New Years Resolutions??

So, it's that time of year where you tell yourself that you will lose weight/eat right/become fit/work harder/be a better spouse/parent/Lego builder/penny pincher/save for a trip, etc.  It might last for 2 days or 2 months and then go back to the way it was...

I think if you do want to make a change in your life you should take baby steps.  Just like training for a marathon, you don't immediately go out and run 20+ miles, you start off slow and have a plan, tell others about it so there is accountability built in.

My goal is to 1.  Lose some weight by eating better and more moderately.  2. Listen to people more by putting the stupid cell phone down as soon as I am spoken to, even if I was texting first and someone walked up to me in the middle of it.  3.  Become more productive around the house.

The Plan for 2013
1. Lose 15 pounds by March 31st.  I will follow the Paleo diet 90% in January and then dial it back to 80% for the rest of the year (the last few months I might have followed it 40% at best, you can see it and I sure feel it).  Sometimes you have to go the wrong direction for awhile until you are fed up enough to get your life back on track.
   a. grocery shop and cook for my house
   b. no beer kept in the fridge
   c. have planned cheat meals 1 evening per week where I can be a glutton, get my fix and not feel guilty
   d. pay a fine to my son if he catches me eating something I shouldn't

2. Listening
   a. put the phone in the back of the house when I get home
   b. only check it every few hours unless someone actually calls at which point I will answer it if I am not eating with the family
   c. pay a fine to my son if he catches me breaking the rules (similar theme but I hate spending money so he will help curb the habit quickly)

3. Productivity
   a. have an on going to do list separated by two categories - small thing and big things
   b. prior to doing something enjoyable a small thing must be completed
   c. one large item must be completed each week

That's it.  Let me know if you have any suggestions to my three to help me succeed. Have a Happy New Year and tell me, what is your goal?  How are you going to stick to it? Post it here and have some accountability!

Being a Coach

Today I had the distinct pleasure of coaching 4 classes back to back.  It made me reflect on how much I enjoy coaching/training/teaching others that want to learn/improve.  I had just as much energy in the fourth class as I did in the first because I got it from those great athletes that showed up this morning.  We did cleans for max weight and I think about 8 people, at a minimum, got PR's.  There is so much positive energy running around you can't stop smiling.
Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that coaches enjoy the hell out of the people that they train and love to watch improvements in.  It gives them a great sense of accomplishment, plus it is fun as all get out.  The class that I regularly attend is coached by Shannan and you can tell she has a great time with her Cereal Killers (they think it makes them sound scary) and they have a great time giving her a hard time(all in fun of course).  If one of our athletes has a bad day, we think about it and wonder how we could have improved their WOD/morning/whatever.  I think our only regret is not being able to give everyone the same amount of instruction.  If we didn't spend much time with you today, that means someone else looked like they needed it more and you were doing pretty good.  We go to the areas where we feel we have the most impact.  If we missed you today, don't worry, we will give you more than enough attention next time (probably when you least want it - getting that full range on burpees).  To all those awesome CrossFit Champions athletes...YOU GUYS AND GALS ROCK!  THANKS FOR LETTING US TRAIN YOU!

Anthony lost 11 lbs in 24 days!

My buddy Anthony took the 24 Day AdvoCare Challenge with me and helped to keep me on track.  Accountability is a wonderful thing.  He posted some outstanding results that I wanted to share.

                                 Starting Stats                              Results                   Difference
Weight                       252                                            241                       11 lbs lost
Right Arm Flexed       17 3/8"                                        17 1/2"                  1/8" gain
Waist                        50 3/8"                                        47 1/2"                  2 7/8" lost
WOD                        19:09                                           15:12                    3:57 improved perf.
The WOD was 3 rounds for time of a 300m run, 9 clean and thrusters with 95#, 12 jumping pull ups and 15 box jumps at 20".

He did a great job following the challenge along with a Paleo diet.  It was the first step in the right direction that everyone always has trouble with.  Anthony finally found out what it was like to eat clean, feel good and have the performance that resulted in almost a 4 min drop in a workout - IN LESS THAN A MONTH!  He has committed to eating Paleo the majority of the time to continue to lose weight and feel good.  He added some of the pre-workout supplements after the challenge and just started using a 24 " box jump which is amazing - no going back now.....(insert evil laugh here)  His only continued challenge will be staying away from the beer (he is a bigger beer snob than me) but we will get there together.  Great job bud, I'm proud of you.

AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge Results

Today is the 24th day and the results are in....
                             July 9th              July 31st         Total lost/gained
Weight                    193                   184                   9 lbs lost
Right arm flexed       14.5"                 14.75"              1/4" gained
Waist                      41"                    39"                   2" lost
WOD                      14:11                 12:28                1:43 improved performance
-The WOD was 3 rounds for time of 300m run, 9 squat clean thrusters at 95 lbs, 12 pull-ups and 15 24" box jumps.
I am very pleased, of course I would have liked to have greater weight loss but I have to remember two things. 1. It was only 24 days and I ate a lot of high caloric meats (pepperoni, bacon and more bacon). 2. I actually gained muscle, 1/4 inch in the arm.  I think any guy would love to gain a quarter inch :)

This was a great 24 day challenge.  It had structure, you had to spend some money which made you commit to it and it has jump started me back on the right path to fitness.
Before                                                                                              After

After

Supplements, hmmmmm......?

I have never taken supplements other than a protein shake until the last 2.5 weeks.  I don't like pills, that's why I started CrossFit in the first place to avoid high cholesterol medication.  Always thought it was a waste of money, as long as you eat the right things you should be getting everything you need right?  I don't know how to say this, but I may have been mistaken (hard to believe, I know).
So, I started the 24 Day AdvoCare Challenge 18 days ago and I have been pleasantly surprised with the supplements.  The results I have gotten so far is 8 lbs lost and an increase in strength/performance during workouts (whenever I have dropped weight in the past I also lost strength).  The only changes in addition to the supplements is that diet wise I got rid of alcohol (not having a beer for the first 10 days was torture but I hardly miss it now) and the Friday night pizza.  But, the amount of exercise has stayed the same.

Here is a list of some of the things I have tried and the results....
Herbal Cleanse for the 1st 10 days is supposed to detoxify your kidneys, liver and clean your intestines out and it did.  I felt better and lost 5 lbs in the 10 days.
My coach, Matt at CrossFit Champions, swears by a little pre-workout cocktail he makes with 1 scoop each of the Mass Impact, Arginine Extreme and 1/2 scoop of Spark.  I really thought he was full of it and then I used it.  I have hit 2 personal records in the last 3 weeks and I am able to exercise longer and harder with it. The Spark is a energy drink that my wife, Jane, loves.  It perks you up without making you all jittery.
The Nighttime Recovery is an amino acid/herbal/mineral that I have been taking at night  that reduces soreness and helps you recuperate faster, I looooove it.  If I had not been taking it there would have been a few workouts that would have made it difficult to walk.
A non believer has now jumped on the supplement band wagon and the ones I just listed I like the most and have seen great results from.  If you are interested in trying some and you are local give me a holler and I will see if I can get you a sample or just click here to look around.  I will be posting my final results late next week.

Egg Smithmuffin

My wife Jane made some really good egg muffin's the other day out of the Paleo Comfort Foods Cookbook.  They are really easy to make, you can make a bunch at once and they are great for leftovers.
1. Basically chop up what you like and saute it in olive oil
2. We used 1 jalapeno, 1 onion, 1 pepper, 2 garlic cloves and lot n' lots of bacon
3. Crack a dozen eggs and whisk
4. Mix everything together and use a ladle to put it into the greased muffin pan
5. Bake at 350 for around 15 min.  They will rise on top and turn golden brown.  If it's jiggly, it's not done.
6. Eat

Next time I think I would like to do spinach and feta cheese or pepperoni and jalapeno.
I have been eating these for a couple of days.  Today I added Tabasco's Buffalo Wing Sauce on top.  Yummy.