Spending Or Investing: Increase Your Portfolio Now...

   Memorial Day Warm-up...

“Sexiness wears thin after a while and beauty fades, but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat.”

I use to hate to repopulate our blog with topics already addressed, but one will find - especially a writer - many things have already been covered, and it's not our job to leave them lie never touching beautiful topics we continue to deal with everyday. It's to read past glory then add our own. Hopefully someday, someone adds to me.

I go to a cool ass church with a pastor who is above all, a student, then teacher. He learns so that he may teach, and man did he teach. Even the cross haters get it when cool people talk, and this dude said some pretty cool things.

The best lines in any speech, be it sermon, state of the union, pep-talk, are those moments when the audience shuts the hell up and can't quite breathe. That feeling in your throat when you can't tell if a sock just found its way into your mouth, or if your eyes are gonna tear up. And if you don't think about something like baseball for a second, your reaction is going to be all over your face for everyone to see. These are vision moments.

Vision Moments:

Vision moments are those times when we are awarded our real sense of being. It's where "we" can know "us". Think about that, when you're revealed, and you really can know yourself. 

I believe these moments are around us everyday. The problem is they just usually need to look like a tornado instead of a cloud for us to go to our basement of realization. They both contain the same rain, but one makes ya get the hell up. 

I was clear enough, and present enough to see one of these "visions" pass before me, and well up in my throat just days ago, and what good timing.

When you begin to doubt. Right when you begin to question, "Am I doing what I am suppose to be doing?", "Am I missing something?", nature seems to always send you the answer. It may not be the one you want, but it will come when it is most needed, and as long as you're "present" you will see it. Then and only then can you decide to "invest" it...or "spend" it.

In fact, that's what the guy asked the followers, "Are you spending your life, or investing it"?

Spending:

Living pay check to pay check in the literal sense is a stressful way to get by...I know, I am an entrepreneur. I am aware of exactly what it's like living no check to no check, but I wouldn't change that for the world. In fact, I would qualify that as investing.

Becoming a professional spender pretty much ensures your investment portfolio is bare. And lack of investing your blessings guarantees you're committing, in my opinion, the worse sin there is "NOT LIVING UP TO YOUR POTENTIAL".

I believe we are so scared of what we could be, and the hardships or embarrassments that may clutter our path along the way, that we would just rather occupy our rather limited time with superfluous activities that are much less glorious, and in fact much more offensive when compared to how we were made and what we can do.

Spending  is fifteen hours in front of a video game when your marriage is falling apart. Spending is reoccurring eighty-hour work weeks in the name of supporting your family, all the while your kids only ask, "When's Dad getting home?" Spending is completing tasks that are just marks on a paper rather than notches in someone's heart.

Investing:

As you can imagine, Investing is exactly the opposite. Good investing means you continue to do it, and are constantly credited with more than when you began.Good investing means relationships you created whip back on you when you're in need it most, and make you better. After all, we all need someone to invest in us whether or not we invested in them first.

As I said, this Vision Moment struck me at a time when I wonder repeatedly, "Am I doing the right thing, can I do more? Am I making investments, or spending?"

My answer, as our own personal answers usually are, was relieving in an uneasy sorta way. It made me feel pleased with the right thing part, but anxious about the enough part. And this is where we must audit ourselves. I feel I have invested in others well for that is where I believe our lives should be spent...in the service of others. Yet I feel my life accountant could still tag me with a penalty or two when it comes to times I simply am busy to be busy, helping no one, finding potential no where including myself.

Today, audit your own investments and see if they are truly areturning relationships as dividends and helping others as profits. Or see if you're living day by day, check by check working for the man, staying busy to be active living the biggest sin of all....the sin of wasted potential.

Strength:

Thruster

RXD-95/115/135/155/185/205/225/245

Scaled-65/85/95/105/115/135/155

*Regional Rules. One shot at each weight as long as successful attempts. Twenty seconds per station, ten second transition.

For Score:

5-Clapping Push-ups

7-Rotational Box Jumps

9-Unbroken Wall Ball

AMRAP 8 Minutes

Post successful weight achieved and rounds and reps to comments.

Plus Size...

Mel

“Don't tell your friends about your indigestion. "How are you" is a greeting, not a question.”

Practice CrossFit boasts quite an amazing crew as does the rest of our extended CrossFit world. And not only do our women athletes number more than our men, but the wall of certifications has more female names as well. You can tell from below exactly why. Trainer Mindy Shardo pulls no punches and offers words for all to live by...pass it on. 

The following is authored by Mindy S.

The Forbs Modeling Agency just released their new plus size models, planning to turn the industry on its head. Their goal? Broaden the playing field and giving more women the opportunity to be considered beautiful. “Wait a minute... you mean even though I wear a size 8 and am now considered plus size, I can still be beautiful??? Score!” Pardon me while I vomit.

Critics are scrutinizing the industry for considering women who wear size 8 as “plus size”. Personally, I agree the idea is ludicrous.  It’s widely known that the high fashion industry has an incredibly narrow view for what’s considered healthy and beautiful. They reinforce this message by putting healthy and completely normal looking women on the covers of magazines with the label “plus size.” This doesn’t give more women a chance to be included... it says that sick=sexy, healthy=overweight, and overweight= well... don’t even bother.

But there’s another side to this fashion mind @$&%. Clothing designers everywhere are increasing the size of their clothing without increasing the size number on the tag. The woman wearing a size 8 would’ve worn the same dress in a size 12 back in the 1950s. Rather than keeping true to sizes, designers want to make women feel better by lying to them and saying they’re a smaller size than what they truly are. Does this justification really make women feel better? You bet. I can hear it now... “Well, I wanted to lose a few pounds, but I just fit into a size 10 pair of jeans and I haven’t done that since high school. I guess I’m not that bad after all!” I’ve been there too, and sadly its all a lie that we allow ourselves to believe.

Women everywhere- stop believing the lies! While nobody should have to look Ethiopian to feel beautiful, believing the tag on your clothing over the number on the scale isn’t okay, either. Our bodies are amazing, beautiful, complex organisms meant to do amazing things if we treat it right, and we are far too busy to let sickness, insecurity, or anything else stop us from conquering our little part of the world.

So how do you get away from idolizing the “skinny-fat” chick on the magazine cover and become the true picture of health and beauty? How do you walk as confidently as the runway model? By changing your focus. When we stop basing our self worth on outside appearance and focus on taking care of ourselves and giving our bodies what they truly need, amazing things will occur. Taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, and nutritionally will turn your world upside down, as well as your perspective on what healthy and beautiful should look like. I chose Crossfit and it transformed every aspect of my life. It has rewired my brain, and I have a new vision of what I strive to become.

What a far cry from what used to be....

I used to want to be thin; now I proudly show off those lines in my shoulders and abs.

I used to want the pounds to decrease on the scale; now I watch them increase on the bar.

I used to exercise out of desperation; now I crave the feeling of a sub-5 Fran.

I used to eat for comfort, now I eat for fuel.

I used to do zumba, aerobics, random machines, i.e. waste my time; now I’m a Crossfitter.

I used to think being sweaty was gross; now I bask in hard-earned sweat angels.

I used to feel insecure about my physical capabilities; now I feel empowered.

I used to seek the attention of douche bags that also sought out the frail, skinny girl; now I’ve found the man that values and appreciates a strong woman.

I used to follow; now I lead.

I used to make excuses; now I show others how to get rid of theirs.

I used to cave under pressure; now I know discipline. 

I used to claim ignorance on nutrition; now knowledge is power.

I used to compare myself to all the other women around me; now I stand confidently, looking forward. 

I used to dream of doing things; now I just do them.

I used to be limited; now I’m unstoppable.

This is my new definition and my perspective of what a beautiful, healthy, capable woman should be. I’ve been permanently rewired and never plan to go back. I don’t need to look like the girl on the cover... I’d rather know I could overhead squat her.

Dynamic:

Power Snatch

10x2 @ 70% 1 RM

For Time:

7-Push Press 65/95

21-Double Unders

7 Rounds

Post weight moved and time to comments.

Created Equal: How To Stay That Way...

Saturday Fun...

"I don't make the rules, I just think them up and write them down."

I am eternally grateful to rise yet another Memorial Day and be able to give thanks to those men and women who have died in service of our country. Fighting for what we have, what we are, what we can be. And while I love this country of ours, and our fighting troops even more and can't thank them enough for treading foreign soils to give us safety in our homeland, I can't help but wonder who they're fighting for?

The Privilege Of Created Equal:

This Memorial Day we have the chance to reflect on those who gave their all both in times past and now. We have time to honor the families who lost one of the many soldiers we morn today. We have to think about why there is a need for this day in the first place, and since currently there is, do we deserve the symbol it represents?

When ole TJ sat down and penned one of the greatest documents known to man (or at least Americans), he knew men would die for it. That even though it should never come to the death of a single human, many would disagree, many would rise up against us, and many would fall.

Memorial Day symbolizes the day that we needed to form a fighting force to protect our way of life from those who would attack it. But one look at our way of life should make us question whether this is what TJ and our forefathers had in mind when they were willing to sacrifice so many good men. Did they mean Equality was a right? Or did they mean it was a given privilege that could be squandered by choices unbecoming an American?

They Died For American Idol:

I'm not trivializing the death of any single warrior to date. In fact, I'm trying to paint such a vivid picture even the blindest eyes can see. There was a day when the country was unified against a common tyrant. Where, sadly, there were men dying on the front line. All the while folks at home were working and improving and saluting those fighting abroad....not forgetting them.

There was a time when a soldier would be fighting mainly for his family, of course, but for his country, his friends, his way of life, strangers. He fought because he knew all that was worth fighting for. Is that same truth evident today? 

It seems kinda hard to believe someone would go half way around the world to sacrifice themselves so American Idol can air one more time, or some washed up actress can dance herself skinny and win some bullshit show saturating the time Americans could use to be great. Time we could use to show our troops that they are fighting for more than TV. More than suburbs, and shopping. It's time we show we are worth fighting for. That they are fighting for the spirit we once had. Not the $%#^ing fat ass spirit many of us have become. 

If You Won't, They Shouldn't:

There are those not fighting for themselves that have others doing the work for them. Able-bodied individuals line the halls of hospitals with fake disease that only came into existence over the last 50 years. Fake because the simple cure to many of them is to get your fat us up and care enough to do something about it. To fight. To fight for yourself. And not only will some not fight for themselves, they expect others to fight and die in their honor. A selfish country we have become. And we wonder why people hate us. We wonder why the military recruits less and less. We wonder why most question, "What are we fighting for again? What am I dying for?"

Today we are lucky enough to celebrate a great country, and even greater soldiers who have died for it. Hopefully, these deaths are not for the rule makers. Not for the people who make the food pyramids that are making Americans sick, produce the cars making Americans pay at the pump, and inventing diseases Americans need medication for.

Hopefully, this Memorial Day we can celebrate the lives of those beloved fighters who gave their all. This Memorial Day we can take our shirts off, lift heavy shit, get dirty, do something scary, eat meat, salute those who fight, and say "%#^% you!" to those who think we shouldn't. This Memorial Day we can make the memory of those fallen a little sweeter by redeeming why they fell in the first place.

*Memorial Day WOD 11am/Cookout After

Strength:

Rest

For Time:

Show Up To Find Out

Post team and what happens to comments.

Weekly Endurance WODs:

WOD 1

Rx: *6 x 200, 2 min rest

Scaled: *6 x 200, 3 min rest

* This WOD will be done as a class

WOD 2

7 min @ 90%

5 min @ 90%

Meat Glue...

“It is only the savage, whether of the African bush or of the American gospel tent, who pretends to know the will and intent of God exactly and completely.”

Mark Sisson of Marks Daily Apple tells a tale of glue in this "Saturdays Stolen Post". A tale of "Meat Glue" that is. And since this week alone finds me with several emails and physical questions I thought I could save myself the time of writing virtually the same thing as Mark did simply because as of now I feel roughly the same way.

If you’re a fitness and nutrition nerd, you’re long past the grade school days of willingly eating glue, paste, and other pseudo-edible adhesives, but there’s a decent chance you’re still eating an entirely different kind of glue unknowingly. Maybe even on a regular basis. I’m talking about meat glue, also known as transglutaminase, which restaurants and food producers use to create “steaks” out of “glued-together” stew meat, add body to dairy products, make imitation crab, improve processed meat mouth feel, to name a few. This video exposing the “secret” of meat glue has been making the rounds of the various health circles. 

With that out of the way, what exactly is transglutaminase, and should you be worried about it?

Transglutaminase is an enzyme, produced either by bacterial cultivation (via fermentation of plant extracts) or from the coagulation factor in porcine and bovine blood, that bonds proteins together. Once it’s been cultivated or extracted, transglutaminase is dried into a powder that can be easily applied to a number of products, including

Reconstituted steaks, fillets, roasts, or cutlets - Meat glue is added to disparate chunks of meat (like cheap stew meat, chunks of chicken – any meat, really) and rubbed in. The chunks are compressed together and left to cool; after several hours, the meat pieces have formed insoluble bonds made of protein polymers. You can usually pull apart the “steak” to reveal the composite pieces, but take a quick glance and you’d never know it was cheap stew meat glued together. To most consumers, the resultant reconstituted “steak” is indistinguishable from a real slab of meat once it’s cooked, but a skilled meat glue artist can create “steaks” that fool experts – even when they’re raw.

Sausages, hot dogs, and other processed meats – Transglutaminase is added to provide uniform texture to processed meats. The “bits” become smooth and seamless. Imagine Oscar Mayer balogna and you’ll get the picture.

Imitation crab - Similar to hot dogs and sausages, only made with fish, usually pollock.

Fish balls, chicken nuggets, and other examples of deliciousness - Makes all that chicken viscera go down smooth.

Novel culinary creations - Some chefs are getting pretty creative with meat glue. One guy in NYC, for example, uses meat glue to make flourless noodles out of shrimp! I’d eat that.

On its face, meat glue sounds awful. I don’t think I have to explain why. It’s just repulsive on a visceral level. Furthermore, it’s generally used to make some pretty awful foods. We can’t really blame the transglutaminase for that, though. It’s not the meat glue that makes chicken nuggets a bad idea; it’s the hydrogenated vegetable oil in which they’re fried and the refined wheat breading in which the “chicken” is encased. I suppose you could call meat glue an enabler, but it’s not the offending party. But is it itself bad for you?

The FDA has deemed it “generally safe” (what confidence!) and there’s got to be something in PubMed that justifies their conclusion… right? Well, I searched far and wide and while there is a ton of research on culinary and industrial applications of transglutaminase, there was nothing about the safety thereof. Nothing good, nothing bad. It simply wasn’t there in any direction.

Most of it was stuff like the paper showing that microbial transglutaminase increases the sensory appeal of chicken sausages made from various chicken parts across several parameters, including texture, water retention, and appearance. Note that researchers failed to mention taste. I take this to mean meat glue made the texture of the sausages uniform (so the average consumer doesn’t know what they’re eating) and improved their plumpness (added water weight). In other words, meat glue allows consumers to eat meat paste without inconvenient thoughts of dead baby animals obstructing their carefree chewing and swallowing. So, it may be used in a misleading way, but there’s nothing here about negative health effects, either from eating the glue itself or caused by it.

As I see it, the real danger with glued meat is in the uneven heating of reconstituted steaks made up of random pieces of stew meat. See, most reasonable people eat their steak at or below medium doneness. I’m a rare-to-medium-rare man myself, and with a real slab of animal, going rare, medium rare, or medium usually isn’t a problem. The exterior – the part that’s potentially been exposed to dangerous bacteria – is cooked or seared. The inside may be undercooked or even bloody, but the inside of a piece of real meat doesn’t get significant bacterial exposure, so there’s little to no danger. But “steaks” aren’t one piece of meat. They are made of multiple pieces of meat, each with its own history, its own exterior, and its own collection of bacteria. If you treat a glued together “steak” like a regular steakand eat it below medium, you’ll be eating some undercooked meat exteriors. Unless you braise that fake steak or burn it to a crisp, there’s no way you’ll know if all the component pieces have been sufficiently cooked. And if you’re ordering steak at a standard restaurant, you have no control over how it’s handled – or even what you’re really eating. Bonded meat isn’t necessarily unhealthy, but cooking it well requires a little more attention to detail, and in a restaurant, especially your garden variety chain restaurant, the cooking is entirely out of your hands.

Beyond that, it’s the deception that really bugs me. I think a lot of the outcry against transglutaminase can be explained by that: people don’t like being deceived, especially when there’s money on the line. If I buy a filet, it had better be an actual filet (singular), not a random assortment of trim and stew cobbled together and sprinkled with a bonding enzyme. Luckily, I know the meat I buy is real and whole, as does anyone who buys direct from farmers or from trusted butchers and meat counters, but not everyone has the inclination or ability to source meat from the source.

If you’re worried that the meat you buy contains transglutaminase, you can do a few things to avoid any potential complications:

• Do what the guy in the video did and gently tug on your meat. If your steak comes apart, it’s probably “steak.” It’s probably best to perform the tug test before you pay for the meat, and most meat counters/butchers will allow you to inspect what they sell.
• Just cook it thoroughly. I would advise against cooking your “steak” like a steak until well done, because, well, that just ruins meat, but a nice braise, crockpot stew, or soup would all work. Remember: it is meat and it is edible.
• Ask. Ask your butcher, your meat supplier, or your waiter if the meat contains glue. They should know, and if they don’t (or if they’re unwilling to say), order something else or go elsewhere.

Honestly, though, I don’t think transglutaminase in and of itself represents a big problem. It might come in otherwise unhealthy or suboptimal foods (processed meat, chicken nuggets, etc.) and it might expose you to bacteria if undercooked, but I don’t think it’s anything to lose sleep over.

Strength:

Rest

For Time:

Rest

Steal This Video: Why Not Fruit...

“One of the hardest things to do in life is to listen without intent to reply.”

Soon after we filmed the lot of this particular "Paleo Buddha Seminar" I edited some content and tossed out a clip every so often. This week's "Steal This Video" is the sole clip I left unpublished....until now.

It's not that folks haven't heard me say this before. Or that I feared being incorrect. No, its more to the point that individuals are coming to the realization that carbs are bad. That grains may no be all they are cracked up to be, and sugar really is the devil. Its that humans agree with 99% of the content they are given, then find the 1% we dislike and don't agree with, then we question the other 99% on our way to burning the witch that made us question our beliefs.

You can even hear it in the clip...."fruit is natural". The single most common argument for why we should be allowed to have it. Like some how other things that are so called "natural" haven't wounded us before.

Fruit is natural. Naturally the substance that produces arguably the most fat gain known to man calorie for calorie over any other substance. Meant to, among other things, naturally make us fat in the summertime, so we can fast in the wintertime, hibernate.

Test it for your self, replace all fruit calories with fat calories. Watch the success. Or, argue from the fruit filled castles soon to crumble over the piling anti-fruit data, shouting all the while, "but its part of the food pyramid, its natural". Shouting, right up until that castle is a hospital.

Strength:

Rest

For Time

"Partner Grace Off"

Max rep-Clean and Jerk 95/135

AMRAP 3 Minutes 

"Partner Rope Offs"

Max rep-Rope Climbs

AMRAP 3 Minutes

"Partner Wall Ball"

Max rep-Wall Ball

AMRAP 3 Minutes

"Partner ??????"

?????

AMRAP ??????

One minute rest between movements.

Post team and total to comments.

An Athletes Story: Journey To The Stage, Part 2....

Gemma After...

"What makes a genius is not lack of mistakes. It's lack of making the same mistake twice."

Now for the exciting "extension" of An Athletes Story. Because we are well aware, to "conclude" means to die. Gemma simply turned the page and learned a lot from the pages before. She deserves every bit of the kudos and spotlight. She did the work, she got judged, she grew, and others will grow because of her example. Thanks Gemma, it means a lot.

The following is Gemma's continuation from yesterday.

The next 12 weeks

I've always been told that the prep for a bodybuilding competition is hard work, painful, exhausting and probably one of the most difficult things that you'll ever do in your life. It can even be tedious, boring and will absolutely push you to your limits.

Call me strange, but I honestly didn't find it that bad. It may be because I've attempted it so many times before, I knew what to expect; or it may just have been because I had a coach who was chilled out and easy to talk to and relate to.

We communicated over email on a 1 to 2 day basis. I would send him emails with my random freak outs and thoughts (I'm sure he must have thought I was a nut job half the time!) and he would respond back enthusiastically, and normally say something to calm me down or help me to look at whatever the giant (in my mind) problem was. I would send him pics of my progress once a week, and he would send a new diet every few weeks, depending on where I was at with my prep. It was simple, and worked SO well! I have to admit, the time difference was a bit of a pain in the ass, as I would email him and then wouldn't get a response back until about 1am my time, but this taught me to be patient, and release all control and worry about the whole thing – which I think was a big part of why my prep went so smoothly.

So my training was simple – CrossFit! A mix of my box's programming and a bit if extra stuff to work on the problem areas that I had. No brainer really, and I seemed to cruise through it.

Josh's methods (in terms of diet) were slightly different to the norm of what I was used to, or what I'd ever heard of before! I was sure when I signed up for this that I would be getting diets full of greens and protein – true Paleo style! So when he said to me that I was going to have NO carbs at all, and that he didn't want me to eat before 12pm, or that he even wanted me to go an entire day without eating a thing and then train on that empty stomach – I was shocked, to say the least. But I was told a long time ago to always do exactly what your coach tells you. So I did just that. And the best part is – the dude knew what he was doing – AND IT WORKED!!! Never before had my body got so lean so quickly. I was never hungry, I never had cravings, and could even sit next to my boyfriend Kurt while he munched away on chocolate eggs and lollies at Easter and not want any! I was eating coconut (yum!!) and could even eat whole eggs (and didn't have to take out the yolks - double yum!!) and I was STILL getting leaner!! Best. Diet. EVER!!

The funniest thing about the whole experience was that the diet and training were the easiest part. The biggest challenge for me was to believe in myself and my bodies ability to change. I had never really been 'lean' before, and I was forever doubting whether I'd be ready for the show in time. However, through it all, Josh never once lost faith in me, my abilities or the fact that I WILL be getting up that stage. He said that me not doing the show was never an option for him – and that it shouldn't be for me either. He gave me the right amount of push and helped me believe in myself when I needed it the most. I eventually was able, through his help and guidance, to get my tandoori tanned (6 coats of the stuff!!) butt up on stage and present to the world, a figure that I was finally proud of, but most of all I was standing there completely comfortable in my own skin.

While I wasn't in the best condition out of all the girls up there, and sadly didn't place on the day, I couldn't be happier with the way I turned out. In my mind, I won. I was in the best condition of my life, and had the best time, and had all my closest friends and family there to watch. Everyone who were there to watch me said that I was the only one up there who looked like they were enjoing themselves, and I apparently “shone” on the stage and was "stunning". I'm sure this is because Josh was so positive and encouraging the whole way through, and just kept on saying to me to "have FUN on the day". Well that's exactly what I did!

Hearing how proud Josh was of me after he saw the photos helped make me proud of myself, and the highlight of my day was when we actually got to speak to him on the phone at the competition, from the other side of the world. It definitely made my big day so much better, and there was no way that he was going to miss this!

I can't express how thankful and honoured I am that I had such a professional and knowledgeable coach to help me realise my dream of getting on stage, and for making the journey such an enjoyable and meaningful one. Since working with Josh and getting such amazing results for my show, my boyfriend Kurt wanted in on the action and has also started being coached by him, and is getting ready for a regional CrossFit comp to be held in July. The results speak for themselves as Kurt is already looking shredded and is constantly hitting PBs and is in the best shape of his life! Let's just say, the man knows what he's doing! :o)

I am so excited to see what the next chapter of my fitness career will bring, as I am now officially hooked and will definitely (with Josh's help yet again) be getting back up there again in September – and will be presenting an even better package.

*Don't forget your favorite Paleo dish for the "Paleo Taste Test" after "Fittest Friday's".

Dynamic:

Front Squat: 

12x2 @65% 1RM

For Time:

400m-Run

21-Swings

14-Burpees

7-Flips

2 Rounds

Post weight moved and time to comments. 

An Athletes Story: Journey To The Stage, Part 1....

Gemma, Before...

‎"Sleep is a Cave-womens milk...It does a body good"

I'm proud to announce the results of one valued CrossFitter's journey to the stage.....tomorrow. Today, take a ride with Gemma as she ventured her way stage bound whether you ever aspire to tan up an pose down or not. A goal's a goal, and a stage is whatever you make of it. 

My name is Gemma O'Brien, I'm a CrossFit Coach at CrossFit Wollongong in Australia (near Sydney) and just recently I competed in the local South Coast Australian Natural Bodybuliding Championships on 15^th May 2011.

About me

First and foremost – I'm a CrossFitter. I couldn't give it up if you paid me!! Since discovering what I believe to be the most effective and ADDICTIVE training methodology out there, asking me to give it up would be like asking me to give up coffee – NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!!

I've Zoned, I eat Paleo (being lactose and gluten intolerant – I kinda have no choice) and I take my supplements (protein, fish oil, vitamins etc) on a regular basis. All in all, I'm healthy, fit, strong and loving life :o)

But I've always wanted to do a Bodybulding competition (very un-CrossFit of me I know!) – I've tried, many times before and came damn close to getting up on stage. I prepped for over 13 weeks, eating countless egg whites, broccoli and fish to finally realise that I just wasn't going to be ready for it, and ended up pulling out 3 weeks before show time. The attempt before that – it was 4 weeks before. So my track record of attempts was growing – but I still hadn't satisfied the hunger for getting up on stage.

This year I made a promise to myself – to push myself past my limits and comfort zone and do things I wouldn't normally do! And yes, that included getting my butt up on that stage NO MATTER WHAT!! It also included such feats as Triple Fran (3 rounds of 'Fran' back to back for time), The Burpee Mile (1 mile of burpee broadjumps), winning 1^stplace in my Division for 2 different CrossFit Games Days, and competing in the CrossFit Open.

This was shaping up to be the year where I set myself goals and actually DID them.

So the next on the list, my giant 'Goat' (so to speak) was the Figure Competition. The thought of actually getting up there and competing scared and excited me all at the same time.

So, tell me again WHY would you wanna do THAT?!?!?!

I've always been a 'larger girl'. To give you an idea, most of my adult life (I'm 28 yrs young) I've been around 80kg (176lb) and standing 5'10. I'm big boned, and no it's not just a saying – I have massive shoulders, a huge back, big legs and generally big bones! But it was all OK, because I could out-squat/deadlift/OHS most of the girls I knew, and I could also out row them too (go the long legs!!) so I was OK with it, at least on the outside.

Even through CrossFit, whilst I got stronger and a bit leaner, I was never able to get my body to a place that I was happy with, that I felt comfortable with, or was even proud of. I trained hard, I was constantly working at myself, and yeah, I may have partaken in a few too many cheat meals along the way – but I couldn't shake the shame that I didn't look the part – I was a trainer for f*** sake!! And all I could think to myself was, why would anyone want to be trained by me? I don't even look like I train or look after myself! I always found myself looking at pictures on Facebook of figure competitors, and even Crossfitters and to me, those girls LOOKED the part – they embodied health, fitness and vitality – everything that I stood for and lived for, but just wasn't exactly the poster-girl for.

So the decision was made – once and for all – that I was going to do this show, no matter what, get my body to a place where I'm proud, happy and can stand up on that stage, with my head held high, smile to the judges and the world and be comfortable in my own skin.

But I had one little snag – I didn't want to give up CrossFit!! Or Paleo!! No coach in Australia in the Bodybuilding community would touch me with a 10 ft pole as there was no way in hell that I would give up my beloved CrossFit – and why should I have to? There are countless numbers of competitors over in the USA who do CrossFit as prep for their shows – and they WIN!! Why should Australia be any different – why are we so backward over here and closed minded that the rule books say you MUST use traditional isolation and BB training to be able to be competitive in Bodybuilding. I don't think so buddy...and I was going to prove it to them!

Finding the Right Guy

I was suddenly reminded of a few journal articles that I came across a year or so ago. Well, more accurately it was my boyfriend who found them and got me onto them, as he's always known how much I wanted to do this, and even last year prepped with me right until the last few weeks when we both decided we weren't ready for it.

The first one was a video about Chastity Slone and her dieting and CrossFit training leading up to a show. I remember when I saw it – I felt like all my Christmases had come at once! Here was an IFBB pro who had a PHENOMENAL figure, and she did CrossFit for her training!! Score!!

Then the other was an article written by the guy – Josh Bunch. A former bodybulider turned CrossFitter and CrossFit Coach who used a mix of BB and CrossFit training to prep for a show – AND WON!! Hmmm this was looking promising...

I decided to do a bit more research – I tracked down where Josh was training at, and sent him an email, telling him that I wanted to do a show in about 5 months (this was at the beginning of the year) but was only interested in using CrossFit and Paleo/supplementation etc for my prep. When I got his email back saying that there was no problem with that and that was how they (over at Practice CrossFit) helped to prep a number of other athletes for various show, I felt totally at peace, and knew I was in good hands. I'd found my guy!!

Check back tomorrow to see the exciting conclusion, and just how everything unfolds.

Strength

Rack Jerk

1,1,1,1,1

Compare Here

For Score

5-Dips

10-Pull-ups

20-Lunges

AMRAP 8 Minutes

Post weight moved and time to comments.

Fast Lines, Slow Curves: When Going Slow Gets You Passed...

  Min... 

“A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent.”

The wall doesn't get any softer the easier you hit. It doesn't even hit back, it just stops. It promotes a very real, very right now, and usually much needed change of direction that we all need. Sometimes we just choose to get there too slow.

Sometimes you're just driving along with the speedometer ever increasing, your sight line ever lengthening, and your gaze ever widening. The faster you go, the more everything around in clear sight begins to move slower. Time seems to pause as you focus on the only thing in front of you that's visible...a straight, clear, path. 

Inevitably paths end. Darkness impairs vision. Straight breaks. Curves happen. Curves are inevitable. There is no path that maintains forever, there must always be a change in direction that gets you to your destination.  If you're totally fine with getting a speeding ticket when everything is peachy keen on a straight away, but recoil at the sight of every corner to the point that whatever is behind you smashes your ass, or worse yet passes you, then you're trying to make a curve a straight line. The more you fight crooked straight, the more you lose.

Hurry Up To Wait:

It's either when I'm carted around by another driver like a two-year old, or when I am unlucky enough to be around traffic that I really take notice of the incessant number of motorists who will race ahead of everyone else. Who seem to have no clue of everything around them. Who are irritated with every speed limit, and who seem to bring the whole %^#$ing world to a halt. A halt right when "they" hit a curve. They're straight mindlessly, curved fearfully.

The number of individuals speeding to the curves of life faster and faster, just to pull off to the shoulder and survey the inevitable scene, trying to tip-toe around it, grows daily. It seems fear of life's curves becomes the first true epidemic. #$&* overeating, and getting fat...that's a symptom. And we medicate that symptom because we instinctually crave challenges. We're bred to fight. To succeed.

But while we mindlessly race to our next curve because something unexplainable inside us is begging us to, some of us draw to a screeching halt, regardless of our prior speed, with no respect to the conga line in the rear.

On Track, Loose: 

Running without wind and hills is clearly less difficult than running in the Rockies. Peering through the windshield during the sunny times of life when everything passes smoothly doesn't make greatness. It makes normal. And normal is the enemy to great. Great has curves. Exemplary has even more, and puts us into the wall from time to time, but better to slam head-on into a life changing curve than to meander through every beautiful event, or, worse yet, turn around and go back from where we came.

Curves of life are slower, difficult, and rewarding. There are negotiable in the sense that you must pick when to turn that wheel, but they are still unavoidable, and the slower and less painfully you try to get through them the more they chew you up.

It's only when we view that curvy change of direction as something we need to take with more caution than the straight away...though with no less intensity...that can we be redeemed with its full reward. Otherwise you're just the asshole going fast to wait, moving quickly and getting nowhere, pissing everyone off behind you. Eventually, you'll get passed.

Strength:

Rest

For Time:

"Chief"

Compare Here

3-Power Cleans 85/135

6-Push-ups

9-Squats

AMRAP 3 Minutes

5 Rounds/1 Minute Recovery Between Rounds

Post rounds to comments.

Practitioners Guide May 2011...

PCF Wall...Thanks Taylor Fab...

Download Pracitce_CrossFit_Guide_may_2011

Three O'clock

“Three is that twitch in the eye. That white corner that never really subsides. Three fidgets. That little piece of you your most self-conscious of. That little unconfident piece of you that you live with that feels like it would well up and eat your entire existence if you took off your suit of armor for a split second. That spot you think everyone on the planet sees, and therefore awaits your demise...and maybe even hopes for it”.

 

 

Practitioner Of The Month

KC

 

 

Innovation

“These are the reasons Crossfit, and the lifestyle which largely accompanies it, is so great. There is definitely a degree of “modern.” After all, people of the past were not throwing around medicine balls, bars, plates, boxes, rings, kettlebells... or creating obstacles for themselves.”

Take Back Your Life

“This little story sounds like a worst-case-scenario and that may be partially true, but I see it all too often in my profession. I literally watch folks give their lives over to these medicines that never seem to give them the relief that they’re looking for. Hopefully, this is eye-opening for those not at that point, and insulting for those already in the cycle. Let’s face it, if this hits a nerve then we can go somewhere together.”

Download Pracitce_CrossFit_Guide_may_2011

Dynamic

 -Power Snacth

12x2 65% 1RM

For Time:

"Annie"

Compare Here

Compare Here

-Double Unders

-Sit-ups

50/40/30/20/10

Post weight moved and time to comments:

How To Kill A Queen: 3 Steps To Eliminate The Drama Queens In Your life...

 Chas...

“Strong men can always afford to be gentle. Only the weak are intent on "giving as good as they get."”

 There is a time and a place for everything. Hell, the other day was apparently the perfect time to party as we weren't suppose to be here today. Jesus found the perfect time to toss tables in church when assholes were profiteering where they shouldn't. And, yes, there are even those times when addressing misfortune is warranted...those times ain't all the time. 

Those of us who live in glass houses....right? Yeah, I'm sure I am as guilty of the complaint section as we all are. That's one reason we have friends, right? To tell us when we are becoming a little too queen like. What we are referring to below, however, is what to do in the situation where, God forbid, you come in contact with a full blown DQ and not just a friend you can smack smart, a Drama Queen out for souls of the innocent.

Before you rush out into the thick of the night to do battle with those adding Drama to your otherwise Drama-less life, take a rather vampiric look into the closest mirror and ensure you can see your own reflection. After all, there is no point staking DQ's if your ass is one.

"Three simple Questions"

1. Is something horrible always happening to you?

2. Are you never really to blame for any of your so-called misfortune?

3. Do you qualify each phrase by saying, "I'm not trying to complain, but..." or "Your not gonna believe what such and such did."

If you answered yes to one or more of these, it's a safe bet you're a little too Queenly to go out and start slaying all the  potential DQ's in the immediate vicinity. And it's also a safe bet you won't get much out of a post telling those less dramatic types how to avoid the more dramatic ones. But hell, you have come this far.  Might as well read why people don't feel like braking when you cross the street. The learning experience may do wonders for your social life.

"Three Steps To DQ Death"

Leave the water-cooler

Bitching, whining, and telling stories...we all love those who can spin beautiful yarns that paint clear pictures of each character in their lives... but everyone has a chance to be the villain or the mindless dolt, including the narrator.

It's when that story becomes whining about everyone else and sounds oddly like bitching. It's when the water cooler becomes much more than just bs like who got kicked off of American Idol...it becomes a stress dispenser, and the only way to fix that is to get hydrated somewhere else....somewhere the water isn't contaminated.

Change Thrones:

Princes and Princesses get to be DQs because kindlier folks aligning the halls tolerate all their shit. The next time you find yourself in an unavoidable altercation with a selfish DQ just begging your ear to receive their bullshit...get up.

I know this is easier said than done, but some things just are that simple and some people only get silence.  Leave them to complain to themselves long enough and either the lonesome cure works, or at least you change their network of sources to bitch to...and hey, being bitched about is way better than being bitched to.

Turn the tide:

If a Drama Queen has chosen you for their sounding board, simply join the opposition on whatever issue they are hoping you'll agree with them. Take the side of the person or situation they are bitching about, and just become a source of additional conflict.

Remember, they can't see shit when they look in the mirror so, hopefully, you standing in front of them acting just like their selfish ass and taking the opposite side will either serve as a loud ass hint...or let 'em know to get the hell away from you. 

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying leave people you should be helping become better to their own devices of perpetual dramatic nonsense. 

In fact, I believe we have the chance for beauty simply because we were created by beauty incarnate. But just because we all have the chance for beauty, doesn't mean we all make the choice for it. And if a single person can't accept their addiction, better to change those addicted around them so there is no choice but to give in, and admit...My name is...and I'm a Drama Queen.

 Strength:

High-Bar Back Squat

3,3,3,3,3

For Time:

-Deadlift 185/275

-Box Jump 24/30

21/15/9

Post weight moved, and time to comments.

Weekly Endurance WOD's:

Day-1

Rx/Sc

Max Effort TT-1.5 Mile/1200m

Day-2

Tabata-Run 80% RPE

then

400m-Run@70%