Monday, January 25, 2010

Nutritional Challenge...

Ok... here it is - the Nutritional Challenge for those of you who were curious from my Facebook post.

You do not need to be here in Portland.
You can ABSOLUTELY lean on me for answers to your questions...

The challenge is to eat a STRICT PALEO DIET for 30 days.
Total CLEAN eating...

I will post each of your scores so you can see how you are comparing to others who are participating.

Anyone can do ANYTHING for 30 days.

TIME LINE - February 1st - March 2nd... 30 Days

In all reality, it is very simple:
Lean Meat, Veggies and Fruit, Nuts and Seeds, little starch, NO SUGAR
No processed foods.
No packaged meals.
No Dairy.
No Gluten.
No Grains.
No Legumes (including Tofu, Peanuts, Peanut Butter, etc...)

Read this BLOG -Whole9
Resources: Whole 9 Resources
Use me for reference - mike@maximumrukus.com
Post Comments to this Blog Post below

The Rules:
*Email me you Score Daily - scoring below
*Commit to this for 30 days
*Exercise 4-5 times a week (great workouts posted daily on CrossFit.com)
*Sleep minimum 7 hours a day - Extra points earned for 9+ hours (including naps)
*Take a minimum of 1-2 rest Days a week - assuming you are working out on the other 5-6 days
*Consume 3-5g of Fish Oil a Day
*Eat Protein/Carbs (through Veggies and Fruits) and Fat at EVERY MEAL AND SNACK

Scoring:
Four Points: (100% Compliance) Paleo - You are a hunter-gatherer (meat, veggies, some fruit, nuts and seeds).

Three Points: (99% Compliance) One time during the day, you had a little something that wasn't Paleo, but wasn't horrible. For example, some peanuts, green beans, or hummus, a little cream in your coffee.

Two Points: (90-98% Compliance) You slipped...but didn't get hurt. You had a small amount of "not real food". Maybe it was a good day, but you couldn't resist having a beer at the family BBQ, or you finished your kids' mac 'n cheese, but the rest of your day was solid.

One Point: (80-89% Compliance) Most of your day was on track, but there was one full meal that you fell off the wagon. Maybe it was the rolls at dinner, a sandwich, pasta, a soda, juice or bag of popcorn, two slices of pizza, or a drink or two...Not three.

Zero Points: You had a bad day and made more than one solid mistake. Three drinks, dessert, a couple slices of pizza or more than one processed meal. You have no idea how many calories you ate and forget about the fat... that piece of cake did you in.

BONUS POINTS:
1. You get one extra bonus point for everyday you work out for more than 45 minutes. The benefits of a healthy diet are magnified when combined with training program that combines constantly varied, high intensity, functional movements. You may only earn 1 bonus workout point per day. Train Hard. Eat Clean.

2. You get one bonus point for every hour of sleep OVER 9 hours (this is total hours of sleep within a 24 hour period... naps count).

3. You get one bonus point for every 15 minute stretch session you spend working on your body OUTSIDE of class (max 1 point per day)


Who's in???

Sunday, January 17, 2010

5 RM Snatch



Today I focused on my Olympic Lifts... the Snatch.
I worked for the better part of an hour trying to find my 5 Rep Max weight.
So many muscle groups are involved with getting the weight off the ground and instantly overhead.
Today, I was able to build up to 125# for 5 reps.
It has been over a year, but the last time I recorded a Snatch workout, I was going for a 1 rep max and only achieved 85#. My notes mentioned that I was working on form - I guess I have improved :)

Monday, January 11, 2010

New Plans...

Ok - so here is what I have picked up over the last 10 days...
I recently went to a local CrossFit gym and had a whole Bio-Signature make up done on my eating, exercise, and sleeping habits. A 12-point Body Fat measurement assessment was done along with a couple other little tests and a questionnaire. I have a diet, exercise, and supplement plan that I am on (3 days into it). I was surprised by the feedback...

For 12 years I had been Vegan. There are some challenges that come along with eating this way, especially for such a long period of time. One of the biggest challenges is the breakdown of your stomach lining and the reduction of proper stomach acids to effectively pull the nutrients from your 'fuel'. I have been eating a very Paleo diet since July and strict Paleo since October. Paleo is about as dramatically difference from Vegan as you can imagine. Lots of Lean Meat, Veggies, Fruit, Nuts and Seeds... No Sugar, No Dairy, No Grains. Foods in their natural state and according to the season.

I have seen great improvements in my performance since July, but I was kind of expecting more - especially since I had made such a dramatic diet change. Well, now that I have found out about this stomach acid thing (along with a host of other supplements), I am EAGER to see what will await.

My diet has changed slightly - now I eat 1g Protein for every pound of Lean Muscle Mass (so 163g Protein a day!!!).
Also, I have included iodine, Vitamin D3, Selenium, Fish Oil (a lot of it) and a high quality multi vitamin.
The timing of my eating has also changed... specific Post Workout Meals and ensuring I am eating enough meals to get all of that protein into my day.

The last couple of changes have to do with 'How I am exercising' and Sleep.
I am on a Performance/Strength focus, so more heavy lifting and focus on skills, less fast pace/intense Met-Cons.
Sleep for recovery- as much as possible and in a DARK DARK room... minimum 7 hours - preferably +9 (I have not been able to do over 7 yet)

I will keep this thread going as stuff changes... Should be fun.

Now - here is an example of 'Heavy Lifting' routines:

As Many Rounds as Possible in 20 minutes
1 Deadlift - 80% of 5Rep Max (for me = 245lbs)
1 Pull Up with a 20# dumbbell on my feet
3 Deadlifts
3 weighted pull ups
5 Deadlifts
5 weighted pullups

I was able to complete 6 rounds! 2 days later and I am still feeling it.

Yesterday I worked on my Bench Press, looking for my 5 Rep Max... I found it at 175#
I finished up the workout out with a quick Met-Con:
21-15-9
Kettlebell Swing with 53#
Box Jumps onto a 20" Box

Thursday, December 31, 2009

One of my new favorite sites...

Whole 9 Life

Read all about 'Peanut Butter' and why you should avoid it...
Peanut-Manifesto

Thursday - New Year's Eve...



What a wet rainy day. I don't think it stopped once.

Today's workout was supposed to be 'Angie' (from the main CrossFit site)
100 Pull Ups, 100 Push Ups, 100 Sit Ups, 100 Squats

I scaled it to 1/2 Angie (50 of each). It took 9:10.

I feel a little run down this week. I may have done a little too much on my last 3 workout days as well as the fact that I have not had a great deal of sleep in the past two days... AND my diet has been a little less than stellar.

I'll start fresh tomorrow. I am actually impressed that I squeaked out what I did today :)

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Tuesday

Busy Day... I once again had a 5000M Row as my workout (from the CrossFit Main site). The nice thing is that I knew what to expect. I was able to do a little strategy. I brought my time down to 20:06. It was still very mentally tough, but I made it.

Later on in the day, I spent about an hour over at Portland CrossFit. Those guys are great. I am trying to learn as much as I can from them. They have been gracious enough to let me come in on Tuesdays and Thursdays to observe, partake, and just ask questions. This is what I love about the CrossFit community. They are so open and excited to share their knowledge.

Well, I went ahead and participated in the 4:30 class. The workout was tough. One that I have seen before, but have never done.

Handstand Push Ups 15-13-11-9-7-5-3-1
L- Pull Ups 1-3-5-7-9-11-13-15

You complete 15 Handstand Push Ups then complete 1 L-Pull Up.
Next - 13 Handstand Push Ups and 3 L-Pull Ups.

Keep working your way down the numbers... This was tough.
I did it prescribed, but it took me a little over 30 minutes. Rochelle (one of the owners and a total BAD ASS) completed it in something like 20 or 21 minutes. She is amazing!!!

Well, needless to say, I slept well Tuesday night.

Wednesday is a Rest Day - finally.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Monday - 1 Rep Snatch

Ok - Monday was a 1 Rep Max Day... but for the Snatch.
I am not very strong when it comes to some of the Olympic Lifts.

I worked with some light weight for quite a while until I felt comfortable adding on the pounds.
I got 135# up over head, but the form was UGLY. I decided to call it - as I don't want to let my body think that it was acceptable.

Here are some amazing video's of some talented Oly Lifters who make it look easy.