Workout of the Day:
Shoulder Press
5-5-5
and then,
Five rounds for time of:
15 Pull-Ups
50 Double-Unders

Harvey bowling with tires

More Bang for your Buck
Written by Mark Riebel

In yesterday’s post, I explained that the notion of the fat-burning zone is a misunderstood concept, and that a higher intensity of exercise yields more results than a low-intensity session (when we look at it from the caloric expenditure standpoint). If fat loss is one of your goals, caloric intake and expenditure is something you should be mindful of, and burning more calories during exercise will help to increase that expenditure and subsequent weight loss. But since the majority of our workouts at Invictus fall under 20 minutes, many may think that doing longer steady-state cardio work might be the best way to really accelerate their fat loss. It is true that an hour on the treadmill may indeed burn more calories than some heavy lifting followed by “Helen,” but you will reach that conclusion only if you look at a very small piece of the whole picture.

To understand this, we need to address the concept of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC. Oxygen consumption serves as an approximation of your metabolic rate, and therefore how many calories you are burning in a given period of time. EPOC, then, is the effect seen following exercise in which the body is burning more oxygen (and more calories) for a period of time anywhere from a few minutes to more than a day. This results in an elevated metabolism and creates what Alwyn Cosgrove calls an ‘afterburn.’ A study performed in 2002 at Ohio University found that following heavy resistance training circuits, EPOC was significantly elevated over baseline for 38 hours.

Using this data, let’s go back to that treadmill example. Suppose the machine tells you that you burned 300 calories in your hour spent on the treadmill. EPOC occurs as a result of aerobic training as well, but the magnitude and duration of the increase is less than that seen with resistance or interval training. Now let’s say that at the same time you were on the hamster wheel, your friend did the aforementioned heavy lifting followed by Helen. It’s likely that he didn’t burn as many calories as you in his exercise session, but let’s now look at the whole picture, i.e. all of the time following the workout. If your friend worked hard enough to bump his EPOC up to where he’s burning a paltry eight additional calories per hour, 38 hours later when his oxygen consumption returns to normal, he’s burned more calories than you, and he accomplished it in a much shorter workout. And then think of how it would affect him if he went and worked out the next day too! Would EPOC go even higher? It is not certain whether EPOC is cumulative, but even without an additive affect, the benefits are easy to see. Would you rather be burning more calories in the 23 hours a day you’re not at Invictus, or just burning the same old amount as usual in the 23 hours you’re not at a traditional gym (not to mention that you’d only be running and not developing your strength, flexibility, accuracy, etc.)?

If you have a weight loss goal, don’t resist your strength work. Stick to the program and talk to your coaches about making minor modifications to your fitness and nutrition programs to help you achieve your results most efficiently.

Workout of the Day:
Front Squat
3-2-1-1-1
and then,
Three rounds for time of:
10 Front Squats (60-70% of today’s 1-RM)
20 Burpees
30 Sit-Ups

Yay Burpees!

The Myth of the Fat-Burning Zone
Written by Mark Riebel

An old article from the CrossFit Journal has this same title, and I’d like to give a quick synopsis here if you’re not a subscriber (which you should be).

How many times have you heard that in order to really burn fat, you’ve got to work in heart rate range of 50-70% of your maximum for at least 30 minutes? There’s even convenient charts posted on nearly every piece of cardio equipment in all the traditional gyms you go to (if you’re cheating on us here at Invictus), so it must be true. Fortunately for us, it’s not.

Yes, it is true that fat makes up the bulk of your body’s fuel for most of your daily activities and in low-intensity aerobic exercise where you’re either working for long periods of time or not breathing exceptionally hard. This fact is where the idea comes from that you must be in a certain sub-maximal heart rate range to maximally burn fat. The problem is that this is a misunderstood point.

If I work at a slow and steady pace for my prescribed 30 minutes on the stairmaster while I watch TV, I might burn, say, 100 calories, approximately 50% of which are from fat. Now, if I do that same 30 minutes at a much higher heart rate (and therefore intensity level), I could burn about 300 calories, of which maybe only 30% are fat, with glucose and glycogen making up the bulk of the rest (a small amount of protein gets burned as well). “See, you burn more fat at an easier pace!” the exercise magazines will tell you. But anyone with some basic math skills can see that more total fat was burned in the high-intensity workout (90 calories vs. 50) than the lower one, and the first workout merely had a greater percentage of calories burned from fat.

Most of you will be thinking at this point, “But our workouts aren’t that long, so there’s no way we can burn this many calories!” This is a forthcoming post in itself where I’ll tell you a bit more about geeky science things like exercise post oxygen consumption and why you get much more bang for your buck with the style of workouts we do instead of watching television on the stairmaster for 30 minutes. For now, though, trust in the programming and try to hold back your snickers when someone tells you about weight loss and the fat burning zone.

Workout of the Day:
Jerk (Push or Split)
3-3-3-3-3-3-3

A HUGE Happy Birthday to CrossFIt Invictus Superwoman Elizabeth Terris (far right) pictured here with other studs Tabitha Stine and Rachel Medina.

Full-Tilt on Correct Nomenclature
Written by Mike Hom

Workout of the Day:
Four rounds for time of:
800 Meter Run
10 Ring Dips
15 Push-Ups

What is Creep?
By Calvin Sun

As you read this blog, think about how you are sitting. Are your shoulders rolled forward and your upper back rounded? Or do you slouch down in your chair letting your lower back round? If so, you might be making life harder for yourself in the gym. Creep refers to the phenomenon in which soft tissues lose their elasticity when held in a sustained position for a long period. Think of your ligaments like rubber bands, if you keep them in a constantly lengthened position they’ll begin to lose their ability to return to their normal shape. In addition, flexing the spine puts pressure on the anterior portion of intervertebral discs, over time the discs can begin to “creep” backwards toward your precious nerves. This can cause pressure on one of the many nerves rooted to the spinal cord, the same nerves that your brain uses to control body movements.

Creep leads to bad posture and less than ideal mechanics in the gym. Take the deadlift for example, the inability to put the lumbar spine into a normal anatomical arch prevents you from being able to safely perform the movement. In addition, your discs are in an extremely vulnerable position for an injury such as disc herniation. Another common example would be overhead movements, a lack of thoracic mobility can lead to a variety of faults like hyperextension of the lower back or thoracic-lumbar hinging. So what’s the best sitting posture to prevent creep? Keep in mind that as little as 20 minutes is all it takes for creep to set in. Try standing up every 20 to 30 minutes to give your strained tissues a break. Dr. Stuart McGill, one of the top spine biomechanists in North America, suggests that the ideal sitting posture is one that continually changes, this prevents any individual tissue from accumulating too much strain. In situations where you are unable to stand up and stretch, like meetings, classes, and driving, consider making postural adjustments (like retracting the shoulder blades) throughout the day. Be consistent and you’ll be rewarded with better posture and improved performance.

Workout of the Day:
Snatch
3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3

CrossFit Cynergy in Hanson, MA is borrowing CF Invictus studs Dan and Lindsey until we can talk them into moving back to San Diego. Looking at this photo, I am still not sure why we haven't won that battle yet.

Movement Terminology
Written by Calvin Sun 

Mark’s January 28 post is a great primer on reference positions in the human body. In addition to directional terminology, you are very likely to hear your coaches talk in terms of movement. I thought it would be helpful to everyone to have a better understanding of these terms. 

• Flexion – A decrease in the angle between two body segments. (At the bottom of a squat, your hips and knees are in flexion.)
• Dorsiflexion – Flexion of the ankle, so that the toes are brought closer to the shin. (At the bottom of a squat, your ankles are in dorsiflexion.)
• Plantarflexion – Extension of the ankle, pointing of the foot and toes. (When you do double-unders, your ankles are in plantarflexion as you leave the ground.)
• Extension – An increase in the angle between two body segments, or the return from flexion. (At the top of a box jump, stand up so that your hips are in full extension.)
• Hyperextension – Extension of a limb or part beyond the normal limit. (Also known as a great way to injure yourself.)
• Adduction – Movement of a body part toward the midline. (When your knees come inward on a squat, it is known as hip adduction.)
• Abduction – Movement of a body part away from the midline. (Driving those knees outward so that they are over the toes results in hip abduction.)
• Rotation – Circular movement of a body segment about a long axis. (Throwing an object involves rotation of the hips and internal rotation of the shoulder.)
• Pronation – Rotation of the forearm so that the palm faces downward (When you do pull-ups with your palms away from you, your hands are pronated). Pronation can also refer to rotation of the foot so that the inner edge of the sole bears the body’s weight (also known as eversion).
• Supination – Rotation of the forearm segment so that the palm faces upward (When you do pull-up with your palms facing you, your hands are supinated). Supination can also refer to rotation of the foot so that the outer edge of the sole bears the body’s weight (also known as inversion).

While your trainers will always explain these terms in a way that makes sense to you (e.g., we will always tell you to push your knees out rather then telling you to abduct them), a working knowledge of these general terms will be extremely beneficial to you as an athlete.

Workout of the Day:
For time:
30 Handstand Push-Ups
40 Pull-Ups
50 KB Swings
60 Sit-Ups
70 Burpees

Why Active Shoulders?
Written by Mark Riebel 

Workout of the Day:
Five rounds for time of:
95 lb. Hang Power Snatch x 15
Run 400 Meters

Good triple extension, pulled a little early, but we have time to fix her. Don't miss Sage's Oly session tonight at 6:30 p.m.

Anatomy 101 – Terminology
Written by Mark Riebel 

Every athlete should have at least a rudimentary understanding of human anatomy in order to better comprehend the mechanics of exercises, to dissect what we coaches often say, and to gain a better understanding of your body.  Let’s begin with an overview of some significant anatomy-related terms, all translated into regular-speak.

• Proximal – this refers to the part of a bone or muscle that is closer to the center of the body relative to something else (e.g., the shoulder is located proximally to the hand). 
• Distal – refers to a part of the body farther away from the center of the body relative to something else (e.g., the hand is the distal end of the arm).
• Medial – a body part that is closer to the midline of the body.  Don’t think of this in terms of distance, but more of sides (e.g., the inner thigh is the medial portion of the leg).
• Lateral – a bone or muscle that is on the side of the body (e.g., the outer thigh is the lateral portion of the leg).
• Anterior – nearer to the front of the body (e.g., the chest is the anterior portion of the torso).
• Posterior – nearer to the back of the body (e.g., the back is the posterior portion of the torso).
• Superior – a body part located above another (e.g., the head is the most superior structure of the body).
• Inferior – a body part located below another (e.g., the foot is the most inferior portion of the body).
• Flexion – while there are a few exceptions, this generally is the closing or bending of a joint.
• Extension – generally refers to the opening or straightening of a joint.
• Origin – this can seem a bit arbitrary, but it most often refers to the attachment point of a muscle to a bone that does not move when the muscle contracts.  For example, the origins of the biceps brachii are on two parts of the scapula (your shoulder blade), and when the muscle contracts, the elbow flexes with the shoulder remaining stationary.
• Insertion – the other attachment point of a muscle located on the body part that will move with muscle contraction.  The biceps brachii inserts into the radius (one of the forearm bones) and causes the forearm to move as the elbow flexes.

Your coaches will never expect you to be experts on these terms, but if you ever catch us talking amongst ourselves about your origins and insertions, at least now you won’t be too concerned that it’s an inappropriate conversation.  And of course, if you ever catch us using these terms while coaching, feel free to slap us and ask us to repeat our advice in layman’s terms.