September 2009

Travis in the middle of an overhead squat

As some of you already know, Travis won a lottery spot to this year's New York City Marathon, the largest marathon in the world.  The race takes place on November 1, which means Travis has a little under two months until race day.

After an initial stint of training that focused primarily on building a base of endurance, Travis has now switched over to CrossFit Endurance workouts.

I'm personally of two minds on this one:  I think Travis is a little crazy to take on running at that distance, but at the same time, I applaud his dedication to seeing this through and committing himself to some serious training in the process.

Let's wish Travis the best in comments.  Hit these final couple of months hard and tear it up in NYC!

Join the Slow Food East Bay: Time For Lunch! campaign to urge our national leaders to make REAL FOOD in schools a priority.  Come out to the Berkley Eat-In tomorrow. This is a great opportunity for us to show our support for REAL food in schools.

WHERE:  Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park 2151 Martin Luther King Jr. Way (between Allston Way and Center Street).
WHEN: Monday 9/7/09 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM.

Bring your family and friends and a meal to share!  Learn more about the Slow Food movement and upcoming events at their website.

Here's what's on the lunch menu for all elementary schools in the Alameda Unified School District for Tuesday 9/8:  Check out the entire month's menu here.

Bean & Cheese Burrito*
Salsa
Fruit
Milk

* contains no meat

Post your version of healthy school lunches to comments? What are your kids eating for lunch?

Fight Gone Bad IV is a little over two weeks away:  Saturday, Sept 26.

There have been a lot of questions about how it's all going to go down, so here in no particular order are some key points.

• We want as high a participation level as possible.  Over the next week or so, we'll be coming around at the beginning of classes to sign you up for heats, and if needed, partner you up.  Look for the clipboards!
• We'll be running heats from 9am to 3pm, adding additional heats where necessary.  We have the capability of running multiple heats at the same time.
• We'll be having other affiliates doing FGB in our box as well...the more, the merrier!  More people = more energy.
• We'll be having a barbecue and plenty of other food and drink.
• We do expect to raise money for the the two causes (Athletes for a Cure and the Wounded Warrior Project), and there are two ways you can go about that:
  
  1. You can pay a $25 buy-in fee.
  2. You can ask others to donate (this can be a flat amount or a per-point amount).
• If you raise $150, you get a t-shirt.
• And here's a document to read over if you're looking for some ways to raise funds:  FGB Donation Tips (Word document)

And finally, the one thing you need to do before you do anything else:

Go here and register for Team CrossFit Oakland!

In the meantime, ask away with any questions about FGB IV in comments.
 

Part I.  Be on Time, Dammit!

We can all agree that CFO is a very flexible place frequently accommodating the needs of our members. While we understand that traffic, meetings, sick kids, I-phones and all the rest can interrupt even the most punctual of people, we are drawing a line in the sand when it comes to being late for class!  So from this day forward, if you are late for class you have two options:

1.  Get yourself caught up with the group. (We will no longer wait for late-comers to get through the warm-up, run multiple start times etc.).

OR

2.  Wait, and join the next class*. 

*if you are more than 10 minutes late, you will be asked to take the next scheduled class.

In order for us to get everyone through a warm-up, skill review and WOD we need every minute of every hour.  Respect your trainer and your fellow athletes -- show up on time and be ready to go! 

Part II.   And another thing..the Rant Continues

If you are coming in for open gym hours, please respect the incoming class and be DONE with your WOD within Open Gym hours (10a.m. to 12p.m. and 3p.m. to 5p.m.). We need the training floor and it is far too confusing to know who is doing what with spill-over from Open Gym.  Two hours, make it happen. 

Part III.  Your mama doesn't work here!

Do us all a favor, and take home your sweat-soaked t-shirts, sneakers, socks, water bottles and the like!  If we all pitch in to rack our weights and throw trash away (instead of on the floor) we will enjoy a much nicer training environment.  Please spend the rest of the week collecting your personal belongings before the mega-trip to Goodwill!

Thank you for your cooperation everyone! 

Tell us how you really feel in comments. 

Michael G (aka "The Peacemaker") showing some good technique on the press, in spite of the silly shirt he's wearing

Houston, Do You Copy?

So yesterday's post certainly opened up a can of worms (expect more to come as we sift through the survey results and learn more about what you guys want, and don't want, out of your training experience at CFO).

Because I'm never too tired to beat a dead horse, let me summarize the changes (that many people have requested, by the way) that we're after, per yesterday's post:

• We'd like you to show up on time.
• We'd like you to come ready to participate in the group warm-up.
• Rest days are still rest days; we'd just like you to show up on time.
• Strength days are still strength days; we'd just like you to show up on time.
• We'd like you to help in keeping the gym floor clean (and yes, we even bought some trash cans).

Beyond that, there are no fundamental changes to your group-class experience.  Period.  End of story.

Reminder:  Kettlebell and Strength Seminar this Saturday at 10am

We're hosting a Kettlebell and Strength seminar this Saturday from 10am to 2pm.  This will be a thorough schooling on the art of kettlebells and strength training.  Movements covered:  swing, snatch, press, squat, clean, and Turkish get-up.

The cost of the seminar is $100.  Please call us at 510-595-9348 or email us to enroll.

The CFO Games t-shirts are done!  You can pick yours up in the lobby at CFO.  Please check off your name on the folder and leave your $25.  Thanks to Manwell for this limited edition run! 

One of several wonderful images from Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength

Next Saturday, September 19, our very own TomC (of heavy metal and vanilla ice cream fame), along with yours truly, will be putting on a clinic on the back squat.  The clinic starts at 11am and will run for approximately two hours (we'll stay as long as everyone needs for us to work on their squats and answer questions).

The clinic will include a brief lecture in the beginning, but will primarily be a hands-on affair.  This means we want you to spend some time under the bar squatting.  We want everyone to walk away from the clinic with a firm understanding of how to squat, in addition to how to integrate squat training with CF training.  We will also cover versions of the squat for those with bad knees, those who can't low-bar squat due to shoulder issues, and whatever else may come up.

The cost of the clinic is $20 and is open to anyone to attend.

I bet that if we conducted a survey on nutrition, and we asked which type of fat was the most unhealthy and most avoided, cholesterol would take the cake.  Like most health-conscious Americans, we've all kicked cholesterol to the curb!  Yup, those days of butter and eggs are long gone, only to be replaced with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray.  Even if our knowledge on dietary fat is limited, we all know that having "high cholesterol" is bad, and therefore eating cholesterol-rich foods are bad for you.  And with millions of people on cholesterol-lowering drugs and consuming "heart-healthy" cholesterol-free food products, it seems that no one is safe until all cholesterol has vanished from the earth.  But how bad is cholesterol really?  What you may not know is that the human body can not survive without cholesterol.  Here's why.

What is it?
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that serves many functions in the body.  The body uses cholesterol to make most sex hormones and stress-combating hormones, such as cortisol, to make bile for healthy digestion, and to make healthy cell membranes (in particular, brain and nerve cell membranes). Cholesterol is vital for a healthy immune system protecting our vascular system from ruptures, clots and degeneration. It is used to make Vitamin D, which is needed to build healthy bones and is known to protect against many forms of cancer.  Cholesterol is used as a building block for virtually every system in the human body and is so vital to our health that every living cell in the body has the ability to manufacture its own supply of cholesterol.  In fact, because it is in such high demand, the liver is constantly working hard to pump out enough cholesterol to keep the body functioning properly.  You may be surprised to learn that it is nearly impossible to get enough cholesterol from our diet.  According to Dr. Malcom Kendrick, author of The Great Cholesterol Con, you would have to eat 6-8 egg yolks each and every day to meet your daily requirements of cholesterol.  Since most of us never do this the liver makes up the difference. 

What causes high cholesterol?
Contrary to popular belief, research studies have shown that eating cholesterol-rich foods has no effect on serum cholesterol levels in the body.  The famous Framingham Study demonstrated just that.  In the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1992, the director of that study, Dr. William Castelli wrote:

"In Framingham, Massachusetts, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower people's serum cholesterol...we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories weighed the least and were the most physically active."

Because cholesterol is essential for life, the body adjusts its production of cholesterol to keep levels steady.  When we eat more cholesterol, the body produces less; when we eat less cholesterol, the body produces more.  That means that if you eat eggs and bacon every day your liver will simply reduce its workload.  So what really causes high cholesterol in the blood?  According to Mary Enig, author of Know Your Fats, the level of cholesterol is always elevated under stress since we need cholesterol to create stress hormones.  Cholesterol will typically become elevated from some kind of inflammatory process, such as an overproduction of insulin in response to high carbohydrate intake.  Too many carbs, especially highly refined ones like cookies, breads, and crackers, in the absence of protein and fat cause an increase in insulin.  Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., in The Schwarzbein Principle, cites research studies that claim that the plaque that accumulates in arteries isn't a result of a high-fat or high cholesterol diet, but rather from an abundance of insulin from too many carbs.   

The bottom line is that our bodies need cholesterol, which is why our liver produces it.  Cholesterol helps our cells healthy and keeps our hormones balanced. For people who have a family history of heart disease accompanied with high cholesterol, I suggest eating a whole-food diet high in fiber-rich carbs and fish oil, while limiting your intake of processed foods.  It would also be wise to test for other cardiovascular risk factors such as homocysteine and C-Reactive protein. 

Get Signed Up! Heats will start at 9a.m. on Saturday, September 26th and run until 3p.m.!

With Fight Gone Bad IV Fundraiser just around the corner (September 26th), it's time to start thinking about the WOD itself.  For those of you who have not had the pleasure of doing this CrossFit benchmark workout here's what it consists of:

1.  Wall Ball: 20#/14#  ball: 10 ft target (Reps)

2.  Sumo Deadlift High-Pull: 75# and 55# (Reps)

3.  Box Jump: 20" box (Reps)

4.  Push Press: 75# and 55# (Reps)

5.  Row (Calories)

Athletes spend a minute at each of the five stations and then take a one minute break for three rounds. 

We will be running heats all day in lieu of classes beginning at 9a.m. and are encouraging everyone to not only get some sponsors, but also sign up for a heat as soon as possible (see clipboards at the gym).  We will be giving prizes to the top scoring CFO female and male athlete and the top two fundraisers.  Many participants are getting people to sponsor them based on how many reps they complete overall.  What are you aiming for?  Who's going to surpass the CFO all time high score of 451 (guess who)?

CFO will provide food and drinks for the day long event and we hope to see as many of you as possible crushing PR's and helping us to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and Prostate Cancer research.  Sign up now!

Post your FGB survival guide to comments.  What station do your start at? Why?  What's your general strategy if any?

For careful readers of our website, and in particular, our Schedule page, you'll notice that we have an Open Gym hour listed on the Saturday schedule.  But we've never made an official announcement about it.  Until now.

We have an Open Gym hour from 11am to 12pm each Saturday.  Please come and take advantage of it!

(Please note that there will not be an Open Gym hour on Saturday, Sept 26, due to the Fight Gone Bad fundraiser workout, and there also won't be an Open Gym hour on Saturday, October 3, due to the CF Level 2 certification seminar that we'll be hosting.)

Loren in the middle of one of his twenty slosh-pipe overhead squats

For those of you who aren't yet regular readers of Robb Wolf's blog, you should be!

After Barry Sears gave a recent seminar to a bunch of CFHQ trainers (the videos of his talk are free on the CrossFit Journal site here), Robb offered up his own thoughts on the Zone diet and how close it is to Paleo eating.  In fact, he thinks it is Paleo eating.  And lest you get bogged down in useless terminology, he's basically saying food quality trumps food quantity.

Here's the article:  http://robbwolf.com/?p=685

Read the article yourself and post your Zone, Paleo, or do-whatever diet ramblings in comments.  Do you agree with Robb?  Disagree?

CFO Folks, take note of the survey we have recently sent you!   We are looking for your feedback to help us keep the quality of training at CFO as high as possible.  Feel free to be candid, as results are anonymous and will have no bearing on the WODs we put you through.

If you have not received a survey please email us at info@crossfitoakland.com and we will happily send one your way. 

The molecular structure of ibuprofen

For many years, people have sworn by ibuprofen for all matters related to pain relief.  Ibuprofen has become popular in athletic circles as well, so much so that it's often casually referred to as Vitamin I.  For many athletes, popping a couple of ibuprofen prior to a workout is as much a part of their warm-up as joint mobility exercises.

Kelly Starrett (CF San Francisco), on the other hand, has been on record as of late decrying the purported benefits of ibuprofen, and has actually suggested exactly the opposite of what its proponents claim:  that it inhibits recovery and actually exacerbates inflammation.

Well it appears that Kelly is not alone.  In a recent NY Times article, ibuprofen's efficacy is called into question.  The gist of the article is that ibuprofen does not prevent pain from exercise and that it can actually increase inflammation.  Bottom line:  stay away from ibuprofen!

Read the NY Times article here:  Does Ibuprofen Help or Hurt During Exercise?

And thanks to TomC for passing this article along to us.

We will run weekend class schedule on Labor Day (9/7). 9a.m., 10a.m., 4p.m. ONLY!!

Lydia at the top of a KB swing

This lady has eye of the tiger, and has been consistently hitting the WODs with intensity and focus.  She impressed us all at the Games this year during the Stadium workout, when she completed all thirty 135# deadlifts in a row!

We are looking forward to seeing the gains Lydia will make in her next year of training.  Keep up the strong work Lady! Post to Lydia in comments.