to poach the perfect egg Started volunteering at a local elementary school's running club Signed up to mentor an at-risk youth at a local high school Dominated the CrossFit Games Open WOD 13.2 As of this posting, I'm currently sitting at 2240th place in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Not ...

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”  - Steve Jobs This weekend was a weekend of firsts. My first CrossFit competition. The gym's first year anniversary party. And my first step on a new journey. CrossFit Lakas  participated in the  Garage Games'   World Wide WOD - Gym Resolution  -- a one day national event held in gyms world wide. Thousands of athletes all competing in the same three WODs. And wouldn't you know, CrossFit Lakas was holding down the event's Facebook page for a few hours, with two of our athletes holding down the fourth and fifth spot overall before the west coast star...

In the age of lightning-fast internet, social media, and 24-hour news networks, it's easy to get the story wrong. The infamous quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world," has been attributed to Gandhi, time and again. But a New York Time's article tells us his words have been slightly tampered with. The closest quote follows:   If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do. It is no secret that my husband and I have gone through substantial personal change and growth within the last year. I completed a half-marathon before kicking the running habit in favor of a new CrossFit bandwagon, which hubby gladly jumped on board, and we completely changed our diets in favor of a Paleolithic lifestyle for a 30-day challenge which has managed to stick around for the last six months. We've seen ph...

So remember last week when I was waxing poetic about the year so far and I said that I had changed my goals and that I no longer had interest in completing a full marathon? Well, that changed the same day the post went live. I completed my very first marathon last Monday... a marathon WOD, that is. Ok whatever it isn't the same thing. Except I'm pretty sure this 40 minute workout, 60 minutes for some people, was more intense than running a full marathon. I can certainly say it was more intense than the half marathon I ran in just over 2 hours. So what all did this mammoth of a WOD ( workout of the day to those of you who are unfamiliar with CrossFit ) entail? I'm glad you ask, because I'm about to tell you! 2 Rounds for Time of: 26 Toes to Bar 200m Run 26 Box Jumps (24 in. for men, 20 in. for women) 200m Run 26 Kettlebell Swings (1.5 poods for men, 1 pood for women) 200m Run 26 Walking Lunges 200m Run 26 Push-ups 200m Run 26 Sit-ups (with ab mat) ...

Monday starts the new challenge of kickin' it old school. 2 million years-ish old school to be more exact descriptive. I'm talking about the 30 day Paleo Challenge that just began at my CrossFit gym . "What is paleo," you might be wondering. The word Paleo is short for Paleolithic, as in the paleolithic era .Think cavemen. The Paleo diet is more than just a fad diet (it has to be, it's been around for more than 2 million years). It's a way of living. Man, as he has evolved today, has survived for millions of years ( I know, I know, I'm repeating myself, but seriously if it's been around this long it can't be bad ) on a diet of food items that can be hunted or gathered. Basically, if you can kill it, pick it off a tree or pick it up out of the ground, you can eat it. The video below does a pretty good job of describing what foods are Paleo friendly. Another part of the Paleo diet is exercise. Cavemen didn't run 26.2 miles a day ...

When I was about 14 years old, I was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS), a condition wherein excessive pressure is placed on a bundle of nerves that pass into the arm from the neck causing pain and weakness in the arm. I was a fast pitch softball pitcher and first noticed symptoms of TOS after pitching at an all day tournament. My arm swelled to the point that I could not bend my wrist, and although it's my favorite color, it turned a very unpleasant shade of purple. My parents took me to a specialist at Johns Hopkins Hospital , but little was known about TOS or its treatment at the time. They simply told me to remedy the situation by quitting sports. I played softball for another year after that, relinquishing the position of pitcher and taking on second base so I wouldn't have as much strain on my arm, but eventually I gave up softball all together. Three years ago, my younger sister found she had the same problem while playing softball in high school. Unfor...

So I wanted to write a quick post to talk about tonight's workout because I felt like a bad@$$ superstar! See those numbers written in HOT pink chalk on the gym floor? Those are my reps. There is something completely primal about etching your workout on the gym floor in pink chalk. Ok, so cavemen may not have had pink chalk, but there was red pigment around more than 15,000 years ago , so it's kind of the same thing. Cavemen probably also never did overhead squats. They were missing out . Remember my first CrossFit workout post? My first official workout involved overhead squats. I can lift weight over my head, but when I have to squat too, it adds a new degree of difficulty. My technique was awful. My max weight was 40 lbs for a single rep. Today's workout was as many reps as possible in a single minute, rather than as much weight as possible in a single rep. So naturally, my trainer thought my best form was with an 18 lb bar. I realize that isn't much we...

I decided to bring back the Wednesday weigh in this week to check my progress since starting my CrossFit regimen. As always, I give the disclaimer that you should not restrict your fitness goals to a number on the scale. In fact, I am including my measurements ( **gasp** ) with this post because I have seen a drastic change in just a little over a week! For best results, always measure yourself at the same time of day as your body may fluctuate as many as five pounds throughout the day based on dieting and exercise habits. I choose to take my measurements first thing in the morning as a good baseline. Along with our CrossFit gym membership, we get access to the website, BeyondTheWhiteboard.com . Here, you can become affiliated with your gym, post Workout of the Day (WOD) results, track your dieting habits and sleep patterns, and keep tabs on your overall health. If you are obsessed with counting calories and keeping a journal of your progress like I am, this is a great new tool to...

Confession: I started writing this post nearly two weeks ago and it's just getting posted. It is not easy to find the time to commute, work, workout, cook, clean house, and write a blog. Oh and let's not forget sleep! It's all about making priorities. And like I posted earlier this year , I plan to spend more time with family (especially in light of recent family illnesses), spend more time focusing on myself and my health, and more time nurturing my relationship with God. So far so good. I'm sorry that my blog has been neglected in the process. The hubster and I recently started a new chapter in our lives. Chapter one of our married life began with a commitment to getting in better shape. I took that idea and ran with it. I ran 13.1 miles with it. He took that idea and cheered me on from the starting line, to mile 7, to the finish line where he greeted me with flowers. I kid, I kid. The fact of the matter is, hubby would join me on most of my long runs and would r...