Coach’s Blog

Because your place is filthy, OK?
Just kidding, I know sometimes I go off-topic in terms of writing about things other than CrossFit, but your house is probably pretty tidy and even if it’s not, I don’t care.  What I’m talking about today is our new Olympic Weightlifting seminar starting tomorrow night at 6:30pm, on Cleans.  The cost of the 8-week seminar is $100, which I know is a financial commitment over and above what you are already paying for your membership, but it’s absolutely worth every penny for the amount of instruction you will get, and the gains in strength and skill that will come out of it.  Is it really for you?  If you find yourself in one of these categories below, it is.
Category 1: You’re new to this whole CrossFit thing
CrossFit is continuing to grow at a rapid rate, with more thousands of people trying it out for the first time on a daily basis.  Luckily for us, that growth rate is consistent at CFKI, and we have LOTS of new people that have joined us in the past few months.  If you’re in that boat, this program is definitely for you.  You don’t have very much experience with weightlifting, or your previous instruction before CrossFit was like my high-school football coach: “Get the weight from the floor to your shoulders.  Alright, pretty good.  Do 3 sets of 10 twice a week.”  Cleans are a high-skill, nuanced movement, and the difference between doing them OK and doing them WELL is huge.  If you don’t have too many reps under your belt, you are at the most opportune point to get some high-level instruction so that you set good habits, and then get lots of high-quality practice reps in.  With this program, you will improve DRAMATICALLY.
Category 2: You suck at Cleans
I didn’t say it, you did.  You’ve said it in your head, or in class to a coach, and you’ve been able to go from not-very-good to OK by practicing it during the warm-ups in class.  The thing about CrossFit is that there are so many skills and movements to practice, that if you don’t take some additional time to learn the high-skill weightlifting movement of the Clean, it’s hard to make significant improvement in the short term.  Sure, you will improve and become more confident as time goes on, but if you always slide back into the same faults: poor set-up, early arm pull, receiving with a muted hip, then you need some help.  Spend 8+ hours working with Coach Jason, a seasoned weightlifter with an eagle eye for these faults and the relentless attitude of “we’re going to get this right before we move on”, and you will come out the other end with a new PR, and a renewed love of this essential movement.
Category 3: You’ve hit a plateau
You consider yourself an experienced weightlifter, and after the standard year or so of setting a new PR every time you lift heavy, that momentum has fizzled out.  You’ve been at the same max Clean for a while now, and that is frustrating.  I bet there is a small tweak to your technique to be made, using video to break down your movement, that will result in a lightbulb-over-the-head style breakthrough, and some additional poundage added on to your next max.  Yayyyy!  But the even more likely scenario is that YOU’RE JUST NOT STRONG ENOUGH.  It could be in your initial hip extension or the pull, but for most of us it’s the Front Squat.  I’ve seen Jason’s program, and guess what – you’ll be squatting at the end of each session, with various techniques and drills added in to keep the strength sets varied.  Adding these additional strength workouts to your schedule for 8 weeks will absolutely get you a heavier Squat, and you know what that means for your Clean.
Category 4: You freaking love Cleans!
I can pencil myself into Category 3 as well, but this reason is why I would eat up this Clean seminar!  The combination of strength and speed that makes a really solid Clean happen makes it one of my favorite CrossFit movements, to the point that when I used to “do CrossFit on my own”, I would routinely substitute Cleans for other movements I didn’t want to do, like running, rowing, burpees, pretty much everything else.  Not a good plan, by the way!  But if you’re like me and you love to lift, if you love the feeling of catching a heavy bar in that front rack position and screaming your way to the top of the squat, I can’t think of a more fun class for you to attend.
If you don’t find yourself in any of these categories – if you’ve been CrossFitting for a while and your Clean numbers continue to grow because you’re awesome at them but at the same time you hate lifting (see what I did there?) – then maybe this program isn’t for you.  But otherwise, we will see you on the floor for Clean Session #1 tomorrow at 6:30pm.  You’re going to crush it!
Ryan

“You miss 100% of the shots that you never take.”
 – Wayne Gretzky
As part of my morning ritual, I take a couple minutes to think about something I’m grateful for, and write it down in my daily planner.  This morning, I noted that I was thankful for inspirational quotes, which my planner has at the top of each page!  I hadn’t thought of anything to write about yet this week, and this quote really popped out at me.
Is there anything in your life that you’re putting off, because you think you might fail?  A big challenging race that keeps floating by you every year while you vow that next year’s the one?  A business opportunity that you are very passionate about, but are not absolutely sure if it will be financially viable?
These are not sure things by any stretch of the imagination – there is absolutely a chance that you will fail.  But there is also a chance you will succeed, if you study the opportunity, make a plan, and stick to it!  And for you gamblers out there, what are the better odds of success – a 10% chance, or 0% because you didn’t even attempt it?
You can give yourself the best chance in the world by analyzing the challenge – what are the major obstacles between where you are now and success?  Do you have the resources to get there?  Are you “hair on fire” passionate about this, or is it maybe not the best opportunity anyway because you’re not really into it (maybe your mom just wants you to do it).  I wouldn’t count that as a worthwhile challenge for you – let’s find something else.
Next, create a plan.  Break that plan up into smaller micro-goals, so that it’s very clear what you have to do next once you check the first one off the list.  Reassess your plan on a regular basis, to make sure you’re on track but also to determine if you need to re-orient and take a different approach if things aren’t working.
And finally, dive the plan.  Take aggressive action to get it done.  Along the way, celebrate little successes – you’re doing it!  Keep circling back to the analysis and planning phases, learning from your mistakes and bulletproofing your future plans.
You miss 100% of the shots that you never take.  It’s true in hockey and it’s true in life.  Take the shot!
Ryan

Now that the CrossFit Games season is behind us for 2018, we’re changing up the wall decor in the front of the gym.  What was previously a shout-out of all the CFKI athletes that took on the 2018 CrossFit Open has been repurposed into something we can all contribute to: a “Why Wall”.
What’s your “Why”?  Why do you do CrossFit, subjecting yourself to tough, sometimes downright miserable workouts, the aches and pains of recovering from 100 lunges one day and 30 heavy snatches the next?  Why do you compete with yourself and others, constantly putting your skills, strength and endurance to the test?  This stuff takes dedication, and we all have a reason we do it.  Do you know what yours is?
I asked our outstanding team of coaches to answer that question recently, and their responses are below.  Maybe one of these resonates with you or helps you find your Why.  When you know it, come in and write it on the wall!  I think it will inspire you to push harder when you run back into the gym after a mid-WOD 400M lap, and maybe it will inspire others as well!
Alyssa
I love the competitive feeling CrossFit gives me and the desire it provides within myself to always be better, to always be fitter, to always be stronger, to always strive to improve a lift or time on a benchmark workout, to always push myself to, and beyond, my physical and mental limits (outside of my comfort zone), and to always demand more of myself so I can be the best and healthiest version of me! CrossFit fuels my soul and lights a fire within me, but above all else, I love being a part of such an amazing Community of Fitness!
Denee
I have been roughly the same size all of my adult life, but the hours on planes, a high stress job, and raising a family always got in the way of me taking better care of my health.  I had some heart issues from the birth of our second son, Oliver, which led to a cardiologist telling me that I shouldn’t have any more children when he was just 5 days old.  At first I was devastated, but then realized I was so incredibly lucky to have two healthy little boys and now it was time to start taking better care of myself so I could be around for them for as long as possible.  I started doing CrossFit consistently at that point and haven’t looked back.
That hour that I spend doing CrossFit is my sanity.  Just grinding through a workout with others takes your mind off of the busy things in life – work, family, etc. – and allows you to focus on your abilities, what you can do, to get a little better every day.  There is always something to work on, always something to get better at, and the possibilities are endless.
Lastly, I started CrossFit to ensure I could be around for my kids, and now I keep doing it for the example it sets for them.  In a world where everyone gets a trophy for participating, our kids see adults in the gym failing at something – whether it’s a lift, a double-under,  or a pushup – every day. And you know what? Those athletes don’t give up. They try again, they adjust slightly, and they keep showing up.
Jason
Many people know I started doing CrossFit after my brother died.  This event had a profound effect on how I view my life going forward.  I believe that if I’m not doing something to make myself grow, then I’m wasting the time I was given in this life.  It may seem grandiose to apply this personal philosophy to a CrossFit class but I know that if I give my all in the gym/workout, then I am less stressed and feel better overall.  This, in turn, makes me capable of being a better husband, father, CrossFit coach and person.  To digress, I would say my why is simply to be better today than I was yesterday.  I’m not saying this always happens but knowing CrossFit helps push me in a positive direction, it’s my reason to get off the couch and into the gym.
Josh
Unlike many fitness programs, Crossfit has the very special ability to keep its followers humble. One day you could be floating on cloud nine after nailing a deadlift PR and the next day be completely demoralized from a soul-crushing hero WOD. This humility is critical to understanding that you have as many weaknesses as you do strengths and that those weaknesses need to be addressed in order to become a better athlete. Humility is my catalyst to self-improvement.
As for community, there is no better environment to workout than with a group of like-minded people who are invested in each other’s well being. It’s no secret that some of the strongest bonds between people are forged during shared trials and tribulations. Crossfit has plenty of those to offer and because of that, most of the closest people in my life are the ones with whom I’ve endured the most grueling WOD’s.
Liz
I was diagnosed with diabetes at age 2. I didn’t take great care of myself as a kid. When I became a teen I rebelled by not exercising, eating junk food and smoking cigarettes (all very terrible things for blood sugar control). When I was 26, my eyes started internally bleeding and I temporarily lost sight in each of my eyes. That was a huge wake up call for me. I started to focus on my health. I started by quitting smoking and eating better. I would exercise in spurts and it wasn’t until I found Crossfit that I became a “regular” anywhere. I do CrossFit because I never grow bored or restless with the program. These days I continue to grow as an athlete, something I wish I had discovered earlier in life, which is helping my blood sugar control tremendously. I enjoy the great company at CFKI.  I really use my time at the box as me time.
Lori
Why do I Crossfit?  After many years with CFKI, I have seen my “why” change and evolve as I grow. When I first started Crossfit, I was bored with “bootcamp” style classes and wanted to challenge myself outside of my comfort zone (and get a pull-up, duh.).  In the beginning of my Crossfit journey, I was extremely competitive with myself.  My focus was on hitting those one rep max lifts, mastering all the skills and ALWAYS being RX.  Now don’t me wrong, those are all really great things to strive for, especially in Crossfit.  The problem that I ran into was when I sustained an injury that derailed my training.  I was all of a sudden on the sidelines and when I was finally able to Crossfit again, my approach to training was forced to change.  My “why” suddenly became just getting into the box and working hard for myself at the level that my body allowed.  Mentally, it was HARD, but I did it, and it changed my “why” all over again.  I Crossfit today because CFKI is my family and I love being in the box, surrounded by great people who like to work hard.  I’m less concerned about RX vs. Scaled and more focused on just moving my body and having fun.  I love introducing new people to Crossfit and watching them grow and hit their PR’s and tackle all those fun “firsts” that come with being a newbie in this sport.  
Tristan
Mental and physical strength are key to a positive influence on others. To play that role for my 2 sons is extremely important to me like the majority of fathers out there. Above all my WHY for pushing myself daily is to make myself ‘harder to kill’. Whether it is for my job, to prevent ailments/injuries, an unforeseen circumstance, or just blowing off steam, coming in and being surrounded by positive people who work hard and want you to work hard as well makes all the difference.
And finally, myself:
When I started CrossFit, my “why” was to be a part of this elite community of athletes that would push themselves to the brink with nasty workouts and post their times in the comments on CrossFit.com for everyone else to see.  I felt like I was really part of something special, and that pushed me to get better so I could post better comments!
My “why” since opening CrossFit Kent Island has dramatically shifted from being a part of the larger CrossFit community, which I still very much enjoy, to being a part of this amazing community that we have at CFKI.  I love what we have created and the special bond that we share from laying our souls bare in hero workouts that shouldn’t be attempted by “normal people”.  And I push myself to constantly get better so that I can earn your respect every day and drive you to get better along with me.
Now, what’s your Why?
Ryan

“I didn’t come to class yesterday because the workout looked really hard.”
“The workout has double-unders and I’m not good at those so I’m gonna go to Open Gym instead.”
“Barbells scare me so I made sure I got to the gym today at 6am since we’re Snatching – I have to work on it, right?”
We always start with an inspirational quote, right?  Well, here are three – which would you rather be attributed to you?
Life is full of challenges.  Luckily, as CrossFitters we have a great opportunity on a daily basis to practice “leaning in” to these challenges – taking a particularly trying workout or movement head-on, and driving forward with aggressive effort. Then, as more challenges come up, in the gym or more likely in our lives, we are accustomed to taking them on rather than retreating into our safe area and hoping that the problem (our lack of double-unders or a big project at work) just goes away.
In the gym, it’s easy to back away from a challenge – you just don’t show up, or you change the workout to better suit your skillset.  And when you do that, there is no immediate consequence – the problem really does go away.  But think about when you take that approach in your life, a life full of consequences if you choose the path of least resistance.  Don’t want to confront someone that you know is not doing the right thing at work?  The company performance might suffer as a result, affecting your compensation, or worse.  Don’t want to accept responsibility for your poor eating habits and make a change?  Your health and fitness will continue to degrade until you don’t even recognize yourself.
So, what if you make a practice of not backing down from challenges, and use your opportunity with CrossFit to practice leaning in.  When you step up to a physical challenge and fail, which will happen often, you will also learn something – you’ll learn what not to do next time!  And each time the challenge presents itself, you’ll get closer and closer to success.  You’re also practicing perseverance, and cementing that in your brain as a core value.  Then each time a worthwhile challenge pops up, you know what your general reaction is going to be – “I’m going to take this on” – and you can spend your energy figuring out an aggressive plan of action, instead of having an emotional wrestling match with yourself on whether or not you can handle it.
Challenges present themselves all the time, in all aspects of our lives.  Let’s all respond a little more often with “bring it on” rather than “where can I hide”, and learn and grow along the way.
Ryan

The credit for this blog post goes to Coach Liz, who sent along a great episode of Ben Bergeron’s podcast “Chasing Excellence”.  Ben is widely considered the best competitive CrossFit coach in the world, having trained the likes of Chris Spealler, Brooke Wells, Cole Sager, and of course Mat Fraser and Katrin Davidsdottir.  Many of his podcasts deal with the mental and emotional aspects of achieving higher levels of fitness, whether that is in the competitive arena or the rest of us looking to PR our Helen times once in a while.  This particular episode was about the difference between practice, training, and competing in the gym, and why each of these is just as important as the others.
Before I start into why I think this episode was really meaningful to me, and why it should be to you, let me define these three ideas.
Practice is when you take some time in your workout session to work on a skill that you need to develop.  There is no pressure to do it quickly, or under duress.  An example might be doing the Burgener Warm-up with a PVC pipe or empty bar before a snatch workout.  The point of practice is to get a high volume of low-intensity repetitions in, in order to become more technically sound, more efficient, better.
Training ramps up the intensity level.  In our Olympic Lifting class, training is happening when we’re doing sets of snatches at 75-85% of our max, and resting a limited amount between sets.  When you hear “every minute on the minute, do 3 snatches…” that is training.  Nobody is competing with you to do those reps faster than you.  You are focused on getting better by using impeccable technique, and training under fatigue to improve your recovery time.  The purpose of training is to get better FOR TOMORROW.
Competition is when all the chips are on the table.  You have been practicing your skills, and training to improve your fitness level and incorporate your skills into workouts.  Now it’s time to throw down.  One obvious example would be actual competition – for us it’s the CrossFit Open, and the ESAC (next one coming up in October!)  But another example might be our Wednesday benchmark workout.  You know that a running workout might be coming up soon, and running is not your strength.  So you log some extra miles each week outside of class, to prepare and shore up your weaknesses.  And then BAM! – the WOD on Wednesday is a timed one mile run.  Is this training?  Not for you, man – this is competition, and you’re going to push that mile harder than you have before to guarantee a PR.
So, all of these are important, right?  The problem that I get myself into, and I know a bunch of you do too, is spending too much time on one versus the others.
I spend a lot of time in the Competition mindset.  I treat most workouts throughout the week as if the main point is to beat as many people in the gym as possible.  Toward the end of a 20-minute AMRAP, my technique on kipping pull-ups and power cleans start looking like I should probably go through the On-Ramp program again, but I’m OK with that because my result is going to be a better score if I just keep pushing it.  Is that your overarching mindset too?  The issue with competing every day in the gym is that you get burnt out very quickly.  You can’t maintain that level of physical output and strain on your nervous system for very long before your fitness level will actually start decreasing.  The way Ben Bergeron put it cemented this for me: CrossFit Games athletes work out for 4-5 hours a day, increasing their fitness and skill level the whole time.  Then they go to “The Games” and within the first two workouts they start breaking down – they’re fried from the competition, as they should be!  They haven’t been working out constantly at that superhuman level – they spend a lot of time every day in the Practice and Training categories, working to get better for tomorrow – and then Compete once in a while to keep their edge and test themselves with benchmarks that they have set for themselves.
A smaller number of you may find the opposite to be true – you don’t spend enough time, if any, in Competition mode.  You generally hold back a little bit, even on workouts you feel comfortable with.  To use the one mile run example again, maybe you stay home from the gym that day and just jog a mile on your own and consider that workout done.  The issue with adopting that Training mindset at all times, is that you’re missing out on Intensity, and working out with a high level of Intensity is what will create adaptations in your body that build your overall fitness – higher levels of Strength, Work Capacity, and Endurance, depending on the workout.  Once again, we don’t want to live in that Competition world every day so that we can recover well, but once in a while you need to step into the arena and leave it all out there.
What we all need to get a bit better at is setting our intentions for our daily session in the gym.  Is today going to be a Practice Day, a Training Day, or a Competition Day?
For a long time, we have centered our weekly WOD schedule around Wednesday, when we do a benchmark workout.  That seems like a pretty good day to get into that Competition mode!  Show up to the gym with fire in your eyes, warm-up really well with the intention of getting yourself ready to move well and move fast!
Your other days in the gym should focus mostly on Practice and Training.  Practice time is when we’re warming up and work on a new movement, like Rope Climbs.  Practice should center around getting some high-quality reps in, internalize and practice the coaching cues being offered, and improve your often-neglected areas of fitness – Balance, Coordination, Agility, and Accuracy.
Set your intention for most non-benchmark workouts to be in Training mode.  There’s no reason to not move fast during Training and work at a pace that makes you uncomfortable, but where we don’t want to be is prioritizing workout results (time, rounds) over quality of movement.  Take on the personal challenge of using impeccable technique during that couplet of Rowing and Deadlifts, and at least two positives will come out of it.  Your technique will improve over time, giving you more capacity during a benchmark workout where it counts, and your recovery will be easier since you didn’t allow your back to curve over the course of 50 heavy lifts.
My double promise to you is that I am going to take these points on board during my own workouts, consciously setting my intentions appropriately and not Competing more than I Train and Practice.  I will also help you set your intentions as we brief the workouts in class each day, identifying the Practice and Training opportunities that you have, and helping you to get fired up for Competition when it’s time!
Thanks for reading, and if you’re interested in Ben’s podcast that spurred this regurgitation of fitness strategy, check out “Chasing Excellence”, episode #14!

As part of our focus on Nutrition for the past month, we have relied on Laura Tricarico’s expertise to guide our message on what to eat.  Laura also hosted a Q&A that delved into how much to eat for optimal performance in the gym, as well as supplementation for recovery.  Laura has a wealth of knowledge and we are lucky to have her as a member and subject matter expert.
But how did she come across this nutritional wisdom?  We asked her to share her personal journey with food for our blog this week, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  Laura has developed herself into a formidable CrossFit athlete that fuels her body with the right foods at the right time, but it wasn’t always that way.  Please give this a read and join me in thanking Laura for her courage in sharing a very personal story.
I have always been amazed at the power of food on the body, but for many years, I used that power against myself. Thankfully, my health journey included a few pivotal moments that led me to my food freedom today, but that wasn’t always the case.
Like many of us, I grew up during the low-fat craze of the 90s. Villainizing fat, our culture boomed with frankenfoods – my house included. Foods began to be labeled as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. For me, that label carried emotions about how I viewed myself when I ate them. I began to view food as the enemy; on a quest to eat as little as possible to become the smallest I could manage. As you can imagine, this led to a horribly unhealthy obsession around food and how I felt about my body. In my early teens, while I dove into the mantra of ‘move more, eat less’, I began experiencing abnormal digestive issues and intense migraines. Doctors assured my parents my health struggles were due to teenage hormones and I would outgrow it eventually. I assure you, that was not the case.
As my dysfunctional relationship with food grew, so did my career as a competitive athlete. I moved away from recreational sports year-round, to focus my energy solely on softball. I joined a local travel team and began competing around the East Coast. Outside of school, my time was spent at practices, skill clinics, camps, and tournaments. I became intensely focused on playing softball in college at a high level. During my junior year, I had an opportunity to play on a national team, widening my exposure to Division One colleges coaches and move me towards my goal. I spent a year traveling the country with my team and eventually was offered a scholarship for the catcher position at University of North Carolina at Wilmington. What I find fascinating today is that nutrition played such a small role in this incredibly physical journey. Very little information about what to eat for recovery or performance was provided outside of the typical eating guidelines at the time.  
Playing at a high level in college was one of the most physically and emotionally challenging experiences in my life. I discovered how hard I could be pushed on the track, weight room, as well as the field. As a catcher, I was often doing extra conditioning and additional practices outside of the 3-4 hour team practices each afternoon. Our season was hectic; I would often catch 3-5 games a weekend, putting a high demand on my body. Unfortunately, lack of nutrition knowledge continued and I was drastically undereating to avoid getting too ‘bulky’ (as were all my teammates). My teammates and I were constantly dieting or on the treadmill to battle the muscle we needed to play. Looking back, I think it is safe to say that the highly emotional team I was a part of could be boiled down to ‘hangry’ females! I played for three seasons before burning out and choosing to graduate early rather than finish my last season.
Shortly after college and starting my career as a teacher, Tristan and I made plans to move to New York together. I began teaching in Brooklyn while Tristan worked midnight shifts as a fire dispatcher. We were piecing together careers while we built our new life. The many changes and loneliness brought on a depression that I fueled with over exercising and under eating. It was the only part of my life I could control in a world that felt very chaotic and new. I began to obsess over calories and poured over magazines that promised a fitter, smaller body. Slimfast became my main source of nutrition and you would often find me on the treadmill at 4 am before work and taking fitness classes in the evening. Anxiety was at an all-time high, constantly on the verge of falling apart. As you can imagine, my health began to spiral out of control and my digestive issues intensified. I ignored the intensity until my body had enough. Getting ready for work one morning, I blacked out, smashing my face on my apartment floor. That got my attention, but it wasn’t until I started getting dizzy and blacking out from standing up too fast or going up a set of stairs that I knew I needed help. I felt like a prisoner in my own body.
I spent many months searching for answers to why my body was no longer functioning normally. I visited specialists who couldn’t give me answers that could explain why my twenty-two-year-old body was struggling. They simply labeled me as having Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) which is the diagnosis you receive if they can’t explain your symptoms. It was during this time that Celiac Disease became more well known and a diagnosed family member put it on my radar. With nothing to lose and no patience for more tests, I removed gluten from my diet. I saw some improvement; my digestive issues decreased in intensity and my nutrient levels began to return to normal (the cause of my blackouts). Great news, but it didn’t solve the entire problem. I continued to struggle with IBS and became determined to identify the cause of my illness.
The most amazing friend introduced me to Mark Sisson and his blog, Mark’s Daily Apple, where I first learned about the primal diet. I read everything I could get my hands on. I started implementing some additional dietary changes and seeing improvements (mostly due to removing processed foods from my diet). I was moving in the right direction. Mark’s Daily Apple let me to Whole30 where I continued to learn about the importance of whole food, but now started to see the connection between mind and body. I took my whole food, primal diet and removed additional potential allergens based on the Whole30 protocol and saw my IBS disappear within the month. My horrible relationship with food started to heal as well. I no longer saw food as the enemy, but as a healing factor. It felt amazingly powerful to take control of my health without medication; however, I was still viewing food as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ while following the guidelines of Whole30. There was still more work for me to do to find my food freedom.
During this time, Tristan urged me to try CrossFit (he may have been trying for about a year). I was immediately hooked to the intensity of the program (but please don’t tell him he was right), but also loved the feeling of pushing my physical limits. It wasn’t until I started CrossFit that I figured out I had been missing this intensity since ending my athletic career and was the reason I tended to over exercise. CrossFit gave me an outlet for my competitive nature but gave me parameters to keep the competition healthy for me. It was also the first time as an adult where I was surrounded by people who made their health a priority. Like myself, I saw people in the gym conquer major health issues and I wanted to know more. I understood food was a powerful tool, but I wanted to know why. I didn’t understand body mechanics or systems so I enrolled in a nutrition certification program to fill in those gaps. The program changed what I knew to be true about nutrition (yet again) and gave me a set of skills to not only improve my own health, but the health of my family and friends.
During my year-long study program, I started to see that my low-carb Paleo diet was not supporting my performance in the gym. What was I missing? I ate whole foods when I was hungry and stopped when I was full. Turns out there is more to performance nutrition than that. Quantity does matter, and muscles need more than what I was giving them before and after intense activity. Its now clear to see that my low-calorie starvation diet broke my internal knowledge of what my body needed to thrive; I couldn’t rely on intuition as humans were designed to do. I began to learn about macro tracking and my individual fueling needs. All my performance and aesthetic goals became possible for the first time; my quest for smallness stopped. My size and weight were no longer my sole sources of validation and worth. I wanted to see what my body was capable of. I know tracking isn’t for everyone, but for me it helped me find the food freedom I desperately needed.
Between CrossFit and macro tracking, I was armed with ways to quantify my progress. Looking at food as fuel for my performance healed my relationship with food, giving back energy and brain space I was wasting on my preoccupation with food. The journey will constantly evolve as my goals change, but I now have the foundation to build. As dramatic as parts of it felt, I am extremely grateful for this emotional journey. I am now armed with the tools to teach my children the power of real food while also showing them the strength and power the body is capable of when fueled properly. The potential is endless.

“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison.”
We all know that nutrition is important; there’s no way to take your health and fitness seriously and not have at least considered your nutritional intake to be a part of all that.  But many of us prioritize the physical training piece first, and finally backtrack to nutrition when we feel that we’re in a rut, no longer PR’ing every lift and taking minutes off of our Fran time.  Whether that’s where you currently are, or if you’re just beginning your fitness journey, or maybe even you’ve already addressed your nutrition plan, now is a great time to take a look (or re-look!) at what you’re putting in your belly.  Last week we shared an article from CrossFit on the benefits and specifics around tracking your food.  Hopefully you’ve given that a shot, and from that have a basic idea of what you’ve been eating, and how much, on an average day.  As we go through the next month, we’ll start getting a bit more specific on how to make improvements in your nutritional plan, beginning this time with what you should be eating for optimal health.
The CrossFit nutritional prescription is to eat “meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, a little starch, and no sugar.”  That’s pretty simple, which is great because the more complicated a plan is, the more you have to think about it, the harder it gets.  That’s not to say though that this is easy to follow, especially with all the food choices we have out there.  This is also not easy to start following if your current diet description would look very different than this, such as “bread and meat, sugar and dairy, a little fruit and no vegetables”.  If you do see big gaps in your nutrition vs. the CrossFit model, let’s look at how you can start making small changes.
Starting from the end, there is a call for “NO SUGAR”.  You could kind of see that coming, right?  Sugar is not good for your overall health in that unless it is used quickly for energy, it is stored as excess bodyfat.  It is also addictive, and food marketers understand that and make it very appealing on top of that, to us and our kids.  Try to get your kids to switch from Lucky Charms to regular Cheerios and you’ll see the consequences of that addictive pull.  So, the majority of the time, we should be choosing foods that do not contain any sugar.  The best way to do that is to not eat processed foods, and instead concentrate on whole foods like…
MEAT and VEGETABLES.  These should be the basis of every meal.  For breakfast, you can lump eggs into the meat category.  And yes, you can and should eat veggies for breakfast.  Saute some spinach with garlic and put that on the side of your scrambled eggs and bacon!  For lunch, have a big salad with some chicken and avocado on top.  For dinner, grill some fish (seafood would be considered “meat” in this simplified plan) and zucchini side by side.  Eat a sensible amount of protein with every meal (a rule of thumb for meat is about the size of your fist), and eat as many veggies as you want.  Use healthy oils (olive, coconut) to cook with and add some fat which will help keep you feeling full.
NUTS and SEEDS.  These healthy fat sources are also great options to add to a meal, or have as a snack if you feel you need more calories in your diet.  Dietary fat has the largest calorie-to-gram of food ratio at 9:1, so while there is no restrictive word in front of this group like “some” or “little”, it’s best to keep your intake here to small quantities at a time so that you don’t accidentally overeat here.  Denee would tell you that I am basically writing to myself on this one.
SOME FRUIT.  Fruit is healthy – it has amazing nutrients and vitamins that we need to thrive.  But it is also very high in sugar… it tastes sweet, right?  That’s fructose, which is just another type of sugar and is treated by your digestive system the same way.  So, eat fruit, but not too much, OK?
LITTLE STARCH.  Potatoes, sweet potatoes and rice are whole foods that are healthy, and great energy sources for working out.  If you’re not working out, don’t eat very much of these, because they are also very energy-dense and will be stored as fat just like sugar if not readily used.  We use starches in our diet at the Wolf house primarily in the two meals after a workout (for me that would be lunch and dinner), to refuel your muscles and general energy levels.  But base your diet on starches and you’ll find your blood sugar climbing after the meal and then dropping, leaving you feeling lethargic and wanting more food.  That’s a good way to get on the overeating train.  Pay attention also to how grains make you feel (bread, pasta, etc).  Grains are a good source of energy when you need it but also cause gut inflammation with many people due to the gluten they contain, and thus they are excluded from many modern nutrition plans.
Well there you have it – now don’t stray from this at all or else it won’t work.  Yeah, right.  We’re all human, and all enjoy “sometimes foods” as we tell our kids.  The key is to make the right decision MOST of the time.  Don’t let a Friday night of pizza and beer derail your whole weekend – the next time you eat is another opportunity to get good food in your belly and cement your nutritional habits.  One more great thing about joining a CrossFit gym is that all of your friends from the box are also very nutritionally conscious, so hanging out with them doesn’t have to mean eating badly!
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for some more great nutritional info coming your way soon!
Ryan

Sorry for the tardiness this week on getting a blog out into the blogosphere, but can’t wait for you guys to read another great contribution from Coach Jason.  Jason has a great way of succinctly wrapping our collective heads around an important thought, which this time is “how does what I just did compare to what I SHOULD be able to do?”  Enjoy.
=========================================

“There’s no normal life, Wyatt.  It’s just life.  Get on with it.”
— Doc Holliday, Tombstone

I was recently talking to CFKI member, Matt Smith, about one of the workouts from a few days prior and he expressed his dismay with the notes section in Wodify.  I responded by saying some people want to track their sets and such.  Matt expounded to explain he didn’t understand the point of writing, “not my best day” or “didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”  Because after all, your score that day is just your score that day.  Well, Matt’s right. 

Do you ever find yourself getting caught up in what you used to be able to do?  Or maybe fantasizing about what you might one day do?  If you think about it, there’s really no point because neither of those things matter to who you are right now at this moment.  Sure it can be fun to reminisce but you can’t allow these things to overwhelm your current mindset.  This isn’t the easiest thing to do.  Knowing that you used to be able to squat 400+ pounds or function at work with 3 hours of sleep can become a self-defeating train of thought.  Getting a new PR every time you pick up a weight or run a mile just can’t happen.  Over time, those things become a rarity but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t celebrate what you just accomplished. 

The same mindset goes for goals in the future.  If you want to deadlift 2x your bodyweight and you currently lift half your weight, you’re not going to walk in the gym one day feeling super strong and lift some magical weight.  You have to focus on the 5 sets of 3 at 85+% programmed today.  The same thing goes for outside the gym.  You can’t get overly focused on the vacation next month or you’ll drive right by one of the gorgeous sunsets we’ve been experiencing almost daily lately. 

We all want to see progress but yesterday is still yesterday.  All we can do is set ourselves up for success by making the right decisions with our nutrition, sleep, mobility and exercise leading into each new day.  Not to get too colloquial, but today is a brand new day.  Next time you find yourself saying or thinking, “Normally I can do…,” remind yourself that the only normal is right now.

“Now this is the Law of the Jungle, as old and as true as the sky.
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the Law runneth forward and back.
For the Strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the Strength of the Wolf is the Pack.”
– Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book
As our monthly theme in June is FUN, I was thinking about what makes all this so much fun in the first place.  As I mentioned before, it’s not the promise of 45 thrusters in Fran that keeps people coming back day after day, and it sure as hell isn’t the air conditioning.  It’s the people… it’s being a Wolf in the Pack.
Being a part of a Pack, or a Tribe or Team, whatever you want to label it, is a lot of fun, and it also does provide us all individually with a lot of Strength.  Strength to try things — like climbing ropes — that you might not have otherwise, which of course leads to actual increases in physical strength.  Maybe out of this strong, positively charged attitude, you even find the Strength to take on other challenges in your life, have difficult conversations with people, or move past a difficult rut you’ve been stuck in.  I feel like this Strength is a real, tangible thing that we all gain from being part of the Pack.
Being part of the Pack also means that you have to be Strong FOR THE PACK.  You have a Responsibility to the Pack, to uphold your end of the bargain.  Be strong for others when they need you.  Give your teammates some tough love when they are doing foolish things that will hurt them, and thus the Pack.  Give your absolute best in every training session, in order to motivate the Pack to keep up with you.
Something that has naturally happened without any specific direction from myself or our coaches that I love about this CrossFit Kent Island Pack is our practice of cleaning up after a workout.  Every time we have a barbell workout, I see people stripping their weights off of their bar, and then immediately helping others that are still cleaning up their gear.  That is an amazing display of Responsibility to the Pack, borne of the respect that we all have for one another.  I have seen many others also taking the next step in cleaning up their corner of the gym that they turned into a sweat-and-chalk explosion worthy of a forensic expert, which is a huge sign of respect for the next class coming in right behind them.
So my man Rudyard had it right more than 100 years ago (The Jungle Book was written in 1894!), and why wouldn’t he?  These themes go back to when animals first grouped together.  They made Herds, Schools, Ganders, Flights, and Packs.  They came together because they knew that they were stronger as a group – the Strength of the Wolf is the Pack.  You can rely on your teammates for support.  But then they learned, as we learn, that indeed the Strength of the Pack is the Wolf.  Don’t let your teammates down.  Be Strong for the Pack.
Ryan
 
 

“The goal is to get fit, make it the best hour of your day, stay safe, turn up the music, high five some people, and blow off some steam.  So remember that.  Relax.  Have fun.  Work out.”
 – Pat Sherwood
I love Pat Sherwood’s attitude toward CrossFit and really life in general — it’s not a big deal, let’s try to have some fun.  If you don’t know Pat, he is one of the main commentators of the CrossFit Games, a former CrossFit seminar staff member (the guys that teach the rest of us how to be good trainers), and a former Navy SEAL.  He posts some pretty interesting and intense workouts for his daily Instagram followers under the name CrossFit Linchpin.  He also posts once in a while about a monster ice cream sundae that he’s about to devour.  It’s about balance, and remembering that what we’re doing here is not life or death.  It’s supposed to be fun.
May’s Hero Month and the 12-hour Heroes Challenge that followed it were intense, for sure, and had a sense of seriousness about them.  And for good reason – we were constantly reminding ourselves of service members and first responders who had made the ultimate sacrifice, and then completing some grueling workouts to remember them by.  That amped-up importance of the workouts on a regular basis gave a special feeling to the month of May, and we’ll repeat that again next May because it worked out so well.  The performance results were amazing and the level of participation was unreal.
In June, it’s time to back off the seriousness as a general theme, and remember why we really get together in the gym.  Of course, our collective goal is to get more fit, and we’re accomplishing that every time we put everything we have into a workout.  But what keeps you coming back?  Is it the love of thrusters, or the feeling that maybe Claire is going to bring an A-game joke to class?  Is it because you’re hoping to rip your hands doing too many pull-ups, or because you can’t wait to shoot the shit with your 10am buddies?
At the end of the day, what we’re doing is not competing with each other, although the innate competitiveness of CrossFit athletes is what makes us fitter than anyone else around.  What we’re doing is continually proving to ourselves that we belong to this amazing community that we’ve developed.  And during the workout, but especially before and after, we’re having a hell of a lot of fun.