Stoke the Fire

Well it has been an eventful week. I visited the 2013 Crossfit SouthCentral Regionals this past weekend, which is always inspiring.

For those of your that have not been before, I recommend you check it out at least once. I have never gone and come away without some sort of new drive or inspiration to get better at this sport. Inspiration is key to getting better at anything. It doesn't always find you, sometimes you have to seek it. I encourage everyone that reads my posts to find inspiration each day for something.. Be it your job, your family, or Crossfit....find inspiration and keep the fire alive because fires die out, unless you stoke them!

I often find myself questioning whether or not I take the sport of Crossfit too seriously. I put a lot of time and effort into learning new information, sharing it, and living it. I was recently told by someone that they respected me because I practiced what I preached. That was one of the greatest compliments I have received in a long time because I strive everyday to do just that. It is hard to teach that which you don't practice, and of course actions speak louder than words. I feel as though sometimes we all get caught up too much in learning, and skip the whole practicing part. And I am no different...I put the cart before the horse often times, but I am getting better. I used to preach the importance of nutrition, and eat poorly....I used to yell the words "knees out" to others while lifting, and buckle mine when under a heavy squat... I can recognize my faults...and I have began correcting them. I have found myself tightening up my nutrition regimen, I have gone down in weights and put a strong focus on form, and of course I seek my inspiration each and every day. I find it hard to wait for it.

Memorial Day was an inspiring day for me. As with every year since I began Crossfit, I took on the Hero WOD MURPH:
1 Mile Run, 100 pullups, 200 Pushups, 300 Squats, 1 Mile run
I opted for the 20 lb vest this time, and it was an experience....almost spiritual. I pushed my body to a great deal of fatigue to the tune of 54 min and 08 seconds. I know what this workout represents, and I am not about to try to put it into words in this post....But what I saw on that day was a group of individuals, some from our gym, some from others, come together to embrace this day and do something that they never believed that they could do. They took on this workout with determination and fought until the very end. For some, a month ago, asking them to run a 400 was a chore, and yet today the 400 is a cool down.
I guess you can find inspiration in a lot of different arenas, from Crossfit Regionals, to my box on Memorial Day, or any other day for that matter, you can find a spark, and if you stoke it just right it will be come a roaring fire. Go out today and find it.

No supplement will replace diet

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. I added a moderate Protein Weight Gainer, that has a low amount of sugar, and a decent amount of carbs and 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. 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.

The dreaded funk...and I am not talking about your Reeboks

It happens over and over again, it can last for a week, it can last for a couple of days, but everyone will miss their visit with the motivation fairy. I can't explain it, and it angers me each time it happens, but I go through phases where I am just not into it...not into the workout, tired, don't feel like going, etc. What is the deal?...I am taking rest days, eating right, why all of the sudden is my mojo gone?
   Well, I don't have an answer for you, plain and simple. What I do know, is that this happens every now and then, it comes and goes, and can be attributed to any number of factors that go into your daily routine. You can only control so much...remember that. The key to succeeding is finding your way around the road bocks, managing the wrenches that get thrown into your routine. ("If you can dodge a wrench...you can dodge a ball".......anyone? anyone?) What I have found is that, for me, staying in my routine gets me through it. I keep coming, keep taking my normal rest days, but I have found that by doing this, "the funk" goes by much quicker. Being around the excitement of others in the gym is intoxicating, and contagious. I find ways of motivating myself. I set new goals. I achieve them, and thus the cycle begins again. I accept that not every day is going to be exciting, you have to enjoy some cloudy days to really appreciate the sunny ones. Don't let your funk be the catalyst that causes you to "take some time off" for a month. Try to listen to your body and realize when you need the rest, or when the old you is protesting, that this whole working out thing is too difficult.
And speaking of funks, summer is here...I wash my shoes in the washing machine about once every two weeks....it helps.....
MAKE this week a good week.

Nutrition Focus - Identify your vice.

Crossfit and Nutrition go hand in hand, you will find that out soon enough, if you haven't already. Your diet plays such a large role in how you perform in the gym, how you feel during the day, your level of energy.....your entire well being hinges upon what you put into your body. I see a lot of people take what I call the "balls to the wall" approach to their dieting when first being introduced to Crossfit. They hear about Paleo, decide to give it a try, and empty out their pantry of all things sweet and unhealthy, and replace it with expensive grass fed beef, and organic vegtables from Whole Foods. The entire makeup of their diet went from a Quarter pounder with cheese and a Coke each day, to spinach smoothies, lettuce wrapped burgers, almonds, and salmon at the drop of a hat. No more cereal, no more bread,......no more happiness. It is really hard to take a cold turkey approach to your dieting. More often than not, you will embark on that journey with full steam for the first couple of days, but when the fatigue sets in....the headaches....the cravings......thats when it starts to go down hill. You revert back to your old ways, the organic beets have gone bad before you had a chance to grimace at their "fresh" taste..and you are forced to start over again.
 I have been down this road, and have found that the strategy that worked for me went a little like this:
I knew that Paleo was the ultimate goal. I was around a lot of people that ate this way, and their results were nothing short of outstanding. So, with my goal set, I began to develop a road map to get there. Smart planning, realistic planning. I knew that to make this work, I would need to develop habits that were hard to break, thus I would have to start eliminating vices....Now when I say eliminate, I mean it...not quit cold turkey, but slowly decrease my consumption, until they are gone...
For example: My top vices were
Bread: I ate a ton of it without thinking..Tons of rolls, toast, sandwiches, pastries, donuts... you name it, I loved it, and ate it regularly.
Cokes: as I said before, I drank a lot of them. I would say at least 2-3 a day.
Fast food: I travel for work and with three kids, the convenience of fast food was just too great.
Alcohol: Its poison, plain and simple, I still will enjoy the occaisional cocktail every once in a while, but limiting has been one of the best decisions of my life.

Now that I knew my problem areas, I began to decrease my consumption of each. Cokes were limited to 1 a day for the first week, and then one every other day the following week, and so on.
Sandwiches were eaten with only one piece of bread...cut the one piece in half and stack that meat and veggies high! Hamburgers were eaten without a bun at all. (It really isn't bad at all....wrap it in lettuce, or just eat it with a knife and fork.
Fast food, was limited to "better choices" when I visited these carb factories. Chili from Wendy's was pretty decent....Chic Fil A has grilled chicken sandwiches and strips that are really good....Taco Cabana has some killer Street Tacos........Dairy Queen.....well dairy queen still sucks. (THAT'S WHAT I LIKE ABOUT TEXAS)
 The point is, you have to start somewhere. I followed these habits for a month and kept progressing, eliminating more and more, until Paleo seemed pretty easy. I took the time to read and listen to people about their nutrition. Luckily my wife was just as excited as I was. Having a spouse to join you on this journey will make it 1000 times easier and more enjoyable.
Focus and learn about eating right. I am going to tell you right now, these weight loss drinks, get slim quick schemes will not work. You might see quick results but you will gain it back. Make the decision to make a permanent change. If you want to try one of the 24 day challenge cleanses do it.....but don't be the guy that does it 3 -5 times a year. Use something like that as a jump start to your nutrition focus, not a routine.
More to come! But, if you are new to dieting and nutrition, focus on the above. One of the biggest obstacles I had was to process all of the information at once, trust me, there is alot of information out there for you to read. Crawl before you walk! Don't get overwhelmed, take it slow if you have to, but progress EACH DAY!