WOD Blog

2/20 Myth Busting Monday

2/19/2023

Coach Leslie does heavy deadlifts for the Marston Hero workout in Coach Dover's 5:30pm class.

Myth: Weightlifting Makes Women Bulky

Perhaps no other fitness myth is more pervasive and insulting to women than the myth that lifting weights makes women bulky. I have been told this many times by many prospective female clients. They usually tell me they don't want to get bulky as they let their eyes travel over my shoulders and onto my belly. Yep, I have visible muscles and I DON'T have 6-pack abs. But, I have a 300 lb deadlift, I won the 2019 Pan American and World Masters Olympic Weightlifter Champions in my age and weight class and I'm 51. I don't give a flying fuck if any one thinks I'm bulky. But, it's been a long road to get here:)
I could write 1,000 blog posts on the bulky issue because there are so many different points to address. However, today I will focus on just one: "What the hell is bulky anyway?" Leigh Peel researched this very question and found that the majority of her 2000 research subjects identified Hillary Swank's Million Dollar Baby physique as too bulky. â€‹

Yep, there she is in all her bulkiness. Peel's research showed that despite body size, Swank is a size 0, the perception of bulkiness is correlated with low body fat. Women consider other women too bulky â€‹if those women have about less than 16% body fat. â€‹

To get to 16% or less body fat takes a TREMENDOUS amount of work! So much so that very few women actually get this low. Getting this low also has some profound hormonal and other physiological impacts.
Here's the big fat bulky deal. Weightlifting will make you strong. It will make you burn more calories which increases your metabolism. Weightlifting will increase your bone density decreasing your risk of osteoporosis and hip fractures. It will make you powerful. Being strong will make it easier to carry your kids, your groceries, your skis, your bike, your kayak, your everything.
At our gym we lift weights and no one is bulky. In fact, we probably lift heavier weights that Hillary Swank and none of us look like her. We all look like the best version of the strong, confident, and powerful women that we are.

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9/13 Myth Busting Monday

2/12/2023

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Robbie works his "core" by doing dumbbell snatches in the noon class.

Myth: Do Crunches and Sit-Ups for a Strong Core

Did you see the New York Times article last Wednesday? It seems the myth of core exercises has finally hit mainstream. Thank goodness. I'm so tired of people talking about "core" work. Before we bust this myth today let's get clear on terminology.
You core is the trunk of your body. It's your entire torso, front AND BACK, minus your arms, legs, neck and head. You "core" includes all the muscles that attach to pelvis, hips, back, spine and your diaphragm. Yes, it includes the abdominal muscles, and it also includes obliques, intercostals and a whole bunch more. Your "core" is much more than your stomach muscles, and in fact, I argue that all the other muscles are WAY more important to a healthy, strong and mobile truck than your abs.
People who don't train like athletes, e.g. they don't row and run hard, jump rope, deadlift, squat, press, throw, do burpees and kettlebell swings, cleans and snatches often miss out on strengthening their trunk muscles. This is especially true for folks who use machines including ellipticals and treadmills. The machine removes any need for balance and stabilization. You, dear reader and TSCF gym member do not need to work your core specifically because you do it everyday you train with us. In fact, we prioritize core to extremity movements (many of which I just listed above) because they have the wonderful training adaptation of trunk stabilization and strengthening.
Core work became all the rage when people noticed they had back pain despite going to the gym. Oddly enough those elliptical "runs" and "back and bi" days did nothing to make the entire trunk strong. Reductionist training (reducing training to specific body parts) will lead to big gaps in athletic development. On another note, sitting for 4-8 hours a day will WRECK your back and eliminates the use of a large portion of you core. Thus your back pain persists despite the 3 hours a week you spend at the gym. It's those 20 hours per week you sit that you need to solve, not doing 100 crunches every day.
But I digress, did you know that in 2009 some exercise researchers slapped electrodes on the front and back of folks and had them do a high-intensity workout? Yep, and then they asked those folks to do some crunches and planks. Want to guess which workout activated the truck muscles more? The high-intensity workouts activated more truck muscles including those on the back! Crunches and sit-ups aren't going to help your back pain.
The New York Times article I referenced also said as much:) They also suggested including planks, farmers carries, lateral jumps, squats, deadlifts into your training session to ensure you developed a strong trunk. Strange, I think we did all of those things just last week at our gym.
If you have 18 minutes to spare in your busy day to listen to my favorite irreverent strength coach, Mark Rippetoe, discuss "core" stability, I think you'll be entertained and enlightened. Enjoy!

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1/30 Myth Busting Monday

1/29/2023

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get ready to get inverted today

Myth: Exercise Makes You LOOK Better
Realty: Exercise Makes You FEEL Better

I have written before about the twisted perception that exercise makes you look a certain way. FOOD makes you look a certain way. We've been lied to our entire lives by the media, our families, our friends, doctors, food companies, exercise "experts," and all manner of well-meaning acquaintances. The lie is this: eat certain foods to feel a certain way and do physical exercise to look better.
The simple truth is this: exercise improves your MENTAL health as much if not more than your physical health. There is a growing body of scientific research that is uncovering the positive impact physical exercise has on depression, anxiety, stress, and many other mental health issues.
However, we are bombarded with thousands of messages everyday to "lift, tone and burn," or "go hard or go home," or "hard work pays off," or "just do it," or "make yourself stronger than your excuses." or "sore today, strong tomorrow." Even our TSCF bubble is not immune, "show up and do the work" is on display in our gym. While those messages can be motivating or reaffirming of the exercise choice we've made. None of them actually address the real benefit of exercise.
Move your body and you'll feel better.
I was delighted when I recently read this article in Slate that addresses this very topic. In their new column Good Fit, they are exploring exercise myths and diving into what exercise really does for us. Simply, it makes us feel good.
I have seen this in my 12 years of being a CrossFit Coach. It happens every damn day. Someone walks into the gym looking like Eeyore. After a bit of warm-up movements they actually start talking to the person next to them. During the workout brief they're full of questions and eager to get started. After 3,2,1 Go they're bursting with intensity and getting all the barbell therapy. After the workout they're smiling, happy, energetic and prancing around like Tigger.

Have you experienced the feel good effects of exercise? Share with us in the comments a time when you felt like crap only to get Tiggerized by exercise.

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1/23 Myth Busting Monday

1/22/2023

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Char looks good in her OHS!

The Myth of Moderation

Everything in moderation," is something I hear everyday and it makes me crazy. This ridiculous and illogical saying has gained traction in our culture of, "I deserve it," and today I'm calling bullshit on the myth of moderation.
The problem with "everything in moderation," is that it's a moving target. There is no objective, one size fits all, definitive Moderation. What we consider moderate today, while we're on the first week of a cut and kicking ass, taking names, just crushed Roy'd Royalty 23.2, and counting our macros, Thank-You-Very-Much is VASTLY different than what we consider moderate, just a few weeks ago, in that last week of December between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Right? Think about that for a moment. If there wasn't a huge cavernous span in our decision between what's moderate now versus January 30th, we wouldn't need to be doing, yet another, cleanse, or fast, or diet.
"Everything in moderation," is a LIE that we tell ourselves to justify a decision we know is not moving us toward our goal. It is the justification we use to allow ourselves to eat the thing, drink the drink, take the days off from the gym, and do whatever we want to do right now, "'Cause YOLO." This simple lie enables us to dodge discipline, avoid accountability, and trick ourselves out of temperance.
It is also used by other people to pressure us into a behavior that makes THEM feel better. Far too any times have I been pressured by friends, co-workers, and family to eat the cookies, cakes, pies, candy, etc., because it makes them feel better to see me do it. Why? Because my discipline makes people uncomfortable. Our actions and decisions often are a mirror for the people around us. So many times have I seen people wrestle with the consequences of their decisions once they see me stand-firm with mine.
Our culture resolutely accepts that moderation does not work for an alcoholic. Rarely do you see people pressuring sober folks into having "just one, because everything in moderation, yo." Why do we not afford this same consideration to people who don't want to eat sugar? Or grains? Or meat? Or anything else about which they have personally decided that abstinence is their moderation?
Everything in moderation is a myth because some things, even in moderation, will kill you. Everything in moderation is a myth because some things we need in more than moderate amounts, like 78% nitrogen and some in less than moderate amounts, like 21% oxygen. Everything in moderation is a myth because some things we want to achieve, i.e. our goals, require discipline. Everything in moderation is a myth that keeps us bound to the hell of our own status quo.

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