government suggests eating less

rocket science, but apparently that is a long overdue sentiment:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/business/01food.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

i guess this is good news.

NYT article on gyms

here's a link to a fascinating NYT article on gyms:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/fashion/27SKIN.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

there's a general trend toward smaller gyms and more a-la-carte offerings (like you'd find at dedicated yoga, pilates, or spin studios), which is consistent with my own interests. i used to belong to sports club LA, and recently quit the bay club. for me, crossfit, crissy field, my home rower, and the modest weight room at planet granite are a better formula, plus i can always drop in on neighborhood yoga classes, should i desire.

another thought-provoking part of the article was the discussion of community, and the renewed emphasis on group classes. if your gym is set-up for treadmill-ing while ipod-ing and tv-ing, you're losing customers.

week one away from coffee

i made it a whole week without coffee, and i'm shocked how easy it was. seems like getting coffee, or making coffee, was more of a habit, or a social thing. i really don't need it.

i did one week of half-cafs, and this week has been only green tea (caffeinated, though). no crash, no burn, saving $2 per day. that works!

last night's dinner

we went to green's in fort mason, which is a vegetarian restaurant. (don't assume vegetarian is healthy - they are not necessarily the same.) i had an indian sampler (dal, chutney, papadum, rice, beet salad, etc.) and spinach linquine with broccoli. it was tasty (though not as good as millennium), but there have been two outcomes from this higher-than-usual carb intake for me:

a) (more direct) an upset stomach!

b) (less direct, but connected, i think) a less-than-stellar workout this morning

i guess it was a treat, but it was also a good reminder of why i don't eat like that anymore, even though by many measures it was probably a healthier meal than the average american typically eats.

by the way, i've concluded that there are no good organic alcoholic beverages. run, run, run away from organic beer - you might as well drink dish soap. the wine is not much better. don't do it!!

I'm very happy

in the last few days, i've heard reports of readers of this blog doing some incredible things, and it makes me very happy. running. tai chai. plans to eat better. cardio. weightlifting. yoga.

I've also had a few fascinating nutrition conversations with readers (and a few non-readers). isn't it great that this is a conversation topic, and that we all care about it (and sometimes very passionately)?

there are good things happening, and I'm very happy.

Anastasia made this tonight

and it was so good. and healthy!

Serves 4
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 small head cauliflower (about 1 3/4 pounds), cut into 1-inch florets
2 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 bunch watercress, thick stems removed (about 5 cups), plus small sprigs for garnish
Directions

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add cauliflower, stock, salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat. Simmer, stirring once, until cauliflower is very tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in watercress.
Working in batches, puree soup in a blender, filling no more than halfway each time. Return soup to saucepan; cover to keep warm. To serve, divide among 4 bowls. Garnish each bowl with a sprig of watercress, and season with pepper.

from marthastewart.com

new toy

i really need to improve my dips. some would say dips are the best exercise for chest and shoulder development, and I have a lot to develop. so I added this to the home gym:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Body-Press-Dip-Stand/dp/B000ICHPIK

now we've got the following, which is a handy little setup for a small small space:
dip stand
concept2 rower (the ultimate workout, and it stands up into a small footprint)
lifetime ab wheel
parallettes
abmat
yoga mat
PVC pipe (practicing oly lifts)
foam roller
hand grippers
kettlebells
jump ropes
gymboss interval timer

with the exception of the rower, everything else probably totals $400. not a huge investment. looking forward to getting a bar, bumpers, and squat racks for my outdoor gym. (is my wife reading this?)

today's food log

wake up - two handfuls of blackberries, 1.5 soy sausage links

breakfast - smoked salmon with about a quarter of a bagel

lunch - 16oz turkey chili

pre-workout - half of builder's bar

post-workout - other half of builder's bar, nitrean protein shake with 10oz of almond milk

dinner - lean organic ground beef over spring mix with a sprinkle of cheese

dessert - 4 gulps of leftover berry smoothie

pleasure reading

a) outside magazine has an article about barefoot running, which dovetailed nicely with some of my lessons from the running workshop over the weekend. one stat i heard over the weekend - running has something like an 80% injury rate (which places it at the same frequency as football, though obviously the severities are probably different). that's because we've been buying shoes to correct many of our faults, and the more technology improves, the worse our form is allowed to get. but people are figuring this out, and now every major shoe company has a barefoot-like offering in this season's line-up. one estimate is that barefoot running shoes could make up 25% of the market in a year as people catch on. i wear vibram's and run injury free.

b) triathlete magazine has an article on crossfit. another discussion of the "less is more" approach to endurance. here's a summary:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/01/training/go-inside-one-triathletes-venture-into-crossfit-endurance_18648

things i learned this weekend

a) how to run. i attended a crossfit endurance running seminar that was a good starting point for running technique. that seminar, along with several videos i watched, helped me learn to run much more efficiently. see the following link for dr. romanov's book on the topic:
http://books.google.com/books?id=l6b0zRaq2dEC&pg=PA134&lpg=PA134&dq=pose+fall+pull&source=bl&ots=w4h5zYRfgq&sig=9R8brnOzlJ75S9jkSidNh5jOcRs&hl=en&ei=IFc2TaT-DJCosQP68d2AAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=pose%20fall%20pull&f=false
the gist - most people run in too upright of a position, strike with the heels, and position their bodyweight too far behind their center of gravity, which makes them inefficient and more prone to injury. dr. romanov's method has three elements:
a) pose - think of every step as thought you were posing with your legs in the shape of a 4.
b) fall - lean forward and let gravity do the work
c) pull - pull the support foot back up and repeat the whole process.
this is an oversimplification, so definitely google or youtube the topic, and find a ton of additional information.

we did some efficiency drills in which we ran 100 meters and added up our time to 1/2 the number of steps we took to get a score that gauged our speed and efficiency. my score was pretty efficient to start with, but i was able to improve it from a 34 to a 32 after just a little instruction and some stretches. not bad. and though the course may not have been perfectly measured, my times were better than any i'd put up in high school, when i was a 10th heat sprinter on the track team. that's making me think that some of the explosive movements of crossfit, and the lifting i'm doing, are helping more than actually running (which i don't do very often).


b) how to do trx. thank you claudine dagit for having us down at cardio-tone at 24th and church in SF (www.cardio-tone.com). claudine is a great instructor that teaches trx, spin, and barre, with some classes being a combination. we did the trx-only class, and it was an eye-opening introduction into a new world of bodyweight exercises. some people accustomed to lifting weights wonder how bad a bodyweight workout can be. let's just say that some of the most feared crossfit workouts are bodyweight only. dips? pushups? pullups? parallettes? yes, they can all suck, but they are proven to be shockingly effective. anyway, more on trx here - http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/

c) that i still like hot fudge sundays. thanks katie and alex!

super squats

due to some time constraints due to work and studying, i'm going to be doing fewer crossfit classes and more independent work. among the programs i'm incorporating is the "super squats" program described by dr. randall strossen many years ago. the logic goes like this:

- find your 10 rep max weight for the back squat
- do 20 reps at that weight
- take deep breaths between each rep so that it takes 2-3 minutes to complete the 20 reps
- then do barbell pull overs on a bench in order to further stretch the ribcage
- the combination of heavy breathing and stretching will grow the upper body, while the squat itself will have obvious lower body effects
- then drink a ton of milk (in my case, almond milk)
- do this 2-3x per week
= a classic muscle building routine.

i'm doing this along with the 5/3/1 program (more on that later) and am subbing in super squats for the squat work prescribed in 5/3/1.

we'll see if this works. just google "super squats" and you'll find a ton of people that have had great success with this.

4 hour body

I bought the new tim ferriss book, "4 hour body." like his "4 hour workweek," don't take everything literally, but do try to incorporate a few of his many invaluable tips.

in the book, he recommends two ab exercises. see the link below for an excerpt from that section the book, and try the myotatic crunch. it is going to hurt so good tomorrow. I don't typically struggle to do ab work, but this one got me. give it a try.

http://gizmodo.com/5709916/4+hour-body-+-six-minute-abs

something new

just had almond milk for the first time. yummy! I'm going to completely eliminate fruit juice. no more 2oz serving of OJ. going to make a Greek yogurt/berry/almond milk smoothie instead. and I have some nitrean protein powder coming next week.

i've also been ordering half cafs, rather than fully leaded coffee. doesn't seem to be making a difference, which is good.

simple adjustments.

(I overheard that a new employee drinks 3 red bulls per day, plus 1-2 gatorades. yikes!!)

enjoy tonight's championship game

and go ducks!

if you feel like being good, here are a few thoughts:
a) beer - michelob ultra or amstel light
b) wine - yes
c) snacks - crudites (more brocoli and celery than carrots), hummus, white bean dip (literally mash cannellini beans and add some olive oil), mini-burgers (beef/turkey/veggie) wrapped in lettuce
d) dessert - skinny cow, dark chocolate, pudding cup
e) exercise - before the following quarters, take a minute during the long commercial break and do the following:
first quarter - 10 good mornings. info - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good-morning
second quarter - 10 lunges, each leg. stay in place - step out with right leg, then back to starting position. then left. (20 total)
third quarter - 10 arm circles each....small, then large. forward, then backward. (40 total)
fourth quarter - plank hold. start easy - maybe 5 rounds of 5-10 seconds each.

cutting my exposure to fruit

at work, we have a catered breakfast and lunch that unfortunately all of unhealthy stuff you'd expect from your average restaurant breakfast offerings. i generally only order fruit, but now i'm cutting my breakfast from 16oz of fruit to 8oz. the fruit is mostly grapes, watermelon, pineapple, and strawberries, and i would typically eat about 80% of the 16oz (or 12.8oz, for those without calculators). that's too much. i stopped.

note that until about 9 months ago, i would order a 16oz odwalla c-monster. sounds healthy, right? WRONG. that's 300 calories, 72g of carbs (including 54g of sugar), and only 4g of protein. not good. and on top of that, i would get a side of breakfast potatoes....obviously packed with carbs and little nutritional value. so while the c-monster/potato combo was much healthier than what my colleagues were eating, it was still pretty bad. don't do that.

experiment

for one week, make the following diet adjustments:
- if it's a protein, eat it without remorse. red meat, fowl, fish....knock yourself out.
- if it's a carb, eliminate it as much as possible. no bun with your burger, no rice, no potatoes, no unlimited bread sticks at olive garden.
- if it's fruit, eat half of what you'd normally eat.
- if you need sweets, have a fat free pudding cup, a skinny cow, or perhaps some dark chocolate, but just a nibble.
- if you're drinking something with over 100 calories per serving, stop. that means soft drinks, Gatorade, and beer. Cheat with some red wine.

see what happens. I have a pretty good idea how this will play out, and you'll thank me.

some easy exercises

here are a few simple exercises to work on:

1) arm circles - get your arms out perpendicular to the floor and rotate them, forwards and backwards, little circles and big circles. do 10 of each variety.

2) dirty dogs - get on all fours, then raise one leg, keeping it at 90 degrees and raising so it is perpendicular to the floor. hold it for 3 seconds. you should look like a dog taking a whiz. that's ok. this will work the hips, and the hips are the key to any sort of powerful movement ("hip drive"). do 10 for each leg.

3) standing knee raises. spread your legs hip width apart. raise your arms so they are perpendicular to the floor. raise your knee as high as you can, and hold it for 3 seconds. do 10 for each leg.

fran

tonight we did another of the crossfit "girls" called fran, which is a notoriously brutal workout. it's a great "temperature check" to gauge someone's progress, and it goes like this:

21 thrusters (a front squat into an overhead push press)

21 pull-ups

15 thrusters

15 pullups

9 thrusters

9 pullups

prescribed weight - 95lbs for men, 65lbs for women

see this demo for an insanely fast version of this workout....under 2 minutes!!!!

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitMontclair_Rhabdo153Fran.mov

the best time at the gym tonight was about 5:45 (and he did 95lbs). i've done this workout 4 times with the following results:

july - 12:30 at 60-ish lbs

august - did not finish....capped out at 10 mins at 70lbs (was 2 pullups short)

october - 7:32 at 75lbs

tonight - 6:51 at 85lbs

bottom line - two things really help you with this one. a) anaerobic capability. this is a super-intense workout. b) flexibility - doing 45 front squats and 45 pull-ups is a bear on the hips and back, respectively. developing a) can be a little unpleasant at times, but we can all do b), and the benefits from b) will be obvious over time. you'll be able to pick up grandkids more easily, shovel more snow, and lift more boxes. this stuff really works.

reading material

here are a couple of things i came across today:

a) good article about nutrition and how we burn fat. #1 factor? diet and nutrition, and by a longshot. you'll also notice that a key factor is to perform high intensity anaerobic exercises (short intense bursts - think jumping rope, jumping in general, sprint intervals on the track, etc.), rather than longer aerobic workouts (think running 5 miles, riding 50 miles, etc.). in other works, you're probably better off jumping rope and lifting weights for a total of 15 minutes, in a high intensity fashion, rather than running on the treadmill for an hour.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_hierarchy_of_fat_loss

(ignore all of the groin-heavy photos if that's not your thing)

footnote - something not addressed in this article, but a fact nonetheless - you can increase your aerobic performance by doing anaerobic exercises, but doing aerobic work actually hurts your anaerobic capability. i'm going to prove this myself by doing some long runs this year (double dipsea and quad dipsea) using strength training and interval work as my primary preparation, and ignoring longer runs. stay tuned.

b) Gary Taubes just released a book called "why we get fat and what to do about it." it's a recycling of one of his earliest works, but reduced into a more concise and coherent format. i bought it today and it is on the way. will report back. short answer - carbs are killing us, and the "i will lose weight if i burn more calories than i consume" logic is flat wrong if the quality of the calories (i.e. if they are carbs that are negatively affecting your insulin levels) are bad for you. i had a friend recently tell me that they cut out most of the fat in their diet - red meat, sausage, etc. that is the WRONG thing to do. cut out anything with high fructose corn syrup, anything sugary not from plants, bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc., and watch the pounds come off dramatically.

http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-Borzoi/dp/0307272702/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294203305&sr=8-1

more advanced

i did a crossfit workout called "helen" the other day. (there is a series of benchmark workouts, called "the girls," that are a real bitch, so to speak.)

it is 3 rounds of the following:

400m run

21 kettlebell swings (prescribed - 1.5 pood, which is 54 pounds)

12 pullups

i had to use a 40lb dumbbell as the kettlebells went quickly. (using a dumbbell sucks since they are much harder to control, but 54lb would have been tough). i finished in 10:15.

see the link below for a visual depiction:

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_HelenDemo.mov

the master

kelly starrett (doctor of physical therapy) is somebody i will borrow very liberally from for this blog. it is truly an honor to be a student of this fine man and inspirational coach. he is THE authority on mobility (i.e. flexibility and stretching) within crossfit, and possibly the world. his clients include olympians, professional cyclists, ultimate fighting folk, and my silly ass. google his name and find out.

kelly puts out a daily video at the following link, which i HIGHLY recommend. it is mobility pron.

http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/

kelly has found that very simple actions within the mobility genre can provide fantastic results for the elite athletes he trains. more importantly, though, many of these lessons apply to us, too, who may not be so elite quite yet. as you will see from the link below, which is a couch mobility WOD (workout of the day), we can get better mobility in very simple ways, and often during downtime. try his suggestions while you watch this week's bowl games, and try to accumulate as much time as you can. it doesn't need to be in one helping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv_OyPCLPYE&feature=player_embedded

(footnote - i'm trying to accumulate 10 minutes in a squat position in a day. it's not quite as easy as it sounds.)

nobody is perfect

things i that i don't usually eat that i ate over the holiday weekend:

-fries (as part of burger and fries)

-more fries (as part of steak frites)

-gnocchi (appetizer in prix fixe)

-bagel (with salmon)

-profiteroles (on consecutive days)

and aside from the 2nd batch of profiteroles, none of it was particularly good. and any surprise i felt lethargic, and got a few bad nights of sleep?

back to normal today:

-chicken sausage for breakfast

-fruit cup and nuts as snacks

-turkey chili for lunch

-clif bar before workout

-crossfit - front squats @ 115lb and pushups

-spring mix, more sausage, and greek yogurt with nuts and berries

-half glass of chardonnay

it's going to be a nice nap tonight!