Performance CrossFit with a [...]]]> This week you should be seeing some random pieces of paper hanging on the gym walls.  Closer inspection should reveal that these pieces of paper are food journals.  The competitive crossfitters at CrossFit Works will be hanging their food journals.  Why would they do this you might ask?

Performance CrossFit with a little partner workout

A few really good reasons.

There is a tendency to focus on the work that happens in the gym and how it contributes to performance.  We want to know how many times a week someone trains, do they do two-a-days, what is their squat program etc…  I receive a boatload of questions about certain people’s training.  Including things as crazy as “what kind of ab work could get me abs like so-and-so’s?”.  Someone needs to start asking me what these athletes are eating!!!

It is important to me that all the people in the gym realize that food is the foundation for your body composition and your performance.  It is also important to realize that there isn’t one magic answer to what to eat.  What you should see on these food journals is a fairly wide spectrum in eating styles and amounts.  You might be able to look at some of them and see that there are changes to be made that would help, but you also will want to remember that someone whose goal is to add 10lbs of muscle will eat in a VERY different way from someone whose goal is to cut 8lbs of body fat.  Right now we have athletes preparing to compete in Olympic Lifting who will have to make particular weight classes.  This is certainly not the easiest thing they have ever done.  It means a major focus on food!  Ironically, if your goals are simply to feel better and stay healthy, your major focus should also be on food!

I beg you all to keep a food journal.  It is something that should be done on a regular basis if you really are interested in the connection between your food and your health and especially between your food and your performance.  So, along with all the glamor and fame of competing at CrossFit, the competitive athletes will also hang up their food journals.  In solidarity with them, I encourage all of you to tape up your food journals.  They can even be anonymous.  Just use this opportunity to buckle down and do this.  Perfection is not expected.  None of us are perfect.  Just start the investigation process.  If I see one that says “Fruity Pebbles” I will know whose that is, and if it says “Doritos and a sandwich” I might be able trace that one too.  Seriously, this process is the most important step in understanding your own health and performance.

When you keep a food journal, record what you ate, about how much and when.  You also want to record beverages.  A serious investigation of food, performance and health would also include supplements, where you ate, how the food was prepared and your bathroom experience.  Digestive function is paramount (although it is completely understandable if you leave that for your private food journal!).  For specific body composition and performance goals, it becomes important to provide detailed measurements of food quantity.  I encourage you to keep the level of food journal that matches your own personal goals.  The tape will be on the counter…

Tonight at 6pm is the second in [...]]]> The Women-Only CrossFit class busted out the weight vests yesterday and finished up with some picture perfect Deadlift complexes.  Very very inspired by this group of women who said they want a class of all women, but they don’t want an easier workout.  Grab onto your bootstraps…

Tonight at 6pm is the second in our Yoga For Athletes workshop series.  You do not have to attend in order, so if you weren’t at the first one that is fine.

Saturday, Skill checklist for the Daily CrossFit Program.  Come during Open Gym, 9:30 to 11:30.  Even if you aren’t sure you will complete the checklist, it might help you to set goals for yourself.

Primal Plan, four week, eight hour nutrition learning lab registration is open.  Go to www.primalplan.com to register.

Performance CrossFit will meet this Friday at 5:45.

Saturday CrossFit workout at 11:30.

Magnesium is an sadly neglected mineral.  Lots [...]]]> What’s the first place to stop after two days of studying with the CrossFit Football crew?  How about after the Tough Mudder?  What about The OC Throwdown?  First stop is the pharmacy for a couple giant bags of Epsom Salts, chemical composition Magnesium Sulfate.

Magnesium is an sadly neglected mineral.  Lots of old school coaches go on and on about bananas and potassium.  Every person in the world thinks they should be taking calcium supplements and most of us think we should avoid salt (sodium).  Who talks about magnesium?  Shockingly, magnesium is the mineral perhaps most powerfully correlated to critical health issues.  Blood pressure and heart malfunctions are related to magnesium levels.  Bone density and tooth decay are strongly correlated with magnesium levels.  Neurological functions are connected to magnesium levels.  Magnesium plays a role in muscle cramping (including menstrual cramps).

Magnesium is found in high concentrations in all organs which possess electrical conductivity, especially the heart and nervous system.  Calcium and magnesium are antagonists in the electrical conductivity of the body.  Without sufficient magnesium it becomes impossible to remove the calcium from a cell (where it has caused a cellular contraction).  This buildup of calcium in the cells results in “hyper excitability” or prolonged muscular contraction.  Twitches and tics are one example of this effect.  Our stress response also uses large amounts of magnesium.  Migraines are also shown to have a relationship with low magnesium levels.  Our bodies metabolic processing of a single glucose molecule requires 28 molecules of magnesium.  We also use magnesium to process the phosphates in soda and processed meats.  If you take iron or calcium supplements you also increase your use of magnesium to bind to those minerals (this is an example of how taking a “supplement” can actually create a nutrient deficiency).  Production and function of serotonin (your relaxation neurotransmitter) is also dependent on magnesium.  Sweating depletes magnesium levels.  Large scale studies in the 1940s and 1950s in Deaf Smith County Texas revealed that extremely high levels of magnesium in the ground water (their drinking water) was the reason that residents of that county had excellent teeth and minimal osteoporosis relative to their Dallas County neighbors.  Flouride (added to water supplies) actually binds to magnesium rendering it less bioavailable to us.  Low magnesium levels in the small intestine allow for increased absorption of aluminum, a toxic metal related to neurologic degeneration.

Why would we be deficient in magnesium?  What if we eat an excellent diet?

Based on the preceeding paragraph it is clear that chronic stress can produce a deficiency in any nutrient used to combat that stress, including magnesium.  Excess ingestion of calcium, phosphates or sugar can also deplete magnesium.  Poor digestive health can impair absorption of magnesium.

Magnesium is primarily found in fruits and vegetables and bones (bone broth).  Artichokes, tomato paste, almonds, pumpkin seeds, beet greens and dried figs have high magnesium levels.  Halibut is the protein source with the on eof the higher levels.  Unfortunately our current agricultural practice of dumping NPK fertilizers on our crops and soils lowers the magnesium content of the soil and consequently, our food.  If you don’t eat adequate fruits and vegetables, or if you eat food from farms that do not follow sustainable farming practices, you will not be supplying your body with adequate magnesium.

What are we to do?  Don’t despair.  Easily absorbable magnesium supplements are available reasonable cheaply.  My favorite is Natural Calm which is magnesium citrate (available at Sunflower and Whole Foods).  If magnesium citrate gives you chronic loose stools (it is a smooth muscle relaxant remember) it might be that you have enough magnesium in your body or it might mean that you aren’t absorbing it correctly.  Some practitioners advocate use of magnesium glycinate for people who don’t do well with the magnesium citrate.  Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate.  Dump about 5lbs in a nice hot bath and climb in.  Your body will begin to sweat, opening your pores for you and once the water cools down slightly you will quickly transdermally absorb the magnesium.  Magnesium sulfate has the added bonus of extra sulfur for you.  Both magnesium and sulfur are used in the body’s detoxification pathways.

Even the scientists conclude that magnesium supplementation has benefits for athletes.  A 2010 study in the Journal of Biological Trace Elements concluded that total and free testosterone levels were increased in athletes supplemented with magnesium.  In 2009 the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that, in animals, supplementation with magnesium sulfates (Epsom salts) improved forced swimming.  The process for this increased performance was elevation of glucose levels and attenuation of lactate levels.

A nice Epsom Salt bath is the first stop for the wise athlete.

At last.  An opportunity to spend many hours talking about food, nutrition, health and wellness!  My friend Ryan Koch and I are going to lead/teach an eight hour “class” on the evolutionary approach to food, eating and wellness.  Ryan and I share a belief in the wisdom of the diets of our long-ago [...]]]>

At last.  An opportunity to spend many hours talking about food, nutrition, health and wellness!  My friend Ryan Koch and I are going to lead/teach an eight hour “class” on the evolutionary approach to food, eating and wellness.  Ryan and I share a belief in the wisdom of the diets of our long-ago ancestors. We share a fascination with researching the eating and other lifestyle practices of the world’s healthiest peoples.  We also share a willingness to try things out on ourselves (and our families).  Ryan and I do have quite different personal health experiences, and different personal emphases in our nutrition work, so that means you will have the chance to be exposed to a wider range of applications of this nutrition work than if only one of us was teaching.  Ryan is absolutely going to give you new ways to think about your health and your body and I am always about the practical side of things.  This class is not going to be a Paleo-dogma lesson.  We are not going to turn down any food wisdom.  In this day and age we need all the wise food ways we can muster.

The class will take place on four Sunday evenings, from 5pm to 7pm, beginning Feb 5th.  The group will be small enough so that we can certainly include individual needs and interests.  You can learn more about the class, and about Ryan, at Primal Plan (www.primalplan.com).  Call 520.623.6200 or email me, jen@crossfitworks.com if you have any questions.

“Why does everyone want to be gluten-free now?”

I hear these questions quite often.  My usual answer is an abbreviated explanation [...]]]> “What is gluten-free?”

“Why does everyone want to be gluten-free now?”

I hear these questions quite often.  My usual answer is an abbreviated explanation involving the inflammatory nature of this grain-protein.  Quick mention of the insidious gut-destruction.  When I try to whittle it down to a real elevator-type answer it sounds something like, “research shows that gluten, which is a protein in wheat and other grains, has multiple undesireable effects on the human body and most people feel much better, heathier and energetic when they stop eating it”.

There is another reason to avoid gluten.  If you are stuffing yourself with gluten all the time you are missing out on the nutritious foods.  Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, meat, fish, and eggs.  Perhaps the real down side of a gluten-packed diet is that those gluten-laden foods are not all that nutrient-dense and when you eat bagels, you aren’t eating as much eggs and spinach.

This issue is becoming more significant as grocery stores are filling up with gluten-free breads, cookies, cake mixes, cereal and crackers.  I see myself falling prey to it with my son’s school lunches.  If I pack a true Paleo lunch for him it is a nutrient power house: olives, macadamia nuts, cold chicken, toasted seaweed, grapes, a carrot-cabbage slaw, leftover salmon, frozen blueberries etc…  If I get behind in my food prep and run to the store I could end up with gluten-free bread, gluten-free tortilla chips, gluten-free crackers, gluten-free cookies.  I am still happy to have kept gluten out of his body, but those gluten-free foods are not nutritious.  How is he going to keep growing, not get sick, and out lift me on a diet of rice bread and cookies made with potato starch?

This short article is a helpful primer on what the label “gluten-free” actually means.  It is also a helpful answer to the “are oats gluten-free” question.

]]> http://www.crossfitworks.com/archives/3695/feed 0 http://www.crossfitworks.com/archives/3678 http://www.crossfitworks.com/archives/3678#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:03:59 +0000 Jen http://www.crossfitworks.com/?p=3678

Today is a big day for the CrossFit Works Kids program.  This morning Mark L. took Chris and me over to our next door neighbors, an elementary/middle school, and we were a part of their Wellness Fair.  Along with Wilma and Wilbur, University of Arizona’s warmly dressed mascots, we warmed up the entire [...]]]>

Today is a big day for the CrossFit Works Kids program.  This morning Mark L. took Chris and me over to our next door neighbors, an elementary/middle school, and we were a part of their Wellness Fair.  Along with Wilma and Wilbur, University of Arizona’s warmly dressed mascots, we warmed up the entire school.  The smaller the kids, the higher the spunkiness we noticed!

Then we did some nutrition conversation with the 3rd and 5th grade as well as took them through some of CrossFit kids best games.  Mark L. was a total hit, the fact that I only let them read the back of the Dorito bag, and not sample them was less of a hit!

We covered some nutrition basics and as always it is heart wrenchingly shocking to hear about the lack of connection kids have to their food.  I sometimes set the kids up to give me misinformation so that we have a chance to correct it.  My first set up was this one:  ”Tell me the foods you eat that have fat in them.”  They listed milk and meat.  I added nuts and guacamole.  Then I asked if it was good to eat fat.  All the kids said “NO!!  Fat is bad for you!”  ”Why is fat bad?” I ask.  ”Because it makes you fat!!” they answer.  ”So, meat and milk and guacamole and walnuts are bad for you?”  I ask.  Silence.  Then we talk about what our body does with the awesome fat-containing foods.  Builds our brain.  Our bones.  Our cells.  Oh, so fat in your food is good for you sometimes.

We read the label in the Doritos.  Long list of chemicals.  We talk about whether or not it is ok to eat Doritos and how often.  I use the example of their classroom fish tank: what if we put one tiny grain of salt in there, would the fish be ok?  Yeah, probably.  What if we put one in every day?  What would happen?  They would get sick because those fish don’t need salt in their water.  Do you need Red#40 in your body?  No.  What happens if you put a little in every day until you are my age?  We might get sick.  Yup, you might.

We cover the great, great, great, great, great-grandmother rule.  If she could have fed it to her children you can eat it without worry.  Did that ancestor have sodium benzoate in her cupboard?  ”I don’t think so.”  Did she have apples?  No.  ”What?  Are you sure?  Why wouldn’t she have had apples?”  ”Because apples come from Fry’s and Safeway.”  I am suddenly enlightened.  We talk about how apples actually come from farms, orchards, trees.  ”Ooohhh.”

Great conversation.  Fantastic kids who were really interested.

On another note, thanks to Toby and Steel, Mark and the CFW Kids are going to set up a collection box for Casa De Los Ninos. This is a Tucson organization that works to prevent child abuse and care for families recovering from abuse.  The wish list includes: sizes 4,5,6 diapers, pullups, wipes, diaper ointment, shampoo, hyperallergenic lotions, unwrapped books or toys, shampoo and conditioner.

CrossFit Works Kids will have a box near the door for any of these items you might be able to donate.  Help CrossFit Works Kids make the holiday season for some of Tucson’s kids!

Liver is one of the best sources of Vitamin D.  When I lived with a Lakota family on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation raw liver was a special treat, shared equally amongst the family members.  If you aren’t thrilled at that idea you can try a supplement that some of the most [...]]]>

Liver is one of the best sources of Vitamin D.  When I lived with a Lakota family on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation raw liver was a special treat, shared equally amongst the family members.  If you aren’t thrilled at that idea you can try a supplement that some of the most successful athletes in our gym use: desiccated liver powder.

It is “winter” here.  Everyone is bundled up.  This is a good time to consider your Vitamin D levels.  It is quite easy to imagine writing an entire book on Vitamin D.  It is one of the most wide-acting nutrients in the human body.  Vitamin D is in the research spotlight these days for good reason.  A host of our chronic health problems are beginning to show some connection with Vitamin D levels.  If we consider common lifestyle changes that have accompanied the last several decades it is not a stretch to imagine how Vitamin D might be a powerful player.  Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin.  We do not have to get it from our food, so there is some technical debate about whether or not it should be labeled a “vitamin”.  UVB radiation (sunshine) acts on cholesterol in our skin and then via some work by our kidneys, we can manufacture Vitamin D for ourselves.  Food sources of Vitamin D are strictly animal foods.  There are no plants that contain Vitamin D except mushrooms which have a tiny amount of a low-bioactive form of Vitamin D.  If we do a quick survey of cultures around the world we see that people who live in winter climates heavily utilized foods rich in Vitamin D including fatty, cold-water fish, egg yolks, rendered animal fat, organ meats and full fat dairy.  So, your choices for solid Vitamin D levels are high fat animal foods or plenty of sunshine.  If we look at mainstream lifestyle recommendations in the last several decades we see two primary suggestions: Stay out of the sun (or slather up with UVB-blocking sunscreen) and Don’t eat fatty animal foods.  It isn’t difficult to imagine how we could be low in Vitamin D.  Recent research suggests that as much as 75% of Americans might be low in Vitamin D.  A recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism suggests there is “widespread Vitamin D deficiency in the population”.

Those of us in the sunshine belt have easy access to sun of course, but most people I talk to are careful to avoid sun exposure.  In addition to that obstacle, research indicates that as we age we decrease our ability to manufacture Vitamin D from sunlight.  By the age of 50 our ability to manufacture Vitamin D via the sun/skin is about 50% lower than when we were younger.

A short review of the health issues associated with Vitamin D deficiency include:

1.  Bone health.  Vitamin D is instrumental in the calcium system.  Supplementing with Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), the cheap calcium source has been unequivocally shown to be ineffective in bone health.  Only Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is effective.

2.  Auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and fibromyalgia.  During WW II we already had research showing that incidence of multiple sclerosis was patterned clearly based on latitude.

3.  Cardiovascular health.

4.  Insulin regulation.  Vitamin D is in the news this week.  A new study confirms the link between insulin resistance and low Vitamin D.  A study comparing obese kids with non-obese kids showed that the obese kids had lower Vitamin D levels than the skinny kids.  With inadequate Vitamin D we cannot produce adequate GLUT-4.  GLUT-4 is a sugar-carrying protein.  If we lack GLUT-4 insulin doesn’t work as well, so we get into the cycle of having to produce tons of insulin simply to get our normal blood sugar accomodated.  In addition, low Vitamin D, via it’s role in the calcium metabolism cycle, can lead to accumulation of calcium in fat cells which enhances cortisol production and…fat storage.

5.  Muscle strength.  I hoped you could keep reading just to get to this one!  Low Vitamin D levels cause muscle to be less powerful.  A cool study on young women compared women with equal muscle mass.  Those with low Vitamin D levels produce less power from the same muscle mass than those with adequate Vitamin D.  Low Vitamin D creates a situation where there is greater fat storage within the muscle tissue.

As always beware of synthetic Vitamin D or foods “fortified with Vitamin D”.  Kellogg’s Special K for example, has recently been fortified with Vitamin D, but their ingredient specs say that they can use either D2 (the pointless cheap version) or D3.  Synthetic Vitamin D can build up to toxic levels, especially in children.  Vitamin A is always present in food sources of Vitamin D and their agonist/antagonist relationship prevents toxicity.

So, what should you do about your Vitamin D?  If you are a person that gets blood work done, have your levels tested.  Most knowledgeable folks like to see a 30-35 number on a Vitamin D test, although some look for higher numbers.  If you don’t incorporate bloodwork into your life, then be extra sure to maintain a lifestyle that supplies you with Vitamin D.

What a reminder!!  You all have to check out the blog today of John Welbourne, creator of CrossFit Football programming and former NFL player.  John is an extremely knowledgeable and wise strength and conditioning coach.  He is also one of the founders of Paleo Brands food company, so not only does he know [...]]]>

What a reminder!!  You all have to check out the blog today of John Welbourne, creator of CrossFit Football programming and former NFL player.  John is an extremely knowledgeable and wise strength and conditioning coach.  He is also one of the founders of Paleo Brands food company, so not only does he know football and getting strong he knows nutrition too.  I laughed so hard when I read his blog about “Look like Tarzan, Play like Jane” because I forget that it isn’t only women who participate in fitness programs with their primary focus being how they will look.  I am pretty used to women coming in and looking around at the strong amazing women in this gym and asking “If I train here will my arms get big?”  ”I don’t really want to have big muscles.”  ”I think your legs are cool, but I don’t really want to have big legs.”  I have also grown tolerant of all the blogs and websites that have sprung up to convince people that you can still be feminine and pretty if you are strong.  So, sometimes I forget that this phenomenon isn’t restricted to women!  In John’s blog post he talks about how he has recently received so many questions about the effect of his programming on aesthetics!  This strikes me as even more ludicrous than the girls who don’t want “big arms”!  A bunch of guys reading a strength and conditioning program called “CrossFit Football” but worrying more about the presence of their six pack than their performance…crazy.  CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program.  The goals of the program are clearly stated.  More strength.  More conditioning.  Excellent byproducts related to appearance can be achieved especially if you combine certain nutrition protocols with your training.  Everyone wants to look good naked so to speak, and sometimes that is a powerful motivator to keep up the program, all types of motivation are good.  Just understand the order of operation:

First: for a beginner who has been sedentary and not eating all that well getting started with CrossFit will likely produce some desireable changes in body composition.  However, primarily the beginner will get a whole lot fitter, and unless some strategic changes take place in the kitchen, body composition changes will be slow.

Second:  If your primary goal is to look leaner (around here we like to mention “abs like Chris Gartrell’s”) you will have to do two things.  First, you will need to eat clean, and with a body fat loss approach to Paleo.  This will be difficult and you will have to take your nutrition plan as seriously as Chris takes his.  Secondly, you will have to quit doing things that burn muscle while encouraging fat storage (like running).  If you have been participating in a strength and conditioning program for any reasonable length of time you have abs like Chris’, they just don’t show.  You have to strip off the covering.

Third:  If your primary goal is to become stronger or a better/competitive crossfitter you need to stop worrying about how you will look and eat and sleep for recovery and muscle building.  For the vast majority of the general folks you cannot effectively combine the second and third goals.  Sometimes male hormones and genetics (like Chris’) will allow you to remain super lean while gaining strength, but this is unusual.  For most people you have to undertake an increase in strength and performance and then lean out (if that is important to you).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check out MHP athlete Shawn Bellon talking about why he likes to train in CrossFit Works!  If you want to know how to get big and strong Shawn can certainly help you with that.  Keep your eyes out for Shawn in the gym and if you would like the chance to work with him or ask him questions let us know.

Don’t forget this Saturday. August 27th, is our Free Community Workout at [...]]]> 50lbs Lost from this guy and no pounds lost from his barbell!!  Amazing.  Maybe it is because he is a rocket scientist.  For real.  Or maybe he got serious about what is in his kitchen.

Don’t forget this Saturday. August 27th, is our Free Community Workout at 2:00pm.  Bring all those folks who would like to lose 50lbs or lift weights or do burpees.  But just don’t give a lot of detail about how fun burpees are, let them find out for themselves.

Check out the happenings at Barebones Barbell Club of Tucson to see upcoming dates for the Olympic Lifting Mini Clinic and the next Raw Strength series.

]]> http://www.crossfitworks.com/archives/3354/feed 4 http://www.crossfitworks.com/archives/3321 http://www.crossfitworks.com/archives/3321#comments Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:44:23 +0000 Jen http://www.crossfitworks.com/?p=3321 Don’t forget Nutrition Basics lecture this Saturday at 11:30am.  Bring your friends, bring your questions, bring your goals!

Ask yourself a question.  How coachable are you?  Do you plow on through a set of deadlifts basically ignoring the cues your coach gave you?  How is that some people hurt themselves with a lightweight and [...]]]> Don’t forget Nutrition Basics lecture this Saturday at 11:30am.  Bring your friends, bring your questions, bring your goals!

Ask yourself a question.  How coachable are you?  Do you plow on through a set of deadlifts basically ignoring the cues your coach gave you?  How is that some people hurt themselves with a lightweight and others pull up serious heavy weight with no problem?  All in the details.  The 6am class this week was incredibly attentive to detail in their deadlifts.  We got the camera out and took a couple pictures so that people could really see their form.  Are you someone who is receiving the same cues and corrections from your coaches over and over and over again?  Get out the camera.  Maybe seeing will help you really understand the issue.  I want you to check out the photos below and see Traci getting some very good positioning in place and then see a couple people you might recognize pulling PR deadlifts without compromising their form just because it got heavy.  It can be done.  It should be done!  Just because it is heavy doesn’t mean it should be ugly.  If you are frustrated with a positioning struggle in any of the heavy lifts, if you are tired of hearing the same old thing being shouted at you every time you deadlift, come and see me or Chris or Pete and find out what to do about it.  You might need some assistance work.