Thanksgiving & The Benefits of Rest

Thanksgiving induces the brain to reflect on the past year, what you are thankful for, things you wished you did or didn't do and to start thinking about next year, but most of all it is the time to just stop, relax, rest and be thankful.

People forget that the time you build strength occurs while you sleep and when you are inactive. When you are nailing Helen, hitting a PR max deadlift, or running your fastest 5K you are breaking down your muscles.  If you do not rest whether every 3rd day, 4th day or 5th day, you will NEVER reach your goals.  All of a sudden the PR's become far and few between, you feel like each WOD is draining you and to just start a WOD you wish you had a key in your back like an old wind up toy.

So over this Thanksgiving please rest, rejuvenate, spend time with friends and family and maybe even slightly over indulge at the Thanksgiving table without guilt.  Sleep in and take naps!  I was planning on hitting the CrossFit box by my parents home but then rethought that maybe a nice easy run along the beautiful Little Lehigh Parkway on Thanksgiving morning would be more rewarding, see/smell the environment with no WOD clock in the back of my mind, maybe even a round of golf on Friday, weather permitting. 

Just think how pumped and stoked you will feel come Monday to rock a WOD with a well rested body! (Don't worry about the extra #'s you put on, it will come off quickly)

Happy Thanksgiving!

To Rx or Not To Rx

It has been way to long since I last wrote, where did summer go?  This past week of WOD's plus 9-11 on Sunday has been physically demanding and mentally tough.  A challenging week of Girls/Heroes, very appropriate to honor those that have died for our country because of what happened on 9-11 ten years ago. We wrapped up the WOD's on Saturday with Murph, a long painful perfect CrossFit WOD.

As CrossFitters we are always striving to do the WOD Rx and once we can do it Rx then we try to go faster each time. Many times the Rx means prescribed weight but many times it is just a basic body weight exercise such as the pull-up and push-up in Murph.  This was the first time I did Murph Rx and I really wanted to meet the challenge of all those pull-ups & push-ups as prescribed:  Chin over bar, chest to ground with no snaking.  In the past, one could say I mastered the snake on my push-up so it has been a long journey to remove that pesky reptile from my body.  However I know my snake comes back when I start to tire.  I realized about 50 reps into my 200 push-up that my push-ups were starting to look ugly, so I made myself do game style push-ups: chest to floor with hands off the ground to make sure I was getting full extension, then I worked on making sure my snake was kept in check. So I was doing many 1-2 rep push-ups at a time.  I know I did well over 200 push-ups that day but only 200 I felt qualified  as prescribed.  Same on my pull-ups there were many times my chin did not go over the bar so those did not go into my 100 tally.

I did this workout by myself so no one was judging my form, but do you need someone to judge you if you know you are not doing it prescribed?  You are only cheating yourself.   If you are going for Rx then make sure you are REALLY doing it Rx.  Forget the clock and be proud that you know you do everything as prescribed.

30 Days Being a Cavegirl

Yes 30 days of Paleo eating and all is good, well not just good but GREAT.  Starting off with a 7-day cleanse was a perfect way to kick start the process, thank you Baltimore Health Coach.  http://www.baltimorehealthcoach.com.  In my prior blog I had just finished my 7 day cleanse and was a little worried about the go forward food prep; however, I found the food prep became easier because I knew what to do, yes 2 trips to the grocery store per week vs. the typical one, yes 2 times a week of doing some food prep for future meals (coaching at meal times can be difficult.)  But the good thing is during this time of year it is much easier to shop for fresh-local food with various farmers markets located around the city and just about open every day. Plus if driving to/from the beach stop off at those road side farmers stands, blueberries $1/pint in Jersey!

After the cleanse I did the following: Added back raw honey, mainly to make tasty nut/seed granola and nut muffins, added alcohol but limited to weekends (except for a weeknight out with the girls & 4th of July long weekend at the beach.)  Found beer upsets my new fine tuned stomach more than wine, but then again that is if I had more than 2....my beloved espresso.....Woody introduced me to a very tasty decaf (Counter Culture Coffee), but it was hit or miss on my stomach saying "bloat-yuck get it of my system!" I miss the taste and will experiment to see which brands my stomach do not reject or on certain days I will just Suck It Up to make my taste buds happy.  The good thing - I do not need caffeine! Naps are sometimes necessary so I recommend to crawl under your desk and close the door or flop down on the bed/beach chair/bench press bench or curl up with your favorite CrossFit teddy bear aka medicine ball (20# for men/14# for women.)


Things I learned:  In the past I was always goal oriented and did not listen-appreciate the path-process to  the goal.  Having goals is good but do not miss out on what leads you to them, since you will learn more on this path vs. when you attain the goal.  The goal is the icing (paleo) on the nut muffin.  So in this case I set a goal - 30 days eat like a cavegirl. Half way through I knew this was the way I want to eat going forward since I found the benefits outweighed what I was giving up, but I also was going to make my goal of 30 days, gosh darn it!

I only had one night out that really tested my resolve and the food served looked sumptuous, the majority of the items were healthy except for some desserts over the top, but I did not indulge.  Appetizers consisted of fine cheeses, salmon ball & escargot, yes escargot, that was tempting.  Dinner, grilled flank steak (+), crab cake - oh they looked good but knew had some grain & probably dairy, several vegetable dishes with either dairy or grain and a zucchini/tomato dish (+).  Desserts were mouth watering but all had grain, sugar, dairy. I was honing in on the mixed berries until I saw a cheese/pita chip addition.  Needless to say I was a little hungry after the party, but I was happy with my resolve and it made me more attuned to what people eat. I was craving for some kale during the night and when I got home I ate paleo granola with almond milk and berries.

Going Forward: I will add some dairy back but it will be for  special occasions like escargot at Petit Louis or some really, really good cheeses.  I thought I would miss my fat-free plain greek yogurt but after 30 days I do not need to go buy it.  Yes if at a party and there is a tasty crab cake, I may devour,  but these will be my fun days, no one can go 365 days eating the same way, plus I want to make my stomach upset & feel weak at a CrossFit WOD to remind me how I should be eating.  Mark L & Jerry H - I am going with summer fresh cantaloupe all day long, may not have been around in caveman days but still a darn good treat in the summer.  In my mind the key is to eat no processed/sugar/refined foods, eat as local as possible, organic-natural, fresh-in season fruit & veggies, and no grain-dairy-beans.  Call it Paleo or just call it eating clean.

Benefits: Facts are in the numbers.  Between my BOD POD tests (measures lean body mass & fat mass) 4.2.11 - 6.25.11 I lost 3.6 lbs: Lost 6.4 lbs of fat and gained 2.8 lbs of muscle.  I think CrossFit increased my muscle and some fat loss but eating better really helped on the 6.4 lbs of fat loss.

Next Goals:  Continue to increase strength so I can get: 10 straight kipping or maybe convert to butterfly, seems more efficient, pull-ups (really need to work on not tearing hands as well as strength) by 9.30.11, Standard hand stand + decent HS push-up by 12.31.11, Muscle up by 6.30.12  (hopefully I will hit all earlier than projected.)  Finish reading The Paleo Diet For Athletes, so can help our PUSH511 endurance athletes meet their goals, and finally develop the best post workout smoothie - targeting egg powder as key ingredient for protein.  The part I am really excited about is the path-process that will bring me to these goals.  Oh yeah - have fun every minute during the process!

What are your goals and how will you reach them?

6.20.11 Post Paleo Cleanse

Well I made it through the 7 days, in the last 2 days I felt my energy return, so I guess the toxins had finally worked out of my system.  I am sleeping much sounder and waking up early feeling refreshed and ready to go vs. my usual where is my cup of espresso!  Learned several things, as mentioned in my prior post preparing ahead of time is critical and making sure healthy food/snacks are readily available.  This may be the hardest part going forward.  I am truly loving the different greens and no longer afraid to attack them with gusto. Next need to try Petie's Kale "pasta" recipe.

Now that the official cleanse is over my next goal is to try and adhere to strict a Paleo diet (no grain, dairy, beans, sugar, processed/refined foods) for an additional 3 weeks so can see the results of Paleo over 30 days.  I will add back alcohol on a limited basis and sugar but only in the form of raw honey.  Currently searching for a great tasting decaf espresso (processed the water method) so my taste buds can be joyous while keeping my body happy without the caffeine.   Right now the inside of my body is feeling like a smooth running engine with all the gunk removed, now if I can just get my piraformus (small butt muscle) and left rhomboid to loosen up all would be perfect, where is that lax ball?

I ate well over the week, though seemed I needed to eat every 2-4 hours, but in the end I lost 4.5 lbs, so that says something.  Below are some more tasty meals I consumed during the cleanse. Dinner: Grilled chicken, 1/4 avocado, raw asparagus, wilted spinach & dandelion greens with a cup of avocado-cucumber soup.  Breakfast: 2 eggs + 1/4 cup egg white omelet with mushroom, tomato & avocado, plus a smoothie: 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup almond milk, spinach, 1/2 banana, fresh strawberries & blueberries, 1 TB ground flax seed, 1 TB almond butter.  I ate this breakfast about 2-1/2 hours before the "Pick Your Poison" WOD and I felt solid through the WOD and afterwards.  Guess this stuff works.

6.16.11 Taste Buds a little sad, stomach very happy

Day 4 of Paleo Cleanse and overall like the results.  The impact of missing my double espresso each morning has its pluses and minuses.  On the minus side my taste buds are yelling at me for a double shot of sweet-rich El Guapo Espresso from the Amaya Roasting Company, and my mind in the morning sometimes seems a little fuzzy.  On the plus side my stomach is very happy, no more tossing & turning after the espresso.

I think I finally created the perfect smoothie: 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1 TB almond butter, 1 TB ground chia seeds, handful of fresh spinach, frozen berries, with a scant of stevia.  What I found so far in the cleanse is that it is really all about planning, making sure the refrigerator is full of healthy food options, doing a little prep work when you have free time so when you do not have time to prepare it is already done, and do not put your self in a position of being in a place without food.

Today was another banner food day, a chopped salad for lunch with hard boiled eggs, romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkin seeds, grilled veggies & a little tahini dressing.  Dinner very satisfying of grilled tuna, mashed cauliflower, wilted spinach & grilled veggies, followed by some sliced strawberries & blueberries with a dash of coconut milk.  Now time for bed.

6.14.11 Paleo Cleanse Week

Been awhile since my ast post, quick trip to London set me back.  If in London stop by CrossFit Central London nice community and good coaches.  CrossFit does prepare you for the unknown as I was able to pull off two dead hang pull-ups from the rafter wall of a 500 year old English Country manor house + 2 Burpees without splitting my dress.   However I did remove my hat for the exercises.

This week I am doing a 7-day Paleo Cleanse through Baltimore Health Coach, so I thought I would share my experiences.  So far so good, but I did stop drinking my standard double espresso last week so the caffeine craving/yearning is abated, last week was a different story.  My goal is to eat clean, no grabbing a handful of nuts/seeds and eating too much almond butter, yes all a good source of fat & protein but not if you over indulge.  No glass of wine or beer at the end of the day and to do more with vegetables.

I have found that ground flax seed & chia seeds make a nice addition to a smoothy or in almond milk with some carob powder. Carob will never replace my love for pure dark bittersweet chocolate but for a week it will do.  The is discipline and as I have said before Mind Over Matter.  Photos of yesterdays lunch-dinner & breakfast this morning.  Not bad, not bad indeed.

5.26.11 Persistence Trumps Talent: CrossFit Like Charlie Brown & His Kite

We have the tag line "Persistence Trumps Talent" on a website banner photo because it resonates so strongly with everyone.  No one is an expert at everything and CrossFit is about being component not an expert in the 10 Fitness Domains: Accuracy, Agility, Balance, Coordination, Cardiovascular Endurance, Flexibility, Power, Stamina, Strength & Speed.  So as a CrossFit athlete we can do anything we set our minds to and that is where persistence comes into play.  Because we all have strengths and maybe we are even experts in some of the 10 domains (for me - Cardio Endurance!) however in order for us to become competent in the other domains and become better CrossFit athletes we must be persistent in our training and do the things we do not like to do.  Get out of your COMFORT ZONE!

For me it was always the pull-up and push-up, but now I look forward to WOD's with those exercises, yeah I am not fast but I can now do them and I still have a ways to go on improving form & speed.  Last week my deadlift showed progress so my persistence is starting to pay off. This week we did Hang Cleans on Saturday, Hang Power Cleans on Tuesday and today Hang Power Snatch. Can you say out of my comfort zone and into my hell house?  Good news I actually liked the Cleans for once and could feel, not all reps, but it was there at times, the correct Clean.  Snatch well still a work in progress but parts were good and I felt so much better than before.  For me, I am going to add in my warm-up more snatch PVC practice.

So train like Charlie Brown and his kite.  How many times does Charlie Brown fly his kite and failure happens?  Too numerous to count. He runs into a tree and is carried off as a Warrior, his kite is blown up & destroyed in the sky or he flies the kite in the middle of winter and both Charlie Brown & the kit freeze.  But you know what .... Charlie Brown will always continue to fly his kite no matter what happens to him or his kite.

Isn't this how you should CrossFit train?

5.17.11 Do As I Say, Not As I Do

This statement can be over used and maybe not taken to heart, but everyone should be Doing what they Say & Saying what they Do.  In other words Practice What You Preach.

I was reminded of this yesterday and for me sometimes I do need to be hit over the head with a baseball bat or barbell to have it sink in.  Monday WOD Deadlift 1X7:  As coaching I noticed some difficulties developing around the 3rd - 4th  round with 2 athletes.  Same comment to both, prep yourself as approaching the bar still upright, tight core, breath control, weight in heels, then go to the set position & once set LIFT do not wait around down there thinking the bar up, just GO.


Both athletes made the next rounds look like the weight had gone down vs. up, this continued until they reached their max, which was also a PR for both.  Later that afternoon as I was preparing to attack my achilles heel, the dreaded deadlift, stretching out my lower back after a Sunday of heavy gardening and thinking it is time to move beyond my lowly deadlift max, not even = to my back squat max.  So how do I approach the bar on lift #1 through lift #7?  Just like I told my fellow athletes earlier that day and guess what, I finally felt like I was controlling the bar, so much so I increased my max by 15# and now I can actually start to see a 1.5X body weight max deadlift in my future.

Say = Do, Do = Say

5.8.11 Mothers' Day & Heroes

This day is reflective for me since it has been 14 years since my Mom passed away and as always my first words after waking up are to wish her a Happy Mothers' Day.  The morning was sunny and beautiful a perfect setting for a fun group CrossFit WOD at the box.  The team work amongst the partners and the teams was stellar, especially the group bonus air squats at the end.  Camaraderie filled the air which reminded me of an article I read this week by a Navy Seal, Lt. Cmdr. Greitens .  The personalities of a Navy Seal and a CrossFitter are fairly similar.

Excerpts from Greitens article in the WSJ:  "Some men who seemed impossibly weak at the beginning of SEAL training - men who puked on runs and had trouble with pull-ups - made it." "Some men who were visibly afraid, sometimes to the point of shaking, made it to."  "Almost all the men who survived possessed one common quality. Even in great pain, faced with the test of their lives, they had the ability to step outside of their own pain, put aside their own fear and ask: How can I help the guy next to me?"  "They also had a heart large enough to think about others, to dedicate themselves to a higher purpose."

How many times have you felt like a Seal in training based on the above?  Puke bucket after Cindy - Thinking I will never get a kipping pull-up - Looking at a box jump as if it as tall as a mountain.  However what I see every day within the PUSH511 community is that no matter how bad someone is feeling they are always calling out to their fellow CrossFitter.

One of our workouts this past week was Michael, named in honor of Michael McGreevy who died in 6/05 at the age of 30. Michael was a Navy Seal who died when his helicopter crashed in the vicinity of Asadabad, Afghanistan.  Ironic timing for the workout based on the Navy Seals doing their job at a compound in Asadabad a few days earlier.

Always remember the Heroes during your workout and CrossFit like a Navy Seal!

5.1.11 Mind Over Matter

We train our bodies to learn proper technique so we can perform exercises more efficiently and safely resulting in faster times/higher loads/more reps.  But some times we forget one key item, the large space between our ears.  A positive, can-do, attitude will get you a PR, without one no matter how hard you train you will come up short.

Last week within one hour I experienced this reaffirmation with two people who have/are dealt/dealing with cancer.  One of our members is 5 years cancer free, we were talking about the impact the radiation and chemotherapy has had on him physically, good to know so we can help him on his technique but as talking with him those were minor items the critical component was his strong will not to let anything keep him down.  As this conversation ended a friend of mine stopped in, who you would never think just a few weeks ago had a double mastectomy, gone through two rounds of chemo and now getting ready for radiation. As we spoke, there was no negativity in her words.  Both these people are thankful for the great progress medicine has made and can be certain the surgeries, chemo, and radiation all were key ingredients for where they are today, but I think the main reason is their Mind over matter attitude.

Figure out what is holding you back on reaching a certain goal, may not just being more flexible or an old injury but the space between your ears.  Take the Power of your Mind to reach your next goal.  I know I am going to work on my aversion to inversions, because that is all in my head.

4.26.11 The Single Best Exercise

My sister gave me an article from The New York Times Magazine titled What's The Single Best Exercise? by Gretchen Reynolds and wanted to know my thoughts.  I read it, chuckled, and the answer was CrossFit, the article never mentions CrossFit, but talks about what we do all the time.  CrossFit is not one exercise but look at the exercises stated as The Best:

• The Burpee - Say no more we all know how awesome this exercise is and how we curse it every time.
• The Squat - Activates the largest muscles in the body and its SIMPLE.  If you conquer the Air Squat go for the weighted squat.  Hhhmmm ... let's see every PUSH511 warm-up includes Air Squats and how many times do we challenge ourselves with front squats, back squats, overhead squats?  Keep going Thruster, Clean, Snatch...... the air squat the building block for all.
• "H.I.T." - High-Intensity-Interval Training.... can you say CrossFit.  We take all exercises and do them at high intensity. I like the way the article stated "Of course, to be effective, H.I.T. must hurt." 
• Finally the best exercise to tie in muscle strength, as in a squat, and interval training is sprinting up stairs.  Well if you run the Horribly Hilly 800M PUSH511 route in a good Pose method with your knees pulling up high, then that sprint up Dillon from Haven Street is pure perfection.

CrossFit is The Single Best Exercise - People write and talk about CrossFit in so many other terms, should we let them in on the secret?

4.21.11 Posterior Alignment

I read a good article in the Wall Street Journal the other day, yes WSJ and fitness can go together. The article was on Alignment Lessons and The Egoscue Method developed by Pete Egoscue in San Diego.  Many times you hear your coach say keep the bar close to your body, scrape your legs on a deadlift (aka wear high socks), pull head out of way of bar on a press, why is that? So the bar (weight) stays in alignment with your spine, the most effective way to carry a load and prevent injuries.

So have you looked at yourself and know if your body is aligned?  If not, how do you hope to lift, pull, push weight aligned with your spine?   Most people spend many hours hunched over a desk (except for Anne-Marie), do you think that helps on body alignment?  A few stretches/exercises to help you get re-aligned:

• Lie on your back with legs on a box or chair if at home. Arms to the side, bend elbows with fists toward the ceiling.  Squeeze shoulder blades down & together, hold the contraction for 1 second & release. Repeat 3 sets of 10 contractions.
• Lie on your back, raise 1 leg straight in the air at a 90 degree angle to the opposite leg laying straight on the floor.  Hold for maximum 15 minutes/leg, yes long stretch, you can shorten but if reading a book, what a great way to get in 30 minutes of reading while releasing your lower back & hips.

Ahhh.... I think I just heard my L4 & L5 say Thank You!

4.16.11 Nutrition - The Engine Behind the Scene

We tend to get caught up in the WOD board results as to time and loads: How much faster can I run that 200M sprint? How far can I push my CrossFit Total? Yeah I did the 30 Muscle-ups for time, but could I do 50 and in how much time?  To reach these goals and set new goals we may not fully realize or appreciate the critical item that will make it happen - FOOD.  What & how much do you eat & drink?

Print out the CrossFit Pyramid and place it in your office/home/car/kitchen/gym bag wherever, but make sure you look at what is at the base of that pyramid: NUTRITION, which lays the metabolic foundation for health & fitness.  To attain your personal records on load-speed-reps you need to incorporate Nutrition into your daily WOD.

4.15.11 Fine Tune Your Body Alignment

Shoulder Press 1X7 on Wednesday, 4.13.11.  Key point when doing strength WOD's is to concentrate on the technical aspects, since during a Metcon we become focused on going faster and setting a PR either with time or # of rounds. Naturally technique will start to breakdown as the body tires, so if you practice technique principals during the strength days you will hold technique longer during the Metcons, which will result in faster times/higher # of reps.

Case in point on Wednesday, I was thinking of all the key aspects for the shoulder press: Foot placement, drive through the heels, solid core, hand placement on bar, elbow position from bar, driving bar over head w/ lockout.  As weight increased and I was resting between sets thinking, picturing next lift I noticed my shoulders were not fully back, I was standing fully erect all other aspects in place...a very slight pull back on my shoulders and all of a sudden my lumbar curve was more solid and my overall alignment was improved.  Results my PR Shoulder Press is back and now I am more confident of taking it to the next load.

Life & Death

My last post described a wonderful Houston weekend, now the weekend has a somber overture. I just found out the reason why the producer of the Opera Il Postino, Daniel Catan, was not present for the pre-opera discussion on Saturday night, he passed away.

Live every day to your fullest.

Family - CrossFit - Seafood - Museums - Perfect cup of espresso - TexMex - Eclectic Art Work - Sun - City Parks - Opera

Can you ask for anything more in one weekend?   My kind of get away weekend, varied but balanced at the same time.  The weekend also included a "C" theme.  Started off Saturday morning at Bayou City CrossFit, ate a Crab & shrimp salad for lunch, toured the Menil Collection along with the Rothko Chapel, Byzantine Fresco Chapel & Cy Twombly Gallery (a gem of a gallery).  Ate Cobia for dinner and watched my nephew perform in Il Postino as Mario (bravo! bravo!) an opera produced by Daniel Catan.

Sunday the theme continued with my own CrossFit WOD at the hotel, 4 rounds of: 400M Run - 15 Pushups - 25 Squats, next up the very strange but utterly mesmerizing sculpture presidential head park, many C named Presidents sitting in this industrial lot, Clinton was peering through the trees at Obama & Bush, interesting....Next up the perfect double espresso macchiato at Catalina Coffee, followed by a tour of the Glenwood Cemetery, reportedly Howard Hughes is buried there but could not find him and not sure wanted to.  Last but not least the Beer Can House, yes a house covered in beer cans, tops, tabs, etc.

The weekend energized me, despite the 6:00 am Monday flight home, and recharged my batteries for various reasons.  Great to see and experience new things, meet new people & be open to what the day gives you.  This all started at Bayou City CrossFit when I decided to opt into the masters class @ 8 am vs. the open class, Bayou City masters is 40 and above so I qualified. I wanted to learn about coaching a masters class, so I put my desire to go Kick My Ass with the young ones aside and see what I could learn at a masters class.

1. You will get you butt kicked, remember CrossFit is about how hard you push yourself.
2. CrossFit is a community no matter where you go, my new BFF Itza and I teamed up for a WOD & came so close to knocking off the boys!  Another exercise and I am sure we would have had them, gaining all the time.
3. CrossFit is about Family.  One of the fellow WOD'rs is a mother of 3 CrossFitter's including herself. Daughter in Austin, Son in Tulsa and a Son in Seattle (? maybe Portland).  Also the masters coach is the father of the owner of Bayou City.

Tips for a Masters Class:

• Concentrate on longer, team, body weighted WOD's
• Exercises: Use bands to assist on Abmat sit-ups & L@90's - Box Steps vs. Box Jumps - Box Sits vs. Air Squats

I look forward to continue pushing myself by living CrossFit every day.

Morning Sunrise

April 6th - This morning the sun rose with such brightness it was blinding in a beautiful way. Maybe because the weather has been so up & down and spring does not want to ingratiate itself in Baltimore any time soon.  However, today I think is different just maybe, just maybe the time has come for spring to arrive. Spring means revived energy, fresh look on life, new beginnings......so go grab the day and walk blindly into whatever life offers up to you today.