Workout of the Day:
Complete two cleans or power cleans on the minute, every minute, for 25 minutes.
Record and report the total amount of weight you clean during the 25 minutes.

The challenge: Can you clean 10,000 lbs. in this workout?

Alcohol and Your Health & Fitness Goals
Written by Nichole DeHart

In no way am I advocating for or against alcohol in this post. I do, however, think it is important to be well informed when making decisions about your health. The consumption of alcohol seems to be a question that comes up often, so I will use this as a platform to write a few facts about alcohol and its effects on your body. Remember that if you do enjoy having an alcoholic beverage, then moderation and balance is the key.

• Alcohol drastically effects the amount of fat your body can and will burn for energy. Here is the deal – when alcohol goes through the liver it creates a by-product called Acetate. Acetate is no good when trying to burn fat. Acetate does the opposite of fat burning; it puts the brakes on it. How so? Your body uses many types of fuel (protein, carbohydrates and fat) but the fuel used by your body is dictated by its availability. When you drink alcohol your acetate levels increase, therefore your body burns more acetate as fuel and stores the excess calories from food as fat.

• Alcohol decreases testosterone and increases Cortisol.

• Vitamin and mineral absorption is decreased. Your liver is too busy converting the alcohol to acetate to be concerned about the vitamins and minerals you have just consumed.

• Decrease in protein synthesis of Type II fibers – these are the fast-twitch fibers that make you strong and explosive. No! We love Type II fibers and want to avoid the possibility of ever decreasing the creation and accumulation of Type II fibers.

• Dehydration – dehydrated muscles are weak and more prone to injury.

• Osteoporosis and some forms of arthritis can be advanced by alcohol abuse. Alcohol can also lead to muscle atrophy.

• Prolonged exposure to alcohol can erode the stomach lining and cause chronic blood seepage into the stomach.

• Sleep! Alcohol can affect the quality of ones sleep. Please refer back to these informative posts about the benefits of sleep. http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/2010/03/tuesday-march-16-2010/

Alcohol has a significant effect on the body and your possible health goals. So next time you go out for a drink or pour yourself a glass of wine, consider some of the effects that alcohol can have on your fitness goals.

Workout of the Day:
Snatch (Power or Full)
3-2-1-1-1
and then,
Three rounds for as many repetitions of cleans as possible in three minutes of:
200 Meter Farmer’s Walk (as heavy as you can handle)
Sandbag Cleans (ground to shoulder – Men 90 lbs./Women 60 lbs.)
Rest three minutes between rounds.

Where Your Water Comes From
Written by George Economou

If you live in San Diego, you should have received a copy of the 2009 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.  This report explains a little about where our water comes from, and how safe it is to drink based off acceptable federal contaminant levels; there is a ton more information on the City of San Diego’s water website.

Our tap water is pretty much as clean as you can get using big city standards, but there are things about it that I don’t like.  First, any water source has the potential to get contaminated by a variety of things:
-Environmental chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, by-products of chlorination like trihalomethanes, etc.
-Heavy metals like lead, copper, and nitrates.
-Bacteria, possibly from animal and human feces (i.e. giardia).
-Radiological pollution.

Unfortunately, one of the most effective ways of making the amount of potable water needed for a large population is chlorination.  Chlorine is a great killer of bacteria, both good and bad.  While we want to keep the “bad” bugs out of our system, our gut is filled with “good” bacteria that aid in digestion and keep the “bad” bacteria in check.  Aside from the potentially carcinogenic by-products of the chlorination process, I have a greater concern for on-going battle between good and evil going on in my gut.

If you’re not drinking water from the tap, you’re probably drinking bottled water.  Remember the fun fact about the price of water compared to gasoline? Water is BIG business, and as such, there are a lot of folks trying to make money.  Here’s a quick way to decipher where your bottled water comes from:

Purified Water- Tap water that is filtered again.

Mountain Spring Water – Water that was either snow or rain and was filtered through a mountain’s natural filtering system.  Usually has a higher mineral content than purified water, but still needs to go through some kind of disinfection/filtering process in order to remove “floaties.”  Generally, the higher the mountain the better as it is farther removed from the things of man.

Artesian Water – Water from an underground well that naturally rises to the surface due to a build up of pressure.  This water has usually been in the ground for hundreds to thousands of years and has undergone the natural filtering process called Earth.  Again, a higher mineral content, and you want to check the source to make sure it couldn’t have been impacted by local runoff.

Glacial Water – You guessed it…water melted off of a glacier.  I would consider this the ultimate in “clean” as you’re drinking water that has probably been frozen for hundreds of thousands of years.  While climbing in Alaska, Human and I had the opportunity to drink some fresh melt and it was honestly the best water I’ve ever had.

Filtering Options

If you’re more of a DIY kind of person, here’s a quick rundown on filtering processes:

Carbon Filters – Brita is a common example, although solid-carbon-block filters generally get better effects than the granular ones.  Carbon filters remove most organic chemicals, pesticides, chlorine, bacteria, some metals (lead, iron, copper), and radon.  They will not filter out arsenic, nitrates, viruses or radioactive particles.

Reverse osmosis – I drank this while deployed on the USS PELELIU as this was the primary method of desalination of seawater.  More common in large industrial projects and is good at removing toxic metals, but not many organic chemicals.

Distillation – Similar in concept to that toilet hooch you made in prison, the process involves boiling water, capturing and cooling the steam, leaving you with clean water.  Probably the best all around process, but if you go this route you’re probably looking at getting a whole-house filtering system.

*Something that we don’t think about all that often is how much water we absorb through our skin or via inhalation.  One way to address this would be to install a filter on your showerhead.  Check out www.healthyhome.com for some cool, and relatively inexpensive, products that will help remove chlorine –and the dreaded trihalomethanes- from your shower time.

Workout of the Day:
Power Cleans
3-2-1-1-1
and then,
Teams of two must complete, three rounds each, as quickly as possible:
15 x Thrusters (135/95 lbs.)
15 x Burpee/Pull-Ups
Run 400 Meters
(One partner storms through the entire round. Once your partner returns from their 400 meter run, begin your next round. Repeat until both partners have completed three rounds. If you don’t have a partner, rest 3-5 minutes between rounds.)

Water, what is it good for?
Written by George Economou

Grass fed beef – check.
Free range chicken – check.
Fish oil – check.
Organic veggies – check.
Water – …

When was the last time you thought about the water that goes in your body?  You’ve probably been concerned about the quality of your meats, and made sure to sign up for that CSA (see 16 Nov 2009 – An almost paleo week).  Now it’s time to focus on one of the most important components of healthy living…water.

Fun Facts:
-Over 2/3 of the world is covered with water, and only about 3% of that is fresh water.  Of that 3%, only 1% is drinkable.
-In the U.S., 80% of residential water goes to landscaping.
-Right now, you can go to Amazon and buy 3 gallons of Fiji water for 39.95.  Or 3 gallons of gas will cost you around $9.50.
-Under OPTIMAL conditions, you can survive for up to 30 days without food, but only 4-10 days without water.

Water and Health

Your body is composed of 60-75% water, by far a greater percentage of your body than any of the macronutrients.  Heart, lungs, kidneys and blood are all about 80% water; muscles, intestine and brain are about 75% water.  In order for these parts of the body to work optimally, they need their share of the water.  Considering how much blood is comprised of water, a major concern for dehydration is a reduced blood volume and, therefore, a reduced ability to:
-Transport oxygen-rich red blood cells to muscle and tissues, and remove CO₂ and other waste products.
-Transport nutrients to cells: glucose, fats and amino acids…those veggies, fish oil and grass fed beef you’ve been so diligent on ingesting.
-Transport and regulate hormones.

Paul Chek makes a pretty good analogy:
“Imagine your intestines being like a riverbed. When there’s a lot of water flowing through them, the fish are happy. They swim better, and the whole system works as it should. In the human body, the fish are like the digestive enzymes, which need enough water to swim about and make the whole process of digestion works as it should. If there’s not enough water, the enzymes have a hard time getting around, and that means poorer absorption of muscle-building nutrients. Keep your fish swimming effectively and drink water with every meal.”

Water and Fitness

We’ve probably all felt the effects of poor hydration while on a run or a conditioning workout, but did you know there’s a significant link between dehydration and strength loss?

Legendary strength coach Charles Poliquin has this to say about water:

“Hydration is the greatest determinant of strength. A drop of 1.5% in water levels translates in drop of 10% your maximal strength. The leaner you are, the worse it is. Make sure you weigh the same or more at the end of your training session. High water levels = more sets & reps = greater changes.”

Another consideration for dehydration is the role water plays as your body’s coolant.  Without proper hydration, our body cannot regulate its core temperature, which can lead to some disastrous consequences: fatigue, heat exhaustion, heatstroke and possibly death.  Our men and women in uniform are very familiar with the military’s recommendation for water consumption in a hot environment: one liter of water per hour while training.

But let’s assume you are not in the military or in the desert…how much water should you drink?  Dr. F. Batmanghelidj (Your Body’s Many Cries for Water) recommends the following: Bodyweight(lbs)/2 = how many ounces a day.  So if I weigh 160lbs, that’s 80 ounces a day, or about 10 glasses of water, or 2 ½ Nalgene Bottles, or 2 Super Big Gulps.  Poliquin recommends 0.6 – 0.7 ounces per pound of bodyweight.

Relative to WHEN you exercise, here’s my (and the NSCA) recommendation:
-Prior to training – drink at least 16 ounces a couple hours before exercise.
-During training – keep water handy and drink 6-8 ounces every 15 minutes. *I would recommend holding off on taking a water break during a conditioning workout, especially if it’s less than 15 minutes.
-After training – try to replace the fluids you lost within an hour of finishing.

Helpful Drinking Tips

-Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink.  If you wait that long, you’re already slightly dehydrated.
-Have a bottle of water around you all the time.  Keep one at work, in your car, wherever you spend significant amounts of time during your day.  Get used to drinking water throughout the day.
-Get used to drinking water before and after exercising.
-Avoid chlorinated and fluoridated water.  More on this later.
-Learn to read your urine.  Your pee should be relatively clear.  The darker the pee, the more water you need to drink.  Your pee should be it’s darkest the first evacuation of the day, aka, morning pee.
-Another great Chek quote:
“There’s an old Tibetan saying, “Drink your food and chew your water.” That means you should chew your food until it’s a liquid, and when you drink a liquid you shouldn’t just slam it. You should move it around your mouth as though it was food because that mixes saliva with the water.”

Workout of the Day:
Take 15-18 minutes to find your new 1-RM Bench Press;
and then,
Five sets of:
Max Reps of Bench Press with 70% of today’s 1-RM
Rest 15 seconds
Max Reps Unbroken Pull-Ups
Rest 4 minutes
(If you don’t have more than 6-8 unbroken pull-ups, complete 12-15 pull-ups with as few breaks or as little assistance as possible.)

Richard is still working hard even while at sea. Keep up the good work buddy!

The USS Dubuque set up.

Feeding Your Family Healthier: Grass Fed Beef vs. Corn Fed Beef

Cows were not designed to eat corn or any other grain.  They are ruminants, which means they have multiple chambered stomachs for eating and digesting grass like no other species can do.  Unfortunately the majority of our beef cattle are being force-fed corn in feedlots instead of being allowed to graze on the pasture.  It’s cheaper, it fattens them up quickly, and it doesn’t require as much land or skill.  But all of this has significantly adverse affects on our family’s health.  Here are some of the major advantages of switching to grass fed beef:

1. The Fat Factor - Grass fed beef is much lower in total fat, especially saturated fat.  A four ounce serving of grass fed beef typically has 7-10 grams of total fat, compared to 14-16 grams in the same cut of corn fed beef.  Grass fed beef, besides being lower in saturated fat, also contains Omega 3’s.  The Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio for corn fed beef is 20:1 while grass fed is only 3:1.  This is virtually the same levels as fish and much more ideal for you and your family.

2. More Nutritious – Grass fed beef is not only a natural source of Omega-3 fatty acids, but also, unlike corn fed beef is high in CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), beta carotene, and up to 400% higher in vitamins A and E.  In recent decades, red meat has received a lot of flack from nutritional scientists. The truth is that the real enemy is not red meat itself, but the factory farmed red meat.

3. More Humane – You don’t have to be a vegetarian or an animal rights activist (neither of which I am) to find the conditions of feed lot animals to be cruel and intolerable.  Hundreds of thousands of cows are crammed into cages barely larger than their own bodies standing knee deep in manure.  They are force fed corn which is unnatural and unhealthy for their digestive system.  They are injected with antibiotics and other drugs to prevent them from getting sick from the food and the horrible living conditions, only to be slaughtered at 14 months (grass fed cows take an average of 4-5 years to reach slaughter weight).

There are so many more reasons to purchase grass fed beef over corn fed that we don’t have the space to cover in this format: it’s better for the environment, it reduces the chance of getting e. coli, and you don’t have to worry if your ingesting antibiotics or hormones.  One or all of these reasons should be sufficient to make the choice to spend a few extra dollars on grass fed meat as it is an investment in your family’s long-term health.

But keep in mind a common mistake, grass-fed is not the same as organic.  Natural food stores often sell organic beef that is hormone and antibiotic free.  These still typically come from animals that spent their lives in feedlots where they were fed grain, even if the grain is raised organically.  You want to look for a meat label that specifically says it is both grass-fed and organic.  Here are a few places to look in the San Diego area:

Ground Beef – Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, ranging from $5.99-$7.99 lb.
Steaks – Whole foods and Homegrown Meats in La Jolla has a great selection.

There are also a number of online retailers that will ship you grass fed beef, like U.S. Wellness Meats.

If you didn’t used to care what your beef was eating, hopefully now you know the facts; grass fed beef is a much better choice for feeding your family healthier.

Workout of the Day:
Take 12-15 minutes to work up to a heavy 5-rep back squat;
and then,
Every five minutes, for a total of 5 sets, complete the following as quickly as possible:
Back Squat x 6 reps (use approximately 85% of today’s 5-RM)
Russian Step-Ups x 9 reps each leg (click here for OPT’s demo video – select “Lower” tab)
30 Double-Unders

Thom stayed on the seat for 997 of Saturday's 1000 meters.

Fats: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Part Two
Written by Nichole DeHart

On Tuesday, we examined the Bad and the Ugly types of dietary fats, but also noted that not all fats are bad.  Your body needs fats to thrive and survive, but it needs “Good” fats.  Here is a quick overview on why your body needs good fats (essential fatty acids) and what you can eat to obtain these Omega-3 fatty acids.

Essential Fatty Acids: These magnificent fats are an active ingredient in many of your bodies functions.  Adequate Omega-3 consumption supports brain cell function and nervous system activity. Ingestion of Omega-3 actually helps reduce the risk of high blood pressure, blood clots, arthritis, autoimmune disorders and cognitive problems. They help your digestive system in assimilating nutrients and blocking out allergens. They play a major role in glandular function and immune system operation as well as in your hemoglobin oxygen-transport system. Omega-3s will also help control inflammation, which is a precursor for almost all metabolic diseases. These bad boys are the substance and foundation of life!

You can consume an adequate amount of Omega-3s by making sure your diet consists of high omega-3 foods such as grass-fed animal meats, fish, nuts, seeds, avocado and healthy oils like coconut oil and olive oil. Shop at your local farmers market to find any one of these products. If you would like to read more on how you can consume an adequate amount of Omega-3s by taking fish oil, read Calvin Sun’s blog post here.

You may also be interested in reading about the amazing benefits of cooking with coconut oil found in Michele Vieux’s blog post.

If you are interested in learning more about how to eat healthier I suggest you talk to any of the coaches at Invictus. Michele Vieux is currently offering nutritional counseling and will personally help you cook healthy, Paleo meals at your request. You may also learn more about healthy eating by reading Robb Wolf’s blog. I also recommend picking up the book The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson (or check out his blog), it is full of useful and practical information.

In short, understanding the role of dietary fats as a part of good nutrition is not that difficult.  Fats are not equal.  Eat an adequate amount of foods containing the Good – Omega-3s, and avoid the Bad and Ugly – the poisonous hydrogenated oils.  Your body will thank you!

Workout of the Day:
Take approximately 10-12 minutes to work up to approximately 85% of your 1-RM deadlift;
and then,
Every four minutes, for a total of eight sets, complete the following as quickly as possible:
Deadlift x 3 reps (use approximately 85% of your 1-RM)
Box Jumps x 12 reps
Sprint 200 Meters

(Rest the remainder of the 4 minute cycle.  Record the time to completion in each of the 8 sets.)

Chanel rocked last weekend's Invictus Athletes' Challenge

Fats: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – Part One
Written by Nichole DeHart

There are lots of rumors floating around about fat. Rumors like “you must go on a low fat diet to lose weight” and “one must cut out the fat to lose fat.” These are hideous lies. Fats are our friend, in fact our best friend. Consuming healthy fats (aka, “good fats”) supports optimal function of all the systems in the body and helps one feel satisfied. But it is important to distinguish between the good, the bad and the ugly fats. What, exactly, are the bad fats?

Trans, Hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated Fats: These fats are very similar to each other and are toxic to the body. These fats (which are not quite the same, but are similarly destructive) are created by heating and chemically treating vegetable and seed oils. The fats are then rendered solid, thereby extending their shelf life. Here is where their destructiveness takes place in the body: these fats easily oxidize to form free radical chain reactions that actually damage cell membranes and body tissue as well as compromise immune function. Free radicals are incomplete, unstable molecules and can cause damage to the cell membrane, vessel wall and even the DNA nucleus of the cell. Since most systems of your body are composed of membranes (vascular system, nervous system) they can be severely damaged by these free radical chain reactions.

Basically, hydrogenated fats change the permeability of the cell membrane and can cause the cell to malfunction. This is something you want to avoid since the cell membrane basically runs the show. The membrane receives feedback from the outside environment and acts accordingly to the information received. Consuming these partially hydrogenated fats, however, trick your cell membranes. You are now replacing your once beautiful, natural molecules with ugly, synthetic, dysfunctional molecules and the once intricate signaling system of the cell membrane has now been compromised. Yikes. The consistent ingestion of these dangerous fats can lead to diet related cancers, inflammation, can promote aging, can lead to obesity and possibly premature death.

So how do you avoid these trans, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats?  Don’t eat processed food.

Bad fats are found in almost every processed food found at your grocery store. These include pastries, packaged snacks, frozen dinners, breakfast foods, even grain products! It is estimated that about 40% of all products in a typical supermarket contain partially hydrogenated oils. When grocery shopping, avoid going down the aisles where most of the hydrogenated fats are located. Instead, shop the perimiter of the store where you can buy real food. Make a habit of turning your item over and reading the ingredients label. If there are more than three things listed under ingredients, your best bet is to put it back on the shelf. Better yet, buy products that don’t need an ingredient label, like anything in the produce department and the deli section.

Now don’t get all crazy on me after you’ve read about these bad fats and cut fat out completely. Your body does need fats but it needs the healthy kind. On Thursday I will help provide you with a quick overview on why your body needs good fats (essential fatty acids) and what you can eat to obtain these Omega-3 fatty acids.

Workout of the Day:
Five sets of:
Press x 3 reps
Rest 90 seconds
Unilateral Hip Bridge x 12 reps (each leg)
(Check out the fabulous Sage B. demonstrating how to perform a unilateral hip bridge.)
Rest 90 seconds;
and then,
Three sets of 4-minute “Cindy” sprints (5 Pull-Ups, 10 Push-Ups, 15 Squats) – Perform as many rounds as possible in 4 minutes, then rest 90 seconds between rounds and pick up where you left off to start the next round.  Score total number of rounds completed, and compare with Monday, February 8, 2010 score.

Not exactly how we teach the box jump, but she's up there.

Plan for Success – Part Two
Written by C.J. Martin

In yesterday’s blog post I explained the four-step process that I use to plan my meals for the week.  Today I’ll delve a little deeper into what that plan looks like and my secret weapon to keeping a bit of variety in my diet.

You’ll hopefully notice that there is some variety in my diet.  There are two reasons for this: (1) it gets really boring to eat the same thing every day; and (2) rotating your foods has a ton of health benefits.  I’ll save that for a future post, but do some research on food rotation, particularly if you have any food sensitivities or allergies.

I want to be very clear on one thing though, how I eat is not necessarily what will be best for you.  Every individual has his or her own preferences and needs.  Some individuals tolerate carbohydrates better than others, need more calories than others, etc….  The point of providing you a list of what I am eating this week is merely to give you a template that you can customize for your own personal needs.  (And of course, if you want more help with this, our coaching staff would be happy to spend 60-90 minutes going over your individual plans.)  Here is my plan for the current week:

Early a.m. (5:30 a.m.) and Late Evening (9:00 p.m.)

I take in some variant of a protein shake for both of these meals Monday through Friday.  This is just something simple to get some protein and micronutrients in before and after my longest fasting period of the day.  It’s too early or late to cook anything, so I substitute consistency and convenience for variety here.

Whey Protein and water.  Look around for a brand that suits your needs, but checkout Jarrow and Dream Protein as two good options that come from cleaner sources than most.  Ideally I would throw some Greens First and Carlson’s Fish Oil in to the shake as well, but I am waiting for my Greens First to arrive.  (Side note, Optimum Performance Training sells all of these if you want a one stop shopping experience.)   If I feel like I need more carbohydrates or am craving something sweet, I will throw in frozen berries and/or a big tablespoon of almond butter.

Breakfast (8:00)

Monday and Thursday – Scrambled eggs with broccolini and onions with a small bowl of blueberries.  I use the Omega-3 enriched eggs, and I eat the yolks (even though Barry Sears quite literally said he “puts the yolks where the sun don’t shine” – I am sure he didn’t really mean that how it sounded, but he said it and Michele’s pictorial notes almost made me pee my pants in front of a couple of hundred CrossFitters).

Tuesday and Friday – Chicken hash.  I take chicken breast, peppers (tricolor), celery and apples, chop them and stir-fry them together with a little bit of crushed red pepper and cinnamon.  Some people think the cinnamon is weird.  I think it is delicious.

Wednesday – Two Henry’s chicken sausage links with Swiss chard, golden raisins and pine nuts.  These sausages are hand-packed at Henry’s, which is much better than the preservative-laden sausages that come in packages.

Late Morning (11:00 a.m.)

Monday, Wednesday and Friday – Chicken Salad on top of organic greens and an apple.  The chicken is boiled and shredded and mixed with an egg and olive oil mayonaissey thing.  Throw some cilantro, chopped onions and celery in it too for a bit more flavor.

Tuesday – Turkey patty with grilled veggies (asparagus and zucchini) and an orange.  I use ground turkey breast – it’s more expensive, but it also has a much better protein and fat profile, and heck, I kind of like to know which part of the bird I am eating.

Thursday – Buffalo patty with grilled veggies (not sure which until Wednesday) and an apple.

Lunch (2:00 p.m.)

Monday and Thursday – Chicken breast with Swiss Chard, golden raisins and pine nuts.  This is seriously delicious, even if my explanation of it doesn’t sound appealing.

Tuesday – Grilled steak (top sirloin, I think) and sautéed vegetables (zucchini and onions) and sliced heirloom tomatoes with basil leaves.

Wednesday – Turkey cutlets and asparagus.  Nothing fancy here, just easy to season and prepares quickly.

Friday – Buffalo patty and grilled veggies or heirloom tomatoes with basil leaves.

Dinner (5:00 p.m.) – My Secret Weapon

I have been fortunate enough to have a few good ideas in my lifetime, but more fortunate to be surrounded by really cool folks who are up for adventure and who get along really well.  The latter enables the former.

For dinner, I was able to get some of my closest friends and family to agree to a food swap co-op.  Each is responsible for cooking dinner or breakfast for the rest of the group once a week.  So, someone is responsible for cooking and delivering meals to the gym on Monday, another takes Tuesday, and so on through Thursday.  And because we have five groups in our co-op, we also get a breakfast on Wednesday.

The co-op works really well because it is much easier to prepare one meal, with the same ingredients, for 10 people than it would be to prepare 5 different meals for one or two.  And it means that you only have to prepare dinner once per week.

Before you get too excited about this, remember that EVERYONE in the group has to be adventurous, and the group has to have a somewhat unified perspective on what is healthful and delicious.  It also doesn’t hurt to recruit some amazing cooks, like Michele, Courtney, Sarah the Human, Krazy K, and Coach Calvin Sun!! (ladies, I do not lie, this man can cook).

That’s it.  Now you all know my nutrition secrets and how I plan for success.  If you have any helpful strategies or recipes for good meals, PLEASE SEND THEM TO ME!!!  I am always looking for good recipes to post on the blog, and if everyone contributes just one we will have a year’s worth of delicious meals that we can all choose from.

Workout of the Day:
Three sets of:
Front Squat x 4-6 reps
Rest 90 seconds
Knees to Elbows x 8-12 reps
Rest 2 minutes;
and then,
Three rounds for time of:
Hang Power Cleans (155/105 lbs.) x 6 reps
Box Jumps (24″/18″) x 12 reps
400 Meter Run

This is what success looks like for me.

Plan for Success
Written by C.J. Martin

Success is never simply a result of good luck.  It is a product of preparing and putting yourself in the right position to benefit from opportunities and lucky breaks, or it is a product of taking advantage of opportunities you created.  This is particularly true when it comes to your nutrition.

Eating clean for a full week takes a lot of work.  Most of us are not so lucky as to be surrounded during the day with lean proteins, organic vegetables, avocados and nuts.  It’s more likely that your workplace has an abundance of preservative-rich, highly processed gems like Hostess donuts, Sun Chips, candy bars, and soda.  If you’re lucky, your office treats you to catered donuts and bagels for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and/or Chinese food (with all manner of fried goods) for dinner.  And of course, no work environment is complete without bowls of sugary treats – mints, chocolates, butterscotch, etc. – scattered all over the place.  So how do you expect to succeed in that environment?  Do you have a plan?

Avoiding the temptation of grabbing a free donut or Hershey Kiss is much easier if you have a healthy meal available to you and you are maintaining your blood sugar levels by eating balanced meals throughout the day.  But if you’re like me, you don’t have time to come home every night and prepare meals for the next day.  So, Sunday and Wednesday are my meal preparation days.  Here is my four-step process to ensure that I eat well throughout the week:

Step One: Review my CSA email.  I subscribe to a Community Supported Agriculture program that provides me with a box of locally grown, organic vegetables and fruit every week.  They send out an email early in the week informing their members what produce will come in their box.  I like using everything they give me because (a) I am cheap and don’t want to waste it, and (b) locally grown organic produce tastes one hundred times better than anything I have purchased in a store.

Step Two: Plan my meals.  I figure out what I am going to eat at each meal, for each day of the week.  I have a long day, so I break mine into 6 meals – early a.m. (5:30), breakfast (8:00), late a.m. (11:00), lunch (2:00), Dinner (5:00), late evening snack (9:00).  Here’s what my geeky spreadsheet looks like.  (Tough to see, so I will elaborate tomorrow.)

Step Three: Grocery shopping.  Based on my meal plan, I can shop effectively for the ingredients I need (and only those ingredients so I don’t waste food).

Step Four: Food preparation and packaging.  Bust out your pots, pans and a truckload of Tupperware.  Once the food is cooked, portion it out into the serving size in which you will enjoy it.  (Pictured above from left to right, early a.m., breakfast, late a.m., and lunch for Monday through Wednesday – tomorrow I’ll explain why dinner and late evening is not pictured.)

Finally, I must note that I have a LOT of help with this process.  Whether you have a significant other or not, recruit some help.  Make this a social event with friends and family.  Prepare enough food for everyone involved and it makes spending a couple of hours together fun and productive.

Workout of the Day:
Three sets of:
Bulgarian Split Squat or Split Squat x 6 reps each leg
Rest 2 minutes
Wheel or Barbell Roll-Outs x 6-12 reps
Rest 2 minutes;
and then,
As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:
One-Arm Dumbbell Snatch x 20 (10 each arm)
Jumping Lunges/Alternating Split Squats x 20 (10 each leg)
200 Meter Sprint

Liquid Death
Written by Calvin Sun

With the increasing popularity of the Paleo Diet, many people are turning to agave nectar as a sweetener in many of their favorite recipes. It’s understandable to see why people would think of using agave nectar as it doesn’t add any other flavors like many sweeteners and it tastes sweeter than sugar. Unfortunately, it’s not Paleo and it’s definitely not good for you. So imagine my surprise when I was walking through the aisles of my local Costco only to be confronted by a gigantic pallet of agave nectar. The labeling advertised it as a “low glycemic organic sweetener” and it must have worked because it was selling like there’s no tomorrow. Today, we’ll discuss some of the reasons why you should reconsider indulging in this sweet poison.

It’s a Refined Sugar

Don’t be fooled by words like “organic” and “natural” on the labeling. Substituting your usual sugar with agave nectar is far from making a healthier choice. A few weeks ago George noted that despite it’s appealing name, agave nectar is a highly processed and refined product. The fact that it’s manufacturing process is patented should probably be a big clue that it’s not as “natural” as they would like you to think. Let’s keep in mind the premise of the Paleo Diet, consumption of refined carbohydrates was an impossibility for Paleolithic humans.

Agave Nectar Makes You Fat

High-fructose corn syrup is the primary sweetener that you find in most sodas, “sports” drinks, and many other foods, and it contains about 55% fructose and 45% glucose. Agave nectar, on the other hand, contains about 90-97% fructose and 3-10% glucose. I guess marketers decided that agave nectar sounded better than “really freakin’ high fructose syrup.” Fructose is an isomer of glucose, meaning that both have the same chemical formula but different molecular arrangements. Because of their different molecular arrangements, fructose is not digested in the same fashion as glucose. This is problematic because fructose tends to promote a process known as lipogenesis (lipo- meaning “fat” and -genesis meaning “creation of”), in other words fructose consumption results in your body manufacturing fatty acids from carbohydrates. Far from ideal when looking good in a swimsuit is your goal.

Agave Nectar Might Kill You

According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, fructose consumption has been directly linked to obesity. Instead of being digested in the small intestine, fructose passes unchanged into the portal vein where it is directed to the liver to be processed. Once in the liver, fructose is broken down into components that readily form triglycerides. Subjects that were fed a diet that contained 17% fructose experienced a massive 32% increase in plasma triglycerides. High triglycerides are associated with metabolic syndrome which is indicative of increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

In conclusion, you should strive to eliminate all processed and refined carbohydrates from your diet. Agave nectar, table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, and even artificial sweeteners should be avoided (read my posts on Splenda here and here). You have to make an effort to read labels as refined sugar is in everything from sweet foods like sodas and ice cream to savory foods like deli meats and sauces. Of course, this is not to say that there aren’t any good uses for the agave plant. Fermented agave, for example, is a favored drink amongst many CrossFitters, but that’s a discussion for another day.