Dr Spencer Wells is a geneticist, anthropologist and explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society.

In a new book, Pandora’s Seed, he charts the unforeseen costs of farming, which began to transform society 10,000 years ago, but brought with it illnesses such as diabetes and obesity.

Read article here.

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Legitness of the Week

Kristin 9:29 “Helen” Rx’d
Charlie 215×3 Back Squat (PR)
Joe 200×3 Back Squat (PR)
Jim D. 205×3 Back Squat (PR)
Jessica 140×3 Back Squat (PR)
Mike S. 185×3 Back Squat (PR)
Ellie 150×3 Back Squat (PR)
Katherine 95×3 Back Squat (PR)
Liz 185×2 Back Squat (PR)
Tammy 175×2 Back Squat (PR)
Alexa 110×3 Back Squat (PR)
Brandon MUSCLE UP!
Al shows up for Saturday morning’s workout with his own weight vest!

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Thursday’s WOD:

A.) For time: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Front Squat
Pullups

B.) 2 Rounds
2 minutes to complete:
403m Run
Burpees for REPS
REST 3 minutes between rounds

results:

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Friday’s WOD:

21 Deadlifts
800m Run

15 Deadlifts
800m Run

9 Deadlifts
800 Run

results:

Aside from health claims that are rarely, if ever, backed by scientific data, the idea of engineering “health” foods is a bit silly. This excerpt from a Forbes article sums it up nicely.

Added omega-3 fatty acids don’t make Sara Lee’s Soft & Smooth Plus white bread into a health food. Extra bacteria don’t cancel out the sugar in the yogurt. “People should be getting nutrition from real foods, not from foods that are artificially modified to give supposed health benefits,” says University of Wisconsin cardiologist James Stein.

Read full article here.

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Tuesday’s WOD:

A.) Back Squat
3-3-3-3-3

Max Rep Ring Pushups

B.) 500m Row
15 Toes to Bar
200m Run

results:

Initially posted last year, this is worth re-posting:

Here is an eye opening presentation on sugar from Robert Lustig MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics.  I first saw it about 2 weeks ago on the CrossFit Oakland comment section, and have since seen it on the Diablo CrossFit and CrossFit Oakland main page.  The reason I mention this is because it brings me great pride to be involved in a community that truly cares for the health and well-being of it’s members.  CrossFit clearly isn’t just a bunch of meatheads that just push barbells and do pullups.

The video is 90 minutes, so break it up in a couple of parts, or wait until you get to work next week and are having a case of the Mondays.  Seriously, this video is worth watching, the quality of information shared in this presentation is something you would have to pay big bucks for, and/or endure 4 years of school at UCSF.

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Monday’s WOD:

“Helen”

3 Rounds

403m Run
21 KB Swings
12 Pullups

results:

Lululemon aluminum water bottle, perfect for transporting your filtered water

Nathan, co-owner of CrossFit Adventure in Concord, recently posted about tap and bottled water.  Check out the excerpt below which I learned something from, and click on the full post to also view the video.  And I can’t say for certain if it’s the water or not, but Nathan has been demonstrating some pretty impressive gains in the gym lately!

For drinking water, I fill up my 5 gallon container with Reverse Osmosis water from Whole Foods’ filter. Do not get the DI (deionized) water. DI water is void of anything but water (no minerals at all). The body has adapted to water that contains minerals and drinking DI water may through off the balance.

Read full post here.

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Wednesday’s WOD:

A.) 75 Pullups
*perform 4 Burpees every minute on the minute

B.) 30 KB Swings
403m Run
20 KB Swings
200m Run

results:

The ever changing food pyramid

From Mark’s Daily Apple:

The USDA recently released a report outlining dietary guidelines for 2010. While the new guide has not been finalized, one thing is for certain, the food pyramid is in need of an upgrade. The classic, 1992 food pyramid was scrapped five years ago. Apparently someone in the government figured out that 10 cups of grains a day was not solving the obesity epidemic. The 2005 food pyramid (shown right, click to enlarge) wasn’t much better, not so much a pyramid as a cacophony of clip art and food photos clustered under colorful disco rays. 

Read full post here.

**Holiday Schedule**  Monday July 5th, 8am & 9am class only. 

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Tuesday’s WOD:

A.) Clean
3-3-3-3-3

B.) “6 Minute Cindy”

As many rounds as possible in 6 minutes:
5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Squats

results:

For those of you that have begun to remove grains from your diet, you may have become aware of the bloated and/or lethargic feeling you get if you now consume grains (bread, pasta, etc).  The stricter you are at removing these items, and the longer you go without them, the greater the effects you’ll experience when you re-introduce them into your body.  Personally, I have experienced a “hang-over” type feeling the day after consuming an average portion of pasta.  Check out The Heart Scan Blog, it’s an informative blog written by a cardiologist.  In this post, he writes about the effects he experienced when he re-introduced wheat in his diet while attempting to see if  ancient wheat affects the blood sugar the same way modern wheat does.  I find his account interesting because although his experience is severe, these are all symptoms everyone likely feels from time to time.  I believe that if we pay much closer attention to what we eat and how we feel afterwards (not just bloated and/or tired), we may learn a lot about which types of foods are good for our body, and which ones are not.

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Monday’s WOD:

As many rounds in 15 minutes:

5 Thrusters (135#/85#)
10 Toes to Bar
70m Run

results:

 Check out the list of foods, here.

Thanks to Don B. for the heads up on this article.

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Wednesday’s WOD:

4 Minutes to complete:

403m Run, then:
As many Push Press & Knees to Elbow in the remaining time.

REPEAT for 4 Rounds
No rest between rounds
Score TOTAL reps

results:

Here’s an interesting article from the NY Times the guys at Diablo CrossFit recently posted on their site.   

People who eat and drink high amounts of added sugars have lower blood levels of so-called good cholesterol and higher levels of harmful triglycerides than those with diets lower in such sweeteners, a new study reports.

Read full article here.

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Wednesday’s WOD:

A.) Work up to 3 Rep Max on:
Overhead Squat
Front Squat
Back Squat

B.) 1 Mile Run

Score SUM of the 3 squats, divided by run time

results:

In less than one year CJ has made quite a transformation, and although the training has played a primary role in improving his strength and overall fitness, CJ’s drastic reduction in body fat is a result of his change in dietary habits.  Ask him about it the next time you see him in the gym.

Here is an excellent article published in the CrossFit Journal that explains how controlling hormone levels is the key to modifying and/or maintaining a healthy body composition.

Many researchers have promoted numerous health benefits for low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets, despite a disturbing lack of evidence to support their view.  In 1960, the American Heart Association jumped on board and decided low-fat diets are a healthy option.  The result is that, four decades later, the majority of the North American public believe the purported benefits of this diet are absolute fact.

The fact is that the food we eat elicits hormonal responses that determine how energy is stored in the body (i.e., in the form of body fat).  Basically, energy intake is not independent of energy expenditure, and the type of calories you eat does affect your energy output.  Energy intake and energy expenditure are dependent variables.  Sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and easily digestible carbohydrates drive an insulin response and insulin drives fat storage.  Dietary fat, or even calorie quantity, is not the main culprit at all.

Read full article here.

**REMINDER**  This Saturday, May 22nd there will ONLY be ONE CLASS held at 8:30am due to the Co-Ed Run Event.

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Tuesday’s WOD:

2 1/2 minutes to complete:

15 Overhead Squats, then one of the following exercises for REPS:
Burpees
Box Jumps
Double Unders
Row (calories x 3)
Toes to Bar

-15 Overhead Squats will be performed each round, however, the exercise that is being performed for reps will change each time until all 5 rounds are complete.

REST 2 1/2 minutes between rounds

results:

Emily, perfecting her art skills while her dad, Bill, trains at the Sweat Shop

It’s great that people like Rachael Ray are working to get school lunches healthier for kids, and I understand it has to start with something, but if a key point is switching to whole wheat pasta for the macaroni and cheese, perhaps it’s best that if you have children, have them take a lunch that you prepare for them.

Ms. Ray, 41, who grew up in Ms. Gillibrand’s former Congressional district in northeast New York State, has made school nutrition something of a personal crusade. She has helped the New York City school system develop a healthier menu, creating a chicken taco dish for cafeterias using a whole wheat flatbread, roasted chicken and a ratatouille-style stew. Her latest coup was persuading the city’s schools to use whole wheat pasta in macaroni and cheese.

Read full article here.

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Monday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes:

7 Pushups
9 Knees to Elbow
11 Squats

Immediately followed by 9 minutes to score your 3 heaviest sets of 5 rep Deadlift

Immediately followed by as many rounds as possible in 7 minutes of:

7 Pushups
9 Knees to Elbow
11 Squats

results:

Self serve yogurt shops are all the craze these days with their low-fat appeal, and fruit toppings.  Beware however, frozen yogurt is loaded with sugar.

 Here is a great post from Mark’s Daily Apple regarding sugar.  The post not only touches on the dangers of sugar, but just as importantly, describes the different types of sugars, as well as the fruits, which naturally contain sugar.

excerpt from post:

When you are choosing whether/how to include sugars in your Primal diet, I’d suggest paying closest attention to the total sugar content first, then to any nutritional benefits, and finally to the fructose content. Blueberries might have a relatively equal fructose/glucose ratio, but they offer huge antioxidant benefit. On the other hand, dried apricots have a lower fructose ratio, but their overall sugar content dwarfs many fruits ounce for ounce. Raw honey and coconut sugar likewise offer solid nutritional benefit for their sugar content compared to other sweeteners. Of course, any sugar should be used in strict moderation, but it’s clear not all sweeteners are Primally equal.

Sugar stimulates a physiological stressor-reaction cascade that provokes adrenaline and cortisol release and thickens the blood.

Sugar effectively disables your immune system by impairing white blood cells’ functioning.

Sugar decreases your body’s production of leptin, a hormone critical for appetite regulation.

Sugar induces significant oxidative stress in the body.

Sugar appears to fuel cancer cells. (Check out Free the Animal for much more on the cancer connection.)

Sugar promotes fat storage and weight gain.

Sugar disrupts the effective transfer of amino acids to muscle tissue.

Sugar intake over time spurs insulin resistance, subsequent Type II diabetes and the entire host of related health issues like nerve damage and cardiovascular disease.

 

Read full post here.

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Legitness of the Week

CJ 89 consecutive double unders (Sweat Shop Record)
Helen 38 consecutive double unders (Sweat Shop Record)
Michelle 130×5 Deadlift (PR)
Tina 130×5 Deadlift (PR)
Lones 200×5 Deadlift (PR)
Vanessa 210×5 Deadlift (PR)
Nathan 315×5 Deadlift (PR)
Melissa 175×5 Deadlift (PR)
John M. 405×5 Deadlift (PR)
Cameron 235×5 Deadlift (PR)
Terin 130×5 Deadlift (PR)
Bryan 205×5 Deadlift (PR)

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Thursday’s WOD:

4 Rounds

Body Weight Bench Press MAX REPS
Body Weight Front Squats MAX REPS
Pullups MAX REPS

*1 minute of each exercise
*continuous running clock
*REST 3 minutes after completing 1 round

*Rx’d weight for females is 65% body weight

results:

Our friends at CrossFit Adventure are hosting a free movie night this Friday evening.  FRESH the movie, is a great follow up to Food Inc.

FRESH is more than a movie, it’s a gateway to action. Our aim is to help grow FRESH food, ideas, and become active participants in an exciting, vibrant, and fast-growing movement.

Check here for complete details.

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Monday’s WOD:

A.) Back Squat
3-3-3-3-3

B.) 500m Row
3 Rounds
12 Handstand Pushups
15 Box Jumps

results:

 Nathan (red shirt, green shorts) during NorCal Sectionals last month

CrossFit Sweat Shop member, and co-owner of CrossFit Adventure in Concord, CA, Nathan Brammeier is an excellent source for all things nutrition.  Posted on the Big Blue Adventure Race website, his tips are not only great for those that do endurance training, but really anyone looking to improve their nutritional habits. 

Fat is NOT the enemy, sugar is: Because of the stigma surrounding the word “fat”, fatty acids are often overlooked as a wonderful source of energy – especially saturated fats. Short and medium chain saturated fats, such as those found in coconut products, are exceptional sources of energy. It’s important to eat plenty of fat on a daily basis. Eating fat provides a sense of satiety so your body will tell you how much is enough. No counting calories necessary. Healthy fats include: avocados, olives/olive oil, nuts/seeds (preferably raw or roasted yourself), wild caught fish (canned is okay – especially sardines), Grass-fed beef and pastured poultry (it MUST be grass-fed), organic eggs from pastured poultry (eat the whole egg)…

Read complete tips here.

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Friday’s WOD:

“Nancy”

5 Rounds
403m Run
15 Overhead Squats

results:

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Saturday’s WOD:

15 Single Arm Dumbbell Thrusters (right)
15 Single Arm Dumbbell Thrusters (left)
15 Pullups
403m Run

12 Single Arm Dumbbell Thrusters (right)
12 Single Arm Dumbbell Thrusters (left)
12 Pullups
403m Run

9 Single Arm Dumbbell Thrusters (right)
9 Single Arm Dumbbell Thrusters (left)
403m Run

results:

For quite some time now, the very simple formula for weight gain/loss/management, has been calories in versus calories out.  However, the human body is anything but simple, and hormones, in specific, insulin, plays a key role in this process.  Here is a video preview, from Dr. Scott Connelly, which scratches the surface as to why this formula simply doesn’t hold up.   (Windows / Mac )   Note the Windows version stops a minute or two prematurely, watch the Mac version for the full preview.

On a side note, because dietary fat is more calorically dense than protein or carbohydrate, the theory of calories in versus calories out  is partly to blame for widely accepted, yet incorrect idea,  that reducing dietary fat is how to best reduce body fat.

_______________________

Wednesday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes:

5 Pullups
7 Pushups
9 Knees to Elbow
11 Squats
13 Box Jumps

results:

A fews months back, Aaron, CJ and I participated in a cow co-op with CrossFit Oakland.  The three of us shared one 40lb. box of organic beef from Prather Ranch.  The box not only contained ground beef, but also, ribeyes, sirloins, filets, etc.  The best part was that this high quality, excellent tasting meat, came out to a price just a little bit more than what you pay for conventional ground beef at the grocery store.  Many Sweat Shop members expressed interest therefore I’d like to see if we can get enough people to get an entire cow.  One 40lb. box cost just under $240.  If this is too much, you can always go in half with someone else that may be interested in splitting a box with you. 

Post to comments if you are interested.

Eat Wild is a great resource for related information.

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Tuesday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes:

7 Thrusters
12 KB Swings
12 Pullups

results:

Mercola.com recently posted an excellent interview with Loren Cordain, PhD, author of The Paleo Diet.

Robert Crayhon: What happened to our health when we switched from a hunter-gatherer diet to a grain-based one?

Loren Cordain: The fossil record indicates that early farmers, compared to their hunter-gatherer predecessors had a characteristic reduction in stature, an increase in infant mortality, a reduction in life span, an increased incidence of infectious diseases, an increase in iron deficiency anemia, an increased incidence of osteomalacia, porotic hyperostosis and other bone mineral disorders and an increase in the number of dental caries and enamel defects.

Early agriculture did not bring about increases in health, but rather the opposite. It has only been in the past 100 years or so with the advent of high tech, mechanized farming and animal husbandry that the trend has changed.

Read full interview here.

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Monday’s WOD:

A.) Back Squats
5-5-5-5-5

B.) 25 Pushups
20 Pullups
15 Burpees
403m Run

results:

For those of you that missed the article that I posted a few weeks back, or chose not to read it because it was more than one page in length, here is a video clip of the subject, John Durant, who leads a “caveman” lifestyle in regards to his nutrition and exercise regimen.

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Legitness of the Week

Helen 225×5 Deadlift (Sweat Shop Record)
Eric 185×5 Deadlift (PR)
Vanessa 1:12 403m run (Sweat Shop Record)
Katherine 75×5 Front Squat (PR)
Lones 150×5 Front Squat (Sweat Shop Record)
Alex 335×5 Front Squat (Sweat Shop Record)
Mark completes his 100th workout in less than a year at the Sweat Shop…LEGIT!

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Thursday’s WOD:

“Angie”

100 Pullups
100 Pushups
100 Situps
100 Squats

results:

Posted last month in the Huffington Post, Gluten: What You Don’t Know Might Kill You, by Dr. Mark Hyman, is a great overview of gluten, and the health problems that are associated with it.  Until about a year ago I’ve always eaten bread, cereal, baked goods, and pasta, without noticing any adverse side effects.  However, after eliminating gluten from my diet, I now experience some pretty dramatic feedback (in the form of GI distress) each time I slip up and have even a small amount of food that contains gluten.  To determine if you have a sensitivity to gluten, simply eliminate it completely for at least two weeks.  Then “treat” yourself to a nice whole-grain sandwich, some pizza, a burrito wrapped in a flour tortilla, cereal, pasta, baked goods, or food battered with bread crumbs or similar.  Make note of how you feel in general (sleepy, lethargic, etc.), as well as any other digestive “issues” you may experience.  Enjoy!

“The findings were dramatic. There was a 39 percent increased risk of death in those with celiac disease, 72 percent increased risk in those with gut inflammation related to gluten, and 35 percent increased risk in those with gluten sensitivity but no celiac disease.

This is ground-breaking research that proves you don’t have to have full-blown celiac disease with a positive intestinal biopsy (which is what conventional thinking tells us) to have serious health problems and complications–even death–from eating gluten.

Yet an estimated 99 percent of people who have a problem with eating gluten don’t even know it. They ascribe their ill health or symptoms to something else–not gluten sensitivity, which is 100 percent curable.”

Read full article here.

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Tuesday’s WOD:

“Fight Gone Bad”

3 Rounds

Wall Balls
Summo Deadlift High Pull
Box Jump
Push Press
Row (calories)

1 minute of each exercise to perform as many reps as possible
REST 1 minute after completing each full round

results:

If you’ve never checked out Mark’s Daily Apple you should know it’s a great resource for many things health and nutrition related.  Regarding exercise and especially nutrition, Mark is really big on the “primal” lifestyle.  He recently posted about some guidelines to help you properly fry food.

“Speaking of pan frying, the difference is more than the pan itself. Pan frying is a shallow frying method, meaning the oil doesn’t cover more than half of the food you’re cooking. Some research suggests that pan frying results in more oil decomposition than deep frying. Pan frying generally takes longer, which may contribute to this difference. Although the oil in both methods is basically the same temperature, pan frying is more likely to produce carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) when the surface of the meat (or – to a lesser extent – vegetable) is burnt or overcooked. Although low and slow cooking methods (like braising) are great in preventing the formation of HCAs, deep frying or flash sautéing of small pieces are also good options, since they avoid any charring or scorching of food.”

Read the full post here.

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Tuesday’s WOD:

5 Rounds
3 minutes each to complete:

200m Run
7 Power Cleans
21 Pushups
Box Jumps for REPS

REST 90 seconds between rounds

results:

Recently the New York Times featured an article on Paleo nutrition, and CrossFit even gets a mention.  Thanks to Connie from CrossFit Oakland for tipping me off to this article.  In true New York city fashion, it almost seems like the subjects of this article are to some degree drawn to the Paleo “lifestyle” to be part of a sub-culture.  But I suppose it’s not a terrible thing, if it’s healthy habits they are pursuing.  Whether we live on a farm or in a big city, we will never truly experience paleolithic life, but towards the end of the article, it does a good job of putting things in perspective.

Read full article here.

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Wednesday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

5 Hang Cleans
7 Thrusters
9 Summo Deadlift High Pulls

results:

From Mark’s Daily Apple:  “Life springs from death, everywhere and always. You cannot live without something dying to make it all possible. Grain heavy vegan diets require the destruction of ecosystems and all their inhabitants; meat heavy Primal diets require the slaughter of a pig or a cow. If you’re going to exist in this world, you have to accept the fact that things will die. Oh, and things won’t just die; they’ll die to ensure your survival.”

Read the full post here.

**REMINDERS**

Regular class schedule on Christmas Eve

Registration is now open for the CrossFit NorCal Sectionals that will be taking place in March 2010.  Register ASAP, it will likely sell out very soon! 

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Tuesday’s WOD:

4 Rounds

10 Hang Squat Cleans
2 Rope Ascents (or ring row modification)
20 Box Jumps

results: