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Reviewing The Game Changers

1/7/2020

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I have finally watched The Game Changers documentary. I have a lot of issues with the documentary (and some things that are probative, some). In the past, there have been very similar documentaries on nutrition like What the Health, Fed Up and Supersize Me and they have something in common: they are one sided with an extremist mentality.

In elementary school we learn that scientific data should be peer reviewed. A documentary with extreme claims about health and performance should be no different. This is as one sided as it gets. Zero information from the other side outside Hardee’s commercials. Zero information from the other side that isn’t also an extremist meat eating monger. Throughout the documentary they make claims and quickly gloss over these with suggestive data with nothing conclusive. At one point one of the doctors even says “This is not a scientifically validated study but...”

Being one sided goes as far as the funding for the documentary and the motives for making it. The main star, James Wilks, made a rebuttal to a meat-based diet book saying that it had other motives than truth because of the meat industry funding it and that people should always question those projects. He also explicitly said in an interview that the executive producers of The Game Changers would not make a dime but instead did it because they believed in the project.

Chris Paul, executive producer, has invested in Beyond Meat who has used this documentary to clearly take advantage of the switch overs. Not convinced? Go to the Beyond Meat website. James Cameron, another executive producer, had this to say once going plant-based “We started looking at our investments, our business opportunities. At this point, aside from Jim’s film work, they all go through a plant-based lens." It’s a money thing, not a belief thing. Everybody funding the film that I looked up had skin in the vegan/vegetarian game. Literally all of them.

My next thoughts go to some of The Game Changers arguments that I gave hesitation to so I did a little (not really a little, a lot) research but I’ll stick to my favorite: athletes perform better and recover faster.

Here’s the truth on some athletes in the film and some outside but with outspoken vegan diets. I’ll keep the list short because it could go on forever it seems.
  1. Derrick Morgan the main football draw of the Game Changers says his breakout year, at age 27, was because of going vegan (maybe it could have been three years after switching the linebacker and being at all great pros peak age). A year later he retired because he had so many injuries to which he had been healthy prior to going vegan.
  2. Executive producer, Chris Paul since going vegan spent a whole season not able to recover from a non-surgical hamstring injury. And this year (maybe because he’s an old NBA player) he’s having his worst statistical season to date.
  3. MMA fighter Nate Diaz who they use as a vegan athlete beating omnivore Conor McGregor. Here’s the truth Diaz was a 170 fighter cutting to 155 and McGregor was trying to move up (in a week) from 145 to 155. Also truth, Diaz regularly eats fish and eggs.
  4. Kendrick Farris the weightlifter did qualify for his third olympics but after going vegan his total went down 5 kilos and that’s while moving up a weight class. He hasn’t competed since 2016.
  5. Bryant Jennings, in the film, was a whopping 17-0 then went vegan and has gone 7-4 since then. In his defense, the competition got better as he progressed.
  6. Novak Djokovic, another executive producer, was dairy-free, gluten-free and was number one in the world. He went vegan and dropped to number 22 (the lowest he had been since being a teenager). So he added meat back and jumped back to number one.
  7. Kyrie Irving went vegan prior to the 2017 NBA season. Since going vegan he hasn’t played a full season and at NBA peak ages his stats are not improving. This was following no serious injuries since college.
  8. Cam Newton went from MVP to torn rotator cuff then went vegan and the injuries stacked up. He re-injured his shoulder and broke his foot after an extremely healthy career.
  9. CC Sabathia went vegan in January of 2018 by July of that season he had been put on the 10 day IR three times after an extremely healthy career. And he never recovered.
  10. Carl Lewis in the 90s had his best year in his first year full vegan but the following years looked like this: failed to qualify in sprinting events and within two years was injured to the point of retirement.

This list of ten athletes is not an anomaly. It’s the trend among athletes that follow strict vegan diets. If your goal is health and remotely hints at performance, the chances are vegan is not for you. What I did like about the Game Changers? Eat more plants, eat more things from the ground, but not exclusively.
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Redefining My Why

12/15/2019

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Over the last year I have found myself, at times, highly unmotivated, apathetic and temperamental towards exercise. Moments of ̈eh, I'll go tomorrow ̈ and ̈ugh, I suck.¨ Then I noticed some personal changes outside of the gym so I have had to reevaluate why I go to the gym. Here are my new whys:

  1. Stress Relief: Work, relationships, cars, life takes a toll at times. Exercise helps with my mindset on life. When I miss multiple days in a row at the gym, I am frustrated quickly, have poor judgement, desensitized to food choices, etc. When I am consistently in the gym working out 4-6 times per week those areas change. I think more before making decisions, I am more compassionate, I think about that family size pack of oreos, etc.
  2. Community: Being in a class, not coaching, not working, checked off my phone, interacting with adults/teens is indescribably valuable. I learn about people, I get advice, I get a lot. It also offers chances to give, a laugh, a smile, a compliment. Community is c r u c i a l.
  3. Health: For years CrossFit was an opportunity to have a competitive outlet, and it still is but it is not my why. Is it fun to do a competition? Yep. Is it fun to compare my time to my time from four years ago? Also, yes. Is it also fun to try to top the top score of the day in the gym? Absolutely. But CrossFit is first and foremost about being healthy. Building strength. Growing lungs. Moving better. Becoming better.
  4. Competitive Outlet: Yes, I’m not in CrossFit for competing purposes anymore but that doesn’t mean I’m not the most competitive person I know. My general day-to-day doesn’t provide me with chances to compete so I compete at the gym. Sometimes it’s beat this person or stay within a round of that person but most times it’s beat myself from last year or last time. Competing for me is fun....as long as I don’t let it define me.

These changes in my why may change over time (and for you they may be completely different) but not having a why results in burnout, quitting and a generally an unhealthy lifestyle. I, for one, want to be as healthy as possible through every decade of my life and beer, Disney+ and stressing about the little things are not going to get me there.
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Single Sport (p)Sychos

11/5/2019

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Hard cast ankle braces. Knee bands. Ice packs. Wrist braces. These are what I saw at the last few youth sporting events I went to. Fifteen year olds completely geared out to prevent injury or to coverup a reoccurring one. Here are the stats on injuries and success among multi-sport and sport-specific athletes.


Statistics on injury rates in single sport vs multi-sport athletes.
  • In one study of high school athletes in Wisconsin single sport athletes were noted as 60% more likely to sustain injuries than athletes who play more than one sport. Of those injuries 51% were ligament strains/tears and 20% going to tendinitis.
  • Another study showed single sport athletes were 15% more likely to report multiple injuries keeping them out of athletics on average of 15 weeks a year. On top of that, they found that athletes training 28 hours or more per week on one sport were pre-high school age were more than 30% more likely to report an injury AND were only 1% more likely to get recruited for a college sport.
  • From 1998-2010 percent of total UCL surgeries (Tommy John) being in adolescents rose from 11% to 44%.


Success amongst multi-sport athletes.
  • Less than two percent of high school athletes receive college scholarships.
  • More than 95% of Super Bowl 52 players were multi-sport athletes in high school.
  • Among high school coaches 98% said they prefer athletes who play multiple sports.
  • Twenty-nine of the 32 first round NFL draft picks played more than one sport in high school.
  • Notable HOF level athletes that played more than one sport in high school and/or college: Russell Wilson, Julius Peppers, Lolo Jones, Marion Jones, Kenny Lofton....among so many others.


Being a sport-specific athlete isn’t inherently bad. They do not have a money-back-guarantee to get injured but they need more work than the same motion. If a high or younger athlete only wants to play one sport they NEED (not should or it would help) to be trained in a broad, inclusive fitness. Whether it’s personal training or in a group fitness class, those kids need strength work, they need running technique, they need increased body awareness beyond their sport.


The human body is not meant to repetitively do the same motion. Throwing a ball, running in a straight line, jump max effort, swing a club. All of these movements are fine, encouraged, but when focused exclusively on lead to the statistics previously listed, particularly in a developing teen and pre-teen. Inclusive and broad movements are necessary to be healthy and better athletes. Inclusive meaning, multi-joint encompassing. Movements that challenge multiple muscle groups and multiple joints to achieve the range of motion. Broad meaning using the entire spectrum of human movement.


What this means for young athletes and parents: FIND A STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACH. Find a coach that teaches quality movement, has a background in athletics, uses multiple tools (barbells, bands, etc) and can explain what they do and why.
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Sleep Better to Feel Better

10/15/2019

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The Importance of Sleep in Health and Cognition

“The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,

Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast.”
-Macbeth


In the passage above, Shakespeare’s Macbeth extols the virtues of sleep when he believes he has been cursed to never sleep again. He notes the restorative properties of sleep to both mind and body, and 600 years on, modern science supports this intuitive view of sleep as the “chief nourisher in life’s feast.”
While scientists haven’t quite landed on a single theory of why we sleep, the functions of sleep are clear and two-fold; to repair and restore the body, and to synthesize and store new learning and memories.
The vast physiologic repair that occurs during sleep spans immune function, appetite regulation, muscle repair, and the release of metabolic and reproductive hormones. In one experiment, rats who were totally sleep deprived for just over a month completely lost their immune function and died. The role of sleep in cognition has also been shown to have immense impact, particularly on cognitive performance, insight and creativity, mood and emotional stability, and even regulation of pain.
Most men require 7-8 hours of sleep each night, while most women should aim for 8-9 hours. This number generally shrinks in the second half of life. Without it, we are not only tired but sick, overweight, emotionally unstable, mentally cloudy, and we feel more pain.
Good sleep is a staple of health, with arguably greater influence than eating well and exercise. But it eludes many, with 1 in 3 Americans getting insufficient sleep and most of those clocking in at under 6 hours a night. With 70 million Americans reporting sleep deprivation in 2014, the CDC labeled it a public health epidemic.
Major contributors to sleep deprivation are time demands, like caring for children, working from home, or simply time-consuming habits like TV or social media at night. But disorders like anxiety or depression are also common perpetrators of insomnia in the average American. Here are a few, evidence-backed steps to take to help you get better sleep.
  1. Whether it is an earlier bedtime or a later wake-up call, carving out 7-9 hours a night is the first step. I set a notification on my phone to remind me to start getting ready for bed.
  2. Sleep hygiene is underrated and crucial to both falling and staying asleep. In the hour before bed, avoid all screens and electronics, including TV, computers, and cell phones. That means no scrolling social media and no bingeing the latest serial killer documentary right before bed! Constructive bedtime routine activities could include conversation, reading, journaling, stretching, meditation or prayer, etc. Ensure your bedroom is as dark as possible. In my experience, this is the most difficult change as it requires letting go of destructive habits and building better ones. Like all change, start small—say, just 15 minutes of electronic-free time before bed. It’s hard to create this space in your daily routine, but it is the single most evidence-based recommendation for treating insomnia.
  3. Meditation, especially mindfulness-based meditation, has amassed impressive evidence for its utility in improving quality of life in a number of areas, including sleep. If falling asleep is difficult for you, try 5-10 minutes of mindful meditation before bed. I use the Calm app, but there are many other free or subscription-based resources that can guide you through forming this new skill.
  4. No supplement or medication is a silver bullet, but both can be helpful in the quest for a good night’s rest. Start with melatonin—your body’s natural hormonal signal that it’s time to sleep. A good starting dose is 3-5mg taken 60-90 minutes before bed (it takes this long to start working in your system). Gradually build your dose if you don’t notice a difference at first (and make sure you are practicing good sleep hygiene). Another over-the-counter supplement worth trying is L-thianine, which has a longer half life than melatonin, and may help you stay asleep longer. Antihistamines can work in a pinch, but aren’t a long term solution. Consult your health care provider with questions about these or other supplements, and let them know about your insomnia as they may suggest non-habit forming prescription medication that can help when you’ve exhausted other options.
  5. If the underlying perpetrator of your insomnia is anxiety or depression, as it is for many people, the steps above are still a great starting point. But there’s no substitute for getting effective treatment for your mental health. That includes counseling, social support, coping techniques, and sometimes, prescription medication. Psychology Today is a great place to find for a mental health professional that fits your needs and preferences.
  6. If you find yourself still struggling with insomnia, poor quality sleep, or chronic fatigue, it’s time to visit your health care provider to rule out medical causes. Sleep apnea is a common culprit here, afflicting more than 30% of Americans.
I know from personal experience how destructive insomnia and sleep deprivation can be. Everything suggested here stems from a wide body of evidence and are practices I’ve adopted in my own life to great effect. Be encouraged that better sleep is possible! Good luck, and sweet dreams.
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Sleep Better to Feel Better: The Importance of Sleep in Health and Cognition

10/14/2019

0 Comments

 
“The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath, 
Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast.”
-Macbeth

In the passage above, Shakespeare’s Macbeth extols the virtues of sleep when he believes he has been cursed to never sleep again. He notes the restorative properties of sleep to both mind and body, and 600 years on, modern science supports this intuitive view of sleep as the “chief nourisher in life’s feast.” 

While scientists haven’t quite landed on a single theory of why we sleep, the functions of sleep are clear and two-fold; to repair and restore the body, and to synthesize and store new learning and memories.

The vast physiologic repair that occurs during sleep spans immune function, appetite regulation, muscle repair, and the release of metabolic and reproductive hormones. In one experiment, rats who were totally sleep deprived for just over a month completely lost their immune function and died. The role of sleep in cognition has also been shown to have immense impact, particularly on cognitive performance, insight and creativity, mood and emotional stability, and even regulation of pain. 

Most men require 7-8 hours of sleep each night, while most women should aim for 8-9 hours. This number generally shrinks in the second half of life. Without it, we are not only tired but sick, overweight, emotionally unstable, mentally cloudy, and we feel more pain.
Good sleep is a staple of health, with arguably greater influence than eating well and exercise. But it eludes many, with 1 in 3 Americans getting insufficient sleep and most of those clocking in at under 6 hours a night. With 70 million Americans reporting sleep deprivation in 2014, the CDC labeled it a public health epidemic.

Major contributors to sleep deprivation are time demands, like caring for children, working from home, or simply time-consuming habits like TV or social media at night. But disorders like anxiety or depression are also common perpetrators of insomnia in the average American. Here are a few, evidence-backed steps to take to help you get better sleep.
  1. Whether it is an earlier bedtime or a later wake-up call, carving out 7-9 hours a night is the first step. I set a notification on my phone to remind me to start getting ready for bed.  
  2. Sleep hygiene is underrated and crucial to both falling and staying asleep. In the hour before bed, avoid all screens and electronics, including TV, computers, and cell phones. That means no scrolling social media and no bingeing the latest serial killer documentary right before bed! Constructive bedtime routine activities could include conversation, reading, journaling, stretching, meditation or prayer, etc. Ensure your bedroom is as dark as possible. In my experience, this is the most difficult change as it requires letting go of destructive habits and building better ones. Like all change, start small—say, just 15 minutes of electronic-free time before bed. It’s hard to create this space in your daily routine, but it is the single most evidence-based recommendation for treating insomnia. 
  3. Meditation, especially mindfulness-based meditation, has amassed impressive evidence for its utility in improving quality of life in a number of areas, including sleep. If falling asleep is difficult for you, try 5-10 minutes of mindful meditation before bed. I use the Calm app, but there are many other free or subscription-based resources that can guide you through forming this new skill.
  4. No supplement or medication is a silver bullet, but both can be helpful in the quest for a good night’s rest. Start with melatonin—your body’s natural hormonal signal that it’s time to sleep. A good starting dose is 3-5mg taken 60-90 minutes before bed (it takes this long to start working in your system). Gradually build your dose if you don’t notice a difference at first (and make sure you are practicing good sleep hygiene). Another over-the-counter supplement worth trying is L-thianine, which has a longer half life than melatonin, and may help you stay asleep longer. Antihistamines can work in a pinch, but aren’t a long term solution. Consult your health care provider with questions about these or other supplements, and let them know about your insomnia as they may suggest non-habit forming prescription medication that can help when you’ve exhausted other options.
  5. If the underlying perpetrator of your insomnia is anxiety or depression, as it is for many people, the steps above are still a great starting point. But there’s no substitute for getting effective treatment for your mental health. That includes counseling, social support, coping techniques, and sometimes, prescription medication. Psychology Today is a great place to find for a mental health professional that fits your needs and preferences. 
  6. If you find yourself still struggling with insomnia, poor quality sleep, or chronic fatigue, it’s time to visit your health care provider to rule out medical causes. Sleep apnea is a common culprit here, afflicting more than 30% of Americans. 

​I know from personal experience how destructive insomnia and sleep deprivation can be. Everything suggested here stems from a wide body of evidence and are practices I’ve adopted in my own life to great effect. Be encouraged that better sleep is possible! Good luck, and sweet dreams. 



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The Open is for YOU

10/8/2019

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The CrossFit Open comes around once a year and it only lasts for five weeks. From the outside it sounds like just five random workouts spread out way too far apart and only 20 people plus national champions will qualify from the open straight to the CrossFit Games. The chances of making it to the CrossFit Games are similar to a young basketball player making it to the NBA. But the Open has dozens of reasons to signup and compete and they aren’t about winning hundreds of thousands of dollars in Madison, Wisconsin. Here are my favorite five reasons to signup!

Competing is for everyone. One of the key beauties of CrossFit is the infinite scaling options. The fittest in the world can and will compete just like the 56 year old that has osteoporosis and hadn’t worked out in 25 years until starting CrossFit a few months before the open started. One of the best things about the open is when people go from saying “no way I can do that. That’s for people like you” to saying “I did that!” Competing is for anyone and every one and every one includes you!

Competing causes intensity. Any competition brings another level out of an individual. You hear professionals say it all the time. There’s something about the bright lights that bring the best out of them. I have done the open every year it has been around (2011). Every year I am pushed in a way that is unimaginable and greater than the previous year, or I have short term memory issues. Knowing not only am I going through this uncomfortable workout but so is everybody at D5 and people throughout the world. That push from everybody around me helps me to be the best possible athlete I can be in that moment. The bright lights and people around cause my intensity to rise and my mental and physical fitness to increase!

Competing brings unity. Group fitness has the incredible ability to bring groups of people closer together. It’s why businesses, teams and the likes will go do ropes courses together or do trust falls. Doing/accomplishing difficult tasks alongside somebody else creates a bond with who you just “suffered” next to. Not many things physically challenge you like the open does and nobody in the world will try as hard at a workout as CrossFitters. Being an affiliate owner/coach I have seen friendships formed and other groups get closer together when going through the open. It’s beautiful. Competing with people makes you friends with those very same people!

Competing leads to motivation. After the open is over there is an unquestionable motivation to get better and to beat yourself next year. Athletes of all levels after a tough loss or a glorious win want to be better. They want to never feel that loss again or feel that win forever. Competition will always open your eyes to what you need to work on. Then the motivation lasts longer than most motivation streaks where they come for a couple days and leave. This one comes and stays for months. The Open is a great opportunity to find motivation to work on new skills, get stronger or just increase your fitness as a whole throughout an entire year. Compete to get motivated!

Competing is fun. At D5 we host an event called Friday Night Lights every Friday during the open. We have a theme of the week, something like cowboy night or superhero. Sometimes we it’s bigger than that and we dedicate it to a friend in the gym going through something. These nights are flat out fun. We do the workout, cheer each other on, blast music and often times go out after. As adults we forget the fun and silly sometimes and these nights give us the opportunity to put underwear on outside our pants or pulling out our nerdy Harry Potter costume. Competing with the friendships you’ve formed in the gym is just flat out fun!
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Renaissance Periodization

9/24/2019

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Today’s nutrition plan we’re going to cover is Renaissance Periodization (RP)! RP is a company that offers templates and 1-on-1 nutrition plans. They are a calorie and macro-centered plan that give exact amounts of food to eat at certain times. I have not done it personally but have collected information from a number of people that saw success from following it. As always, not every plan is for everybody. My goal is to introduce these as different options.


Notes on each persons answers. Every single persons first response was “it works” followed by other pros like energy, lots of food, didn’t feel hungry. But like every diet some peoples cons were different. In fact, one person specifically said it wasn’t sustainable for them long term and another person listed sustainability as a pro. So here are their pros and cons list.


Person A
Pros
-It works
-Easy to follow
-I was never hungry
-More energy, slept better, felt healthier
-Like having meals prepped and ready
Cons
-Difficult to weigh and measure food


Person B
Pros
-It works
-Increased energy and performance
-Looked good naked
-Lowered blood pressure and cholesterol
Cons
-At first, hard to eat that much
-Lots of prep time and planning
-Hard to maintain for life
General
-Can’t look at it as a finish line or it wont last. It’s not “just make it three months”...


Person C
Pros
-It works
-Sustainable
-Real food
-Not hungry, ie in a caloric deficit without feeling like it
Cons
-Labor intensive
-Each cut gets progressively harder until you adapt
-If you don’t like vegetables, it’s not for you
-Limited fruit

For more info go to: ​https://renaissanceperiodization.com/faq
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#selfcare #burnout

9/17/2019

1 Comment

 
Burnout can be the most challenging part of your journey. Whether its career related or relating to your personal fitness. It can sometimes feel like you have the weight of everything and everyone on your shoulders. This weight you may feel can be a huge struggle in trying to get ahead.
 
Sometimes it’s important to reflect on and remind ourselves why we traveled down this road in the first place because it’s easy to forget when we’re frazzled. Being content, being happy, takes time and sometimes we need to push aside the stress that we are feeling to see the good in our everyday lives.

I’ve been there, and have spun around all kinds of ideas on how I could escape burnout in my own life. A few helpful tips that I have found to help with Burnout.
​
  1. Journaling- Write it down! I always find it easier for me to retain and reference things that I write down. Write down things like, what drives you? Write down goals (daily, weekly, monthly). It’s easy to forget the why. Or maybe we don’t always have a why that really resonated or stuck with us. Let the “why” fuel you.
  2. If you could control the next 7 days, what would your days look like? - Draw out 7 boxes, these boxes represent the 7 days of the week. Fill in line by line, hour by hour, what the perfect days looks like. Sometimes ambition can lead to overbooking, which then leads to burnout. Monday’s can be completely jam-packed and over scheduled, leading to a burned out Tuesday. As equally this could lead to an over-packed Wednesday. Be kind to yourself when you plan out your perfect 7 days! You are in control of yourself.
  3. Schedule Recovery Time- Root cause of Burnout, overwhelm. Give yourself planned recovery time in your schedule. This will allow you to take a step back and not take the stress from the task before into the next. Stress has a funny way of snowballing if not dealt with. Go outside, take a walk, read a book, and so on.
  4. Ask for help and Find Support- Its okay to lean on those close to you or ask for help when the load is heavy to carry. Having a support system is so important when avoiding burnout
  5. Invest in Yourself- Adding in something new to your mundane routine can help with burnout. Personally, relating to personal fitness- I apply this tip when I participate in Spin Class instead of the doing the CrossFit class that day. It breaks up the monotony.
 
“Self-care is a deliberate choice to gift yourself with people, places, things, events, and opportunities that recharge our personal battery and promote whole Health-Body, mind, and Spirit.” –Laurie Buchanan, PHD

- Coach Morgan Ross
​
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The Next Step for YOU!

9/6/2019

2 Comments

 
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By: Coach Spencer

​Throughout a health and fitness journey an athlete will see highs and lows. The highs of personal records on runs, lifts and weight loss. The lows of gaining unwanted weight, struggling on runs, etc. Weeks, months and years pass. You’ve accomplished goals and achieve what you once thought was impossible. But there’s always a next step.


I’ve been in CrossFit for over 10 years. I’ve competed locally, I’ve been to regionals twice, I’ve had weight gains/losses. Moral of the story, I’ve seen a lot on my fitness journey but one thing I’ve never had to do is weight loss. I started CrossFit all skin and bones and slowly added some muscle mass. About three years ago I intentionally tried to gain weight. I was training 2-3 hours a day and eating anything and everything. Sure enough, I gained the weight. Easily I should add. Then I made some life changes and went to training from 2+ hours a day six days a week to an hour a day three to five days a week. But my eating stayed the same. Krispy Kreme Thursday didn’t change. Guess what? The 20 pounds added stayed but the lean muscle didn’t.

Finally one day I saw a picture and decided something needed to change. I am an affiliate owner and promoting health daily but I wasn’t really walking the walk. I wasn’t being diligent in training or eating. Changes happened. Krispy Kreme Thursdays had to go. Nighttime snacks had to change. I made those simple changes and not much happened. With my work, training and sleep schedule RP doesn’t work for me, KETO and other low carb diets aren’t for me so I decided to try MY variation of intermittent fasting. My wife and I don’t eat dinner until 9:15 or 9:30 and I like to eat something after dinner so I figured my last time eating for the day would be sometime between 10:00-10:30. I wanted to have a fast of at least 12 hours so that meant I wouldn’t have a breakfast and I would try to hold lunch off as long as possible. training or eating.

The first couple weeks working out felt terrible (I workout in the mornings usually), I got a little hangry (hungry+angry) and Krispy Kreme looked real good. But I stuck it out. 8am felt better each week. I got rid of mid-afternoon snacks as well and felt good through the evening. It got easier. Not easy, easier. After about six weeks somebody said something to me about looking leaner. So I took a second progress picture. I noticed some changes and it added some fuel to my fire and it also gave me the relief knowing this was working for me. I’m still not where I want to be but I know its working and going forward I might need to tweak some things. The closer I got (get) to my goal, the more changes I need to make.

There are two points to sharing my brief story. One, there’s always something more or next. Two, there’s something that works for you.

Whether you’ve been in fitness for a decade like me or you started last week you can find something to strive for. A new 5k time, back squat weight, competition to rx, body fat percent, etc. There is a next step for you. And if you don’t have one fitness becomes stale, not fun and easy to quit. Find it yours!

Nutrition, exercise, lifestyles. There is something that works for everybody. Everybody sees the instagram model or neighbor down the street on the new diet fad and thinks it’s the magic pill. It’s not and never will be. BUT it might work for you. In the CrossFit (and fitness in general) world we’ve seen paleo, zone and different cleanses rise and fade just like KETO and RP will too. It doesn’t matter what celebrity lost 60 pounds or professional athlete got better doing diet blank. They aren’t you or live the way you do. Try different styles, stay away from McDonald’s and give it time! Your body will not adapt to a new training regimen or diet in a few days. Give it a couple months and adjust. Find what works for YOU, not for your favorite celebrity.
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Mid Year Goals

4/22/2019

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The Open is over, spring is upon us and we need a new challenge. We are introducing the 2019 Goals Challenge! In the next two weeks we want you to write down 2-3 THREE month goals and 2-3 SIX month goals (more on what they should be later). This week do some “tests” so that we can retest in three months and again in six months. These will serve as a guide for you all in your fitness and for us as to what we all need/want to work on. 

What should your goals be? They CAN be anything you want to get better at, struggle with or any generic movement or workout. They MUST be specific and measurable (ie specific weight, time, score, rep count, etc). They SHOULD be realistic. You could set the goal of snatching 300 pounds and while that is specific and measurable it probably isn’t realistic. If you aren’t sure if a goal is realistic for the time frame laid out, ask a coach their thoughts on it. They do NOT have to be movements or workouts during test week but that does make it convenient for you.

Once you have them, share them on your social media by May 5. This way everybody can draw inspiration and hold each other accountable! August 5-9 retest and check our three month goals and will do the same with our six month goals November 4-8 (this might be during the open so we will see about adjustments as we get closer)!

Examples could look like this (hypothetical situation for a mythical character named Arya) but don’t let this limit you:
3 month goal 1 - Back Squat: 200# (current: 190)
3 month goal 2 - Pull-ups: 3 strict unbroken (current: 1)
3 month goal 3 - 1 mile run: sub 8:00 (current: 8:24)
6 month goal 1 - Clean & Jerk: 135 (current: 120)
6 month goal 2 - Strict Handstand Push-up: 1 (current: 2 to an abmat)

To help everybody reach goals we will be offering three extra programs to help jumpstart some movements and strength. We will have these printed out at the gym for everybody to follow. These will be structured like the pull-up program and they are: muscle-ups, handstand push-ups and generic barbell. These will also get emailed out later this week. And lastly, to help we highly encourage tracking your nutrition (MyFitnessPal app is great) and sticking to a plan (RP, zone, etc). The baseline of CrossFit methodology (and specifically D5) is nutrition for a reason. “You can’t out train a bad diet”.

Get ready!!

-Coach Spencer
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