CrossFit - mental and physical toughness

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/gordana-survives-cancer-interview.htm?mcid=twit

"The beauty of Crossfit is that it can be scaled to anyone's ability. It can be performed by anyone at any age or physical condition. I made it to the gym as often as I could during my treatments. I lost a lot of muscle strength at first and my endurance was low. I am actually very surprised at how quickly it comes back! "

"The workouts were constantly varied. I loved the fact that I could do a workout one day, and give it everything I had, knowing I wasn't doing it again for at least a month. This allowed me to really push hard 'cause I knew I didn't have to do it again on 'Day 3'. It eliminated the boredom. It made the workouts interesting and fun. Yes fun! "  (bold added for emphasis)

"The whiteboard - writing down personal goals and beating them makes you accountable"

Good problem to have ?

Well peeps - we have been growing at a nice steady pace.  March has been a huge month in terms of new athletes.  It's been a lot of fun seeing new faces and watching everyone help each other.

With growth, comes pains.  With the large number of people wanting to work out in the evening, it's not feasible or good coaching to have 12-14 people in a class (potentially).  So I'm going to have to have 2 classes in the evenings MWF - 5:30 and 6:15 ???  Something we'll have to discuss.  There will still be one class at 6 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, along with a beginner class at 6 PM.

Another pain ?  Equipment - it's obvious that we'll need two more squat racks (on order from Rogue fitness), a couple of very good bars (potentially on order), at least one more set of rings, and potentially a couple of #45 bumper plates. 

I'd also love a rower, but they're pretty damn expensive.

It's like HQ was reading our minds !!!!

As we were discussing a couple of days ago, running shoes have cushioned heels, allowing us to land on said heels instead of our toes.  As I stated, almost all animals run on their toes.  Striking with the heel first leads to a lot of shock right up the ankle, shins, knees, hips and lower back - leading to injury.

http://library.crossfit.com/premium/pdf/CFJ_Kilgore_Running.pdf?e=1269027630&h=f0f72fc481af9db0bde722df4d0d2818

Modern running shoes feature heels packed with cushioning technology—but

do they prevent the foot from functioning as it was designed?
 
"The evolution of athletic footwear is quite troubling

in terms of solving or, at worst, producing technical
problems with exercise. Our ancestors functioned quite
well in minimalist footwear or with none at all. How has
the human condition changed so much for us to “need”
advanced insoles, cushions and even one particular
structural shoe element we take for granted: the elevated
heel?"

The less compressible material between your feet and the earth,
the better we will be able to transfer force to move our bodies.

The same applies to lifting weights as well - deadlift, squats, presses !!!

When you use a heelstrike

technique, the calcaneous (heel bone), is abruptly
loaded with force that would have been dissipated if the
force had passed through the arches

Consistency

You guys have done a great job in the last 2-3 months - more pull ups, push ups, huge numbers on the deadlift.

Let's focus on consistency - if you were not consistent, you would not have made such big improvements.  Coming to class 3 times a week is consistent.  If you skip classes, make it only 2 x a week, don't give it your all, you are not doing yourself any favors.  When you miss 2 classes in a row, or show up whenever, there really is no way you will continue to make gains.  It's just not possible.

Look - I know better than anyone that LIFE HAPPENS.  You get sick, friends come to town, happy hours, gatherings - it happens - and you should absolutely make time for family and friends.

However, if you know you won't be able to be there on a regular day, come on a different one.  There's nothing wrong with coming MWTh if that's what it takes.  But you have to make the effort.  When you haven't worked out for 6-7 days as a beginner, you regress a bit.  Maybe you don't lose strength, or endurance, but your recovery certainly takes a hit, and you have the potential to be more sore than usual. 

YOU have to make the effort to make it to class on a consistent basis.  I can't / won't force people to come to class.  You have to want to make the gains that CrossFit has the potential to give you.  But you won't make gains by being inconsistent.

See you in class !!!

Soooo, I was at LifeTime Fitness the other day....

Hey - I was forced to go due to the Mpls PD Fitness Team training !!!  And I was forced to do a spinning class too !!!  I know, the torture.

Anywho - I realized I would never, ever go back to working out at a globo gym ever again.

1.  Too damn clean and sterile.  Everything is spotless.  There is crappy music playing from the speakers.  Tons of nice looking machines everywhere.  Nobody dropping weights, swearing, cheering someone on.  It was quiet - like a church.

2.  Nobody seemed to be actually working out.  They were "working out" but there wasn't any effort that I could see.  Yes, I know that there are some people who actually push themselves and do see sweat...but the majority weren't breathing hard and I couldn't see sweat from where I was standing.  I don't think watching a TV while doing the elliptical at a slow speed is fitness.

3.  Freeweight area - shit form, no intensity, isolation movements.  Enough said.

4.  People didn't seem to want to be there.  They sorta meandered in, sauntered to the locker room, slowly made their way to their machines - no life, no smiles, no enjoyment.  They seemed to be there to say " I worked out today ".

5  It's expensive - not only is there a monthly membership (which may / may not be paid for a year in advance), but training is expensive.  Personal trainers are $60 + hour.  Group classes run for 3 months (I guess you're on your own after that) at $166/ month - and people think CrossFit is expensive !!!

Overall, very boring, sterile, business like.  NO thank you - not interested.

When It Comes to Longevity, Regular Exercise May Be the Most Potent Weapon Against Disease

From the Wall St Journal, courtesy of my friend John Murphy, an excellent CrossFitter in his own right.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954904575109673558885594.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

"The leading edge of the baby boom generation turns 65 next year, which means a new milestone looms on the horizon: age 85.


So what do boomers need to do not just to survive to 85, but to live healthy lives into old age and not break the bank at the federal Medicare program?

The most important strategy, according to the latest research to look at the question, is to be physically active in middle age. "If you are fit in mid-life, you double your chance of surviving to 85," says Jarett Berry, a cardiologist at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas."

"...despite an array of effective drugs and other medical advances, the front line for most of us in the battle to prevent heart disease and survive into old age lies in adopting healthy living habits."

"On average, we tend to participate in less physical activity and be less fit each year after about age 30," says Donald M. Lloyd-Jones.

National guidelines recommended Americans get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week or 20 minutes of intense physical activity three times a week to maintain fitness  (gee - CrossFit fits the bill quite nicely, don't ya think ?)

The Zone - revisited....

Physics, Physiology, and Food



http://library.crossfit.com/premium/pdf/58_07_Phys_and_Food.pdf?e=1268075385&h=344a2a2835b89c0d1bd5a759c2481de4


YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

(on the same topic, you have to realize Life Happens - sometimes even the best plans have to be put on hold - whether it be a meal, vacation, etc.  I want you to eat healthy and to make it something you can stick with)

When to start CrossFit

Ok, here's the response I get when I tell people about CrossFit - "I'll do it when I get stronger / faster / lose more weight".  It's akin to saying "I'll play basketball when I get better at dribbling" ignoring the other skills needed to become a good basketball player.  The only way to get better is to work on the whole game and actually compete - practice is good, games are better for learning.

Here is the real deal - CrossFit is one of the only programs that is designed for overall fitness - strength, endurance, power, etc.  It does not matter if you're not strong / fast / in great shape.  CrossFit will get you there.  You need to try it for a few months and see the results.  All the workouts are scalable to your fitness levels and abilities.  There is no getting better at one aspect of fitness before you join. 

If you want elite fitness, jump in and give it a shot for a few months.  Don't be intimidated, don't "get better" at something else, thinking it will have a positive outcome when you then start CrossFit.  I can tell you, you will not be prepared for the demands of this program, unless you actually DO CrossFit. 

Zone v Paleo

Paleo vs. The Zone: Part 4 of the Conversation

Dr. Barry Sears has no problem with the Paleo Diet recommendation to only eat foods that were around 10,000 years ago. The creator of the Zone Diet takes issue only with the idea that you can eat unrestricted quantities of those foods.

“Ancient foods” are more compatible with our genes, but Dr. Sears contends that balancing fat, carbohydrates and protein is still critical to reducing inflammation and improving health. The strict Zone Diet is actually a Paleo-Zone plan that balances these macronutrients in high-quality foods and spreads calorie consumption out through a series of smaller meals. It turns out low food quality isn’t the only thing that can damage your health.
“The other way to raise inflammation is to consume too many calories at each meal,” Dr. Sears says. “So what is too many calories? Anything more than 500 calories. Maybe six, max.”
If Sears had to choose between weighing and measuring quantities of any food and eating unregulated quantities of Paleo foods, he would choose the former. The best approach is to actually combine the two.
“I think that the consistency of using the weigh-and-measure approach will give you far greater anti-inflammatory benefits than basically an unlimited, unrestricted Paleo Diet,” Sears says. “Now combine the two, well then basically it is truly synergistic.”


I don't talk about healthy eating as much as I should, but it's certainly a very large part of not only living longer and disease free, but also in regards to performance.  Eating the right foods at the right times will only help you to perform better.  Eating too much sugar leads to crashes (not good just before a WOD), not refilling your protein and energy stores after a WOD, skipping breakfasts - they all affect your performance.  When you change your eating habits (I hate the word diet), it should be something that you can sustain long term, not just a month or two in order to lose 10-15 pounds.  The Zone is a eating habit that is easily sustainable long term.  Paleo - well, much more restrictive in regards to what foods you can eat, but not how much.  Zone - how much you eat is, to a point, more important than what you eat.

Top Gun CrossFit in the news !!!

http://www.longfellownokomismessenger.com/images/feb2010.pdf

Page 6.

Pro Baseball loves CrossFit

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_Fournier_Marlins.pdf

One of many teams that will soon incorporate CrossFit into their training.