Workout of the Day:
Seven rounds for time of:
10 Pistols (5 each leg)
12 Ring Dips
15 Pull-Ups
This guy was leading the Tour de France before testing positive for performance enhancing substances. But how does his overall fitness measure up? Does being this thin help or hinder?
What Does Fitness Look Like?
Written by C.J. Martin
Being thin is not the same as being fit. Despite the obviousness of this statement, many people still equate body weight with fitness. They believe that being thin is the ultimate goal. This notion is misguided on many levels.
What is thin? Everyone has a different concept of what thin might look like, and unfortunately, some believe that there is no such thing as too thin. This entirely subjective measure has inspired body image issues for countless men and women.
But most importantly, body weight does not tell us what you are capable of doing. CrossFit provides us a performance-based, objective measure by which to determine our fitness. By putting a stopwatch on your efforts, we are able to determine how much power you generate in any given workout. We can repeat our workouts every so often and determine exactly how much you have improved or regressed since your last effort. By providing several different benchmark workouts, we can track an individual’s work capacity over broad time and modal domains. This is our definition of fitness, and the measure by which we assess progress. There is no guesswork or subjective measure. CrossFit’s definition of fitness cuts through the superficial exterior and gets to the substance of whether you are capable of completing the most demanding of life’s tasks.
Caity Matter - CrossFit Games 2008 female champion is arguably as fit as any female on the planet - and could definitely snap Michael Rasmussen in two if she so desired.
Of course, in the process of fine tuning your body for performance, you are going to enjoy all of the ancillary benefits, such as decreased body fat and increased lean muscle mass. Keep your eye on the bigger prize of all-around health and fitness and the rest will follow.
Jolie Gentry - 2007 CrossFit Games Female Champion
That picture of Mickey Rasmussen really bothers me.
Great post C.J. I am strong believer that if you focus on performance the aesthetic benefits will follow.
Oy vey….what a picture. I thought it was a cancer or AIDS patient at first.
I have learned to love my body for what it can do, not what it looks like.
And apparently, my body can do intermittent fasting! I stopped eating last night around 7 or so, and I haven’t eaten yet. I’m going to start the chowfest at noon, and eat til about 7 tonight. Then regular eating tomorrow.
I’m gonna look like Jolie Gentry, without the Ugg[ly] boots, in no time!
Cynthia did you just call Uggs Ugg[ly]…those are fightin words girlfriend.
hahaha thats funny Cynthia on your last comment.
Bring it, Dani. Yadira has my back.
If I’m not mistaken, Uggs were at least partially responsible for the economic crisis we find ourselves in today…
Aush, right on the money…
erm… did I just do that?
I will have to stick up slightly for the poor old cycling dude and those alike. These guys ride 2200+ plus miles in 21 or 22 days. That a 100+ miles a day through elevation. Equivalent to running a marathon every day for the same period. Even on the days off they ride so their muscle don’t cramp. It takes a lot of dedication to put your body through that type punishment. Look at Lance before the race and after. World of difference.
I agree with Cynthia
Uggs are funny…If girls want to go out in public in oversize house slippers, then so be it.
Sean, agreed those guys put tremendous strain on the bodies. Not to mention the mental suffering, which can arguably be more painful.
These guys are focused athletes trying to achieve amazing things.
Their goals for fitness are different than ours – we are trying to prepare for anything the world can throw our way – where they are just going for one thing, and this is something that Lance was one of the innovators of and that’s power/weight ratio.
In Lance’s seasons prior to winning the Tour he had done weight training and was overall ‘fit’. Earlier in his career he was a triathlete too. After his battle with cancer basically left him as a blank skeleton he and his trainers figured out that biceps and pecs are just extra weight to be peddled up the Mont’s and Col’s of France. This formula works, and that is why you see the tour leaders of today looking like heroin addicts. The ‘King of the Mountains’ like Mickey Rasmussen is a perfect example of this…
I think CJ can probably further expand on the topic of oxidative training. It is something that studies suggest ages your body in all kinds of bad ways.
Dani- Rockin’ your Uggs is very Paleo. Heck, I used to wear Kangaroos (shoes with pockets in them).
Cynthia- I’m glad you tried the fasting; I was waitnig on a fellow paleo eater to experiment with it!
~BC
I love my 3 pairs of Uggs! Comfort rules all!
Great post, CJ! I think it is really hard, especially for women, to value performance over aesthetics sometimes. When the good majority of the public gauges how “fit”/pretty” you are based on what size jeans you wear or what number you put up on the scale, it is sometimes difficult to reconcile that with a performance-based definition of “fit”. I know I personally struggle with it.
Cynthia and BC, I intermittantly fast too… I fast for three hours in between meals… ha ha! I don’t think Mr. Chedda wants to deal with me going without food for more than 3 hours… scary, scary thought!
Chedda, the word for those ladies is, as Gary calls them, “skinny fat”… I don’t think anyone really likes “skinny fat” chicks, but I could be wrong.
Well said Wayne. No doubt the top cyclists are amazing at their craft, but they are also some of the most specialized, least “fit” athletes on the planet. Their dedication (compulsion) has prepared them for their sport and little else. Can you imagine Rasmussen competing in any other sport? How well would he box out and rebound in a basketball game? Would a well struck soccer ball knock him over? Could his neck even stand the weight of a football helmet? On the other hand, consider a world class sprinter, who would likely have the athleticism to compete successfully at almost any sport if they were able to quickly grasp the skill components.
Coryna, I think this is a HUGE issue in our culture. So much so that our coaches occasionally have to counsel amazingly fit and healthy CrossFit women who are concerned that they will be unable to fit into their “skinny” jeans if their legs get muscular. Why someone would trade strength, speed and athleticism (all of which derive from a strong and well-developed posterior chain) to look like the waifs airbrushed onto magazines is beyond me. But perhaps by redefining fitness (not a bad tagline) we can also redefine societal views of what is beautiful. I know of at least a gym full of guys who would prefer to see strong women on magazines rather than the skinny fat gals that all too often grace the covers.
Visual oxymoron: Uggs and a bikini. We shal never understand the left coasters. Perhaps it is winter envy?
CJ, should we stir up the old HQ comment page topic of could the crossfit champion beat the decathlon gold medalist or vice versa? I am thinking that could be a good little essay in the future.
My kingdom for a ring dip!! 12:21
I just have to say….I did not realize how hard that workout was until this morning and everything hurt
Thanks dani for the push at the end.
This is a link to a great blog inreagrds to body image..check it out:
http://crossfitsouthcounty.lefora.com/2009/01/16/crossfit-bodies/page1/