AED's, Beta-Blockers, & Opioids!

OK, so by the title of this post, I bet you guys know what's on my mind! Pharmacology! Oh yeah! Fun stuff right? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I will not be going into all the details about the wonderful world of Pharm! BUT....I thought I would share with you guys a fun Pharm mnemonic!

2-Cocks are bad, while 1-Cock is good! Ok, yes, I did say Cock, but it is actually a play on the word COX. Which is actually cyclooxygenase (See why they call it COX?) I actually wanted to mention COX-2 inhibitor drugs because we being crossfitters, are actually well known to some of these drugs. COX-1 is good, and COX-2 is bad, just like I mentioned but with dirtier words. The enzyme COX-2 is responsible for inflammation, fever, and pain. COX-1 is responsible for increasing the protective gastric mucus which is good since our stomach is acidic and it protects us from ourselves. So, can anyone guess what type of drug we would use to inhibit COX-2? Anyone? Ok, I am going to pretend like someone said the right answer. Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and Aspirin! Let me dissect each of these drugs for a minute. (You guys didn't know that you would be getting a lecture did you? hehe...but I actually do think it is important that you know a little bit about the drugs you are taking)

Aspirin: Nonselective inhibitor. This means that it can inhibit either COX-1 or COX-2. What's the big thing with Aspirin? It "thins" your blood right? Well, technically no. It doesn't actually thin your blood, it just makes your platelets (those really cool things that make blood clots when you rip your hands doing a million pull ups or kettlebell swings) not stick together. Hence the reason that it is recommended to take Aspirin to prevent heart attacks from blood clots. (Preventing clotting is an inhibition of COX-1). With regards to COX-1 inhibition and Aspirin, it also reduces those protective gastric secretions making you prone to ulcers. Which is no bueno. It also inhibits COX-2, which decreases are fever, pain, and inflammation. Which is a good thing! But by taking Aspirin there really isn't a way for you to tell that pill only inhibit COX-2 so I feel better, you gotta inhibit the good COX-1 as well. :( Sign to watch out for if you are an Aspirin popper: ringing in the ears (first sign of toxicity). And please guys, no alcohol with Aspirin, just makes the blood "thinner" and then when you fall and hit your head because you are dizzy, you have this head bleed and a large laceration that I have to fix. And guys...I love playing with staplers...so I will show no mercy! ;) (OH yeah, and don't give to children under 18..bad bad things could happen.)

Tylenol: Who doesn't love tylenol (besides you Carrie). Tylenol rocks. It is a selective inhibitor of the bad COX-2. By selective I mean, that it inhibits parts of it, but not all. Tylenol will make your fever go away and help with the pain...BUT does not help with the anti-inflammatory parts. :( Sadness right? Also with tylenol, you aren't making your blood "thinner". Tylenol is good because it doesn't inhibit COX-1, so our stomach is still being protected. Which is a good thing right? Tylenol is great for children. Bad thing about tylenol....liver toxicity. So, if you have liver damage or you are a big alcoholic, lets not take this. Love your liver guys! It saves you from yourself! :)

Ibuprofen: AKA: Motrin, Advil, Naproxen (the list goes on and on...many different names, same drug). This should be in every CrossFitters medicine cabinet. It works great for fever, pain, AND inflammation (All those things that COX-2 does, we are making better)! (But also, for the ladies...helps with those menstrual cycle cramps). Now it does inhibit some COX-1, but not really that much, but enough. Things to watch out for with ibuprofen, would be if you have liver or kidney disease, allergies to aspirin, and drinking alcohol while taking the ibuprofen. (Yep, alcohol is never a good thing to take with any drug in case you haven't figured that out)

Now, as we all know....(or you do now)....there is no such thing as a "SAFE" drug. Every drug has side effects. With drugs, we need to be looking at what it does and the side effects. Now, side effects are usually present when you take too much of a drug. And every person reacts differently to a certain drug. So, you have to know your body and know what it can and can not handle.

Did you guys like that little lesson in over the counter medications? On another note, I have noticed that everyone is posting a lot less than normal. I understand that life is busy, believe me, I do. But what was the point of these blogs? We made these blogs so that we could learn about ourselves, and each other through our failures and victories.

I read your guys stuff every other day, if not every day. Sometimes, I may not comment. But I do read it. And I realize that I have been slacking the most. I blame school. To some, that may be a valid reason, but I am not going to try to let it be a reason anymore. Granted, I am not crossfitting as much as I used to be, but I am still living life. So, even if I don't workout, I am still going to keep you posted, and will be giving you guys "lessons" about our bodies and processes. I am a firm believer that knowledge is the key, and if you know how to treat something, or know the signs, you are going to be much better off. I want you guys to be healthy and live long. So, these things need to be learned now!

Yesterday: I did workout! Felt great to be back in the gym. I did a mile on the elliptical to get my heart rate up. Then, did 3 rounds 5-pull ups and 5-ring dips. Fun! (Yeah right!). Then went to bench press to work on my arms. Did:
45# x10
55# x 8
60# x 5
65# x5
70#x 5
75# x 5

And arms are feeling it today! Love that feeling! After that, did 140 sit ups. Not the most Crossfit workout, but it was what I felt like doing, so that's what I did! :)

Oh, and the next blog I am planning on doing will be one about sleep fitness, since every sounds like they don't get enough sleep!

This Week...

I am sorry Lindsey for not posting every day to keep you entertained. Have had personal issues, and just have not felt like taking the time to post and be positive. But the good thing is, even though I didn't WANT to work out, I did work out.



Tuesday:
"Helen"ish. So, I was kinda looking forward to Helen. She's a great one. But again, treadmills and I don't get along. And Amber was working out with me that day! :) So, Amber and I were going to do the 3 rounds, but sub the row. Since one of the rowers was broken, we had to go one at a time. And I went first. First 400m, went by quickly (1:26...fastest I've done that before), and finished that round around 3 minutes using the 25# DB for the KB swings. Amber was keeping time for me, and well, didn't realize that she had to keep the timer going for the entire time. So, she only timed my first row. And then she timed my whole second round, which I finished in 4 something. And then some old lady stole my rower. :( Sadness. So, I just did two rounds. Amber did Helenish as well, but since the old lady was on the rower (and wasn't really doing much work, just sitting there and half assing it) she did her two rounds on the elliptical. Oh well...not like I can kick her off the rower. After that, we went and did an hour of Aqua Fit.

Wednesday:
Not too much to say about this day, or much that I wish to go into.
WOD was
3 Jerk
3 L pull-ups

I have no clue how to do an L pull up. Nor do I know how to sub it. So, I changed up the WOD a little bit. Instead of doing L-pull ups, I did knees to elbows. Well, it ended up really being bring your knees up as high as you can. Which I actually thought that I was getting them up higher than I have in the past. Used 55# for the jerk. Probably should have gone higher. Oh well. I will do this one again soon, as I thought it was fun. Time: 9:50

Thursday:
Had a day off. Spent it shopping with my mom and little brother. Lovely cheat meal at Tin Star...yum for flour tortillas, but I didn't eat any rice. Found a really cute top and dress...oh and two pair of shoes! I heart shoes! Now, I just need some place to wear them to! For the WOD, it was deadlift. Normally I love deadlift. But I just didn't have it in me. Not a lot of sleep, and just not my normal energy. Past couple of days have taken a lot out of me emotionally. So, I knew that I had to do SOMETHING productive. So, I did a warm up row. Then did bench press 5 sets of 10 reps each (45-50-55-60-65). Then cool down sit ups, and then an hour of Aqua Fit. Now, the Aqua fit teacher, wow...much different than the Tuesday night teacher. Much more cardio. Lots of "sprints". And even a mini CF style workout. Which was awesome! I will probably become a regular to her 6PM Aqua Fit class just for the CF style workout.

So, today is Friday. Not sure if I am going to work out or not. I know I need to, but right now, I have no energy. I may just end up doing Annie at home sans running. We'll see.

Can't Move Legs...

Wow...I don't ever remember being this sore. Oh wait, yes I do. It was after my first CrossFit workout. These past few days have been a killer on my thighs! Oh well...that's why I love CrossFit WODs!

Today, we took it a little easy since we could barely move. Another 10 minutes on the elliptical to warm up. For the first, and probably last time, I actually enjoyed the elliptical. It was a nice way to warm up my sore legs.

WOD
Bench Press
5-5-5-5-5

45#-50#-55#-60#-65#-70#

I did an extra set just to see if I could. The last two were hard! Funny thing, in my 4 years of high school, I was never able to bench press 70#. So, big improvement for me! :)

After that, we did some bicep and tricep work. I am very anti-machines, but did they with her anyway. Kelsey does have a good point about us needing to build up our triceps. The triceps are the muscle that gets used to exhaustion when doing CPR. So, have to build up those tris!

Then we did our situps. I left my iPod at home, so I didn't have a timer. But it felt to be around the 2 minute mark. Then, it was a nice 15 minute trip to the sauna. I loved sitting in the sauna! Reminded me of the box! I miss the box! Excited to get back there on Sunday!

Diet for yesterday:
Breakfast: egg whites, 2 pieces of bacon, 1/2c yogurt, 5 almonds
Lunch: Salad with chicken, sweet potatoes
Dinner: 7 almonds, 2 pieces of turkey (did not feel like eating, had been nauseated most of the day, and after the WOD...just wanted to shower and sleep)

To prove just how tired I was, I went to bed last night at 8:30 and didn't wake up until 5:30 this AM! Such great sleep!