Here is a summary of an article that suggests that large amounts of sugar intake can adversely affect one’s DNA.

The lead researcher, Sam El-Osta, from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, told the Australian Associated Press that these harmful genetic changes or mutations could linger in the cells, perhaps having the capability of altering natural metabolic responses to diet. He also stated that chronic “poor eating would amplify the effect, with genetic damage lasting months or years, potentially passing through bloodlines … to one’s children.”

Read more from the summary here.

Usually I’m not one that’s big on Yahoo Health, but this actually comes from Johns Hopkins University.

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We now have a new category for those looking for more of a challenge when doing pullups.  “Rx’d” will still designate doing pullups without any assistance, while getting the chin over the bar.  “C2B” will designate doing pullups without any assistance while getting the chest or clavicle to make contact with the bar.  Unlike regular pullups where a certain height (chin over bar) must be achieved, C2B pullups REQUIRE that you make contact with the bar.  It doesn’t matter if you pull to your navel, if you don’t make contact with the bar… it doesn’t count as C2B.  Enjoy!

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Friday’s WOD:

400 meter Row

then 5 Rounds of:

9 Pullups
9 Push Jerks
9 Knees to Elbow

finish with (1) 403 meter run

results:

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Saturday’s WOD:

400m Run
50 Pushups
10 Squats

300m Run
40 Pushups
20 Squats

200m Run
30 Pushups
30 Squats

200m Run
20 Pushups
40 Squats

300m Run
10 Pushups
50 Squats

400m Run

results:

A triple bacon cheeseburger with deep fried patties as buns.

Sarah G. turned me on to this site about a year ago and it’s been a source of amazement ever since.  Check it out, you’ll be suprised as to what people are actually eating.

A few of my favorites:

Hot Dog and French Fry Pizza

Bacon Cinnamon Roll

There are still some of you out there that owe me food logs.  Please don’t let me see any of these foods in your daily log!

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Thursday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

5 Deadlifts
10 KB Swings
5 Pullups
10 Wall Balls

results:

Props to Jim D. for doing all the pullups on this workout as Rx’d.  All it took was Jim practicing his kip one or two times just after learning it.

Here is a recent meal that is nutritious and one that I found delicous and suprisingly satisfying.

Wild Sockeye Salmon
Wasabi cilantro sauce
Red Bell Peppers
Jicama
Mixed greens
Strawberries
White Nectarines
Vinegaratte Dressing

Eating a meal like this will leave you satisfied, but without the bloated and stuffed feeling you get from a meal that contains grains.  When you are preparing a meal, it helps to identify each of the macro nutrients.  I always start with the protein, then build the rest of my meal around that.

Protein:  Salmon

Fat: Salmon, wasabi sauce, dressing

Carbs: Strawberries, nectarines, bell peppers, jicama, greens

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Thursday’s WOD:

4 Rounds

8 Back Squats
300m Row
15 Box Jumps
20 Pushups

results:

I’ve requested a 2-3 day food log from several Sweat Shop members.  If your name is on the whiteboard (top right corner, you’ve been selected).  Proper nutrition is even more important than exercise when it comes to transforming your body composition.  By sharing your eating habits with me, I can help shed some light on the key factors that may be keeping you from reaching your asthetic and/or performance goals.  Here is a brief outline from CrossFit.com on proper nutrition.

The CrossFit dietary prescription is as follows:
Protein should be lean and varied and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.
Carbohydrates should be predominantly low-glycemic and account for about 40% of your total caloric load.
Fat should be predominantly monounsaturated and account for about 30% of your total caloric load.
Calories should be set at between .7 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass depending on your activity level. The .7 figure is for moderate daily workout loads and the 1.0 figure is for the hardcore athlete.

What Should I Eat?
In plain language, base your diet on garden vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. That’s about as simple as we can get. Many have observed that keeping your grocery cart to the perimeter of the grocery store while avoiding the aisles is a great way to protect your health. Food is perishable. The stuff with long shelf life is all suspect. If you follow these simple guidelines you will benefit from nearly all that can be achieved through nutrition.

The Caveman or Paleolithic Model for Nutrition
Modern diets are ill suited for our genetic composition. Evolution has not kept pace with advances in agriculture and food processing resulting in a plague of health problems for modern man. Coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity and psychological dysfunction have all been scientifically linked to a diet too high in refined or processed carbohydrate. Search “Google” for Paleolithic nutrition, or diet. The return is extensive, compelling, and fascinating. The Caveman model is perfectly consistent with the CrossFit prescription.

What Foods Should I Avoid?
Excessive consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates is the primary culprit in nutritionally caused health problems. High glycemic carbohydrates are those that raise blood sugar too rapidly. They include rice, bread, candy, potato, sweets, sodas, and most processed carbohydrates. Processing can include bleaching, baking, grinding, and refining. Processing of carbohydrates greatly increases their glycemic index, a measure of their propensity to elevate blood sugar.

What is the Problem with High-Glycemic Carbohydrates?
The problem with high-glycemic carbohydrates is that they give an inordinate insulin response. Insulin is an essential hormone for life, yet acute, chronic elevation of insulin leads to hyperinsulinism, which has been positively linked to obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, blood pressure, mood dysfunction and a Pandora’s box of disease and disability. Research “hyperinsulinism” on the Internet. There’s a gold mine of information pertinent to your health available there. The CrossFit prescription is a low-glycemic diet and consequently severely blunts the insulin response.

**Drink Board Update**

Kristina apparently had a fun week 1 in NYC going 9 drinks over her limit!  At 25 burpees per drink over her weekly limit, that’s 225 burpees added to her balance of 45!  Let’s hope she does better this week.

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Wednesday’s WOD:

Complete as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes:

3 Squat Cleans
6 Pullups
9 Pushups

results:

Lauren and Nathan enjoying their gourmet (notice the lemon zester in Nathan’s hand) breakfast a few minutes after completing a workout last week.  Their sound nutrition habits are apparently paying off.  Nathan and Lauren have been making great gains lately which include fastest men’s and women’s 500 meter row time!

The post workout meal is a critical, and often overlooked aspect of training.  After completing a workout your body needs to be re-fueled as soon as possible, most studies show eating within 45 minutes renders optimal recovery.  If possible, try to stay away from meal replacement bars and shakes.  Real food, consisting of protein, carbs and fat will almost always be a better choice than a bar.  I’ll be posting more info on the post workout meal soon.

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Sports Performance WOD:

With a running clock perform the following every 2 minutes for a total of 12 minutes:

3 Hang Squat Snatch @ 95lbs.
6 Box Jumps @ 32″
3 Figure 8 Drills

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Tuesday’s WOD:

Row 500m

then 5 Rounds of:

8 Thrusters
10 Ring Rows (or 3 Muscle Ups)
12 Medball Cleans

finish with (1) 200m Row

results:

“A US study has found caffeine plays a protective role for damaged skin by boosting the body’s natural process called apoptosis, or synchronised cell suicide.” 

Read full article here.

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Monday’s WOD:

“Cindy”
compare to 4/13/09

Perform as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Squats

results:

More movement on the leader board, as John M. and Helen, despite some seriously torn hands, claimed the top spots on this workout!

Last week Aaron (Hiroshi) made a few more items that I was fortunate enough to try.  Not only was I blown away by the taste and quality of the ingredients, but the visual presentation was simply top notch! 

Pictured above: 

Monday’s  WOD:

Grilled Ahi w/ Fruit Salsa and Broccolini. Served with avocado and almonds. 

The leader board got some more action today with Sweat Shop newcomer Alex C. claiming top spot on overhead squats with 185×5     Nice!

Thursday’s WOD:

1 Cycle:

Be cautious of trainers that sell any sort of vitamins, supplements, protein powders, or fruit juices.  Be ESPECIALLY cautious if these items can only be purchased through your trainer or by becoming a member of a particular group/organization.  Although your trainer may encourage you to take such supplements to help you reach goals, the fact is, you can get all the nutrients your body needs by eating a healthy and diverse selection of real foods.  It would be nice if we could just pop a pill to supplement any of the vitamins, minerals or nutrients we may lack in our diet, unfortunately the process of putting these items in a pill or powder form often alters them in a way that our body is not able to absorb and utilize as it would if we ingested it in food.

To add insult to injury, most trainers, especially those that are “licensed distributors” of supplements, are obviously getting a handsome kick-back from the company that produces them.

You are already paying your trainer plenty, don’t waste your cash on worthless supplements.  Save yourself some money.  Eat a wide variety of real foods including plenty of fresh produce, lean, organic meats (beef should be grass-fed), as well as a variety of nuts and seeds.

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Sports Performance WOD:

1 Modified “T” Drill
10 Thrusters
2 Modified “T” Drills
8 Thrusters
3 Modified “T” Drills
6 Thrusters

REST 2 minutes, REPEAT 4 times

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Tuesday’s WOD:

compare to 5/26/09

Row 500m

 then 4 Rounds of:
8 Hang Power Clean and Jerks
10 Pullups
15 Wall Balls
20 Situps

finish with (1) 200m run

results:

Some people say, “I workout hard so I can eat whatever I want…”  Not only does this theory not work for achieving a desireable body composition, fact of the matter is, it just isn’t healthy.  Exercise doesn’t counter all the negative effects of fueling your body with crappy food, and no matter how hard you train, if your nutrition is poor you are severely limiting the amount of progress you could be making. 

Here’s an exerpt from a post from CrossFit RVA (Richmond, VA)

“Sometimes it is easier to put out hard for 15 minutes and collapse in a sweaty heap than it is to put in the time necessary to track, plan, and execute a nutrition plan. But sadly enough, you can’t out-train a bad diet. Through diet, you can ensure that you are fueled optimally during your workouts, reduce inflammation and promote recovery, and hasten fat loss and muscle gains. If you’re stuck eating like it’s a 5 year old’s birthday party, stuffing yourself with hot dogs, ice cream and cake, you’ll eventually look on the whiteboard and see your times aren’t improving, look in the mirror and realize you don’t look any different than you did 6 months ago, and wake up in the morning and still feel the effects of that workout from three days ago.”

Read full article here.

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Monday’s WOD:

403 meter Run
21 Pushups
21 Single Arm Deadlifts (right side only)
15 Single Arm DB Push Press/Jerk (left side only)

403 meter Run
18 Pushups
21 Single Arm Deadlifts (left side only)
15 Single Arm DB Push Press/Jerks (right side only)

403 meter Run
15 Single Arm Deadlift (right)
9 Single Arm DB Push Press/Jerk (left)
15 Single Arm Deadlift (left)
9 Single Arm DB Push Press/Jerk (right)

*single arm deadlifts are performed with either a kettlebell, dumbbell or barbell, and are to be lifted from the side similar to lifting a suitcase.

results:

By now most of you are familiar with Mike’s Drink Board.  Now Kristina has her very own spot on the drink board.  Because she travels to New York City for two weeks each month for work, and the NYC “lifestyle” encourages nightly drinking, she now has 25 burpees for each drink over 9 (per week) to discourage this not so healthy pastime.  Check out this post for a quickie on some of the effects alcohol has on our muscles.

Let’s wish Kristina luck this week, she’ll be reporting her Monday thru Sunday drink total to us bright and early Monday morning via the blog!

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Today’s Sports Performance WOD:

3 Rounds

5 Push Press
(1) 25 meter shuttle
4ea. Single Arm Kettlebell Squats
8 Box Jumps

REST 2 minutes, REPEAT 3 times

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Friday’s WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes

6 Front Squats
10 KB Swings
10 Wall Balls
10 Box Jumps

*must leave just enough time at the end to complete a 403m run without going over 20 minute time limit

results:

The coconut is an amazing food with a laundry list of benefits.  Aside from eating the coconut from the husk (contact Nathan for a tutorial on how to easily remove the flesh), you can get enjoy coconut in the form of coconut milk (great for smoothies and curries), coconut oil (great for cooking b/c of it’s high tolerance to heat), and coconut butter (apply to anything or just eat it plain!).  Try not to get your coconut fix by eating Almond Joy, Mounds, or even the shredded coconut that has been sweetened.

Here are a few of the benefits of coconut:

• Kills fungi and yeasts that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete’s foot, thrush, diaper rash, and other infections.

• Expels or kills tapeworms, lice, giardia, and other parasites.

• Provides a nutritional source of quick energy.

• Boosts energy and endurance, enhancing physical and athletic performance.

• Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

• Improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose.

• Relieves stress on pancreas and enzyme systems of the body.

• Reduces symptoms associated with pancreatitis.

• Helps relieve symptoms and reduce health risks associated with diabetes.

• Reduces problems associated with malabsorption syndrome and cystic fibrosis.

• Improves calcium and magnesium absorption and supports the development of strong bones and teeth.

• Helps protect against osteoporosis.

• Helps relieve symptoms associated with gallbladder disease.

• Relieves symptoms associated with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and stomach ulcers.

• Improves digestion and bowel function.

• Relieves pain and irritation caused by hemorrhoids.

• Reduces inflammation.

• Supports tissue healing and repair.

• Supports and aids immune system function.

• Helps protect the body from breast, colon, and other cancers.

• Is heart healthy; improves cholesterol ratio reducing risk of heart disease.

• Protects arteries from injury that causes atherosclerosis and thus protects against heart disease.

• Helps prevent periodontal disease and tooth decay.

• Functions as a protective antioxidant.

• Helps to protect the body from harmful free radicals that promote premature aging and degenerative disease.

• Does not deplete the body’s antioxidant reserves like other oils do.

• Improves utilization of essential fatty acids and protects them from oxidation.

• Helps relieve symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.

• Relieves symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (prostate enlargement).

• Reduces epileptic seizures.

• Helps protect against kidney disease and bladder infections.

• Helps prevent liver disease.

• Is lower in calories than all other fats.

• Supports thyroid function.

• Promotes loss of excess weight by increasing metabolic rate.

• Is utilized by the body to produce energy in preference to being stored as body fat like other dietary fats.

• Helps prevent obesity and overweight problems.

• Applied topically helps to form a chemical barrier on the skin to ward of infection.

• Reduces symptoms associated the psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis.

• Supports the natural chemical balance of the skin.

• Softens skin and helps relieve dryness and flaking.

• Promotes healthy looking hair and complexion.

• Provides protection form damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation form the sun.

• Helps control dandruff.

• Does not form harmful by-products when heated to normal cooking temperature like other vegetable oils do.

• Is completely non-toxic to humans

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Thursday’s WOD:

Overhead Squats

5-5-5-5-5

Pullups (depending on your strength level choose one: strict, weighted, chest to bar, L-pullup, weighted chest to bar L-pullup)

5-5-5-5-5

For some, trying to eat healthy can seem complicated and overwhelming.  Try following some of these tips to improve your nutrition.  Compliments of Atomic CrossFit:

• Enjoy eating paleo. Enjoy what you eat. If you are unhappy with what you are eating you are unlikely to continue to keep eating that way, and once the nutrition is gone, staying fit and healthy becomes much harder.
• Pre-cook food and cook more than you need. Spend a few hours at the beginning of the week and cook big batches of food. This will allow you to minimize the amount of time that you have to spend cooking during the week.
• Check the labels. Even it’s organic and has added probiotics, the portions of macro-nutrients are still important. Shop where fresh food is abundant; invest in a healthy future.
• Rather than cutting yourself off from all of those foods which you enjoy that aren’t 100% paleo friendly, simply eat smaller amounts and be moderate.
• Do not keep junk/unhealthy food that you know you shouldn’t eat, in the house. For most people, if it is in the house they will eventually eat it.
• Do not run out of food. This is horrible; you will end up eating out or munch on cereals. Do not let it happen to you.
• Try planning out your meals for 5 days or a week. This comes easily to type one personalities, for the rest of us it can be a nuisance. Though this has the benefit of ensuring you know what you need in the house for the week, and eliminates that time wasting period during which you try and figure out what you should cook for dinner.
• Keep a handy meal replacement shake/can of tuna in your car/office/desk/bag for a paleo friendly snack in case plans change.
• Learn to use spices; this will do wonders for you and will offer variety and different flavors to your meals.
• Avoid soda, pasta and bread. Let us know how you’re doing after two weeks.
• Eat lots of vegetables; try and eat a good variety with many different colors. .

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Friday’s WOD:

Deadlift
3-3-3-3

rest 5 minutes, then:

5 Rounds:
5 Deadlifts
10 Burpees

results:

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Saturday’s WOD:

Row 400m

then 6 Rounds of:
8ea. Single Arm KB Squat
12 Situps
8 Pullups
8 Ring Dips

finish with (1) 403 meter Run

results:

Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

According to Nathan, this movie is a must see.

It is only playing in select theaters, fortunately one happens to be in Pleasant Hill, Century CineArts @ 2314 Monument Blvd. 

Showtimes

Trailer

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Wednesday’s WOD:

21-15-9
Shoulder Press
Knees to Elbow

Run 403m

21-15-9
KB Swings
Wall Balls

Run 403m

21-15-9
Summo-Deadlift High Pull
Box Jumps

results: