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Posted by Andy Petranek :
Friday, Feb 03, 2012
What if you suddenly had to be responsible for all aspects of your health, fitness and training? You, yourself... and no one else. You could go to no doctor, you couldn't ask friends for their opinions, you couldn't ask your coach, or access the internet, or use google to help you figure out what to do. Do you think you could come up with a plan for yourself? Do you think you know enough about what to eat & drink, sleep, stretch, and what to do for your workouts? Would you experiment and try different things to see what worked and what didin't? Would you keep a log book of your experiences?
If the answer to any of these is 'yes', then why aren't you doing it now? No, not not consulting with your trusted resources (Dr., coach, etc), but practicing being responsible for yourself. Keeping track of your workouts. Using your intuition when figuring out what weight to use, or what to do for your workouts on your days not at CFLA. It's not easy, nor does it come naturally. Accessing your intuition and creativity, and being responsible this takes practice... it's like a muscle that atrophies when not used. And using it in relation to your health and fitness can be extremely valuable in exercising this muscle so that it is in good working order in the ways it's needed in other areas of your life.
How are you engaged in "trusting your gut?"
Today's Workout
"Nasty Girls"
Three rounds for time of:
50 Squats
7 Muscle-ups (sub is 15 chest-to-bar chin-ups (reverse grip))
10 Hang Power Cleans (135/95)
Posted by michael stanwyck :
Thursday, Feb 02, 2012
Every since the beginning of 2012, I've been aware it was coming. The Whole Life Challenge.
It would be an understatement to say that for the second half of 2011 I was a little off my nutrition game. I didn't often think twice about my indulgences, and I indulged often. My fall vacation brought wine and sweets and I never quite got back on the wagon. Knowing what was coming, I decided that January was going to be a time of a bit more austerity. I didn't decide actually to start the challenge diet in January, but I made myself much more aware of my choices. I made more challenge-friendly choices more often, slowly weaning myself off of all of the things that I am going to be restricting for 8 weeks. I am not interested in going cold turkey!
That's what preparing for the challenge has looked like for me. I'm sure it looks different for you.
The Whole Life Challenge. How have you been preparing?
Today's Workout
As Many Reps As Possible in 6 minutes of
Clean and Jerk (135/95)
Scoring: Clean is one point, jerk is one point.
--- rest ---
2K row for time
Posted by Becca Borawski :
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2012
Did you even know there was such a thing as grass-fed butter? As you may or may not know, on a 100% strict Paleo diet, butter is not allowed. Most of us (Whole Life participants included!), however, allow for butter as it is considered a "good fat." There may be some people, however, who still react to the dairy aspects and shouldn't have it in their diet.
Or, maybe they just need to find the right butter! I learned recently about the differences between butter that comes from grass-fed versus grain-fed cows. Of course, grass-fed came out on top, containing more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid - you may not know what it is, but it's good for you) and vitamins. Grass-fed butter also had a better ratio of Omega-6 fatty acid to Omega-3 fatty acid (this is also one of the reasons you should buy the Omega-3 eggs at the store).
The crazy thing is you can actually just LOOK at grass-fed butter next to a stick of grain-fed butter and see the difference. Grass-fed butter is golden in color and that's not from chemicals - it's naturally that way due to the abundance of nutrients. And go figure, it tastes better, too!
But it can't be that easy right? Where do you find such a thing? And you're probably thinking, "Oh boy, another expensive thing to buy now that I'm eating Paleo."
Not so! Turns out you can find grass-fed butter all over the place if you know what you're looking for. Two brands to look for whose animals are all pastured (grass-fed) are Kerrygold and Anchor. My favorite brand is Organic Valley. While Organic Valley is not always grass-fed, at certain times of the year they put out a seasonal "pastured butter" in a green foil that is a great deal and totally grass-fed. Plus, you can freeze butter! I stock up during the pastured butter season, so I'm good for most of the year.
A portion of our household butter stash.
Today's Workout
3 min max double unders, followed by:
"Death by Lateral Burpees and Deadlifts" (225/155)
Min1: 1 LB, 1 DL
Min2: 2 LB, 2 DL
Posted by Andy Petranek :
Tuesday, Jan 31, 2012
ATHLETE PROFILE: Jennifer F.
Hometown: Marina del Rey
Age: 40
Occupation: PR Executive
When did you first start CrossFitting?: June, 2007
When did you first start training at CFLA?: June, 2007
Favorite WOD:None of them, and all of them
Least Favorite WOD: anything with an OHS
Tell us about you sports & fitness background: Big participant as a kid- I played softball, soccer, swam on the swim team, you name it. Always in last place. Didn't want to keep score but loved the activity, the orange slices at soccer practice etc. Gained a lot of weight up and down during college (please don't make me show you the photos) and got stuck in a serious carb addiction. Convinced myself that endless hours on the treadmill was proper pennance. Kept eating frozen yogurt in desperate belief during the snackwells era.
How did you first get exposed to CrossFit? Take us back to your first WOD... what was it, and how did it feel? My friend who was dating a firefighter in training in 2007 become buff seemingly overnight -and of course I just HAD to ask. She meekly said "oh I'm taking these exercise classes, wanna come?" Well that was almost 5 years ago and to say I am hooked is a bit of an understatement. I went and never stopped, except for late stages of my pregnancy (1st!) and my radiation treatments for breast cancer. My first WOD made ALL of my childhood self talk very loud: "YOU"RE A DORK! YOU CAN"T DO THIS! and YOU SHOULDN"T BE HERE!". The first few months were brutal - I felt like I had the flu, I had to justify my "crazy" new gym to everyone around me (yes, those were the days when virtually NO one had heard of crossfit). It wasn't pleasant, which was my first hint at how powerful it was. I had NO idea how handy the Crossfit ability to strenghten the mind would be in the coming years...but so glad I did!
What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting CF (before/after)? Hard to list just here. Went from the doughy sugar and carb junkie I was to one where I can acutally see abs...Since joining CF I have lost 20 lbs total, permanently, I might add, run over 10 10Ks (formerly thought this was absolutely not possible), and am training for my first marathon (LA - March). Crossfit enabled me to transform myself completely into an actual athlete - not something I thought was even remotely possible. Am I an olympic athlete? No. but I have the mindset, perseverance and attitude of one. My greatest love of Crossfit has nothing to do with sweat - it's the community of accountablity, love and security I have known over the years and what they have offered to ME that has enabled me to live the life of my dreams.This ain't a gym people!
What sort of changes in your life have you experienced out of taking on something like CrossFit that were totally unexpected? I was diagnosed with breast cancer last year - I thought I was the healthiest person out there- how could this have happened. Crossfit taught me the mental toughness to proceed through duress and I managed to never see my illness as an enemy. I continued to crossfit here and there throughout my treatment and I am 100 percent sure my 4+ years of crossfitting prior helped add to my fast recovery (even my DOCTOR thinks so).
Please share with us any favorite CrossFit / CFLA moments: Most of them, but most specifically, one that has nothing to do with burpees, Fran or the timeclock. A few years ago my beloved and first dog India died. I had to put her to sleep - one of the most devastating days of my life. I dragged myself to the gym that week in an attempt to cheer me up. Darn! The WOD was a 5K around town. In my distressed and distracted state I got lost, and as it got darker and darker I just stopped and started crying. Stanwyck came and picked me up in his jeep and brought me home and gave me a big hug - one I desperately needed at the time. He never mentioned it again but it made a huge impact that night and I'll never forget it. That's CFLA for you in a nutshell.
Any advice for people just getting started? "Don't think too much.
It will hurt.
If this were easy, everyone would do it.
Find one of us oldtimers and ask for advice or support.
Think twice before giving up - this could be the most important thing you ever do.
And DRINK WATER!
What are your hobbies, interests and/or talents outside of CrossFit? Social media is my career, my hobby and a major interest. I LOVE reading and sharing ideas and am an entrepreneur. I'm also a mom, so I'm interested in talking to moms who crossfit.
Today's Workout
"Annie Sandwich"
50-40-30-20-10-20-30-40-50
Double unders
Sit ups
Posted by Andy Petranek :
Monday, Jan 30, 2012
We've published many athlete profiles over the past year, most recently (last week) Laura M. I'd like to take a moment on this blog to ask you to consider submitting yours (complete with a link to a picture). It's a cathartic experience, going through our questionnaire. And taking the time to reflect on your experiences since starting down your CrossFit path is time well spent, and, believe it or not, part of your training! Additionally, if you're picked to be one of our featured athletes, you and our community have a lot to gain. I can guarantee that in spite of how short, silly or simple you think your story is, it will inspire someone else (someone you'll probably never know), paying it forward, giving them a gift, helping them to relate to things that at this point you take for granted.
So please, iff you are a CFLA student, and if you have a story to tell (and all of you do), please take a moment to click this link to the questionnaire. You never know who will benefit from your story and generosity. OH - and if you've filled out one before, but have not been featured on our blog and have info you'd like to update, I invite you to do that as well. Note that you will NOT be chosen as a featured athlete if you don't include a link to a picture.
Teamwork!
Complete as many rounds as possible in 30 minutes of:
500m Row
30 Kettlebell Swings (24/16)
20 Goblet Squats
10 Toes to Bar
Posted by Andy Petranek :
Friday, Jan 27, 2012
One of the most important reasons that we do the Whole Life Challenge every year is to give you the opportunity to be REALLY particular about the stuff that you put in your mouth to feed your body. When is the last time that you looked at the list of ingredients in your bacon? Or in the soup you buy from Trader Joes? And when's the last time you considered the things that are added to the food you eat that don't even show up on the list of ingredients?
The following video (it's old - from 2008) is a story about investigative reporters from Fox News that were fired for uncovering too much about Bovine Growth Hormone, manufactured by Monsanto, that is given to cows and shows up everywhere in the United States milk supply. BGH has also been linked to cancer. This is not a post to try to scare you, nor is it to bash Fox News - this sort of thing is happening all over the place in the media. So what's the point? Educate yourself and then make smart choices. Maybe there is more to going off dairy than what simply meets the eye.
Today's Workout
21-15-9 rep rounds for time of:
Front Squat (135/95)
Pull ups
800m run (at the end of each round)
