If you’ve ever done a CrossFit workout in a Globo Gym you are probably quite familiar with the strange looks you get.  Fact is, most people in your typical gym have never seen or done anything like CrossFit, and when it comes to their fitness levels, it shows.  However, the CrossFit training method is no longer just an underground sub-culture of hardcore workout fanatics.  CrossFit is now being done across the world!  Check out this video (windows version / quicktime version )  from South America.  Not only are they doing CrossFit, it is a CrossFit sanctioned qualifying event to see who will move on to compete in the CrossFit Games, being held next month right here in California.

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Tuesday’s WOD:

compare to 4/7/09

Row 250 meters

2 Rounds of:
15 Hang Clean and Jerks (DB’s or Barbell)
15 Knees to Elbow
10 Burpees
20 Walking Lunges

rest 3 minutes
REPEAT (2 Rounds)
rest 3 minutes
REPEAT (1 Round)

results:

Before you say it, I know what you are thinking, “Tuna with raspberry chili sauce…. whaaaaaa??!!”  And perhaps you are right, this isn’t a dish for the mild mannered or unadventurous…. no, this is a culinary Christopher Columbus, a Neil Armstrong of Tuna preparation!

Ingredients:

Frozen Raspberries
Chili Pepper Sauce
Fresh Broccoli
Mango Chunks
Tuna Patty
1 can solid white tuna – drained
1 egg
2 Tablespoons of ground flax seed meal

Directions:

Preheat pan over medium high heat.  Add 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil.

Drain tuna.  Combine tuna patty ingredients in a small bowl, smash it and whisk it with a fork.  Add salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste.  You should be able to then form the mix it into a patty.  If it is still too flimsy, add a bit more flax seed meal.  Form a patty and throw it in the pan.  Cook for about 4-5 minutes on one side (or as soon as it is firm enough to flip, think pancakes).  Flip it over and turn heat down a bit.  Cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Next, add frozen raspberries to pan, no need to even defrost them.  Add a tablespoon of chili pepper sauce to berries.  Now place the patty on top of the berries while they are still in the pan.  Let it sit for 2 minutes or so, berries will defrost, heat up, and turn into a nice sauce.  Remove patty, top with sauce, serve w/ mango chunks and some broccoli.  Enjoy.  And here, all this time you thought you had discovered something amazing when you were just making tuna sandwiches.

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Monday’s WOD:

(compare to 4/20/09)

(1) 403 meter run

then 5 Rounds of:

20 Thrusters
20 Situps
15 Pushups
10 Box Jumps

then finish w/ (1) 403 meter run

results:

Doing CrossFit is tough.  Doing CrossFit while pregnant, even tougher.  Katherine is not only doing CrossFit while currently 5 months pregnant, but she’s even improving on repeat workouts, despite the weight gain!  Above is a picture of Katherine during today’s workout, which was no mommy & me workout done in the park.  Aside from a boat load of pushups, situps and step ups, the workout also consisted of 100 thrusters and a half a mile of running (which Katherine ran, not walked!).  All this and Katherine improved upon her time on the same workout from 6 weeks ago.

I’m super impressed!  Awesome work Katherine, keep it up.

Post props to Katherine in the comment section.

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Friday’s WOD:

4 Rounds

10 Deadlifts
15 Box Jumps
10 Pullups
15 Wall Balls

results:

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Saturday’s WOD:

Team Workout

First teams of 4 and 5 people carry (2) Dynamx Balls (14 and 20lbs.) for a one mile run.  Upon returning to the Sweat Shop, each person completes

4 Rounds

10 Pullups
10 Box Jumps
15 Pullups
35 Meters Burpee & Broad Jump (my apologies

Midway through a workout when your muscles are screaming at you to stop, are you able to push through, or do you listen to that voice and slow down? 

Click here for a really good post from CrossFit Motor City about that “signal” we get from our muscles that says, “we are tired, please stop.”

Please note, this is referring to pain associated with fatigue, not with an injury.  Be able to distinguish between the two.  Listen to and respect the signals you get from pain.  Be insubordinate to the signals you receive from fatigue.

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Thursday’s WOD:

Cindy
(compare results to 4/13/09)

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Squats

results:

So aside from making you irritable, less productive, and just generally unpleasant to be around, lack of sleep can have effects on your body composition. That’s because getting less than 7 hours of sleep during the night will elevate your levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Here is some information on cortisol and how it affects the body.

Cortisol is a stress hormone. Your body produces cortisol in response to stress, physical, mental or emotional. This can include extremely low calorie diets, lack of quality sleep as well as common daily stresses such as job pressures.

What does cortisol do?
Cortisol is part of the fight or flight response. Faced with a “life or death” situation, cortisol increases the flow of glucose (as well as protein and fat) out of your tissues and into the bloodstream in order to increase energy and physical readiness to handle the stressful situation or threat.

Is cortisol related to abdominal obesity?
Yes. There is a link between high cortisol levels and storage of body fat, particularly “visceral” abdominal body fat (also known as intra-abdominal fat). Visceral fat is stored deeper in the abdominal cavity and around the internal organs, whereas “regular” fat is stored below the skin (known as subcutaneous fat). Visceral fat is particularly unhealthy because it is a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes.

Is cortisol is bad for you?

Chronically elevated cortisol levels may have a variety of negative effects. Cortisol is catabolic and elevated cortisol levels can cause the loss of muscle tissue by facilitating the process of converting lean tissue into glucose. An excess of cortisol can also lead to a decrease in insulin sensitivity, increased insulin resistance, reduced kidney function, hypertension, suppressed immune function, reduced growth hormone levels, and reduced connective tissue strength. Chronically elevated levels of cortisol can also decrease strength and performance in athletes.

How can you lower your cortisol levels naturally?

-Avoid very low calorie diets, especially for prolonged periods of time. Low calorie dieting is a major stress to the body. Low calorie diets increase cortisol while decreasing testosterone.

-Avoid overtraining by keeping workouts intense, but brief (cortisol rises sharply after 45-60 min of strength training)

-Get plenty of quality sleep (minimum of 7 hours for most adults, some will require more)

Chrousos, G.P., The role of stress and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome: neuro-endocrine and target tissue-related causes. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 2000

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Wednesday’s WOD:

Run 400 meters
Perform as many Thrusters as possible
Run 800 meters

This workout has a 12 minute time limit.  You must finish the final 800 meter run before the 12 minutes expire.

Start with a 400 meter run

then perform as many Thrusters as possible with the remaining time.  However, leave enough time to run (1) 800 meter run before the 12 minutes expires.  You decide how many thrusters you do and how much time you leave in order to complete the 800 meter run.

Score is the number of Thrusters completed.  Your score is “disqualified” if you don’t make it back before the 12 minutes expire.

The concept of this workout was created by Mike M., trainer/owner of CrossFit Oakland.

results:

Performance props to Helen for getting her first muscle up and being the first female at the Sweat Shop to get a muscle up!

Ethan, age 13, has been absolutely crushing it in the gym these past few weeks.  In preparation for football this fall, Ethan has been participating in the Sports Performance Program and has seen some huge gains.  In addition to increasing his strength, explosivness and “quickness off the line”, Ethan has also starting linking together up to 8 kipping pullups at a time!  Strong work Ethan, keep it up.

***Sports Performance Classes Begin June 15th***

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Tuesday’s WOD:

300 meter row, then 4 Rounds of:

8 Back Squats
10 Summo Deadlift High Pulls
8 Burpees
12 KB Swings

after completing 4 rounds run (1) 403 meter run

results:

Here are some ways to identify whether or not you have a qualified trainer.

• Bosu Ball – These, along with similar unstable devices were developed for the rehabilitative setting.  Individuals who are recently post surgery or injury (ACL, MCL, ankle sprain etc.) can benefit from the use of these unstable devices.  The instability of these balls places considerable demand on the stabilizing muscles around an unstable joint.  This movement also increases proprioception (the unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself).  And because there is a relationship between balance and “core strength” people now believe any exercise done on a Bosu Balls force you to “use your core more” thus the exercise is better, and it will yield a strong, sexy, six pack!  Wrong.  Unless you are joining the circus, or other occupation where balancing on a round ball is necessary, or if you are performing physical therapy for a recently injured joint, Bosu balls are virtually useless.  Ground based strength movements have a far greater impact on core strength/stability due in part to the fact that these movements force us to maintain mid-line stability under large loads much like we would in daily activities.  Back squat, dead lift, overhead squats are three of the best!  A bicep curl, regardless if it is performed on a Bosu ball, is still a completely useless exercise.  If your goal is to increase your core strength, increase your fitness levels, and/or change your body composition and your trainer suggests an exercise on the Bosu ball, I suggest you find a new trainer.

•   Nutrition - If your goals include losing body fat, increasing lean body mass, or improving your strength and overall fitness, nutrition is KEY.  If body fat reduction is one of your main goals, nutrition will play a far greater role in achieving this goal than exercise.  If your trainer does not ask about the types of food you are eating, give you nutritional guidance, and continually educate and motivate you to make healthier nutritional decisions, you should without a doubt find a new trainer.  If you pay a trainer to help you achieve a better body and they are only addressing the importance of exercise, they have failed miserably as a professional… do not pass go, do not collect $200.

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Monday’s WOD:

Front Squats
5-5-5-5-5

Pullups (weighted if possible)
5-5-5-5-5

Performance props to Jennifer for getting her first unassisted pullups.  She actually did 3 consecutive, dead hang pullups!  Lones was also ripping out unassisted pullups.  And Sarah G. was stringing together consecutive kipping pullups like a pro.  Awesome job ladies!

Post props to comments, along with your favorite Bosu Ball exercise.

The only thing cooler than swiping up a handicap parking spot is when doing so only gets up about 6 feet closer to the door than a normal spot would have.  That, and the fact that starting in June, every two weeks I’ll be selecting one Sweat Shop member to have VIP access to the coveted handicap spot in our parking lot.  You no longer have to feel guilty using your aunt’s handicap placard that you hang in your mirror when you want to get premier parking.  The handicap space while be reserved with your name written on it!  Recipients of this wonderful incentive will be selected based on workout performances as well as “heart”.

Brad V. is the first recipient of this award.  Brad has been training at the Sweat Shop since it opened, and was making some huge progress.  Two weeks ago he went to the Land of Where Health and Fitness Dreams are Crushed (Las Vegas) and almost did not return.  Las Vegas took it’s toll on Brad but he managed to pull out of Vegas’ “jet wash” and recover from his temporary “flat spin”.  Last Friday evening Brad did the workout by himself and pushed well past his comfort zone….flirting even with the “danger zone”.  Brad has even signed up to do the Alcatraz Swim in August.  It appears that Brad is now back on track, and for his perseverance he can now unabashedly park in the handicap spot from June 1st – June 15th, savoring his triumph over Vegas’ death grip as he takes the shortened walk from his car to the gates of heaven.

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Friday’s WOD:

1 cycle = 3 Thrusters, 6 Medball Cleans, 9 KB Swings

Complete 3 cycles then perform 25 situps… this completes 1 ROUND

Perform 3 Rounds then finish workout by running (1) 403 meter run

 results:

Saturday’s WOD:

21 Hang Cleans
9 Push Jerks
21 Pullups
9 Box Jumps

15 Hang Cleans
15 Push Jerks
15 Pullups
15 Box Jumps

9 Hang Cleans
21 Push Jerks
9 Pullups
21 Box Jumps

results: