May 2010

I know its a short post, it's Monday, sue me!

This weekend Mike clawed and scraped his way back from 51st place after the run to a 26th place finish. He fought hard didn't give up in the face of adversity and did us all very proud. Give Mike a high five, hug, kiss, slap on the ass, pat on the back or whatever gesture you deem appropriate next time you see him in the gym.

WOD: 7 rounds for time of
7 OHS
7 Burpee Pull-up
7 Med Ball Clean

John.

So as some of you may or may not know, our very own Mike
Eberts made it through Sectionals, and will be competing this weekend at
Regionals for a chance to go to the CrossFit Games. He will be going head to
head with the best of the best from Canada's CrossFit talent pool. He has
trained his ass off and been working really hard, both in the gym and with his
nutrition.  Remember what I said yesterday about how about committing to
compete will motivate you to train harder for a goal. Well Mike has done so and
has improved a lot in the last few months.

Over the weekend I ask you guys to check the CrossFit Games
site http://games2010.crossfit.com/ and see where Mike is in the standings, and
also see some of the highlights of the competition.  Good luck Mike. GO
OWN IT!

So to continue with the competition theme I just wanted to mention a friendly
little competition that we at CrossFit Kelowna will be hosting in
September.  On the 4th of September we will be hosting a CrossFit Total.
Which is if you don’t know a test of your 1RM (1 repetition max) in the Squat,
Press and Deadlift. You will have three attempts to get your heaviest weight
for each lift (not including warm ups) then the weights will be added up for
your "Total". I want this to be a fun event. There will be prizes and
some other fun little events to test your fitness. There will be a BBQ
afterwards. So bring out your friends and family for this event and lets build
our community.

That being said if you commit to compete in this event your training will most
likely revolve around strength for the next few months. So if your interested
let Chris or myself know and we will sign you up, and over the next week or so
I would like you to test your 1RM in the Squat, Press and Deadlift. Just pick
one every time your in the gym and go for a 1RM for the strength portion
of the day. We will record it and then help you improve on your lifts so you
can have the best chance to lift heavier at the Total.

You have 3 months to work on strength and that’s plenty of
time to affect some serious change. You will have to be serious about your
training and serious about the nutrition and rest you give your body. If you
would like extra time to work on strength we have a “Strength Club” that meets
every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00pm.

WOD: Event #3 From the Regionals this weekend
50 Double Unders
10 Burpees
40 Double Unders
10 Burpees
30 Double Unders
10 Burpees
20 Double Unders
10 Burpees
10 Double Unders
10 Burpees

Remember practice makes perfect. Practice your Double
Unders.

Fitness, Wellness and Excellence

Part 3


I talked yesterday about how Conventional Wisdom is keeping you from becoming excellent and holding you back from your true potential. They do this by giving you misinformation and horrible guidelines (Canada Food Guideis one example). There is no reason to settle for "wellness" or mediocrity we want you to become excellent.

Here at CrossFit Kelowna we are always shooting for excellence. Excellence in our programming, in our coaching, in our community and in everything that we provide to our athletes. We our always learning new techniques and methods to improve our coaching abilities. Why? Well to make you a better athlete and become more excellent.

We never want you to be truly dependent on us, not like the guys at __________ Gym.  We don't just tell you to get on this machine and do X number of reps. We are not rep counters, we are coaches and teachers. We want to teach you how to lift properly, eat properly, train properly and supply you with the information to do so. We post all our work outs for FREE on this web page. We don't keep secrets from you. You could do the workout at home or at another gym, and hey that's cool with us. But what you'll be missing by doing it elsewhere is the coaching, the competition and the community that we have. You will become better by just doing CrossFit, but think how much better you can be if you surround yourself with like minded people who are always shooting for excellence. I bet you can get much closer to reaching your full athletic potential and maybe even more.

So again why settle for ok? Why do you come to CrossFit and why do you shoot for excellence? Let me know in the comment section.

Randy doing an excellent job of keeping us entertained!

WOD:
5 rounds of
10 Ring Dips

10 KB Swings
25 Double Unders

If your having trouble with Double Unders this WOD is a good reason to start practicing more.

John.

Fitness, Wellness and Excellence

Part 1

When you think about being fit what is your definition? I'll bet that one of the first things that popped into you head had something to do with your physical appearance. Well I think thats bogus. Looking "fit" and being fit are completely different. I know lots of people that look "fit" but probably couldn't do a pull up or run a 5k to save their lives. And I also know a lot of people who look fairly average, but can lift very heavy weight, move there own body weight around easily and run a very fast mile. So obviously looks are not everything.

CrossFit's definition of fitness is basically formed around 10 general physical skills. The athlete with the most balanced ratio of these attributes is the fittest. So the athlete who specializes in one certain event or time domain  or modality will be sacrificing their full potential of one or more of these attributes to become better in others. This usually makes them one of the best in their sport but opens huge gaps in their overall "fitness" or ability to do other tasks. Essentially what fitness is, is your readiness. Your readiness to complete any task or overcome any obstacle in your life.

The 10 General Physical Skills:

1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance - The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
2. Stamina - The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
3. Strength - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
4. Flexibility - the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint.
5. Power - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
6. Speed - The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
7. Coordination - The ability to combine several distinct movement pat- terns into a singular distinct movement.
8. Agility - The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
9. Balance - The ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base.
10. Accuracy - The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.

This week I will write more about what I think it means to be fit, and why we should always strive to achieve a better fitness level.

WOD: The Bear Complex
5 rounds for max load. Each round consists of 7 cycles of the following movements.
Clean (power or squat, must stand fully up before front squat)
Front Squat
Push Press (lower behind the head)
Back Squat
Push Press
No resting on the ground during rounds, not even to re-grip. Rest as needed between rounds (3-4 min. max).

Hope you all had a wicked long weekend!

John.

Well I can't remember who brought it in, but there is a copy of Canada's Food Guide in the gym. I recommend that you take a quick look at the thing next time your in. I would hope that you fairly quickly see the faults in it.

One thing that Chris pointed out to me was the fact that for an adult male they recommend only 2-3 servings of protein a day! Think about that for a second ....... that's only 2 eggs for breakfast, and like 2.5 oz of meat at lunch and dinner! WOW! Ridiculous. I know girls that take down that much protein at breakfast alone. With that amount of protein intake a day your body will slowly eat away it's own muscles for essential amino acids. Not a good thing. And that’s even at a sedentary lifestyle. Now think what’s going to happen to your body even if your doing moderate exercise 2-3 times a week? Nothing good that’s for sure.

Eat meat boys and girls, and lots of it. If your a vegetarian/vegan for ethical reasons that’s cool, but get in some high quality complete plant protein at every meal.  Now if you’re a vegetarian/vegan for "health" reasons you better get your self sorted out and fast.

And when you really think about it all a Cow is, is grass. Right?

  

Cam and Carrie had their baby boy on Saturday, May 15th.  Congratulations! We all wish you well and hope you're able to get some sleep soon. (but don't count on it... ha!)

Coby Anthony MacLellan

There is no doubt this is Cam's boy, as he's got his 70s big Deadlifting socks already!

Workout of the day:
"Coby"
3 rounds for time of:
8 Knees-to-elbows
9 Power Cleans @ 155lbs
14 Burpees
20 Double Unders
10 Pull-ups

Recovery Part III


So your eating right, sleeping LOTS, and using the days you take off from the gym to relax, hang with friends, or do some sort of fun activity. "So why are my legs so sore I can't bend down to feed the dog and my arm are so messed I can't reach my head to wash my hair?" you ask. Well because even though you are doing everything to minimize inflammation, increase sleep and decrease stress there are still many more options to help with recovery.

1. Foam Rolling

Me and Chris Foam Rolling "Cus that's how we roll"

Foam rolling is probably the cheapest massage you will ever get. Basically what it is, is using a hard cylinder of foam that you use to put pressure on your muscles to break down scar tissue and free up your muscles.  It's a cheap way to help your body recover and flush out the muscles and brake down knots. A foam roller goes for about $25-$35. I suggest that you pick one up and make it your best friend ASAFP. I got mine at Rocky Mountain Fitness.

2. Ice Baths

YEEEEHAAAWWWW

"ICE WHAT'S!!!" Yes people ice baths. These fun little plunges into single digit water will rev up your recovery like nothing else (and for the dudes give you shrinkage like you will not believe). First off it pretty much eliminates inflammation, which will reduce soreness. Second the dilation of your blood vessels (getting smaller when cold, then getting bigger when trying to warm up) causes massive amounts of blood flow through the tissue, the blood brings nutrients and other helpful things in to the muscle with it, which speeds up recovery. I highly recommend an ice bath once a week. It works wonders.

3. Get a Massage or See A Chiropractor

Well I hope that you now have the info you need to recover fast so we can see more of you in the gym more often.

WOD: 5 rounds

10 Dead Lift
20 KB Swing
30 Sit-up

This one sneaks up on ya. Hit er hard boys and girls

John.

Recovery Part I

As a CrossFitter you have likely been fatigued, sore and generally beat up at one time or another, or perhaps continuously.  This is a result of training.  What will largely determine the results you obtain from training is how well and how fast you can recover .  A speedy recovery allows for more training, which allows for faster results (which is a good thing).  Without recovery there can be no exercise. In other words you can't have one with out the other.  Exercise causes us to release hormones, immune responses, cause inflammation and use things like glycogen (sugar from carbs) and lipids (fat) for fuel.  Recovery complements this process.  Accelerating the things we want and mitigating the less desirable, giving you more bang for your buck.

Some of the easiest ways to support your recovery are:

Eat a hormonally favorable diet that's rich in Paleo foods.

Get at least 8-10 hours sleep every night. "Sleep as much as you can without getting divorced or fired" - Robb Wolf

And take some steps to reduce the stress in your life.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-ways-to-de-stress/

These are easy ways to keep your body and mind feeling good and speed up your recovery, which will lead to greater work capacity in the next WOD.

Stay tuned for more on recovery.


WOD: "Air Force II"

20 Thruster
20 Power Clean
20 Push Jerk
20 OHS
20 Front Squats

Perform 4 burpees to start the WOD and 4 burpees at the top of every minute there after until complete. No racks

John.

First off check out this video. It's pretty funny but it's not a real food journal. So don't get any ideas for future meal plans.

http://www.cathletics.com/wod/video/steveFoodJournal.mov

And now down to business.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" I know you all have heard this more than once in your life, but how many of you guys and gals actually take it seriously?  I know that everyone is busy and it can be pretty hectic in the morning. I know how hard it can be to pry yourself out of bed an extra half hour in the morning and fire up the stove and cook up some grub. Your choice for this first meal will set your energy level and mood for the rest of the day. You can choose a quick easy bowl of cereal, some toast with jam or even a coffee and a doughnut on the way to work, which will leave you starving and craving more sugar and carbs by 10am. Or you can whip up a quick and easy omelet with mushrooms, broccoli, bacon and red pepper with a half an avocado on the side, which will satisfy you until lunch.

Ingredients to a great breakfast:

Protein: Eggs, bacon, ham, leftover steak, fish
Carbs: All fruit is a nice choice, but don't forget about the veggies. Try adding spinach, broccoli, tomatoes ect to an omelet.
Fat: This is what will keep you full longer and adds in a few good calories for energy. Avocados are my favorite, but a handful of nuts is cool too or even spread some almond butter on a celery stick.

Now here are a few recipes for tasty breakfasts:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-breakfast-suggestions-people-on-th...

http://robbwolf.com/2009/05/20/crossfit-football-omelet/

http://zentofitness.com/5-simple-tasty-breakfast-recipes/



WOD: 

Compete as many rounds as possible in 15 min of:
5 Shoulder to overhead
7 Push up
200 sprint

John.

In my short opinion, these are poison. Stay away. It's food science voodoo that gives you something sweet your body doesn't recognize. Don't trick your body and it's hormonal responses... I would go into more detail but Mark Sisson already wrote the definitive guide to artificial sweeteners.

Here is an excerpt, read the whole article at the link above.

"Saccharine (Sweet ‘n Low):

Saccharine, in terms of the artificial set, was truly an original and has been around since the beginning of the 20th Century. The sweetener is an organic molecule made from petroleum. It was hailed as an important development for those with diabetes and was used without much concern until the 1970s when animal studies indicated that it caused cancer of the bladder, skin, uterus and ovaries, among other organs.

Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal):

Famous for their memorable gumball campaign, aspartame added another choice to the sweetener line after some were scared off by the questions surrounding saccharine. The sweetener combines two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid with methanol. Like saccharine, the sweetener has a distinct taste, which some people like and others don’t. The FDA has done some 26 safety evaluations of the sweetener, and their reports show a clean record. Yet, not everyone agrees with this assessment. Aspartame, like MSG, is thought to be an “excitotoxin,” a compound that overstimulates nerve cells in the brain. High phenylalanine levels can result in brain damage.

Sucralose (Splenda, etc.):

Approved by the FDA in 1998, sucralose indeed starts out as sugar but is then chemically adjusted by swapping three hydrogen-oxygen groups with three chlorine molecules. The process makes it into a non-caloric sweetener because we’re unable to metabolize this new form. By most reports, sucralose doesn’t have that artificial aftertaste the earlier substitutes had, although baking results vary considerably despite the sugar cookie and cupcake strewn ads. And don’t let the small box fool you: sucralose has 600 times the sweetening kick that sugar does."

Seriously... chlorine, brain damage, cancer... Just get off the crack! No sugar for 2-4 weeks and carrots will taste like candy!

Workout of the day:
5 rounds for time of:
5 Deadlifts (275/185)
10 Burpees

Source: Flickr

Above: Michele squatting 145lbs, for a double...

Lifeblood that fuels the hearts of champions? An acceptable vice? A habit that needs breaking? Or just an everyday part of life...

What's it to you? I think everyone knows by now where I stand on this issue. (but for those who don't, it is in fact the lifeblood that fuels the hearts of champions)

Discuss!

Workout of the day:
"Dirty 30"
30 Squats
30 Situps
30 KB Swings
30 Box Jumps
30 Burpees
30 Wallballs