Today marks Day 35 of our 40 day Paleo Primer, and with that, means the end is in sight.  With just 5 days to go, I know people are already planning their 'celebration' meals that they haven't eaten for the past month.  While that's all well and good, I strongly urge you to not dive face first into everything non paleo all in one meal or even in one day.

For the past 35 days, if you've maintained a strict paleo regimen void of grain, dairy and legumes, your body has healed itself of the damage that those foods are known to cause.  Chances are, you're feeling, sleeping, training, thinking and even working better than you have in awhile.  If you leap off the paleo wagon so to speak with the enthusiasm of a gold rusher trying to strike it rich in the mountains of Colorado, not only will you feel terrible, but you won't know which of the foods you ate made you feel that way.  It could be one or all, you don't know.

The reason I bring this up is, I've done that very thing.  I worked hard to finish a 40 day challenge, saw some great results, was feeling better than I had in my life, and then I proceeded to eat a gluten filled pizza with beer and a milkshake to finish it all off.  Huge mistake.  Not only did I crash big time from the sugar overload, I had some not so pleasant reactions to the food and I wasn't sure which one was responsible (I found out later that they all were culprits in their own way).

I'm not saying that you can't indulge in non paleo fare after this Friday (Day 40) is over.  I just strongly advise that you take it slow and really pay attention to how you're feeling after you eat something that is grain, dairy or legume related.  You've worked so hard to make it through these 40 days, why not make it worthwhile and take it slow enough to note what foods you might be sensitive to without realizing it before?  You owe it to yourself.  Pizza will always be there waiting.

Recipe of the week: Shepherd's Pie

~ Coach Sean (Seamus)

Anyone can sign up for the Open and Register for the team. The Open workout from CrossFit Headquarters will be our class workout every Friday with  Sunday being a makeup day during Open Gym. Even if you’re not competing, it will be fun to do the workout or a scaled version as a gym and see where you stand within the rest of the world.

Here’s a link with more info: http://games.crossfit.com/about-the-games

Please contact me with any questions: liz@dogtowncrossfit.com

Due to the MU Workshop and the Mobility Clinic the gym is closed today. 

Here is a little something fun for you since you are being deprived of your self inflicted Sunday torture.

3 Rounds for Time:

30 Hollow Rocks

50 Push Ups

75 Squats

Hello DogTowners,

With the 2012 CrossFit Games competition season rapidly approaching, I wanted to bring some of our new members up to speed with what the CrossFit Games are all about.

A Brief History:

The CrossFit Games were established in 2007 as a way to determine the world’s fittest male and female athletes. The workouts were kept secret from the competitors in order to protect the true randomness needed to test an athletes’ ability to be generally physically prepared. The winners were determined by who did more work faster during each of the events.

Over the course of the next few years, the CrossFit Games grew at an incredible rate. The field of athletes tripled in size, and the competition expanded globally to every continent in the world. 

The venue for “The Games” has moved from a ranch in Aromas, CA the first few years, to The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA (a world class sports complex) in 2010.

Last year, the first big name sponsorship sunk its teeth into CrossFit. Officially known as “The 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games”. With it’s new deep-pocketed sponsor, “The Games” boasted a cash prize of $250,000 each for top male and female athlete.

I like to think of the CrossFit Games as the Olympics of what we do as CrossFitters. Yes, there are other competitions out there. But, none are on as grand a scale as the CrossFit Games every July.

Competition:

The 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games season starts next week. It is a three stage test of fitness: The Open (Sectionals), Regionals, and the world championsips (The CrossFit Games).

“The Open” or “Sectionals” round starts next week. This stage of the competition is open to any and all who wish to test their fitness.

In order to identify the fittest man and woman, everyone in the world is invited to compete in the Open. Each week from February 22-March 25, an Open workout is posted and everyone does it. They have the choice to have their performance validated at a CrossFit affiliate (DogTown), or submit a videotape of their performance to the Games website. The Open will consist of five workouts over five weeks.

During the next 5 weeks you will see some of our members performing these workouts. They will have a judge (usually one of us coaches) validating their range of motion and counting their reps.

At the end of the 5 week Open competition, the top 60 athletes in each geographical region advance to next round known as Regionals.

No more than three men and women will advance from Regionals to the third and final stage of the competition – The CrossFit Games at the Home Depot Center.

What This Means For You:

So what does all this mean to you as members of DogTown CrossFit?

DogTown will designate one day of the week (Friday) and program the Open workout as your workout of the day.

So even if you’re not signed up to compete in the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games, you will still have the opportunity to perform the workouts. As usual, you will be able to scale the workouts to your current level of fitness.

The only difference between a competitive Games athlete and a non-competitive Games athlete will be the inclusion of a judge to validate the athletes’ scores.

I competed in last years Open workouts and had a great time. The workouts were challenging and fun (well, fun to a CrossFitter). I used the Open workouts to test my then current level of fitness. I pushed myself hard so I knew where I stood compared to other CrossFit athletes around the world.

Aside from a few technical difficulties (let’s hope that doesn’t happen again this year) it was a great experience for me.

As non-competitve Games athletes at DogTown, make what you want of the next 5 weeks. Test your current fitness level during the Open workouts on Fridays. Push yourself hard and see where your limits are. This is a great way to push yourself over a lull in your workouts or fitness plateau you may experiencing.

Cheer and encourage your fellow DogTowners on. This competition should be a bonding experience for a gym. The whole gym. Competitive, yes. But at the end of the day, we are all members of the greatest gym in the world, DogTown CrossFit!

If you have any questions about the CrossFit Games or how to sign up for this year’s competition, see me at the gym.

Coach Mike

Remember to sign up for my Muscle Up Workshop this Sunday February 19th from 9-11 am. We will get Muscle up specific and break this puppy down for you.  The two hours includes lecture, hands on training, diagnosis, and ways to trouble shoot problems with this skill.

Please email me with questions or more info at 

dusty@dogtowncrossfit.com

Make friends with your local farmers:

Until recently, I had a great connection at the Mar Vista farmers market.  He was my go to guy for beef, goat, and lamb.  All grass fed.  He always was willing to give me great deals (especially if I had cash) and talk food.  Sadly, he moved away and now I have to start all over again with a different meat source.  But I imagine that I've saved hundreds of dollars just from him giving me little discounts here and there.

If you don't already have one, get a Costco membership:  

This is a great place to stock up on frozen meats and fish.  Many of them grass fed or wild caught.  From wild alaskan salmon fillets in the frozen section (10 6oz fillets for $20 is hard to beat) to bison burgers and steaks and even cage free eggs.  They even have some great chicken apple sausages in packs of 15 for $15.  Great stuff for post workout meals, breakfast or even quick snacks.  If done right, you can easily get 2 or 3 weeks worth of your protein for 100 bucks or less. 

If you can, get extra freezer space:

It will pay for itself in no time since you'll be able to take advantage of sales on quality meat and fishwhentheycome along.  I finally got a freezer chest after wanting one and when a sale consisting of grass fed ground beef for $2/lb came along, I was happy I had the space.  I ended up getting about 45lbs all said and done.  Which is a lot I know, but it will last about 6 months and all I spent was $90 for the sale price as opposed to about $450 of the same weight at regular price.  In that single purchase, my freezer paid for itself.

Produce:

It's definitely important to get a variety of vegetables so you don't get bored (unless you are perfectly content to eat spinach and broccoli all the time).  In order to get the most nutritional bang for your buck, do your best to stay in season, and get as dense a source of vitamins and minerals as possible.  Go for kale, spinach, broccoli instead of iceberg, romaine or cucumbers.  Produce will be much more affordable (not too mention taste better) if they're in season and didn't travel half a world away to get to your plate.  The folks over at Whole9 have an excellent guide as to what produce is in season when.  As well as what you should or shouldn't worry about buying organic.  I highly reccomend that you check that out here: Whole9 Produce Guide

Don't forget to check the frozen foods section for some veggies.  These can be great sources of vitamins and minerals for the money.  They're great for stir fry's or even cooking them up with your eggs in the morning.  Remember, you're going to want at least half your plate covered with veggies so get them as inexpensively as you can.

Hopefully this helps eliminate some of the worry that eating paleo is 'too expensive'.  With a little practice, you will be able to find ways to make your food budget  work as hard as possible, ensuring you eat as healthy as possible.  Remember: "Pay now, live later".

As always, if you want to explore paleo further and help with getting you to your goals with nutrition, hit me up for a consult and we can get you dialed in.  sean@dogtowncrossfit.com

Recipe of the week: Thai Shrimp Coconut Curry

~ Coach Sean (Seamus McMuffin)

Hello DogTowners,

A topic I sometimes do not get to review with the new trainees I coach here at DogTown is gym etiquette. In an attempt to get our up-and-coming athletes ramped up for regular classes, teaching proper form, range of motion, and safety sometimes supersedes gym etiquette.

Many of the elements that make up proper gym etiquette are unspoken doctrines. So if some of the following “gym rules” don’t sound familiar to you, don’t worry, it’s not your fault!

Almost all gym etiquettes are directly or indirectly created to keep trainees safe while in the gym. Don’t be confused; gym etiquette is not something that another member does that annoys you. There is a time and place to air your grievances at DogTown (the yearly holiday party known as “Festivus”).

Let’s discuss a few common gym etiquettes that I see the need to “review” here at DogTown:

1. Standing too close to a trainee who is lifting = This can be very distracting (and potentially unsafe) to an athlete. We all need to be cheered and motivated, but give the athlete a reasonable lifting radius so they can concentrate on their lift. Also, stay out of a lifters line of sight. Standing in front of an athlete before or during their lift is very distracting.
2. Lift Timing = This is another distracting event to an athlete about to lift or performing a lift. Relate lift timing to bowling. Usually two bowlers playing side by side in their lanes will let one go first. Same concept at the gym. Obviously, at DogTown, we can’t wait for every trainee to lift one at a time. Just try to be conscious of the lifters on your sides and directly in front of you. This can prevent a possible accident happening if one trainee ditches their lift while another trainee is performing theirs.
3. Bumper Plates = We all love bumper plates. But, a few notes about them. Some trainees have learned that by leaning them upright and rolling them to and from their barbell makes set up and breakdown more efficient. However, this can lead to a laundry list of possible accidents (i.e. plates rolling into another trainee’s lifting space or the trainee themselves). If the gym is busy, please do not roll your bumper plates during set up or breakdown. Related to rolling, is throwing your bumper plates. If your bumper plate does not land flat, it has the potential to roll into an athlete’s lifting space, or their leg.
4. Clean Up = Many of you DogTowners do a great job regarding this topic. After your workout, when you can see straight again, please clean up your workout area. Not only should you be cleaning up your area, but when you return the equipment, please make sure the equipment is returned to where it belongs. Most notably, the bumper plate stacks. The 10’s on top of other 10’s, 25’s on top of other 25’s, and so on. Keeping the gym clean and organized is everyone’s responsibility.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please talk to me at the gym.

Gym etiquette is a unique element to a successful gym. I have worked in many fitness gyms, and proper etiquette keeps new and experienced trainees happy and safe.

Coach Mike

So we're just starting our 4th week of our 40 day Paleo Primer which means that we're just over half way through!  I've heard a lot of people say here and there that sticking to a strict paleo diet is hard.  They always seem to buckle under pressure from their friends, family, etc.  There's always some event coming up that is 'impossible' to stay strict paleo be it the weekend, going out with friends and co workers after a long day at work, or most recently (yesterday), the Super Bowl.  I hear that 'it's just too hard' over and over again.  My answer for that is: No, it's not.  Quitting crystal meth or heroin or nicotine is HARD.  

Sticking to a strict paleo diet void of grains, dairy and legumes may be inconvenient, but it's certainly doable and once you figure out a method of insuring that you eat that way, the ability to stay away from those foods will become easier and easier.  Like anything worth doing, it will involve some effort.  Trust me, the amount of effort pales in comparison to the overall reward you receive.  Over time, you will naturally gravitate towards healthier food choices, even if you are in a situation where most of the food is grain, legume or dairy based.  Those salad greens and chicken fajitas minus the tortillas (exactly what I had yesterday) work perfectly.  There's no reason to feel any pressure from your friends to gulp down beers/sodas and tortilla chips.  We're not in middle school anymore so there shouldn't be a worry of succumbing to peer pressure anyway!

I want to be clear that it is not my intention to come off as too harsh in this.  After all, I'm just telling it like it is.  Some people need a little tough love.  In the end, the only one responsible for what you put in your mouth is YOU.  If you're really having a hard time with keeping it strict, please, by all means, hit me up at the gym or via email (sean@dogtowncrossfit.com) and we can figure out how to get you over the hurdle.  There's just under 3 weeks to go with our Paleo Primer.  I encourage you to go all out and eat as strict as possible and get the maximum benefit for eating this way.  You'll feel better for it. 

Recipe of the Week: Crock Pot Shredded Beef

~Sean (Seamus McMuffin)