Ask Leah

Big Greg B dunks 405 for a single. My camera didn't capture it, but he went down below parallel.And dumps 425#. Our sister affiliate over the hill, CF West Santa Cruz, has been running some interesting posts by CFWSC member Leah Lutz.  Leah has rapidly become a CrossFit hero of sorts as her inspiring story has spread to the greater CrossFit community via the internet.  A former gourmet cook, Leah has turned her talents toward Paleo cooking and become one of the CFWSC resident experts.  You can read her story at her personal blog.

Here is the latest installment of Ask Leah.

Q.  You’ve been eating Paleo for 9 months now.  Don’t you miss eating normal food?  Do you ever just want to cheat or go back to eating the old way?

A.  Yes, sometimes I miss some foods.  No doubt about it.  Sometimes I do cheat.  I usually love the cheat.  But when it is over, after I have eaten cheesecake or flourless chocolate cake or French fries, I know I get to go back to my new normal foods.  It is the new normal that is so vital to feeling well, having enough energy, and feeling satisfied.  This new normal is part of who I am and what I like eating, how I like feeling.  If I eat poorly a couple days in a row, my sister might out lift me!!  Or more importantly, I might slowly go back to being tired, feeling not quite so great, and eventually my old normal returns, the old normal that I don’t want back.

We all hear it again and again that people are feeling great while eating paleo.  If you have tried it, you know this to be true.  Yet we all cheat.  How do you keep that cheating from becoming a return to the old way of eating and feeling?  Now your experience might vary, but here are a few things to consider:

First, I think it is very important to go completely paleo when you start, especially if you have never done anything quite like this before.  You need to give yourself several weeks to adjust to the changes, and you have to have time to mentally absorb the difference that eating paleo makes for you personally.  If you keep cheating on little things every few days, you won’t have the change to truly know what you could feel like without the grains, dairy, sugar, and processed food.  I highly suggest reading this article to get you motivated to make the commitment.  Melissa Urban says it a lot better than I can.

Secondly, keep some type of journal if cheating is an issue for you.  Honestly track what you are eating, when you are eating and if you have any responses to what you eat.  Logging food is a bummer.  I don’t enjoy it, but sometimes I do it.  I did it religiously when I started paleo.  Now I only do it when I know I am going to have a week with lots of potential food problems (out of town, lots of events, or the holidays).  I had my food journal with me everywhere so I didn’t forget this or that when I finally sat down at night to log the day.  It is a bother.  But it helps.  It is right there in black and white, and you can see if you are eating enough, too much, the wrong types of foods, all the same vegetable for 3 days straight…and you can see how often you really cheat.  There are online programs to track your food, but it is nice and simple to just write it down in a book too.   The key is to do whatever you need to in order to actually know what you are eating and how it impacts you.

If you have any questions for Leah, please email them, care of Jocelyn, to joxlin@aol.com.

Workout:

Clean

Find new 1RM.

Then:

10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 

Thruster 135/85#

Pullup C2B

200m run after each couplet.

Post clean weight and WOD time to Comments.

Ian's 15 Minutes

The director at work. We are more used to seeing Kevin with several hundred pounds in his hands.Kevin has posted another great video of CFLG in action on his World Class Workouts youtube channel.  It stars Ian in "Leapin' Leprechaun" from this last Saturday's Sectional crew workout.  Kevin has been putting together some great videos with excellent production value.

Please take a look and spread the word.

Workout:

Back Squat 5x3

Do 5 sets at your 3RM working weight.

Then:

Weighted Pullup 

3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Then (from CF Football):

4 Rounds 

1 Gasser (sprint 50m, sprint back, repeat)

5 Hang Power Cleans 185#

Rest 1 minute between rounds.

Post squat and pullup weight, and WOD time to Comments.

Get Cocky

Ian mid burpee 45" box jump. Look for Ian in Kevin's latest masterpiece out soon on the World Class Workouts youtube channel.I was watching a buddy of mine lift the other day and I was struck by the change in his attitude when he began his lifts.  Normally he is the nicest humble guy, but when he got his hands on the barbell he changed.  He was still nice, but some of that humility disappeared and he got a little cocky.  I asked him about it after his lifting session (during which he worked up to nearly a double bodyweight clean).  He said that he needs to get a little cocky during his lifting sessions in order to make the lifts.  He needs that boost that comes with greater self-confidence. He said that while he knows that in the world of Olympic weightlifting his numbers are nothing special, when he is about to attempt a big lift, he has to believe that he is a great lifter, that this lift is a great lift.  He has to believe that he is going to make that lift.  He has to fire himself up, thus he needs to get a little cocky.

But, when his workout is over, he is back to his old self.  He knows that, as the saying goes, somewhere in China there is a 120 pound girl warming up with his best weight.  Not to mention, he said, it's just lifting weights after all. His cockiness on the platform is a strategy to get that weight overhead.  It's a tool that builds him up and gets his mind in gear, just as his lifting shoes are a tool for added stability and power.  He takes off both tools when he leaves the training gym.

So, get a little cocky, boost up your self-confidence, because no matter what weight is on the bar, you are a great lifter, and whatever lift you are attempting next is a great lift.

How do you boost yourself up before a lift?  Please post to Comments.

Workout:

Snatch Weakness Training

If you are having problems with the 2nd pull, work Snatch High Pulls.

If you are having problems with the 3rd pull, work Snatch Balances.

Then:

5 Rounds

2 Muscle Ups

3 Squat Cleans 185/115#

6 Thrusters 135/85#

10 Pullups C2B

200m Run

Post WOD time to Comments.

The Sectional Crew

CrossFit Los Gatos is sending six athletes to the 2010 CrossFit Games NorCal Sectionals.  Every Saturday after the 10am class, they gather at the Cage for a high powered WOD or two. Often they are joined by CFLG's two Masters Division (50+) competitors as well. If you are out and about and near CFLG, stop by and cheer them on.

The Sectionals are March 28-29 at Mitty High School (home of Mr Larson himself).  When I last heard numbers, something like 400 competitors had already signed up.  It is going to be a fast and furious weekend filled with some awesome CrossFitting and lifting.  Last year's NorCals set the bar high in terms of creative and punishing programming and performance.  I can only imagine that this year's will be the same.

Attention Paleo Challenge Contestants

We still do not have a winner for the CF Los Gatos Paleo Challenge that ended last month.  C'mon guys, get your votes in.  The prizes are numerous and and the fame and prestige are immense. There is an album by the radio in the Cage with before and after pictures of all the competitors and their before and after stats.  Please check it and cast your vote by mailing Sam at samcflg@yahoo.com