Fit Friday

This week was numero uno of the LuRong Living Paleo Challenge and, although sick, I managed to complete it:)

This is an eight week challenge for Crossfit affiliates and their athletes. There are individual prizes, team prizes, but the main prize is overall health and fitness for the individual.

I love goals, I love crossing things off my lists, so challenges are even more fun for me:) And, hey, it wasn't until I took Mark Sisson's 21 day challenge that I became passionate {obsessed, perhaps?} about getting the word out in the name of health and happiness! My point: challenges can be life-changing.

This past week I was discussing with some Crossfit members about post-workout drinks. They were telling me about the "cleanest" ones out there and the importance of drinking high protein shakes immediately after a workout. Today, I stopped by a local GNC to check out their protein shake recommendations which all had whey protein and other dairy sources. In Paleo, whey/dairy is not approved because they believe they have anti-nutrients and compounds that cause inflammation/irritation. In Primal, it depends on how a person is able to handle/digest dairy. If you choose whey isolate, you will get more protein with less dairy, however, it will be more processed. If you choose whey concentrate, you will get less protein, but it will not be highly processed. 

Since I am taking the "Paleo" challenge, I obviously did not purchase these drinks and I also know for myself that I do better with minimal dairy, but it did get me thinking and researching about post-workouts...

We hear and learn that carbs are needed to develop muscles and that by refilling our glycogen stores with carbs immediately after a workout we will be ready for the next workout and prevent muscle loss.

Let's remember we are turning our carb burning bodies into a fat burning bodies {remember this post?}, so having all this excess carbs/glucose will ultimately turn into unwanted fat. We want to eat more protein, healthy fats {and good carbs from vegetables, etc.} so that we store and burn fat for energy. Also, we store three grams of water per gram of glycogen, gross! Who needs water weight?

I also read about occasionally fasting after a workout. By doing this, as well as working out intensely, we drive HGH {Hormone Growth Hormone} which has its own way of conserving protein along with many other health benefits. 

Lastly, protein intake after a workout is good, but this is not the only great time our body uses protein to help our muscles.

What to know is: (1) "as long as you keep your hard resistance workout at or under an hour, your body won't need a lot of glycogen to get through it, (2) "all you really need is a protein-rich snack post-workout for glycogen refueling", and (3) occasional fasting post-workout will drive HGH up.

For more information, check out marksdailyapple.com. 

And just for fun;)

WOD

10min AMRAP

5 weighted lunges {knee touching ground each time}

5 air squats

5 box jumps

Happy Friday!

Fit Friday

Today I tried a new skill in Crossfit: kipping hand stand push-ups. I'll be honest, it was terrifying at first, but once I tried it I LOVED it!

This video is 5min long {sorry!} but explains kipping hand stand push-up nicely.

Performing the kip instead of strict hand stand push-ups is comparable to the kipping pull-up instead of strict pull-ups: for a WOD you will be able to get more repetitions in because it's easier than strict.

But go ahead and try strict hand stand push-ups, too! Just find a clear wall in your house, put a few pillows down for your head and go at it :) I usually put two abdominal mats down for my head and then I go up into a hand stand with my hands on either side of the mat and slightly in front of the mats.

Some pointers for the kip:
-keep your legs straight
-keep your bottom against the wall
-keep your abdomen tight
-press your tongue against the roof of your mouth to ensure your neck is tight and stable
-bring your knees to your chest and then use your hips to spring your legs up while your push-up with your hands

Here is my wall!

Now if you feel so inclined, here is a WOD I made up using this new skill:)

WOD:

15min AMRAP {As Many Repetitions As Possible}

3 hand stand push-ups {strict or kipping}
7 sit ups
10 air squats

{Cheering on teammates last week!}

P.S. it helps to chalk up your hands.
P.P.S please be careful!

Hero WOD

"Hotshots 19" Hero WOD

On Saturday 31st, we did a Hero WOD {like many other Crossfit affiliates} to honor the Prescott Granite Mountain Hotshots who lost their lives on 6/30/13 fighting the Yarnell Hill fire and to donate to the families left behind. 

 {Post WOD pic of the 9am group-boy, was it rough!}

It was special for me to do this WOD because Prescott, AZ, is my hometown, I went to high school with some of these fallen men, and we worked out at the same gym {Captain Crossfit}.
I walked in that morning with my Captain Crossfit tank on, wrist band, and an attitude of "I'm going to kill this WOD!"
For me, I did because I gave it everything I had.

 {Post WOD for the 12pm group. One of my favorite all time coaches, Chris, is fourth in from the left!}

At Captain Crossfit in Prescott, AZ, many top Crossfit athletes attended the filmed event, such as Crossfit Games winner, Rich Froning. Also, one of my best friends, Amber, drove up from Mesa to do the WOD :) Love that girl! She is amazing.

Here is some footage of the event...

This short film makes me want to cry. I know, I'm a big baby!

This was a tragic occurrence, but I was happy to see my hometown community come together to support the families of these men. I was also impressed to see the Crossfit community come together to honor and support these men and their families. I am grateful to be apart of wonderful communities!

Fit Friday

Hey Primalites!
Do you remember my favorite olympic lift?

I'll give you a hint...

Okay, that is probably hard to read... My favorite lift is the hang power clean!

Here is a video to jog the memory:

Do you remember this video? Miranda Oldroyd is amazing :)

Miranda points out the difference between a power clean and a squat clean: there is a slight squat in the power clean and a full squat in the squat clean.
She also points out to use a hook grip {remember, when you are pulling the weight to use a hook grip by wrapping your fingers OVER your thumbs on the bar}.

So, let's review: Feet shoulder width apart. Hands are slightly past shoulder width on bar. Hook grip. Deadlift {back flat, butt out, head forward, bar close to legs and using legs pull the bar up along legs} to above the knees-this is the hang position. Keep back flat. Head neutral and looking forward. Knees bent in that slight squat. In a fast movement, slightly jump and shrug shoulders. Now as that bar is moving up, get under the bar with the slight squat and ensure bar gets to the shoulders and then stand up while keeping elbows high. If you let your elbows down, that bar is most likely going to go down or pull you forward.

Here is the WOD we did today:

500 meter row

21-15-9

Hang Power Clean (95# for men/65# for women)
Hand Release Push-ups

500 meter row

Here was my finishing numbers for the last 500m row.

Also, if you haven't heard or done a hand release push-up, this is done by going down into a push-up until your body touches the floor, then lift your hands up off the ground, put them back to the ground and push back up.

Don't forget to eat primal!

Here are my recent breakfasts': frittatas and eggs with avocado {and, of course, bacon on the side!}

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Fit Friday

It was a rough week back at Crossfit for me with being out of town and having visitors these past two weeks.
My first WOD back was tabatas. Tabatas are fun {and fun to say! tabata tabata tabata.}, short and intense workouts. Like, 4 minutes short. That's it.

Tabata: 8 intervals of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for a specified exercise or movement {eg. squats or kettle bell swings}. To "score" yourself in Crossfit you use the least amount of repetitions from the 8 intervals. Tabatas are great to use to determine progress, just like we discussed with the WOD "Fran" to use as a basis for progress.

Explanation of tabata and the research behind it.

An example of a tabata workout using squats. 

Do not feel inclined to watch the full 4min because I am sure you will get the picture within the first minute.

But, it is fun to watch how fast these women are!

Now you try!

WOD:

Tabata of one of the following...

squats

push-ups

pull-ups

box jumps

burpees

Have fun!

Why you should NOT let yourself go

Hey primals!

I have missed being on the blog. For the past month I have been busy with visiting family and friends, vice versa, and other festivities! Recently, my brothers came to visit. We explored New England, celebrated a belated birthday, and showed them the best treats in the area {which are NOT primal}! 

Last week I volunteered as a camp nurse at my church's Girl's Camp {which is why I missed the Fit Friday!} and it was a blast! The conclusion of all this rambling {besides my absence} is a point I want to make:

Do NOT let yourself go!

With all the birthday bashes, New England exploring with family, Girl's Camp, and road trips I let myself go with my primal habits. I started with foraging and then let myself have a treat every once in a while which turned into a more often occurrence even while eating primal during meals.

My results: I feel sick. I am bloated {I look 3 months pregnant!}. I am no longer regular {TMI?}. I constantly have headaches. I have zero energy. I feel like I am in a mental fog. I am sleepy. I do not think clearly. I have difficulty focusing. I have a difficult time working out. I have gained some unwanted inches on areas of my body.

Pardon my bluntness, but...

I FEEL LIKE CRAP!!! 

Did you know that when you have sugars it affects AND effects your body for 2 whole weeks?!

It is not worth it, folks. I do not feel we should be strict with ourselves and stress over the littlest thing, but...

Do NOT let yourself go. 

Your WILL be miserable.

P.S. My little project is taking longer than I thought and is turning into a bigger project than planned, so please be patient :)

Fit Friday

I apologize, I have been MIA this week, folks! {due to visitors and an upset stomach} 

So, I'll leave you with an easy home WOD that my brother and I did the other day {after my stomach calmed down-too many nutty bars during the weekend, perhaps? I try to live a little;)} 

Here it is:

For Time

100 Burpees

Do you remember how to do a burpee? This will jog your memory:

FYI: you do not have to do a muscle up at the end ;) 

A couple tips... those of you with long legs {like me} spread your legs when you go into the push-up to reduce the amount of length you have to move your body to and from as well as time taken to do so. Another tip, bring your hands behind your head and clap when you jump up from the push-up to extend your abdominal muscles creating a contraction in your abs.

A quick review on the primal blueprint pyramid...

The majority of your food should come from saturated fats and vegetables. This gives your body healthy fats to store and burn {when needed} for energy as well as nutrients and carbohydrates.
I remember talking to a Nurse Practitioner who I used to work with about 'The Primal Blueprint'. She exclaimed about not eating grains/wheat, "But you need carbs!" I explained to her yes that is true, but do vegetables not have carbs? We can find other healthier sources for carbs. But in the end, it's really animal fat that our body rather store and burn for energy.

Here is what I had for breakfast the other morning!

Saturated fats, vegetables, and healthy fats :) and SO delish!