The High Holidays of eating are descending on us! All the more reason to reach out to coaches and get their advice on damage control for this week.  As you know, I am constantly in dialogue with CrossFit coaches getting the DL intel on performance, diet and motivation. Perhaps, I should do less writing and more working out. Who cares? I actually love the dialogues and relationships I have made over the past few months.  CrossFit is no fucking joke. Its hard. Its demanding. Its life changing and even if you are not a fan of CrossFit, the people who CrossFit are inspirational.

For me, a lazy faux intellectual, CrossFit is slowly sneaking into my connective tissues as a kick ass way to live life fully and healthy.

Today, I share a robust dialogue between Joe Petrusky and myself. Joe coaches and owns CrossFit Love on the Mainline in Philadelphia.  As per my style and addiction to Twitter, I have been following Joe’s tweets for sometime as he is always adding value to the CrossFit community by sharing interesting articles and insight into the inner machinations of an avid CrossFitter. Joe writes:

Long story short. I was a miserable banking executive.  Luckily I was able to create a large enough nest egg to quit and pursue my passion in health and fitness. I worked my way into a gym setting, doing functional training with all clients without the structure of CrossFit. I was just creating random workouts off the top of my head.  Then I found Gym Jones, Dragon Door and the Warrior Diet. I loved it, started to get really lean and pretty strong. Then ex Crossfitter John Schaeffer of CrossFit Greyskull started working there and introduced me to CrossFit.  At first I didn’t quite get the virtuosity of CrossFit but after a few months it all started to make more sense to me. I instantly embraced it. I started teaching CrossFit classes at this gym and eventually moved on to start CrossFit Love. And here I am today……one year later as CrossFit 1000th affiliate.  Crossfit has not only allowed me to be passionate in my career, it has also given me more meaningful direction in my life.

AB: As of recently, I decided to go down on anti depressants so I could live a cleaner life, and hopefully perform better at CrossFit. The reality is that these benign SSRIs are taking a toll on my system. I have done some lifting but few WODS. Can you comment on how one get back into the CF frame of mind if they are depressed or have been ill?

JOE PETRUSKY: Educate yourself on your type of depression and the underlying reasons causing it.

• Read books, talk with professionals, and find other adults who are going through similar situations. We all have issues, be sure that your diagnosis is correct and from a professional.
• Seek encouragement from friends, family, and loved ones. Life is tough, do not try to go at it alone.
• Be yourself, get to your local CrossFit gym. You should find encouragement and positive energy there. High intensity workouts can really help promote mood and behavior. Get there and GET SOME.
• Establish external structure. That is what helped me to get my life on a successful track to a promising life. Once in place, structure helps you from careening right off the track.
• Make lists and notes of encouragement to yourself, have rituals, write reminders, and plan.
• Eat clean, cut caffeine, get to your workouts, do the things you need to do, and get some real good sleep. You hit the nail on the head about all this on one of your earlier blog posts. Except I think 6 – 8 hours of sleep will suffice. Oh and really great sex helps A LOT!
• Life is a long journey. Remind yourself where you started and if you slip back into some type of depression just back on your feet and give it another shot. Looking back at your progress whether it’s in your Crossfitting or your daily life, seeing advancement can be very encouraging.

AB: I am building a garage gym. What are essential pieces to a newbie garage gym? This gym will be in tandem with attending CF classes.

JP: The essentials – Barbell, bumpers, bands, and a pullup bar. The type of barbell and bands are dependent on your strength level. I think a squat rack is key if you have the cash.

AB: What are your thoughts on this hypothetical situation?  I have been to enumerable CrossFit affiliates. I have found that some gyms see a 35 year old woman and put you immediately into weakling category for Olympic Lifts. I have been to other affiliates where I was shocked to learn my own strength. In other words, do you think picking out a CF affiliate to join is like a therapist? you should do a few sessions before you join?

JP:Obviously, choosing a coach/trainer is dependent on your geographic region. I recommend going to as many as you can in your area. Get as much info from each gym so you can make an educated decision. If you want to excel in a specific field, find a trainer that can fulfill that need. If your a runner find a running coach, if you want to become a powerlifter find a strength coach.  It is vital to seek a community you felt best in, environment helps breed success. A coach who is passionate about what he or she is doing will always try do what is best for their clients.

AB: Your thoughts on Paleo vs. Zone.

JP:Is this a trap question? Are you working for HQ?? I kid. I kid. I really believe it depends on the individual and their mindset. Some people need exact numbers and portions, etc to stay on track. I truly believe in the benefit of eating quality foods before anything. I personally love to eat and will never weigh and measure. I eat till Im satisfied but its Paleo about 90 – 95% of the time. I have seen great success with my clients utilizing both. There is a time and place for each.

Uncategorized CrossFit, CrossFit Love, grey skull, Joe Petrusky, paleo diet, Philadelphia, zone diet

There are a lot of bacon haters around.  This animosity is well-meaning, but misplaced.  In the world of strictly non-paleo foods, bacon is tame.

On the minus side, we have the fact that stone-age man probably didn’t have large amounts of salt, though the native Hawaiians did produce it.  It is also questionable to what degree they would have cured and smoked meat.  My guess is probably not at all.  Moreover, wild pigs don’t and wouldn’t have had much fat on their bellies, or better yet jowls.  A hunter at our box has confirmed this first hand.  How paleo is killing your dinner?  Finally, the diet farmers feed pigs to make them so fatty also likely skews their fatty acid profile toward more omega-6 fats.  Too large a ratio of omega-6’s is one cause of inflammation.

But on the plus side, bacon is the “recessionary version of the truffle,” according to a financial adviser explaining the sharp rise in bacon sales recently.  Being cheap, tasty, and zero-carb makes it even better than a truffle.  It’s also a good way to get people off the crack known as cereal, pancakes and bran muffins in the morning:

“Anthony Bourdain has called bacon the ‘gateway protein’ for its astounding ability to lure vegetarians back to the carnivorous fold.” [LINK]

I’d take my chances with bacon and eggs before a whole grain bagel and skim milk yogurt and I bet diabetics would handle their blood sugar a lot better with a diet supplemented with bacon instead of psuedo-food!

With bacon, we have less blood-sugar-swinging insulin spikes, a greater likelihood of staying on the straight and narrow path of meat consumption, and what some call “sex in a skillet.”  How about this account:

I ate silently and rapidly until all five strips were gone. Then I used a licked finger to get the tiny fragments of bacon stuck to the paper towel, pressing my fingertips into the greasy bed and licking the particles from my own living, uncharred skin. It was so good.

I gazed lustfully at the bacon in the skillet, half-done and seductively disarrayed, dressed in the hot fat of the pan’s previous occupancy. [LINK]

Doesn’t that want to make you want to fry some up?  If you’re worried about nitrates in modern, processed meat, be like Paleo Mama and make your own.  I’ve tried and it is worth every ounce of effort, which is minimal.  Heck, making your own bacon fits into the old-school, garage gym CrossFit ethos of prosumer fitness.

Olive oil, modern fruits, and coffee aren’t strictly paleo either, but they aren’t necessarily detrimental to fitness.  A majority of vegetables sold in your local grocery store may have some GMO sequences in their double helixes, but I’m not about to argue they’re unhealthy!  It’s probably not wise to make bacon an every-day staple, due to the omega-6 load, but the haters need to lay off.

–Nick

Uncategorized bacon, CrossFit, diet, paleo, sex

“Nothing in biology makes sense, except in the light of evolution.”–Theodosius Dobzhansky, Russian evolutionary biologist.

Humans are animals and as such we have over the course of millions of years adapted to an environment in which certain dietary and physical needs have become present.  The non-sense artists, like the cult of jogging and vegans, may protest that low-fat diets more befitting ruminants and wasting an hour a day on a treadmill are perfectly fine for us.  I often retort, “Would you feed bread to a cat, an obvious carnivore?”  Then, why would you feed humans a diet in complete or even partial discord with their genes?

The usual answer is out of environmental or ethical concerns.  Those ends are admirable, but martyring human health and well-being on the false cross of anthropomorphism is not a means to those ends.  I point you to beyondveg.com for a good brief on all things diet.

Let’s go one step further and ask why we would also not mimic the activity levels of humans in their natural habitats.  Long, slow distance (LSD) is the epitome of evolutionary discord.  Evolutionarily speaking, if you were running 10 miles a day, you were a loser at life.  There are always the stories of the indian tribe that ran down prey, but they tend to the be the exception that proves the rule.  The winner at life, and the one who passed his/her genes along the most, was the one who got food quickly and efficiently.  It is a great way, however, to develop a host of over-use injuries and decreased muscle mass.  It seems almost yearly that I hear of “paradoxical” deaths of often young endurance athletes collapsing half-way into their marathons.  Some of these are hereditary, but many are likely due to their training regimes.  Check out CrossFit Endurance for a saner approach to distance events.  Hint: it doesn’t rely solely on LSD.

Short, intense bouts of exercise involving moving one’s own bodyweight and external objects is much more in-line with our genome and much more productive than the common fitness fair: boredom-inducing hamster treadmill-ism coupled with cud-chewing.

Please consider this amazingly interesting podcast dealing with evolution and fitness.  There is a link between fitness and depression, as most of us CrossFitters already know–the fitter (as defined as increased power across broad time and modal domains) the individual, the less depressed.  I would argue that fitness is the causal factor for less depression.  The guest also discusses the depression of  treadmill-trained hamsters, in case anyone is interested.  I think all of us know a few poor souls who could benefit from a few less miles run and a few more deadlifts.

–Nick

Uncategorized biology, CrossFit, evolution, LSD, paleo, vegan, vegetarianism

Today on the docket, I have a lovely transcript of me and Kat Goldberg (AKA- PaleoMama). Kat writes an absolutely ridiculously wonderful blog, PaleoMama, of Paleo recipes that I feel guilty using because they are so good. Run, do not want, to check PaleoMama out.

AB: Tell the readers a little about yourself

KG: Besides being a part-time masochist at Crossfit, I sing in a band in which my husband plays bass, and I enjoy cooking, painting, and diving.  I am not a nutritionist or a professional chef.  I just really like being able to provide healthy, tasty food for my family and friends and want to share my recipes with others looking to make healthy changes in their lives.

AB: When did you begin to eat Paleo? Why?

KG: I started CrossFit when I was about 5 months pregnant. Through my pregnancy, I gained quite a bit of weight (I refused to look at the scale so that I wouldn’t become depressed). After my son was born, I lost a bit, but seemed to hang onto weight as well.

I was doing CrossFit three times a week, but I still felt like the fat kid in gym class. My eating habits were erratic. I would forget to eat meals and then be starving by the time the next one came along, so I’d eat whatever was quick. Measuring and weighing everything for Zone didn’t really seem like a viable option, especially as my son became more mobile and I was constantly keeping up with him.

Once my son really started getting into solid foods, and decided everything on my plate was yummy, I wanted to start him off right. So many “kids” foods are full of sugar and junk, and I wanted to shape his palate to want healthy options. Plus, I wanted to look good naked again. So, I started following a Paleo diet in August of 2009 as part of a nutrition challenge at CrossFit Oahu.

AB: Where do you come up with these recipes?

KG: Usually in my kitchen.

I figure that in order to be successful, a “diet” needs to be sustainable.  Comfort foods are a necessity.  So, I try to make delicious paleo makeovers to comfort foods.  I also like simple dishes that won’t be intimidating to someone who isn’t necessarily a cook.  Some people would look at the constraints of what you can’t eat when you are following a paleo diet and give up.  I see it as a challenge on how to create a familiar dish using different ingredients.

I have several influences in my cooking and recipe making.  My mom is an amazing cook.  She’s always trying new things and I learned to cook from her.  I grew up in the South and lived in Texas and California before settling in Hawaii.  All these regions have shaped my recipes.  I am also fortunate enough to have a willing husband and friends who don’t mind being guinea pigs.

AB: How important is fitness in conjunction with eating Paleo?

KG: I believe that while nutrition is the biggest chunk of the equation, you HAVE to have an active lifestyle in order to be healthy.  I personally feel that fitness and a generally active lifestyle not only keep you healthy physically, but are really good mentally and emotionally.  I love CrossFit because it is different every time (and therefore interesting), I really feel like I accomplished something afterward, and I don’t have to come up with the workouts myself.  Apart from some quality time at the gym, taking my son to the park, dancing with him at the house, and swimming at the beach help me stay sane and happy.

AB: Is there a cook book coming out?

KG: That’s a really good question.  Right now, I’m trying to build up enough recipes for a book.  I haven’t looked into the exciting and scary world of publishing yet. I am a stay at home mom with an 18 month old son.  I have a loving husband and we are lucky enough to live in Hawaii.

Uncategorized CrossFit, CrossFit Oahu, paleo, paleo diet, pregnancy, zone

The last 10 days I have been in Manhattan. Not my favorite place in the world but a place that is still very much a home to me. I stayed at my best friend’s apartment in Sunnyside along with her 3 Opera singing roommates. Helen is a Soprano. So for me, lover of solitude, my days at the laptop were filled with sonorous, dramatic oeuvres. Not too shabby.

I also spent a good deal of time at CrossFit New York’s: The Black Box with CrossFit trainer, Allison Bojarski.

And, to say she was a shot in the arm, is an understatement. As you may know, this past month and half has been an enormous struggle for me. And, while I knew exactly what I needed to do to get myself out a funk, I could not execute the stratagem. I will leave the kismet out of the story. However, I want to share with you how Allison created the little spark I needed, to get back on track.

First, we worked out. Allison wanted to do heavy dead lifts. Because, I have been feeling depressed, I thought, “Shit, this is going to suck. I have no energy and haven’t done Olympic lifts in weeks.”

Allison brings a 45lb Olympic bar to my station to which I immediately ejaculated (think how Charles Dickens used this word), “I only life with a 15 lb bar.” Allison looked at me quizically and still put the 45lb bar at my station. She told me that no one should be lifting a 15lb bar unless the were practicing the Bergner progression. So, I start with 65lbs. Hawk-eye Allison perched to my right. “Well, your form is pretty good but honestly its not really tested with that weight. It is way to0 light for you to be lifting. Also, take your shoes off.”

At that point, not wanting to be super pussy, I took my shoes off, inov-8 kicks no less, liberally added 40 more lbs, thinking this was not going to move from the floor. I mentioned that to Allison. Thankfully, she ignored it. When I positioned the bar over my feet and began to approach the bar, Allison encouraged me to be mindful. I kept my butt out and held the best damn lumbar curve I could muster. I took a deep breath and dead lifted. Again, Allison said, “Too easy, the lift is taking you only a few seconds total. To get a real workout, you deadlift should challenge you so that on the way up, you are FIGHTING. ” Incrementally, I added 20 lbs and did sets of five with each weight increase.

Keep in mind, I dead lifted (at my fittest, a few years ago, 165). And, I always wore sneakers. Maybe Allison can comment today about not wearing shoes, but there is something dramatically different about dead lifting in your socks.

As lifts became heavier at each set, Allison had me open my shoulders more and tense all of my muscles before the lift. She also indicated to take one deep breath (exhaling on downward movement0, push through my feet and core and NEVER GIVE UP. If the bar can be lifted an inch, suck it up and dead lift.

I am proud to say that I had a PR that day. I dead lifted a final set of 175 lbs. And, damn did I look hot!

Allison and I also broke down very explicitly how holistically, I can become a better me. For the time being, Allison suggests getting to bed by nine, waking up by seven. One day at a time.

By the way, Allison kicks ass. Here we are next to the Zaftig Giantesse at the Time Warner Building in Columbus Circle.

Uncategorized Allison Bojarski, CrossFit, crossfit nyc, dead lifts, inov-8, PR, The Black Box

This is part two of my interview with Robb Wolf. And, I thank the interviewee so kindly for reviewing the post with me multiple times to make sure all information was accurate and educable.

AB: Do you plan on having your own certification… if so what will it entail?

ROBB WOLF: I am going to do my own seminar, a Paleo nutrition module with testing and quantification for strength coaches. We also will offer a  module for pharmacists, doctors through Professor Loren Cordaine. This will be a  credentialed program for allied health people who cover the gamet.  We will work more explicitly with endocrinology and how food affects gut health.

ROBB WOLF: I will remain an affiliate.  Being an affiliate long term is up in the air.

The Zone diet is great as quantification method. Yet, the Zone looks more like numerology than nutrition.

We have produced top tier athletes, MMA fighters, champion Motorcross and no one measured food. People need to remember that Barry Sears’ first chapters were on Paleolithic eating. Get down to brass tacks, the Zone Diet makes you weigh and measure food. If you want the best Zones, you still have to find food  outside of 10k years ago.

AB: Care to comment on CrossFit Headquarters and on-ramping programs for new CrossFitters?

ROBB WOLF: Crossfit affiliates are never going to receive input about best practices from HQ. This is because significant efforts in this direction would place HQ in a position of looking like a franchiser. this situation has some opportunities but also some risks. Couple this with the stratospheric growth of CF and we have a situation in which CF no requires an RRG (Risk Retention Group) for “additional” protection. Normally RRG’s are for exceptionally high risk endeavors like trampoline parks and high-rise crane operators.

Uncategorized barry sears, crossfit headquarters, Professor loren cordaine, robb wolf, zone diet

As you may know, I do stand up comedy and often do not find people funny (including myself ).

When Robb Wolf and I began corresponding, I wrote to him: You are a celebrity and me a blogger with big dreams.” Wolf retorted: ” If I’m a celebrity we need to get you a better publicist.”

I asked Robb Wolf to finish this sentence. “I am Robb Wolf and I believe in…” Robb stated, “I am Robb Wolf and I believe in boobs.”

This was quickly followed by the sound of a smack as Wolf’s wife excoriated him for his thoughtful response.  With this breaking of the ice, Robb and I spent an hour and a half on the phone this past Thursday and discussed everything from boobs, Paleo diet, strength training and recent dealings with CrossFit Headquarters.

Take two. “I am Robb Wolf  and I believe in trying to help people, create community, working on stuff that will lead to a legacy… do something benefits other people.”

After the imbroglio two weeks ago at CrossFit Headquarters, I was compelled to write Wolf. The Paleo diet and its marriage to CrossFit has been an inordinate hurdle for me. So I figured what the hell, let me shoot off a note to Wolf. And, to be perfectly frank, I was shocked he wrote back. Quickly.

AB: As a novice, who writes for women who want to engage in the Paleo lifestyle, the Paleo diet as has been presented to me seems like a recipe for failure. As a beginner, with 30 years of life behind me, how does one approach Paleo eating when you have a lifetime’s worth of sugar, fat and processed food in your system. I have started and stopped the Paleo a few times during the past three months and detoxing has been very difficult.”

Robb Wolf: Very simple. We don’t over educate them on the Zone or Paleo Diet. I stress food quality; lean proteins, far more fruits good fruits. Again, never over educate a person who is just beginning with CrossFit and beginning Paleo. I often ask new clients, Have you ever had a meal  with just one salad with grilled salmon and maybe some fruit? Well, you then have had a successful day with the Paleo diet. I do not want anyone to engage in an audacious shift in lifestyle. Yet, I do refer to myself as the gluten Nazi. No  bread and pasta. Paleo Challenges occurring in affiliates across the country offer stunning transformations.

For CrossFit/Paleo newbies, and the majority of clients I work with are between the ages of 35 and 45 years old, we on ramp them gently. A client will first go to an elements course and  pass minimum skill capacity. And,hey folks, this is how we get to buy in lean proteins, good fats,  fruits. I call it a speed bump approach: proteins, vegetables, fat and some time contemplate.

There are no stratified skill levels, nor over educating the novice. We believe in a generalist supportive approach that is both encouraging and appeasing. I like the way the Calgary CrossFit approaches a Paleo Challenge.

AB: What are you thoughts on Paleo eating and depression?

ROBB WOLF: I had a pretty raging dose of that in Seattle. A low carb paleo diet. You see insulin levels impact neurotransmitters.Someone experiencing depression will absolutely benefit from more protein. More fish oil. Smart exercise. Taking vitamin D3 is also helpful. A person under 2oo lbs could take 2000 IEUS and someone over that weight could try 5000 IEUS.

TOMMOROW: ROBB WOLF DISCUSSES CF HEADQUARTERS AND WHAT’S NEXT

Uncategorized crossfit calgary, crossfit headquarters, depression, paleo, robb wolf