9 Ways To Be Leaner, Stronger, Faster, and Happier (Outside The Gym)

Reaching new goals and PR’s at the box takes hard work and dedication to the program. This is common sense. Show up 3-5 times per week and you will get leaner, stonger, faster, and healthier; I guarantee it. What you might not know, or choose to ignore, is that your environment and actions outside the gym play just as big of a role, if not bigger, than the work you put in within our walls. Feeling shitty or just mentally not there? You probably won’t PR on back squat day or get that Fran time you’ve been striving for. Get your mind and your body right before you come in and you will see better results. I promise.

Here are ways to help you get started:

1. Eat organic meats and produce as much as possible. Try to consume more and more grassfed meats. A good diet is expensive but health problems from bad dieting later in life are more expensive. Avoid anything with a shelf-life. If it comes processed from a factory, just don’t eat it. Avoid most of the stuff in supplement stores. All you need is a clean protein and maybe some fish oil pills and you are good to go.

2. Cut out sugar. Just don’t eat it. Don’t be deceived by its various forms either. High fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, maltose, dextrose, ethyl maltol, etc. Think it is too hard to cut all of it out? Too bad. You are not some freshman girl in college with unlimited access to the soft serve ice cream machine in the dinning hall. Show some self control.

3. Sleep. Sleep a lot. Try to get to bed before 11 at night. Make that 10. Turn the lights down, don’t mess with your computer or phone. Read and/or meditate instead to calm your body before getting under the sheets. Turn down the air before bedtime and buy some nice sheets. This is where you spend a third of you life so make it comfortable.

4. Drink a gallon of water per day. This is very important, especially with summer around the corner. Drinking water helps in a variety of ways. It helps with blood flow to muscles post-workout, optimal hormone excretion and endocrine health, brain function, healthy skin, gastro intestinal flow…. the list goes on and on, so drink! Is there water in your hand right now? No? Well get off your butt and go get one.

5. Practice minimalism. Don’t waste your money on bogus bullshit. Limit your material possessions. All that these things do is promote clutter and drag your attention away from what really matters. Focus your attention on a handful of things that really matter instead of spreading yourself thin over a multitude of subjects. The world doesn’t need more multitasking, confused, getting-nowhere-fast members of society.

6. Challenge your mind. Learn a new skill or sport. Take up art. Read a book every once in a while. In fact, read at least two per month. Read about different subjects, too. Do crossword puzzles. Do Sudoku puzzles. Just do regular puzzles… I don’t care, just do something. Start a project. Make a rock garden. Learn to play a new instrument, start a blog… You get the idea.

7. Delete the negatives and accentuate the positives. Start by taking negative people out of your life. Have a friend that is just a mess and drags your life down. Ditch them. Oh you think this might be a little over the top? Well I will keep hanging around my positive influences and you keep hanging around your negative ones and we will see who fares better. Hang out with your family more. Keep up with friends better. While we are on the subject, send a nice text to someone right now. Doesn’t matter who it is or what it is about, just do it!

8. Don’t sit as much. Make a stand-up desk at work. Get out of your cubicle and walk around. Do some squats while your at it. The human body was not meant to sit 9+ hours a day. Cavemen didn’t sit around a fire all day long so why should you sit hunched over your computer (if you are then straighten up) all day. Tight hips lead to injuries when these powerful muscles that attach to the pelvis can’t move like they should. One of the biggest contributors to back pain is tight hips.

9. Smile more. Smile at people when your walking your dog, strolling through the grocery store, and passing by them in the office. Don’t avoid eye contact, embrace it. A smile goes a long way. Not only does it release good hormones within yourself but chances are you will make the receiver smile back, causing a chain reaction. Throwing a tiny stone in the water causes a ripple effect across the entire pond.

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Oxford Comma

Check this out.

“If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It’s raining? That doesn’t matter. I am tired? That’s besides the point. It’s simply that I just have to.”
– Emil Zatopek

Post Murph: Sore and Sunburned

And that’s a wrap! Memorial Day Murph 2012 came and went this year with a bang. What better way to spend your day off from work sweating your butt off through 2 miles of running, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 squats? You guys are crazy but I am thankful for it. We had 23 (24 counting myself) people total do Murph yesterday which was MUCH more than expected. We even had a couple people from the Master’s class come and join in. With all that said, let’s take a minute to remember why we did it. A big thanks goes out to all those who have served and who are going to serve, especially members John and Scott on their upcoming deployments. Thanks guys!

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New Elements Class starts Monday June 4th.

Contact us if you want to join in. Spaces are limited.

Clock With No Hands

Announcements

Memorial Day Murph Update:

Meet up at the gym on Monday morning at 9am to tackle “Murph”. There will be a scaled version of Murph with only half the number of reps for those who think Murph as rx’d is a little much. Everyone, including nonmembers, is welcome. This workout is not for the newbie though!

Europa $10,000 Challenge:

On the weekend of August 17-18th, the fitness expo known as “Europa” will be holding a big CrossFit team competition. There will be both intermediate and advanced divisions. I am expecting us to have at least a couple of teams participating. If you don’t think you can participate, you can still help out and get hooked up with some cool gear. Check out the event here.

Memorial Day Murph 2012

Michael Patrick Murphy (May 7, 1976 – June 28, 2005) was a United States Navy SEAL posthumously awarded the United States military’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in 2005 during the War in Afghanistan. He was the first person to be awarded the medal for actions in Afghanistan; and the first member of the U.S. Navy to receive the award since the Vietnam War. He also received other awards including the Silver Star and Purple Heart.

LT Murphy was killed June 28, 2005 after exposing himself to enemy fire and knowingly leaving his position of cover to get a clear signal in order to communicate with his headquarters. He provided his unit’s location and requested immediate support for his element and then returned to his position to continue fighting until he died from his wounds.

This Memorial Day, Monday May 28th, East Dallas CrossFit will celebrate LT Murphy’s life by hosting the CrossFit hero workout known as “Murph”. As you might know, the hero workouts are created to honor a person who has given their life in service for our country. Murph was created in honor of Lt. Michael Murphy.

 

“Murph” for time:

– 1 mile run

– 100 pull-ups

– 200 push-ups

– 300 squats

– 1mile run

* partition pull-ups, push-ups and squats however you like

* if you have a weight vest, wear it

This was a workout that Michael liked to do in preparation for his deployment. Being that we have several military at EDCF, this should be a good one. If you are not going to participate in this event then please still come out and count/cheer for everyone who is. Start time is at 9am.

A BBQ is in the works for post Murph. Details to come soon.

There WILL NOT be regular classes on Monday in observation of Memorial Day.

We Can Make The World Stop

Ben and Emily at around mile 22 of the Big D Marathon.

A congrats goes out to Ben O. for receiving his CrossFit Level-1 certification this past weekend!

Memorial Day Murph Update:

MDM 2012 will kick off at 9am on Memorial Day. It has been moved up an hour in an effort to avoid the heat. Everyone is encouraged to attend whether you plan on doing it or just to watch.

 

Baby Hudson Is Here

A big shout-out goes out to Chase and his wife Molly. They welcomed their baby boy, Hudson, into the world this evening and are happy to announce that he is healthy and doing well! Congratulations you two. We are expecting Hudson in our first CrossFit Kids class!

300 Hangover

Our first ever event at EDCF, this past weekend’s 300 Challenge, was a great success! The participation and turnout of those who didn’t participate really showed how our community is coming together. Despite coming away with a lot of sweat loss, some battered shins, and mild lightheadedness, you guys also should feel good about the cause we were able to help out. As of right now we have over 50 pairs of shoes as well as more than enough money in donations to cover the cost of shipping! A big thanks goes out to everyone to contributed!

I would also like to give a shout to the winners of the each division:

Advanced men: Adam Hauser

Advanced women: Kimberly White

Intermediate men: Matt Hatcher

Intermediate women: Emily Hetrick

Beginner men: Sam Copeland

Beginner women: Marcia Savard

A big thanks also goes out to Heather Nice for helping with the shoe drive, Kristen Lucas for taking some awesome pictures found here, Reebok for supplying the kicks, and Dr. Nick and his massage therapist Gabby for working on all the athletes.

We are looking forward to doing this every year as well as some other events too! Next up on the list is Memorial Day Murph!