January 9th and 10th, 2010: REST WEEKEND!!!

Sorry my post is late. I started a new job, was doing all things Delta 5 Fitness related yesterday and today, and my Jeep decided to blow a hose this morning!

I planned you all to have a nice relaxing weekend. Do whatever, just stay away from the gym! Read up on Paleo, read my rest day article, and spend some time with the family!

Suck it in, don't do too much if you decide to workout, because Monday and Tuesday are guaranteed to be TOUGH!

Comments

[Cookie]

Franiel!!! Glad you are back!! Things are only gnna get better from here brother :)
Gene - I am insanely jealous!! VERY COOL!!
Jenn - enjoy your evening in Vegas!
Park wod was just 2 of us, but hey, we didnt put notice out til Thursday, so I was glad. 5 commmitted to next week plus big plans to spread the word!

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Well, big things happening in Chula Vista huh? I copied the address off the picture of the Delta 5 Fitness business license Herm posted on Facebook and put it in Google Maps. Ya'll are so close to the beach - AWESOME.
Nice work on the WODS everyone. Welcome back Franiel - nice work gettin back into it.
I did a 2 hour gymnastics class with Brady Osborne at Crossfit Obsession today. Took two garage Crossfit buddies and we had a great time. One of my buddies got his first muscle-up. Me and the other guy are not there yet.
Had a blast dancing at one girl's 25th birthday party last night. Going indoor ice-skating tonight with the church young adults.

Well, taking a major rest day tomorrow after 5 days in a row and then today.
Hope everyone has a great relaxing Sunday.
I have my physical for Hampton Fire on Tuesday. If I can pass, I'll get the gig - if not, then I won't - simple as that. I talked to the nurse practitioner and she said it's worth a try, it wasn't on the list of automatic disqualifiers, but will need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

God Bless
Stephen

[Kathleen]

Praying for you Stephen. You are strong and healthy. You will do great. They will be very blessed to have you.

[Playoff Beard]

What's up FRAT. Digital coaching needed, any help is appreciated. I posted this late, sorry for the re-post.

http://neverquit.typepad.com/

Have a great weekend!

[Benny]

Herm & Patty - congratulations! As we all know, just to get that first day done is such a milestone.

PB - left some words for you on yesterday's page. Your garage is awesome too, btw.

Stephen, best wishes to you. You've worked very hard for this.

I did strength early this am and rested the rest of the day. Coaching all morning tomorrow and playing a game at 3pm. Monday will be a rest day for me (my legs especially) but I'm hoping to stay on the Hermfit program the rest of the week again. It was great this week - very strong programming and great challenges, but manageable volume and confidence-building motions. Thanks so much, Herm.

Go Iggles

[pokey]

Hermfit
Delta5 fit

Hoo rah!

[Playoff Beard]

Benny,

Awesome coaching tips, thank you! You have an excellent way of describing movement that actually makes sense in my head.

Gene,

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. Also, I checked out your videos and your form is looking really solid. I like your speed through the transition and solid landing on the snatches...keep it up!

[Goat]

Kathleen:

"So if I supplement with vit D, do you recommend the CLO w/A as well, or just 4000IU of strict D in fish or coconut oil?"

Myself, I take 6000iu daily. Naturally, it's preferable to get your D from the sun, because we have a sort of "shut-off switch", whereby we won't ever make toxic levels of D. But from what I am reading, even with supplementation it is really tough to get too much D.

What I am taking is vitamin D3, which is supposed to be the most bioavailable form of D. (On a side note, D technically isn't a vitamin, it's a hormone.) I would recommend NOT taking it on days when you get an hour or more of sun on a large portion of your skin. Naturally, wearing lots of clothing will hinder your natural D production so in this weather you will need to supplement most days.

On the flip side, you are living at altitude now, and there is less atmosphere to block the UVB radiation, so that will actually aid your D production on days when you can go outside in light clothing. Sunscreen blocks UVB rays, so only wear it when you think you will be exposed to the sun long enough to burn. Burning is bad, but a slight hint of red is okay. With the thinner atmosphere, you will burn more quickly than at a lower altitude, so you'll have to kinda play around with the timing and learn.

So, to summarize my rantings:

1: Get as much sun as possible, on as much skin as possible, and you won't need to supplement. But don't allow yourself to burn. Only use sunscreen to prevent burning, because it will hinder your D production.

2: On days when you do not get much sun, or when you are forced to wear sunscreen to prevent burning, supplement with 4000iu to 6000iu of D3.

3: If you feel it's likely that your D levels are low, maybe you should supplement every day for a month or so, regardless of exposure.

4: I may be having a brain-fart here, but what is CLO + A?

5: Keep taking the fish oil as well.

6: The coconut oil is excellent for cooking. It's not a supplement, just a good fat.

"Pony-you are also right. I do have major issues with diet mentality, like the thought of never again eating a hot buttered yeast roll! For over 20 years I have made homemade cinnamon rolls w/cream cheese icing on Saturday mornings"

This is a problem I notice in many folks, that paleo is all-or-nothing. That they can NEVER have foods they like from the "forbidden" list.

Simple fact: Anyone who tells you that the benefits of a way of eating are entirely ruined by straying from the plan one or two meals a week has probably sold you a plan which doesn't work at all and is leaving himself an out. Paleo isn't all or nothing. Eating the occasional hot buttered yeast roll isn't going to kill you, it isn't going put pounds on you, it isn't going to "blow" your diet. Is it good for your body to have high-glycemic gluten grains? No, of course not. But is it good for your head to totally deny yourself these things you love all the time? I doubt it.

So someone denies himself all grain and sugar, all the time. He's never allowed to have it. Ever. But he wants it, and he wants it badly. Someday that craving becomes too much for him, and he has some pizza. Of course, he feels bad about his weakness, and he berates himself for it, but he's already sinned, and he won't ever have pizza again, so he may as well have another slice, or two. Why not three. Until he is sick from it.

This is not a healthy attitude.

Never totally deny yourself anything. You can have it if you really want to. There is a price, of course. The price is that your goals (whatever they are, top performance, weight loss, excellent health...etc.) will take a little longer to reach. So you have to ask yourself, "Self, is this hot buttered roll worth taking a little longer to reach my goal? Do I really want it that badly?" If the answer is yes, eat the roll. Enjoy the roll. Be happy that you ate the roll. It's okay.

[Playoff Beard]

Goat, that was the best post I've read in some time. Your take on "cheating" is exactly right.

Note: Robb Wolf is coming to CrossfitOneworld in March for a nutrition seminar and it looks like I'll be able to go! Anybody else in?

[Xtina]

Ok Frat family, I need to vent......I'm not sure if I'm the only person who feels this way or does this, but I realized last night I am not only my worst critic, but I INTENTIONALLY sabotage myself. I don't know why I do this, but I know that at times I feel undeserving of being happy and successful. This happened to me yesterday and I am cognitively aware that I do this and that it is irrational but I can't stop. I can look at my paperwork and see that I have improved in many areas of CF, and yet my crappy performance yesterday made me feel as though I shouldn't even do CF. That I have absolutely no business trying to compete at the sectionals and why even bother---which in turn I decided that since all this was pointless, so was Paleo and ate about 1/4 bag of chips---which made me feel even more guilty- and sick to my stomach.
I hate that I let myself down....that every time I get so close I, ME, no one else somehow manages to kill my progress. It's like I get so close and figure out how to muck it up.....and I'm not sure why. I don't know why I have this self-destructive behavior....and it is at these low moments that I also think; why would ANYONE want to be with me? I'm a mess in so many ways!
Sorry, as up beat as I have been lately, because I am loving teaching, it has been hard recently.
Is anyone else guilty of this?

Stephen- I know you will do GREAT on your physical! Keep you in my thoughts Tuesday!

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Very well said Goat - this helps me too as I still struggle with the anorexic mentality. Thanks

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X-tina: Here's what I do daily - first off, I know this is not healthy, yet I'm pretty consistent with this behaviour:
Start off the day with 3 quarts of water which fills my stomach, then drink my coffee(a good think as it keeps me regular:)
Then I'm not hungry so I don't eat until about 11 or 11:30. I eat minimally during the day, struggle with energy in my 17:30 workout, then have an enormous supper AFTER all my chores are done which is usually 21:00. I'm so hungry from the day, I eat until I fall asleep. - I wake up bloated the next day feeling fat and lazy, and start the cycle again. If I cheat, which I do reguarly and more than I want, I feel guilty and try to limit my food the next day but fail by the end of the day and stuff myself again, even if it's Paleo. Now I will say I'm doing better about eating more meat and less dried fruit, but my meal timing and my intake is still pretty messed up. I don't feel good most of the time, obsessing about food and my workouts. Obviously I'm able to stay healthy for the most part, I'm not anorexic anymore Praise the Lord, but I definitely have disordered eating that I know is not good and I don't even like. So there, you're not alone. Oh, and I have trouble really resting. I'm finally forcing myself to take a rest day today after 6 days on preceded by 7 days on and 1 day off.
Hope Goat can give us some advice. It's good to have a place to share.
God Bless,
Stephen

[Pokey]

Xtina - I'm not a doctor, hell, I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night (Pony,that was for you.) Xtina, you are not alone. There is actually a clinical term for what you describe. I can't think of the word right now, though.

There are several reasons for it but realizing you do it might help you overcome it. Or, at least, not beat yourself up when it happens.

One reason is lack of self-esteem. We don't feel we are good enough to succeed so we subconsciously sabotage our efforts right when we are on the brink of success. That happens with relationships, with food, with skills.

So many times over the years in my triathlon training I would be on the brink of PRs and then for no reason I would just stop training for months on end.

I don't know how to get around it. I'm guessing it starts with realizing you are worth it. And if you ever doubt that I see a photo of a "charming" young man on your facebook page that will tell you (well, at least until he becomes a teenager).

Goat-once again, excellent writing. Most excellent delivery. You and Pony are awesome writers. I always look forward to both of your posts.

Stephen- kick butt, take no names, and praise God!

[Kathleen]

Xtina, you are definitely NOT alone. I really don't think its possible to be a CFer without having that "all or nothing" attitude Goat describes so eloquently. Its hard to find a balance, for everything. How much is too much workout, how little is too little? We each need to find our own balance, in exercise, diet, time posting on the FRAT blog, everything, because there is no magic number that works for everyone. I need way more rest than, say, Benny or Gene or Franiel. That doesn't make me less valuable. If you need more whatever than someone else, thats ok. It doesn't make you worse, or better, just different. Someone quoted to me a couple of days back how CF is the same programming for elite atheletes and housewives, and elderly, post-hip replacement retirees. So you ABSOLUTELY belong at the competitions. You compete against yourself, regardless of whether that lines up with the perceived abilities of other competitors. I know exactly how you feel. Some days I look at a WOD involving HSPU or rope climbing and I think, "What am I DOING here? I can't even lift my own body weight, how can I hope to climb a rope or do a hspu?" We get so caught up with the goal of the destination we forget about the benefits of the journey. On the days when you think you had a sucky wod, think about your goals and why you bothered to wod at all, and then ask yourself, "Today, did I move closer to my goals, or farther away?" Stagnation = death. If you sat on the couch and ate bonbons, you may have moved farther away from your goals (unless your goal was to rest and add non-nutrient calories). If you worked out at all, in any form whatsoever, than you moved closer to your goals (unless, as stated above, your goals were to rest and eat non-nutrient cals).

Goat- CLO + A = cod liver oil with added vit A; also D is available in cod liver oil, coconut oil, & fish oil as capsules. Even on days I'm outside, like yesterdays hour+40 min jog, I was bundled up in thermals, sweats, and a ski mask and gloves, so no chance of sun exposure! Thank you SO much for your help. You rock!

[Goat]

Beard, credit for any understanding of the psychology of eating I may have goes to Pony. I just kinda... eat, and it works out for me. It takes work for me to understand other peoples' views on the subject and she has spent some time schooling me.

[Goat]

Kathleen, the recommendation I have heard from Robb Wolf is .5g to 1g of EPA+DHA per 10 pounds of body weight per day. Your eating has zero grains, zero seed oils (I don't know what is in the cooking spray but I would recommend lard or coconut oil instead), so you have a pretty low O-6 intake. What that means is you need a lower supplementation than most, so go with the .5g prescription.

Here is the calculation for me, using .5g:

body weight: 175#

175#/10#=17.5
17.5*.5g=18g of EPA+DHA per day.

Understand, that is not 18g of fish oil, that is NOT 18g of O-3 fatty acids, that is 18g of EPA+DHA. Your cod liver oil bottle will probably list the amounts of each on the side.

Xtina et. al.: This is so common it's ridiculous. I think everyone has felt unworthy of success, or scared of it or whatever. My solution was always to just not try. No chance of succeeding there, huh?

Anyway, write down the question, "Why am I unworthy of success?" Then write down your answers. Take your time, think about it. Then look at each answer, and ask yourself, "Do I really believe this about myself?" If you do, ask why.

[Pokey]

Kathleen - nice turnaround

Herm - Let's get ready to rumblllllllllllllle !

[Playoff Beard]

Goat,

Pony is a fellow fan of the ingenious film Joe Vs the Volcano. Her insights into the world of psychology in general come as no surprise to me whatsoever.

[Gene]

Epic cheats to report from this weekend:

1 mesquite grilled shrimp burrito from Rubio's. Rice, beans, tortilla, salsa and whatever they put in em. Yum! Chips and salsa on the side too, plus a Pacifico Cerveca!

1 pint Ben & Jerry's Karamel Sutra ice cream. Ate most of the pint last night, then polished off the rest an hour after breakfast!

1 10" thin crust pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage and green olives. I didn't exactly plan to eat the whole thing, but it was sliced into little bite size squares, so...

Tomorrow begins the last week of the strength cycle I'm following on Performance Menu. I'm loving the PR's on Olympic lifts and gains in strength on the squats. It's made me look at main site WOD's a little differently.

Coach Burgener told me I have potential and said I could be snatching my bodyweight in a month, so maybe I'll keep working towards that... In any case, I'm looking forward to see what Herm puts up here!