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- Smell and taste - Does the fish oil smell or taste fishy? If so, the fish oil has most likely been exposed to oxygen and is becoming rancid. Rancid (oxidized) oils should be avoided, as they yield less-than-healthy effects. Avoid fish oils that have really strong flavorings added to them because they are most likely trying to hide the fishy flavor of rancid oil.
- Supportive scientific research to prove the efficacy of the fish oil brand.
- Sustainable fishing practices - Any environmentally responsible fish oil manufacturer should offer transparency into their fishing practices.(3)
2011 CrossFit Year in Review Part Tre: Daniel Lawson | Burpees 4 Boobs | CharityFitter of the Year
January 30, 2012, 9:19am
Video of Day 50: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iba3i1jQtHY
So…how much? Daniels nation-wide, year-long effort raised $18,199 (and that’s not including apparel). Not bad for a humble boy from Indy, eh?
So you decided to jump into your gym’s Paleo Challenge? Here’s a few tips to help you get through it.
DON’T believe everything you hear. Do your own research — trust me, there’s plenty out there — and come to your own conclusions. Study the science behind the rules, so that when someone asks you why you don’t eat grains, you can give an intelligent answer. This is also important so that you know why you shouldn’t have that pasta salad that looks so yummy.
DON’T stress about points, unless you’re just in it for the competition. True, it’s fun to beat your buddies, but at least try to stay focused on the point, not the points. Nutrition is more important than a 30-day challenge.
DO write down what you eat. This was actually a really fun part of my first Paleo Challenge. I never really realized some of the peculiarities of my eating habits until I logged my meals.
DO try new foods. Pomegranate, asparagus, avocado, oysters — if you look, you’ll probably realize that there’s a whole world of foods you’ve never tried. Try shopping at a new grocery store to see what else is out there!
DO drink water. A lot of it. All by itself. ‘Nuff said, right?
DO talk about your Paleo Challenge. Think about it, obsess over it the way you obsess over your WOD’s. Write about it in your blog, take pictures of the new dishes you make, and have fun with it. Invite your non-Paleo friends over for dinner and show them what it’s like. Keep up with the popular Paleo bloggers, and get into the “lifestyle” of it. These are the kinds of things that will keep you motivated in the long run, not the points you earn for “obeying the rules.”
DO pay attention to the amount of sleep you are getting. It can make a tremendous difference in your mood and in your health.
DON’T get distracted by the word “diet.” Some people call it a Paleo diet. Diet just means the stuff you eat, although it bears with it the unfortunate stigma of gimmicky, cheap marketing. That’s not what Paleo is about, nor CrossFit. It’s fair to be skeptical, but don’t let that keep you from making real changes.
DON’T give up. If you’re truly persuaded that nutrition is important, and that your current diet of disgusting crap isn’t cutting it anymore, then you’re in it for the long haul. Like everything, practice makes perfect and no one gets something perfect the first time. So you failed today (which is something most CrossFitters are used to by now, it’s part of what we do); that just means that you’re actually pushing yourself to do something difficult. Be confident that you will improve. Eating real food in our culture isn’t easy, but it’s doable if you want it.
2012 CrossFit Open Hype
By: Leigh LeGare
It’s that time again! The 2012 Reebok Crossfit Games Open is right around the corner. With registration beginning on February 1st, and the release of the first WOD on February 22nd, CrossFitters from all over the world will be able to showcase their abilities in hopes of being crowned the “Fittest in the World.”
Last year, Reebok joined forces with CrossFit and the dynamic duo garnered 26,000 registered athletes worldwide, who performed one workout a week for six weeks. This was by far CrossFit’s best showing of athleticism and participation on its road to the Games. Considering all the publicity and hype the Games received this year, it will be interesting to see the numbers Reebok and CrossFit will put together for this year’s Open.
- Do it for you! The Open is a great way to motivate and push yourself beyond normal limits. A competitive edge is added when you are able to check your standings each week, and rankings daily. Or, if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself checking your ranking on an hourly basis! The Open allows you to gauge where you are within the CrossFit world (literally!). Find a name within your region, stalk their stats on their Reebok CrossFit profile, and claim him/her as your doppelganger during the Open.
- Do it for your fellow CrossFitter! Many affiliates incorporated the Open WODs into their weekly programming. If this was your box and you technically weren’t registered, you still participated in the Open! How is that possible? Well, I’m pretty sure you didn’t take the WOD lightly because that’s not how CrossFitters operate. In order to complete the WOD, you were probably busting your tail, which in return forced others to push even harder, which pushed you even more. It’s a beneficial cycle that without you, your friends’ numbers or rankings wouldn’t have been as high on the Open scoreboard.
- Do it for your CrossFit box! Last year’s Open not only focused on individual performances but brought in the team dynamic of the competition. The top affiliates of each region were able to have some of their best members represent their “box” at Regionals with only the top three affiliate teams advancing to the Games. Some affiliates held tryouts for their team while others used the individual results from the Open to determine who would be representing them at Regionals. I can’t say this is how it will be this year as HQ could throw a curve ball at us. However, I can say the team aspect of the Open and Regionals allowed many affiliates to highlight their athletes in a way that brought a stronger sense of pride and community to their box.
Again, participate in the Open in some way! If you’ve been toying with registering, go for it! If you’re teetering on the edge of whether or not to register, read the reasons stated above again! Chances are likely you’ll have others at your box who are competing and need other registered athletes to help keep up the intensity of the Open within their box. There could be a WOD released catering to your strengths, and your numbers may be needed to help your box advance. Throw yourself into the adventure of the Open and get excited for the hype and improvement it will bring to you, your fellow CrossFitters, and your box! You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain! If anything, it’ll help solidify why you joined this crazy community we call CrossFit!
CrossFit for Triathletes
by Frank Sole
I knew a woman who, as a young girl, was raised in a particular religion and with that religion came dogmatic beliefs. When walking down the street in her hometown her mother instructed this young lady she was not allowed to look into the local church of a different religion. I know a lot of people, including triathletes, who treat CrossFit the same way. In discussions with athletes the word “cultish” often comes up. Many make the decision to stay away and not even go to their local box to see what, if anything, they could possibly gain from the experience.
Back to the idea of cultish, really? You mean more than training 15+ hours a week in three disciplines along with spending a small portion of your yearly income on running shoes, bike part upgrades, nutritional supplements, training and racing gear, etc. Really, cultish? By our very nature we have the tendency to condemn what we do not know and fail to take the time to understand.
So, I feel compelled to list ten reasons why you would want to incorporate CrossFit into your triathlon training:
1. Triathletes, by their very nature, live and die by the clock. If that is the case, you will love the CrossFit WOD (workout of the day). They are measurable.
2. It is a way of life. No different than tri training. It defines who you are.
3. It incorporates performance-based racing against the clock which is a great benchmark on overall performance, increased strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, accuracy, balance, stamina and, yes, speed!
4. You are part of a tribe. Fellow triathletes have this connection, a sense of community and kinship; a group of people who set achievable goals, compete and complete some incredible personal transformations.
5. It takes your regiment “out of the box.” You become that “weird” triathlete who now is incorporating shorter more high intensity workouts to your weekly training plan.
6. CrossFit endurance takes your daily and weekly training out of the routine by adding a considerable amount of variance.
7. CrossFit by its very nature helps to create a strong core and midline stability and, the last time I checked, everything we do initiates at the midline.
8. This is interval training at its best. CrossFit has adapted the principles established by Dr. Stephen Seiler on interval training and its necessity to help to maximize one’s endurance base. “The first wave is increased maximal oxygen consumption. The second is increased lactate threshold; and, the third is increased efficiency.”
9. The essence of triathlon training as in CrossFit training is somewhat identical. Both are looking for improvements in endurance, stamina, strength and flexibility which simply come through training. And, training by its definition, is improving performance through a measurable organic change to the body.
10. There must be something to this CrossFit endurance training because it is getting a ton of press from the triathlon publications. Good, bad or indifferent, live life on the “weird side” and go check it out. What is the worst that can happen; you simply get in the best shape of your life!
Frank Sole is a premier swim coach and tactician with extensive experience coaching high school swim teams, club teams, masters swim programs, and working with all levels of triathletes from beginner right up to Kona qualifiers. Sole enjoys writing about triathlon training, technique development, relationships and the lighter side of triathlon. For more on Frank Sole, go to www.soleswimsolutions.com.
Part Deux: The Products
1. Anything with the letters R-O-G-U-E
William C. Henniger has brought back manufacturing to the United States. That’s right, Dorothy: the Tin Man has a heart (and a brain, too). In what most consider the highest real unemployment rate since the 1930’s, in a time of cost-cutting and outsourcing, Rouge is creating American jobs. With the pride, precision, and the performance one would expect from a company run by an Air Force veteran & University of Michigan MBA graduate, Henniger’s ROGUE is the premier emporium for all things fitness equipment.
Rogue is one of the title sponsors of the CrossFit Games and deservedly so. From bars to boxes to bumpers, Rogue does it all. Depending on weather your pimping out your garage or opening up a 5,000 sq ft training compound, Rogue offers bundle packages to get you started. And not only is the equipment sweet, the Rogue team functions quickly and effectively to move equipment in and out of gyms, large stadiums, and even across international borders. Check out the 30,000lb (yeah, 30) steel monster from this year’s CrossFit Games called the Killer Kage. (Continue geeking out on Rogue equipment here). If you need equipment in 2012, ROGUE is the place to start.
2. The elusive “All-in-one” CrossFit shoe: Reebok CrossFit Oly Shoe
How many pairs of shoes do you own? Uhhhh…lots? Whether you’re a CrossFit regular, a teenage girl, or a multi-platinum rapper, you probably have spent a lot of money on shoes. These may include subcategories such as: Olympic Lifting, light weight running, need for personal expression running, & barefoot. Though reaching a consensus within a community of type-A alphas is a mathematical impossibility, it seems the CrossFit Games competitors generally liked the Reebok CrossFit Oly Shoe. The shoe combines the foundation necessary for Olympic Lifting, support necessary for jumping, structure necessary for climbing, yet still light enough to jog.
3. Most Creative: The Demon Bell
No question. Unanimous vote. Ryan Williams, former Navy SEAL and co-owner of Forged Clothing, has created the eeriest, coolest functional piece of equipment in the fitness community. The Demon Bell line are essentially stylized kettle bells and come in half, one, one and a half, and two pood sizes. Each has a unique design, with various cultural influences, such as a “Big Boi”: a 2 pood design based on traditional Polynesian war masks and totem poles. From Turkish get-ups to paper weights, these multi-functional Demon Bells are one of the coolest toys you’ll see for years to come.
4. Most Fun: Life AsRx T-Shirts
In a community comprised of competitive drives bordering on personality disorders, it’s always nice to have a little sarcasm, comedic relief, and, well, fun.** Life AsRx has found its footing in the industry with Men’s & Women’s t-shirts sporting hilarious one-liners such as “For a good time call Fran”, “Death before DNF”, “Bacon is good for me”, and “Wodkilla”. In addition, Life As Rx also boasts hats, socks, & sweatshirts with varying angles of hilarity and style. Finally, Life AsRx partnered with two amazing charitable organizations to produce the first-ever CrossFit themed “2012 CharityFit Calendar”, which features rockstar Andy Ross of OKGO and CrossFitters from all over the globe. Proceeds are donated to The Alliance For Children’s Rights and Operation Gratitude.
5. Best FUEL
a) PROGENEX “More Muscle” and “Recovery” seem to be the drink of choice for people center stage at the Home Depot Center. I attended three regional competitions and at each, I noticed the super-jacked people were walking up to the PROGENEX tent after WODS looking for a fix of chocolate refueling goodness. PROGENEX is light on the stomach, which I found a great relief as someone lactose intolerant and sensitive to other brands (i.e. Isopure). The science behind PROGENEX utilizes a lot of 4 and 5 syllable words which are hard to pronounce and I’m limited on space, so if you’re interested in the big words, please visit their website. Why does PROGENEX get the nod? Combine a great product with rapid growth (USA, Canada, Europe), master marketing (Please, have some money. Is $5k enough? SICFIT’s SIC Flicks), athlete testimonials (NFL, MLB, NBA, Olympic Weight Lifters, and CrossFit) and you get a market leader.
b) Stronger Faster Healthier is also a rapidly growing name for all your supplement needs. Think Whole Foods meets GNC. Looking for the cleanest inputs to your fuel? Try some Grass-fed Whey Protein derived from free range cows which are “never treated with antibiotics or bovine growth hormones”. Need fish oil? SFH has the best stuff on the market for all your Omega-3 needs. What does fish oil actually do? Basically, in layperson’s terms, it helps balance cholesterol levels, increases blood flow, reduces inflammation (i.e. faster recovery), decreases risk of heart disease, and improves immune system function. Really the only drawbacks are fish flavored burps and fish-breath while conversing with that attractive co-worker/intern/teacher/boss/Leblanc-BazinetWoman
c) Vita Coco: a headline sponsor of the CrossFit Games. Commonly used for hydration after WODs and in anticipation of a hangover, Coconut water is a newer player in the re-hydrating sports drink industry which has been traditionally ruled by various “ades”. (Clearly, if you live on an island or are from Brazil, you’ve been drinking coconut water since, like, your segundo ano, so please disregard). Since CrossFitters are continually in search of purer, more organic, more natural products, Vita Coco is a natural choice. And with a balance sheet that allows them to become a headline sponsor of the CrossFit Games, this hydrator may be a fire-breather in disguise.
According to recently published research, eating foods with a higher percent of calories from protein could help you control your appetite. Researchers tested the “protein leverage hypothesis" on lean men and women by feeding them foods with similar palatability but with macronutrient (protein, carbohydrate, and fats) composition disguised under ad libitum (all you can eat) conditions. The participants were studied over four-day periods with fixed menus containing 10, 15, or 25 percent calories from protein. Carbohydrate caloric intake was adjusted to be 60, 55 or 45 percent and dietary fat was kept constant at 30 percent caloric intake.
The researchers stated participants eating a 10 percent protein diet ate an average of 12 percent more calories over the four days, almost 60 percent of which came from savory foods. Seventy percent of the caloric increase came from eating "snack foods." The researchers also reported if the participants on the 10 percent protein diet kept eating this way, without an increase in energy expenditure from increased activity, they'd potentially gain approximately 2 pounds of weight per month.
1. Gosby AK, Conigrave AD, Lau NS et al. Testing protein leverage in lean humans: a randomised controlled experimental study. PLoS One 2011;6:e25929.
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Death by Barbell Nick Zambruno 915 COVERAGE SICFIT Presents Death by Barbell Finals VIDEO 15 hours ago by Jay Kovar What is the WOD? |
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BLOG 1 day ago by Rob Shelton Awesome article! As someone who personally know the author, I can promise you that Dave lives out every word written in this. His growth and capacity as an exceptional leader was transformed by a myri... |
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BLOG 2 days ago by Ike Rejino Fish oil >>>>> |
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2011 CrossFit Year in Review Part Tre: Daniel Lawson | Burpees 4 Boobs | CharityFitter of the Year BLOG 5 days ago by Jennifer Smith August 1 - 213, for a total of 22,791 at that date. |
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COVERAGE A Look Into the Counter Culture VIDEO 2 weeks ago by Chris Donnelly Man why am i just seeing this! Hilarious! |
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2011 CrossFit Year in Review PART 1 BLOG 2 weeks ago by Andrew Roodbol Good review. But your placements for the teams are incorrect. You have them placed prior to the final WOD. Front Range 2nd, Taranis 3rd, Fort Vancouver 4th, Brick 5th, Rocklin 6th. |
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COVERAGE SICflicks Fueled by PROGENEX VIDEO 2 weeks ago by RealFit Didn't see anything that impressed me in the slightest. When you can wave midstride while "working" you're not putting in much effort/must not be hard enough. |
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2011 Crossfit Year in Review Part Deux: The Products BLOG 2 weeks ago by Bryan Miller http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoplastic_polyurethane |
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2011 Crossfit Year in Review Part Deux: The Products BLOG 2 weeks ago by surfanimal Thermoplastic polyurethanes (or TPU for short) are linear block copolymers made of alternating soft and hard pieces usually made out of diisocyanates, polyols and diol or diamine chain extenders. Basi... |
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COVERAGE The OC Throwdown Tory Morgan of CrossFit Code 3 |
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BLOG 1 day ago by Rob Shelton |
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BLOG 2 days ago by Ike Rejino |
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2011 CrossFit Year in Review Part Tre: Daniel Lawson | Burpees 4 Boobs | CharityFitter of the Year BLOG 5 days ago by Jennifer Smith |
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2011 CrossFit Year in Review PART 1 BLOG 2 weeks ago by Andrew Roodbol |
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2011 Crossfit Year in Review Part Deux: The Products BLOG 2 weeks ago by Bryan Miller |
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