Workout of the Day:
Back Squat
3-3-3-3-3-3-3
The First Rule of Fitness
Written by C.J. Martin
Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.
This is the first prescription of “World Class Fitness in 100 Words” (CrossFit Journal, October 2002). With so much information (and misinformation) available to us, sometimes we can lose sight of the importance of this eloquent and concise prescription. Supplement companies are making millions from cure-all powders that fail to deliver the promised results. But what if there really is a cure-all?
Nutrition guru Robb Wolf and his wife Nicki, owners of CrossFit NorCal, are making a compelling argument for the Paleo Diet being a true cure-all for myriad health problems. A clean Paleo Diet means avoiding gluten. Gluten could very well be the underlying mechanism for all autoimmune disorders (e.g., Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis, etc…). There is also evidence that it, along with insulin resistance, leads to systemic inflammation and a precipitous rise in the occurrence of cancer, Alzheimer’s, Osteoperosis, chronic pain and Parkinson’s, to name a few. The science (Robb’s background) supports the argument, but more importantly, so do the results with real clients who CrossFit twice weekly and adhere to Robb and Nicki’s recommended nutrition principles – which just so happen to be entirely consistent with the first prescription of “World Class Fitness in 100 Words.” They have literally saved the lives of clients and saved them from invasive surgeries and medical treatments by merely cleaning up their nutrition and introducing them to basic CrossFit workouts. Their experience reminds us all that what we do in the gym is a small part of health and fitness.
In the very near future, you all will be getting a steady dose of encouragement to discuss your nutrition with the CrossFit Invictus coaches. We have not done as well as we should as a coaching staff of emphasizing the importance of proper nutrition. We own that and are working hard to implement systems to provide you all with more information regarding nutrition. But don’t wait for us. Get started yourselves by checking out www.robbwolf.com and www.crossfitnorcal.com. Both are phenomenal sources of information and contain great links to additional sources.
In the next few weeks we will be organizing a Paleo Challenge and kicking off the event with a Paleo Potluck. We are tentatively planning for the evening of Saturday, March 21. Please sign up on the whiteboard nearest to the office to indicate your interest in participating.
CJ, I am sure I will get blasted for this, but here goes….
This recommendation suffers from the naturistic fallacy, which is to say, that it suggests that because the paleo man did something a particular (‘natural’) way, that it is the way things should be done.
“Eat meat…” ? Since when does a directive to consume animal flesh for the purpose of becoming a better “machine” override the other important directives such as “reduce suffering” or “save the planet”?
(for those interested take the time to read the wiki on the United Nations Report “Livestock’s Long Shadow” which details in 400+ pages of scientific analysis the damage that livestock and meat consumption do to the planet….w/link to full report here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livestock's_Long_Shadow….for those who seriously question the suffering of animals in modern day abbatoirs, please go have your heads examined.)
I love working out with crossfit coaches and people. The workouts are one of my day’s highlights and I hope to continue the training indefinitely. But I have to respectfully resist any exhortation to eat meat or celebrate its consumption for fitness goals when more principled and important reasons exist to find alternate sources of protein.
Release the hounds!!!!!
PS: I will be back to CFI tomorrow at lunchtime. Cheers
YAY potluck! Whoo hooooo!
awesome post, i am definitely allergic to gluten and sugar and feel a MAJOR difference when i dont eat either. as far as meat, nice post courtland. I do eat meat but now mostly only chiken and fish. i used to eat a Carne Asada burrito everyday, and i felt my body get so heavy, fatigued. but i am DEFINITELY IN.. for the Paleo challenge, and the potluck, bring it on, thanks for caring about our nutrition. I have been an athlete for years and never realized until a couple years ago how important it is and how it can affect my performance.
NATURLISITIC
NATURALISTIC..GEEZ
Apparently vegetarians can’t spell?
(sorry Courtland….you know I love ya!)
Lacking proteins and amino acids in the brain?
Just kidding Courtland
good post.
W,
I am lacking those and more, and will probably never reach my full machine potential for a lot of reasons, both indulgent and ascetic.
There was a time when slavery was widely accepted by the vast majority of civilized people. Slaves were propety, like cows, and not endowed with any protective veneer of rights to shield them from what the majority said was necessary and proper and the way things should be.
It is my ardent desire that once science can grow meat in a vat that is textured and flavored in such a way as to be indistinguishable from that taken from a rump or rib, this whole bloody livestock issue will be mooted and we will come to view animal rearing for consumption as heinously as we view slavery today.
Further, there is no moral difference between eating a dog or a cow or pig or a chicken or a bunny. If you are not convinced, read some Robert Nozick. His thought experiment goes something like this: If human-eating super-aliens came to Earth, by our current moral code we would have to accept our fate as being food for a stronger being and we would have no moral shield to deny the visitors their dietery due.
Of course if we train at CFI hard enough, perhaps we could repel them. Who knows?
Courtland, I am a meat lover so we differ on that matter. I was a vegetarian for 5 years and just feel physically stronger and leaner eating meat. BUT although we disagree I love your passion and commitment to your beliefs. It is when people can listen to one another and agree to disagree that we all broaden our perspective and that can only bring great things. Meat eater or not your passion for your beliefs is honorable.
Great workout this morning. I absolutely love going heavy. Never thought there would be a day when I liked it more than met-con, but the time has come. Thanks Snax for a great class. Lots of impressive work this morning. One notable chap…Wink, my friend you have come so far. Truly amazing.
Elle and Amy killed it. They did the 7 rounds of 3 power cleans, 6 box jumps and 9 pull ups we did Monday. Amy’s clean is super solid and Elle has her kipping pull ups . Looking good ladies.
Cynthia, thank you for the words of wisdom.
Have a great day all.
Save a cow–eat a slave.
(I’m going to hell for that one, I’m sure.)
Dani,
Please note that nowhere did I say that I am a vegetarian. Even the limited amount of seafood I eat denies me that right and illustrates my conundrum. I TRY to reduce suffering where I can and I try to be a good steward of the earth to the degree that allows me to still live and work in the city and enjoy life. It is all a balance. Further, I never proselytize to big-time meat eaters and try to convince them to stop doing what they are doing. If, however, someone brings it up, I will toss in my two cents worth of fifty-cent words, misspelled or not.
Also note that I completely agree that if you accept the dietary principles CJ laid out, there is little question that performance would improve. I am willing to sacrifice that bit of extra performance for other things.
As to our next current resident of Hades, Cynthia, check this:
The Iroquois, for example, are well known for their incessant warfare and their training of males to be immune to pain. They are also well known for their merciless treatment of prisoners of war. Captives were forced to run a gauntlet, their fingernails were pulled out and their limbs hacked off, and they were finally decapitated or roasted alive at the stake – after which their remains were consumed in cannibalistic feasts.
Marvin Harris, Cannibals and Kings: The Origin of Cultures, Glasgow, 1978, p. 69
Hi, my name is Rajesh and I am a recovering vegetarian.
As a vegetarian from age 0-18 I have an intimate personal knowledge of the difference that meat makes in a diet. I can tell you now that tofu, milk and protein powder are not adequate replacements for meat. Based on my experience, the human body performs better in all respects when fed a steady diet of lean meats (seafood, poultry and red meat).
My journey from herbivore to carnivore began with fish only, poultry was added years later and finally red meat was added about 4 years ago (I am 29 now). The single largest impact I have ever experienced in my ability to perform work (above even the addition of CrossFit to my exercise regiment) was the addition of red meat to my diet. Within two days of adding red meat it was like turning on afterburners; my lifts improved and my met-con times plummeted. It was amazing.
I will never argue about the poor quality of life experienced by many animals raised to be eaten. As a consumer I choose to speak with my wallet in this area, buying pasture raised meats and poultry and responsibly farmed or caught fish. Until there is a perfect substitute for meats I will continue to partake responsibly.
Balancing health, fitness and conscience is each individual’s personal responsibility. In a country founded on freedom I will never be so arrogant or irresponsible as to force my views on anyone else. I endeavor to provide my experience as a resource and guide for others wondering how their dietary choices will affect their sense of well being and performance. For me, the difference was staggering.
Rajesh
Courtland, my apologies the statement ‘But I have to respectfully resist any exhortation to eat meat or celebrate its consumption’ suggested to me that you in fact do not eat meat. Regardless my point is that I find your commitment to your beliefs and your desire to be a good steward on this earth honorable. Sorry if there was any confusion on that point.
The Inuit people eat a diet that consists primarily of cuddly, high-protein creatures such as walrus, seal, whale, and polar bear. The large majority of their dietary intake is in the form of meat and animal fat. If Courtland had his way, he would effectively be committing mass genocide of this ethnic group as they all starved to death on berries and seaweed.
Dani, thanks for the kind words!
It really doesn’t feel like I’ve come all that far! CrossFit is an awkward beast!
Unlike other ‘skills’ that one can achieve proficiency in, CrossFit continues to move the bar higher as you make improvements – truthfully, I still feel the same sense of total confusion and lack of skill today as I did my first day walking in with my pal Moses.
The fact is that without Coaches like you, CJ, Nick, Michele, Calvin, and Mark that it wouldn’t be possible for mere mortals to make real improvements to their fitness, health, and overall quality of life.
So, huge props to you all and thanks for being supportive from day one of my CrossFit journey.
Wink out.
PS, Cynthia – I laughed for like two minutes straight at that one.
Courtland, I respect your desire to tread lightly and treat animals with care.
I don’t know if you have seen this, but it probably made Audubon roll over in his grave.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090218-extinct-bird-photo.html
Dani,
No worries. I meant by those words that I’d rather not be pushing toward more meat consumption, but less. I mean, I don’t want to go to a party where we’re going to celebrate meat eating for our performance boosting….but if there is wine…maybe.
As to Calvin, surely you are playing fast and loose with the use of the word genocide. I truly value human life more than animal life. I could and never would argue for widespread dietary practices that mandated human starvation on any scale. When a culture is geographically constrained to do its best to survive, then human life comes first. I can guarantee that the Inuits have a much greater degree of awareness and respect for the cuddly lives they take in order to survive. We have many other choices than they do, and so you offer a false dichotomy. I think it would be interesting if everyone who ate meat had to do the deeds that the Inuits and others have to do to turn a baby seal into a tasty meal.
As to Rajesh, I am not insisting or forcing my way on anyone, especially a bad assed crossfitter. Rather, I was pointing out that some (like me) are fine with doing CF or whatever and being happy with the results without turning on the meat-fueled afterburners just to get a few more points in a workout. Some, like you, feel that the lifestyle choice is worth those few extra pounds, rounds and points. Surely that is a valid observation which you yourself admit to. I also note that the use of the words “recovering vegetarian” is way of denigrating the vegetarian lifestyle by likening it to “alcoholism” “drug addiction” etc (the other instances when “recovering” is used as an adjective it is always pejorative).
And so I would argue that there is a dash of arrogance in that stance. Again, I truly believe you when you say that your performance improved dramatically after your dietary switch and if that is what is important to you, then strive on and don’t feel guilty about your chow.
Cheers.
Courtland
Courtland,
Americans cutting 1 serving of meat/week would save as much carbon as taking 5 million cars off the road. Need more ammo?
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2008/11/diet-warm-planet
This morning class was awesome. I month ago my max squat was 83lbs… today I did 133lbs. Thanks to everyone for all your help.
Kari! That’s unreal! Great job!
Must pipe in here. Not only did Kari go up in weight her form was stellar. Nice work girl!
Thanks.
Gotta love controversial threads…
Courtland and others who abstain from eating meat (though I’ve never understood how fish isn’t meat) have it right from the standpoint that there is no biological need to eat any meat. Humans can easily survive on a plant-based diet, and from a standpoint of sustainability and environmental stewardship it is preferable to a diet containing meat. The amount of total energy it takes to produce one pound of beef is far, far more than that of a pound of grain or other veggies.
But I think what we need to look at is how we define ‘performance.’ It seems to me that on today’s posts we’re considering it as lifting more weight or completing a certain workout faster. But in CrossFit, we train in constantly varying ways to lead towards a more balanced level of fitness and preparedness in all areas of our lives. So I think that ‘performance’ from our standpoint may better be written as ‘quality of life.’ And that’s where I feel that meat and other animal products can play a very important role in improving one’s quality of life.
Our medical advancements have allowed us to live longer than ever before. But what kind of quality of life is it to be completely dependent on others for the last 30 years of your life because your body has simply degraded to the point where it can’t do what you would like it to anymore? For example, let’s say a 60 year old woman has taken the moral stance of becoming a vegan, and her entirely plant-based diet is deficient in vitamin D from an absence of milk, and due to the phytates in all the soy she eats for protein, is now also deficient in calcium and other minerals. This, in her case, leads to osteopenia and osteoporosis, and now she has to decline offers from her grandson who wants to run and play in the park.
Unfortunately this is not an uncommon example, and this is why Cordain, Wolf, and many of us at CFI believe that meat and animal products have an important role in one’s diet. Had this hypothetical woman included more animal products in her diet while minimizing grain and legume intake, she may have had a much greater state of overall health. After all, as fitness coaches who also study diet and general wellness, we believe it’s not enough for one to survive when one can easily thrive. That’s why we all do what we do each day.
You do still have to fight with the sustainability issue, which is one that as a tree-hugger I’ve struggled with myself, but that’s one for a whole other post. Enjoy the day, and I welcome the comments.
Great thread guys. Today’s post was never intended to spark an ideological debate, but I am proud to be a member of a community where such debates occur with a high level of respect for all positions presented.
Courtland, I too appreciate your perspective and passion even though I don’t necessarily share your view. We all have unique talents and abilities to improve the world we live in. I am not yet up to the task of saving the planet, but I would like to do everything in my power to reduce the suffering and saving those in my community. If I can provide individuals with information regarding how their bodies best function, and if through that education they live happier, more fulfilled lives, I will be a happy man. If they choose to abstain from following my advice on moral grounds or for philosophical reasons, I applaud their commitment and am glad to call such principled persons my friends. If, however, they proceed to eat crap and live with sub-optimal health conditions out of ignorance, I would be ashamed of myself.
For those of you who enjoy meat and also care about the treatment of animals (hopefully most of you meat-eaters), CrossFit Invictus is about to have a really cool option for you. We are working on, and will present in the next week, an opportunity for our members to order and pick-up at the gym Grass-Fed Free Range Beef and Poultry. The treatment of the animals is more humane (yes, ultimately they are killed, but at least they live free while their hearts are beating), and the nutritional value of grass-fed meat is much higher.
Cynthia, you’re getting a yellow card today, but I still love you.
I want to act some substantive opinion on the whole matter but it will distill down to the standard “you’re going to eat what you’re going to eat”.
As for me, if I could, I would eat prime rib or rib-eye steaks every day. Yumm-o.
CFI Daily Devotional
by Bee Charmer
1 Peter 11:6-9:
‘As I stared I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and wild birds. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; slaughter and eat!’ But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord, for nothing defiled or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ But the voice replied a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not consider ritually unclean!’
Lesson: Although an accomplished fisherman, God apparently encourages Peter to have a big juicy tri-tip. I’m with God on this one. However, I would add a salad, an apple and 30 almonds (to replace my fourth carb block with 3x fat).
The End.
Ok, I have no business talking about diet (a-la a hot chocolate and a blueberry muffin before chest to bar fran at the games last year) but it has cleaned up a little. This post is for Calvin, since he told me I had to re-do the Monday WOD since I was out of the inside informational loop about it being an 85% 1RM workout. Cal, I tested today to find my 1RM and got a 235# clean THEN I did the workout (with the Rx’d 85% this time and a 30″ box) Thank you for your few words “Do it again” you are a great motivator!
Manibal Lecter-
“It’s okay to eat fish because they don’t have any feelings…”
Kurt Cobain
Hey CFI -
What a thread! It took about 2 hours for it to open up here on NIMITZ but was a nice reprieve from the duty day to sit and read.
Nutrition has been the cornerstone my workout regimine. It has vastly improved my totals and times over the past year. I am not able to completely follow the zone or paleo diet but I am a firm believer in sound nutrition where moderation is the key.
It is much harder to follow here on the ship where a good amount of the food is fried and starch based however you do what you can with what you have. At least the ship has lots of fresh frutis & vegtables.
Yesterday was a great day. It is sure funny how cross-fitters come together. While setting up for a workout met up with another guy here on the ship who works out at CF Throwdown. Long-story short, we put together a WOD and went for time. It is amazing how working out with other crossfitters makes the WOD that much more enjoyable and pushes you through fatigue & sweat (which I have been known to do when working out).
WOD:
5 rounds for time of:
5 x 225 lb DL
10 burpees
15 pull-ups
time: 16:16
Anyway CFI, have a great Friday & weekend. See you in a couple of weeks.
Meat…it’s what’s for dinner.
If God didn’t want us to eat animals he would not have made them taste so good.
Mark, I never said I was a vegetarian. Rather I said that I want to avoid meat as much as possible when there are protein options out there that and then simply pointed out some of the moral and environmental issues surrounding meat consumption. I admit that I like fish for dinner sometimes, and also point out that for the developmental part of my life I had no choice in what to eat. I’m no saint nor am I trying to be.
In short, not to burst any party balloons, but I did not want to embrace CJ’s call for a meat party. That’s all.
Also, nice job setting up and knocking down the straw-woman example of the vegan who does not pay attention to her health and ends up a shriveled, stooped and sad granny. I think we are getting to the point where dietary science going to allow even silly vegans to make through the life cycle without too much hassle. It is hard for a machine like the Manimal to be satisfied with less than Terminator skills and power.
And to Steve, assuming there is a god, he also made coca, opium poppy sap, mescaline, magic mushrooms, tobacco, fermentation of alcohol (see Animals are Beautiful People for a great take on drunk monkeys) etc, so by your fallacy we should all partake in these things as well because they feel/taste/make life seem so good. As Monte Burns so eloquently put it in one Simpsons episode: “Bosh! Flimshaw!”
To close things out, to my friend and trainer CJ, who was my first human contact with Crossfit, I say that you are selling yourself short to believe that you cannot save the planet.
I will say this bit more however. Because you train lots of folks in the military, police and fire departments, EMT corps and the like, perhaps it is important that those people have the most optimum of the optimum physical makeup. I fully admit that if I was in danger, I’d want hard case dudes like Manimal on the way to save me and not some soy latte vegan who’d snap a tibia when lifting me into the ambulance.
Now excuse me while I head to the state fair to buy a piglet, a lamb and a calf to bring to CFI so that Sarah will have some friends to play with during the pot luck.
Cheers.