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.

Workout of the Day:
Push Press
5-5-5
and then,
Three rounds of:
10 Strict Pull-Ups
15 Ring Rows
20 Push Press (use approximately 50% of today’s 5-RM)
25 Push-Ups
(Emphasize full range of motion and perfect mechanics over speed.)

Local, organic, natural foods available at the Little Italy Farmer's Market

Review of the Little Italy Mercato
Written by Michele Vieux

As you may or may not know, Little Italy has a wonderful farmer’s market—The Mercato—every Saturday, year round, on Date Street. If you ever attend the Saturday morning classes, you have probably seen me stroll out for about a half hour and return with a bag of wonderful goodies.

There is a plethora of fresh produce available as well as diverse ethnicities of food vendors and unique arts and crafts. There is even a woman who makes yarn from a live rabbit right there on site! She sells products made from the rabbit yarn which I find a bit disconcerting even though the hats are quite soft.

If the rabbit lady isn’t enough to get you there, I’ll tell you the major draws for me.

Basil Tops has at least twenty varieties of pesto, spreads, dips, and marinades. My favorite is a spicy hemp seed pesto that is made with completely Paleo ingredients—olive oil, basil, hemp seed, habaneras, and sea salt—and is dairy-free!

I use the pesto for everything, especially to top eggs, salads, and fresh fish which I also get at The Mercato. There is a wonderful fish monger who gives a great deal on fish that is caught and packaged the night before. He will sell you five pieces for $20 and you may mix and match varieties as you wish. Not only do you get the five fish as you wish, the monger will throw in two “extras”. You may chose from salmon spread, poke, or ceviche. I usually go with double ceviche and eat it straight out of the container when I get home or throw it on a salad or in an omelet.

If you are looking for free-range, grass fed meats, check out the butcher where you can order beef, buffalo, elk, ostrich, and more. I haven’t had the chance to try any of these goods yet but look forward to adding them to my shopping bag in the near future.

There are also a number of stands selling free-range eggs and too many nut varieties to count on one hand.

To sum it up: you can support local farmers and businesses while eating healthy and delicious food all within walking distance of Invictus! Check it out, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Workout of the Day:
“CrossFit Total”
Three attempts for one rep max of each of the following:
Back Squat
Shoulder Press
Deadlift
(Compare total to June 1, 2009.)

The Invictus mascot, Sarah the Dingo, is glad squirrels are Paleo-approved.

A Closer Look at Agave Nectar
Written by George Economou

So as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the Paleo foods at last weekend’s potluck were amazing. But I was concerned with the use, and potential misconception, of agave nectar. There were at least two dishes that used agave as a sweetener, and I’ve heard about it being used by other athletes in the gym. This raises a red flag with me because I can remember Robb Wolf calling it “liquid death” or something along those lines. When it comes to nutrition, I trust in Robb, but this is the Invictus Blog! Our readers expect and deserve some independent research, so I did a little.

From a philosophical perspective, agave nectar probably should not be considered paleo-friendly. While the naming suggests that it is some sort of divine gift collected in buckets by a prepubescent Central/South American boy who merely tapped a cactus with a spigot, there is actually some processing involved. Pulling US Patent 5846333 – Method of producing fructose syrup from agave plants, you can read how “a pulp of milled agave plant” is processed in order to produce a “hydrolyzed fructose extract.” I’m pretty sure that Paleo-George did not have access to the cationic and anionic resins used in the process, or the inulin enzymes, but he probably was willing to fight off swarms of 20lb Paleolithic bees to get to some honey.

From a more scientific perspective, “liquid death” is probably a fitting term. On October 13^th, Calvin wrote “Low-Glycemic – Part one.” He touched on how a low GI can be deceiving when determining whether or not something is good for you. Agave nectar has a relatively low GI (10-19 depending on brand), and I’m sure Cal will mention something about how low glycemic loads should be considered in your diet. The reason behind the relatively low GI in agave is the fructose; typical agave is about 90% fructose and 10% glucose. There are many problems associated with the high fructose levels, and it makes wonderful bedtime reading (see Fructose, insulin resistance, and metabolic dyslipidemia). Here are some highlights:

• Fructose is mostly only processed to glycogen by the liver.  When you force the liver to work so hard to metabolize abnormal amounts of it, the long-term effects are disastrous.  One study showed that the“livers of rats on a high fructose diet looked like the livers of alcoholics, plugged with fat and cirrhotic.”
• Excess fructose not processed by the liver turns into triglycerides (blood fats). This is bad and can potentially lead to metabolic syndrome.
• Even with the low GI, fructose gives as high a blood sugar spike as glucose, leading to insulin resistance and Type II Diabetes.

I think the philosophical argument is strong enough to deter the use of agave nectar, or at least limit the use of it.  If you chose to embrace the Paleo diet, it was probably because you wanted the long-term health benefits associated with it. Part of receiving those benefits means cutting ties with modern man’s diet, including the desserts. That’s not to say that a little cheating is a horrible thing. Personally, I set aside one cheat dessert night a week – a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Is it good for me? Probably not, but if that’s my one cheat, I’m not going to kid myself with supposedly “natural” substitutes…I’m cheating big.