Comments on: Tuesday, January 13, 2009

By: Chris Freischlag

Chris Freischlag — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:13:33 +0000

Nice time POS. I would have to add 2-3 mins to my time had I rowed 1000m!

Great information posted today concerning rest/moderation.

Quick testimonial: For the greater part of this past year (as a novice CF’er), I was on a steady M-F WOD cycle (with an occasional Saturday). Like so many of you, I saw results quickly so I figured “more is better”. However, even with good nutritional habits (pretty decent Zone adherence), I started to feel physically beat down, tired and lethargic during the week.

After getting some input from the CFI staff on programming/rest days, I’ve recently experimented with 2 on..1 off..3 on..1 off.. (Wednesdays and Sundays off). So far, I feel stronger, faster and have noticed more stable levels of energy throughout the day.

I’ve come to realize that CrossFitters are a motivated bunch. We don’t like to miss the WOD and we all want to improve and strive for those personal breakthroughs. However, we could all remind ourselves from time to time that it’s equally important to maintain discipline with rest (and nutrition) if we want the “best results” over the “good results”.

I’m off tomorrow because it’s Wednesday…….and also because my arms were shaking until noon and I can’t sit, walk or stand right now. I’m gonna’ slam some “Emergen-C” (thanks Wayne) and try to float into bed.

By: Wayne

Wayne — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:50:51 +0000

POS in the houuuuse!

By: mike

mike — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:28:07 +0000

DAMN POS! Smokin’!

By: POS

POS — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:16:59 +0000

Excellent posts! I think CJ’s point about giving 80% in a workout if you are not feeling your best is an excellent way to go about a workout. Think of them sometimes as just a work day. Perhaps even concentrate more on impeccable technique rather than the speed/time of a workout. There is always a POSitive to be found in any workout.

Had to sub 1000M Rows for the 800M run in this one: 12:57

By: M

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:16:15 +0000

Mark brings up a good point…CREAMSICLE DIP!!! Notice that when served w/ a Mmmm Good Meal, the Creamsicle Dip comes in a 4 oz. portion. Yes, it is tasty indeed, and it is part of your Zone-balanced meal (the fats). Just because it is part of a Zone meal doesn’t mean it is healthy to eat as much of it as you can cram down your gullet. The same goes with WODs! The proper amount at any given time provide a perfect balance of goodness to the body.

By: mike

mike — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:14:24 +0000

I want to write an informative blog post on coffee, it’s pros and cons, etc., but quite frankly, I don’t know want to talk bad about this sweet nectar from God, ever. EVAR.

By: Calvin

Calvin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:59:58 +0000

Kristen,
Stevia will still give you an insulin response (see yesterday’s blog posts) but it’s less detrimental to your health than Splenda or other artificial sweeteners. Nutrasweet and Equal are both aspartame products, in your body they break down into a plethora of residual chemicals including methanol and formaldehyde.

Moderation is definitely an important factor if you want to stay healthy and sane. As Dani mentioned, meats, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, little starch and no sugar should comprise the majority of your nutritional intake but there’s certainly room for an occasional sweet. If you are having trouble leaning out or have hit a performance plateau, take some time to re-examine your diet for things like artificial sweeteners.

By: Mark Riebel

Mark Riebel — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:51:02 +0000

I really have to echo CJ on this one.

The biggest thing that I’ve struggled with, and continue to struggle with, is moderating the frequency of my workouts and balancing them with rest. When it comes to working out, there are many of us who ascribe to the mantra “if some is good, more must be better,” and as much as we’d like to think that we all possess unlimited reserves of energy, we couldn’t be farther from the truth (except maybe Josh).

One does not physically improve during any particular workout, one improves in the recovery phase following the workout. And while the amount of rest that is needed varies greatly from person to person depending on genetics and current conditioning, no one will improve themselves athletically without taking a break here and there.

So, just as I discovered when entering the CF community that you don’t really need 30+ minutes of working out to constitute exercise, I’ve also found that trying to cram in 11 workouts a week, a full time job and night classes doesn’t so much lead to getting better as it leads to burn out. I do think that moderation really is the key to just about everything, including moderation itself. Particularly when it comes to things like M’s creamsicle dip, at which point moderation completely goes out the window.

By: CJ Martin

CJ Martin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:04:39 +0000

Moderation versus “all in” – something I have struggled with all of my life. The problem with “all in” is that it’s difficult to maintain, and all too often we burn out … which typically leads to “all out.” Moderation helps establish consistency, which is the gold standard for success in the world of fitness. Consistency guarantees you will achieve your desired results. We have a few phenomenal examples of that in our community – Bee Charmer, Mark and Dani come immediately to mind. Each of them started at very different places, but have maximized their results in a short amount of time because they have been consistent with their workouts and nutrition. For those of you who have struggled with consistency, for whatever reason, try some moderation. Permit yourself to give 80% in a workout if you are feeling under the weather instead of feeling like it isn’t worth doing at all if you cannot give it everything you’ve got. Modifying your expectations might be just what you need to get over the hump.

As far as Splenda goes, I tend to agree with Mike. If you’re going to eat for pleasure instead of fuel, go for the real thing. But the real concern is not the occasional binge on sweet items, rather it’s the misconception that eating a 0 calorie Splenda-infused item has no dietary consequence. Few people in this community consume high-sugar items on a daily basis, but many more indulge on diet sodas or coffee sweeteners without hesitation. I think Calvin does everyone a service by reminding us that there are no shortcuts. Keeping off of the crack doesn’t just mean switching to artificial sweeteners. If it’s sweet, enjoy it as sweets, but don’t try to justify it our eliminate it from your nutrition log.

By: Chris F

Chris F — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:00:25 +0000

SOLID work Wink!

(I asked Jillianne and she said that you rocked it……I was just curious about your time and weight)