Awesomeness from the past few days...

Christmas Eve and Christmas day were awesome. Good food, Great family and lots of relaxation.

But, it was back to work on the 26th. Chef-boy-r-AB turned in his apron for a taste of the Crossfit Love's 101 Push Press Challenge over @ SICFIT.com. Aryan smashed it with a time of 4:28, pretty impressive and damn inspiring I might add. All you shoulder to overhead freaks out there, I suggest you give this one a try. It looked tasty. Props to Crossfit Love for an excellent challenge and props to AB for no drops and a great finishing time.



Here's a shot of the Queen B herself, my mom, cooking up some amazingly delicious lobster tails dusted with a homemade basil butter (Paleo, no, delicious, yes). She's Iron Chef caliber...no joke...true story. We started the meal off with 10+ lbs and after dinner finished with 1. Tell me we can't eat...


I'm surprised how many people do stuff on Christmas day, especially bowling. We had to wait about an hour just to get a lane, but once we did, the mayhem began. I took both games and brought home a souvenir thanks to a good ole 26.25 mph PR roll. Thanks Crossfit West Houston!!!


And last but certainly not least. All for shits and giggles. A routine trip to Sports Authority turned into another irrefutable challenge. Safety always comes first regardless of the sport...

Delectable Delights Pt. I: Episode I

There's been a rumor that a few people out there have been itching for the recipe to my well-renown dark chocolate peppermint bark. Well, you wanted it, you got it peoples. Here it is in a first-time "video how-to".

Special thanks to my brother, Chef-boy-r-AB, for his mad skillz with the camera and the spatula.

Happy Holidays.

Eat ya greens people!!

Now that its winter time, tis' the season for acorn squash, cauliflower, clementines, kiwis and all the other fresh produce that this lovely season has to offer. What'd you think I was gonna say...fruit cake, truffles, peppermint bark and cookies? You wrong.

Why do we want seasonal produce? Because they're cheaper, fresher and more nutrient dense when they're growing naturally within their appropriate time of the year.

So thanks to our BFF's over at Whole 9, here's a list to help you navigate through your next grocery stop to pick out the right types of fruits and vegetables for these winter holidays.

• Acorn Squash
• Belgian Endive
• Brussels Sprouts
• Buttercup Squash
• Butternut Squash
• Cauliflower
• Collard Greens
• Jicama
• Kale
• Sweet Potatoes
• Winter Squash
• Clementines
• Dates
• Grapefruit
• Kiwi
• Oranges
• Passion fruit
• Pears
• Pineapples
• Pomegranate
• Red Currants
• Tangerines

Get excited because this next list is good YEAR ROUND!

• Beet Greens
• Bell Peppers
• Bok Choy
• Broccolini
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Celery
• Celery Root
• Leeks
• Lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Parsnips
• Shallots
• Turnips
• Apples
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Dried Fruits (Limit)
• Lemons
• Papayas

http://whole9life.com/2010/12/five-reasons-to-go-seasonal/

Something to ponder upon...

Just a thought...

A friend of mine recently messaged me in regards to my most recent post on the "Danger WOD".

He brought up an excellent point concerning Crossfit in the sense of reality training and testing outside of the ideal conditions of preparedness.

Whats that mean? Well it means being able to truly test your strengths, skills, talents and techniques under stress and a lack of awareness. A true measure of your abilities at a time when it is most unexpected.

A maximal repetition bench press...upon waking (I believe Rob Orlando attempted this).

Rowing an extra 500m when the workout clearly states a 250m sprint...and you must keep your 250m pace.

Performing Fran...with a 102 degree fever.

Some of these examples may seem a bit "abnormal". Are you ever going to do Fran with a fever? Absolutely not, but my point here is that these scenarios can easily be related to real-life situations. Expecting the unexpected.

Having to make a speech on a familiar topic...with only a couple minutes to prepare.

Having to juggle 4 things at once. Kids, exercise, dinner and a work presentation all while running on 4 hours of sleep with a mean case of seasonal allergies

Running out of gas a mile from the nearest gas station.

or even...

Catching a child that falls out of a second story window....while holding a bag of groceries.

You catch my drift. My point here is that it's what you bring to the table that day. How you feel mentally and physically at that specific time. Some days will be better than others, some worse, but on those days you may face your toughest challenge. On those days, it's about how you can perform. How you handle the pressure under conditions in which you are truly tested at a time where you are at your weakest. When you are most vulnerable. It is those times where perseverance prevails and we must dig deep to complete the task at hand. Whatever that task be, in the box or out, we must find a way to be at our best mentally...physically...completely.

Next time you're face-to-face with a situation like this, push past the hurt, the pain, the sickness and the sympathy; the lack of energy and that little piece of shit voice in your head and get the job done. See what we CAN BE capable of, you may end up surprising yourself...

Thoughts? Comments? Naysayers? Haters? Please post to comments, I accept all types.

Put up or shut up...or die.

Stuck on that one PR that just doesn't seem to be going anywhere? Well, the Danger WOD may be the answer to your personal record woes.

Ever really think about putting your "fight or flight" instincts to the test? What if it were a life or death situation?

If a failed repetition was no longer solely the end result of a weight "too heavy" and the repercussions for this uncompleted lift ended with something of much more seriousness....ehh lets say...death...do you think you would have the capabilities to dig deep and complete the task at hand? Would you sacrifice a little brown in the trousers for a possible 10+lb PR? Sound fun yet?

The creators of dangerwod.blogspot.com are insanely sadistic, somewhat masochistic and incredibly genius individuals. If crossfit is a fitness that best prepares us for the outside world and all of the "unknowns and unknowables" that come along with life, then the danger WOD is a perfect assessment to question the validity of it's program.

Are you up to the challenge? I mean it's only life or death...

Post thoughts to comments

Warming-up sucks

Why do we warm-up? "Well, you might as well ask yourself why is a tree good? Why is the sunset good? Why are boobs good?"

Sorry, I had to throw that in there. Courtesy of, quite possibly one of the most awesomely terrible movies ever created, Joe Dirt. If you have yet to see it, please do yourself a favor and SEE IT. It's like a car crash, you can't look away and you keep circling the block for more!

Anyways...

It sucks bad and we all hate doing it but honestly, why do we warm up?

We warm-up to best prepare our mind and bodies for what lies ahead within that days workout. Should our body temperature be up? Yes. Should we be breathing hard? Absolutely. Should we be sweating? You better damn well believe it. If you are not experiencing these three things at the end of your warm-up, then that warm-up did not serve it's purpose and therefore was ineffective.

Is it out of sheer laziness that we do not enjoy warming-up? A lack of time within one's workout schedule? Or is because we "don't want to get tired before our workout." All these reasons are excellent excuses to opt out of warming-up, but ask yourself these few questions: Do you want to feel energetic during your WOD? Do you want to best protect yourself from injury during workouts? Do you want to put your body in the best position to achieve full range of motion, proper technique and form? Do you want to PR? Well, all this can be accomplished through an effective and efficient warm-up.

To best understand why a proper warm-up is needed lets understand what happens within our bodies during our warm-up and why this is critical in preparing us for the actual workout itself.

• During a "proper" warm-up, in which our core temperature is elevated as is our heart rate, we activate certain enzymes within our body that are responsible for the chemical reactions that occur during physical exercise. What this means is that our body's energy system is dependent upon these specific enzymes in order to properly function during exercise. If these enzymes do not get going, our body returns the favor and this can lead to an extreme case of lethary within the beginning a work out. As we know in crossfit, some workouts only last a few minutes, so this is no bueno for the athlete and their soon to be suffering time.

• Proper warm-ups also supply more oxygen to the working muscles. The body is proven to be better prepared to carry oxygen to the muscles when the muscle fibers are warm.

• Let's not forget about our nervous system. Our body is better prepared to read and receive nerve impulses at a state when our core temperature is properly elevated during efficient warm-ups. Uhh, what's that mean? Well, all those high-skilled, dynamic lifts that we do such as our barbell work and Olympic lifts. You know those awesomely explosive, "make me strong" exercises? Well, our bodies are better prepared to effectively take on those sorts of movements and that leads to stronger bodies, better and more accurate lifts and more efficient workouts.

Overall, warming up is essential prior to working out and is just downright fun! Since we've really implemented our static, dynamic and instructor lead warm-ups, I've seen a lot of improved performances in workouts. Not just that, but better form, improved range of motion, tighter techniques and tremendous gains during our strength days due to these factors. So, next time burpees come up in the warm-up, slap a smile on your face and get those enzymes goin'!

Is this the best warm-up ever? I think so. Compliments of Leah S and her good friend John Jacobson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm7yAWpX1Mc&feature=player_embedded#!


Bill Star. Warming up and stretching: the neglected principles. The Crossfit Journal. http://bit.ly/fwaLeW

Why do you crossfit?

Lately, we've posted a question upon the whiteboard at the box with the title of "why do you crossfit" and have received a decent amount of feedback and some truly interesting answers.

Think about it, why do you crossfit? This really isn't as easy of an answer as you think.

Why do you walk through that doorway 3, 4, 5 times a week (sometimes more) and put your mind and body to the tests of human capability only to finish lying in a puddle of your own sweat and feeling as if you have just chested a grenade? No one in their right mind would actually agree that this sounds like an enjoyable experience, but maybe, we crossfitters are a tad bit "out" of our minds when it comes to the welfare of our own physical health.

Maybe it's because of this reason that we don't cringe at the idea of lifting a barbell containing half of our own body weight overhead...then squatting it...for 10 reps.

Maybe it's why we don't back down from the thought of doing 100 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats all for time rather than breaking them up into 3 workouts...over 3 days.

Maybe it's why we aren't afraid to go against what's "popular" and try a diet that's 20,000 years old...and like it.

Maybe we are a little bit crazy. Maybe we do have a few screws loose.

But maybe that's why we look and feel the way we do. Why confidence comes so easily to us. Why life seems so simple outside of the box. Why stress, sickness and disease seem to be a fading image in our rear view.

In this case, I'm glad I'm a little bit crazy. I'm glad I'm a crossfitter.

Crossfit is more than just a fitness program to me. It has shaped my mind, my body and my life and I am ever so grateful. It has brought me unbelievable gains both mentally and physically and through it, I have developed amazing relationships with even more amazing people. Crossfit is a way of life. It's my way of life and it's me.

So, take a minute to really think about why YOU crossfit and let it be known. Feel free to post your thoughts and answers to the comment board.