WOD 6/9/09
Today’s WOD:
21-15-9
-Low Bar Back Squat
-Weighted Walking Lunge
-Burpee
-200M Run
-Katie got her first pull-up yesterday during the kipping practice! Have you been working on your pull-ups, or are you still stuck on the bands every workout? Maybe you should consult the old Getting Off the Crack article
-User-friendly little quip on losing fat from Fitness Spotlight. Packaged in kind of a cheezy way, but the guys know what they’re talking about.
11 Responses to WOD 6/9/09
13:52
15:17
11:36
10:06…I plan to avoid all stairs for the next day or two.
Oh and B-man…I thought you were just kidding about my “meat and sweets” diet…but it’s true! It does carry an increased risk of breast cancer, albeit old asian women. Get me a mammogram!
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=82454
can i get ON the crack please?
14:00 the stairs going to my apt seemed to go up about a mile when I got home from this wod
did some weighted pull ups to make up for yesterday’s slackness 45# 5-5-5-4-3
15 something I think.
Also realized about halfway through that I grabbed 35′s instead of 25′s which makes me 10x more awesome than all you weaklings with your 95lb workout weights… and also 10x more sore…
12:05, runs were fun in the pouring rain
Oh, yes. I wasn’t joking about the increased risk for breast cancer. I try to base such claims on real science.
I read through the article that Jake posted and while I think it raises some interesting points, it simply plays into the American ideal that more skinnier is more betterer (it focuses on fat loss). However, I do like the way that the biochemistry is broken down into simple, understandable portions.
My main beef is that the issue of the athlete (read: crossfitter) is not fully addressed. Yes, it touches on the concept that the exercise scheme we employ is effective, but does intermittent fasting lead to increased performance? Ultimately, isn’t that what we want? To be bigger, faster, stronger humans?
Okay, not all of us can be DP, but we strive for a more fit and healthier lifestyle. I’m not entirely convinced that longer periods of fasting will increase or enhance athletic abilities. While we are not active all day, our energy requirements are vastly different from those of our ancestors. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that we use our brains throughout the day more than our ancestors did, how well do you operate when you’re hungry? I turn into Mr. Hyde when I don’t eat as more than a few of you can attest to. Bigger and more active brains (not in my case, but still, my point stands) require more energy. Are those energy demands met with such infrequent feeding times? I don’t know the answer to that, but it’s an important idea to kick around.
Perhaps I’m not efficiently tapping into my fat stores after years of conditioning my body and hormones improperly as the article suggests. Yet, maintaining a constant blood sugar level through consumption seems to work well for both brain function throughout the day and performance at the gym. Both of which are of critical importance to most of us.
Long post, but rebut, discuss, or convince me I’m wrong. Nutrition for life is undeniably interesting.
/rant
My take on things:
Most of the people at the gym don’t really need to lose much in the way of fat. Some do, for medical, personal, or whatever reasons. I like the IF approach for fat loss because it takes out the counting/measuring/obsessive part of losing fat, and it becomes a lifestyle change, rather than a temporary “diet”.
I’ll be the first to admit that performance and longevity do not always intersect, though most of us would benefit from doing our best to live at the place where they do. Me drinking a gallon of chocolate milk every day, like I did last summer, is freaking terrible for me. That’s literally a pound of HFCS per day. Think about that insulin response! But, I did it because of fairly specific goals, and I was willing to sacrifice some health concerns short-term, hopefully for long term gains.
Now, in the case of IF, maybe it goes the other way – maybe you’re sacrificing some performance gains for health and longevity. And in a sense, it already is trying to strike that balancing act between health/longevity/performance. Studies have been done showing that organisms fed something like 60% less than normal lived longer. Those put on an IF protocol still lived longer, but also experienced significantly increased levels of IGF-1. Also, when put on an IF protocol, a surprising level of ketone bodies are produced, even though the organisms (I think rats or mice in this case) were fed a high a amount of low quality carbs during their feeing days. Apparently there’s plenty of studies showing that ketosis produces an anabolic state. I’m eating a sweet potato and chorizo right now, and can’t seem to find said studies. But I’m told they exist. Hah. So in terms of performance gains… maybe?
Are you going to tear through your CF workouts? Again, maybe. I think it depends on when your fasting window is, and how you’re eating during feeding periods.
My guess,is that if someone only feels well/performs well eating constantly, they’ve got insulin sensitivity problems, which probably means they’re eating like shit to begin with. Constant blood glucose followed by insulin spikes throughout the day, regulated by the constant eating. If they were to eat a big meal, and not eat anything for several hours, I would imagine they would see a huge insulin response, followed by a nice little blood glucose crash, and feel like shit.
yayy discussion!
THUNDERDOME! TWO MEN ENTER! ONE MAN LEAVES! TWO MEN ENTER! ONE MAN LEAVES.
For all of you that dont get that, im sorry your life sucks.
And this is exactly an example of why endocrinology in relation to atheletics is fun and really nebulous- most of the ‘hard science’ journals relate to pathology: ie diabetes, cardiovascular disease, acromegally (too much GH) or too little GH. Pieces of the puzzle are present, but an overall understanding still has different issues.
my 2 cents about the article…and comments
1) good basic description of endocrinology- liked how it brought up cortisol and overtraining
2) Point blank: cardiovascular excercise causes weightloss, improved heart health and decreased risk of heart attacks. This has repeatedbly been proven in the literature. For performance increase, short bursts might be better but cardio 5 times a week for 30 minutes shows weight loss (in thsoe that do NOT excercise). The article is innacurate talking about cardio not helping, and the people it describes (working out w no weight loss) are likley having some sort of binging/purging behavior (bullemia can use overtraining rather than vomiting as purging)
3) I’m unclear on what ‘intermittent fasting’ actually entails, and how long you eat between meals. Eating once a day IS bad, as it activates a starvation response (primarily through cortisol, as mentioned), DECREASING your metabolism, muscle growth, and energy levels
4) Careful with ketogenic: breakdown of fats by and large does NOT produce enough glucose for your body/brain (problem with intermittent fasting). Your body will end up mobilizing protein stores (ie muscle) in order to produce glucose necessary for RBCs as well as the brain. Ask anyone who has cut weight.
5) The last situation descibed describes more of an insulin-dependent diabetic who misses an insulin shot (and therefore does not have access to sugar for his tissues) than that of a ‘fat diabetic’ or type II with increased insulin resistance. The blood glucose crash IS accurate (with the big meal- ie food coma(slighlty more complicated though)) but that, in part, is the idea of multiple small meals. You avoid very large glucose spikes causing such crashes.
6) I question the more active brains- most people at xfit, yes- most of the jobs that we engage in, going to school, etc- there is serous brain use. However, id imagine hunting (in nomadic society) as well as other aspects involved it as well. Sitting around collecting food stamps and doing drugs (most of the patients at mcv) doesnt exactly require ‘more active brains’
7) finally SLEEP!!!!! One thing that wasnt addressed is 85-95 percent of GH secretion occurs at night- so even if you are eating a GH enhancing diet (less starches=less insulin=more GH), it doesnt matter if you arent sleeping