Hardcore Fitness and Nutrition

Where Have I Been?

2010-07-17T11:32:00.003-06:00

So, haven't updated this thing in a while. Partly because I got lazy, partly because, well I got lazy.

What have I been doing lately? Well, Insanity.

Insanity.

Great program. Highly recommend it. Really pushes you farther than P90X, although it IS mainly cardio based. I've been doing it for the past month, and where cardio has always become boring after a while, I find this program and the different workouts to be a lot easier to follow.

I don't follow the official program though. I created my own workout based around Insanity with 3 days of Deadlift, Bench Press and the Squat thrown in.

I also hurt myself squatting about 3 weeks ago. Came below parallel, and popped something in my left groin/hip area. Needless to say it sucks, because the only thing I can't do is squat. But I will try again today. I've done some body-weight squats the past 3-4 days, and while I'm still sore, the pain seems to have gone away for the time being.

Stretching really helps too. Which is another thing that I love about Insanity. The stretching program. If you stick with it you'll get great results.

Foam Roller

2010-02-10T14:47:00.003-07:00

I finally picked up a foam roller at Flaman Fitness for $50.

Without further ado.

Link

I used it for 10 min last night and its quite obvious what difference it makes for those trouble spots.

Help Support Haiti

2010-02-04T11:08:00.001-07:00

I added a widget on the side that gives you a direct link to donate to Red Cross for Haiti relief.

Even a couple dollars helps.

Vitamin D

2010-02-04T10:59:00.002-07:00

Are you taking your vitamin D? I bet you're not.

The majority of people work inside these days. I recall reading somewhere a while ago that 10% of the population have jobs that involve access to direct sunlight and as such adequate levels of Vitamin D.

Just reading through some of the foods that have Vitamin D, you would have to eat a lot of tuna and drink even more milk to make sure you're getting at LEAST the required daily value.

Most recommend at least 1000UI. I take around 5000-8000UI per day.

Either way unless you work outside you should probably make sure you're supplementing.

There is a lot of research saying that adequate Vitamin D levels can help prevent cancer as well as cardiovascular disease. As well as a lot of other things.

Overdose? Stay below 10,000UI per day and you'll be fine. Ever better, stay between 1,000-5,000UI and there will not be a problem at all. Just make sure you're getting Vitamin D.

Fortified milk has around 100UI of Vitamin D. You would have to drink 10 glasses to get the required daily amount. One egg has 20UI. Likewise with tuna and a lot of other natural sources. I'm all for getting most of your vitamins from whole foods, but lets not kid ourselves. Years ago most people worked outside or at least had some exposure to sunlight. Inadequate levels of Vitamin D weren't a problem at all. These days due to the nature of our work most people don't go outside that much.

So get that Vitamin D!

Lack of Equipment

2010-01-06T09:46:00.002-07:00

An Olympic bar with roughly 300# worth of weights can run you north of $300 unless you find a good deal on Craig's List. But, going to the local tire repair centre and asking them for a 300# tire, or maybe heavier depending on how strong you are costs you however much it costs you to drive it home. Chances are they'll have some sort of forklift so they can lift it onto the back of your truck. Or your friend's truck. Its either that or they are forced to recycle it. And nobody wants to handle a tire that big even though they often have no choice.

A sledge hammer also costs you a minimal amount. $30 a CO-OP last time I checked. You can also go bigger or smaller depending on how strong you are.

Two five gallon pails full of water with lids tightly secured allows you to do farmer walks, which according to the soreness I feel right now in my trap muscles are one hell of a workout. Also cheap.

Between those 3 I can do a 30 min workout that will kick your ass anytime. Strength, conditioning, flexibility, its all involved. And its all I've really been doing lately.

I still enjoy the deadlifts, but outside of those I don't do any other free weight work.

What you don't know about 'fats'

2010-01-04T10:33:00.001-07:00

These days I'm careful with the carbs, but I pack in the fats. In fact, just today I purposefully swallowed 12 capsules of fat (Flameout™ and FA3™), and then made an avocado cheesecake (yes, really) and ate the whole damn thing. By doing the opposite of what most mass-market weight loss experts say to do, I'm able to stay lean. Funny that.

One guy who really helped me get my head out of my ass was Dr. Lowery. Lonnie pretty much wrote the book on fats (or at least a chapter or two). He's helped design fatty acid supplements and has been involved in some of the studies that have reshaped what we know about the pharmaceutical powers of dietary fats.

While enjoying the second half of my avocado cheesecake, I decided to give Dr. Lowery a call to pick his hypertrophied brain about the latest fat research. Here's some cool tidbits from our conversation that caught my attention.

Absolutely worth reading.

Link

What I'm Doing These Days

2009-12-28T10:52:00.003-07:00

Its winter.

Winter in Canada means hockey, so most of my workouts like I mentioned in my last entry are based around hockey.

I love hockey. While it is extremely demanding, especially if you play with equipment and allow physical contact, it is one hell of a workout and a whole lot of fun.

Its also a great fat loss tool. I still haven't figured out whether or not its more like HIIT training considering the fast timed shifts, rest, repeat, or just normal cardio. Either way, at the end of the day, if you play for a few hours you'll be burning upwards of 2,000 calories, but more importantly you'll be depleting your glycogen stores, forcing your body to quit storing all those carbs as fat(if you eat a lot of carbs that is)....and instead using them to fuel your body.

For many people its very hard to pace themselves and go through a hard workout like that when they're in the gym lifting weights or on the treadmill, bike, etc, etc. Competitive sports are a huge advantage that way.

If you happen to play hockey 3-4x per week, make sure you get that recovery drink in within 30 min of finishing playing. I suggest chocolate milk.

But, what I've been doing lately when I'm not playing that often is not drinking or eating anything after the game. Seems to be helping with fatloss. Just hydrate yourself with water. Usually when I'm not hydrated properly, which is easy to do when you play hockey I have a pretty bad headache. Drinking lots of water during and after the game helps a lot with that.

I also saw how my training the past year has paid off. Despite being at a heavier weight from last year to this year I'm a lot faster. I don't tire as easily, and my balance and endurance are a lot better too. And all this happened without doing squats. I still need that power rack.

With that I'll leave you with a couple videos.

Back Again

2009-12-23T12:18:00.001-07:00

Well, I took a couple months off due to travel, work and a few other things.

Outside of hockey I didn't get in many workouts, but I did cut some weight.

So, I'll try to post some more as I find time. Pretty busy with other stuff these days.

Omega3s and Blood Pressure

2009-10-16T16:17:00.003-06:00

I've always had problems with my blood pressure. I suppose after years of being overweight and not ever getting enough exercise it takes more than a year of eating right to get it back to where it should be.

Well, I was able to get my diastolic pressure down to below 75 a while back, but always had a problem with my systolic pressure. It was always over 140, usually between 140 and 150. At age 21, that is something to be concerned about.

So, I decided to try something completely stupid and completely against doctor wishes. I began taking up to 20 capsules of Omega3s everyday. Had some initial problems with going to the washroom, but I just tested myself this morning, and my blood pressure was after the 3rd test 121/55. It might not be the Omega3s by themselves, as a lot of people suggest that Omega3s along with exercise is the key if you have metabolic problems or high blood pressure.

My pulse was at 50, which is pretty cool too. I've always been able to bring my pulse down whenever I wanted too. Just depended on which ways I exercise.

I'm hoping to get it below 50, maybe below 45. Just something that motivates you to push yourself harder.

Oh, and take your Omega3s!

Barbell Exercises

2009-10-15T12:55:00.004-06:00

T-Nation has a great article up about different exercises you could do without having access to machines, power racks, squat racks, the bench press, etc, etc.

Operation Barbell.

You're captured by hostile terrorists and held captive in a large jail cell with just a bunk bed in the corner, a barbell, and plenty of plates. The commander informs you that you're free to lift weights during your captivity, but you can only perform ten barbell exercises.
If you're caught performing more than ten exercises or adding bodyweight movements, you'll be shot on the spot. Armed guards peer into the room constantly, itching for you to break the rules.

For some baffling reason, you're also sharing the cell with Megan Fox.

I mean, we gotta make things interesting, right?

Crossfit Widget

2009-10-14T15:49:00.001-06:00

So, because we all love Crossfit(right??)....I added a Crossfit Widget on the side.

It gives your basic Crossfit update from the website, along with the workout of the day.

Backyard Rinks

2009-10-10T13:56:00.004-06:00

As in tradition in Canada, at least where it stays cold enough for a backyard rink to not turn into a backyard swimming pool, its starting to get cold enough to think about flooding that backyard rink.

Its too bad here where I live we get the chinook wind throughout winter. Even if it does get cold enough to flood, it usually only lasts about 2 weeks or so.

Here are some pictures of some pretty cool backyard rinks though.

Rollerblading and other Sports

2009-10-10T10:46:00.003-06:00

Your workouts are boring. You can't motivate yourself. Sticking to a routine is incredibly hard. You don't even know what routine you want to stick too. You don't understand all the technical mumbo-jumbo that goes with one rep maxes, lifting 75% of your max, amount of reps, amount of sets, nevermind being able to properly execute good form without hiring someone to train you, and since you workout in your garage, you can't hire someone. Or your budget is tight and you're trying to get by with less.

We all know a gym membership costs a lot of money. Hiring a personal trainer costs even more. And usually they don't know more than what I know, or someone else that has been involved in this stuff for a few years now knows. Combine all that together and you come to the point where you're thinking, "what can I do?"

Well, Crossfit is one thing. Crossfit Endurance is another. P9ox is another, even if it does cost money. I'll do an article about it later on.

Not too mention all the different infomercials on TV. Get ripped in 60 days. Or worse yet, 30 days.

Of course, they all have their points, and they all make sense to some degree. But even that gets boring after a while.

So what is the solution? Sports.

If you live in the city there are numerous rec leagues you could get involved in. You don't need top-end talent either. Although if you are more talented at a specific sport, there are even leagues that pander to you. But all in all, sports are where its at.

Years ago me and my cousins used to play rollerhockey. Literally on a daily basis all winter long. As long as the NHL season was on, our season was on too. We used to play 2 games per day, first one to 10 wins. It was 3-3, or 4-4, maybe even 2-2 with a goalie. Or we only had one goalie, and the other net was empty. And then we would do breakaway practices, or try to recreate faceoff situations. Do 2-1s, 3-1s, do passing plays, skating drills, and all kinds of other stuff. Anything to recreate what our hero's on the ice would be doing. And with every single game we watched, the more motivated we were to play even longer. We made locker rooms, had stalls, taped and retaped our sticks, and even had fights and some pretty loud and nasty arguments at times. But in the end, it was the love of a sport that not only created so many ours of endless fun for us, but also provided us with a form of exercise. Most of us were drenched with sweat by the time we were done. I remember gulping cups of water like a madman after playing. We weren't smart enough to drink water WHILE we played. That would have been a waste of important playing time.

Now, 5 years later, in the midst of all the routines, and the different problems trying to find motivation, I turn back to something I loved doing years ago. I broke out the old rollerblades, and went for a skate. Course, I only lasted 15 min or so before my feet began killing me, but it was fun. Just by myself, skating around with a stick and a tennis ball taking slapshots and trying to hit some makeshift targets I set up. And the result of that? At least last night? I got in one hell of a workout flipping tires, farmer walks, sledge hammer swings, medicine ball throws and doing tire jumps. Over 45 min. With very little rest. I just had energy to keep going. Maybe it was the 2 rest days I took, but even though not really eating the usual carbs I eat before working out, I had a lot of energy to push myself further than ever before.

Afterwards I had one heck of a time controlling my hands from shaking. And this morning when I woke up, it took a while to get my back straight. I guess with the congested blood flood, not too mention being extremely sore, it takes more than 8 hours of sleep to recover.

Being sore is a whole other story as well. When you're the one lifting 450# on a deadlift, or doing timed deadlift challenges like the 300x225# I posted about earlier, you have to push yourself harder than you ever have previously to actually get sore. Not that being sore is a good indicator that you're making progress. In fact, it isn't. Being sore means two things to me. One, you're muscles are used to doing something, and as a result they get sore. With time, they get used to doing whatever it is you're doing, and they don't get sore anymore. Or secondly, being sore the next day means you've pushed yourself further than what your muscles are used too. And this requires a lot of effort. But there is nothing more satisfying than walking away from a workout like that and knowing that you've done what most other people can't do. Or lack the motivation to do.

Which is why I come back to the love of sports. Hockey, baseball, soccer, basketball(although I wouldn't know why)....football and yes, even rollerblading. Find something you like doing, and stick with it. Join a league, join a team or just get some friends together and play. The best thing about playing sports is that it can motivate you to lift weights or do some kind of training program because you want to get better at whatever you're playing. So because you see the result on the field, rink, diamond or court, chances are you'll push and be able to find more motivation when it comes to those boring and dreaded workouts.

And trust me, even I struggle with motivation sometimes.

A Guide To Health Drinking

2009-10-09T09:30:00.002-06:00

Mark over at Marks Daily Apple posted a very informative article about choosing the healthiest kind of alcohol.

Click here.

Day Off

2009-10-07T22:43:00.004-06:00

So, day off today. I'm now approaching almost 2 weeks of no deadlifts as well. Tough to do for me, as I was forced to employ other methods to get a decent workout in, but some sledge hammer swings, medicine ball throws, tire flips and farmer walks have kept me going.

I even broke out the ol' rollerblades for some cardio last night. Although after about 20 min by back was sore, which is probably the reason I'm not deadlifting.

Feet hurt too.

Check out the poll on the right for some feedback. Be interesting to see what people prefer to use in the weight room.

CF/CFE WOD

2009-10-07T14:03:00.003-06:00

From here.

3+ Hours After CrossFit Main Site WOD

Chose ONE of The Following Sports:

All sports do: 20:10 x 8 rounds, 20 seconds on 10 seconds off, all out efforts!

Swim: Use pool or open water

Bike: Use a Monarch ERG, stationary bike with wattage tool or something similar that can hold a load of 200+ watts

Run: Use a treadmill, set at 12% grade at 0-30 sec slower pace per mile than best 5k pace. Do not reduce the speed!

C2:Row 20:10x8

From here.

Thruster 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

For those of you who need something to do.

Farmers Walk/Other Stuff

2009-10-07T13:44:00.001-06:00

First off, the 'farmers walk.'

Pretty straight forward? More or less.

I don't have access to all that equipment, so currently I use a couple 5 gallon pails full of paint and carry them around. Probably doesn't do much for grip strength, but it works everything else.

Here is an article from T-Nation.

Clicky.

Might be NSFW.

I liked this part.

Q: If you were to redesign the old government food pyramid, what would it look like?

A: It would probably be more like a circle with about 70% of calories divided equally among protein, fat, and fibrous vegetables and fruits; another 10% for nuts, another 10% for beans, and an optional 10% for grains.

Been saying it for a while now.

Brutal

2009-10-02T20:00:00.001-06:00

So, 30 min, as many tire flips as possible.

I think I may have gotten around 30. 30-40 is my guess.

And like I said, brutal.

You're not actually gasping for air, and if you're in decent shape, your legs don't really burn that much. Not lactic acid buildup. But you just feel TIRED. You feel after every flip like you want to die, and you feel like puking. Over and over again.

And yet, because you're not gasping for air, because your legs aren't burning, because your back isn't so loaded with blood that it hurts to straighten up, you can keep going. But, it means looking at the tire over, and over, and over again....and ignoring how horrible it makes you feel, and just flipping it again. Back around, flip it again. And again.

And when you're done, you have a great sense of accomplishment.

Addition of Amazon Products

2009-10-02T15:52:00.003-06:00

So, I added a sidebar on the side that features some of the books I've bought/read in the past that have really helped me gain insight and knowledge on weight lifting and power training.

It is based on the Canadian Amazon store, and they happen to NOT have the book I really want to recommend in their product list.

Here is the book from Amazon.com

Starting Strength

If you lift weights, you must absolutely buy this book. The single greatest resource on barbell training in the whole world.

Foam Roller/Tennis Ball/Lacrosse Ball

2009-10-02T14:36:00.003-06:00

Self explanatory.

Because the average person sits at a desk all day, and doesn't really use the upper body at all, there is a lack of blood flow which can create problems with repairing muscle tissue that you damaged and need to repair after working out. Over time this can lead to a whole slew of problems. I've found that doing the warmup shown above by Joe helps alleviate a lot of those problems. And it can also help prevent upper body soreness, which again, happens because outside of rowing, swimming or doing actually light weight work, its tough to do active recovery with your upper body.

Lower body is a different story. Just go for a walk, stretch a bit, or take a short bike ride.

If you don't have access to a foam roller, a tennis ball or a lacrosse ball can also work. Start out with the tennis ball though, as the lacrosse ball is very stiff, and it'll hurt at first.

You can do this with the lower back too.

Here are some more foam roller videos that you can use.

The last video is very informative. Talks about using a 'ball' too.

First Tire Workout

2009-09-30T19:47:00.003-06:00

So I had my first real chance of utilizing the tire I got as a workout tool. When I got it on Monday, I could only lift it once, and the second time I brought it up I couldn't get it up and over.

Today, I flipped it at least 20-25 times in a span of about 20 min.

Once you figure out how to execute from the pull into the push phase, its a lot easier to do. Well, easy as in you can actually get the tire flipped. Its not exactly easy as in a piece of cake. I also had a sledge hammer to hammer away at the tire with, but it broke on the 5th hit or something, so I'll have to get a new one. Between the tire and my trusty medicine ball, it makes for one hell of a workout.

Some Defranco Style tire flipping. Most of my crazy workout ideas come from him actually.

And the sledge hammers.

Medicine Ball

2009-09-30T13:43:00.003-06:00

I'm all for different methods and different equipment that helps keep your workouts interesting.

Lately I've been doing some reading on the whole idea of increasing your range of motion, in a healthy way, to help you activate and use more muscle tissue when you workout, play sports or in other normal activities.

The medicine ball is a great tool that helps you increase your range of motion in numerous ways.

Here are some different exercises that you can incorporate into your workout plan and reap all the different benefits the medicine ball can offer.

Basically, throw the ball to a partner, or against the wall. Catch it when it comes back and repeat.

Pretty straight forward. A great core exercise.

Probably my favorite. Also pretty straight forward. Bring the ball back behind your head, and slam if forward onto the ground. If you have a ball that bounces, you can catch it and repeat the same motion. Great workout, and helps develop core strength as well as power.

Basic Figure-8.

Russian Twist. Another great 'core' exercise.

Two great ab/core exercises.

A Tire

2009-09-30T09:31:00.003-06:00

So, I went out and got myself what I assume to be a 500# tire. Could be more, could be less, but judging by what I deadlift, I'll assume its 500#.

Flipping it is quite hard. And quite the workout.

Also something that uses the full body, and different variations of the squat, clean, press and core work that each of those lifts by itself don't create. Too bad its raining today, as I was looking forward to getting a workout in with the 'tire.'

Of course, there are other things you can do with it. Use it for box jumps, or to jump in and out of; find a partner and push the tire back and forth between the two of you while it is standing, or go out and buy a decently heavy sledge hammer, and just hammer away at it. Helps to build power and increases your range of motion.

My workouts have been going away from the structured approach that I used up till now. Every once in a while I get a push to do cardio. Not the traditional sit on a stationary bike and spin away cardio, but the cardio that involves sprinting after a set of deadlifts/cleans, like I pointed out earlier. Or, doing the 'death by 10m' that CFE talks about. It helps to get the workout a lot more interesting.

Plus, after fracturing my sternum last year in December, I have never really QUIT working out to let it heal. And it seems doing deadlifts of all the lifts in the whole world only makes the problem worse. So, I'll probably give them a rest for a week or so. Course, I'm still gonna lift that tire, and probably do a lot of squats too.

Deadlift/Sprints

2009-09-23T09:48:00.003-06:00

So, like the variation of the clean+press/sprints that I did last week, this time I just loaded up 225# on the bar, and did some deadlifts/sprints.

Same distance for the sprints.

Could only do 3 sets of 5, and 1 set of 4.

I pulled 455# last week, and apparently it is taking a long time for my back to get back to normal. But I wonder if this H1N1 virus doesn't have anything to do with it. I don't even know if I have it, or had it, I just know my muscles were all aching and I didn't have much of an appetite. As a result, over the weekend I wasn't eating the protein necessary to repair all the muscle tissue pulling 1x455# tears.

The fat loss is still going good though. I don't measure with calipers or even a tape line, I just look into the mirror. This is tough to do, because whenever you eat one bad meal, or have one bad day you retain water and as a result you don't look as 'cut' anymore. I try to only compare myself to prior myselfs in the mirror in the morning. Seems to work better that way.

I do notice that if I don't eat carbs after supper, the next morning I'm a lot more cut as opposed to when I do eat carbs, even healthy ones. I tend to bloat more.

Am I carb insensitive? I often wonder. Some people can eat a ton of carbs and not bloat. Nevermind not get fat. Whenever I eat any significant amount of carbs, I tend to bloat and gain water weight. Sometimes up to 10# of water weight.

Catching up

2009-09-21T10:42:00.000-06:00

So, I haven't written an entry for a few days. Busy with other stuff. Summer winding down, etc, etc.

I did manage to set a new personal record with the deadlift. 1x455#.

The calculator spits out my 1RM at 473# based on my 5x420# set, but that doesn't mean that you'll actually be able to lift 1x473# right away.

I tried to go for 2 reps on with 455#, but due to a lacking diet and the H1N1 virus that seems to be going around here, I wasn't able too. Had the bar off the floor, but couldn't straighten my back. That is always my weak spot anyways, even on lighter lifts.

I still feel a bit sick today, but some fresh air and a cleaned up diet should help a lot.

The Importance of Chalk

2009-09-16T09:18:00.002-06:00

Chalk.

You know a gym is hardcore when you walk into the place and the equipment all looks like this.

I have, or had I should say a problem with my grip on the deadlift. Anything over 400# the bar starts to slip out of my hands. I have tried a variety of grips -- hooked, mixed on both hands, etc, etc -- but while some are better than others, my grip still failed.

So, I bought some chalk. Just a round ball like I pointed out in my last entry. And the stuff is amazing. Nevermind just taking the moisture out of your sweaty hands while you lift weights, but even hours afterwards, provided you don't wash your hands the stuff still works. And even if you DO wash your hands, you STILL have more friction when you rub your hands together.

Yesterday was deadlift day. I set more PR.

5x225#
5x295#
4x345#
4x370#
5x420#

Which, according to the calculator gives me a 1RM of 473#. Sounds about right. I did switch up my stance a bit. Moved the bar a bit further away from my ankles so I could get lower to the ground when I pick it up. This way I'm not fighting to get it up my legs either. I could have done more. In fact, the 5th rep on the 5x420# almost seemed easy. Could have gone for 6, 7 maybe even more.

But, the 1Rm calculator is most accurate at 5 reps or lower. Next time I'll just bump the weights up to 430#.

One other thing I did is worked out after supper. At this point I had more than one meal in me, and as a result more energy.

As opposed to working out around 11 AM, where I only have had breakfast.

Today is a rest day, but I'm on to bigger and better things tomorrow!

Clean the Power

2009-09-15T09:14:00.002-06:00

Another Power Clean day yesterday. Due to the lack of a power rack, I'm focusing more on power oriented movements that involve pulling weight from the floor.

Good session overall.

5x135#
5x155#
5x185#
3x205#

Notice in the picture, it doesn't actually show his feet leaving the floor. Some people do actually get 'air', others don't. Personally, when I pull 205# from the floor, I find it tough to actually JUMP into the air and come down with screwing something up. At that weight, it is hard enough as is to hold good form.

I also did chinups, which I've found are a perfect way to develop bicep size. I have never done any direct arm work, and even the chinup is technically a compound exercise, but it does wonders for your biceps. As you progress with the weights and you make gains, you'll probably start to notice certain muscles lagging behind. For me its my biceps. Adding a few isolation exercises that target those muscles specifically is never a bad idea.

Just don't base your whole workout around that isolation work.

Diet wise, I've fallen a bit. Need to clamp down on some of the extra carbs I've gotten the last few days. Nothing serious, but there is just the reminder there in the back of my head telling me to eat LESS carbs.

Today is a deadlift day, so I'll post those results later.

I should also note that I picked up some chalk yesterday. Its a ball actually, so it doesn't make that big of a mess, but wow does it work. Rub it on your hands once, and you'll have grip the rest of the day, provided you don't go actually wash your hands.

Works great, especially on the heavier lifts where my grip is failing.

Cleans and Sprints

2009-09-13T00:26:00.002-06:00

One thing I love about Crossfit is the variety of workouts you can come up with to keep things interesting.

You don't even have to follow their own routine on the mainsite, just make up your own.

Today I tried something different.

Clean+Presses, plus sprints, or fast runs, about 220 feet and back.

Ended up doing 4 sets.

5x135# + 1 set of sprints.
3x155# + 1 set of sprints.
3x175# + 1 set of sprints.
3x185# + 1 set of sprints.

And then I did 3 sets of sprints by themselves. Goes without staying that my heart was pumping like crazy after each set. What I do find interesting is that the lactic acid buildup was strongest in my upper body. Didn't even feel much in the legs at all. Even after the 4th and 5th sets, the only thing hurting was the upper body, and obviously I was gasping for air too.

All in all, it was a good workout. Finished in about 25 min.

More and more I'm beginning to see that its the quality that counts, not the quantity. Having long workouts where you hardly sweat and your heart rate isn't getting up there at all is to me a bit ridiculous already.

I also did some squat work used the methods I mentioned below. Flexibility is getting better everyday. Just got to keep at it.

The Squat

2009-09-12T10:33:00.005-06:00

So, I said yesterday I would talk a bit about the squat.

I squat. Sometimes. Probably not as much as I should, but I do try to squat sometimes. Due to not having a power rack, I try to work more on front squats or overhead squats, or even jump squats more than I do the traditional back squat.

But, the back squat is where muscle is built. The back squat is where power is built. The back squat is where you can build up your cardio, speed and numerous other physical functions that will serve you well in whatever sport or activity you're involved in. Or, you just want to get bigger, so you squat.

The most important part of the squat, outside of actually doing it is to keep your back from rounding. That is why its important to get proper coaching and training, which could be as simple as taking a video of you doing light weight work and posting it on the Crossfit forums and they'll help you out.

Watch the video below on how to execute the squat.

Actual execution.

How to fix the hip drive, which is almost as equally important as not rounding the back. I prefer to think that a good hip drive limits how much your back will round.

Now, there are a few issues that lots of people have with the squat. If you set up the stance like Mark explains in the first video, and try to preform the squat your heels end up coming up from the ground. Obvious solution? Place a weight/book/piece of wood under there so you stay on solid ground. While that DOES work, a better solution would be to increase flexibility.

Hamstrings, Hip Flexors(especially for people who sit at a desk)...and your ankles could all use some more flexibility to help you keep your feet flat on the floor when you squat.

Here is a video that talks about Hip and Hamstring mobility.

His whole series of videos dealing with the squat can be found here. If you're serious about doing it right, watch them ALL. Very informative.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C03D688F10C4DE1F

Another way to deal with your heels coming off the ground, is as such. Someone on one of the forums I post at, JSF, posted this.

The number one thing to do is start by placing ten pound plates under both heels. Full squat like this for a number of months. Then move on down to having five pound plates under your heels and stick with that for a few months. Then eventually you will get to the point where you won't need anything under your heels at all. I couldn't squat for s**t when I first started. I could only pull off squatting with essentially all of the weight placed on my calves due to my heels coming way off the ground. I just progressed with the aforementined plan and voila, my flexibility isn't an issue anymore. Also, place some weight on the bar. Having weight on the bar will naturally help you stay upright.

I believe, IIRC the person who said that is squatting over 400#.

So, it obviously works.

Another tip is to practice the squat as shown below in the two pictures.

Use your elbows to push your knees out. The idea is to learn how to 'squat between the legs' rather than the upper body because of stiff hips.

That should about cover it all. Remember, you will only learn how to squat if you actually go out and squat. Start with body weight squats, become comfortable with that and then add the bar. Once you have your form figured out, start adding weight. I like adding weight from the start -- 20# or so -- because an external load helps me correct my form.

And more Deadlifts

2009-09-11T11:52:00.002-06:00

Tried to cut back the volume on my earlier sets. Don't know if it really worked.

5x225#
5x295#
5x345#
4x370#
4x405#

Obviously with not eating very many carbs I don't have as much energy when I workout. So just pulling 5x295# was hard enough as is.

My problem is if I workout after lunch, I don't eat till 4-5PM. So that takes away from my PWO nutrition. Which used to be chocolate milk, until I stopped drinking as much milk as I used too. 14 more days of paleo, and I might add more milk.

After supper is where I usually do my CF:E stuff. They say 3 hours plus after your normal workout, so it works out great.

Guess I'll just have to plug along as is. Its not that I'm not making any gains. I am, but it just seems harder than normal.

According to the 1RM calculator here lifting 4x405# gives me a 1RM of 442#. Which is about right. I think I could pull 5x405#, but my grip was failing. Need to pick up some chalk sometime.

The Bench Press

2009-09-11T09:27:00.002-06:00

Everyone does the bench press. When I was in high school, being able to bench your own body weight meant you were a 'cool' kid. Being naturally big, I was able to bench a lot more than most other kids. Around grade 8 or so, my dad bought me a small bench with around 110# worth of weights, and I set it up in my room and benched away. Course, back then I never cared about safety, range of motion and numerous other functions that makes for a bench press that will get you good results.

Well, last year around Christmas time, I ended up fracturing my sternum playing hockey -- hairline fracture -- and I'm too lazy to get a CT scan so I can figure out whats really wrong, but it has kept me from doing 2 things. Bench press and dips. I tried benching for a while, but I only ended up hurting myself more.

Of course, that doesn't say nobody else should be on the bench at least once per week. Its an important compound exercise that should be part of any workout routine. Some call it a part of the big 3. Bench Press, Squat, Deadlift. I'll talk about the squat tomorrow, but here in a video my Mark Rippetoe talking about setting up the bench press properly. Listen and watch closely. This guy knows what he's talking about.

Notice that by pushing up his chest, he cuts back on how far his hands go back when the bar comes down. If you're in a sitting position, pull your hands back like the kid does when he's doing the bench press. Notice that you can only come back so far. That is your true range of motion, or ROM as most people call it. When you're bench pressing, the bar should only come down to that point. If you don't pay attention(some people place a block down there, or some books)...you're going to mess up your ROM without even realizing it. Because when you lower a 100# or more, you tend to come back until the weight stops. And it stops because YOU stop it, or because it touches your chest. If your range of motion by doing the test above is higher than what your chest is, and even by pushing your chest OUT when you bench press, you still can't bring the bar down that far, use a book or something. Lowering the bar all the way adds pressure to your shoulders and your rotator cuff and could lead to future injuries.

Here again he talks about arching your lower back and raising your chest to decrease the distance the bar has to come down. Also helps with your ROM.

Some more information.

These videos were more than likely filmed at a Crossfit Certification course.

Pretty cool.

These guys are insane

2009-09-10T15:18:00.003-06:00

Imagine the level of fitness would be required to literally dodge 2,000lbs of pissed off animal.

Not only do they need overall quickness, they need to be also able to quickly run, climb or jump out of the way.

Of course, the video doesn't showcase that quickness very well. But as someone who has seen numerous rodeos, and numerous bullriding competitions, I have seen these 'clowns' in action, and they do a superb job all the time.

Of all the crazy things to do though.

Power Cleans & Clean+Press

2009-09-10T14:30:00.003-06:00

First a quick video that explains the mechanics.

I prefer the clean and press, simply because it adds the extra 'press' part. And if you're ever lifted weight over your head, you know exactly how hard it is.

Notice in the video that he cleans the weight very similar to a power clean, but rests a tad bit before he does the press. I find its much more challenging to try and do everything in one fluid movement. Its almost like a 'thruster' as the CF community calls it, when you come out of the clean, and push upwards with the bar.

I did a few sets today.

5x135#
5x155#
5x175#

Probably will shoot for more later. I find that using the heavier weights helps me keep better form throughout the movement.

And I don't think I need to explain why the clean + press is such a great lift. Not only are you forcefully lifting heavy weight off the ground, you involve your back, your hips, and your shoulders all at once. As someone who loves the compound lifts, the clean+press is as good as it can get. Well, outside of the deadlift, and squat cleans.

But, as is usually the case with Olympic lifts, you can very easily hurt yourself. So, your best bet as a beginner would be to practice the power clean, and practice the push press. Once you feel comfortable with both lifts, you can try the clean+press.

And if you need more information about different kinds of lifts, go here.

I'll also add the site over on the sidebar.

Milk

2009-09-09T14:37:00.006-06:00

Hopefully the picture I just grabbed doesn't show case the 1%, or 2% 'water' as I call it that you can buy at the grocery store.

Drink whole milk, dammit. Why you ask? Well if you've ever bothered to read the actual nutritional labels, you'd notice that the only difference really between 1%, 2% and whole milk is the amount of fat, and I suppose the calories as well.

And since fat is GOOD for you, and the extra calories shouldn't really matter(30 extra calories)....drink WHOLE milk.

Going from memory here, one cup of milk has 9g of protein, 12g of carbs and 8g of fat.

More or less.

In fact, if you want to get bigger, drinking a gallon of milk per day, or GOMAD, coupled with heavy weight lifting should help you build a lot of muscle.

My only problem with milk is that it isn't paleo, and the amount of carbs, which aren't exactly 'good' carbs either.

So, being that I'm trying to do low-carb right now, I'm stuck with not being able to drink a lot of milk, but I'm on day 14 today of a 30 day program, and after that I'll try to add more milk. I am cheating now though, drinking about 500mL of milk in the morning with 5 raw eggs thrown in for extra protein.

I don't pretend to know the science behind drinking milk, but I do know what has worked or me in the past, and what has worked for a lot of other people. Some people think milk has the perfect ratio between macro-nutrients, plus a lot of good vitamins that we need. Calcium and Vitamin D being two of them.

I tend to think the added fat is the biggest reason you can muscle like a madman when you drink lots of milk. Its too bad so many people are still stuck in the 'low fat' craze of what should have been just the 70s.

The other day someone was telling me that they stopped feeding their baby milk after 6 months. Can you believe that? 6 months and they're off of the milk. I assume she meant the mothers milk too.

Its quite interesting to note that in all the years of food science trying to create the perfect food, or the perfect 'baby' food, they have never been able to recreate the milk a mother creates. Raw, wholesome milk. Its why kids grow up to be big and strong.

But hey, go to the store, buy a scientifically modified baby food that claims to have all the nutrients your kid needs, and feed it to them. And I'll feed my kid whole freakin' milk, and then we'll compare after 2 years.

I'm halfway kidding. I just know that I will actively encourage my kids to drink milk and eat wholesome foods. Not something that was created by a bunch of crazy scientists in a lab somewhere.

MILK. Drink up.

Oh, and here is a link to the GOMAD program I was talking about earlier.

Yes, I have a sick sense of humor.

And pictures like these bring a tear to my eye.

Crossfit Endurance

2009-09-08T17:22:00.003-06:00

So, if Crossfit by itself isn't good enough for you, there is always CF:E to kick your ass even more.

Click here.

I try to follow the CF:E routine as much as possible. Tough to keep up though, especially with doing more heavy weight work than just normal Crossfit WODs.

And of course the infamous 'Death by 10m.'

More Deadlifts

2009-09-08T14:48:00.002-06:00

Another deadlift day.

7x225#
6x295#
5x345#
4x370#
3x400#

Attempted 420#...couldn't get it up, again. I think I'll have to cut back some of the volume on the earlier 3 sets.

But the 3x400# is encouraging. Means I'm making progress.

Some more video.

I also started to do weight swings. Technically they should be like kettlebell swings, but since I don't have any kettlebells, I'll have to do with the 35# weights I have.

The kettlebell swing, in all its various permutations, 2 arm, 1 arm, D.A.R.C., 2 kettlebell etc…is the brutal distillation of everything ketttlebell training is about: power, explosiveness, flexibility and lung searing “cardio”. It’s not simply that it works a lot of muscles, and make no mistake that it does, it’s that it teaches you to generate power from the core outward to the object you’re attempting to manipulate. Instead of learning to move a weight from point A to point B, you learn to generate force from your body’s powerhouse: the hips, legs, back and core. Once you have mastered the kettlebell swing, not only will you instantly get the “feel” of more “complex” kettlebell lifts, but also your body will innately apply these lessons to your chosen sport, martial art or weight training.

From here.

Whitewater Rafting/Cliff Jumping

2009-09-08T13:22:00.002-06:00

In case you've never ever actually tried doing either of these, here are some videos to pump you out.

Or freak you out. Whichever you prefer.

Of course, the WWR.

Wouldn't be fair to not post all the ways you can crash.

Get out there and do it!

Omega3s

2009-09-08T11:47:00.004-06:00

So, if you're not taking any Omega3s, better get on the wagon stat.

I'll probably specifically post about this numerous times in the future just to show everyone how important they really are.

Here is an article that talks a bit about Omega3s and some other important parts of your diet.

http://www.fit4younutrition.com/feature-article.html

Since we're in the process of posting trailers for must see fitness movies...

Strong - The Movie/Crossfit - Every Second Counts

2009-09-08T11:29:00.002-06:00

I have talked in the past of my love for all things Crossfit.

Every year they have what they call the 'Crossfit Games', and they happened to make a movie about it.

Excuse the language.

Joe Defranco, who is probably the best fitness trainer in North America, also made a movie to showcase his training style.

Both are worth buying.

I also wanted to talk a bit about Omega3s.

Michael Pollan talks in his book....

About the importance of eating real food. And he goes on to explain why Gary Taubes, who in his book 'Good Calories/Bad Calories' makes some very good points about the determental effect that refined carbs have had on the 'Western Diet', and they are the reason so many people have been overweight and obese. Pollan says that while refined carbs are the devil, saying that refined carbs by themself are the reason we're fat is repeating the same mistake our governments made years ago when they told everyone to eat less fat and more carbs, because at that time 'fat' was the reason we were in fact fat. You might be wondering what any of this has to do with Omega3s. Pollan believes that the reason we have become overweight and obese has as much to do with the over consumption of refined carbs as it does with the lack of Omega3s and other good 'fats' in our diet.

Speaking of the campaign to eliminate 'fat' from our diet. I laugh when I see labels like this.

I wonder at which point the government is going to admit that they screwed up.

Update on the deadlift campaign.

7x225#
6x295#
5x345#
4x370#
2x400#
Attempted 1x420# and failed.

Nothing to worry about. I'm on a 'paleo will change your life in 30 days' routine right now, so I'm not getting as many carbs as I should be.

Day 13 today.

A different kind of weekend

2009-09-03T16:29:00.007-06:00

So, over the weekend a few friends of mine came up from Manitoba, and we went Whitewater Rafting near Canmore on Monday. A very good workout and well worth the $70/person we ended up paying.

This first picture has a view some of you might recognize. Numerous movies have been filmed in this area over the past few years.

This second picture is where we're doing what they call 'surfing.' Basically we paddle against the flow of the river into an area where the flow of the river slops downwards, and when we hit that spot all of us crowd towards the front to try and lift the raft up at the back. Lots of fun.

On Tuesday we went out to Banff and decided that instead of taking the Gondola up the mountain, we would actually take the trail up. After 20 min, it seemed like a stupid idea, considering how tiring it was, but once we got up near the middle it was more than worth it. I don't have any pictures to show right now(still waiting for them)...but once I do I'll post some. The view from about the middle of the trail and further up is beyond amazing. Well worth the hour and a half it took to climb up. Some 2,300 feet.

It was a good workout too. I guess starting cold my body built up considerable lactic acid levels and my feet felt very sluggish the first 20 min. But we stopped for about 15 min at a waterfall near the middle, and after that it was a lot better going. I didn't have enough water to drink either, so slight dehydration was probably also a factor. Next time I'll remember to take more than 1 bottle.

I also had a diet of pizza, KFC and beer for most of the weekend, so obviously my nutrition wasn't up to par as it should have been. But these are once in a lifetime weekends, so to be overly picky about the food I ate would have been stupid. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and in the end the excess carbs will only set me back a week or so.

If any of you are in the area, I highly recommend both the whitewater rafting and going to Banff as well.

Timed Deadlifts

2009-08-27T14:50:00.010-06:00

So, over at the Crossfit Forums(see links on the right)....someone posted a competition about doing 300x225# deadlifts in whatever amount of time it would take.

I had previously done timed deadlifts, and got quite good at them. My highest number, IIRC, was 37x325# on June 11.

Today, after a whole month of not doing any kind of timed stuff, I did 71x225# in 10 min.

My goal, obviously is to reach 300x225#, but it might take a hour, or even more.

There is something satisfying about having so much blood in your lower back that you can't even stand up properly anymore. But hey, if you prefer to do bicep curls instead, go right ahead.

It reminds me of the training scene from Rocky 4, where it was showing how Rocky was training, and how the Russian was training.

If you watch closely, you notice that Rocky is always moving some sort of free weight. Or, he's running outside. No machines at all. The Russian on the other hand almost always uses machines. There are a few shots of him doing power cleans, but it obviously wasn't a staple of the program. The funny part is that Rocky, doing what he did, should have technically been the stronger and better conditioned athlete. By a long shot.

KFC's Finger-Lickin' Heart Attack

2009-08-27T10:31:00.003-06:00

Okay, it as 600 calories, apparently, although you never know for sure these days. But what I don't get is why people are saying its a heart attack waiting to happen? Numerous studies done over the past 50 years whose results are finally pouring in and confirmed that there is no direct link between 'fat'....be it saturated or mono saturated fat, and heart problems. We all know that trans-fats are a big problem, but a lot of these fast food restaurants are moving away from using those as well.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you should go eat one of them every single day, but considering there next to no refined carbs in one of them -- refined carbs being the bigger heart attack maker than saturated fat -- why exactly is eating one of those so unhealthy?

It has chicken, it has bacon and it has cheese. All 3 of them should be a staple of any low carb/high fat/high protein diet.

I wonder if it will take another 50 years before the government finally adjusts their ridiculous food pyramid and realizes that any healthy diet is based around protein and fat. Not around 'grains.'

Anyways, here is Mark Rippetoe, or 'coach' as us Crossfitters call him explaining how the deadlift is setup.

Eggs/Deadlift

2009-08-26T09:42:00.000-06:00

So, yesterday was deadlift day again. Its remarkable how much effect rest/diet/recuperation can have on your body.

Its been almost 3 weeks since I hit my highest 1RM at 450#. Like I pointed out in my latest entry, the 1x450# was followed by me burning out, getting sick, loosing energy, etc, etc. With time my central nervous system was screwed up, and I got into a vicious cycle where I couldn't sleep properly at night, but I was still training.

But, 3 weeks later, I pull these numbers.

6x225#
5x295#
4x345#
3x370#
2x400#
1x420#

And the 1x420# was actually not that hard. Well, obviously was hard, but nowhere near as hard as trying to pull even just 400# 2 weeks ago was.

One of the most motivating factors in my routine has got to me progress. Had I plateaued at 450# 3 weeks ago, and not been able to progress even further, I might have given up completely on the deadlift. But with progress, you end up pushing yourself harder.

As for the eggs.

6 g of protein, 75 calories, 3 g of fat.....all in that small little thing called an egg.

Eat 10 of those per day, for a total of 63g of protein, 30g of fat, 750 calories. More bang for your buck than any protein shake will ever give you.

Eat 20 of those per day, and you're looking at 126g of protein, 60g of fat, 1500 calories. Probably not healthy, but man, I didn't realize just how much you can supplement your diet with by eating eggs.

Of course, most people would probably recommend not eating 20 eggs per day, which of course I don't. But, I do try to eat at least 4 in the morning, and if I can, 4 more sometime later in the day. The concern used to be that dietary cholesterol had something to do with raising the LDL levels, but not your HDL to go with it. And if your ratio got screwed up, it put you at a higher risk of having a heart attack. Well, here are some recent research articles.

Dietary Cholesterol from Eggs Increases Plasma HDL Cholesterol in Overweight Men Consuming a Low-Carb Diet.

Eating eggs does not significantly raise the body's cholesterol levels.

Of course, they do talk about saturated fats having a bigger effect, and maybe they do. But that doesn't mean you should just quit eating meat. The biggest problem in all of this is still refined carbs and junk food, both of which do more damage to the body than any piece of meat or egg will ever do.

My Deadlift Challenge

2009-08-24T17:10:00.000-06:00

For the past year, I could say, I have been working on my goal to reach a 500# deadlift.

Reason? Most of them are health related -- stronger back, overall muscle gain, etc, etc. Being able to pick heavy stuff off the ground makes it a lot easier to function in real life, especially with day-t0-day activities.

But, the biggest reason I think was the fact that there are not a lot of people out there that can Deadlift 500#.

It is of course my humble opinion that every single human being on the planet with access to free weights should take up deadlifting as a staple routine in their lives. We constantly hear about friends, neighbors, co-workers or family members who have a slew of different 'back' problems.

Most, not all, but most of those problems can be solved by the deadlift. And you certainly don't have to go through the routine I go through and try for 500#. Even a high rep, lower weight program will help build a stronger back.

And not only that, but the deadlift is notorious for working almost every single muscle in your body. So you're getting the whole workout by doing one lift.

Either way, I hit 1x450# a few weeks ago, where I then proceeded to burn out, get sick, take a week off, try to come back and continue again, find out that a week wasn't enough, so I took another 2 weeks off, and this is now my second week of working towards 500#.

Tuesday is normally deadlift day, which will be tomorrow, but last week I did in this order;

5x225#
4x295#
3x345#
2x370#
1x400#

It will take some time to even work back up to the 450#. And as such, I'm trying to build up to a 5x5x400# max, which should put my 1RM around 460-470#.

All in good time.

First Beginnings

2009-08-24T16:45:00.000-06:00

So, after numerous people PMing me on different forums that I post at asking for fitness related advice, I figured it would probably be a good idea to start a blog, and actually write out all that advice for everyone, instead of confining it to single people.

People have been asking about food choices, Post Workout Nutrition, what kind of exercises they should be doing, which is better -- machines or free weights -- and I have answered all those questions in private, but whats the point?

This way I answer the questions on a public forum and have it open for the whole world to read.

I'll start out with things I recommend.

Crossfit

Starting Strength

Starting Strength Forum - Actually a forum run by the author of Starting Strength.

Marks Daily Apple

Crossfit Forums

And I'll leave you with a book I recently read which even further reaffirmed my belief that the modern 'food guide' that our Canadian Government has provided to those of us who want to live a healthy lifestyle is a complete farce.

His website.