The Open 2020 (October-November 2019) has come to an end.
To summarize, it was just a couple of months ago that I decided to prepare and train seriously to compete in the Open. I gave it everything I had but came 2 points short of winning the title The Fittest Woman in Kuwait.
They always say when it comes to childbirth nothing goes as planned. There are the lucky few that create an entire vision in their head and a birth plan and are able to successfully fulfill their desired birth experience.
I had planned and prepared myself for both of my daughters’ birth. Both had unexpected outcomes and left me feeling defeated.
Both of my daughters were born via emergency c-section.
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This post is way over due but I haven’t been able to set aside time to write it up. It’s been a month since Wodapalooza. My previous post I discussed each workout in detail and my experience throughout the competition, with a focus on my performance and mindset at the time. Here I wanted to shine a light on some other parts of the weekend. Continue reading
There is so much I want to share about my trip to Miami and my experience competing at The Wodapalooza. This first part will be a breakdown of each day of the competition and each workout (just like I did for the Battle of the East post). The second part of this post will be more related to competing with my baby girl with us, interactions with CrossFit Games athletes and reactions to my hijab. Enjoy!
It was the night before Day 1 of the Battle of the East and all the athletes were gathered for the briefing. I had the weekend all planned out. But of course, something always comes up and plans have to change. Continue reading
My baby girl is 14 months old this week. She brings joy to our life and gives me purpose. She’s a ball of energy that keeps me busy all day. And the older she gets the more challenging it becomes to find balance between motherhood, business and training. I have the box to co-manage with my husband and I coach evenings, but most of my daily schedule revolves around her: her feeding times, nap times, and play times. If anyone thinks being a stay at home mom with a 1 year old is easy please tell me your secret! So basically my training has to fit in with her schedule and with our box’s schedule.
As time passed, somehow training at the box has become nearly impossible. Continue reading
Some days I question the path I’ve chosen and the goals I have set for myself. Balancing motherhood with life is hard enough, now add to that the desire to becoming a competitive athlete in this growing sport, CrossFit.
Trying to juggle taking care of my family, our box, and myself; it always feels like there’s never enough hours in the day.
There are many that claim CrossFit is the sport of injuries and there are many articles that have proven otherwise. You can get injured doing many everyday activities or any other sport. I won’t go into an argument defending CrossFit or explaining the point of view of those who claim it’s dangerous. You can find lots of reading online…
I want to focus on what YOU should do as a member of the CrossFit community, as an athlete of this sport, as a responsible human being.
CrossFit is fun, but it’s not easy. You know you aren’t joining an aerobic class. CrossFit incorporates weightlifting and gymnastics: two sports that some people never dreamed of doing. CrossFit makes them accessible to everyone. It’s new territory. It’s intense. It demands a lot from you physically and mentally (sometimes emotionally) to get through a workout. But that’s why we love it.
So how do you get involved into this sport, learn how to hold a bar for the first time, learn different bodyweight movements, and improve your overall fitness all while avoiding injuries?
You have to take responsibility.
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After all the excitement, stress, and fun from Regionals 2013 began to wear off, I was about to embark on a new adventure. Pregnancy.
To be honest, I was very scared about continuing CrossFit while pregnant. First of all, it was my first time and second, no one I knew (other than my husband) supported the idea of ANY physical activity during pregnancy. That’s ridiculous and I knew better but it still got me worried. Even though there are millions of moms showing off their baby bumps on social media and CrossFitting, not having anyone specialized in Kuwait or anyone for guidance for my training made things a little stressful. Despite all of this, I continued to CrossFit but very low intensity.
Luckily, during my first month of pregnancy we were visiting the States. There I got the chance to meet Dr. Lindsey Mathews from BirthFit. Lindsey and her team are doing some amazing things for CrossFitting mommas and mommas-to-be with BirthFit. I had a meeting with her and we chatted about my training, my goals, and how my pregnancy was going. With her guidance, she encouraged me to continue CrossFitting if everything was going well and I was feeling good (with a few exceptions: no jumping, maxing out, etc.).
So I went back to my regular CrossFit training with a few modifications. Continue reading
If you’re a serious athlete, you probably already know the importance of having a strong mind set. In CrossFit, at least with myself, I feel training your mind is just as important as your physical training.
“It’s 90% MENTAL, then everything else comes after…” That’s what my coach/husband used to say.
I love to read articles online and to constantly educate myself. If it’s not already obvious what my interests are, my main search topics range from CrossFit, fitness and nutrition to breastfeeding, parenting and all things baby-related. But one topic I have been extremely interested in since I started CrossFit is mental strength. Being mentally strong for training, life AND motherhood!
There are many ways to train and to gain mental strength or be mentally strong. There are even specific daily exercises you can do to help you overcome mental blocks. You can train your mind to be better in staying positive, working better under pressure, how to approach competition stress, and many others aspects. Three aspects of mental strength that I struggle with or always work towards improving are:
#CrossFitMom 