Workout of the Day:
Power Cleans
3-2-1-1-1
and then,
Teams of two must complete, 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.)

Thank you to Dutch Lowy, who put on an amazing seminar on Saturday. And thanks also to the great crew of participants.

Supplements: Glutamine
Written by Mark Riebel 

Glutamine is a common supplement usually in powder form that is said to have effects in the body such as improved immune function, reduced fatigue and muscle catabolism (breakdown), and improved recovery from exercise. It is usually recommended by the manufacturers to take a dose of a few grams following exercise or prior to bed. 

Glutamine (or L-glutamine) is the most common amino acid in the body, and is termed a “conditionally essential amino acid,” which means that the body can and does manufacture it on its own, but that the body’s use can easily outpace its creation. It is well-established that plasma levels of glutamine are depressed after intense exercise or illness, and can be used as a sign of overtraining. Glutamine plays an important role in the immune system, as it is used by rapidly dividing cells such as leukocytes. It would seem, then, that supplementing with this would improve time to exhaustion and recovery, as well as immune response. Considering that any side effects are predominantly anecdotal, it may be a win-win situation. But is it really worth your dollars, or are you better off sticking with natural sources such as beef, chicken, milk and spinach?

Research at this point seems a bit inconclusive. I was able to dig up some smaller studies showing statistically significant improvement in recovery and endurance with glutamine supplementation, but the majority of reviews found no significant benefit existed. It was also noted that while glutamine supplementation caused plasma glutamine levels to remain more constant after strenuous exercise, the associated immunodepression still occurred.

Calvin is quick to remind us that there doesn’t need to be a study for something to really work, but I get the general sense that there’s no pronounced effect from glutamine supplementation. I haven’t used glutamine before, so I can’t add my two cents. If your health care professional is cool with you taking it, and you notice a significant benefit, then by all means go for it. Or if you’ve already taken it and seen good results, let us know. 

I looked into this supplement on a request from our very own SupaStar Susan. If there’s any other supplement or snake oil that you’d like me to look into, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Workout of the Day:
Overhead Squat
3-3-3-3
and then,
For time:
400 Meter Run
30 Front Squats (Heavy)
30 Box Jumps (High)
400 Meter Run
(Challenge yourself by going as heavy and high as you can handle. The weight you select should be heavy enough to require you to break the 30 reps into 3-5 sets.)

Happy Birthday Rhonda!

And a belated Happy Birthday to the newest member of the CrossFit Invictus staff, Moses Aum (who sacrificed his facial hair for the job).

Supplements: Creatine
Written by Mark Riebel 

No other supplement for enhancing athletic performance gets as much press as creatine. This darling of the supplement industry is purported to increase muscular size, strength, and endurance in those who take it. It’s so popular that an estimate of up to 4% of the American population has taken creatine at some point, with an estimated $14M spent annually on the supplement. But does it actually work?

First a quick picture of what it is and how it functions. Creatine is an amino acid that both occurs naturally in our food and is produced in our bodies by the liver, pancreas, and kidneys. Its function in the body is to aid in energy production. If you’re not familiar with it, every single bit of energy produced in your body comes from a molecule abbreviated as ATP. There are various ways of making ATP, but all the energy for every process in your body comes from breaking off a phosphate molecule from ATP to form ADP. Now you see a minor problem—how do we get another phosphate back on there to make more energy? Fortunately, the body maintains a stockpile of these phosphates coupled with the creatine molecule. When the ATP is spent, more phosphate can be taken from the creatine phosphate and used to create more ATP. So by supplementing with creatine, in theory, you’re increasing your energy stores and thereby increasing performance as well as your ability to recover from exercise. Seeing as how the phosphagen energy system that creatine is a part of only lasts on the order of a few seconds, most of the benefit is seen in explosive activities like weightlifting and sprinting.

Scientific studies and reviews of the supplement show positive performance increases approximately 70% of the time, while the others show no statistically significant results. So it would seem that taking creatine has a good chance of increasing your strength and sprint performances, though it’s not guaranteed. 

If you choose to supplement with creatine, it’s most often taken for a 5-day “loading” period of 10-25 g/day of the supplement in order to saturate the tissues, followed by several weeks of a “maintenance” dose of 3-5 g/day. Side effects seem to be primarily anecdotal or in isolated cases, though reports of nausea and intestinal discomfort seem to be the primary complaints. So far, it appears that long-term use of the substance is also safe, though more research needs to be done concerning that matter.

As always, ask your doctor before taking any supplements, and realize that any performance enhancing substance will not exempt you from having to work hard in the gym and is in no way a substitute for a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Workout of the Day:
For time:
Run 800 Meters
30 x One-Arm DB Snatch (15 each arm)
25 x Knees to Elbows
100 Sit-Ups (anchored)
25 x Knees to Elbows
30 x One-Arm DB Snatch (15 each arm)
Run 800 Meters
 

Supplements: ZMA
Written by Mark Riebel 

ZMA stands for Zinc monomethionine or aspartate and Magnesium Aspartate, and is a vitamin and mineral supplement touted by the body building industry as a natural testosterone-enhancing substance that helps with everything from growth hormone secretion to re-growth of head hair in addition to all of the benefits one would get from increased serum testosterone levels.  It’s a simple supplement containing zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B6, in amounts typically in the ranges of 20-30 mg, 400-500 mg, and 10 mg, respectively, of each of those three substances.  So from an ingredient standpoint, it doesn’t contain any hard to pronounce or creepy sounding chemicals, which I am a fan of for something that I may ingest. 

The hype surrounding ZMA stems primarily from a study performed in the late 90’s by Western Washington University on some NCAA football players.  This 8-week trial showed that those on ZMA experienced greater strength gains and free testosterone levels compared to those on placebo.  What is not as well publicized is that the study was funded in part by Victor Conte, creator of BALCO, and patent owner for ZMA.  Although I found other anecdotal evidence of studies ‘proving’ these increases, I couldn’t find those studies, much less even an abstract of the aforementioned one without laying down $25.  That seems a bit strange to me, and for those of you who know just how much of a skeptic I am, it’s going to take a lot more than a few mentions of studies to convince me of supplement claims. 

On the other hand, two studies that I was able to dig up (one performed at Baylor University…now that sounds like a great school!) showed that ZMA had no measurable effects on either free or excreted testosterone levels in trained subjects.  So in short, I’m not a believer of the claims that my testosterone levels will be affected by taking a few of these pills.

However, I happen to take ZMA for another reason, and it’s one that can’t easily be quantified by a clinical trial—quality of sleep.  ZMA seems to have the effect of deepening the sleep and increasing the dreams of the majority of its takers—I’ll refer you to Cynthia’s cheeseburger dream for evidence of that.  It doesn’t have an effect of helping you fall asleep, only improving the quality of what you get.  Perhaps those six hours that you usually get will now feel like a full eight. 

Side effects in the recommended dosages are slim to none, but there is still some risk of toxicity if you plan on taking copious amounts of it.  If you choose to take ZMA, avoid taking it with dairy or calcium-containing substances, as this can block some absorption of the zinc.

Workout of the Day:
Front Squat
3-3-3-3
and then,
For time:
10 Thrusters (Heavy – challenge yourself)
50 Double-Unders
8 Thrusters
40 Double-Unders
6 Thrusters
30 Double-Unders
4 Thrusters
20 Double-Unders
2 Thrusters
10 Double-Unders

Supplements: Fish Oil and other Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Written by Mark Riebel 

When it comes to cardiovascular health, the latest nutritional buzz word is definitely “omega-3 fatty acids,” and significant amounts of studies show that this is rightfully earned. An early study of Eskimos in Greenland noted that their diet which was high in omega-3 (ω-3) containing fatty fish resulted in a much lower incidence of cardiovascular disease than did Danes or Americans. In the several decades since, ω-3’s have been studied exhaustively, showing improvements ranging from blood chemistry to treatment of macular degeneration. The FDA released an official statement in 2004 substantiating the cardiovascular health benefits of DHA and EPA, though they did not comment on the other supposed benefits. This post is written on the premise that ω-3’s have a legitimate benefit to health.

As Barry Sears explains in Enter the Zone, ω-3 fatty acids work by acting as building blocks for things called eicosanoids (eye-KAH-sah-noids), which are short-lived substances in your body that regulate things such as inflammation and immune response. The “good” eicosanoids derived from ω-3’s have anti-inflammatory properties, and are thought to improve cardiovascular health through increased blood flow. On the other hand, “bad” eicosanoids lead to increased inflammation and thereby decreased heart health. The three ω-3’s that you hear the most about are α-linoleic acid (ALA) which comes from sources such as flax seed, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which are most often found in fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel.

There are multiple ways of getting sufficient ω-3’s from your everyday diet (I feel this is the best option), but if your diet doesn’t happen to include these natural sources of ω-3’s, supplements may be an option. Many choose supplements due to concerns over toxins in fish.

The World Health Organization recommends approximately 0.3-0.5 g/day of EPA+DHA and 0.8-1.1 g/day of ALA, the FDA recommends not exceeding 3 g/day of EPA+DHA with no more than 2 g coming from supplements, while others including CrossFit nutrition guru Robb Wolf say that up to 1-2 g/10 lbs. of body weight/day is perfectly safe and beneficial. If you aren’t a fan of supplements and don’t appreciate fatty fish, know that ALA can be converted to EPA and DHA by the body, but only at an effective amount around 2-15%, so you’re better off with the fish than mega-dosing on the flax seed.

Workout del Dia:
Push Jerk
5-5-5
and then,
For time:
12 “Clusters” – a squat clean/thruster combination
24 Pull-Ups
9  Clusters
18 Pull-Ups
6 Clusters
12 Pull-Ups
(Suggested load, 135 lbs. for men, 95 lbs. for women.)

Supplements: Multivitamins
Written by Mark Riebel

Questions are often raised to our coaches concerning vitamins, minerals, and other supplements that people are interested in taking. Let me start by saying that supplements are not necessary. If you’re eating a varied diet of lean meats, veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar, you’ll have a diet that will fill all of your nutritional needs. There’s even some evidence to suggest that supplements, multivitamin/mineral supplements (MVM’s) in this case, have no significant long-term benefit when it comes to disease prevention.

However, most of our diets aren’t examples of perfection, and supplements can help to fill those gaps. But before I throw in my plug for MVM’s, know that supplements are not substitutes for a healthy diet and lifestyle, there are no shortcuts to achieving your health and physical fitness goals, and, as always, consult with your doctor before you start ingesting any supplement.

So what do you look for when selecting a MVM? Most multis contain a typical blend of all the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs, so there’s only a small range of choice there. For women though, it is often advised to use a supplement containing iron, due to iron loss during menstruation, and calcium for the role it plays in bone health. As far as amounts, I don’t think it’s necessary to consume a multi that contains much more than the recommended daily intake (RDI). Legendary strength coach Bill Starr is a proponent of what he calls the “shovel method,” which is to say that he takes very high amounts of various micronutrients and lets his body sort it out. While the human body is an expert at filtering out the excess nutrients and your risk of vitamin toxicity is fairly low, I’d recommend a bit more restraint. I say this because taking too much of a nutrient (particularly the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K) will literally result in you pissing your money away. I also suggest taking your MVM with a meal, as this helps to alleviate some of the stomach discomfort some experience with MVM’s and improves absorption of the aforementioned fat-soluble vitamins.

Without the aid of comprehensive blood analysis, many of us will not know whether we are nutritionally lacking some micronutrient, but if you feel that you may be or just want some extra insurance, a MVM can have a very real and useful place in your diet. I believe they do, and they are a daily part of mine.