Due to our wedding and honeymoon, there will be some changes to our schedule over the next 2 weeks. On days that we are closed, we will post a WOD that you will be able to complete without any equipment.
- Friday, June 5th: 5:30am "Graveyard Gang" Class - Closed the rest of the day
- Saturday, June 6th: Closed - No Classes
- Monday, June 8th - Wednesday, June 17th: All morning classes will be unaffected, including the Saturday morning class and free Intro Session. All afternoon/evening classes will be condensed to 6:00pm and 7:00pm only. There will be no "Ladies Only" classes.
- Thursday, June 18th: Regular Class Schedule Resumes
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The following was written by Charles Washington in response to a newspaper article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution written by Chris Rosenbloom, Ph.D., R.D. Charles is a zero-carb guy who stays active with weightlifting and marathon running. He does a pretty good job explaining how the body fuels itself so I left it in his own words. Enjoy!
Those who recommend carbohydrates as the “best fuel for the body” don’t seem to realize two very important points:
First, the body can't store carbohydrates in large quantities and most people already get more than enough carbohydrates to fuel their bodies' daily activities. All carbohydrates, whether they are bread, pasta, sugar or jam when you put them in your mouth, enter the bloodstream as glucose. And the bloodstream can only hold so much.
The body, being a well-run power plant, puts the leftovers in storage to use in the future if it's needed. Some is stored as a type of starch called glycogen, but as it can't store much of this, the body turns most of the excess into fat and keeps it on deposit in the body's fat cells. We see it walking around the streets wherever we go, hanging off bodies in a most unattractive way.
Put simply, carbo-loading cannot work simply because excess carbohydrates are not stored in a readily usable way.
The second problem lies in how the body uses its various options for fuel. Each of our body's cells contains lots of very small power plants called mitochondria. It is they that produce the energy we need from the food that we consume. Glucose is usually called the body's 'preferred fuel' because, if it is available, our bodies have been conditioned from birth to use it first. But it is not the best fuel. That distinction belongs to fats--or fatty acids, to give them their scientific name. Before the mitochondria can use either glucose or fatty acid as a fuel, it has to be transported into the mitochondria.
Fatty acids are transported into the mitochondria as completely intact molecules. Glucose, on the other hand, can be transported only after it has been broken down first into pyruvate by the process of glycolysis. This is then used anaerobically to produce energy with lactate as a by-product.
The by-products of the energy-production process when fatty acids are used are carbon dioxide and water, both of which are easily excreted. But when glucose is used, the lactic acid produced in the conversion process can build up in muscle cells and make them ache. It is this that is the cause of the aching muscles or pain involved in strenuous exercise--'the wall' as athletes call it. This 'wall' severely limits an athlete's performance.
So why would a person want to limit their performance by using carbohydrates for fuel?
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A couple posts back, Mark commented with several questions. I decided to make a post out of it being many of you have the same questions.
First, I've garnered that carbs are the boogey man here, this is nothing new of course, there have literally been dozens of low to no carb diets popularized in the last 10 years from Atkins/Southbeach/Zone and the like, however usually those have a specific breakdown Zone being the 40/30/30, Atkins the 0/50/50, and it seems as though you guys are somewhere in the middle there, at least from what I've seen from Josh (cause he works with me and can only have 40g (a bite) of carbs a day.
Sure, all 3 of those are lower carb than the Standard American Diet (SAD), but to be more precise, Atkins and South Beach are only low-carb in the beginning and the Zone never even comes close to being low-carb. The induction phase of Atkins starts out at 20g of carbs per day, but goes as high as 120g per day as you progress through the other 3 phases. This results in a diet that is no longer low-carb. The same thing is true with the South Beach diet. For the first two weeks you restrict all carbs that don’t come in the form of veggies, but then you start to increase the “forbidden” foods over the next two phases. Again, you start out low-carb, but eventually move on to carb-land. The Zone differs from the other two in that it never has you go low-carb. It starts with the “magic” ratio of macronutrients and sticks to it.
As for us, we ALWAYS recommend that everyone focus on the quality of their food sources before worrying about the quantity. It is much more beneficial, both short and long term, to eat high quality foods in any amount than to eat some magic ratio of frankenfoods. With that being said, most people have had the idea burned into their brains that it is ALL about the numbers. They also want instant results in this microwave society. To facilitate both of these desires, I gave some of our members numbers to strive for while continuing to stress the quality of their food choices. Getting someone to eat Paleo will naturally restrict most carbs by itself. To give you a point of reference, it would take just under 4 pounds of broccoli to get 40g of carbs in you. I’m not saying you couldn’t eat high-carb while going Paleo, it would just take an enormous amount of food to do it.
Everyone we work with comes to us with a different set of goals and a body that is unique in the way it will respond to the food ingested. Some will respond better and be happier with a higher level of carbs while others will need to go lower than we initially recommended. We at least set a baseline for observational purposes and can adjust going forward to meet the goals of the individual.
Now at this point I should point out that of what I've seen and heard I tend to agree with about 90%, mostly based on the principle that your fat intake is not what is making/keeping people fat, and I love to see you guys pointing out that the crappy carbs are really to blame for a lot of this, although I don't know that I completely agree on all the foods you guys would tend to label as poor choices.
What foods specifically do you disagree with? I am going to go out on a limb and guess that it comes from this group: grains, dairy, soy, or legumes.
Nevertheless my questions come in the form of athletic performance, and overall realistic practicality than weight or fat loss.
There are numerous reports from CrossFitters around the world who all saw their athletic performance go through the roof after adopting a Paleo/Zone diet approach. Here is one such example: Example 1.
John Welbourn (NFL Lineman, Affiliate Owner, CrossFit Football Creator) is also a huge proponent of the Paleo Diet: Example 2.
What do you do with the detractors who say that you cannot perform at a high level athletically without the use of more carbs in the diet, one of the things that all of the studies on diets like atkins have showed is that it's really hard on the body to take protein and fat and convert them into quick needed energy, and say 40g a day will get the average person about 3 pulls on the rower before there OOG.
Most of the studies that I am aware of never allowed the participants to become fat adapted. Instead, they would limit carb intake for 3 days or so and then measure performance. It will take most people anywhere from 2-4 weeks to start becoming fat adapted (i.e. efficiently burn fat for fuel). Here is a study confirming that: Click Here
Not to mention the hard effect high fat and protein diets can have on your kidneys, GI tract, and colon, and the higher cholesterol that goes along with it.
Again, this is based on false assumptions and poor research. If it were true, wouldn’t the Inuit and Masai both need to be disease ridden or long dead by now? I will make it a point to cover these topics in the near future.
In addition where are we supposed to get a majority of our vitamin and nutrient fortification?
Eating grass-fed fat/meat will provide you with all of the vitamins the body requires. How do you think the Inuit lived in the arctic region without any vegetation? There are essential fatty acids and essential amino acids (proteins), but not a single essential carb. I would also like to note that Jennie, Zach, and myself have all had blood work done after eating this way for some time and are not deficient in anything.
Now I agree as well that the idea of 4 to 6 servings of fruits and veggies is nuts, so are you suggesting we swear off a majority of our fruits and replace them with Megamans and Flinstones?
I do not actively recommend any supplements. In fact, I recommend against multi-vitamins. Most are chemically produced in a lab somewhere and their absorption/assimilation rates are horrendous. Eating high quality fats/meats will provide you with everything you need, but feel free to “supplement” with some fruit and veggies if you like.
Because many of the vegetables you endorse are not exactly vitamin/mineral blockbusters, i.e. spaghetti squash
If I were ever touting any vegetables it would have been chard, kale, broccoli, and anything else that is green and leafy. Spaghetti squash is simply used to give more variety, density, and texture to people’s meals. Just trying to enlighten everyone on new ways to be creative in the kitchen.
To sum all this up, do you feel there is adequate enough balance in your approach for needed energy (workouts/normal functioning), as well as being realistic (what % should the average person be consuming because 40g, doesn't seem plausible), and furthermore for overall nutrition how do you reconcile not getting our supposed daily allowances without vitamin supplementation? And most importantly how and when can you cheat (on your diet) without ill-effect, as no one can be perfect all the time.
Eventually, everyone gets to a point where they need to stop analyzing all of the data and just act. Give the Paleo Diet a legitimate shot for 4 weeks and report back to us. If you aren’t feeling better, looking better, or performing better then you will have every right in the world to tell us we are nuts. However, I am confident that this won’t be the case.
As for cheating, I recommend doing the best you can do. I like to refer to the Pareto Principle, otherwise known as the 80/20 rule. Changing a few of your eating habits will provide you with a majority of the results. Some people are successful with that planned “cheat” meal, while others find it more beneficial to just wing it. Either way, it has to be viewed as a lifestyle change and not just another diet. So many people go on a diet to lose weight and then return to their original lifestyle only to gain it all back. This isn’t a temporary solution. We are trying to help people better themselves for the duration of their life.
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Due to the level of interest in representing CrossFit Fire at the Affiliate Cup Challenge, we will be hosting tryouts this weekend. The ladies will go head to head on Saturday morning while the men will duke it out on Monday morning. All challengers will participate in 3 WODs on the given day. In between WODs, everyone will be free to do what they want. The Fort will be open though and we will have the grill out. Bring food and drinks of your choice and come cheer your friends on! This is a truly exciting moment for all of us.
"The Ladies"
- Who: Brittany, Jennie, Stacy
- When: Saturday, May 23rd, 7:30am, 10:00am, 12:00pm
"The Men"
- Who: Boyd, Clark, GAH!, Matt L., Pete
- When: Monday, May 25th, 8:00am, 10:00am, 12:00pm
"The WODs"
- Three rounds for time of:
- 500m Row
- 21 Burpees
- 400m Run
- One round for time of:
- 10 Clean & Jerks (60/40)
- 1 Sled Drag (20/15)
- 8 Clean & Jerks
- 1 Sled Drag
- 6 Clean & Jerks
- 1 Sled Drag
- 4 Clean & Jerks
- 1 Sled Drag
- 2 Clean & Jerks
- 1 Sled Drag
- One round for time of:
- 50 Double-unders
- 21-15-9 reps of:
- Overhead Squats (40/30)
- Box Jumps (24")
- Pull-ups
- 50 Double-unders
Additional Notes
- The order of the WODs will be drawn at random on the day of the tryout.
- Points of performance for each movement will be covered prior to the tryouts.
- Every athlete will be assigned a judge during the WODs.
- The second and third WODs will utilize a staggered start based on previous WODs performance.
Holiday Weekend Class Schedule
- Saturday - 8:00am (Ramp Up), 9:00am ("Team Saturday"), 10:00am (Free Intro)
- Monday - Holiday Hours - 9:00am class only
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Ramp Up
Our next Ramp Up session begins tomorrow at 4:00pm! We still have space available so tell your friends and family to come join the fun! This will be our last Ramp Up session until mid-June or later because of our wedding/honeymoon. Remember, ALL new members MUST successfully complete a Ramp Up session before they can jump into our regularly scheduled classes.
Affiliate Cup Tryouts
Everyone interested in trying out for our Affiliate Cup Team needs to comment to this post, add their name to the whiteboard at the Fort, or contact Bill directly by the end of the day on Wednesday, May 20th. If we don't have enough people to warrant a tryout, we will take the 6 people currently interested and go for it. As of right now, I have gotten a final commitment from Matt L., Pete, Clark, Garth, Stacy, and Jennie. Everyone else needs to let me know if they are interested.
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We had 15 people turn out for our Team Saturday Challenge this past weekend. The workout called for teams of 3 and consisted of 4 rounds of:
- 500m Row (person 1)
- 500m Row (person 2)
- 500m Row (person 3)
All 5 teams kept it relatively close, but in the end, Superman (a.k.a. Garth) simply could not be denied. He kept all 4 of his rows sub 1:40 while Jeff and Todd did some serious rowing of their own. After claiming the championship belt yet again, Superman was quick to grab his teammates and instruct them on their victory pose. Congrats gentlemen!
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