being "fit"

I realize I haven't been blogging about my current fitness regimen which is kind of a large part of my life. Every morning we wake at 5 to do the prescribed workout, which means every NIGHT we are lights out at 10pm. On the occasion that we might get in bed a little late sometimes we will sleep in which means that we work out after work, and then again in about 11 hours the next morning. Thus, incentive to not sleep in. Not only this, we have adjusted our diet to what is affectionately (or unaffectionately, if someone beside me has cake) known as Paleo/Zone. For more info on this visit http://www.zonediet.com/ or http://www.paleodiet.com/.

I can honestly say that I am a true believer in the importance of nutrition to athletic performance or really performance in general. We have seen increases in energy, strength, stamina, intensity, speed, etc. Decreases in inflammation (bloating), blockage (of the digestive sort), fatigue, tired-ness.

I decided to commit to Crossfit (http://www.crossfit.com/) and the nutrition plan because I had a fitness assessment at LifeTime and was disappointed by my numbers (VO2 max, % body fat) considering my previous running habits and commitment to "healthy" food. So I figured I would give Crossfit a go and really start eating "clean" and see if it led to improvements.

Crossfit is really cool. Now I know alot of girls out there shy away from weight-training, ESPECIALLY heavy weight-training for fear of "bulking up". But (if you follow the nutrition plan) it won't happen! That is such a myth. Yes you will bulk if you are consuming more calories than you are spending and if those calories are lots and lots of simple glucose (ie bread, pasta, sugar, potatoes). But girls just aren't physiologically designed to be bulky.

So the prescription for world class fitness in 100 words?

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.

Now this program is hard to get used to...it requires MAJOR practice and training to practice lifts correctly. I would NEVER encourage someone to do heavy lifts without proper study or instruction. Crossfit posts great videos that teach these things and both Tommy and I have watched and watched and practiced and practiced to make sure we are doing things safely. We don't do "snatches" simply because they are a very complicated and dangerous lift that we have never been formally trained on. We don't go to a Crossfit gym so we can't practice much of the gymnastics stuff as easy in Lifetime.

What is also cool is that it is totally scalable to any fitness level. Can't do dips? Cool, do them on the bench. Can't do a pull up? Cool, do them assisted. (My goal is to get my first unassisted pull up by Christmas!). The goal isn't "you have to do this much weight," the goal is "do it intensely." If it isn't intense, it isn't Crossfit.

So I (hopefully) will start blogging a little more about this, posting Zone/Paleo recipes, writing about PRs (personal records), etc. Until then....
some of Crossfit's Elite....

Please notice the blood running down Carey Kepler's arm...