Fitness and shit

[Method]

Originally Posted by azoomm

I'm drinking the crossfit koolaide. My body is SO mad at me in a kind of great way.

I've been interested in crossfit lately. I decided I was bored so I signed up for the Pdx Triathlon in sept and have been training for that, but would like to work some CF into the training plan as well.

Training for the triathlon has been a LOT of fun - it's certainly a nice change to my usual gym time routine. The brick workouts are rough!

[Archren]

Originally Posted by azoomm

I'm drinking the crossfit koolaide. My body is SO mad at me in a kind of great way.

[No Worries]

Originally Posted by Archren

Dr. Starrett is my freaking hero. His Mobility WODs have been a life saver for me, to the point where I pre-ordered his book when I heard it was coming out. The man is a wealth of information, and following his advice has helped me improve in a variety of CrossFit movements, including fixing some minor tweaks I developed, not to mention it forced me to pay a lot more attention to my posture throughout the day.

I got Starrett's book "Becoming a Supple Leopard" from the library. I'm only half way through, but it is amazing. It's extremely comprehensive. He shows all the correct ways to do my favorite exercises like the squat, deadlift, and clean and press. He shows all the faults (how not to do the exercises) and has many tests. I failed several of them. I can't wait to read more.

[Archren]

Originally Posted by Method

I've been interested in crossfit lately. I decided I was bored so I signed up for the Pdx Triathlon in sept and have been training for that, but would like to work some CF into the training plan as well.

Training for the triathlon has been a LOT of fun - it's certainly a nice change to my usual gym time routine. The brick workouts are rough!

If you're training for a tri, I'd say CF as a supplement is fine (since it will build your strength and work on the anaerobic metabolic pathway), but definitely continue training for the tri events primarily. If there's one thing I've learned about CF it's definitely more of a generalist fitness regime rather than a specialist one. Which is fine for me, being in the military, but for someone training for a particular competition it's not ideal as a primary workout. Edit: Unless you're training for the CrossFit Games.

Originally Posted by No Worries

I got Starrett's book "Becoming a Supple Leopard" from the library. I'm only half way through, but it is amazing. It's extremely comprehensive. He shows all the correct ways to do my favorite exercises like the squat, deadlift, and clean and press. He shows all the faults (how not to do the exercises) and has many tests. I failed several of them. I can't wait to read more.

I still need to finish reading the book My coach just went to KStar's mobility course this past weekend. Today was my first day back to working out since last week, and I noticed he was watching everyone's form like a hawk and giving very specific suggestions for correcting their form on things like deadlifts and whatnot. I noticed he never called me out - not sure if that's because I watch KStar videos religiously and have my deadlift down pat, or if he just wasn't paying attention to me at that particular moment.

[the chi]

What are the benefits of the crossfit stuff (other than the obvious fitness)? I see people doing it and think OMG, theres no way.

It's been a long time since I visited, but I've done 2 half marathons, and 1 Iron Warrior Dash (15 miles) and am currently training for another half in Dec and my first full marathon in January at Disney. I can't say I love running, but I definitely like the results. I've trimmed down alot, my thighs no longer start fires and I just started about a month ago lifting weights and doing some strength training to avoid turning into one of those scary runner looking people. Not that I think that'll be a problem, since I eat way too much to lose that much weight.

I'm also on Day 3 of my Green Smoothie Detox, surprisingly haven't murdered anyone for bread or cookies, altho my hubby told me today he has been terrified to touch my fruit as he figured the 1 piece he ate would be the vital ingredient I would need and he'd end up dead...(I haven't even been crotchety!) I am not seeing the miraculous results other folks have reported, perhaps because I had already cleaned up my diet some or because my body was in such horrible shape. Who knows?

Looking at incorporating some Raw Diet into the household, and going all organic, no processed crap. Anyone else do this? Got any recommendations for cookbooks or books on the subject?

[Porkchop]

First Tri scheduled for September 1. Down to crunch time...

Originally Posted by the chi

Looking at incorporating some Raw Diet into the household, and going all organic, no processed crap. Anyone else do this? Got any recommendations for cookbooks or books on the subject?

Raw diet would be great. It's hard to resist temptation though.

[Archren]

Originally Posted by the chi

What are the benefits of the crossfit stuff (other than the obvious fitness)? I see people doing it and think OMG, theres no way.

...

Looking at incorporating some Raw Diet into the household, and going all organic, no processed crap. Anyone else do this? Got any recommendations for cookbooks or books on the subject?

General fitness, or as the official definition describes it: "The aim of CrossFit is to forge a broad, general and inclusive fitness. We have sought to build a program that will best prepare trainees for any physical contingency — not only for the unknown, but for the unknowable." You train in a wide variety of physical exercises that support functional human movement (everything from olympic lifting to gymnastics to cardio and so on).

It also eschews routine, so while you practice these various movements to learn proper form, you won't see the same workout twice in the course of a month (or three, in some cases), unless it's what we call a "benchmark" WOD, where you do the same workout as you have done previously in order to have an idea of your progress (for example: CrossFit Total is a WOD in which you do your 1 rep max of back squat, strict press, and dead lift.. your total score is the sum of the weight).

It's you against yourself - yes, it's a community, and everyone works out together, but where you are in your fitness is not where I am or where the coach is or the other guy there... but everyone is still putting in the same amount of intensity into the workout, according to their individual level of ability. For instance, there is a lady in my class who is very large. Her ability with pushups means she has to do them against a box, rather than on the ground.. but for her that is her max effort. Conversely, she can deadlift almost 200lbs, and I'm still down in the 155lb range.

As for diet.. I haven't attempted raw diet. I went to the Paleo diet in April (also pushes to avoid processed/refined foods), and have felt a major difference not just in my capacity for exercise, but in general quality of life overall. I sleep better (when I get to sleep at decent hour.. I go to night classes, so getting to bed at 9pm isn't always feasible lol), I don't have the food coma crash after lunch anymore, and I've gotten leaner (lost bodyfat). Not as dramatic of a change as my SO who has lost 6 inches on his waist, lol, but I have dropped inches in my waist... can't say the same for my thighs/butt though, but I attribute that from building a ton of muscle in those areas from all dem squats!

[OneSickPsycho]

Originally Posted by Archren

General fitness, or as the official definition describes it: "The aim of CrossFit is to forge a broad, general and inclusive fitness. We have sought to build a program that will best prepare trainees for any physical contingency — not only for the unknown, but for the unknowable." You train in a wide variety of physical exercises that support functional human movement (everything from olympic lifting to gymnastics to cardio and so on).

It also eschews routine, so while you practice these various movements to learn proper form, you won't see the same workout twice in the course of a month (or three, in some cases), unless it's what we call a "benchmark" WOD, where you do the same workout as you have done previously in order to have an idea of your progress (for example: CrossFit Total is a WOD in which you do your 1 rep max of back squat, strict press, and dead lift.. your total score is the sum of the weight).

It's you against yourself - yes, it's a community, and everyone works out together, but where you are in your fitness is not where I am or where the coach is or the other guy there... but everyone is still putting in the same amount of intensity into the workout, according to their individual level of ability. For instance, there is a lady in my class who is very large. Her ability with pushups means she has to do them against a box, rather than on the ground.. but for her that is her max effort. Conversely, she can deadlift almost 200lbs, and I'm still down in the 155lb range.

As for diet.. I haven't attempted raw diet. I went to the Paleo diet in April (also pushes to avoid processed/refined foods), and have felt a major difference not just in my capacity for exercise, but in general quality of life overall. I sleep better (when I get to sleep at decent hour.. I go to night classes, so getting to bed at 9pm isn't always feasible lol), I don't have the food coma crash after lunch anymore, and I've gotten leaner (lost bodyfat). Not as dramatic of a change as my SO who has lost 6 inches on his waist, lol, but I have dropped inches in my waist... can't say the same for my thighs/butt though, but I attribute that from building a ton of muscle in those areas from all dem squats!

Raise your hand if you want a reasonably fit chick to drop inches in her thighs/butt...



Now... show of hands for those who want to see exactly what Archren is talking about...

[Archren]

I'm not complaining, but I figured I should mention it since it is a common occurence when you actually work out your legs/butt! The unfortunate side of it is that (with the exception of my Lulu Lemon workout clothes) stuff doesn't fit right anymore (butt/thighs fit, waist on the pants is way too loose... even with a belt, if I bend over, risk showing the world some crack!). Someone needs to make a line of jeans for women who lift!

[azoomm]

This is, by far, the best workout if ever be part of. It's all about core and proper movement. Push-ups are not my friends, but I'm getting there. The support in the community might be the best part.