My Number 1 Priority . . .
By: Mercia Basson
Tags: Health, Weight Loss, Healthy Living, Fitness, CrossFit

As we are about to enter the last few days of 2020 (and I know a lot of us cannot wait to see the back of this incredibly crazy year), I started thinking of my goals for 2021 from a health perspective . . . naturally I need to improve my fitness and strength, not to mention reach my goal weight eventually and if not this year, I have to make some serious progress in that direction . . . and having thought about it a little, I am reminded of a conversation I had with my cousin a couple of weeks ago . . . I have to be MY number 1 priority . . . Yes, I know this sounds a little like I may be a little conceited, but this is not the case at all and I will explain why in a bit . . . let me first tell you about my week . . .

Although this week started with all intention to train daily, it is like suddenly I realized Christmas was here and I was so not prepared . . . I had the usual work week, which is not as hectic as usually but with added responsibilities in covering for those who are taking a break this year, it still kept me busy . . . and after work it was a dash to the shops to get what was needed for Christmas . . . whether it was food or gifts . . . nonetheless, managed to get it done . . . which then resulted in me not having the time to get to training — and to be honest, I was either super relaxed with the mood of everyone being on holiday or the day was too hot, so wasn’t too keen to train by myself . . . this will of course HAVE to change soon . . .

So this week, I only did a proper training session on Thursday with 3 of the favourite ladies in my life . . . and it felt like I made up for all the training sessions I missed this week . . . Tammy ran through the session with us . . . we don’t do 45 minute workouts very often, but today was the day we were doing this . . . and in line with Christmas, the workout is called ’12 Days of Christmas’ . . . so it was 12 different movements starting with 1 rep all the way to 12 reps, but it was not just that simple, which I will explain shortly . . .

The workout was 1 x Rope Climb (this for me was from flat on the floor pulling into a standing position and back down again, attempting to not use my legs, which proved to be very challenging #facepalm), 2 x 30kg D Ball Cleans, 3 x Muscle Ups (a scaled version of Chest to Bar for me), 4 x Burpees, 5 x Deadlifts, 6 x Handstand Push ups (3 x Wall Walks for me), 7 x Toes to Bar (Knees to Elbows for me), 8 x Wall Balls, 9 x Box Jump Overs (Box Step Overs for me and 9 Calorie Assault Bike for Jilly because she is nursing a knee injury), 10 x 16kg Kettlebell Swings, 11 x Chest to Bar and finally 12 x Thrusters. Although I have progressed a lot since I have started, there are quite a few movements I cannot do yet, hence why I have included the variations of movements — which just really shows that anyone can attempt this, because you will do what you can do in working toward progressing to doing the movements . . . Looking at this initially, one would think that 45 minutes is too much time, but alas . . . there was a twist . . . you start with the first movement, then then 2 nd, but work your way backwards . . . this confused me so much in the beginning, I was walking aimlessly from one end to the next, not being sure what I am supposed to do . . . but Tammy was awesome and super patient (as always) and guided me in the right direction . . . so it went like this, 1 x Rope Climb for the first round, 2 x D Ball Cleans, 1 x Rope Climb for the second round, 3 x Muscle Ups, 2 x D Ball Cleans, 1 x Rope Climb for round 3 . . . and so on and so on . . . I am not 100% sure where Jilly & Dee ended up, and I am pretty sure they got further than me because they are strong like that! I managed to get to complete 4 Burpees in the 10 thround when time ran out . . .

Besides having managed to get as far as I did, which I did not think I was going to manage, I have not one, but TWO PB’s for today . . . the first one is 7 unbroken reps of Knees to Elbow, which I have never managed before . . . and the most awesome of all for me today, was that from the 3 rdround my 5 deadlifts was of a whopping 70kg! This for me is one MAJOR achievement . . . All in all, this was a GREAT training session for Christmas Eve!! Thanks to my amazing husband supporting us, I am able to share quite a few pics of this session with you today . . .

Christmas day was super chilled, the one day that I chose to sleep in a little . . . we had made all the desserts for today, yesterday and got some snacky stuff as our main meal for today . . . and as I had ‘set my intention’ for today, I did not overeat and feel ill at the end of the day . . . I managed to get some sun and spent an hour or so in the pool (which never happens!) . . . We were blessed with amazing weather and spending it with family . . . this reminded me of how much I miss my brother, since this time last year, was his last visit to our home and our last Christmas spent together . . . It is hard to have to deal with all these emotions on days like today . . .

Saturday was equally relaxed, although it started with getting up early and going for a 5km walk at 6am this morning, with mom . . . the rest of the day, I spent doing mom’s nails, followed by doing my own and that was then a wrap for today . . .

Sunday morning I was woken up at 4am by the pups, checked on them and sorted them then jumped back into bed for another hour or so . . . and of course I fell asleep which just made me more tired when I eventually dragged myself out of bed at 5:30am to get dressed to go for another walk with mom at 6am . . . when I was ready, I rushed out to meet mom and although the flat was unlocked as it would be when she was walking with me, mom was fast asleep . . . this is usually such a deep sleep that I didn’t want to interrupt it . . . so there I was, dressed and nowhere to go . . . I was considering going for a run but then decided to use the time to work on the blog for today . . . around 9ish, I asked Mom if she wanted to go for a walk and off we went . . . Mom’s is struggling with a severe pain in her back, and unfortunately we are not sure what the cause of it is . . . so today we walked 3km instead of 5km . . . but at least we got out again! The rest of the day will be spent chilled . . . the weather is overcast, but warm so we may just end up in the pool at some time a little later too . . .

And then we are about to start the last week of 2020, which is really a period in which we tend to reflect a little . . . so much has happened in the last year . . . but what is the plan for 2021? We always tend to set New Year’s resolutions, which then is only attempted maybe for the first 3 months of the year . . . I intend for 2021 to be a little different in that I will set very specific goals to work towards, because by next year this time, I want to be able to compare to this year and see a significant change in my body . . . so here I go back to ‘Priorities’ . . . When we are asked what our priorities are, we tend to generally either put our Family and Work as number 1 or 2, and perhaps (sometimes) we may put our health and fitness in the top 5, but never at number 1 . . . but if you think about it, why would we not put ourselves as number 1? Family, work and everything else we put as our priorities, cannot be OUR priority WITHOUT US? And if we do not put our own Health and Fitness as number 1 and this is neglected, not only are we going to end up being incredibly unhappy, have no energy, be super stressed and potentially become ill often, as a result . . . we will not be able to look after our families and do our jobs, if we die due to ill health . . .

Thinking about it a little differently now, aren’t you? YOU are YOUR number ONE Priority, ALWAYS! So get cracking on what your goals are . . . and remember that whatever goals are set, especially from a health and fitness perspective, is not going to realize overnight . . . it will also not be realized in 3 months . . . from 3 months you will feel better, healthier and perhaps start seeing the results . . . this is a long term goal . . . You have to be patient and persevere . . . and when you fall off the ‘bus’, dust yourself off and get up and keep at it, keep chipping away a little bit at a time, until you reach your goals!

I have been at it for 18 months, and this year in particular has been incredibly tough and I have fallen off that ‘bus’ several times . . . but I am getting closer to my overall goal a little bit at a time . . . and I WILL NOT stop until I get there, no matter how long it takes me . . . Yes, there are many days where I want to give up and wonder why I am putting myself through this all and why can I not just be a ‘happy fatty’ . . . then I start thinking about how far I have come, how much more I am able to do since I started losing weight and becoming fitter, how much energy I have vs before and how much more mobile my body has become . . . Previously, I was not able to pick something up from the floor without feeling like I am going to topple over and being out of breath doing it, to the extent that I need to sit down . . . Now, I can run 5km all the way (although slowly, I can do it all the way) and get home and recover within minutes . . . And this is something I am NOT prepared to give up! So, I will continue to chip away, a little at a time, until I reach my overall goal . . .

So . . . I challenge you to think about putting yourself as number ONE on YOUR Priority List . . . set a date and get chipping away . . . more importantly . . . KEEP AT IT!

In the meantime, enjoy scrolling through the pictures! ‘Till next year! ☺

Tammy giving us the ’12 Days of Christmas’ Workout Brief . . . can you tell how nervous we are?

The warm up has started . . .

Jill busy with her Rope Climb, while Dee is doing her Toes to Bar — and they are both making it look so easy!

Me attempting my scaled version of Chest to Bar with Coach Tammy doing what she does best . . . Coaching!

Dee making that 30kg DBall look like it weighs only 1kg in how she is throwing that over her shoulder!

Dee about to do a rope climb, Jilly busy with her Burpees, whilst I am seemingly taking a stroll toward my workstation after having done Deadlifts outside . . .

Me attempting my wall walks . . . I have progressed A LOT with this, but jeepers, seeing yourself in pictures like this, it doesn’t look as cool as you think it does! LOL . . . Looking a little awkward, if not a lot awkward!

Jilly at the top of her Wall Balls!

How amazing is this woman! Dee working hard at those Muscle ups! Simply incredible how strong she is!

Me managing one of my PB’s — Knees to Elbow, 7 reps unbroken . . . to think, when I started, I couldn’t even just hang on this bar!

Dee busy with her Muscle ups & Jill doing her Burpees while Coach Tammy is looking on . . . and I am pretty sure she is not just looking on, but probably pushing them . . . loudly! #loveit!

Yup!! Here she is doing her Hand Stand Push Ups!

The Magnificently Strong Jilly!