I’ve recently begun reading Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe & Lon Kilgore.  The introduction not only gives an excellent summary to how the invention of Nautilis equipment in the 1970’s has continued to shape how most people view fitness, but also why free weight training is a far superior method of training. 

Among the first tools developed to practice resistance exercise was the barbell, a long metal shaft with some type of weight on each end.  The earliest barbells used globes or spheres for weight, which could be adjusted for balance and load by filling them with sand or shot.  David Willoughby’s superb book, The Super Athletes details the history of weightlifting and the equipment that made it possible.  But in a development unforeseen by Mr. Willoughby, things changed rapidly in the mid-1970’s.  A gentleman named Arthur Jones invented a type of exercise equipment that revolutionized resistance exercise.  Unfortunately, not all revolutions are universally productive.  Nautilus utilized the “principle of variable resistance”, which claimed to take advantage of the fact that different parts of the range of motion of each limb were stronger than others.  A machine was designed for each limb or body part, and a cam was incorporated into the chain attached to the weight stack that varied the resistance against the joint during the movement.  the machines were designed to be used in a specific order, one after another without a pause between sets, since different body parts were being worked consecutively.  And the central idea (from a commercial standpoint) was that if enough machines - each working a separate body part - were added together in a circuit, the entire body was being trained.  the machines were exceptionally well made and handsome, and soon most gyms had the obligatory, very expensive, 12-station Nautilus circuit.

Jones even went so far as to claim that strength could be gained on Nautilus and transferred to complicated movement patterns like the Olympic lifts without having to do the lifts with heavy weights, a thing which flies in the face of exercise theory and practical experience.  but the momentum had been established and Nautilus became a huge commercial success.  Equipment like it remains the modern standard in commercial exercise facilities all over the world.

The primary reason for this was that Nautilus equipment allowed the health club (at the time known as the “health spa”) industry to offer to the general public a thing which had been previously unavailable.  Prior to the invention of Nautilus, if a member wanted to train hard, in a more elaborate way than Universal equipment permitted, he had to learn how to use barbells.  Someone had to teach him this.  Moreover, someone had to teach the health spa staff how to teach him this.  Such professional education was, and still is, time consuming and not widely available.  But with Nautilus equipment, a minimum-wage employee could be taught ery quickly how to use the whole circuit, ostensibly providing a total-body workout with little invested in employee education.  Furthermore, the entire circuit could be performed in about 30 minutes, thus decreasing member time on the exercise floor, increasing traffic capacity in the club, and maximizing sales exposure to more traffic.  Nautilus equipment quite literally made the existence of the modern health club possible.

The problem, of course, is that machine-base training did not work as it was advertised. 

The reason that isolated body-part training on machines doesn’t work is the same reason that barbells work so well, better than any other tools we can use to gain strength.  The human body functions as a complete system - it works that way, and it likes to be trained that way.  It doesn’t like to be separated into its constituent components and then have those components exercised separately, since the strength obtained from training will not be utilized in this way.  The general pattern of strength acquisition must be the same as that in which the strength will be used.  The nervous system controls the muscles, and the relationship between them is referred to as “neuromuscular.”  When strength is acquired in ways that do not correspond to the patterns in which it is intended to actually be used, the neuromuscular aspects of training have not been considered.  Neuromuscular specificity is an unfortunate reality, and exercise programs must respect this principle the same way they respect the Law of Gravity.

Barbells, and the primary exercises we use them to do, are far superior to any other training tools that have ever been devised.  Properly performed, full range of motion barbell exercises are essentially the functional expression of human skeletal and muscular anatomy under a load.  the exercise is controlled by and the result of each trainee’s particular movement patterns, minutely fine-tuned by each individual limb length, muscular attachment position, strength level, flexibility, and neuromuscular efficiency.  Balance between all the muscles involved in a movement is inherent in the exercise, since all the muscles involved contribute their anatomically-determined share of hte work.  Muscles move the joints between the bones which transfer force to the load, and the way this is done is a function of the design of the system - when that system is used in the manner of it design, it functions optimally, and training should follow this design.  Barbells allow weight to be moved in exactly the way the body is designed to move it, since every aspect of the movement is determined by the body.

Machines, on the other hand, force the body to move the weight according to the design of the machine.  this places some rather serious limitations on the ability of the exercise to meet the specific needs of the athlete.  For instance, there is no way for a human being to utilized the quadriceps muscles in isolation from the hamstrings in any movement pattern that exists independent of a machine designed for this purpose.  No natural movement can be performed that does this.  Quadricpes and hamstrings always function together, at the same time, to balance the forces on either side of the knee.  Since they always work together, why should they be exercised separately?  Because somebody invented a machine that lets us?

Even machines that allow multiple joints to be worked at the same time are less than optimal, since the pattern of the movement through space is determined by the machine, not the individual biomechanics of the human using it.  Barbells permit the minute adjustments during the movement that allow individual anthropometry to be expressed.

Furthermore, barbells require the individual to make these adjustments, and any other ones that might be necessary to retain control over the movement of the weight.  this aspect of exercise cannot be overstated - the control of the bar, and the balance and coordination demanded of the trainee, are unique to barbell exercise and completely absent in machine-based training.  Since every aspect of the movement of the load is controlled by the trainee, every aspect of that movement is being trained.

There are other benefits as well.  All the exercises described in this book involve varying degrees of skeletal loading.  After all, the bones are way ultimately support the weight on the bar.  Bone is living, stress-responsive tissue, just like muscle, ligament, tendon, skin, nerve, and brain.  It adapts to stress just like any other tissue, and becomes denser and harder in respnse to heavier weight.  this aspect of barbell training is very important to older trainees and women, whose body density is a major factor in continued health.

Post thoughts to comments.

_______________________

Holiday Schedule:

Saturday:
9am Class
10am 5K Run (free and open to all levels)

Monday:
8am class
9am class

_______________________

Legitness of the Week

Liz 130×1 Clean (PR)
Liz 110×3 Thruster (PR)
Tammy 110×2 Thruster (PR)
Vanessa 120×1 Thruster (PR)
Nathan 175×1 Thruster (PR)
Chris G. 175×2 Thruster (PR)
Josh 185×3 Thruster (PR)
Mike S. 130×3 Thruster (PR)
Valerie 60×3 Thruster (PR)
Nik 185×2 Thruster (PR)
Jin 175×1 Clean (PR)
Jin 140×1 Thruster (PR)
Alex 315×1 Overhead Squat (Sweat Shop Record)
Aaron 225×2 Overhead Squat (PR)
Jessica 6 consecuetive unassisted pullups (Goal Achieved!)
Alexa 95×1 Clean (PR)
Don B. 215×1 Thruster (PR)
Helen 120×2 Thruster (PR)

________________________

Thursday’s WOD:

A.) Thruster
3-3-3-3-3

B.) Alternating Tabata
Ring Dips
Box Jumps

results:

 Soccer athletes Julia, Kaitlin & Shoshana, 2 of which will be playing soccer in college this fall, prepare for their upcoming season at CrossFit Sweat Shop (above)  De La Salle strength and conditioning with CrossFit Sweat Shop 2009/2010 (below)

Soccer, like most sports, is comprised of a series of sprints, explosive changes in direction, jumping, recovering from a fall by getting up from the ground quickly, etc.  And although the game itself may go on for 90 minutes, the physical demand on the body is nothing like a 90 minute jog.  If you want to get better at jogging for 90 minutes, then your training should be 90 minutes of jogging.  If you want to get in better shape to play sports or other activities, then your training should resemble that. 

 _______________________

Legitness of the Week

Jin 265×3 Deadlift (PR)
Michelle & Tina 135×3 Deadlift (PR)
Joe 230×3 Deadlift (PR)
Matt M. 260×3 Deadlift (PR)
Jessica 165×3 Deadlift (PR)
Tammy 200×3 Deadlift (PR)
Katherine 110×3 Deadlift (PR)
Don 335×3 Back Squat (PR)
Nathan 108 Consecuetive Double Unders (Sweat Shop Record)
Kristin 16:00 “Nancy” Rx’d (Sweat Shop Record)

________________________

Thursday’s WOD:

5 Rounds

2 1/2 minutes to complete:
8 Burpees
15 KB Swings
Wall Balls for REPS

results:

Hamstring strain - posterior view

No one wants to get injured.  Unfortunately it is a part of life, and a part of training.  In regards to training, sometimes an injury will force us to immobilize a certain joint, or stay away from a certain movement for any given time period.  This can be an excellent opportunity to focus on other aspects of our fitness, we may sometimes neglect.  Injuries also force us to be more aware and analytical of our movements, both in and out of the gym.  Here is an excerpt from a recent post by CrossFit West Santa Cruz.

But it is the first part of her quotation that I think has especial meaning to CrossFitters.  Stella’s injury has made her more analytical of her movement.  It has improved her already excellent technique. An injury forces you to find ways to compensate for that injury.  It also forces you to ensure that the injury does not happen again.  All this necessitates a deeper understanding of the technique specifically and of human movement in general.  And any such deeper understanding of a specific technique, much less human movement, cannot help but have dramatic carryover to everything in CrossFit, as well as everyday life and movement.

Read full post here.

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Monday’s WOD:

403m Run

3 Rounds:
15 Pullups
21 KB Swings
12 Ring Dips

403m Run

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.

_______________________

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:

Alex, mentally preparing before a set of front squats

Although everyone loves a good met-con workout (metabolic conditioning) for it’s fast pace, variety, mental challenge, and great post-workout feeling, the foundation of any fitness program should be strength and proper form.  Here’s an excerpt from an excellent post from the Whole 9.

People often make misguided assumptions about CrossFit workouts based on what grabs their attention on paper. “Tough workouts”, “elite athletic training” and “high intensity” translates as high repetitions, endless rounds, a grab bag of exercises (often seemingly chosen at random), or some combination of the above. And there’s a trend, especially among those new to CrossFit and inexperienced with programming, to ride that met-con train all the way to Cortisol Crazytown.

I’m here to caution you… beware the lure of the Sexy Met-Con.

For some (especially those new to CrossFit), the lure of something like the Filthy Fifty or the “300” workout is undeniable. Hundreds of reps of various bad-ass exercises all in one workout? That MUST be good fitness. New trainees doing their own programming fall quickly into the Sexy Met-Con trap, piling on the reps, adding more and more exotic movements, needing an excessive amount of time to complete the workout. They get beyond creative, making up workouts so complicated that you need a map and a flashlight just to follow along.

Trainees aren’t the only victims of the Sexy Met-Con pull. New coaches and affiliate owners fall into this trap as well. What looks like you put more effort into your programming – seven rounds of five different exercises with a complicated rep scheme, or “Back Squat 5×5”? What’s an easier group class workout – a 20 minute light-weight met-con, or a structured PMenu-style Olympic lifting session? This isn’t a dig on those coaches or affiliate owners – I get it. The pressure to get creative and put out fresh “unknowable” workouts every day is enormous. There is also a need (real or perceived) to drastically distinguish themselves from their Globo-Gym competition. Add in the pressure from clients to make them SWEAT so they feel like they’re getting what they pay for and the Sexy Met-Con becomes an easy go-to on all counts.

Read full post here.

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Tuesday’s WOD:

A.) Thruster
3-3-3-3-3

B.) 500m Row
20 Wall Balls
15 Burpees

results:

Terin on her way to a new deadlift PR

Members who train at CrossFit Sweat Shop are familiar with strength days and how their format differs from most other CrossFit workouts.  However, most first-timers who have been following the workouts on the website often ask what it means when a workout just has one exercise, and then “5-5-5-5-5″ or “3-3-3-3-3″ or “1-1-1-1-1″.  The primary objective on these workouts is to move as much weight as possible, with the best possible form. 

How to approach a strength workout:
The number indicates how many reps will be done in a given set.  After a thorough general warm-up, begin performing the given exercise at a light weight.  Progressively increase the weight on each set, resting as needed between sets.  After performing 3-5 warm-up sets (increasing weight on each set) you should be getting close to where the indicated number of reps is becoming challenging.  At this point begin your actual “work sets”, try to increase incrementally on each set, while shooting to reach your heaviest weight on your fourth or fifth set.  As each work set gets more challenging, resting between sets is key.  Unlike other CrossFit workouts, your breathing and heart rate will likely not be at or near max after each set, however, resting a minimum of 3 minutes is important to give your muscles a chance to recover, and perform as close to their max as possible on the following set.

Why we do strength workouts:
Increasing your strength is critical to your overall fitness and well being, as well as your general and specific work capacities.  Metabolic conditioning workouts are great for increasing your cardio-respiratory, as well as muscle endurance, and there are some strength gains that take place during these workouts that contain little to no rest.  However, by having some days that we focus just on strength (lifting heavier weight, with much more rest between sets) we will then be able to increase our power output and intensity, thus making the metcon workouts much more effective.  Increasing your absolute strength will also allow you to be more confident with any physical challenges your may face in your daily life.

_______________________

Tuesday’s WOD:

30 KB Swings
30 Pushups
30 Knees to Elbow
403m Run

21 KB Swings
21 Pushups
21 Knees to Elbow
403m Run

15 KB Swings
15 Pushups
15 Knees to Elbow
403m Run

results:

Aaron - Post workout at the NorCal Sectionals- March 2010

Runners get it, sometimes.  That’s the main thing I enjoyed about running when I was doing it more often.  Runners refer to it as “runner’s high”.  It’s the euphoric feeling you sometimes get after running.  It can last anywhere between a couple of minutes, to a couple of hours. 

First, a little background information on “the high”.  What exactly is taking place within the body, I’m not sure of.  What I have been able to determine is that it is not isolated to running.  Other forms of exercise can elicit the same feeling.  The common denominator is that the exercise needs to be something that can be performed at  a high intensity.  Running isn’t a bad choice because just about everyone knows how to do it.  The problem comes when the runs last more than 1-2 minutes at a time (which aside from track athletes, most peoples runs far exceed this length).  It is on the longer runs that the intensity drops off quite a bit.  Running is the exact same motion, performed over and over again, using only lower body muscles, for 20 minutes to 2 hours, eventually the leg muscles get fatigued and the intensity of the workout decreases.  This is where CrossFit workouts differ.  A workout containing several different exercises allows individuals to train at a much higher intensity, for a longer period of time, before reaching muscle fatigue.  Whether it be a combination of exercises, some more lower body dominant, some more upper, or just one movement that is complex and works the entire body, such as the Clean and Jerk, work output during a CrossFit workout can far exceed a run of equal time domain.  The result of training at this higher intensity is frequently experiencing the post workout “high” that can sometimes be elusive when running, and almost never compares in intensity to that of a full body CrossFit workout.

People start CrossFit for many reasons.  Lose weight, be more physically fit, longevity, improve job or recreational activity performance, or as a competitive outlet that is active and healthy.  What most people notice after doing it for a few weeks is how great they feel after the workouts, physically, but especially mentally,  how much they “crave” the workouts, and how they noticeably feel worse if they miss too many days in a row.  For some, including myself, this “high” (along with the mental challenges that take place during the workout) become the sole reason for doing CrossFit.  Despite the discomfort during, and immediately after the workout, the “high” in it’s most extreme cases can feel like a moment of extraordinary clarity and awareness of the present.  Lesser experiences may feel like an internal “cleanse”, to simply feel energized or invigorated similar to the effects of a cup of Peet’s coffee.  Morning workouts always leave me feeling accomplished, efficient, and the effects last the remainder of the day, being much more motivated and focused during work.  A general sense of well-being, which includes, optimistic thinking, heightened senses, and a general appreciation for nature and scenic beauty are other feelings I often continue to experience for hours after a workout.  The best part about it is that the workouts don’t have to take an hour or more, quite the contrary, workouts lasting 15 minutes or less are actually better for eliciting this response because workout intensity can be kept at a much higher level during these shorter workouts.  After feeling the powerful and addicting effects of the high I get from exercise, I often wonder if it is hardwired into our DNA to reward and encourage us to participate in something that is beneficial to us.  Or perhaps it’s our bodies way of dealing with strenuous work that can sometimes feel as though it may kill you.

I decided to write about this topic after a comment that Tammy recently made.  She had done a particular workout twice in the past, seeing big improvement the first time she repeated it.  This third time she did the workout she didn’t see a huge improvement compared to her previous.  Clearly in a much better mood, and more energized than when she arrived at the gym, Tammy said, “… at least I got my high!”  I immediately knew that although the group environment, and workout log are ways to help motivate her to go harder during the workouts, like me, it’s really all about the high. 

Post to comments your thoughts and experience with the post workout high.

________________________

Monday’s WOD:

15 Burpees

2 Rounds of:
15 Squat Cleans
15 Ring Dips

15 Burpees

results:

John receives a Russian Shower after completing his final workout during the NorCal Sectionals 

Everyone has heard that recovery is just as important as the exercise itself.  Unfortunately, most of us don’t give it more than a passing thought.  Recovery encompasses much more than giving yourself at least one or two days off from working out during the week.  Proper nutrition, adequate sleep, and stress managment, are all critical parts of recovery.  Putting an emphasis on comprehensive recovery isn’t just for those guys and girls who train hard, five days a week.  It’s just as important to someone who is committed to reaching their goals, even if they are only able to train two times per week.  Below is an excerpt from an article written by Robb Wolf:

As a CrossFitter you have likely been fatigued, sore and generally beat up at one time or another, or perhaps continuously!  This is a result of training.  What will largely determine the results you obtain from training is a multifaceted concept, recovery.  Adequate recovery allows for more training and ultimately improved performance.  In some respects recovery is the Night to our exercise Day (this analogy will be more true than we can imagine).  In exercise we release hormones, mount immune responses, cause inflammation and use things like glycogen and lipids for fuel.  Recovery complements this process.  Accelerating the things we want and mitigating the less desirable processes will provide more return on our exercise investment.

Read full article here.

_______________________
Friday’s WOD:

Every 2 minutes complete:

70m Sprint
5 Pullups
7 Thrusters
3 Burpees

Repeat for 10 Rounds

results:

_____________________

Saturday’s WOD:

4 Rounds
3 1/2 minutes to complete:

403m Run
15 Box Jumps
As many PUSHUP and SQUAT reps as possible (alternate between the two however you choose)

REST 90 seconds between rounds

resluts:

I’m going keep this one short and sweet.  Running shoes are less than ideal shoes for doing things like squats (front, back, overhead, body weight), deadlifts, cleans, jumps, walking, and running.  They have an elevated heel which changes the way your foot strikes the ground and it automatically puts you in a forward lean.  Most are also squishy which makes for a pretty unstable platform for your feet.  Less is more.  Get some shoes that are flat and have minimal cushioning.  If you are still convinced you need running shoes for running, so be it; at the very least keep a pair of flat bottom shoes in your car for strength workouts, or those that don’t involve running. 

From the article What Ruins Running:

It wasn’t a miracle, as Lieberman would explain; it was simple mechanics. He’s convinced our problems began the day we tried to out think nature and encased our feet in motion-controlling sneakers. Others agree. Gerard Hartmann, a physical therapist in Ireland who works with world record holder Paula Radcliffe and who is himself a Nike consultant, conceded years ago that deconditioned foot muscles were the biggest factor in injuries. He likened running shoes to a plaster cast that causes our feet to atrophy.

Read full article here.

371 people who just read this post are currently digging through their closet in search of NBA Jam for Sega Genesis.

______________________

Wednesday’s WOD:

“Fight Gone Bad”

3 Rounds
As many total reps as possible
1 minute at each station, with 1 minute rest between rounds

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

results:

Aside from CrossFit, bombing down Claremont on a long board is probably the best summertime activity to get you ready for snowboarding.  Save yourself the surfer jargon and fast forward the video to begin watching at 2:30.  This video is INSANE!

The recent changing weather, and this video, has got me thinking about one thing.  Winter in Tahoe.  However, if you aren’t an Olympian that travels to the Southern Hemisphere during the summer to stay in ski/snowboard condition, you need something to prepare your body ready for the demands it faces when your on the hill.  Jogging, biking, along with some weight training is better than sitting in front of the television, but not by much.  What you need are shorter duration, higher intensity workouts, that tax the leg muscles and get the heart rate high at the same time.  The amount of stress jogging puts on your leg muscles is fairly insignificant.  The load (your body weight) is small, relatively speaking, the repetitions (each one of your steps) are just repeated several hundred times during the course of your run.  So by it’s very nature, running becomes not only ineffective due to it’s static nature with little resistance, it also becomes rather harmful because of the repeated pounding of each step, which was exactly like the one right before it.  Snowboarding and skiing on the other hand are much more dynamic (varying terrain, conditions and maneuvers all require different body movements), and high speed carving and hard turns can put as much as 3 G’s of force (3x your body weight for those that are going REALLY hard) on your leg muscles.  Whether you like to cruise the groomers, challenge yourself in the trees, or just “Mach” top to bottom, skiing and snowboarding consists of short high intensity efforts, followed by periods of rest (standing in line and the chairlift back up).  Your training should mimic this (i.e. Friday’s workout, or “Barbara”, a couple of Monday’s ago).  If your off-season training consists of jogging, biking and some weights, your body will not be ready for ski season, you will feel dominated after 3 or 4 runs, and likely spend the rest of the day in the lodge… leaving the runs and lifts open for those of us that trained smart. 

Who’s down for a Sweat Shop weekend trip to Tahoe?_______________________

Friday’s WOD:

compare to 6/17/09

4 Rounds

3 Strict Press
3 Push Press
3 Push Jerk
Max Pullups
Max Squats in 90 seconds

REST 3 minutes between each round

results:

______________________

Saturday’s WOD:

30 KB Swings
12 ea. Single Arm KB Thruster
20 Pullups

25 KB Swings
9 ea. Single Arm KB Thruster
15 Pullups

20 KB Swings
6 ea. Single Arm KB Thruster
10 Pullups

results:
______________________

5K Run & Trainer Challenge Workout

Congrats to Don B. for placing 1st overall in the 5K with a time of 20:33.  Jennifer B. was the 1st female finisher and placed 4th overall at 24:54; Jennifer was also one of many that did both the workout at 9am AND the 5K run at 10am!

results:

Steve Schmitt performing a 1RM on the abductor machine.  Awesome!

 Machines are not only ineffective, they are actually more dangerous than free weights.  By design, they force your muscles to move loads in isolation, something they were never designed to do.  Check out this article (even MSN Health is recommending people stay away from the machines), amazingly the machines that are most detrimental to your health, are also the ones that are the most popular at gyms.

_______________________

Thursday’s WOD:

21-15-9
DB Hang Squat Clean to Overhead
Pullups

results:

CrossFit Sweat Shop Walnut Creek, CA

Yes, Brandon always “naps” with that look on his face.

It’s been 4 days since the Fran-Off and myself, as well as others from the Sweat Shop are still feeling the effects of Saturday’s high intensity workouts.  Now is a good time to brush up recovery.  Below is an exerpt from an informative article by Robb Wolf.  

As a CrossFitter you have likely been: fatigued, sore and generally beat up at one time or another, or perhaps continuously! This is a result of training. What will largely determine the results you obtain from training is a multifaceted concept, recovery. Adequate recovery allows for more training and ultimately improved performance. In some respects recovery is the Night to our exercise Day (this analogy will be more true than we can imagine). In exercise we release hormones, mount immune responses, cause inflammation and use things like glycogen and lipids for fuel. Recovery complements this process. Accelerating the things we want and mitigating the less desirable processes will provide more return on our exercise investment.

Read full article here.
________________________

Tuesday’s WOD:

A.) For max load:

Overhead Squat
5-5-5-5-5

B.) For time:

20 Hang Squat Snatches
25 Pushups
35 meters Walking Lunge
403 meter Run

score = max load from workout A, divided by time from workout B

*scoring concept borrowed from Mini at CrossFit Oakland. 

results:

The three pictures at the top depict what someone’s body who’s training consists primarily of distnace running looks like.  Below that are pictures of bodies that have been developed as a result of constantly varied, functional training performed at high intensities.  (photos courtesy of CrossFit.com & Tom Campitelli)

As a local business owner in the health and fitness industry, and a resident of Contra Costa County, I feel like I have a duty.  My duty is to educate those that work in law enforcement on effective physical training, specific to their line of work.  Unfortunately, far too many officers of the law simply use general resistance training and running, or even worse, just running, as their means for achieving optimal fitness.  A program like this will not meet the needs of anyone looking to develop well rounded fitness, and certainly doesn’t address the needs of a police officer.  In regards to fitness and physical readiness, these individuals need to be prepared unlike any other worker or athlete.  A police officer can, and likely will, encounter any scenario imaginable.  Sprinting after a suspect, climbing over walls or fences while sprinting after a suspect, wrestling a suspect to the ground after sprinting a short distance and perhaps jumping over a fence or two (perhaps he gets away and the officer must sprint a little more), or  dragging or lifting and carrying a wounded fellow officer after sprinting up several flights of stairs.  A key point here, is that usually when the sh*t hits the fan, you aren’t going to be jogging after a suspect, or jogging for cover from flying bullets….jogging makes us good joggers, not good sprinters.  Another inherent flaw in most people’s training program is the separation of “cardio” and “weights”.  In real-life situations, there isn’t a 15 minute water break (or even worse, a full day of rest, the way many of us schedule our cardio and weights) between chasing down the suspect and wrestling him to the ground.  Another demand unique to law enforcement is the need to be ready to “spring into action” in a moments notice.  A constantly varied program will help prepare the body for just about anything, but if your exercise routine always follows the same general structure you are severally limiting your ability to adapt to dynamic situations.  If a 5 or 10K “jog-off” were a likely scenario for police officer to encounter with a suspect, then jogging these distances in their training program would be beneficial.  However, with radio communication, and back up hopefully within a few minutes, a more likely scenario is a shorter duration, higher intensity event that addresses every physical attribute imaginable. 

My passion for this topic is rooted in the intrinsic properties of a police officer’s job.  Here’s what I mean.  Edward, who works in Computer Programming, probably won’t die as a result of a poorly designed fitness program when his boss demands he rewrite a Beta version of their Spyware program so that it detects those cleverly disguised Cialis ads.  However, a police officer can likely be put in a situation where their physical fitness determines whether or not they make it home.  One can just jog and hope that they will never be placed in a situation where, strength, speed, and anaerobic capacity are a necessity, or they can prepare themselves for anything, and go to work each day with the confidence that they have done everything in their power to ensure they make it home safe.

_______________________

Tuesday’s WOD:

4 Rounds

403m Run

15 reps of the following, number designates which round the exercise is performed in:
1.) Double Wall Balls
2.) Thrusters
3.) Single Arm KB Thruster
4.) Wall Ball

25 Situps
15 Ring Dips
25 Squats

Rest exactly 3 minutes b/t rounds

results:

Here’s a great article from Mark’s Daily Apple on strength training for women.

“…You see, convential wisdom has somehow drilled into our heads the silly notion that men and women are completely different species, especially when it comes to working out. There are definite differences – anyone who’s been married will be able to tell you that! – but that doesn’t take away from the fact that we’re all homo sapiens with the same basic physiological makeup…”

Read full article here

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Friday’s WOD:

9 Overhead Squats
7 Pullups
18 Box Jumps

12 Overhead Squats
7 Pullups
15 Box Jumps

15 Overhead Squats
7 Pullups
12 Box Jumps

18 Overhead Squats
7 Pullups
9 Box Jumps

403 meter Run

results:

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Saturday’s WOD:

4 Rounds

12 Squat Cleans
15 Box Jumps
403 meter Run

results:

Functional Movements

There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good and to have a nice body, in fact it’s hardwired into our DNA.  Even when we were living in caves, aesthetic factors played a part in attracting the opposite sex.  Just like other species, the weak, feeble or grossly overweight are often unsuccessful attracting a mate for reproduction.  However, our quest for fitness and health was sent on a detour back in the 1970’s, thanks to the explosion in popularity of bodybuilding.  The sole purpose of the isolating exercises performed by bodybuilders is to increase the size of a specific muscle.  Not only does this increase in size have very little effect on the performance of the muscle, but the intrinsic properties of the isolation movements are without a doubt harmful to our joints.  The knee and elbow joint for example, were not meant to work in isolation, they are smaller, weaker joints, (than the hip and shoulder) and are designed to lend assistance to the hip and shoulder, and to perform fine motor patterns.  They are NOT designed to withstand the loads that isolating resistance training places on them.  Despite the trend of the last 40 years, we can’t undo the evolution of the previous 200,000 years!

Fortunately, we can still achieve a great looking body by performing functional, instead of isolation movements.  In fact, we can achieve this body in a much shorter period of time if we constantly vary these functional movements and do them at relatively high intensities.  Best of all, we are then given a body that not only looks great, but can actually perform with a reduced chance of injury.

In short, if your trainer has you performing any exercises on a machine, or even free weight exercises that isolate a single muscle group, such as the bicep curl,  or if you have a trainer and you aren’t familiar with the deadlift, clean, over head press, and push press,  you should absolutely get a new trainer!  Be sure and let your trainer know why you are leaving him/her, hopefull, over time, they will become educated and not subject future clients to these time wasting, health risks, they are currently so proficient at.

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Sports Performance WOD:

3 Rounds

4 Squat Cleans
8 Burpee/Knees to Elbow
10 Wall Balls

REST 2 minutes, REPEAT 3 times
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Monday’s WOD:

“Tabata Something Else”

20 seconds of WORK, followed by 10 seconds of REST
perform 8 sets of each exercise before moving on to next
score total number of reps

Pullups
Pushups
Situps
Squats

results:

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!

Here are 5 reasons why you should limit your alcohol consumption if you are even remotely serious about making any changes to your fitness and/or body composition.  And although this was written for body builders, the same physiological principles apply to those of us who are working out for functional fitness.

Click here for the  5 reasons why alcohol is keeping you from your goals.

Thanks to CrossFit Football for providing the link.

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Monday’s WOD

403m Run
50 Squats
10 Pushups

300m Run
40 Squats
20 Pushups

200m Run
30 Squats
30 Pushups

200m Run
20 Squats
40 Pushups

300m Run
10 Squats
50 Pushups

403m Run

results:

Two weekends ago, while competing in the Nor Cal qualifiers, I had what you would call a “cheat day(s)”.  My reason for sharing this is not to boast, but to demonstrate that if you eat really good 95% of the time, it’s ok to cheat every now and again.  Because I’ve learned to enjoy many healthy food items, I rarely crave most junk food items.  However, on this particular weekend, the combination of little preparation to ensure I had my normal food items, going much longer than I normally do between meals, and the junk food items being readily available, all combined in just the right combination for an apocalyptic binge that I haven’t experienced since the days of cutting weight for wrestling.

During the course of two days, IN ADDITION TO my normal meals, of which I would consider healthy food items, I also had:

12 Large homemade chocolate chip cookies (3 of which were devoured in a cookie sandwich: one cookie in the middle, sandwiched between two more cookies!… completely eaten during a 40 second elevator ride!)  Pure deliciousness!

2 Cokes (while waiting for dinner on Saturday night.  first time I’ve had any in a couple of years.  Bubbles, sugar, and caffeine… what a fantastic combo!

8 Sausages (salty, greasy, and made with mysterious animal parts… scrumptious!!)

2 bowls of ice cream (one of them was topped with some of the chocolate chip cookies listed above)  Amazing! 

I was rewarded with a splitting headache on Sunday, and a strong feeling of nausea after completing the workout.  My point is, even with two days of horrible eating habits I didn’t gain any measurable weight… the reason for this is the other 95% of the time is healthy eating.  Another effect of binge junk food eating (if done sporadically enough) is that the negative feedback you get after eating it (i.e. you feel like crap), is a good reinforcement tool for eating healthy.  The KEY here is that you have to be eating really healthy to notice the difference, Subway, fat free Yoplait yogurt, and Jamba Juice smoothies is not considered healthy eating.

Post your guilty pleasures to the comment section.  (Food related only please.)

Tuesday’s WOD:

2 Rounds:

400 meter row
20 KB Swings
10 Knees to Elbow
15 Wall Balls
Run 403 meters
20 KB Swings
10 Knees to Elbow
15 Wall Ball

results:

John M. (J Moff) focussing and keeping a relaxed face while maintaining extremely high intensity during a workout last week.

CrossFit Unlimited recently posted about this topic, read more here.

Props to Sarah G. who casually busted out 5 consecuetive unassisted pullups on Tuesday.  Nice work Sarah!

 Tuesday’s WOD:

4 Rounds:

8 Back Squats
300m Row
15 Box Jumps
20 Pushups

results:

  I realized something a few weeks back.  It must suck for people who are just starting to workout for their first time ever, or for those that are so inconsistent with their workouts they only make it in to the gym once or twice a week, or perhaps less.  While my brother was visiting I took a week off from working out to go snowboarding and to just hang out with my brother.  My first workout back, after 6 days off was nothing too crazy, but I awoke the next morning feeling like I had aged 40 years during my sleep.  My back was sore, my legs ached, and my knees felt like I had just endured a 7 hour drive to L.A., crammed in the back seat of a Ford Festiva.  I was really sore, no big deal, I have been sore before.   The next day it was even worse, getting on and off the toilet was an ordeal, I seriously contemplated adult diapers.  By day 3 it had subsided, a little.  Day 4 I was still sore, but able to take the stairs instead of the elevator in order to get to the fitness floor.  Within my 6 days away from working out, my body had adapted to the greatly reduced daily physical demands I had imposed on it the weeks prior.  Then I began thinking about so many people who begin a workout program and quit right away.  I can only imagine, if I didn’t know better, and thought this type of soreness was a result of every workout, I too may choose a sedentary lifestyle over Tabata squats!  There are also those people who are inconsistent with their workouts, making it into the gym twice one week, once the next week.  They may experience soreness occasionally, but most likely, because of their inconsistent workout schedule, they have settled into a level of mediocrity that produces little results and fosters workout intensities that are so low they are all but wasting their time.  Consistency is a critical component if you are searching for results, be it performance, or aesthetic based results. 

Consistency however, can be a double edged sword.  If your intensity is high, and you stay consistent and frequent (5X per week)with your workouts, it is actually advantagous to have a “down” week once every 4-6 weeks, depending on how consistent and how intense you’ve gone in the weeks prior.  Down weeks may be eliminating workouts all-together, reducing the volume, frequency, and/or intensity for that week, or changing up your modes of exercise for a week (swimming, hiking, biking, etc.).  Yeah, you may be a little sore when you return to your regularly scheduled programming, but worry not, you haven’t lost any of the “fitness” you’ve been working so hard to gain… in fact the time off will allow your body to recover and you’ll likely see some of your best performances soon after a down week.

Post to comments your challenges with staying consistent, and/or things you’ve found to help you stay consistent.