Member Referral Discount

Hey guys! Just a reminder, or in case you didn’t know…check out our member referral discount!

September 30, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 2 Comments

09.30.08

Back Squat 5-5-5-5-5 reps

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JWOD: 32 double squat wall balls. There is no minimum or maximum height for you to toss the ball- requirement is 2 full depth squats for one toss.

An apple a day…

I think just about every one of you has heard Ray or I ask you, “Did you have a snack before you came?” And we don’t mean lunch. Ideally you should be eating every 2-3 hours…eating regularly so you DON’T go hungry. WHAT? No hunger…yes, no hunger. The more you fuel your body, the steadier your hormone levels are…and your metabolism burns all day long. If you do it correctly, you won’t feel that feeling of hitting the wall that is common, especially during CrossFit workouts.

Eating pre-workout snack has been proven to improve your performance during workouts. Why? Because it helps to prevent that dip in blood sugar (insulin). Many of us have felt this…that angry feeling when you get so hungry, you get lightheaded, lose concentration, get the shakes. It also helps to fill up your muscles and liver carbohydrate storage, where energy is readily available for your body to consume during your workout. Besides, who wants to workout with their stomach growling? It’s very distracting!

“So, okay, I’ll have a snack, but WHAT do I eat?” Good question. To me, the word “snack” has such a negative connotation. As kids, we grew up thinking snacks were like treats! And treats typically are nothing that you want in a healthy diet…that is why they are called treats! Ditch the old school idea that a snack is a treat…a snack is a small meal now. So, no, chocolate and pretzels, not a good snack, sorry.

Everybody’s food preference is different, and your snacks should vary on a daily basis, if you can, as well. Ideally, you want to be sufficiently hydrated BEFORE you come to workout. Turns out that chugging water during a CrossFit workout is not going to get you hydrated, if you are already dehydrated, not to mention, it can actually cause a little stomach distress…some of us may have met Pukie after having too much water during a workout, or at least come close.

You’ll want a snack that contains some form of “complex” carbohydrate, apples are wonderful, blueberries, another favorite of mine, plums, oranges…all very yummy. Celery, tomatoes, asparagus (yes, it’s good raw too) are all great choices as well. You’ll also want to include a lean protein, but not too much, don’t eat a steak before you come in! Some of my favorites are Fage 0% Greek Yogurt (the small container), low fat cottage cheese, Part skim string cheese, or 1 ounce of low fat cheese or a handful (about 1/4 cup) of almonds.

“So what do YOU eat?” Typically my pre-workout snack is either 1/2 apple with 1 macadamia nut and 1 ounce of low fat cheese (this is from the Zone) or, most commonly, Fage 0% Greek Yogurt with 1/4 cup blueberries (buy frozen this time of year) and 1 TBSP of ground flax seeds, drizzled with a little honey. I’m a creature of habit and it’s easy for me to plan out my meals, so I don’t change my snacks up as much as I should.

What to avoid? You guessed it! Refined sugars, no candy, please :).

As you may have read yesterday…our nutrition journal/blog is coming soon! My goal is to have it up and running next month. This is going to be a FREE service to our members. We want to provide you with as much information as we can to help you reach your optimal health and wellness. So…keep those questions coming! Let us know what YOU want to know about!

Over the next few days we’ll get a little more in depth into some of the macronutrients that I’ve been talking about: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. And more in depth on those crazy hormones (no not the ones that cause havoc as a teenager, believe it or not, there are more hormones that just those) I’ve been talking about, insulin and glucagon and how they effect you. Hopefully a better understanding of how each of these hormones and macronutrients play together will help give you a better understanding of how foods effect you :)!

September 30, 2008 | Filed Under Nutrition, W.O.D. | 5 Comments

09.29.08

CFHQ Rest Day

Come in and make up any of the following workouts, we are also going to be showing kipping drills and squat foundations!

Four rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
50 Squats

-or-

30 Muscle-ups for time

If you cannot do the muscle-ups do 120 pull-ups and 120 dips.

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CrossFit…It’s more than a physical workout

How many times have you looked at the WOD and thought, “NO WAY can I do that!”? Many of us look at how many round times how many reps and come up with the total number of exercises and, in that few seconds it took to calculate how many total reps you’ll be doing of some brutal exercise, already cast a shadow of doubt in our minds that we CAN do 120 pull ups, 100 burpees or 200 squats.

CrossFit is much, much more than a physical workout. You have to dig deep, really deep sometimes, it hurts, these workouts aren’t easy and they never get easier…it’s that mental grit and determination that gets you through these workouts. You’ll often hear Ray saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Use that theory with your CrossFit workouts…5 rounds of 25 squats isn’t 125 squats, it’s one squat at a time. Break it up into little sets…do five, take a quick break, do another five. That’s all it is.

Most importantly, you CAN do these workouts…you, yes you…I am talking to each and every one of you reading this blog. When you shake your head and tell us you can’t do it…you are self defeating yourself…your mind wants to quit long before your body does, don’t let it. We have faith in you that you can do this stuff, have faith in yourself. It sucks, it hurts, this is harder than most of us have ever worked out before ever…but you can do it.

Be proud of your accomplishments, who cares if you are “last”…the only person you are competing in CrossFit against is yourself! Be proud that you finished…then look at the number of reps that you just finished! You just did 100 burpees or 200 squats, or whatever evil, pain filled exercise you just completed was :)!

We all do it to ourselves, I know I do, if I don’t hit a time goal I wanted or I just felt “off” that day or I’m just not doing as much or as well at a certain exercise that I think I should…it is frustrating and it sucks. As Americans, we often want or wish for something else, something more or to be better, faster than we are. Don’t let that negativity creep into your thoughts…be positive and proud of where you are at, turn that negativity into a positive thought process. Instead of thinking, “I didn’t even do full push ups” turn that into a positive…set goals for yourself like, in 1 month you want to be doing 10 full push ups or learning the kipping pull up, do more squats, etc. Share your goals with us, that is what we are here for…but then again, we already know that you’ll be able to do them :).

September 29, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 13 Comments

09.28.08

Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps

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Have tight Hamstrings? Most of us do! Check out this article from CrossFit Virtuosity…

Probably the most common condition that hinders athletic performance is tight hamstrings. Short tight hamstrings impede athletic performance in one simple but important way: they restrict the closing of the hip joint, i.e. they limit the anterior tilt of the pelvis. This restriction on the movement of the pelvis results in the muscles of the lower back taking up the slack. The negative impact is twofold: 1) the range of motion of the hips is restricted which reduces the power that can be produced by the hips; and 2) the lower back is put into flexion and thus susceptible to injury. Read more…

September 28, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 2 Comments

09.27.08

LET’S GET IT ON! It’s Fight Day!

Athletes and Volunteers, please show up by 9:30am so you can get warmed up and we can show you any exercises you may not be familiar with and go over the workout.

WHOOO HOOOO!!

September 27, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 1 Comment

09.26.08

30 Muscle-ups for time

If you cannot do the muscle-ups do 120 pull-ups and 120 dips.

JWOD: 36 Push ups in the rings

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Tomorrow is the Fight Gone Bad III Event! ALL PARTICIPANTS, PLEASE SHOW UP BY 9:30AM TO WARM UP! Also, our day will be devoted to this event, so no other classes will be scheduled. It’s not to late to donate or sign up. Sign up for the event through 12am Saturday morning and you can donate through Sunday!

YAY! It’s the weekend! Weekend typically wreck havoc on diets…I know we typically eat and drink pretty much what we want on weekends. Though, that doesn’t mean we completely throw eating healthy out the window. There are some smarter choices that you can make and still be somewhat healthy on the weekends. It’s all about balance…you’ll hear us say it often :).

Here are some tips when ordering out to help keep things in check:

1. Avoid the bread basket or chips. Okay, just a few chips.

2. Substitute vegetables for french fries (and steal a fry off your neighbor’s plate).

3. Drink your coffee black or with skim milk.

4. Have your protein grilled, baked, steamed or poached.

5. Try sushi or sashimi. Our favorite sushi restaurant is Tomo in Vinings.

6. Order an appetizer as an entree or share a plate. Our good friends up at Vita have a great family style menu. Italian food made healthy!

7. Ask for a doggie bag right away if the portion is huge.

8. Be sure to ask how things are prepared…is that a cream based sauce or soup??

9. Ask for your dressing or sauce to be served on the side. Opt for olive oil and vinegar dressings.

and…most importantly…

10. If you over do it…be sure to come in to CrossFit Peachtree on Sunday mornings at 10am for our group detox workouts! They are fun and a great way to sweat out the sins of the weekend!
Have a great weekend!!!

September 26, 2008 | Filed Under W.O.D. | 5 Comments

09.25.08

CFHQ Rest Day

Come in and make any of the past three workouts up.

JWOD: 3, 70 meter sprints. 20 seconds of rest between efforts.

Practice Makes Perfect

Congrats Joe! After some practice Joe gets the kipping pull up yesterday during Nicole!

Mom knows best…

When I was a kid, my mom would sit down once a week and write out our weekly dinner menu and then grocery list. She was even organized enough to have the list organized by grocery section and then even more organized enough to precook some dinners on Sunday so they were ready for during the week.

I was lucky and didn’t even know it…seeing that growing up instilled that kind of organization that just became second nature to me. Little did I know then that all this was key to Ray and I eating healthy later on in life! Having a meal plan ready to go on a busy weeknight avoids those “what should we do for dinner” questions, which usually end up becoming a quick drive-through trip or nightly restaurant meal…all of which are fine sometimes, but, well, you know what too much of a good thing is…

And, while I’m at it, here are some healthy shopping tips for you:

1. Create a menu – create your grocery list based on this menu and don’t deviate from the list.

2. Eat before you go! Going to the grocery store hungry is probably the worst thing you can do…it’s proven that not only will you buy and spend more, but you’ll most likely buy foods you normally wouldn’t.

3. Perimeter shop – Shop the outside aisles of the grocery store…this is where the real foods live (except for the bakery).

4. Ditch the kids – if you have kids – nobody will be screaming for a candy bar or sweet treat if they aren’t there.

5. Stick to the list

6. Look for and avoid refined sugars in packaged foods. Things to avoid are corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, gluco-fructose, honey, molasses, maple syrup, maltose, sucrose and artificial sweeteners. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients…you probably shouldn’t eat them.

7. Read labels – nutrition labels list out saturated (bad) fats, cholesterol and sugars. Some things to watch out for are palm and palm kernel oil, shortening, butter, lard, whole milk solids (that just sounds gross) and mono- or diglycerides.

8. Avoid man made trans fats and saturated fats at all costs! These can be some of the worst fats for your health.

9. Always look for high fiber content in breads and cereals.

10. Look out for those “health” foods that really aren’t health foods. You know the ones…if it claims to be healthy in a package, probably isn’t…

PS…an adjustment to yesterday’s post. Not all deli meat is evil! I should have mentioned that brands like Boar’s Head contain no additives or hormones, etc. Look for those brands…the ones to avoid are things like Head Cheese (what is that anyway??) and bologna or other products that are pressed and loaded with chemicals…

As always…any questions…just let us know!

September 25, 2008 | Filed Under Nutrition, W.O.D. | 10 Comments