A week filled with farm animals, loud music, bro activities and cold barbells

This one's for you Greg

Training this week was excellent and is definitely going in the direction. More big things to come. Better BELIEVE it baby!

It was a deload week (no deadlifts or bench press) but I still managed to have some fun and hit some new bests. It's getting cold outside so the alapacas have been coming in to hang out during training some times. Definitely the perfect storm for optimal training.

12/8/2011 - Dynamic Warmup + prehab


Fat Bar Dumbbell Press
140 x 3 - PR I think
110 x 13

Weighted Ring Pullup
45 x 4
55 x 4

Fat Bar Dumbbell Curls
3 x 8-10 @ 40lbs

Incline Bench "Y"
3 x 10 @ 10lbs

Round Robin Ring Dip Set - Me, Matt, Greg, Cameron, Juelz Santana (did anyone get that reference?)
10 x 10 reps

12/10/2011 - at crossfit MTL
Dynamic Warmup and Prehab

Push Jerks from rack
255 x 1
275 x 1
305 x MISS - I was feeling rowdy, ended up failing. Next time.

Power Clean
205 x 3
225 x 10 - New best?


Thruster
135 x 3
185 x 8 - PR

Met-con - something dreamed up by Pat Byrnes over at Crossfit Tribe - 2 rounds for time
15 Handstand Pushups / 20 Pullups / 25 Box Jumps / 30 deadlifts at 185 / 35 Burpees

16:55 - I had trouble bending over for the rest of the day.

12/13/2011 - Dynamic Warmup and Prehab


Overhead Squat - This was a terrible weakness for me, finally starting to improve
225 x 1
250 x MISS
250 x 1 - Hooty Hooo! about a 50-60lb PR

Turkish Sit-up
40 x 10/arm
60 x 10/arm

Band Punch Press - I'll get a video of these two exercises sometime soon.
Green Band 2 x 10/side

Met-con - 3 rounds for time
5 muscle-ups / 15 burpees + touch the ceiling 9' / 20 Lunges + 45lb plate overhead
7:40

Great week. I'm planning on competing in the crossfit open over at Crossfit Tribe in Pennsauken. I'm looking forward to ramping up my training in the next few weeks. Look forward to some big things! I'm still doing small sessions throughout the week working on skills and weaknesses. My eating has been on point too.

Are you looking to get fit and currently live near Mt. Laurel?

Go Check Out Crossfit Mt. Laurel

http://crossfitmtl.com/

Me, Tommy (the owner of the gym) and Greg. Looking good fellas. Looks like I forgot how to smile but Greg makes up for it with his musctachio.

One of my training partners and good friends Greg has been telling me about his friend Tommy for some time now. Tommy happens to run a cross fit gym over in Mt. Laurel. Over the weekend I finally got a chance to meet him and check his gym out.

I must say, this gym is massive. It’s a space in a warehouse and it is BIG! What was even more impressive was the amount of people in this place. It was packed. I must say, Tommy must be doing something right, most likely a lot of things right.

Tommy is a very knowledgeable and down to earth guy. He let Greg and I go through with our own lifting program and then joined us for a nausea inducing workout. We shared some lifting ideas and in general, had a blast


If you are looking for a no-nonsense place to train with a balanced and creative program to follow check out Tommy’s place in Mt. Laurel. You will get into phenomenal shape and have fun doing it. The atmosphere is exciting and friendly, yet challenging and competitive. As with most cross fit gyms there is a strong sense of camaraderie and members care for the progress of one another. Go check it out!

http://crossfitmtl.com/

6 Reasons to Eat Grass-Fed, Pastured and Wild Animal Products over their Grain-Fed Brethren: A Case for Eating Healthy Animal Products: Part 2

Alright guys and gals, here's part 2. I hope you had time to digest all of the information from the last post because here comes another dose! If you at any point want to order some grass-fed meat for yourself you can get some delivered to you by clicking the banner on the right hand side of my page labeled EAT GRASS FED BEEF. I get a lot of my food from there. Great company.

If you missed part 1 you can find it here:

http://strengthfoodlife.blogspot.com/2011/12/6-reasons-to-eat-grass-fed-pastured-and_05.html

As with the last part I'm providing a cliff's notes portion to get a quick dose of the information.

Summary:

Grass-fed/pastured and organic animals have healthy livers
- Grass-fed/pastured organic liver contains fewer and safer levels of toxins and heavy metals, giving you the benefit without the negative side effects.
- Great source of Vitamin A, CLA, Vitamin K2 and a modest source of vitamin D
- One of the only natural sources of Coenzyme Q10 (heart healthy compound)
- Statin Drugs inhibit your body's ability to produce CoQ10

Grass-fed / pastured meats are higher in vitamins and antioxidants
- Grass-fed / pastured beef contains 7 times more Vitamin A (beta carotene) then grain-fed
- Grass-fed / pastured beef contains 3 times more Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) then grain-fed
- Grass-fed beef contains higher levels of the anti-oxidants glutathione and super oxide dismutase
- Food sources of vitamins and anti-oxidants are superior to supplemental sources.
- Vitamin A and E in supplemental form may actually be detrimental

Without further ado!

3. Grass fed/pastured and organic animals have healthy livers

Organic, pasture raised animals graze on what they were biologically evolved to eat. Because of this their livers contain safer levels of heavy metals and other toxins (8) when compared to grain fed meats. Keep in mind that all meats will contain some heavy metals regardless of source (8). Liver contains an enormous amount of easily absorbable Vitamin A, modest amounts of Vitamin D, CLA, Vitamin K2 and some nifty nutrients not found from other food sources like Coenzyme Q10.

Vitamin D has recently been in the news because it appears that many Americans have been becoming deficient in vitamin D for a variety of proposed reasons including underexposure to the sun, use of sun blocks, suboptimal levels of vitamin D in the diet and obesity (9). Vitamin D is incredibly important in the body and has even been linked to reduced risk of bone diseases, cancers (23-25) and muscle weakness. It is believed to have a link to multiple sclerosis (26,27), type 1 diabetes (28) and even may have performance enhancement benefits for sport (29). For more information about the health benefits of vitamin D check out this link. ( http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/10/2/94.PDF )
Unfortunately, due to getting less Vitamin D in our diets and underexposure to the sun our vitamin D levels have declined in recent years (9). Keep in mind that as much as 50% of the population appears to be deficient in Vitamin D (9) and it may appear wise to seek out additional sources of vitamin D in the diet. Vitamin D is found in very few sources of food, the main reason why we fortify our foods with it. The best sources of dietary vitamin D are from liver, especially fish liver and other fatty fish (30).

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is another useful compound that is only really found in a few select food sources including animal liver and heart. Coenzyme Q10 has been found to be helpful in reducing hypertension, heart failure, as well as decreasing your risk of atherosclerosis after a recent heart attack (11, 12, 13). Your body naturally produces CoQ10, but its ability to produce it declines with age (as your risk for heart disease rises). Another interesting factoid is that statin drugs inhibit your body’s ability to produce CoQ10 by inhibiting the same pathway used by the body to produce cholesterol (10). Given the prevalence of statin drugs being used in the US it might be
prudent to add some of this nutrient to our diet.

Liver, especially fish liver is particularly high in essential fatty acids like Omega 3. Omega-3 fatty acids are discussed in detail in part 3. I guess grandma was right about eating liver. I personally really enjoy liverwurst and braunschweiger from US Wellness Meats. Its a delicious and easy way to get this health food into your diet. For ordering information click the banner at the top right of my page.



4. Grass-fed / pastured meats are higher in vitamins and antioxidants

Grass fed beef has been shown to contain higher levels of vitamin A and E as well as the antioxidants glutathione and Super Oxide Dismutase. This study (14) provides evidence that 50% of the US population gets less then 50% of the RDA for vitamin A. By the way, vitamin A and E are found in large amounts in liver, pate anyone?

Research shows that there is up 3 times more alpha tocopherol and 7 times more beta carotene in grass fed beef then grain fed (5). Beta carotene is a precursor to vitamin A in the human body and alpha-tocopherol is a heavily researched form of vitamin E. Beta Carotene is also a well studied antioxidant. If you are afraid to consume meat because of some of the proposed deleterious effects and decide to supplement with vitamins A and E instead you may want to rethink that idea. An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (16) looked at 68 randomized trials and 230,000 participants to take a look at the effect of supplemental beta-carotene, vitamin A and E on mortality (deaths). Unfortunately, the usage of vitamin A and E supplements significantly correlated with increased mortality (16)! This means that taking long term vitamin A and E supplements may lead to death earlier then without it. Utilizing supplemental vitamin A and E products may not be advantageous, but we still need vitamin A and E in our diets. Eating whole foods from sources such as animal products seems to fit the bill here.
Another reason to get your nutrition from whole foods, ie: vegetables, fruits and pastured animal products come from a 2009 article from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (17). They offer the concept of food synergy. In other words we don’t completely understand the complex interaction of nutrients contained in food once they enter the body to be digested (17). The nutrient mixture found in whole foods appears to have benefits above and beyond single nutrient supplementation that in many cases is not fully understood yet.

With all the information that has been presented in this article as well as the health benefits vitamins and minerals have in the human body it makes sense that a multi-vitamin would be essential to optimal health right? Well maybe not (18). In a 2009 study from the Archives of Internal Medicine following 160,000 post menopausal women over 8 years, multivitamin supplementation had little to no influences over common cancers (breast, ovarian, endometrial, colorectal, lung), cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke and all cause mortality (18).
Supplementation may not be the best way to get the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that our bodies need. Maybe we should just be eating high quality real food to achieve optimal health?

Stay tuned for 3rd and thrilling final post next monday! Thanks for reading.

Meeting Dan Gable: The most inspirational man of all time?

I saw Dan Gable Speak this weekend at my old high school.

Dan Gable is easily one of the most inspirational people to have ever walked the planet Earth. For those who are not familiar with Dan, he is a wrestler and a coach. Anyone who has ever wrestled competitively before can attest to the fact that this wrestling stuff’s not easy. Being successful in wrestling requires rock solid determination, discipline and mental toughness. Dan Gable is the definition of these words, and that is still an understatement. Here’s why:

Dan Gable’s wrestling accomplishments:
- Undefeated record throughout high school with 3 state championships
- 181-1 collegiate record (His only loss was the NCAA national championship his senior year
- 2 time NCAA national champion wrestling in college
- 1971 World Gold Medalist
- 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist - No one scored a single point on him throughout the Olympics

Dan Gable’s Coaching Accomplishments (University of Iowa)
- 15 team NCAA national championships
- 21 straight Big Ten titles
- Team record of 355-21-5

That’s freaking ridiculous. It takes a special personality to accomplish the things Dan did. Dan reported training 7 days per week for 7 hours per day (That's not a typo). He said that he, himself wasn’t even a good wrestler until he suffered his first loss in college. Keep in mind that in college he would routinely go up to 30 match streaks where he would pin every opponent and he was also routinely winning matches 25-0. The day after his first loss in college, after his team won the national championship, he was back on the mat training again with renewed passion.

As a coach he would have his athletes do conditioning on aerodyne bikes (the ones where you can simultaneously pump levers with your arms while cycling with your legs and it would power a fan on the front wheel). The athletes would do 1 minute of work to 1 minute of rest and while cycling they were required to pedal hard enough to max out the intensity settings on the bike. His athletes were wiped after doing 20 minutes of this 1 minute of work followed by 1 minute of rest. Dan would get on the bike and pin the intensity to maximum in the same way he had his athletes do for just 1 minute at a time but he would go for 45 minutes straight. He did this just to show his athletes the power of mental intensity.

Dan is one passionate dude and he’s well respected, for good reason. He received a standing ovation before and after his speech. I truly believe he could have went to the podium and said absolutely nothing for 45 minutes and people would still have shown him the same respect just because of what he has accomplished with his life. That's powerful.



Dan’s Key Points:

- Discipline makes being the best easy.

- Believe in those who tell you that you can become great, really, believe it.

- The most successful people are the ones who show up first and leave last.

- Welcome adversity. eg: turn injuries into opportunity - Dan injured his knee 6 months before the Olympics and changed his wrestling style completely because of it allowing him increased scoring opportunity.

- Make issues a non-issue, you can’t succeed fully with anything in the way holding you back.

- Discipline, discipline, discipline

- Have a solid support network

- Think BIG! Dan’s new goal is trying to reach and motivate as many people as possible through his passion for wrestling

I think the take home message here is that anything is possible but the most important thing is to first make up your mind that you are going to do it. That is going to hold true in every facet of your life, especially making up your mind to change your health and fitness for the better. You have to believe in yourself and then put those thoughts into action, consistently. What I think was most impressive about Dan’s career is his mental power and focus. He made the decision to become the person he is today. Dan set very solid goals for himself for every single practice. He did this on a daily basis, and made improvements along the way, which added up to something very big. He believed in himself. Dan's story is that of a self fulfilling prophecy. His story reminds me of all of the possibility there is in the world if you can focus your attention properly.

THIS IS MY CHALLENGE TO YOU

Kanye West: I Wonder

I've been waiting on this my whole life, these dreams be waking me up at night.

A Psychic read my lifeline, told me in my lifetime, my name would help light up the chicago skyline.

You ever wonder what it all really means? You wonder if you'll ever find your dreams?

You know guys, I really have it easy. I was born with a natural tendency to get excited about things. I get motivated very easily. You can spark a fire underneath of my ass that gets me moving without even realizing that you did it. I understand not everyone has that tendency, I‘m really blessed in that regard.

Picture this. You are outside on a cool and brisk Sunday afternoon. Its raining gently and the leaves are just beginning to turn green for the year. You are gathered around hundreds of others who are humbly bowing their heads toward a man speaking at the front. The man is a priest. You have a hard time hearing what the priest is saying so you brush through the crowd to get closer. Unfortunately, the priest has finished speaking by the time you get close enough to hear him. Looking around at all of the sad faces you begin noticing old friends and distant family members. You can make out two sobbing women standing next to the priest trying to comfort each other. One is older, one younger. As you get closer you capture a glimpse of their faces. You gasp in astonishment, one is your daughter, the other your wife. Standing next to them is your son. You’re a ghost at your own funeral. Your son gathers himself stoically and draws a written speech from his pocket and turns to address the audience.

What does your son have to say about you? What memories have you left behind? Did you lead the life that you imagined you would? What is your legacy?

This story carries with it a lot of power. I’m sure I’m not the one to tell you that life is short, but there’s a reminder.

The main reason I write in my blog is to give everyone a sense of power in their lives. I want to empower people to take their health and happiness into their own hands. I want to share my own dreams and struggles getting there while showing people that it is possible to live the life you desire. I thoroughly believe that you can accomplish any goal you can set for yourself. Its going to take some elbow grease, but it can be done.

The first step toward living you dream is figuring out what you want out of life.

Where do you want to be in twenty years? Lets drop all the fears and barriers that may be holding you back. Where do you really want to be in twenty years? Sailing the world with your wife and kids? Hosting your own TV show? A world class chef? I’ll tell you where I want to be. I want to be a public figure that empowers others towards their goals. I want to enable others to reach their goals in health, fitness and in life in general. I want to show others the feeling of happiness that comes from leading the life that you desire for yourself.

Its an incredibly fulfilling feeling to wake up every morning knowing that today you are taking the steps forward in your life to achieve your dreams. When your actions in life align with your moral beliefs, values and goals something magical happens. You feel awesome, you enjoy life and you get closer and closer to the person that you want to be. I get chills just thinking about this stuff.

So lets drop the excuses. Think of how much you can achieve if you take down all the barriers in your life keeping you from progressing.

I challenge you to make a difference in your life. I dare you to sit down and think for a long moment about what you want to achieve in your lifetime and the legacy you choose to leave. Write it down and make a pact with yourself, I will devote my energy everyday toward this goal.

Find the courage to make it happen. Take that step today. I'm with you.

Stand up for yourself. Take charge of your life. Know that every decision you make in your life is taking you one step closer or further from the life you desire. Every action builds upon the person you want to become and the legacy that you choose to leave behind.

Fun Fact #5: Training the lower back in the morning may put you more at risk for injury.

Intervertebral Discs sit between each vertebrae in the human spine. These are the structures you hear of when someone says they have a herniated disc.

Upon waking first thing in the morning your intervertebral discs are hyperhydrated or filled with a lot of fluid. This normally decreases throughout the day as you bear weight through your spine with normal activity.

Because of the hyperhydration, the discs are taller and ligaments that cross over the disc become more taut, and have less give, causing more stress on the discs with movement. This situation may set you up to be more at risk for lower back injuries when stressing the spine right after waking up.

So what does this mean for me?

1. Don’t stop exercising in the morning if you don’t have time to exercise at any other point.

2. If possible, train later in the day (McGill recommends waiting 2 hours after waking to train) or if not possible try to spend some time in a weight bearing position (standing, sitting, walking) before starting your session.

3. Save the exercises that are tougher on your lower back (ie: Deadlifting, Squats, Olympic Lifts, Abdominal exercises) for sessions later in the day.

4. As always warm up thoroughly and specifically to prepare your body for the exercises to come in your training session.

Resources

McGill S. (2007) Low Back Disorders. Human Kinetics Publishers.

Training for the week Team Llama Bash

What's that dude in the background doing?

Lately I've added in a few extra days per week working on skill work for crossfit including things like running, double unders, pushups, handstands, burpees, bodyweight squats, pistols and pullups. I still keep 3 core lifting days per week.

12/1/11
Dynamic Warmup

Axle Floor Press
315 x 1
335 x 1 - PR woot woot


Thick Bar DB Press
110 x 8
120 x 8 - getting better

Ring Pullups 5 x 10

12/3/11- I've been training saturdays at Crossfit Tribe. Awesome community and great atmosphere to get deez loueez.

Crossfit Tribe - Training to be a boss

Dynamic Warmup

Push Jerk
245 x 3
270 x 2 - Almost dropped the third rep on my head, win!

Power Clean
225 x 3
245 x 3

Thruster
195 x 3
220 x 3 Maybe a new best?


Met-con (crossfit games clean and jerk C&J / rope climb)
5 C&J @ 145lbs + 5 rope climbs (13ft)
4 C&J @ 165lbs + 4 rope climbs (13ft)
3 C&J @ 185lbs + 3 rope climbs (13ft)
2 C&J @ 205lbs + 2 rope climbs (13ft)
1 C&J @ 225lbs + 1 rope climbs (13ft)
6:50 - Froning did it in just under 5 minutes.

12/6/2011
Dynamic Warmup

Llama Bash is looking clean and mean

I should probably stop posting all of my max effort attempts where my form falls apart. I promise my technique is not this terrible for every set!

(4-5") Deficit Deadlift
425 x 1
465 x 1
500 x 1 - PR no belt

Back Squat vs chains 100lbs @ top, 20lbs @ bottom
185 x 5
205 x 5 - the chains felt terrible, probably won't do these next week.

Overhead Squat
165 x 5
185 x 5 - PR, these are finally coming along some!

I decided to stop writing what I eat on a daily basis but to instead make separate posts occasionally with what I eat. Let me know if you guys are mad about this and wanted more of my food log.