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The Saga Continues...

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Well, we're 18 out of 19 reporting in their food journals for the second week of The Paleo Challenge. The only person that dropped off is Lou who gave me some non-CrossFit, lame bullshit about traveling. Apparently, taking 5 minutes to log his food on his computer each day was cutting into his happy hour time flirting with underage girls at the Ramada Inn bar, but I digress.

It's interesting to see what's happening with everyone's nutrition, as some people are really starting to accelerate...eating more organic and grass-fed, eating every 3 hours...real improvements, while others are starting to lose their resolve...either eating too much crap at one sitting or eating crap too frequently. Keep it tight people...limit your cheating to 1/2 day each week, no more. And for those of you sucking down the alcohol and diet sodas every day or so, knock it off. That garbage will stop your fat loss in its tracks, so just decide right now that having amazing energy and a great body that gets you laid more than once a week is actually more important than satisfying a sugar fix or needing to get a buzz on. The following quote sums up this mindset perfectly:

WOD
Dipuburpalus
Warmup
30 Rotaters
30 Ring Rows
30 Sec Plank Hold, Front, Left Side and Right Side
Strength
Dips 5x5 Warmup w/ 3 light sets, then chain some weight around your waist, icreasing each set, resulting in a new 5 rep PR!
Work Capacity
For Time:
100 Bodyweight Dips w/ Escalating Burpees each time you stop, starting with 2 reps and adding 2 reps each time you stop. Example: 2-4-6-8-10-12...etc.

Move It!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Nutritional diaries are due today or your shot at glory is over...nuff said.

The workout we did today (and the one many of you will be doing tomorrow) is called Bulldog and it can best be described as a crazy hard bone crushing mo-fo sprint. The fastest time posted today was put up by Lieutenant Dan with a blistering 4:02. Now I know that some of reading this are new to CrossFit and right now you're shitting a brick thinking that I'm completelyout of my f*cking mind...that nobody anywhere can get a decent workout in under 5 minutes. 

Yeah, I know...I used to think the same thing, but the proof is in the pudding (Paleo pudding for you if you're a lardassian). This is CrossFit programming at its best and what made me fall in love, get instant wood and triple my testosterone levels all at the same time. In the words of Ahhhnold:  "Conan, what is best in life?"  "To crush your enemy, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women".  I know...it makes me want to cry, too.

Anyway, my reason for bringing this up is to talk about SPEED. In a lot of our Met-Cons (metabolic conditioning for those of you with ADD) we have WOD's that talk about sprinting from one exercise to the next. Well, as we all know, after you just got done doing 21 heavy Thrusters, for example, and now you've got to run a 1/4 mile, you're going to be sanbagging that shit like a Zombie who just finished a 6 course meal of brains.

The key, then, to getting faster, is to work on your sprint  work independently at least once a week. I'll post more on this tomorrow because of time constraints right now (see below), but suffice it to say for now...a storm is a comin'!

Update: This post is late in getting out due to clients talking my ass off and keeping me here 3 hours late! So consider this my gift to you...nutritional diary deadline has been moved to noon tomorrow!

Fact: You get arrested more when you're slow

WOD
BullDog
Warmup
3 Rounds
P.Lot Kareoka
40 Sledge
Strength
Deads 5x5
Work Capacity
For Time: 1/4 Mile Run
30 Deads 185/135
1/4 Mile Run

The Bigger The Goal, The Bigger The Obstacles

Thursday, November 10, 2011

"Between you and every goal that you wish to achieve, there is a series of obstacles, and the bigger the goal, the bigger the obstacles. Your decision to be, have and do something out of the ordinary entails facing difficulties and challenges that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else." ~ Brian Tracy

WOD
Hoo-Ya (Happy 283rd Birthday Marine Core!)
Tabata Situps - 8 rds of 20 seconds on/10 seconds off - count only your lowest score, immediately followed by:
15 Bench 205/115
300 Rope
30 Bench 185/95
600 Rope
60 Bench 135/65
1200 Rope

Nutritional Feedback For Our Paleo Contestants

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Nutritional diaries are in. 19 out of 30 reporting in everything they ate and drank since a week ago Saturday...good for you guys, you're still in and eligible for prizes and glory. For the other 11 who sent me nothing, you may want to have a come-to-Jesus meeting with yourself and figure out why you're having trouble committing; fear of looking good, being strong, being healthy, being sexy? I'm just messin' with you...my door's always open if you'd like to talk about what may be holding you back. Who knows...maybe, just maybe, I'll have some words of wisdom that help you to finally dial in and get results?!

For the rest of you are still plugged in, good doggies...I'm proud of you! I have indeed looked at everyone's food journal and decided that the most efficient use of my time would be to respond to you all as a group; getting to the point about where some of you are falling down and how to fix it.  Here is a quick summery of the most common issues that I saw:

• Make sure all snacks include a protein, some plant-based carbs and a little fat. I saw a lot of "handful of carrots" or "a banana" or "dried fruit" for snacks. Not good, as eating high glycemic carbs by themselves will usually result in fat gain.
•  Most of you would benefit immensely from greatly increasing your veggie intake, as those are your primary source of vitamins, mineral, antioxidants, fiber, etc. Don't just eat meat by itself.
• Alcohol, diet sodas and candy...really? Keep that sh*t out of the house so that it's not easily accessible. Sugar will make you crave more sugar, it's a harder habit to break than crack, seriously.
•  Drink more water and try to drink most of it between your meals so as not to interfere with digestion. You'll lose more fat and build more muscle with good water intake...that's a fact, jack.
• Eat 4-6 times a day, every 3-4 hours. This stimulates metabolism, controls appetite, regulates blood sugar and eliminates cravings. Under-eating (some of you are only eating 2x a day) actually causes thyroid issues and a loss of muscle which in turn disrupts metabolism...yikes.
• Skipping meals / snacks - see above
•  Too much fruit. I'll say it again, fruit is good, fruit is healthy, BUT...if you've got more fat you still need to lose, try limiting your fruits to no more than 2 a day, preferably following your workout. Otherwise excessive fruit leaves too much sugar available for energy; not requiring your body to break down your fat stores and burn body fat.
• Watch your fat intake. Yes I want you eating good, healthy fats throughout the day, but you've got to monitor your portions. Fats are very high in calories, so be very careful here. Nuts and seeds should be what you can hold in the palm of your hand with your fingers closed lightly and straight against the heel of your hand. Oils, 2 tablespoons per serving for guys, 1 tablespoon for ladies. 

Lastly, do the best you can to start eating grass-fed meats and organic  veggies and fruits as much as possible. Our ancestors didn't have all these toxins in their food and neither should we. Order some food from Rosas farms and pick up a copy of The Paleo Solution and Paleo Comfort Foods...we have a very limited supply of both books available right now. Don't forget, your diaries are due every Monday till this is over, so keep em' coming!

WOD
Double Your Pleasure
Wod #1:
150 Wallball For Time
Wod #2
5 Min AMRAP
KB Swings 24KG / 16KG

Groupon...Here We Go Again!

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Groupon hitting tomorrow...overloaded with preparation...brain about to explode...tell your friends, family, loved ones, co-workers, enemies, casual acquaintances...friends with benefits...anyone who has ever shown even a glimmer of interest in doing CrossFit...tomorrow is their day to get in El-Cheap-O!

Alright...I'm outta here...pray for me!

WOD
Wipeout
3000 Meter Row
10 Back Squats every 3 minutes 185/135
Note: 
Start with 10 Squats followed immediately by rowing, continuing to do 10 squats at 3 minutes, 6 minutes, 9 minutes, etc until you have completed 3000 meters on the rowing machine. This is all about fast rowing and transitions...have fun and go for it!

Deadline For Food Diaries Approaching Fast!

Monday, November 07, 2011

Just a reminder: For all of you who are participating in The Paleo Challenge, your nutritional diary for the previous week is due today. Being that this is your first homework assignment I'll extend the deadline till tomorrow at noon, but after that it will be too late and will result in disqualification from the contest.

Keep in mind that even if you don't send in your diary you're still welcome to come to the after party Dec 10th to share in everyones incredible transformations, the wod and the after party...you just won't be eligible to win the cash prize. 

I know that may seem like I'm being a bit of a hard-ass about this, but it's really just all about wanting each and every one one of you to keep your commitments and do the work. The reality is, if you're not willing to take 5 minutes a day to jot down what you eat so that you can really get a handle on your eating habits and things that you need to work on, then you're not really ready to be on a program at all, and that's okay...some of you just aren't there yet, but let's not waste each others time.

For those of you on the fence about keeping your diary, chew on this: People that keep a food journal lose, on average, DOUBLE the amount of fat as people who don't.

With all that being said, great job to all those who have sent their diarys in already...I appreciate it ; )

WOD
The Offering
Every minute on the minute for 20 Minutes:
3 Deads 250/175
5 Pullups
7 Dips
Buy-In:
3 Rounds
40 Sledge
1 Parking Lot Perimitter Run with Sledge

It's In The Hole

Friday, November 04, 2011

WOD
It's In The Hole
For Time:
Air Squats 100-90-80-70…to 10
115lb Snatch 2-4-6-8-10…to 20
Buy-In
30 Hypers
20 GHD Situps
15 PVC Snatches
20 Rotaters
30 Hollow Rocks
Cash Out
100 25lb Alternating DB Curls Each Arm
100 Overhead Tricep Extensions - moderate weight

Special Purpose

Thursday, November 03, 2011

WOD
Special Purpose
EMOTM for 15 Mins:
5 Incline Bench 175 / 95
10 Chest-2-ground Pushups
immediately followed by a...
3000M Row For Time
Warmup
Active Stretching and foam roller work

His Blood Smells Like Cologne... A Celebration of Manliness!

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

LEAN JUST BEYOND YOUR EDGE

In any given moment, a man's growth is optimized if he leans just beyond his edge, his capacity, his fear. He should not be too lazy, happily stagnating in the zone of security and comfort. Nor should he push far beyond his edge, stressing himself unnecessarily, unable to metabolize his experience. He should lean just slightly beyond the edge of fear and discomfort. Constantly. In everything he does.

Once you are honest with yourself about your real edge, it is best to lean just beyond it. Very few men have the guts for this practice. Most men either settle for the easy path or self-aggrandize themselves by taking the extreme hard path. Your insecurity may cause you to doubt yourself, and so you take the easy way, not even approaching your real edge or your real gift.

Alternatively, your insecurity may lead you to push, push, push, seeking to become victorious over your own sense of lack. Both approaches avoid your actual condition in the moment, which is often fear. If you are stressfully avoiding your fear, you cannot relax into the fearless. Your fear is the sharpest definition of your self. You should know it. You should feel it virtually constantly. Fear needs to become your friend, so that you are no longer uncomfortable with it. Rather, primary fear shows you that you are at your edge.

Staying with the fear, staying at your edge, allows real transformation to occur. Neither lazy nor aggressive, playing your edge allows you to perceive the moment with the least amount of distortion. You are willing to be with what is, rather than trying to escape it by pulling back from it, or trying to escape it by pushing beyond it into some future goal. Fear of fear may lead you to hang back, living a lesser life than you are capable.

Fear of fear may lead you to push ahead, living a false life, off-center, tense and missing the moment. But the capacity to feel this moment, including your fear, without trying to escape it, creates a state of alive and humble spontaneity. You are ready for the unknown as it unfolds, since you are not pulled back or pushed forward from the horizon of the moment. You are hanging right over the edge.

By leaning just beyond your fear, you challenge your limits compassionately, without trying to escape the feeling of fear itself. You step beyond the solid ground of security with an open heart. You stand in the space of unknowingness, raw and awake. Here, the gravity of deep being will attend you to the only place where fear is obsolete: the eternal free fall of home. Where you always are. Own your fear, and lean just beyond it. In every aspect of your life. Starting now.

From the book, TheWay of the Superior Man by David Deida, Chapter 8

WOD
The Manly Man
50 Tire Flips
1 Mile Run w/ Keg
50 Monkey Rows
1/4 Mile Walking Lunges
* Extra bonus points for running with any of the "striped kegs" and/or wearing a weight vest for the entire workout
Warmup
10 minutes active stretching and prayer

Gluten Free Ain't Paleo!

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Here's a great piece from paleodiet.com I thought worth re-posting...enjoy.

What???

You read that right, my friends. “Gluten-free” is a total scam.

Bu-bu-bu-bu-but --- isn’t eating "gluten-free" part and parcel of the Paleolithic Diet?

Yes, yes, it is. And no, it isn’t. Grrrrrrrrr….really, really? Uber-super-duper-short version of why, yes, you should eat gluten-free: Gluten and gliadin are proteins, found in grains, that we, Homo sapiens sapiens, don’t have a long evolutionary history of eating a lot of, nor are we well-adapted to eating them. Unlike, say, Sitophilus granaries and his cousins.

If you want to get into the scientific nitty-gritty, I refer you to Robb Wolf’s brilliant, final word gluten. We get that part. So, how isn’t “gluten-free” part of the Paleolithic Diet and how is it a scam? Because sharp-eyed food producers and their marketing teams are more than happy to ride the recent, burgeoning gluten-free wave and milk it for all it’s worth….even if it is potentially to your detriment.

Please don’t get suckered into eating “gluten-free” food products that are, yes, technically “gluten-free” but really Franken-foods, filled with other substances that have had no place in our our evolutionary history either. My personal favorite: the microcrystalline cellulose you often see in “gluten-free” breads. If you have a loaf of “gluten-free” bread in your house, go check the ingredients list now. I’ll wait here for you.

For the rest of you, microcrystalline cellulose is refined wood pulp. Unless you are Dendroctonus ponderosae – call me simplistic and reductionist – but just gonna throw this out there --- eating refined wood pulp, probably not a super-duper idea. BTW close runner-ups are the legume-based “flours” used in many “gluten-free” bread mixes as well as a bunch more. My message to you today:

Remember why you are eating Paleo. Next time you are thinking of eating “gluten-free”, just remember...you are not an wood-pulp eating insect! Get out and enjoy the heat and sun with some loved ones. Look forward to your Keep on keepin' on,

PS If the above resonated with you – I should give credit where credit is due, Kurt Harris M.D. has been sounding the alarm on frankenfoods and their ilk for some time now.

 My Chitlins...the reason I pay attention to articles like this ; )

 
WOD
Hurt Bomb
21-15-9
KB Swings 24/16
Burpees
Pullups
AMRAP For 3 Minutes
Rest For 1 Minute
AMRAP For 6 Minutes
Rest 1 Minute
Perform WOD For Time
Your score will be the total # of reps performed in rounds 1&2 as well as your time for completing the WOD in the final round.