The Paleo Challenge…………….
I haven’t really had time to sit down and write something of substance on this blog. I have been meaning too though ever since I got back from regional competition at the beginning of May. I have just had to get right back into the swing of running an affiliate as well as finalizing our Paleo challenge, which was a super success by the way. If you haven’t already had the chance, you should make a quick jump over to my nutrition blog, www.nutrisimple.net, and check out the before and after photos. The proof is in the pudding. I don’t claim this to be my diet. Eating Primal has been around for, well, since the beginning of time. I have my own little twists on the whole subject and I lean heavily on Robb Wolf, Dr. Kurt Harris, a bit on the man himself, Dr. Loren Cordain, and a some small stuff from a number of other scholars and everyday people with experience.
We went for seven weeks. We had a Yahoo group for support, we required the submission of weekly food logs every week, we didn’t dismiss anyone on the merits of what they ate, and I was there for question answering all the way to the end. There were a few that dropped out but for the most part, every one stuck it out and saw a change and/or learned something new about themselves. I am strict when it comes to giving out information. I want my athletes to have straight. I don’t want to beat around the bush or make them feel all good about themselves if there isn’t something to feel good about. It takes work but it isn’t at all difficult to eat ancestrally for the remainder of a lifetime. I give them scenarios of a perfect situation and explain that there isn’t ever going to be a perfect situation. I then proceed to let them know that the closer you stick to perfect the more perfect results you will get. I also let them know that at least an 80% adherence will work wonders. In this day and age, if you just skip the processed carbohydrates and stick to real, whole foods, you will already be light years ahead of the majority of the population. Then start to increase fat consumption, both saturated and mono-unsaturated, and treat vegetables as medicine. Also keep your protein intake fairly high and voila, you are on your way to being supremely healthy. And you will look and perform really well too.
In any sense, we are having another challenge starting on June 1st and I urge anyone in the area to join in on the fun. I don’t care who you are. I just want people to know how to eat and be healthy. No mumbo jumbo about eating every three hours or stuff like that. Just real, honest eating from healthy sources. I am starting an eating revolution here in Omaha and I want all to be a part of it.
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What I saw………………
Now back to what I originally wanted to talk about. The 2010 North Central CrossFit Games Regional Qualifier was a success, both for me and for everyone involved. At least in my eyes it was. I didn’t qualify, missing by only a few points but that is besides the point. I am not ashamed that I didn’t make the cut. It was a tight field and I missed by one spot. I held my own and even though this sport is gravitating toward being a larger guy’s sport, I will always have a shot to qualify. You know why? Strength for my size and TECHNIQUE…… especially in the Olympic lifts. I know my shit. I am not bragging in any sense of the word. It’s just that I know how to Olympic lift and I know how to teach people how to Olympic lift, correctly. As long as there is shoddy technique at the qualifying level, I will always have a chance. I only need to gain a few pounds (like maybe 10) and keep working on bringing up my weakness or better yet, my weaknesses in relationship to the guys qualifying and the workouts being written up. I did everything by the book leading up to this competition. My diet was elite. My training was elite (at least to the point that I needed it to be, as that is why you compete, to see where you lie and what you need to fix). I had an elite performance team of chiropractors and massage therapists helping me out with a nagging injury that miraculously healed enough to allow me to compete full tilt boogie. No excuses. I gave it my all and my all this time around was 5th best in the North Central regional. The only uncertain things is that I don’t know how I would have fared at the games. It will always be what comes out of the hopper. That’s what is so great about the sport of CrossFit. You might not qualify for the next competition but you might be the best at the next level if the right mix of workouts comes out.
I always tell myself that this is the last year but once competition season rolls around, I fall in love all over again. You know, I am not one of those coaches who runs his affiliate like CrossFit is the end all, be all. I don’t get mad when people talk bad about CrossFit. I don’t get irritated when people refer to it as a cult. The reason is that CrossFit is not the end all, be all. There are so many ways to skin a cat that it is actually kind of crazy. Those that preach the gospel of CrossFit don’t understand it fully anyways. It is all about the right tool for the job. You want to get stronger, got get the right tool out of the toolbox. You want to become bigger, you gotta get out the right tool out of the toolbox. If the only tool you have in your toolbox is a CrossFit wrench, you are going to come across some really rough patches. I like Coach Mike Boyle. I don’t like everything he does but he has some really good shit and knows his shit too. There are a lot of guys out there that I respect and it’s their information that I go to when I find some chinks in my armor. Whether it’s mobility, flexibility, joint integrity, you name it. It’s the small stuff that counts. I love everything about human performance and improving it.
In the end, I am a die-hard CrossFitter and always will be. I think I may very well keep competing until I reach the Master’s level. Who knows. But the one thing I do know is that CrossFit will evolve and we as affiliate owners must evolve with it. We must realize that all CrossFit really is, is a methodology that gives us an opportunity to use all methodologies in our quest for supreme fitness. If you fail to realize this, you will get left in the dust. This is one of the reasons I placed 5th this year. I have dedicated myself to becoming an above average Olympic lifter, an average power-lifter (in the sense of absolute strength), and I’m small so calisthenics are a bit easier for me. Because of this, I have become an alright Crossfitter. It doesn’t work the other way around. You don’t become an above average Olympic lifter from doing CrossFit only. I saw it at the regional. Too many athletes struggled with power snatches at an intermediate weight, especially the second go round. There were guys 1.25 to almost 1.75 my size who only clean and jerked 15 to 30 pounds more than me. If I focus on clean and jerk for a bit only, I now I could get 300. The thing is, I don’t need to get 300 now. I need to keep bringing up that which kept me from qualifying. That could have been as low as 280 or not resting for a few seconds more on one of the met-cons or practicing rowing a bit more. In any case, my point is, the right tool for the job. As long as others are trying to use a wrench to hammer in a nail, I will have a shot at qualifying. Just gotta keep my end of the deal.
Team tryouts the rest of this week. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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