--The belief that I can be prepared for anything at any time no matter if it's physical, mental, or emotional.
--A sport where I can compete.
Just yesterday, I competed in my second Crossfit Total Competition. This involves the following foundational lifts: The Deadlift; The Strict Press; and the Back Squat. You can read about the rules here, but essentially you get three chances at each lift. Your "TOTAL" is the sum of all three of your lifts.
If you asked anyone who knew me growing up if they could see me actually lifting weights, they may keel over in an exhaustion of laughter. Nonetheless, at age 40, I love it. However, at 6'2" tall and weighing in at 252 lbs., a part of my brain states that I should be stronger than I am. Yet, the rational side says, "Chill dude. It's not about where you are. It's about where you want to go." With that being said, here's my point.
A year ago I posted the following numbers for my Crossfit Total:
Back Squat: 300 lbs.
Strict Press: 145 lbs.
Deadlift: 375 lbs.
Crossfit Total = 820
Yesterday, a year later.....
Back Squat: 330 lbs.
Strict Press: 175 lbs.
Deadlift: 420 lbs.
Crossfit Total = 925
Here is my scorecard....
So I'm 40 years old. I weigh 252 lbs. I've maintained my weight over the past year. I'm stronger than I've ever been, and my endurance is pretty good, I think, for a guy my size. But after yesterday's competition, I was able to articulate what I've been thinking about for some time:
My New Goals
--I want to decrease my body fat percentage.
--I want to keep getting stronger.
--I want to increase my endurance.
There are many byproducts that will become from these, and the above three goals are what I've come to believe will aide me in being the healthiest me possible.
How am I going to do all of that? Great question! Stay tuned for a few upcoming posts as I will share the steps I am taking.
Well I neglected that yesterday was actually the 30th picture, but here's one more for extra credit. Today was a classic Crossfit work out at CFC. Fight Gone Bad is a crazy, hard workout. Here's my results.
And here is an explanation of what Fight Gone Bad is all about from the founder of Crossfit, Greg Glassman.
It's been 57 days. Why the lack of posts? I think my Primary Food got the best of me. With two kids in school and a wife getting back into the work world, life at home is a bit different. Time becomes challenging, and by the time a first and second grader get to bed, I'm not too far behind.
However, I am vowing to make a change, as I enjoy the creative outlet keeping the blog provides.
In the past 57 days, I've accomplished a couple of things I'm proud of:
1. I'm officially certified as a Health and Nutrition Coach after a year studying at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I'm currently working with a few passionate clients helping them increase their energy, make smarter food choices, and attain optimal healthy habits that are sustainable. I've also had a couple of speaking engagements at a local university, and I'm looking forward to starting my first women's group with some local educators.
2. I'm officially a Crossfit Level 1 Certified Coach/Trainer. Many of you know, Crossfit has become my sport of choice. It has changed my life and my outlook on fitness and health. While many folks think Crossfit is for crazy, young people doing crazy exercises, the reality is this could not be further from the truth. Crossfit can be for everyone and anyone. I'm currently coaching a few classes per week at CrossfitCarmel where I love helping others achieve their athletic goals.
You can check out my Health Coaching page by clicking on the image below.
I'd also love it if you'd head over to my Facebook page and give my page a like.
With all that being said, I am reminded that this blog started as a creative outlet to keep myself accountable to leading a healthier lifestyle. That was almost two years ago before I knew what health coaching and Crossfit were. The blog was a way to keep me accountable to me. As a Health Coach, I am always talking to clients about accountability. So it's time to practice what I preach....
I'm going to steal, lift, pilfer if you will the idea my lovely wife has for her gem of a blog. Only I'm going to do it through the eyes of being healthy. Starting tomorrow, I will post a picture each day for the next 30 days complete with a brief caption. The rule is, it has to relate to living a healthy lifestyle. Why 30 days? Because it takes that long to establish a habit, and I hope to learn more about me though this exercise as well as keeping the blog breathing.
So I invite you to stop by daily for a peak. My hope is that it keeps me accountable to tightening up areas of my own health journey that never ends and provides others with insight, new ideas, or inspiration to do things differently.
Back in August it seemed like it was a good idea to put a challenge in front of me. Something to aim for. Some carrot to dangle to keep me motivated to maintain a sound diet and consistent workout regiment. Being a part of Crossfit Carmel means being immersed in a community of like-minded folks. So when a few fellow workout buddies signed up for the 2011 Indiana Tough Mudder, the carrot dangled. Now that the experience is behind me, several thoughts continue to swim through my mind.
Training for the Tough Mudder was simple. Crossfit. It's the perfect combination of endurance, weight training, body weight, cardio, and mental training. While I've listened to my fellow gym buddies discuss how Crossfit Endurance is all that is needed to train for longer distances, and while two fellow workout pals solely used Crossfit as their means for their first Ironman, I continued to have my doubts pinning my thoughts to my 6'2", 240 lbs. frame. "What if....." consumed me. But I trusted what I was told and my gut.
Those who know me clearly know I'm a bit consumed with planning at times. While I want to know directions, departure time, what to wear, where to park, etc., this event was different. I did not take much time to think about the course length, the crazy amount of obstacles, or the weather conditions until the week of the event. For that, I'm glad, because I may have quit before I started.
Plan and simple: The Tough Mudder is NO JOKE. But in the back of my mind I must admit I thought, "They make those videos to intimidate you. There is no way it's all that." Ha! There is not enough room in cyberspace to adequately share what was all entailed. Here's the course map. You decide.
Thirty of us all set out on this 40 degree day with a windchill in the 30's and 20's at time. The plan was that we were all to stay together in packs. No one gets left behind. Everyone finishes. When I said this was no joke, I was not kidding. This realization was never more evident than when the mood shift of all my teammates smacked me in the face harder than the wind that was whipping at my cheeks. Our group went from laughing and tossing a football while running, to a more solemn, introspective quietness. I could hear others thinking, "What have we really gotten ourselves into?" But no one dared say it. I kept thinking, "Now come on. We are not climbing Everest." I was thinking, "Maybe some of my friends were right. Maybe I am stupid. Why WOULD I want to do such a thing?" And as quickly as I asked myself, I answered. "Because it's there. Because I can learn from this. Because I want to see how far I can push myself. Because I can."
And so roughly 4 miles in and with only 25% of the course behind us, two of our most fit athletes at the gym could not warm their bodies and had to call it a day. As I became a bit scared knowing these folks are physcial specimans of fitness, I wondered, doubted, and went through some serious mental ping pong. I was scared I'd get stuck under muddy water. I was worried I might twist an ankle and not be able to make it to the end. I was fearful of hypothermia. I hate, hate, hate being cold and there was no alternative on this day. Cold was normal. At one point I found myself alone for about 30 minutes wondering how I got separated from my team, but I had to keep my body moving through the course as I felt my quads, hip flexors, and calf muscles tightening up. It was at this point where I was trying to fight off fear. I struck up a conversation with a 48 year old, grey haired guy like me for a bit. He wished me good luck and we separated as I traversed down a steep hill with mud so caked on my shoes you could not really make out that I was even wearing shoes. At the bottom of the hill I saw a pack of red shirts just like mine and had caught up to a group of my teammates. I discovered I was with a middle pack. There were a handful ahead of them and a few behind, so our plan was still intact. No one finishes alone.
I stuck with this group for about two more hours. The mood of the group fluctuated between collegial encouragement, to silent fortitude. We all knew what we were thinking, but we made the most of it. And somehow with about 3 miles left, my teammate Derek and I found ourselves alone the rest of the way. Our commitment: Attempt every obstacle. Keep moving. Be positive. Derek was great. He did not mind that I could no longer run for long periods of time. My right hip flexor was shot and my right calf was cramping. We crawled face down in mud. We got through waste deep water, and we waited 20 minutes to get across a 3 inch wood plank over a pool of freezing waste deep water. (We both made it half way until we dove in.) And when we saw the finish line, we got a bit giddy. Derek, who got separated from his wife on the course three hours earlier kicked it into another gear. We finised together.
Here's what I took from this experience:
Part of this was indeed stupid.
Being pushed to my limits only makes me stronger.
Teamwork and togetherness can make anything happen.
I now know what being uncomfortable really feels like.
I'm in the best shape of my life: I never questioned my physical condition.
Crossfit and proper eating prepared me for this.
I'm more mentally strong than I allowed myself to think.
I'm just as happy for and proud of my teammates as I am of myself for doing this. I now believe in the Tough Mudder Pledge
Once upon a time, there was an overweight 30 year-old who lost 68 pounds using Weight Watchers. This teacher and soon-to-be-father-of-two ran his first half marathon and over the next few years ran three of them. Soon enough, the pounds found him again, all but 9 of them.
Two years, four globo-gyms, another trip to Weight Watchers, and a personal trainer later, this thirty-something said to his good friend, "I wish there was a place with a boot camp atmosphere, that was as into working out and keeping me healthy in a sustainable way." Enter: Crossfit.
Now, at age 39, this "young" man is in the physical shape of his life. He's a school counselor by day, a father, husband, and Health and Nutrition Coach as well. At the same time, this foodie/fitness junkie recently pontificated the following: "Now that I've changed my body, my strength, endurance, and relationship with food, what do I want to do? What is next? And so he came to a crossroads. Enter: The Crossfit Carmel Training Challenge.
He became part of an eight person team that trains and tracks food together with three goals in mind:
So what does this entail for this almost 40-year-old father of two/husband to a wife who has gone back to work/School Counselor/Health and Nutrition Coach? It means if he wants to lose the weight to be more competitive in the gym....if he wants to do more than five pull ups without having to drop off the bar, if he wants to run longer distances, if he wants to finally shed the last-to-go-belly fat, then he must, I repeat, he must without fail and with full focus do the following:
1. Write out his goals on paper.
2. Make those goals visible and read them every day.
3. Plan his meals in advance in a reasonable time-efficient manner.
4. Decrease weekend beer consumption.
5. Work on shoulder and hamstring mobility every day. EVERY. DAY.
6. Track food intake
7. Track workout information.
8. Be mindful of food intake while still indulging from time to time.
9:35 a.m.: I'm in heat 5 of the first workout which is......
-In 5 minutes do a 400 meter run carrying a 90 lb. sandbag, then row the remaining time. Your total calories rowing is your score.
small talk w/my judge
trying to hang on
9:40 a.m.: I wanted to pass out!
9:55 a.m.: Recovered and excited about workout #2
10:55: I'm in heat 7 of workout #2 which entails: 7 minutes of as many rounds as possible of....225 lb. deadlift w/a fat bar/20 sit up's on the GHD machine/30 double unders.
deadlift
I'm actually asking God for help here! This sucked!
10:42 a.m.: I thought I may never get over the GHD sit ups!
11:00 a.m.: Excited about the last workout and watching the rest of the field compete.
2:00: p.m.: I am in heat 5 of the last workout which is: 5 minutes of as many rounds as possible of 14 box jumps (30 inch box) and 7 kettlebell snatches of 50 lbs.
2:05 p.m.: Proud of myself for choosing to compete with some seriously elite athletes in a great environment of competition.
This was a day full of eye opening experiences. Sure, there were crazy fit people there. Sure, there were folks there with as much body fat as my pinky toe. But there were also folks like me just trying to see where they stand. Overall, I finished 53rd out of 71 male competitors that day. However, that mattered little to me. What was invigorating was to put myself in a situation that was unfamiliar and just have some fun working as hard as I could. Here's a few of my other favorite other photos from the day.......
Shirt says, "It's o.k. to stare. Just don't interrupt."
Not the best quality shot, but I love the message.
This Jedi warrior's picture hangs in my office. I work by day as a school counselor helping kids manage their stress/anxiety. I assist with getting many of them organized, and I want them to realize that if they want to make change in their lives they must change themselves and the world around them will follow. However, just the other day, I looked above my desk and I realized that the great wisdom of this creature often has gone forgotten and he has many lessons that can apply to any arena.
Fast forward two days. The phone rings. There is one opening this weekend in Chicago for the LifeasRx Crossfit Competition.
This is billed as a competition for all levels of Crossfit. In other words, you dont' have to be like this...
So my answer was, "Let's do it."
Am I nervous? Sort of. However, I'm looking at it like this: A year ago I was 270 lbs. I could not do a pull up, and I was far from fit and healthy. Today, I'm as fit as I've ever been, but I am unsure about what I am working towards lately. This is a great opportunity to go into something without knowing what lies ahead. It's a great opportunity to learn from those around me, and see where I stack up and what I need to work on.
If you've read The Fish Philosophy, you could say that I am "choosing my attitude".
If you are a real Star Wars geek like me, you would hear Yoda telling you to "unlearn what you have learned" and "Do! Or do not! There is not try."
(watch this entire clip b/c the last two lines say it all!)
So what are you going to do in your life that is difficult, out of your comfort zone, and a challenge like none other?
Stay tuned next week and I'll share my experience.
In a previous post, I listed a few things that I could not do before I discovered Crossfit. Recently, I thought of another.
Squatting.
I've always been good at this type of squatting.
And for all practical reasons, squatting to do your business should be similar to the proper technique in any squat. Here's what it should look like....
Before Crossfit, I was like anyone else who would say...
"Squatting hurts my back."
"Squatting hurts my knees."
"I hate squatting."
When first arriving CrossfitCarmel over a year ago, the above-mentioned statements were met with the following reply:
"Once you start squatting with correct form, you won't have that kind of pain."
Now, 14 months later, I understand that squatting is a glute, hamstring engagement. Putting less weight on the bar and working on form over the past several months has been the best thing I've ever decided. And as I look to work on my hamstring mobility, I can only hope that I am able to increase my squat numbers in the future.
My knees don't hurt when I squat because I make sure my knees track over my toes.
My back does not hurt when I squat because I make sure my chest is up. If I can not keep my chest up, then I have too much weight on the bar.
When I first started Crossfit, I could barely squat 135 lbs.
Now...........
(let the sweaty jokes commence....it's the only pic I had!)
I've always been in awe of people who can push themselves to extreme limits. The climbers who tackle Everest, while completely out of their minds, fascinate me. The first marathon I watched in person, left me in complete awe. In high school, I remember needing at times to work my tail off to make up for my lack of athletic ability as I was not gifted with great speed or jumping ability, but I knew I could outwork people. Perhaps that is why Crossfit is so appealing to me. Each and every workout every time I go to the gym pushes me to my limits for the day.
And so when I heard that a couple of they guys from Crossfit Carmel were running their first Ironman triathlon, I wanted to learn what I could from them. I'm pretty sure I'll never tackle an Ironman, but I'm very certain I can learn from those who have. For that reason, I asked Nick Smarrelli, now an official Ironman himself, to share his experiences here. Specifically, I was interested in how he and Dave trained because it was fairly unorthodox to say the least. I also asked him to touch upon his dietary and mental approach to this mind-bending and grueling experience. It's my hope that no matter where you are with your fitness that you will be able to take lessons from Nick and Dave and apply to your fitness journey. Enjoy!
Recently, after a grueling 12 hour day, I had the opportunity to complete my first Ironman distance triathlon race with my good friend Dave Juntgen. The event has been deemed one of the most challenging endurance races in the world. It certainly goes against the old mantra: everything in moderation – challenging the athlete to complete a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run in a single day.
I should also note that I keep the rest of my life in that state beyond “moderation”. I am a part-owner of an IT firm based in St. Louis (which requires me to be commuting 50% of the time and work 7-days a week), I am a part-time trainer at CrossFit Carmel, I am married (and very much was still interested in being married after the Ironman) and am lucky to have a fairly active social life both here in Indy, but also across the country. That said, with my life on permanent overdrive, adding the element of fitness and Ironman training meant compromise.
Stubbornly, I refused and headed down a training path known as CrossFit Endurance. As an active CrossFitter prior to this Ironman, I had only had limited interaction with CrossFit Endurance (hereafter known as “CFE”). The basic premise said that an athlete can improve performance and endurance while eliminating the unnecessary volume of training generally associated with endurance training. The focus shifts to intensity and recovery integrated seamlessly with the Olympic lifts, powerlifting, gymnastics movements, and mobility of CrossFit. What does this mean in real terms?
An “Average” Triathlete’s Mileage for the Week:
Miles per week swimming: 7
Miles per week biking: 225
Miles per week running: 48
Dave and Nick’s Plan:
Miles per week swimming: 2
Miles per week biking: 80
Miles per week running: 6
Keep in mind – I had days where I craved a casual long-distance jog instead of putting my recently eaten lunch at risk with grueling 400 meter repeats. However, the ultimate output meant that I was training 15 hours/week versus 30+ hours a week as prescribed by the “norm”. Dave and I spent the first few months diligently following the programming and found ourselves on Google nightly trying to find any anecdotes that helped validate this unique way of training. The scientific data was easy to find, the anecdotes were not. However, we persevered as a result of input from our two good friends who have been certified in this type of endurance training, but also because we had created a sustainable training schedule that also allowed us to live our lives outside of fitness. We challenged ourselves to push ourselves hard in our workouts, but to always prioritize recovery as the key to our real improvement.
In the course of the 8-9 months of training, we followed, about 90% of the time, the CFE and CrossFit lifestyle. Dave and I both explored nutritional options – and naively demanded our bodies to give us immediate feedback on whether the changes in our diet were making us better athletes. We attempted to eliminate gluten and 24 hours after isolating this element from our diet, started carefully at our watches wondering if we’d noticed an increase in performance. The funny thing about nutrition, and training in and of itself, is that daily incremental gains aren’t easy to notice, it does take some time. I did end up going gluten free for over 60 days and found marginal differences in performance. As a result, I did go back to eating it, but always in moderate amounts. Dave and I challenged ourselves nutritionally to find what worked best for our bodies – and found that it was different for us both.
As a tall skinny guy, I required more fat and protein than Dave – just to maintain my energy level and performance. However, what was constant was the criticality for immediate nutrition post-training, and consistent nutrition during the day. Fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, the right carbs, and a healthy dose of protein remained constant – we just tinkered with the doses (give or take a few glasses of wine and a beer too, of course).
Lastly – why? Because I can. Idleness is unacceptable when I have been given so much. A body that functions, a mind that is reasonably sharp, and the support of a great family and friend network. But – whatever effort I’ve put into training, it’s given back exponentially - I was rewarded daily with overcoming the challenge of a tough workout – to watch my body improve over the course of time – to be able to get away from a day’s work stress and be focused on a goal just 200m ahead of you. It allowed me to gain discipline, focus, and time-management mastery. And now I have a fun story to tell.
My experience with the Ironman and CrossFit have taught me efficiency. If you eat the right foods – packed with nutrients, you don’t have to eat as much to reap all the rewards. If you exercise right (for me, that’s CrossFit), you can actually spend less time at the gym, and still be healthier. Done correctly, being healthy doesn’t require a radical compromise of the days priorities – just a little change in the execution.
I'm stronger than I've ever been. The other night the Workout of the Day at my Crossfit gym was titled "The Crossfit Football Total." It entails a one rep max of your bench press, deadlift, clean/jerk, and back squat. Why the "football" verbiage? Good question!
Usually, Crossfit gyms do not utilize the bench press as part of it's workouts largely (inserting opinion here) because it is often looked at as a movement that is not that functional. Think about it. How many times are you lying on your back pushing something in the air? The lifting portion of Crossfit is often about functional movements that apply to life. Click here to get an understand of what Crossfit really is. And if you are into football or rugby, you can click here to see what Crossfit Football training is all about.
My Crossfit Football Total
Clean and Jerk: 205 lbs.
Back Squat: 275 lbs.
Bench Press: 245 lbs.
Deadlift: 360 lbs. My Crossfit Football Total = 1,085 lbs.
My weight as of today: 240 lbs
I share this today not to brag about anything. Heck, a guy my size (6'2") ought to be squatting a lot more than that. I am sharing my progress because not only has Crossfit changed my life, but it has brought form and mobility into the forefront of my fitness mind. My hamstrings are as tight as fitted sheet and often prevent me from lifting (squatting, deadlifting, etc.) with heavier weight while maintaining sound and safe form. So another thing Crossfit has done for me is expose me to personal coaching that teaches me to do things not just successfully but safe and sound. And over time, by working on my mobility issues, my goal is to increase my strength exponentially.
I started this blog as a way to keep myself accountable to me. It was a way to lose weight and stay motivated. I figured, if I kept posting, I'd keep disciplined in eating well, and I'd continue to work out. Thirteen months ago I found Crossfit. Quite frankly, it changed my life. It has become my escape from the stressors of life. It's a community of like-minded folks. It's place I can go to and expect to get the workout of my life every time. It's a place where I get individualized coaching and training. When I first heard about Crossfit, I scoured the internet and thought, "This is for meatheads and lovers of heavy metal. No way. I'm not a weight lifter." However, like most things on the internet, you need to dig to find the truth. I was completely and utterly wrong.
When I saw this video, I could not have been more thrilled. Crossfit is not just a way to work out. It's not just a gym. Crossfit is a sport. And this Fall, the world will find out by tuning into ESPN2, and I could not be more thrilled.
Crossfit is a rapidly evolving sport. To see the list of Crossfit affiliate gyms around the country, click here.
Here are some other resources if you are interested:
Here's One Guy's Journey into Crossfit. He's quite the exception, but it's very motivating!
And here's a more realistic Crossfit journey
And if that was not enough.....Check this one out! Wow!
If Crossfit interests you, make sure you look at all of the information out there. There are articles like this from the New York Times that state Crossfit athletes forgo technique and push themselves too far, hence injuries ensue. This is a real issue to contend, however I contend that we all know our bodies and how far we can push ourselves, and a sound Crossfit coach is interested in your safety and your well-being....just like any good coach. A good Crossfit coach won't allow you to lift weights that are too heavy because your technique is not sound.
If you are stuck in a rut, not sure what to do for exercise, or just need a change of pace, I would urge you to check out Crossfit. However, be warned: It is guaranteed to be THE hardest thing you do EVERY time you step into the gym. That's why I love it.
