Charles came to the first workout we ever had at the gym. Back when there was no electricity and it was 105 degrees outside. In the past year, since starting paleo and being introduced to the CrossFit methodology, Charles has dropped about 20lbs and around 10″. A Chef at Company Cafe and Two Sisters, Charles is always around temptation to stray away from his diet but after noticing immediate results, he has continued on the straight and narrow. Increases in energy levels and lean mass composition are two other positive side effects to his healthy diet. Keep up the good work Charles. You look great!
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Sign up for the 300 Challenge HERE. About 15 spots left and everyone is welcome!
You might have noticed something a little different about the top of the page…
What
The 300 Challenge is a workout designed to test stamina, strength, power, and heart. The workout was designed by the trainers of the actors in the movie 300 and used as a cap-off to an intense 10 week training regimen; A graduation test of sorts. The workout gets its name from the 300 total repetitions that comprise it. This workout is perfect for athletes of any level and is difficult enough to bring out your inner warrior. All athletes will take on Spartan 300 WOD. This is open to the public.
The madness will take place on Saturday, May 12th beginning at 9am sharp! Movement standards will be demonstrated at 9 with the first heat starting at 9:20.
Where
East Dallas CrossFit located at 2201Tucker St., Suite 106, 75214.
RSVP
Only the first 30 to sign up will be allowed to compete. Please REGISTER HERE.
So “Nicole” came and went on Monday. It’s safe to say that many of you are still feeling some residual soreness from all of the pull-ups. Let’s talk about soreness for a minute. Soreness is cause by micro-trauma, or small tears, in the muscles due to constant stimulation. After this breakdown, the muscle restructures and grows larger which is also known as hypertr0phy. The muscle will grow bigger and stronger given the correct nutritional and recovery conditions. So soreness is expected on some levels. The technical term for a more delayed soreness response is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. DOMS can start anywhere between 8-24 hours and may peak around 24-72 hours post exercise. Pain with DOMS is usually only felt when the muscle is stretched or put under pressure. If you have a muscle that is hurting while at rest, it may be due to a pull or strain and should be dealt with accordingly. DOMS is more closely associated with a more eccentric loading of the muscles. This is when the muscle is lengthened while being contracted. The onset of soreness is different for every individual and will vary depending on the type of workout and level of fitness. So how do you address soreness before and after it hits?
Prevention
– Make sure to perform a more dynamic warm-up and try to stay away from static stretches.
– Focus on specific movements or joint angles that are present in the WOD when warming up.
– Cool down, stretch, foam roll, and/or trigger point post WOD paying close attention to any problem areas.
Relief
– If soreness is really bad, don’t be afraid to ice or take some anti inflammatory medication.
– Make sure to stick to a an anti inflammatory diet such as the Paleo diet and be weary of grains or sugars that will spike the insulin response.
– Drink tons of water. Drink until you feel like your teeth are floating. This will help remove toxins.
– Wear compression gear during or after the WOD for recovery to promote blood flow to sore areas.
– Low-intensity activities such as yoga, walking, or swimming can help muscles heal faster by increasing blood flow to the muscles.
“An evolving journey and exploration of the connection between spirit, mind and body WHILE attempting to discover physical potential WHILE leading to discovering purpose and producing longevity of oneself.”
The metabolic pathways. To understand fitness at a biological level you must have basic knowledge of the 3 metabolic pathways which provide the body with energy to perform. They are known as the phosphocreatine, glycolytic, and oxidative pathways. The first pathway, the phosphocreatine system, provides sources of energy in very short yet intense bouts. Think of it as picking something heavy up just one time, sort of like a one rep max. Since the body does not have time to react, take in oxygen, and produce ATP, it relies on a readily available storage of phosphocreatine found in the muscles. The kicker is that there is not very much of it and after about 10 or so seconds your storage is up and the second energy system kicks in, the glycolytic pathway. The glycolytic system is the most commonly associated with more moderate levels of training (going off the notion that a 1RM is a high level). This is where the majority of CrossFit WODs are performed at. This system operates both aerobically and anaerobically. The more efficient you are anaerobically, the faster you can work through a given time frame (higher power output). The more power you produce, the more that favorable adaptation will occur. This is where the good stuff is, where fat storages are tapped into and lean muscle building thrives. The glycolytic system works up to about 10 minutes in duration. If the intensity is lower than it takes for the glycolytic system to initiate, the aerobic or oxidative pathway takes over. Long, sustainable energy output like that used on long runs or bike rides is due to the oxidative pathway. This system’s main source of energy is carbohydrates found in the blood, liver, and muscles and needs a constant supply of oxygen to maintain ATP output. If you were to be on a long run and suddenly a dog starts chasing you out of no where, you can bet the primary energy system in use would switch back from oxidative to glycolytic. Below is a graph explaining the three energy systems’ production as a function of time.
Note: the glycolytic system is referred to as the “Lactic Acid System” in this graph.
What does this have to do with fitness? Greg Glassman says is best:
“Total fitness, the fitness that CrossFit promotes and develops, requires competency and training in each of these three pathways or engines. Balancing the effects of these three pathways largely determines the how and why of the metabolic conditioning or “cardio” that we do at CrossFit.”
Anaerobic training. Interval training is the key to developing the cardiovascular system without loses in strength, power and speed. Just ask co-owner Ben O. who recently finished his first marathon well under 4 hours largely due to interval training and not a lot of the typical longer, more aerobic training. Interval training can be done in a variety of ways with added rest or shortened time intervals of high effort. If you train more in the anaerobic zone, you will see benefits in both strength and endurance (oxidative system). Training in the oxidative zone will not yield benefits to strength, speed and power. Look at the bodies of these two completely different types of runners and tell me which you think looks healthier and better suited for a more well-rounded performance.
It is important to regularly vary combinations of rest, work and repetitions when training with interval patterns. Lucky for you, this is what we do everyday at the box.
Rips. If you’ve ‘hung’ around the gym enough, you’re sure to come into contact with a ripped callus at least once. Rips are well known around the world of CrossFit mostly due to the amount of emphasis we put the gymnastic and barbell movements. Anything that will twist the skin of the palm and base of the fingers in a repetitive motion will cause some level of trauma to the hands.
Grooming
Ever heard of the saying “you have to tear ’em down to build ’em up”? Well this is true for callus formation too. As a newbie, you might walk away from a WOD feeling some discomfort in your hand which could last for hours or even days. Initially, this is to be expected on some level. The body will respond by thickening up the skin and building layers of dead skin over the contact points on the hand. This is natural to a certain extent. It is important to know the appropriate time to take care of your mits! Once calluses start to accumulate, the goal is to keep them smooth and level with the rest of the surrounding skin. A rough and protruding callus will eventually tear around the sides or the base, thus producing another tear. A good rule of thumb is that if you can pinch the raised edge of a callus, it generally needs to be filed down. Calluses can be filed down with pumice stones, nail files, sandpaper, or cuticle scissors. Remember to lube your hands, too! All that repetitive chalk usage will leave your hands dry and an easy target for a tear. Chalk is not meant to stop tears only to reduce moisture and slipping.
Grip Technique
Calluses at the base of the fingers can start to become painful, especially if your gripping at bar at 6 in the morning! Grip technique is something to think about to instead of just mashing those puppies down and grinding out another ten toes-to-bar. A better way to grip the bar is to place it between the metacarpals and the proximal phalanges (the crease between palm and fingers). This video by Mark Ripptoe explains better grip technique.
If you have a tear and are lucky enough to still have a flap of skin hanging over you tear then LEAVE IT! I see so many of you guys just tear it off mid-WOD or come back the next day with it cut off and bandaged. Your old skin actually acts as a natural bandaid for the raw skin underneath. When you get home, wash the area thoroughly with soap and water. Apply some Neosporin and bandage the sucker up during the day to keep out any unwanted bacteria.
Further Prevention
Gloves and tape are two ways to prevent tears during a WOD. I know it might be a pain to take these extra measures but for some of us it might be necessary. Here is a step by step diagram on how to tape your hands. Reebok also introduced a glove to wear similar to a batting glove in baseball. Here is a complex review of the gloves. If you need to take this step.. Do it! Anything to prevent tearing.
And remember: If you feel or see a tear coming on mid-WOD then tell me immediately! It is better to switch up the movements really quick than to tear and be out or limited for 3-4 days.
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300 Challenge is coming May 12th…. Everyone is encouraged to participate!
What is fitness? The term “fitness” is one that loosely floats through magazines such as Men’s Health and Cosmopolitan without really having a clear and concise definition. A quick search on dictionary.com yielded the the one word definition of “health” as the primary definition of fitness. Big help there. Outside magazine once crowned Mark Allen, a professional triathlete and winner of 6 Ironman triathlons, the “fittest man on earth”. Is this true? Have we really found the one person that is fitter than everyone else on the planet? No, we haven’t. Not to take anything away from Mr. Allen, because it is obvious that he was in remarkable shape to be able to pull off such a feat, but do you think he is fit in categories such as strength, power, speed and coordination? Probably not so much. I would say that a balance of these as well as the high endurance and stamina levels that he already possesses would make him even more fit. When I think of fitness, I think of being well rounded and at least decent in every facet of healthy movement imaginable. This might sound lame but my definition fitness is kind of like the the quarterback in high school movies. You know the guy who also is dating the head cheerleader, makes straight A’s, wins homecoming king, and is captain of the chess club. Basically, fitness should be about being good at everything.
Let’s break down what I mean by everything. CrossFit has come up with a list of ten general physical skills that should be highly regarded in defining fitness. An individual who possesses competence in all of these skills is more accurately titled as fit. Here is the list:
1. Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance – The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
2. Stamina – The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
3. Strength – The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
4. Flexibility – the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint.
5. Power – The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
6. Speed – The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
7. Coordination – The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
8. Agility – The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
9. Balance – The ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base.
10. Accuracy – The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.
The application of these ten skills are equally important. Being ready for anything thrown in front of you. Imagine there was one of those lottery ball machines that randomizes the balls then spits them out with different number on them. Only instead of numbers, there were a wide array of physical challenges written on them. Being able to be ready and preform adequately for the unknown and unknowable is of huge importance. This example suggests that your fitness can be measured by your capacity to perform well at these randomized physical tasks in relation to other individuals.
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Sign up for the 300 Challenge happening May 12th. Let me know if you are planning on attending. The workout is scalable so NO EXCUSES!!
One of our owners, Ben O., and long time member, Emily H., completed the Big D Marathon over the weekend. This was Emily’s third marathon and Ben’s first ever. Their goal was to complete it in under 4 hours which they reached and with a stunning time of 3:48 and 3:45, respectively. Their training was a little unconventional as neither logged in many miles each week but substituted some of their shorter weekly runs with WODs. This goes to show how your training in here carries over into sport outside of the box, even long distance running.
That is not the biggest news of the past few days for these two, though. The CrossFit power couple got engaged last night! What a way to cap off a weekend after completing your first marathon together. Now these two will start the marathon of life together pretty soon (excuse the corniness). We wish you guys the best!
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