Tuesday 130611

Tuesday 130611

Nutritional Powerhouse

Trouble getting your vegetables in? Try this:

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup carrot juice

1 cup spinach

1 cup kale

1/2 cup pineapple

1/2 cup strawberries

1 teaspoon ginger

1 tablespoon almond butter

1 teaspoon flax oil

1 scoops isopure unflavored whey protein

Tangy, tart, not too sweet and packed with macro and micro nutrients.

Nutritional Powerhouse

Monday 130610

Monday 130610

Legendary Competitor Tryouts June 16, 2013

I have paid for two teams, one Scaled, and one Rx, for the NorCal Affiliate Showcase:

If you can do 80-90% of stuff Rx, you should be fine if not brilliant in the Rx division. They could not, or course give me exact details, but it seems unlikely you will have to do muscle-ups or an outrageous weight, even in the Rx Division.

We will have tryouts (essentially an in-house throw-down) on Saturday June 15th at 8AM at GWPC.

The top eight finishers will compete for us. The top two males and females will compete in the Rx division. The third and fourth place finishers will compete in the SC division for us. The third place male and female will be the Rx division alternate, and the fifth place male and female finisher will be the SC team alternate.

Event One:

Clean & Jerk Ladder;

In 15:00;

Starting at 95/135, add weight to lift in five, ten pound or twenty pound increments until you can no longer continue (you must use the same jumps the whole way through, IE 95,100,105 -OR- 95,105,115).

Event Two:

AMRAP in 10:00

100 Double-Under

50 Wall-Ball

20 Burpees

20 T2B

20 Pull-ups

In case of tie, time to complete previous set breaks tie. IE: 29/2:40 beats 29/2:50

Event Three:

AMRAP in 3:00

21 Deadlift 225/155

7 Ring Muscle-Up

In case of tie, time to complete previous set breaks tie. IE: 29/2:40 beats 29/2:50

Legendary Competitor Tryouts June 16, 2013

Sunday 130609

Sunday 130609

Saturday 130908

Psst! Hey buddy… you wanna see some dumbbells?

Saturday 130908

Friday 130607

Friday 130607

Thursday 130507

Thursday 130507

Wednesday 130605

Wednesday 130605

Tuesday 130604

One of CFEB’s favorite athletes, Elisabeth Akinwale

Tuesday 130604

Monday 130603

Monday 130603

Test Post from CrossFit East Bay

Test Post from CrossFit East Bay http://www.crossfiteastbay.com

Benchmark Update

I have not updated this blog in some time, however I have improved in quite a few areas.

I am currently doing Wendler's 5/3/1 and working out every other day. I am doing assistance exercises, conditioning and climbing all on the same day with a day off between everything, which is working well. Recommended for the over-40 set.

Benchmarks: recent PRs in italic;

Hips
-100 free squats L2
-295 lb back squat (1.5x bw) L3 April 2009
-405x2 lb deadlift 2.25x+ bw) L3 Aug 2010
-24 inch standing vertical jump L2 2009
Push
-50Push-ups L2 Oct 2007
-30 Push-ups on rings L3
-235 lb Bench Press (1.3x bw) L3 Aug 2010
-175 lb Shoulder Press (.96x bw) L3 Aug 2010
-11 HSPU L3 July 2010
-21 Dip on rings L2 Oct 2007
Pull
-20-foot Rope Climb (no feet) L3 2006
-205 lb Power Clean L3 Aug 2010
-37 Pull-Ups L2 Aug 2010
18 C2B Pull-Ups 11-08
-2 Muscle-up on bar (perfect) L2 April 2008
-6 Muscle-ups on rings (kip) L2 April 2008
-3 Muscle-up on rings from full hang May 2008
Core
-30 V-ups L2
-15 Hanging Knees to Elbows L2
-10 second L-sit L1
-195X2 lb OHS (1x+ bw) L3 CrossFit Games 2009
-Sandbag carry (modified) 100 lbs, 1 mile L3 2007
-2:50 min 800-meter Run L3 - Norcal Sectional 2010
-7:39 min 2000-meter Row May 2009
-Helen: 10:13 L2
-1 mile run 6:27 L2
Speed
-1:11 min 400-meter run L3 Jan 2010
-1:26 min 500-meter Row L3 Dec 2006
-135 lbs Power Snatch L2

Other Benchmarks:

-Cindy 21 + 8 push-ups December 2007
-Clean & Jerk 185 2009
-Fight Gone Bad 309 FGB IV 2009
-Fran 5:45 2007
-Filthy Fifty 21:30 2008
-Grace 4:08 Aug 2010
-Linda 22:31 11-07
-Push-Jerk 195 04.09
-Murph C2B/20# Vest 54:40 Oct 2008

Highest Grade Climbs:

Indoors;
5.11b on-sight 2010
V5 redpoint 2010

Outdoors
5.10a, redpoint 97 feet 2009

Games Training WOD #5

Warm-Up

1.    Jump rope: single-unders, alternating feet, high knees, one foot, front cross, backwards, then 30 double-unders (or 1X max consecutive) for time.

2.    Dynamic Stretching

3.    Dowel Movements:

i.       Behind the neck wide grip press moving into narrow grip as the shoulders warm up. 

ii.     Snatch hang position: shrug, muscle snatch, power snatch, and full squat snatch. 

iii.   Snatch bottom start position: snatch deadlift, snatch shrug, muscle snatch, power snatch, and full squat snatch. 

iv.   Jerk width grip grip and the dowel placed behind the neck: press, push press, jerk. 

v.     Clean hang position: shrug, muscle clean, power clean, and full squat clean. 

vi.   Clean bottom start position: clean deadlift, clean shrug, muscle clean, power clean, and full squat clean. 

4.    Run 800m at 80-85% of max perceived effort.  Minimize the sound of all footfalls as much as possible; if this requires slowing down to achieve desired effect slow down as much as necessary.

5.    3X10 wall ball full squat start and finish best form possible.  Think about following through on the finish to ensure that ball returns where you want it to.

6.    3X butterfly kipping pull-up practice or attempts.  Without letting go of the bar complete 3 C2B pull-ups after each attempt at the butterfly kips. 

7.    3X3 muscle-ups.  Use rings and the best form you are capable of. Break up the sets if necessary to perform with the best form that you are capable of.

8.    3X3 pistols each leg.  Use perfect form or as best as possible and minimum supported if necessary.

Workout: record results and numbers for now I will work on putting together a sheet for entering them into this weekend.

9.    Fran C2B (21-15-9 Thruster (95# men, 65# women), C2B pull-ups)

10.                     Rest 15 minutes keep warm

11.                     Row 2k

Cool Down:

12.                     Foam roll focusing particularly on sore or tight areas

13.                     Static stretching

What You Should Eat

Double Re-Blog

Twelve days of Christmas No-Equipment WODS From CrossFit Virtuosity

---

Via the blog of Princess Raindrop AKA Boss Arce: she has agreed to be one of my test pilots for the primal/paleo diet - I have been eating mostly this way for two months, during which time I have lost weight and retained performance and I am nearly ready to advocate zone/primal for all. Let me know if you want to join us in this experiment before I roll it out more "officially", probably Jan 1.

"Polly and I attended at talk at Catalyst by Mark Sissons. Mark is the author of the Primal Blueprint, a book about "going primal". Basically reverting back to a diet that more closely resembles what we have evolved to eat - a hunter-gatherer diet. Namely, meats and other natural fat sources (nuts and oil) and carbohydrates coming from vegetables and fruit.

As I see it we have two conflicting evolutionary trends when it comes to food. The first is our physical evolution - what we have evolved to eat over millions of years. The second is our industrial food evolution - how to affordably produce enough food to feed an ever growing population. These two trends don't reconcile with each other and, at some point, in order to achieve optimal health, we have to leave behind the food of convenience that is negatively impacting us physically and financially and eat according to where we've evolved.

I was raised eating rice, bread, pasta, etc. Earlier this year I cut way back on those types of foods and I'll tell you this - life was BORING. Sure I lost weight, got stronger, faster, fitter, ate fat and plenty of meat and tons of eggs and that's all great but I did miss those filling grains. They are comfort foods and it's hard to undo that mind/body connection. Eggs - not so comforting. Meats - not comforting much at all and lots of chewing. I like eating to be brief and intense and I don't like tons of chewing.
- These are the types of things that make it difficult to imagine a life without grains and breads and pasta and BEER. What makes it easier is knowing that it's absolutely the right thing to do for so many reasons, not the least of which is the potential for living really well. I'm not so concerned with living for fucking ever but I would like the time that I am around to be really really good.

- This is why I like the 80/20 rule. 80% primal; 20% not quite. Dairy may be my remaining source of comfort - the 20%".

Double Re-Blog

12 days of Christmas No-Equipment WODS FromCrossFit Virtuosity

---

Via the blog of Princess Raindrop AKA Boss Arce: she has agreed to be one of my test pilots for the primal/paleo diet - I have been eating mostly this way for two months, during which time I have lost weight and retained performance and I am nearly ready to advocate zone/primal for all. Let me know if you want to join us in this experiment before I roll it out more "officially", probably Jan 1.

"Polly and I attended at talk at Catalyst by Mark Sissons. Mark is the author of the Primal Blueprint, a book about "going primal". Basically reverting back to a diet that more closely resembles what we have evolved to eat - a hunter-gatherer diet. Namely, meats and other natural fat sources (nuts and oil) and carbohydrates coming from vegetables and fruit.

As I see it we have two conflicting evolutionary trends when it comes to food. The first is our physical evolution - what we have evolved to eat over millions of years. The second is our industrial food evolution - how to affordably produce enough food to feed an ever growing population. These two trends don't reconcile with each other and, at some point, in order to achieve optimal health, we have to leave behind the food of convenience that is negatively impacting us physically and financially and eat according to where we've evolved.

I was raised eating rice, bread, pasta, etc. Earlier this year I cut way back on those types of foods and I'll tell you this - life was BORING. Sure I lost weight, got stronger, faster, fitter, ate fat and plenty of meat and tons of eggs and that's all great but I did miss those filling grains. They are comfort foods and it's hard to undo that mind/body connection. Eggs - not so comforting. Meats - not comforting much at all and lots of chewing. I like eating to be brief and intense and I don't like tons of chewing.
- These are the types of things that make it difficult to imagine a life without grains and breads and pasta and BEER. What makes it easier is knowing that it's absolutely the right thing to do for so many reasons, not the least of which is the potential for living really well. I'm not so concerned with living for fucking ever but I would like the time that I am around to be really really good.

- This is why I like the 80/20 rule. 80% primal; 20% not quite. Dairy may be my remaining source of comfort - the 20%".

NYC Trip

720 Pound Tire Flip @ CrossFit Virtuosity

I had a great week in New York: I trained and taught classes at

CrossFit Virtuosity, which may be the most awesome CF Box around.

I got to train with Keith and Jay:

They totally kicked my ass on THIS workout:

10 min AMRAP of the combo (1 rep for cycle) at 135#:
Power Snatch
Back Squat
Rack Jerk
Front Squat
Push Press

Frustrating due to my lousy snatch. I could not even RX it, had to scale to 115# and still got crushed with only 13 rounds. I just could not get two in a row to save my life.

The next day I treated them to THIS lovely workout, perhaps the hardest one I have ever done. I considered leaving the building when all the cursing and yelling started, but of course, they loved it. CFEB will have to do this soon.

5 Rounds:

5 thruster 155/95
10 Burpee

Try it at home!

My response to the message thread on robbwolf.com entitled "The Black Box Summit Or How I Got Fired from the CrossFit Nutrition Certification"

CrossFit is currently experiencing it's biggest controversy so far, at least on-line. Fallout from the Black Box summit, and the evident firing of Robb Wolf from teaching the nutrition cert has sparked some lively debate:


Robb Wolf on Being Fired from Nutrition Cert

Greg Everett on what happened

Russel Berger on what happened

A rather balanced analysis of what happened

A very interesting take on what happened/is happening

I meant to write a brief, concise post on Robb's blog about this. Brevity, alas, is not my strong suit, and since writing it I had a few thoughts that I wished to include. Here is my opinion for any who care, for the record.

My response to the message thread on robbwolf.com entitled "The Black Box Summit Or How I Got Fired from the CrossFit Nutrition Certification" (edited for clarity)

I have now read all 425 plus comments that came before this, and all of the source material.

I am an affiliate owner (CrossFit East Bay in Oakland CA) and I know or have met many of the principals here. Greg Glassman changed my life, and while I don't revere him as anything more than a fitness visionary, it is, to me, frankly ridiculous how little credit some people are giving him. I will post below his best response to such misunderstandings. For once, I largely agree with Barry Cooper, above.

I am a bit older (43) and have been into fitness since the 1980s. I used to read every fitness magazine I could get my hands on for, I guess, decades. I NEVER saw anything remotely like CF. I never heard of a double-under, a muscle-up, a kipping pull-up, a dynamax ball (or wall-ball), a thruster, a kettlebell, the zone diet, paleo, IF, tabata, etc etc etc. I was vaguely aware that rings existed and that these weird guys in tights lifted huge funny looking weights in the Olympics, and that a rower existed, but it never occurred to me to use these things. I never saw anything remotely like Fight Gone Bad, and I challenge anyone to point me to something like FGB that pre-dates CrossFit. When I discovered CF in 03 or 04 it sounded interesting, and I dabbled, but not until I trained with Josh and Keith at CFNYC Black Box, the 18th affiliate, was my mind blown.

As I said I am a bit older, and have an administration background as well. I am familiar with internecine disputes, and have mediated many. I am disappointed in what I am seeing here from all sides. There is a whole lot of dick-measuring and airing of grievances, old and new, going on. While there may have been some pent-up feeling that needed to be discharged, it has been done, the issues are out there, and, as an affiliate owner and member of this community I ask that we take a deep breath and dial it back a notch on all sides.

This community has experienced explosive growth, and I think it is silly to pretend there are no issues associated with that growth. As a community we have added, are adding, quality on the individual affiliate and regional level daily. It is questionable as to whether HQ is keeping up with or taking advantage of all of the great stuff that is coming out of our open-source fitness model. Simply put, there are some potential, or actual, quality issues. A med ball clean might not be the best progression to the clean. Teaching someone with zero experience how to snatch with a PVC pipe does not prepare them optimally to teach the snatch. The explanation that it is impractical to use barbells with so many people does not hold water. Inconvenient, yes, expensive, yes. Impractical, no. It is possible that the current programming template of .com could be improved. I'm not suggesting I know how, but this is fitness, not religion, and blind allegiance to the .coms is against the spirit of CrossFit. To quote Greg Glassman speaking to me personally: "the next big innovation in CrossFit will come from outside of my intuition". It is clear that a whole foods diet is healthier than Zoning Pringles, Coors Lite and Skirt steak (personally I think zone/paleo + milk is the way to go). The level 1 Cert is not as valuable a product as it was when Coach taught them himself (I have been to both versions). The .com only to prepare for the games is not optimal unless one already has perfect balance in all 10 areas of fitness. Even then training once a day to prepare for a multi-day multi-event competition would be insanity.

Recently one of my athletes started training the O-lifts with Greg Everett. This forced me to recognize that what I had learned so far in CF regarding the O-lifts was demonstrably inferior (but still an order of magnitude better than what I knew before CF, i.e. zilch). I admitted my sub-optimal teaching to my athletes and we are now working on improving our O-lifts, but not at the expense of GPP or not following a .com-like template.

Greg Glassman and CrossFit have given us all an incredible gift, for which I am truly thankful, but they have started a wildfire which cannot be easily managed or neatly compartmentalized. That does not have to be a bad thing. Another local product, eBay, was also started on a wing and a prayer - basically not even a beta product thrown out there. Subsequently, the owners started reacting to every piece of feedback they received and built a killer app. Their community base is the basis of their success and they jealously build, guard and protect it. CrossFit should do the same. Listen. Grow. Evolve.

I know Greg Glassman and I believe in him as a businessman, fitness visionary and really just a good down-to-earth guy. I have had my issues with HQ and I know this is not the kindest, gentlest organization on earth, but given what we do doesn't that make a certain amount of sense?

Now goddammit! Let's chalk to the elbows and get back to working out!

See you in the garage.

Maximus Bernard Lewin
Owner, Lead Trainer
CrossFit East Bay
info@crossfiteastbay.com
510.910.2919

Post thoughts to comments.

13th Anniversary of My 30th Birthday

November 11, 2009

13th Anniversary of Max's 30th Birthday


7:15PM

Delta-Force Hit-and-Run Dinner @ Taqueria La Familla

8PM

Salsa Dancing at Down Low

It has been a long-time goal of mine to learn to dance, and get over my phobia of same. And, according to Coach Dr. Mock, I am ready for the world.

So come amuse yourself by seeing me break out in a cold sweat and run, humiliated and sweaty, into the night. Or, possibly, dance.

Down Low:
Wednesdays | Live Salsa Bands
Beginner lessons from 8-8:45
Intermediate lessons from 8:45-9:30
$10 cover, $5 w/student ID
$4 margarita special
Map

CrossFit East Bay: CrossFit Games 2010

Apollonia May 2009, Norcal Qualifier

---

We are now 9 months out from the CrossFit Games 2010. Greg Glassman has stated that the games are an opportunity for affiliates to show the strength of their programming.

Last year we decided late to enter the games; for the Affiliate Cup we gambled and lost on a dark horse strategy, which involved a lot of long grueling metcon (long time domains by CF standards). We chose this strategy because we had limited time to develop tons of power or strength; it takes quite a while to get strong, while developing work capacity can be done fairly quickly. Because of (or perhaps despite) this we finished 68th of 97 teams.

For the individual competition, Apollonia also had limited time to prepare, but thanks to Gita's brilliant 11-day preparation and her inherent athleticism and powerful work ethic, she qualified for the games in 5th place, but far ahead of the next nearest competititor. With good, hard training, she placed 34th at the games, and, notably, improved enough against the moving targets of the the Norcal Competitors that she placed higher than everyone who beat her at the Norcal Qualifier previously.

This year we know far in advance that we will participate in the competitive season, and therefore, We will tailor our programming to that end. Given the fact that CrossFit East Bay is dedicated to old-school CF principals, most of the training will be fully scalable, and we will offer a compelling fitness experience for anyone who wants to train hard and get results.

The next three months will be old-school CF GPP (generalized physical preparedness). However, our Max Effort work will be less varied than CF main for this period. The reasons for this being a good or bad idea could fill a very long article. Suffice to say this will make it easier for us to gauge what kind of progress we are making. We will also be working on short metcon, long metcon, light (bodyweight-ish) metcon and heavy metcon. We will deadlift heavy every week, either as Max Effort day or as a metcon with weights of up to 315/205. We will also do Max Effort Clean & Jerk at least 2X a month. While some suggest teaching the snatch first (because it is harder), I am choosing to work on my own snatch, including getting high level instruction, before committing to teaching it in a serious manner.

In addition to the above we will be working a lot on Overhead Squats, Muscle-Ups, HSPU and Double-Unders (because they take the longest to learn). Also expect to learn to back squat.

The training template is HERE.

---

The subsequent training will be developed once we know more about the schedule and format, however, if possible we will spend significant time getting as strong as possible (think Deadlift, Squat, Press, Bench Press, Sled Drag, Tire Flip, etc.) while still gaining some capacity. Following that, I hope to have a well-designed volume overload scheme which will bring us right to the brink of despair overtraining/overreaching followed by a back-off, followed by a cycle of escalating intensity but lowered volume. In all cases, I hope to avoid the scenario of last year when we were a bit spun-down (if super-conditioned) coming up to our competitions. Some of us definitely peaked the week after the games. Recovery will be much more at the forefront this year. Training will be the new overtraining. The above may have to be repeated multiple times in micro-cycles (sectionals, regionals, games)

Bad Girl Open 091018

Power Weight Challenge Day Five

Here is an excellent 3-block meal, courtesy of Trader Joe's

- 1 package Thai String Beans with 2/3 of 1 sauce pack (the sauce packs are mostly sugar and have 30 grams/3 blocks of total carb)
- 1 patty Trader Joe's 96/4% beef

Calories in: 1550
Calories out: 3300
Negative calorie balance: 1750

WOD "A" Row 5K 20:59
WOD "B" Boulder one hour (got a few V2s)

P/W Challenge Day Five: Equalibrium

Cal in: 2400
Cal out: 2800
Negative Cal balance = 400

WOD - none.

Ready to attack it again tomorrow.

P/W Challenge Day Four

Cal in: 1400
Cal out: 3450
Neg balance 2050

This is a bit too much neg calorie balance, but I am quite surprisingly not hungry. I have been eating pretty much nothing but zone-ish portions of meat, veg, fruit, nut, seed and coffee. Go figure. 1500 negative calorie balance a day is probably the upper limit of sustainable, safe, healthy weight loss. That would result in 3 pounds lost a week, some of it likely muscle: in the past I have lost 2.5 pound fat .5 pounds of muscle on such a diet.

WOD "A" 5K row in 20:24

WOD "B": 2.5 hours of moderate bouldering

P/W Challenge Day Three

Intake:

Protein: 165g
Carb: 129g
Fat: 76g

Cal: 1810

Output: 3331

Negative Calorie balance: 1521

WOD: 10K Row in 42:44

CrossKitchen: Enter The Zone

From CFEB; By Daniel on September 28, 2009 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)







I'd like to take a moment to call out our friend and fellow athlete Raphael Dozzi. Now, athletically speaking, Raph has a few things going for him that make him a great CrossFitter: yes, he's young and has good genes, but he's also dogmatic about coming to as many workouts in a week as he can, and making up those he can't. And we've all seen the passionate intensity he brings to his workouts.

All of this is great, but I could also point to several other CFEB regulars who share the same traits. So why am I focusing on Raph this week? Because lately Raph has an ally in his corner that, to my knowledge, none of the rest of us (besides Max) do: the Zone diet. Since he started zoning strictly, Raph's performance has gone through the roof - he's been shedding bodyfat noticeably, his Clean & Jerk is one of the best in CFEB, and his Fight Gone Bad went from an already respectable 270 to a very impressive 306. At that level, a 36 point jump in your Fight Gone Bad score does not just happen - it is a solid indicator of athletic improvement.

His story, while impressive, is not unique - you read about it all the time from CrossFitters who fix their diet, typically by starting the Zone. The Zone Diet is the official diet of CrossFit. While variations of Paleo are also popular, Zone is what they taught me at my level 1 cert, and Zone is the first thing they advocate on CrossFit.com. Nearly all the top performers at the Games swear by the Zone. I've even heard that CrossFit NorCal (Robb Wolf's box), flat out will not let you join the gym unless you agree to eat Zone.

I blush to confess that I have never personally tried the Zone. I am intimidated by all the math that's involved. I almost never use measuring implements when I cook, much less the scale. But inspired by Raph, I've resolved to put my misgivings behind me and commit to going strict Zone for the month of October - and I invite you to join me. I will dedicate CrossKitchen for the month of October to an exploration of the Zone, and share with you any recipes, tips and insights that I gain, and hope you will do the same. 30 days, and we can blow it all out in style on Halloween. Let's do this thing!

OK!...but...uh...what is the Zone?

Sorry. I got ahead of myself there. First things first: the Zone Diet is a somewhat unique take on dieting invented by Dr. Barry Sears. His theory is that the human body performs optimally on a diet wherein the ratio of each meal is 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrates. When eating this way, the body enters a "Zone" where it is firing on all cylinders, easily converting bodyfat to energy and sidestepping the rollercoaster of hormone release caused by eating things all out of proportion.

You can read more at the official Zone Diet website, but it's something of a marketing nightmare. I would encourage you instead to consult the Bible of the Zone for Crossfitters: Journal issue #21. It's freely available, and packed with far more practical information in an easy-to-read format than any of the Zone materials I've read. I will endeavor to provide a quick overview here, but if you're serious about trying this I highly recommend reading the journal article at least.

A quick rundown: Meet the Block

The Zone Diet is built out of "blocks." A block is made of 7 grams of protein, 1.5 grams of fat and 9 grams of carbohydrates. Consuming food in these proportions will meet the 30/30/40 requirement.

The next step is figuring out how many blocks you should eat in a day. There is a calculation for that. Here's what you do: head over to my blog, and on the right you'll see a bodyfat calculator. Fill in your numbers, and you'll get a lean body weight. Multiply this number by 0.7, then divide by 7 for your block count. Using me as an example: a lean body mass of 157 times 0.7 comes to 110, divided by 7 comes to 15.7, so I can eat 16 blocks a day. This could be four 4-block meals, or (more likely) three 4-block meals and two 2-block snacks, or... well, the permutations are extensive.

(Side note: if you are already at a very low bodyfat (ie, 8% for men, 13% for women), then you should double or triple the amount of fat you're allowed in each block, or risk losing too much weight).

Practical application

CFJ #21 is full of helpful tips on how to convert all these numbers into actual food that you can eat. Take one food from the protein column, one from carbs and one from fat and you have a block of food - multiply quantities for more blocks. Or just pick something from the sample menus. There are also plenty of online resources for zone recipes. If I find anything particularly compelling, I'll be sure to share it - I hope you'll do the same for me.

So who's on board?

Anyone else ready to take the plunge? Sound off in the comments! Questions? Fire away and Max, Raph and I can do our best to clear up confusion.

CFEB P/W Challenge Day Two

10AM: 1 cup 2% milk = 1 block

2PM: 9 oz pork loin, one apple, one tomato, .5 avocado = 5 blocks

8PM: 9 oz hamburger, 12 oz broccoli, 10 oz papaya, 5 oz strawberries = 6 blocks

10PM 5 oz strawberries, 5 oz papaya, 4 oz cottage cheese = 2 blocks

WOD "A": Row 10K; 42:24

WOD "B": GWPC Boulder comp problems 1-12 (fail on 13, 5 attempts)

Calories: 1600
Negative calorie balance: 2140

CFEB P/W Ratio Challenge Day 1

Stats:
Weight - 199#
BF% -21.5%
Lean Mass 156#
Fat Mass 43#
Max Rep C2B 6
Max Rep HSPU 1
Max Rep 1.5XBW DL (300#) in one minute: 14

Food Log:

11AM: Cup 2% Milk (with coffee), 9 oz apple, 9 oz tomato, one egg + 4 egg whites, trace olive oil = 4 blocks

5PM: Two TJ's Chicken Patties, 9 oz tomato, 5 oz apple, 8 oz mushroom, 2 tsp butter = 6 blocks

10PM: NSA (No Sugar Added) Frozen Yogurt, 1 oz Kiwi, .5 oz shredded coconut, .5 oz almonds, 20 g protein powder = 3 blocks

Block Total = 13 blocks
Cal= 1404
Neg Cal Balance = 1800

WOD: Bouldering;
V0x3
V1X2
V2X2
V2 (fail)
V3 (fail)

CrossFit East Bay Power/Weight Challenge Part Two

CrossFit East Bay Power/Weight Challenge Part Two

You may self-report your stats on the challenge page in comments. You will have to use a different method of ascertaining lean mass and bodyfat if you are self-reporting. Use the calculator here:

http://onrockrockon.blogspot.com/ - This calculator is NOT accurate for athletes, but it will measure the difference just fine.

You will have to use the same method at the conclusion of the challenge.

Please report:

1. Bodyweight
2. % Bodyfat
3. % Fat Mass
4. % Lean Mass
5. Max Rep Deadlift @ 1.5X BW
6. Max number of C2B Pull-Ups
7. Max number of Static HSPU
8. Max number of muscle-ups
9. Max number of static muscle-ups

See standards, below.

Here
is the format for the Power/Weight Challenge: This is specifically NOT
a weight loss challenge, those might be fine for TV, but focusing only
on weight lost is simplistic and not for athletes, some of who need to
gain, not lose, weight.

Losing "weight" is really, really easy.
Losing fat mass, without losing significant lean mass (muscle, bone) is
difficult. Losing fat mass while gaining muscle mass is quite difficult
indeed but by no means impossible. Gaining muscle for some is just as
hard as losing fat is for others.

So: each participant will pony up $50.00 for each 5 week challenge, winner take all.
Here is part two of the body comp challenge. Please note the changes.


Stats
will be taken at the beginning and end of each challenge, including
lean body mass/body fat using a decent bioelectrical impedence scale.
Come fully hydrated for each test to minimize the error of the scale
(it actually measures total body water and extrapolates LBM from that).
Picture optional.

Challenge "A" will run from Sunday, July 27th to Sunday August 30th
Challenge "B" will run from Sunday September 27th to Sunday November 1st.

Each participant will choose a goal:

"Beanpole" - gain weight
"Chubs" - lose weight

Points are assigned thusly:

Beanpole - 1 point per pound of mass gained.
Chubs - 1 point per pound of fat lost

1.5X BW Deadlift
One point for each additional point above baseline, including zero.

C2B Pull-Ups:
One point for each additional point above baseline, including zero.

Static HSPU
One point for each additional point above baseline, including zero (first HSPU may be kipped all subsequent reps must be static).

Muscle-ups:
Two points for each additional point above baseline, including zero (first muscle-up can be from bent arm, all subsequent reps must be from full lockout).

Static Muscle-Ups
Three points for each additional point above baseline, including zero.

Achievements:

Tracker: weigh and measure and count calories/macro-nutrient ratios of all food consumed (estimate at restaurants). Provide proof in the form of a journal or printed Fitday or similar software pages : 1 point
Blogger Bonus: share your intake and WODs with the world: 2 points (3 total including above)
Zoner Lite: Eat in "The Zone" 5.5 days per week - 1 point
Hardcore Zoner: Eat in "The Zone" all but one meal per week - 2 points
Fanatic Zoner: Eat ALL meals and snacks in "The Zone" - 3 points
Sweetie: No sugar, no sweeteners of any kind, same rules as No-Sugar Challenge - 1 point
Paleo Lite: No grains or sweetners of any kind - 2 points
Pure Paleo: No Dairy, no grains, no sweeteners, no legumes, no tubers, no coffee, no alcohol - 3 points
Performer: lose all fat and no muscle or gain muscle without gaining fat - 2 points.

Zone Low-GI, Matched Carb/Pro Italian Tuna Salad

20 0z Chunk White Tuna

4 TSP Olive Oil

2 TSP Balsamic Vinegar

1 Cup Cherry Tomato

1/2 Cup Artichoke Hearts

1/2 Finely Chopped Red Onion

Juice of 1/4 lemon

TBSP Capers

10 Dried Black Olives

Chopped Dill to taste

Salt, Pepper to taste

2 cups (Dry) Whole Wheat Rotella Pasta

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Enjoy. To make this paleo, omit the pasta and make up the missing carb blocks (about 110 g carbs)

13 protein blocks (these are 10 gram blocks)
13 carb blocks
13 fat blocks