February 1st 2010
January 31, 2010 by hillarieaton · 470 Comments
Since it is the last week of the challenge we will be doing the four workouts that we started with, good luck and let’s get ready to set some PR’s!
For those of you that are quick to read the blog, I have made a mistake! Shay’s B-day isn’t till the 15th, oops!
WOD
Shay working hard on Deadlift form!
“The Chief”
Max rounds in 3 minutes of:
135/95 pound Power cleans, 3 reps
6 Push-ups
9 Squats
Rest 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 5 cycles.
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
Abraham Lincoln
January 30th 2010
January 29, 2010 by hillarieaton · 6 Comments
WOD
Stacey, in perfect push-up form!
” THE HOUGEY”
2 MINUTE “Repetitive” AMRAP OF:
5 BURPEES
5 MED BALL CLEAN
5 PULLUPS
IN TEAMS OF 2.
The goal is to attain 30 rounds, as a team, as fast as possible.
1 Person will Rest. While the other completes the 2 Minute AMRAP.
-EVERY 2 MINUTES THE PARTNERS WILL SWITCH TASKS-
[You will always pick up the movements where your partner left off. Until the team attains 30 total rounds.]
Kids learning squats.
WOD
4 rounds of:
3 forward rolls
10 pushups
15 squats
Angry gorilla walk
“Individuals play the game, but teams beat the odds.”
SEAL Team saying
January 29th 2010
January 28, 2010 by hillarieaton · 67 Comments
Today we will be having open gym time from 4:00 to 5:00, feel free to come in and work on skills, make up a WOD, or hang out with the trainers!
WOD
Ty wants to be just like Ashley, no better way than Burpees!
“The Kendzer’s Special”
3 Rounds:
500 meter Row
21 Kettlebell Swings
12 Wall Ball Shots
“Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make them come true.”
Anonymous
January 28th 2010
January 27, 2010 by hillarieaton · 6 Comments
WOD
Gotta love bottom to bottom Tabata squats!
As Many Rounds As Possible in 5 minutes of:
10 Box Jumps
15 Air Squats
Rest 1 minute
AMRAP in 5 minutes of:
10 Push-Ups
15 PVC\Bar Snatches
Rest 1 minute
AMRAP in 5 minutes of:
10 Burpees
15 AbMat Sit-Ups
On Recovery by Robb Wolf
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 a multifaceted concept, recovery. Adequate recovery allows for more training and ultimately improved performance. In some respects recovery is the Night to our exercise Day (this analogy will be more true than we can imagine). In exercise we release hormones, mount immune responses, cause inflammation and use things like glycogen and lipids for fuel. Recovery complements this process. Accelerating the things we want and mitigating the less desirable processes will provide more return on our exercise investment.
Much in the spirit of “World Class Performance in 100 Words” recovery comes down to: Eat a Zone favorable or other hormonally intelligent diet with predominantly antioxidant rich “Paleo” foods. Sleep 8–10 hrs per day in a completely dark room. Go to bed as early as possible. Laugh. Avoid excessive stress.
This is admittedly a black box approach to the recovery issue. One need know nothing about why these recommendations will optimize recovery to reap ALL the benefits. Occasionally however understanding some “whys” will improve both implementation and compliance, so let’s look at these topics a bit more closely.
Nutrition
A quick search of Google with the topic “post-workout nutrition” produces an impressive chunk of information concerning the nutrition and recovery. Most of the recommendations seem to point towards a combination of carbohydrate and protein to optimize muscle gain and glycogen replenishment. Scientific literature and empirical evidence seem to support this plan but I recommend a more moderate approach than most of the bodybuilding and endurance sources that love cheap insulin spiking carbs like maltodextrin. I like to see lean protein sources combined with predominantly fruit, yams/sweet potatoes or squash for the carbs. This ensures variety, low glycemic load and high nutrient density with an emphasis on antioxidants. The basic protein/carb plan regardless of composition appears to be beneficial for the aforementioned anabolic action directly by non-insulin mediated nutrient transfer but also indirectly by suppression of cortisol. With the smart selection of antioxidant rich plant materials, one is also reducing inflammation and providing alkalinizing material for acid/base buffering. The acid base buffering can facilitate greater workout intensity and may be important in deep sound sleep. Good stuff!
For those familiar with the Zone it should be obvious that following a basic Zone diet will fall into step with these recommendations. There is however a post-exercise window of enhanced insulin sensitivity. This is a period of time in which nutrients are transported into the cell without the action of insulin. Some make the argument for a larger amount of carbs to be consumed at this time. For Zoners this could mean shifting some carbs from other meals to the post exercise window. This is heresy for Zone purists but many have found success with this approach. Whether one follows a strict Zone diet or experiments with nutrient timing to take advantage of post exercise insulin sensitivity, I think the combination of hormonal control and food quality ensure that the nutrition side of recovery will be addressed.
Supplementation is a pretty hot topic with an enormous array of potions guaranteeing a competitive edge. I think very few are worth considering and here they are:
Creatine – 2-5g per day may be beneficial for a wide variety of reasons. Check the CrossFit message board archives for more details.
Alpha Lipoic Acid – 500mg per day. ALA enhances insulin function, acts as both a fat and water-soluble antioxidant and is a key player in the production of our own antioxidants.
Phosphatidylserine – 200mg per day. Seems to reduce cortisol.
Vitamin C – 500mg post workout and before bed may reduce cortisol and mitigate inflammation. Avoid consuming vitamin C with iron rich foods.
Sleep
I likely recommend this book 100+ times each year but here comes my plug again, Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar and Survival by TS Wiley and Bent Formby. If you have not read it yet, please do so. If you have read it already, give it a shot again. The bottom line with sleep is get 9–10 hrs per night in a completely dark room. This will normalize inflammatory conditions, autoimmunity, insulin resistance and hormone status (good things like growth hormone, testosterone and estrogen).
Remember the last section discussing nutrition? If you lack sleep you do not digest or absorb food normally. All that effort to weigh out perfect Zone block meals is derailed. Do you also remember the little line I mentioned about nutrition affecting sleep? This is where all this recovery stuff gets very interwoven: Sleep affects digestion, nutrition affects sleep. Things like stress affect both.
Stress
Psychologists have quite an array of terms for “stress”: (real, perceived). What we are concerned about is stress that: raises cortisol, compromises immune function and disturbs sleep and digestion. Interestingly, if one is well fed and adequately rested one is more resistant to stress. I hope I am getting across the highly intertwined and selfreinforcing nature of all this. If one is under stress it becomes even more critical that nutrition and sleep are as good as they can be.
Contrast Hydrotherapy
It may seem amazing that one activity could have a positive bearing on sleep, digestion and stress, however some do exist. One of my favorites is contrast hydrotherapy, or simply alternating hot and cold water soaking. In an ideal world one would have a fairly hot tub of water, say100–104ºF and a cold tub, say 34ºF. One would sit in the hot tub for 3–5 min and then go immediately to the cold tub for 30–60 seconds. This process could be repeated 3–5 times with a profound state of relaxation and euphoria being the result. Coldwater immersion seems to be a part of many folk medicine traditions and there is an impressive body of evidence that indicates the practice improves insulin sensitivity and reduces stress and inflammation. If one does not have tubs of hot and cold water available alternating the shower temperature is a pretty close second.
Putting it Together
How does one integrate this information into a daily program? Here is the action item list:
Eat a Paleo Zone favorable diet. Possibly add a few select supplements.
Sleep 9-10 hrs per night in complete darkness.
Find ways to manage stress. Watch Dr. Phil and Oprah, if they have no usefull advice at least you can laugh at them.
Add a contrast hydrotherapy session post workout and prior to bed.
If one area of recovery must be compromised the others need extra attention if disaster is to be avoided. Keep in mind that recovery is a holistic, multifaceted process.
__
“Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.”
Peter Drucker
January 27th 2010
January 26, 2010 by hillarieaton · 13 Comments
WOD
Tyler, Pushing hard through Tuesdays WOD!
Front Squat
3-3-3-3-3
Then:
Bottom to Bottom Tabata Squats!
“It’s not the work that’s hard, it’s the discipline.”
Anonymous
January 26th 2010
January 25, 2010 by hillarieaton · 16 Comments
WOD
Mando, focusing on her Deadlift!
For time:
225/155 pound Deadlift, 15 reps
50 Pull-ups
225/155 pound Deadift, 12 reps
40 Pull-ups
225/155 pound Deadlift, 9 reps
30 Pull-ups
225/155 pound Deadlift, 6 reps
20 Pull-ups
225/155 pound Deadlift, 3 reps
10 Pull-ups
“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
John Wooden
January 25th 2010
January 24, 2010 by hillarieaton · 6 Comments
Happy Birthday Heather and Brittany! Post birthday wishes for Heather and Brittany to comments.
Alison, Sammie, and Lauren Loving Box Jumps!
WOD
3 rounds:
10 Squat Clean and Jerks 135/95
30 Knees to Elbows
“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.”
Norman Vincent Peale
January 23rd 2010
January 22, 2010 by hillarieaton · Leave a Comment
WOD
Jerry M. and Chad working on their Handstand Push-Ups!
In teams of four you will complete as
many reps as possible in 20 min. of the following:
Sandbag Clean/Carry, Kettlebell Deadlift/Farmer Carry
Australian Pull-Ups
Box Jumps
Row for calories
Nick, teaching River how to do a Pull-Up!
KIDS WOD
2-3 rounds of
10 standing long jumps
50 walking lunges
21 KB swings
21 Burpees
21 jumping jacks
21 dips on boxs or benches
“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”
Babe Ruth
January 22nd 2010
January 21, 2010 by hillarieaton · Leave a Comment
WOD
Kory, Mando, and Tyler going globo on us!
For time:
50 Sit-ups
50 Double-unders
50 Sit-ups
50 Walking Lunges
50 Sit-ups
50 Burpees
50 Sit-ups
“You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins.”
Jim Stovall
January 21st 2010
January 20, 2010 by hillarieaton · 12 Comments
Barry, pushing hard through his presses!
WOD
“Diane”
21-15-9 reps of:
225/155 pound Deadlift
Handstand push-ups
The trainers at CrossFit Draper have started to notice a new trend going on… people are conveniently missing the heavy lifting days! This might be our fault for not effectively explaining the importance of them to you. So please enjoy the following article!
Is weight training more important for weight loss than cardio?
People often fail to realize that weight training is very important for their weight loss progress. It seems that the common view is that weight training is for muscle growth whilst cardio is for fat loss. This, actually, is pretty inaccurate.
Why is weight training important for weight loss?
Men and Women who are on a weight loss program will no doubt spend a fair amount of time at the gym. However, it seems that the normal thing to do is about 20% weight training and 80% cardio work. This balance needs to be shifted.
The reason weight training is so important for weight loss is multi-layered.
Firstly, when you lift weights you generally increase your heart rate. I have been weight lifting for over half of my life and everytime I do a heavy set of squats or bench press my heart starts racing. This means that I am burning up calories – just like cardio.
Secondly, that heart rate stays up for a long time. The exercises where you lift a heavy weight are tough on the body and cause your heart rate to stay up when you finish the workout. This means you will be burning calories when the weight training session is over.
Thirdly, adding muscle to your body causes you to lose fat. The very presence of muscle in the body is fat burning. The two do not co-exist together. This means that the more muscle you put on the less fat you will have and the more toned you will become. All good things.
Finally, weight training increases the stength of your muscles and makes them more resistant to damage and wear. This means that over time you will find that you can train longer and harder and more often without having to worry too much about injury or soreness. Weight training will allow you to train more often.
–
“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”
Thomas Edison
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