Although relatively new to our CrossFit School and program, Chris has taken to it very quickly, bringing an intelligent, vibrant, young, healthy, positive, energetic, enthusiastic, fun (can you think of any other adjectives I could use here?) energy to his participation as a student and his contribution on our staff as an intern. He is both a member of our Instructor Training Program AND a Certified CrossFit Level 1 Coach. I’m really excited and pleased to have him on our team.
My apologies for not posting anything yesterday. I received a boat load of messages asking if I was ok or if I had been hit by a bus….I’m ok, I just got a little busy.
Here you go….
Sometimes I joke with students about the fact that when we run into each other outside of the gym, in our regular clothes and regular lives, that we do not recognize each other at first. It is funny…but there is also something amazing about that. When you walk into the gym, you are stripping yourself of the uniform of the outside world. Your clothes, your job and all the things you have going on out there cease to matter. I don’t call you doctor or sir and I have no picture of who you should or shouldn’t be. Your gym clothes are the uniform of nothingness and none of us know who you are.
And yet, we know exactly who you are. In the space of nothing that the gym becomes, you become exactly who you truly are inside. We get to know you, not because of your car or your mortgage, not because of your education or your spouse, but because of your heart and your dedication, your sweat and your tears. We have the privilege to bear witness to the little glow inside you, striving to get out and shine, in the safe space inside these walls. On the blank slate, in the empty space, you get to be you.
LAPD SWAT Officer Randal Simmons. Killed in the line of Duty.
Many of you have been asking me if we could do some of the Hero WOD’s for some time now. Since I’m such a giver, we will be doing Hero WODs the last Saturday of every month at the 9 a.m. class.
Hero WOD’s are WODs named after individuals in the Military or Law Enforcement, who died in the line of duty. So, in memory of these Hero’s, we do these specific WODs to honor them.
Hero WODs are freakin’ hard! For example, the most popular, “Murph”, consists of:
1 Mile Run
100 Pull Ups
200 Push Ups
300 Squats
then finish it up with
1 Mile Run
Added On: 03.22.11
Big Gabe doing some Dips on the box!
“Have fun screwing up…it means you are removing your ego from the problem.”
Happy Monday CrossFitters! Above is another coking video with John and Rosie. This meal is probably the easiest one of all.
For those of you who have embraced the Paleo lifestyle and given up pasta(on a regular basis), you will love this meal. It tastes a lot like pasta, especially if you do a great job with the pasta sauce. This is a meal I currently have in my lunch box.
I encourage you to get creative with the pasta sauce. Add mushrooms, bell peppers, onions…..whatever makes you drool like a St.Bernard. Enjoy
PS>Buddy week is over…..so back to the normal schedule.
So much has been made of meal frequency. Plenty of old school and new school trainers recommend eating small meals, every 2 hours in order to keep the metabolic furnace “stoked” and burning calories all day long. Another oldie, but goodie is “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” If you want to lose weight, don’t skip breakfast because it gets your engine running right off the bat. Research has shown that these strategies may be no more effective than 3 squares a day or waiting until lunch to get started. Many in the fitness world are now discovering something completely new – intermittent fasting, or IF for short. Small scale and anecdotal research shows that IF may be an effective and powerful tool not only for burning fat but also for building muscle. A study from 2007 divided dieters into 2 groups – one eating one meal per day and one eating three with equivalent calories and showed that the group eating only one meal lost more bodyweight and body fat and gained more lean muscle tissue. There may be other health and cognitive benefits as well, decreasing inflammation and increasing neuro-plasticity or the ability to learn and form new neural connections. This article summarizes some of the practices and benefits that are currently understood. There are caveats, for sure. Those with hypoglycemia may not benefit from reducing meal frequency, but all other things being equal, do you see a benefit for yourself?
Where do you shop for groceries… Whole Foods? Trader Joes? Ralphs? Well in case there weren’t enough options for you, there’s now another – Sprouts Farmers Market! Sprouts is somewhat a new addition to Brea. High quality, farm-fresh, organic, and specialty food market, yet it’s prices won’t totally devour your paycheck. I checked it out the other day… it really does have the look and feel of an indoor farmer’s market… distinctly different from Whole Foods & Trader Joes… So in case you’re looking for farmer’s market quality on a day when you can’t get to a farmer’s market, try Sprouts in Brea(across the street from the Brea Mall). I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
