A note on Supplements

I don’t like to beat a dead horse when it comes to talking about nutrition. First off, I am not a nutritionist. I have a moderate idea of what is good to put into my body, and what to avoid. I have tried different things, and listened to a variety of different people and have modified my diet to follow a primarily Paleo principle. I eat lean meats, vegetables, and nuts, I avoid gluten etc…I realized quickly that the lack of carbohydrates did not provide me with the energy to push through the day, so I added some carbs to my diet, aside from the veggies. Inam currently taking Pro 7 whey protein from Nutrishop… that has a 0 sugar, and 2 g carbs and 34 g protein. I want to build muscle, and have found this to be the best thing for me. I also take BCAA powder with plenty of glutamine, that assists with decreasing muscle fatigue, speeding up recovery and lean muscle building. SFH brand Fish Oil and Multi Vitamins round out my daily routine. Now is this the best combination a person can take into their body? I am not sure..but it works for me, I notice results, and I have never felt better. I see little to no negative effects, so I stick with that until something changes my mind. I see the ads for the expensive supplements, mainly protein, and so far, my opinion on this is as follows: I began Crossfit three years ago, upon joining I saw people consuming a drink out of a shaker immediately following their workout. I inquired what this elixir was, and found out about the benefits of taking protein supplements. I ventured to my local supplement store and was quickly sold on “their best protein ever” a whopping $70. Surely this would get me jacked in no time. Guess what….no dice. I felt better after workouts, that goes without question. The benefit of taking protein immediately following a workout is proven, and I stick by it. But $70?? Do I need this high grade supplement for what I am doing? I found out soon enough that there are different qualities of protein, that is for sure, but I am not training for the Olympics. I just need to get something in my body so that it does not feed on my muscle after a workout. I see so many people put so much thought into buying the expensive protein. ” Oh I would never buy that cheap stuff…not for my body”, yet these are the same people that will throw down a case of beer on the weekend, the same people that eat fast food here and there. That one cheeseburger you had at Mcdonalds or 32oz Dos Equis, as a “cheat day” is worse for you than consuming an entire 4 lb container of that “cheap protein”. Keep that in mind. There is no need to put race fuel in a 2006 Toyota Camry that you won’t even change the oil on. I feel as though people look at supplements as an easy road, a magic pill or powder that will make everything easier….and they might for a little while…….but I am not happy with a little while. My point is, diet is paramount before anything. Focus on eating right, once you have that down, then look to higher quality supplements. Take your vitamins, take your fish oil, and get some sun every now and then. And as always reggae is good for your soul, listen to it., and spread good vibes

Nutrition and Weed

Got your attention didn’t it? Good, let’s talk about food. The new year is here and plenty of you are looking for a change, the most common is a change in diet. I talk a lot about food and nutrition in my daily life and always look for new ideas and information. My diet is, in a nutshell: paleo plus rice and potatoes, I still enjoy a pizza every now and then, I’m not strict, I just chose wisely. Here is a tip for making that nutrition change: Think about your yard, we all get weeds, ….they grow in spots here and there. I have typically been the guy that fires up the mower and blazes them down. Over time though, a weed pops up, then another, then another, soon you are again over run, you need a quick fix so you fire up the mower and blast them again. The problem with this??? You are not trying to get rid of the problem. All you are doing is covering it up for a bit. Look at your pantry. Acting on that New Years resolution, you probably cleared out that pantry, replaced it with organic items, and the like…looks pretty doesn’t it!! You’re fired up! But what did you do really? All you did was take that lawnmower to your pantry, and cleaned it up. But soon, you have a bad week, so some soda ends up in there….no worries it’s just one weed. Then some powdered sugar donuts!! Hey nobody can judge you…you’re under a lot of stress! It’s just two weeds……. You see how this goes. Next thing you know….boom a pantry full of weeds that you now have to completely blast with that mower…..back to the trash can with the junk, and to the store for more quinoa! We have to start looking at developing habits! We need to take the time to pull these weeds up from the roots, so they don’t grow back!! Try a different approach, find your main vices in your diet and begin limiting them slowly but steadily. It’s time to develop habits! Cold turkey is not the best approach for most. Understand that first and you will have a great foundation for this awesome undertaking! Now I know you thought this blog was going to talk about something else, and I’m sorry if I disappointed you. Greens are a gift from God, natural, from the ground and healthy as far as I am concerned, And they are good for your mind, body and soul…..I just chose most of mine to be from kale…. As always take your fish oil, listen to some reggae and have an awesome day.

The program

The Program

I sometimes feel as though I stroll through life, guilty of going through the motions each and every day. I get too comfortable with being comfortable. It seems without fail, my mind and body, decide that something has to change. It is as if the universe decides to take control and force a few moments of clarity, which spark a change.  I notice that when this happens, I get a rush of motivation, a passion for living life comes back. I feel like for the most part, all of us start projects, diets, jobs, with the best of intentions. The ultimate goal-- happiness.(And you can say, that your ultimate goal is some sort of body image, some amount of wealth, some sort of status…..but deep down, to you, this represents happiness.) Somewhere along the way, however, our road comes to an intersection. Our mind becomes clouded with the trappings of pleasing others, making subtle changes to our plan until our destination is no longer the same. Why do we have this habit of conforming to what people tell us we need, or how we should look, how we should raise our kids, what we should put into our bodies?

Well, I will tell you…. To learn….and that is it. It’s up to you to sift through the bullshit and find the knowledge bombs that will go off in your mind, that will spark this change, or add fuel to your fire of motivation. Listening to people’s journeys or information regarding subjects can be very valuable, however if what they are telling you is in no way helping you get to your destination, guess what, don’t follow that road.  Being in the gym, I get approached with a ton of questions ranging from workout programs, to diet, etc. I try to approach all of my answers in the following way:

Diet:

Here are some basics for eating, try to eat unprocessed foods, if it has a super long shelf life, its probably not good for you. If it grows in the ground or you can hunt it, you can probably eat it, and be healthy.  Try to avoid sugar as much as possible. Enjoy food, it’s awesome. Absolutely put zero stock into get slim quick schemes, if it promises you weight loss or amazing results and doesn’t mention exercise or physical activity, Its downright bad for you.

Working out:

Do something. Crossfit, Run, bodybuilding, it doesn’t matter. Find something that makes you happy. Once you find what you like, realize, that the longer you stay in this sport/routine, the more advice or ideals you will be given. People will go from offering advice to outright bashing your current program and offering a completely different one.  Take peoples advice in the following way: Are they offering help, or are they just trying to validate their current workout regimen? Is their body an accurate representation of what you want? If not, why follow what they are doing? And most importantly be happy.

I have fallen victim to that last statement very recently. Leslie and I began following a program, that was designed to produce amazing athletes, it was well rounded, and covered the bases with regard to strength and cardio. As I followed it, the workouts became too much. We were working out twice a day at least 3 times  a week, and taking maybe one rest day. It was working, I was getting results…..but that moment of clarity hit me….in the form of a statement from my wife……..”Brandon” she said, “ This just isn’t fun”……….Such a simple statement struck me like a lightning bolt. It wasn’t fun……it became a task, and ultimately led me astray from my path to happiness……

I have begun to get back to my roots with regard to Crossfit, and I couldn’t be happier. I enjoy coming to the gym, and making something up on a whim…….”You guys want to run??  Good,lets do some 400’s and throw in come cleans…haven’t done those in a while”……Its as simple as that. I use things like social media to say to myself….”look at that workout that girl did…..I wonder if I can do that?” and thus is the workout for tomorrow. I pick odd times to workout, like my 4:30 am bro sessions with Coach Chuck….”Let’s see if we can do 3 Backsquats at 90% of our 1 rm every minute for ten minutes…..”  Just the other day, a tree fell down in Chucks yard, and the first thing he thought was, "I wonder if we can do Grace with that"…….The point is, it has begun to be fun again. I have abandoned following what everyone tells me I should do. I still am constantly seeking knowledge and learning from others, but I have found my own program, and the advice that I take is that which will lead me to my final destination…..where-ever that may be.

Train your brain

I think alot of us tend to focus on the physical demands of Crossfit, and give little, to no respect to the mental. Such blatant disregard to training our brain in unison with our body is a mistake that will break you. Every action that we perform begins with the brain...it's our hardrive, that without, we would be helpless. And much like a hardrive, if you don't take care of it, it will develop a virus, and it will crash. I consider myself an analytical person, I like to understand the mechanics of moving, why we do the things we do, how can I break down a movement to its simplest form and understand the basics before taking on the whole. By doing this, it allows me to avoid getting overwhelmed by the complexity of things. I have come to realize that there are cues that coaches tend to give that will cause our brain to spark, to cause things to start to fall into place. "Open those hips" , "Keep the core tight", "Push that head through", "Tight Back"...you hear them all of the time, but do you really hear them? Do they mean anything to you? Ask yourself this, because the cues don't work for everyone. In my quest for my first muscle up, I was constantly given the following cue...."Its like a chest to bar, followed by a huge, strong, fast, situp." Sounds simple enough, right? Maybe for some, but it never clicked. It wasn't until I broke down the movement to a kipping pullup, followed by a box jump movement with the knees, that I finally got it. Now, that previous sentence might not have made any sense to you whatsoever, but it clicked for me, almost immediately. So what I am getting at is, if a movement is not making sense to you, take a step back. Break it down to its basic componenents, and work on those individual components. Understand why you have to open your hips on the snatch, or why we keep our core tight on the strict press. If a cue does not make sense, ask for another one. Our brains function in different ways, want a different cue?....take the time seek one. The path from point A to point B can be a windy road, or a straight shot. Sometimes it is not always about the heavily traveled route, it is about taking the route that gets YOU there.

Post Games Path of Motivation

I, like many of you was glued to my T.V. this whole weekend, leaderboarding, analyzing, and cheering on the competitors at the Crossfit Games. It was a really exciting year, from the open, to regionals, to the games, a road that I followed more closely than I have in the past. I familiarized myself with a lot of these competitors, understood their training regimen, their background, hell, I even worked out alongside one of the competitors this past year. I can tell you that this is both motivating and defeating at the same time. I came to realize very quickly that 90% of these people aren't just a group of guys or girls that decided one day in their late 20's - 30's to give Crossfit a shot. These are not the people whose last workout was in the High School weight room. These are former Division 1 athletes, Navy Seals, Olympic lifters, Gymnasts...It kind of makes that little glimmer of hope that "maybe I could do that one day" get a little dimmer. And I am not saying that me or anyone I know can have a chance to make it to the Crossfit Games one day, but I know that with the end of the Games comes a lot of new motivation. Motivation can be awesome, and sometimes dangerous. I come away each year after watching the Crossfit Games with a new spark, new goals, etc. This is a great feeling. But, often times I see those that come away with the attitiude of flipping their life around 180 on Monday. Their diet is 100% strict, their training regimen is 6 days a week....and this feverish pace will lead to nothing but dissapoinment, and injury. Now obviously, this blog post is not for everyone. There are some of you reading this that just like to get a good workout, and I can't stress enough how great that is. But for those of you that take Crossfit a little more seriously, let me lend you a little advice. If you were one of the people on the edge of your seat after each Games workout, saying "I want to do that one" or if you were the person, that said "I can't wait til Monday" this is for you.....Keep that spark alive, if you use it correctly, it can lead to great things, but focus on the goal, and understand the looooooong path to get there. You want to train to go to the Games one day? Great, but put it into perspective, watch a video titled "a day in the life of Rich Froning", it is quite eye opening. His job is to workout, he does it 5 times a day.......everyday...he doesn't complain about wall balls, he doesn't skip stretching, he works on weaknesses, he doesn't look in advance at the wod to decide if he is coming. What I am getting at is this, use your Games motivation as a way to eat a little better, use it to learn more about Crossfit, to understand the mechanics of the movements, use it as a way to come on the day that you normally would have skipped, use it as a way to swallow your pride, go down in weight and focus on your form, use it as a way to develop habits, identify and work on weaknesses. I am using it for all of these as well as a way to motiviate me to do better in the Open next year, as well as a big change that is to come. We will see where it goes from there, but I am starting today with new motivation, and I will make sure to use it wisely.

SUNday

As a crossfitter, my fitness regime revolves around the box. Kettlebells, olympic lifts, rowing machines, pullups, etc. One Sunday morning, recently, I began my drive to the gym, a drive I make each and everyday, 7 days a week. Just as I was pulling up to the front doors, I realized, I didn't want to be there. Now don't get me wrong, there are plenty of days I am not feeling like working out, but this was different. On this particular day I didn't want the box that I was so comfortable working out in. I was craving a new landscape, no clocks, no chalk. I called an audible that day, and we ventured to the Barton GreenBelt for some hiking. It felt great to break out of the monotony of our routine. The following Sunday, I did the same....same feeling, new landscape. Stand up Paddle boarding it was.. A beautiful day on Town Lake, Sun, and the Austin skyline made for a wonderful afternoon. I think I might continue this little trend each weekend. Ill take a SUNday if you will....see what I did there.....I encourage you to find time for your own SUNday. It can be as simple as traveling to a neighboring town, parking your car, and running. No direction in particular just explore. I traveled to New Orleans this past week and did exactly that. My wife and I woke up early one morning and ran along the Mississippi River and the sprawling cityscape that made for a great 2 hour adventure. We have access to a beautiful city a mere 30 minutes away filled with tons of things to do that keep you active, and give you new experiences that can be the catalyst for new inspiration, new drive! It's good to switch up the routine, it is sort of a reset button that needs to be pushed every now and then. There is a lot of life out there to taste!

The Freedom of the Ground to Overhead

So I am on the road again today. Flew into Tulsa, drove to Northwest Arkansas, hit an awesome box - Crossfit NWA, worked, coffee, food, slept, drove to Wichita, hit another awesome box - Crossfit Wichita, worked, and now I am sitting in my hotel, cheap hotel coffee brewing. The humming of the air conditioner, and the otherwise silent room allowed me some time to think. At the workout this afternoon I had an epiphany. The workout was as follows:
Every Minute on the Minute:
1 ground to overhead @ 155
2 40inch box jumps
3 strict pullups
This workout included a bunch of other things like a Front Squat Strength wod, and a few other small things, but my focus was on the Ground to overheads. As the trainer was reviewing the workout, he mentioned the various ways of going about the Ground to overhead movement, being the obvious clean and jerk, or push press, as well as snatch, and squat clean thruster. Without hesitation, I blew off the last two..Who in the hell is going to do that? I went through the workout, push jerking each time..finishing with plenty of time to spare. Plenty of time to see several people with 115, and 135 loaded on the bar....guys that could easily clean and jerk the 155....the type of guys that show up to the box shirtless....you know what I am talking about. These guys for whatever reason decided that their snatch needed some work, so they worked on it. They didn't care that the RX wasn't going to be written next to their name, rather they identified an opportunity to work on a weakness, which is what the "ground to overhead" movement allows you to do. I feel as though alot of times we are more concerned with efficiency and times, rather than what we originally joined this box to do...work on weakness. So the next time you see Ground to Overhead in a workout, look at it as an opportunity, an opportunity to work on the various ways to transfer that weight from one location to another.
Now a quick caveat to that.....Ground to overhead, affords us the luxury of choice, choosing to alter a workout on your own is something that I don't recommend. The workouts are written a certain way for a reason. Scaling is important if needed, however altering a movement on your own ,easier or more difficult ,without the approval of a trainer is not your call. Remember that you joined your box.., and this is a Crossfit box. We do burpees together, we row together, we run together. You're injured, let your trainer know, they will find an alternative for you. Try to keep in mind that "I don't feel like doing that today" is a dangerous declaration. I have seen instances where burpees are met with "Nope, not today" not for any reason in particular, just because the person doesn't feel like doing the movement. Well,  guess what, this isn't Anytime Fitness, this isn't Golds Gym.  Picking and choosing is not what we do. A lot of thought is put into programming workouts, deciding one day that you don't want to partake is perfectly fine, but opting out of a portion of today's programming will lead to opting out more and more. You pay alot for Crossfit, and the reason it is so expensive is the amount of time and effort that the trainers put into it everyday. The care, attention, community, and programming are what makes it work. You trust in it, it's not going to fail you.