Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Rant:
The quest for "perfection"...does it ever end? I suppose once "perfection" is defined in the sense of a human body, we will have reason to begin the quest. Same dilemma in determining too thin, too fat, too skinny, too bulky, too small, too big, too wimpy, too muscly (or muscled, if you prefer), too weak, too strong. When does it end? Who gets to determine? What is the best determination of how you should be?
Enough already. Do you feel the way you want to feel? This drives everything. If you feel good, you will likely perform good. If you perform good, you will likely look good. What's the definition of "good"? Well, that is up to you. You can "begin with the end in mind", as Stephen Covey says. How do you want to look? Unfortunately, most people have an image in their head of what they want to look like. Most likely influenced by what is seen on TV or in magazines. Sorry Charlie, your genetics might not allow you to look that way. How about we try this: let's get you to a body fat percentage that is considered appropriate for "an athlete".
But what if your "good" isn't good enough? Once you've "leaned out" and developed a good baseline level of mobility, strength, stamina and coordination, who cares if other people's perceptions are that you are "too ripped"? Why would you want to be any other way? Chances are, your strength to weight ratio is optimized. You are agile and flexible. You don't tire easily. Your mind is clear. You have energy all day long. You are confident. You understand sufferance and you aren't afraid of it. Strong is the new sexy.
Not only is a person with an athletic body beautiful in appearance, it is comforting to know that that same person can readily assist when difficult situations arise. Uncle Rip states the obvious: "Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general." Nuff said.
So, we've got "good" looks covered, and we've got "good" performance covered.
What about feeling? How do we determine if we feel good? This is much more personal, and less measurable. Much like a pain scale, we can differently gauge how we feel even though we are exposed to the same stimuli or are in the same circumstances.
In my humble opinion, feeling good is primarily a function of what you fuel with. Or, in the words of popular culture...what's in your diet? How do you eat? What is in your nutrition plan? Think about how you feel after you eat...Energized? Bloated? Alert? Lethargic? If you feel "bad" (bloated or lethargic) you probably won't perform well...and if your performance is bad over time, your looks may suffer. Conversely, feeling "good" (energized and alert) you will likely be motivated and ready to hit your workout hard, with all likelihood of good performance and resulting good looks.
Again, just my opinion, but "post hoc ergo propter hoc". "After this, therefore because of this"? Maybe so? Possibly a coincidental correlation, but I look at the results. Members at ONDEG fuel correctly, work hard, and get results (look good nekkid). Hoc that.
If feeling good is the key...how do we fuel in order to achieve that? I don't care. Honestly. You will find what works for you. You can do whatever you want. I am not the boss of you.
If it sounds like I care, it's probably because I teach a specific philosophy here. And I want you to benefit from the philosophy I have distilled from reading, listening, watching, and participating. My philosophy includes eight areas of physical training that must be included in any physical fitness plan if you want results. Top of the list is fueling. That's because everything that follows is a function of fueling. If you want significant progress in the areas of feel / perform / look, it's my contention that you need to pursue all eight areas:
I advocate this: quality fuels in appropriate quantities for your genetics and activity level. That is it. Nothing more. Arguments can be made as to "quality"...that is determined by your belief system. I happen to believe (based on research) most grains are bad for you, contrary to what is preached by the government and most medical providers. Refined sugars = bad. If you want to argue this point, you'll have to find someone with more patience for stupidity than myself. Starchy vegetables, tubers and legumes: unnecessary since other vegetables can provide the same nutrients at less of a health risk. Dairy products: maybe good, maybe bad...jury is still out as far as I'm concerned, and since I like dairy and it doesn't produce undesirable reactions for me, I still use it as a fuel. The easy way to find what works: change something, pay attention to the "feel", tweak it, repeat.
Just as we sometimes get caught up in the "my workout is better than your workout" mentality, we sometimes think that one way of fueling is superior to another. Truth be told, what ever works for you is the right system for you! If you have goals and you are on your way to meeting them, then that's good enough. Personally, I want more for others than they sometimes want for themselves, so I have to temper my zeal for fueling properly, lifting heavy and moving fast to match their level of enthusiasm. Bottom line is we need to support one another no matter how we fuel, how we look, how we perform or how we get results. Did you catch that? Support everyone. You don't want anyone trash talking your program. If you are supportive of their program and their results, they just might find your program and your results interesting enough to want to know more about it. If they do ask, be sure to point out that there's plenty of sufferance to go around.
If all else fails...just do this.
News, Announcements, and Special Events:
Inspired by CrossFit Football:
Four rounds. With a barbell, perform six cycles of the following:
The quest for "perfection"...does it ever end? I suppose once "perfection" is defined in the sense of a human body, we will have reason to begin the quest. Same dilemma in determining too thin, too fat, too skinny, too bulky, too small, too big, too wimpy, too muscly (or muscled, if you prefer), too weak, too strong. When does it end? Who gets to determine? What is the best determination of how you should be?
Enough already. Do you feel the way you want to feel? This drives everything. If you feel good, you will likely perform good. If you perform good, you will likely look good. What's the definition of "good"? Well, that is up to you. You can "begin with the end in mind", as Stephen Covey says. How do you want to look? Unfortunately, most people have an image in their head of what they want to look like. Most likely influenced by what is seen on TV or in magazines. Sorry Charlie, your genetics might not allow you to look that way. How about we try this: let's get you to a body fat percentage that is considered appropriate for "an athlete".
According to the American Council on Exercise, male athletes typically range from 6 percent to 13 percent body fat. Female athletes range from 14 percent to 20 percent. Compare these numbers to the typical fit man who ranges from 13 percent to 17 percent or woman who ranges from 20 percent to 25 percent. Men over 25 percent fat and women over 32 percent fat are considered overweight. Read more...If you are at the low end of body fat percentage ("lean"), I bet you will see your body as it's supposed to be. But let's not get hung up on simply being lean and looking "good"...what about performance? What about your mobility, strength, stamina and coordination? Are all of these aspects of fitness at their optimum as well? It's silly to consider being lean without the ability to perform. There's no single determination of what a person's performance (mobility, strength, stamina and coordination) should be, but there are standards we can compare ourselves to, and then determine if we are ahead of, or behind, the curve. I believe gymnasts to be the most well-rounded athletes, based on their ability to control their own bodyweight effectively. According to Brian Mackenzie, male gymnasts are typically 5-13% body fat, and female gymnasts are 10-16% body fat. But, we can look at basic strength standards or other fitness tests and standards for specific data in a general and specialized populations.
But what if your "good" isn't good enough? Once you've "leaned out" and developed a good baseline level of mobility, strength, stamina and coordination, who cares if other people's perceptions are that you are "too ripped"? Why would you want to be any other way? Chances are, your strength to weight ratio is optimized. You are agile and flexible. You don't tire easily. Your mind is clear. You have energy all day long. You are confident. You understand sufferance and you aren't afraid of it. Strong is the new sexy.
Not only is a person with an athletic body beautiful in appearance, it is comforting to know that that same person can readily assist when difficult situations arise. Uncle Rip states the obvious: "Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general." Nuff said.
So, we've got "good" looks covered, and we've got "good" performance covered.
What about feeling? How do we determine if we feel good? This is much more personal, and less measurable. Much like a pain scale, we can differently gauge how we feel even though we are exposed to the same stimuli or are in the same circumstances.
In my humble opinion, feeling good is primarily a function of what you fuel with. Or, in the words of popular culture...what's in your diet? How do you eat? What is in your nutrition plan? Think about how you feel after you eat...Energized? Bloated? Alert? Lethargic? If you feel "bad" (bloated or lethargic) you probably won't perform well...and if your performance is bad over time, your looks may suffer. Conversely, feeling "good" (energized and alert) you will likely be motivated and ready to hit your workout hard, with all likelihood of good performance and resulting good looks.
Again, just my opinion, but "post hoc ergo propter hoc". "After this, therefore because of this"? Maybe so? Possibly a coincidental correlation, but I look at the results. Members at ONDEG fuel correctly, work hard, and get results (look good nekkid). Hoc that.
If feeling good is the key...how do we fuel in order to achieve that? I don't care. Honestly. You will find what works for you. You can do whatever you want. I am not the boss of you.
If it sounds like I care, it's probably because I teach a specific philosophy here. And I want you to benefit from the philosophy I have distilled from reading, listening, watching, and participating. My philosophy includes eight areas of physical training that must be included in any physical fitness plan if you want results. Top of the list is fueling. That's because everything that follows is a function of fueling. If you want significant progress in the areas of feel / perform / look, it's my contention that you need to pursue all eight areas:
- Fueling
- Mobility
- Strength
- Stamina
- Coordination
- Recovery
- Mindset
- Sufferance
I advocate this: quality fuels in appropriate quantities for your genetics and activity level. That is it. Nothing more. Arguments can be made as to "quality"...that is determined by your belief system. I happen to believe (based on research) most grains are bad for you, contrary to what is preached by the government and most medical providers. Refined sugars = bad. If you want to argue this point, you'll have to find someone with more patience for stupidity than myself. Starchy vegetables, tubers and legumes: unnecessary since other vegetables can provide the same nutrients at less of a health risk. Dairy products: maybe good, maybe bad...jury is still out as far as I'm concerned, and since I like dairy and it doesn't produce undesirable reactions for me, I still use it as a fuel. The easy way to find what works: change something, pay attention to the "feel", tweak it, repeat.
Just as we sometimes get caught up in the "my workout is better than your workout" mentality, we sometimes think that one way of fueling is superior to another. Truth be told, what ever works for you is the right system for you! If you have goals and you are on your way to meeting them, then that's good enough. Personally, I want more for others than they sometimes want for themselves, so I have to temper my zeal for fueling properly, lifting heavy and moving fast to match their level of enthusiasm. Bottom line is we need to support one another no matter how we fuel, how we look, how we perform or how we get results. Did you catch that? Support everyone. You don't want anyone trash talking your program. If you are supportive of their program and their results, they just might find your program and your results interesting enough to want to know more about it. If they do ask, be sure to point out that there's plenty of sufferance to go around.
If all else fails...just do this.
News, Announcements, and Special Events:
- SPRING LEANING: Did anyone NOT give up sugar this weekend?
- Trainers' meeting: Saturday at 7:30am.
- CrossFit Helena competition: June 4th, at Memorial Park. Check out helenaspringfling.wordpress.com for
details.
- CrossFit HQ trainers Todd Widman and Jesse Ward are going to be in Missoula at CrossFit Montana on Sunday, May 1 from 9:00am to 1:00pm to talk about nutrition and eating for performance, mobility, Olympic lifting, powerlifting, and all things CrossFit related. Here's a chance to get some questions answered and maybe learn something new. Cost is $35. Contact CrossFit Montana if you are interested.
- Bodyweight
- Weightlifting
- DS/BM
- Wrists
- P/S/P
- Achilles
- 2x10:
- KTE
- GHD BE
- ME:
- Box jump
- Pull-up (x3)
- Push-up (x1)
- Overhead weighted lunge
Inspired by CrossFit Football:
Four rounds. With a barbell, perform six cycles of the following:
- Hang Power Clean
- Front Squat
- Push Press
- Lunge right
- Lunge left
- Do not set the weight down during the six times through the cycle.
- Rest as needed between rounds.
- Go up in weight each round to perform the heaviest round possible.
- "All this to say that you should modify your carb intake to fit the type of activity that you do. The higher the intensity, the higher the carb intake." -Talk to Me Johnnie
- "I came here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum." -Roddy Piper, "They Live"
Thank you for this post on "your own program." Insofar as nutrition and fueling goes, I think we can all agree that the best methods involve smaller portions of real food, but whether it's Paleo or any other kind of diet, I think it's important to keep an open mind and encourage support of any and all common sense solutions to healthy living. Had I stronger willpower, I might have been returning a slimmer, trimmer, and stronger JESS...but that will not be the case. I've succumbed to fast food, junk food, sweet food, and chunk foods over the last for months as a matter of pure convenience. As a result, I look, feel, and perform poorly by comparison of where I was before the session. There are excuses, but I won't make them. It's been good for me, I hope, to have been knocked down a few pegs just to see how hard the maintenance stage of wellness really is. Even at 24 with no kids, I continue to struggle with my diet; it's a fact of my life. I have more empathy though for people in the same boat, and am happy and motivated by anyone who seeks healthy diet alternatives, be they atkins, south beach, ideal protein, or whatever... I can't wait to come home, especially now knowing that at the end of the day, even our stubborn ole' Paul can be open minded to some things.
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