Keep Moving Forward

As we enter the competition season for the CrossFit games, it helps to hear what it takes to succeed in whatever endeavor we choose. Nothing hits as hard as life does. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. About how much you can take and keep moving forward.

That's how winning is done. Period.

Fear Into Aggression

Just finished reading a book where the protagonist recounts his childhood ability to turn fear into aggression. Really hit home as I began to relate the role fear has in people's lives in this modern age. In essence, our advances in civilization effectively removes fear from our everyday lives. Despite what we perceive as fear, how often in your everyday life do you experience the adrenaline-pumping, hair standing on end, stomach tightened into a ball fear where that fight or flight syndrome kicks in? Never? Then you're in the vast majority.

Enter CrossFit. CrossFit is our connection to those base animal instincts that no amount of modernization or civilization can truly weed out of each of us. It's there. We know it's there. We just don't know what to do about it. But that's why we continue to come back to the almost insane punishment that CrossFit offers and demands. We love that fear that grips you as you grip the bar and hear "3...2...1." Because we know that we can conquer that fear. And be better, stronger, faster for it. So embrace the fear. Use it. Channel it. Fear does you no good unless you can use it to be better than you ever thought possible. Fear into aggression. It's a mindset. Live it.

Strength Training for Women

Undoubtedly, one of the most common questions/concerns I receive from women interested in CrossFit is "I don't want to lift weights, because I don't want to get big." A valid concern. And one I blame primarily on today's media. Movies/TV shows/magazine ads portray women involved in lifting heavy weights as hulk-like behemoths with 20" biceps. Utterly ridiculous. Strength training is arguably the single most effective fitness tool available to women today.

Many women are afraid of strength training because they believe that it will create large muscles that are unattractive. "I’ll weight train once I get this fat off. I don’t want to turn it into muscle". This is a prevalent misconception. The vast majority of women cannot build large muscles because they are genetically incapable of doing so. It is impossible to turn fat into muscle, or muscle into fat, as each cell is unique from the other.

In order to dispel these types of myths, we need to understand the physiology of strength training. Strength training results in an increase in muscle fiber size. As the muscle fibers increase in thickness, the shape of the muscle changes, getting thicker in the belly, or middle, of the muscle. This results in a change in the shape of the muscle. How much the muscle changes in shape, and how large the muscle gets, depends on the amount of work the muscle is asked to do (as well as other factors discussed later). If the muscle is asked to lift very heavy loads, it will respond with a significant increase in fiber/muscle size. (The goal of most men.)

In order to avoid this gain in muscle mass, women are told to lift very light weights. This recommendation is oftentimes interpreted to the extreme, and women perform many repetitions with 3 or 5 pound weights. Unfortunately, without sufficient load (weight), the muscle will not change, and the goal of "tone" and "shape" cannot be achieved. A change in the shape or tone of a muscle is created in the same way that size is created, with hard work and consistency!! In order to shape or tone your muscle, you must lift a weight that is heavy enough to create muscle fatigue (also known as failure). Working your muscles to fatigue means that your muscles refuse to lift/move the weight in a correct and safe fashion. Working your muscles to fatigue will not necessarily create large, unsightly muscle mass. Even if you work your muscles to extreme fatigue, rest assured, that the majority of women are genetically unable to create large muscles because they lack sufficient hormones or body structure to do so.

Body structure and body composition, or the amount of bodyfat vs. lean tissue, plays an important role in how you respond to weight training. Muscular body types, or mesomorphs, respond quickly to weight training and are most likely to build muscle size. Ectomorphs, (thin, frail body) are generally unable to add muscle mass, even though they need to! Most women tend to be endomorphs, or pear shaped, and have a difficult time creating tone in their lower bodies, where they store most of their bodyfat. In addition, the more fat stored on the body in general, the less likely you are to see the muscle’s tone, as subcutaneous (under the skin) fat surrounds the muscles, obscuring their shape.

Non-Permissive

Well, rest day went very well yesterday. Got a great lifting/sprint workout in this AM with Jess. Back and ribs felt good, so I'm encouraged by the progress. Have to remember, though, one day at a time. Cliche, I know, but sometimes cliches are cliches for a reason.

My old XO on La Jolla took command of the USS Jefferson City (SSN 759) this past Saturday. Funny to look back on a previous life and wonder what might have been. Congratulations to CDR Brien Dickson for a monumental achievement. Glad it's not me.

Be the Bull

Well, it's been embarrassingly long since my last post. Since then, I've come a long way. Not necessarily in the direction that I had been planning, but a great distance traveled, nonetheless. Since my last update, I've competed in Sectionals and Regionals, the Texas Throwdown, seriously hurt my lower back and fractured a rib. You could say I've had some ups and downs. It happens. But what counts is how you respond to adversity and forge your own path.

This week marks the beginning of the Not Fucking Around Crew. I'm no longer fucking around with nutrition, training, rest, mobility, strength, lifting, yoga, endurance and overall well being. It's amazing the differences I've seen in just 5 days. I'm excited for the next 5 months. I've got a long road ahead, but the journey is the fun part. There is no summit.

To A Potential Degree

I decided to take about 3 days of rest following the competition on Saturday. I think it was a great idea, as one of my weaknesses is to force myself to take the necessary amount of rest to optimize recovery and improvement. Today will be my first day back in the box to hit a WOD. I'm planning on doing two WODs today, the first:

5-4-3-2-1
Deadlift
Muscle Ups

Muscle ups are not a strong movement for me, so this is a great opportunity to get some work in. Not sure what the second workout is going to be, and it's sort of frustrating me that I don't have a solid plan together. My post from the other day still holds true. I'm not focusing on what the plan is, I'm just vascillating between what I think a good second workout would be. This is not a plan for success. We'll have to see how the rest of the day falls into place.

This Is My Safety

Participated in the CrossFit FX TX competition this weekend in Allen. 4 WOD's in one day was a great challenge, especially since one of the WODs was a 250m swim, not one of my stronger skills. Also, the first event was 3 attempts at a 1 rep max split snatch, with emphasis on the split. As in, you HAD to split on the snatch attempt or it was judged a no lift. I have never even attempted a split snatch in my life, so made for an interested first event (note the sarcasm). However, the day proved to be a great challenge with some awesome athletes from all over Texas.

One of my main goals for this competition was to continue my experiment with nutrition before, during and after competitions. Saturday was much better from an energy/recovery aspect than the All Cities Open back in December. Even though there was one more WOD, I felt I had much more energy throughout the day and was ready to go at the start of each WOD. Now, to the breakdown of food intake: breakfast was 4 eggs, almond butter, one bell pepper and water. Between WOD 1 and 2, I had half a bell pepper and one large Paleokit. Energy for WOD 2 was sky high, which I am going to attribute, at least in part, to the Paleokit. Between WOD 2 and 3 I had lunch, which consisted of steak, an apple, walnuts and part of a sports drink (for the fructose). Between WOD 3 and 4 I had another Paleokit. Overall, energy was great throughout the day. My next goal is to work on post-competition nutrition as well as a stretching/roll-out plan to set up for the second day of the competitions that are coming up. Stay tuned.