 The ladies of the 5:30pm class crushing another workout If I had a dollar every time someone said to me they need to do more "cardio" to loose weigh or get into shape I could sell the gym and retire. Ask anyone who's never done CrossFit what you should do to get into shape and they'll tell you to start running. The long slow run has a tight grip on the misbelief that it is the best way to lose weight and get into shape. Don't get me wrong, a long slow run has its place in a well round and varied fitness program. We regularly program 5 and 10k runs for the gym (Sweet Pea, Huffing for Stuffing, Run to the Pub.) It's also great for mental health. A long slow run can help you get into a mental state where you can either solve all of your problem, or completely forget about them. However, the long slow run will not, exclusively, make you lose weight or get into shape. What helps you do both of those things? You guessed it, high intensity interval training AKA CrossFit CrossFit is a general physical preparedness program with an aim to improve physical competence across 10 general physical skills. CrossFit methodology trains each skill so that all are improved; CrossFit does not specialize. CrossFit has been the foundation of thousands of #transformationtuesday stories and understanding how and why it works can help you be more successful in writing your own transformation story. Enjoy this very good discussion about the CrossFit methodology and why it works so well. I'll see you at Huffing for Stuffing on Thursday!  Click on the image to read the CrossFit article written nearly 20 years ago that changed how we all get fit. 
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 Why we row hard and restA keystone of our strength and conditioning program is sprint interval training. Most coaches call this kind of training SIT (sprint interval training.)
We love SIT for its ability to make us stronger, faster and more powerful. Anyone who's trained with us has experienced the brutal elegance of 10 rounds of 2 min max effort row, bike or run with a prescribed rest after each effort. Newbies always want to shorten the rest. Don't fall for it. THE REST IS WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS. I know that might seem strange coming from a fitness coach. We coaches have a saying, you don't get stronger from your efforts, you get stronger from recovering from your efforts. This holds true for a sprint workout just as much as for a strength workout. The rest between intervals is what determines your power output. Power output is what determines the stimulus of the workout and the training adaptation. Today we are only "working" for about 12 minutes total and because we are doing it in intervals, our power output will be much higher than if we had a sustained 12 min effort. You have certainly experienced this. Go for a 10 min run and measure your heart rate. Now, break that 10 mins up into 5 x 2 min intervals with 2 mins rest and go as fast as you can for each interval. Measure your heart rate now. Which one was harder? Which one required more power output? Can you guess which type of workout will get you in shape faster? Yep, the 5 x 2min intervals. Every. Time. Sprint interval training is what Olympians and we, mere mortals at TSCF, use to get in shape and become fitter, faster and more powerful. Sure we also program longer sustained training and we program strength days. It's the combination of all of these things that gets our folks in such good condition. So let's get after our SIT today! Have some fun and great ready to show us your power!  What you can DO is way more important than how much you weigh. Your WEIGHT is not who YOU are!I started CrossFit in March 2010. The past 12.5 years of CrossFit have provided me with one of the most fun, challenging and rewarding athletic endeavors in which I have participated. CrossFit introduced me to obstacle course racing (I have completed 2 races) and, of course, Olympic Weightlifting (I was the 2019 World Champion in my age and weight class.)
In the past 12 years my body has changed DRAMATICALLY! At the hight of my Masters Olympic Weightlifting career I could deadlift and back squat 300 pounds, I could clean and jerk 200 pounds, I snatched 165 pounds, and could still row a 5K in under 24 mins. I can do MORE now at age 51 than I could when I was a young Corporal in the US Marines. In fact, when I was in the USMC I was on weight control. I was over the maximum allowed weight limit of 153 pounds for my height. I now weight 176 pounds, a full 23 pounds more than when I was considered overweight. However, I can DO MORE now than I could back then. Your weight does not tell the full story of your health and fitness. While I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life, my body fat is about 10% less than when I started CrossFit. For a woman my age, 24% body fat is very healthy and much lower than the national average. Obesity starts at 30% body fat for women and at that percentage our risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) increases exponentially. Coronary heart disease is the number one killer of women. That's right! More women die from CHD than from breast cancer. Coronary heart disease is preventable if we reduce our body fat to less than 30%. Your body fat, more than your weight, is the predictor of disease and indicator of health. Body fat is a hormonally active tissue. This means it has a part (negative or positive) in your endocrine system. Want to get your hormones under control? Reduce your body fat. Want to decrease your risk of CHD, Type II diabetes, and a whole suite of other metabolic problems? Reduce your body fat. Body composition, body fat % and lean muscle mass, rather than body weight is a much healthier and utilitarian metric of your health. The scale gives us only one measurement, and while it's useful for tracking weight loss and making competition weight categories, it does not tell you anything about your health. It's not uncommon when we start CrossFit for our weight to increase. That's because we are increasing lean muscle mass (I have increased mine by 23 pounds). Lean muscle mass also has positive health benefits. To build lean muscle mass you have to lift weights and that increases bone density. Increased bone density decreases your risk of osteoporosis. Win-WIN! I often joke that after a few months of CrossFit our jeans are harder to pull on and easier to button. Seriously though, keep track of your body fat percent, it's a much healthier metric of your body. Don't get caught up in the number on the scale. It says NOTHING about what YOU can DO! You can track your body composition on Beyond the Whiteboard. Schedule a check-in with me and I'll take your measurements. Celebrate what your body can DO!  Wall balls are on the menu today. How hungry are you? Cravings vs. Hunger"Hunger is the best sauce." - Michael Easter
When was the last time you were actually hungry? So many times when we feel like eating we might actually be feeling cravings rather than actual hunger. Actual hunger comes on gradually, is felt physically in your stomach, and is easy to satisfy with ANY FOOD. Cravings come on suddenly, are specific to a particular food, are habit driven, and hard to satisfy. One of the biggest myth's in our modern food accessible world is that it's NOT OK to be hungry. We are encouraged to eat at the first sign of discomfort be that physical or emotional discomfort. Often times we eat because we've developed a habit to eat at a particular time or after an event. There's a strong psychological component to why we eat what and when we do. Here's the ultimate test of hunger vs. cravings. Are you hungry enough to eat baked fish and steamed broccoli. No? Then you are not hungry but are craving. I learned that it's ok to be hungry from my nutrition coach. She coached me through a 20 lbs weight loss after I finished my competitive weightlifting season in 2019. Many times our weekly coaching calls focused on how I managed my hunger. I can tell you from experience it's not managed by eating the things I WANTED. The things I wanted to eat did not satisfy my rumbling belly. Things that satisfied my rumbling belly were a very large glass of water followed by lean protein and vegetables. Yes, many times I ate baked fish and steamed broccoli. So the next time you find yourself reaching into the fridge, pause and see if you're willing to eat baked fish and steamed broccoli. If you're not, drink a tall glass of water, step away from the fridge, and plan your next lean protein and veggie rich meal. Good luck! |
Special EventsDec 5-9 - Podium Week
Dec 5 - FREE AED Training Dec 9 - Bring a Friend Day Dec 17 - Reindeer Games Holiday Potluck Party Dec 23 - 6, 9 and Noon classes only Dec 24-26 Gym is Closed Jan 2 - Gym in Closed Jan 13 - Feb 3 Row'd Royalty Feb 17 - March 3 - THE OPEN March 6-11 - Femme Fatale Week Record your WOD on Beyond the Whiteboard.
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