LOOK BETTER NAKED

The True Zombie Killer's

 

 


  
The girl on the right is Melia O'Quinn, a friend of Crossfit OneWorld and a future Crossfit games competitor. I've had the pleasure of watching her squat, 245 pounds below parallel, at a body weight of 135 and 6 percent body fat. Her goals of reaching a 300 pound dead-lift and a 270 lb(2x BW) back squat are well within reach. She is not only strong, she is quick, and fast, using power cleans and power snatches in her work outs as a way of increasing her explosiveness. She is by all accounts a beauty and a beast and she is only 25 years old.

The girl on the left is a movie star, who plays the role of a zombie-killer. It was hard to imagine, that such a frail and thin lady could actually fight off hundreds of blood hungry, undead miscreants. Just look at these pictures and ask yourself, who could actually kill the undead with better proficiency?

I know this question seems silly to most people in context, but what if we consider the zombie attack as a metaphor, representing an unexpected event, leading us to an imminent struggle with life and death. An earthquake, a tsunami, a terrorist attack or perhaps just a mugging, all demonstrate situations that require strong individuals to perform at high levels. Knowing the girl I am dating, engaged, or married to, is capable of not only defending herself, but also helping me defend others, is a new defining characteristic in beauty.

Before Crossfit (B.C.) women were stuck on fairy-tales, of white knights saving princesses, however we are quickly seeing, these fare ladies are much more than innocent bystanders waiting to be rescued. Crossfit ladies, challenge a ridiculous notion that athleticism makes you butch. 

The standard to look great is no longer guided by two fingers carefully bypassing the gag reflex, attempting to expel all their weak choices down a toilet. It is no longer hidden by pretentious clothing lines, like Prada, Gucci or any other high maintenance get up, that rave, "thin is in." In our society, a beautiful woman, is strong, ambitious, honest, diligent, and intelligent. They lift heavy weights as fast as they can, eat clean, and ignore the call to take the easy road.

    

Our friend Chyna Cho, this years 17th fittest female, came to Crossfit after she had repaired her ACL. Soon after this surgery she rehabbed, and then began a journey that took her to Carson City, CA, site of the 2010 Crossfit Games. Watching her work out was and is a beautiful sight. With heavy loads on a bar she is able to move gracefully and proficiently while stoically leaving us watching and wondering if pain is even something she feels. Determination trumps pain and she ignores the lactate threshold in order to complete the work as fast as she can. 

This is the true beauty and while all Crossfit women look so gorgeous performing the work, the desire to finish leaves us wanting to see more. This attitude bleeds to every day activities, never fearing a work out, a diet plan or a co-worker, in order to achieve their goals, Crossfit women are successful because they understand, quitting is not an option. Like Chyna, Melia, Miranda, Jollie, or Nicole, all Crossfit women share the desire to excell at everything they do.   

It shows each time they step foot in the gym and each time that clock yells "go." Crossfit women show true beauty, by yelling, gasping, bleeding, and even crying through some of the most revolting work outs created. It's a site to watch and something I'm sure no model in her right mind would ever attempt. While Lohan, snorts her nose candy, and parties like a fool, Crossfit women are sculpting their temple's into a masterpiece each and everyday by working hard and eating right. 

So next time you are out shopping for pants, smile, when you can't find a pair with a thin waistline, while leaving enough room for those powerful and stunning legs. Laugh, next time a guy looks at you and tells you, "Wow, maybe you shouldn't work out that much," because being strong doesn't make you butch, but it does make him a bitch.

Our challenge is coming to an end but keep training hard, lifting heavy, and eating clean with high protein because them zombies are coming and when they get here, I'd love to watch chaos unfold next to a beautiful/strong woman. 

 

Confused?

I can appreciate the frustration that comes from eating a ketogenic diet. I understand just how easy it may be to criticize a certain approach when the challenge becomes challenging. 

I do this everyday I'm at the gym. On my 4th set of a 5x5, 315 squat, for example, I will question my training protocol, and begin to entertain thoughts of why I should quit. "My back is sore, therefore, quitting the last sets will help me come back to the gym tomorrow," is an example of the reason that runs around in my head during these lifts. There are met-cons where I question my desire to qualify in the NorCal sectionals. The amount of times I have called myself an "idiot" is pretty hilarious. This weekend, while I was hanging out in Boston, I questioned my desire to stay alcohol free in order to train at a higher level. The plan we set forth in order to achieve our goals is not an easy road traveled.

It would be irrational to think our minds would allow us to consistently take the toughest path without as much as a question from our frontal lobe. It might make us true masochists, if we pursue pain as reward? 

The challenge is in its 6th week now and I am hearing great things from those I e-mail and text, but have heard some negative critiques in the background and in the rumor camps. I hope you understand, I cannot help you if you remain in the dark. 

If you don't want to be helped then please avoid becoming a cancer in our gym. Your theories that you hold may have some premise, but if they remain in the shadows they are not doing anyone any good.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the one who points out how the strong stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to those in the arena; who strive valiantly; who fail and come up short again and again; who know great enthusiasm and great devotion; who at the best know in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if they fail, at least fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." 

 - Theodore Roosevelt 

I've explained over and over how ketones are a valuables source for fuel. I've explained the physiology in ketosis. I've explained two pathways involved in losing weight and why I feel, a ketogenic approach is the right choice for crossfitters who are interested in losing weight. There has been numerous of research articles placed in this website for a reason. I welcome a debate if you disagree, as long as it is in this format. 

We are not promoting aesthetics over health at this gym, but lets be honest with ourselves. The turn out would not have been the same if Freddy would have promoted a lets get healthier challenge. Instead of pre and post pictures, taking pre and post lipid panels and blood pressures would have not shown the same amount of enthusiasm. How do I know? I know because researchers are always on the look out for new subjects, who will participate in a 3-5 year blind study on diet and health. It is hard for them to find.

Our behavioral habits are the hardest to correct. Addiction, a blog we put up before the challenge talks about how much control food has over us. How can we possibly compete with such a vicious opponent? It just happens, that our society is driven in large by social influence and one of those major influences is our appearance. These are not my rules however moral or immoral it may be. 

It is the very reason that people diet, or exercise and if you think that you are above this mentality, hang out with me long enough and I'll catch something in your behavior that will show otherwise in time. We used the Look Better Naked Challenge, because we know how motivated people are when appearance is involved. It was this motivation that allowed many of you to ditch the sugar and while you still have cravings you feel guilty when you allow yourself to give in. This is a huge success in my opinion, you are thinking now instead of just eating. You are involved and you are stronger for it.

If you continue this way of life, only allowing yourself guilty pleasures here and there, and not as a standard, your health will improve dramatically. The precursors to poor health will decrease persuasively, and you will enjoy life much more than you can imagine. A ketogenic diet is only needed when you feel you need to lose weight. Once you have completed this transition you can follow a more relaxed paleo approach, one that will allow honey and fruits. One that is not as "boring" as some think this diet is. Until then, wake up each day and remember that this is a challenge, and in the end, your desire to quit, as normal as it may be, should never overcome your desire to achieve!

If you have any concerns or questions please utilize the resources at your disposal, and let us help you achieve your goals. If you do not agree with what we are selling, please post it on the comments so we can debate it. Find some research and voice your concerns. I welcome it, just please do it in a way that will help us all learn. 

 

Those on your behalf

 

A couple of years ago the crossfit community was flourishing in the realm of nutrition because of Robb Wolf. Crossfit HQ and Robb Wolf decided to part ways a year ago for reasons that still remain unclear. HQ felt that a more quantitative nutrition plan, the zone, was better suited for their population, bringing Dr. Sears in, and throwing Robb Wolf out. Was it a wise decision on the part of HQ?

Who knows. What is certain is how successful Robb Wolf and his message has become. Robb Wolf understands crossfit because Robb is an athlete along with being a nerd. A former California State Powerlifting Champion (565 lb. Squat, 345 lb. Bench, 565 lb. Dead Lift) and a 6-0 amateur kickboxer Robb relates with the athletes he trains. He coaches athletes at the highest levels of competition and consults with Olympians and world champions in MMA, motocross, rowing and triathlon.

Rob Wolf writes his case studies which are numerous as an owner of Nor Cal Strength and Conditioning, his thriving gym in Chico. He is as humble as they come  I've had the pleasure of engaging with him on two occasions this year and both times I witnessed how accepting he was not only to me but anyone that approached him. Both Robb and his wife Nikki are amazing individuals and I am so glad his book is doing well. If you haven't purchased it or borrowed it, I hope you all find some time to read it. The Paleo Solution

This is one of the best REVIEWs that I have come across, and in doing so was very intrigued by the author. Her name is Diane Sanfilippo, a nutritionist out of the Bay Area. Spoken highly of by Robb himself, Diane is rocking an amazing website that includes: meal planning, recipes and plenty of tips to get you through this paleo lifestyle. I recommend visiting her website frequently and possibly attending one of her seminars.  Balanced Bites.  I'm going to figure how to add her to the favorites column because it serves as a great resource for those of you who are interested in continuing this long term. 

If you are interested in theory and science, then I really recommend you read Good Calories Bad Calories. This book is written by Gary Taubes, a scholar of Harvard and Stanford in both Physics and Engineering who later took a different path in life by pursuing a Master's in journalism out of Columbia. In 2002, Taubes wrote a controversial piece in Time Magazine in defense of low-carboydrate diets. A fury of critics quickly chastised him as a defender of the Atkins diet and he has been under attack ever since. He brings a credible argument to the table and this particular book is stacked with research and evidence that supports his claim while attacking the believers of low caloric, low fat diets with their own research. It is a solid book that takes some time to read but well worth it.

Denise Minger is another one of those individuals who has surpassed amazing in my eyes. While I am not supporting her diet of raw foods, I do admire her initiative and dedication in looking for the truth. As a young scholar, Mrs. Minger who once lived the life of a vegan, is a data junkie. After reading a copy of the China Study she decided to analyze the whole study in order to believe or not believe what the book was really saying. Easy enough, except the actual data is over 800 pages, and she did this analysis in her spare time. 

The famous China Study written by Campbell (if you read the protein debate you'd remember he is the one that says high animal protein is bad) which, has basically become the bible of the vegan and vegetarian diet. Vegans and vegetarians stand by this book as a major weapon in their arsenal when arguing the health of "those horrible meat eaters." Ever seen a healthy looking vegan? Well, this delusion that they are healthy is based on certain theories, the China Study helps promote and Mrs. Minger put an axe to that.

Amazing

What makes her blog and critique even more interesting, is that very few people took the time to check her work because most of us who were screaming "the China Book stinks," were so glad someone actually took the time to refute Campbell using his own statistics. Yes, we were quick to judge, and even though we knew she was right we should of analyzed her protocol a more closely. It turns out she was right thankfully.

This obviously stirred up some controversy and she quickly set off a flame in the vegetarian world,which gets the attention of Campbell himself. Here is a young individual, early 20s (and drop dead gorgeous) who is just simply trying to get an answer of her own, puts all the data together and tactfully calls Campbell a fake and instantly she hits the fastlane.

So while the vegan community is calling Denise a flake and lowly educated, as if not attending a prestigious University, dictates her abilities, the true beauty of her project comes out when the narcassistic Campbell himself discredits his own work by his very own rebuttal.

 Michael Eades MD who also blogs on behalf of low carbohydrate joins the debate and quite eloquently destroys, Campbell, by using his own China Study, and his own rebuttal on Denise, which leaves the China Study as credible as a dirty politician in front of a camera.

The point of today's blog is to show you how we are not a fad?

Despite people's attempts, whatever the agenda, we are not a fad. This lifestyle we are proposing is coming from hands who stopped following the other sheep and the sheep herder to ask some very valuable questions, which is pissing off the status quo. 

As you continue to subject your body to this amazing lifestyle you need to understand how important educating yourself truly is. Whatever book you read or research article you set your eyes on, always critique it. We are all humans and the truth is sometimes neglected when attempting to promote an issue. Whether it is malicious or accidental, the truth can be misleading so.....

GO eat right, lift heavy, hit high intensity met-cons and read to educate yourself. Keep sending me some e-mails and let me know how you are doing.

I'm off to Boston, I'll try to keep this blog up while I'm there. 

 

 

preventive medicine I assure you

 

 

Interesting video. 

Challenge is almost over and I am hearing over and over how people can't wait to get back to a cup-cake or a piece of pie. 

Remember, as you contemplate putting any item that you have banned throughout the challenge into your mouth, the very reason you banned the item in the first place. The look better naked challenge is a portal, that can take your life and the lives of your loved ones away from the risk factors predisposing you and them to certain diseases. It is more than a challenge, it is a kickstart to a lifestyle. We promote this lifestyle as a means to attack a pathology that plagues our country and begins with obesity. 

This study provides more evidence, and if you have been following these posts, the research continues to point in our favor.

Above is an MRI of two different body types. The body type on the left, as we face it, is clearly obese. You can see the amount of strain placed on the individuals lower body by the excess mass. In the center of the image is the heart and you can see how the fat that surrounds the heart can make pumping blood to our surrounding organs difficult. On each side of the heart are two angel wing structures who are also burdened by the amount of excess fat. The lungs look cramped in space. You can see just below the lungs, the stomach pushing upward, competing with the diaphragm, making it difficult to exchange oxygen.

The image is taken in the supine position, and if you look at the individuals neck you will see how much pressure is distributed around the trachea, making it difficult to sleep at night. 

Think about this, the next time you tell a friend, "you can't wait for this challenge to be over." We are sympathetic to a cheat day, or a cheat vacation. A pizza can sometimes be what is needed to get through a tough day. A couple of beers at a social gathering, or one after a tough work out is perfectly acceptable. 

Just be careful not to fall back to the old ways. Before we cheat, ensure you have met your desired goal and continue to fight off temptation. Continue to make strides and the rewards in the end of your journey will be far greater than eating a week's worth of crap. 

Keep up the great work. I can't wait to see the results. 

Have a great weekend

 Another weekend is upon us. I hope you all realize how close you are to the finish line. Stay strong, avoid temptation and continue to put the hard work in.

Some of you mentioned to me, feeling bored of eggs and meat. Well go out and change it up. Try some spaghetti squash if you are in the mood for spaghetti, try some stir fry, try some fish. There are so many delicious options available. 

Have a great weekend

Supplements

Are there supplements out there that can help me lose weight? 

No

There are illegal products however, that will shred weight off, quicker than any diet can ever dream of, but these products can cause huge problems in the long term. Taking synthetic thyroid obviously would thin someone out, but messing with your internal endocrine map is foolish. Clenbuterol a broncho -agonist, is a medication that is banned in the United States, but used by some athletes, as higher than prescribed dosages have shown a small anabolic component and fat retardation causing lean mass. Sounds good, except the research performed on this drug has only been performed on animals, and the dosages used, were used on horses. So yes, you can find an illegal way of fighting the pesky weight that has squatted on your abs, and if you study enough and avoid the law, there are illegal products out there that can aid in fat loss. 

The best way to lose weight is by following a solid nutrition plan. One high in proteins and good fats, and low in carbohydrates  that includes green leafy vegetables. A strength and conditioning program that promotes heavy weights with barbells and high intensity workouts will yield promising results. 

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There are some supplements however, that may benefit the OneWorld athlete in regards to strength and conditioning.

Creatine is a wonderful supplement and the research all supports its use. It benefits our community (long read on creatine but very informative) since our workouts are dosed on heavy and fast movements. In understanding the energy pathways you would see that a one rep max for example is a lift that utilizes the phosphocreatine energy pathway, and this in fact is aided by our supplement creatine. 

It is a safe product despite some early claims of renal failure compartment syndrome and death. These have all been clarified in literature. The deaths were the cause of dehydration not of creatine but of weight cutting and poor supervision. 

It has been said that creatine is insulin mediated, and we all know to get insulin out to play we need sugar. So ideally, one who is looking for strength gains, should take the creatine post workout, with his protein/carbohydrate/ mix. (no it doesn't have to be immediately after you are done working out) I'll avoid claiming how much carbohydrates are needed and just say that adding this to your post work out mix that includes the proteins/fats/and carbs should do the trick. You should load yourself with some quality creatine at 20-25 mg a day for three days. Then maintain that with 5 mg a day and follow your progress. Make our strength and condition a priority and in 30 days pick a benchmark work out you have recorded or a one rep max, and compare your progress. You will see some pretty huge gains I assure you. 

Beta Alanine- I'm really falling in love with this product, and the more I read the more I love. The key ingredient in our metabolic conditioning is high intensity!  High intensity leads to a decrease in our pH, because of the H+ ions we are producing, making our acid-base balance more on the acidic side. This acidic state is the reason you stare at the bar for a while and contemplate walking away during a work out.

By supplementing beta-alanine, you are then creating a pathway (I'll skip the beta-alanine to carnosine conversion banter) that aids in buffering the acidity. This in turn aids in decreasing fatigue and allowing for better work out times. Research performed on this miracle supplement keeps unveiling positive effects on Vo2 max, which means a faster Fran, and Grace time. The research has yet to show any effects on long distance running, but who cares. 

Here are a couple of articles out there, some are just abstracts, but it still has some meaning. 

 

I wish I Could get more than the abstract

I wish these jerks would publish the whole study

4 week study on hiit and creatine

This one might interest you crossfitters

 

Other supplements to consider are 

Fish Oil - Fish oil is a great product especially if you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol. I'll let Robb Wolf fish oil promote and discuss while whole9 can guide you on the amount needed fish oil calculator. 

Vitamin D is one that I go back and forth on. I'll throw it in there just because we do happen to live in the Pacific Northwest. If you are a night dweller or someone who doesn't meet the sun often, then consuming some Vitamin D might be beneficial. Just remember, it is a fat soluble vitamin, which means the more you consume the more you retain. You can have your Vitamin D levels checked, the physician will more than likely gasp when you ask for the test, but in case you are curious ask for a 25-hydroxyvitamin d serum sample. Normal values lie between 40-70ng/ml and if you are below this value supplementation will be necessary.

Benefits to vitamin D include, increased immune system, increase Vo2, stronger bones and decrease in inflammation. 

Iron is the last supplement I'll talk about. This is mainly a focus for female athletes (anemia) and vegetarians. With a monthly visit from aunt flow, and rigorous athletic performance many female athletes have been victims of iron deficiency anemia. Vegetarians are also at risk because the diet they follow sucks, and if I may quote Denise Minger ,"My attempts at veganism resulted in brittle nails, hair loss, intermittent fatigue, and other niggling problems." (More about her in the future and if you get a moment google her, she rocks!)

If you are sensing low energy levels, pale skin, a faster heartbeat at rest, you might be showing some signs of anemia. A great way of checking to see if you are anemic is by donating some blood. Ironic that I would suggest giving blood in this situation. There is some reason to my madness, in order to donate blood you must meet certain conditions, and one of those conditions is not being anemic. The blood center is then mandated to test any potential donor for anemia and if you happen to fall in the anemic category, they turn you away. This should alert you to visit your doctor, to ensure  your anemia is in fact dietary in nature. There other types of anemia, but for the ladies who crossfit hard and often, chances are a simple supplementation of iron will fix the problem.

Send me any e-mails if you think I've neglected any supplement and I'll be glad check it out.

Keep up the great work. 

 

 

What is your goal?

This is the first important question that I want you to ask yourself before reading this post. What am I trying to get out of this challenge. Do I want to lose weight? Do I want to win the upcoming sectionals and represent OneWorld at regionals? Do I want to gain weight and look stronger? Do I just want to lift heavy, heavy weights and not concern myself with any aesthetics? Do I want to live, diabetic, hypertensive and pharmaceutical free? 

Some of you might want to lift heavier, run faster, but gaining weight is not an option because it might affect how you surf, or fight. Some of you don't care about being strong, you are just tired of taking one pill for blood pressure in the morning and three pills at night for cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes. 

We are all different and this is why this particular post brings so much confusion.

The question...... What should I eat post work out?

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Those trying to lose weight should consume a high protein shake in the absence of milk or fruit. The enemy in our opinion is sugar and our plan should focus on avoiding sugar as much as possible. In fact, I hope you understand that even weight lifting, will inhibit your weight loss?

If your plan is to lose the most amount of weight possible then understand that a pound of muscle is equal to a pound of fat. Obviously this means that if you lose a pound of fat and replace it with a pound of muscle you are back to the weight you started. So what people tend to see, is a plateau which brings frustration in the weight loss area. What shows better gains is tape measurement around the chest, thighs, arms, and ass. You'll see the body leaning out, despite what the stupid scale says. 

The rule we are going to use for post work-out nutrition to keep things simple is this. If you can't see your abs in the mirror when you get out of the shower than either buy a new mirror, or stay away from the carbohydrates post work-out. Remember that the allowance for carbohydrate intake is 50 grams or less.

If you belong to OneWorld, you are going to get strong; in fact, our wod today is 2 deadlifts at 375, 3 hand stand push ups, 4 power cleans at 185 pounds  and 5 C2B pull-ups for five rounds. Expect to see slower weight gains than someone who is not strength training. Expect your jeans to feel a bit tight around the thighs while sagging at the waist. Strong is sexy, and it also leads to a plethora of health advantages so embrace it. While embracing this new found strength and new muscle formation, continue to eat low carbohydrates until you find that desired look.

you need protein post work out

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Those that want to gain weight. 

I've told you all how important it is to eat, if you want to gain weight. Equally important, is stimulating a CNS response to release hormonal barrage in order to promote muscle hypertrophy. Well, the best way of doing this, is by squatting heavy ass weight twice, to three times a week, deadlifting,  pressing and pulling through the week. If you belong to ONEWORLD you don't have to worry so much on the strength program because it is laid out for you. What you have to do is eat, and eat frequent. We've covered this but what we haven't detailed is what to eat post-work out. 

Most of you, who are in search of a bigger frame, can easily display a set of abs, which screams glycogen replacement. Here's where things get really murky. Keeping it simple, I will start off by stating how important eating 1-1.5 grams of protein a day is in strength training. Most of you that are thin are not fighting diabetes II, therefore taking protein shakes after your work outs are encouraged. Hydrolyzed protein, has shown to travel quicker and therefore is considered to be the best option for post workout recovery. 

Why is this the case? Well, people who are following the current research base most of their arguments on the fact that consuming protein quickly after a work-out is good because it gets protein into the cells that are starving faster. It makes a lot of sense, but it isn't 100% accurate because a lot of the studies done on this, were done using amino acids. Like comparing a tortoise and a hare. Amino acids are super fast followed by whey then casein. So people that attack your wallet, then claim that using hydrolyzed protein is superior because it is nearly as fast as amino acids and therefore will get the regeneration process faster. When I asked the Progenix vendor why he thought his product was so good at the crossfit games he told me," its pure." So there you go. 

Before you go out and buy progenix, please understand that I am not saying progenix is the best protein available. In fact I avoid this product because in the wisdom of hydrolyzing the protein they somehow added fructose to their mix leaving me dumbfounded and my jaw as open as a porn star in her two guy one girl scene. Progenix does have awesome fitting shirts, very comfortable to work out in, so if you see me sporting it remember that it's all about comfort. The point that I am making, is that hydrolyzed protein is the fastest protein available and if you read the research and come to the conclusion that you need protein in your cells quickly, then using a product that contains hydrolyzed protein with dextrose is ideal. 

Whey vs Casein is another delightful argument that can take post after post to resolve. What is important, if you are not interested in crushing a 500 pound back squat, is simply understanding why protein after a work out is good. Does it matter what kind you should take? Yes, but there are too many damn variables to make that a constant. So if you decide to buy whey because it is cheaper than who cares. The most important thing is, you are in the gym lifting heavy ass things as fast as you can and then supplementing that. What makes more sense is looking for a product that contains carbohydrates. Carbohydrates in the form of fructose are bad if you buy into the timing argument. Told you this is confusing.

Fat or no fat post work out? This sub-question is one that makes me want to choke myself. Not because someone is confused enough to ask me, but because there is just so many myths out there leaving us normal people so confused. Again who is right? Well I'm going to be honest and say I don't know?

Im using empirical rationale here because the literature that is out there contradicts itself in so many ways. Many people will curse fats, post work because fats slow down the absorption of protein. If you buy into this notion that you need to get the protein into the cell quickly then I see how taking fats is concerning. However I don't buy that story because the more I try to find some clarity in this topic, the more I see that the timing thing ie.. eating 15-45 minutes post work out is a myth. 

On the other hand, saturated fats lead to testosterone production and as Barry and Mr.Clemens would admit, 'testosterone is good." Well, they might not admit to that yet, but we rational people know that testosterone is good for muscles. If you are trying to gain weight, why not look for a post work out cocktail that contains not only a good source of protein and carbohydrates, but also, one that contains fats for added calories. 1 gram of fat has 9 calories, so drinking whole milk would make more sense than skim milk. I'm open to any science based research that would constitute a different opinion. If you can't tolerate natures gift to man like I can't then take the synthetic approach. 

Timing - As I have stated, the research is cloudy because the studies themselves are contradicting each other. So all those people who are telling the weight gainers to eat immediately after you are done working out, relax! Timing is not as important as actually eating. The most important thing is that you are consuming enough fats, proteins and calories throughout the day as we discussed yesterday. It is also important that you lift heavy ass weight as fast as you can and rest as much as you can. 

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This is a very complicated issue that gets into a number of topics. I promise to go over supplements in the upcoming days, in fact how about tomorrow. The bottom line ........

• If you are trying to lose weight, then take a protein shake, post work out that is mainly derived of water and protein, if you are too nauseated to eat a steak or fish in the gym. 
• If you are fighting off diabetes II, then avoid the protein shake if possible and just go home and hit a steak and some grilled veggies. Robb Wolf does not promote protein shakes in fighting insulin sensitivity and I can see his reasoning. I also can see the convenience of hitting a protein shake so if you must, make sure it is a low carbohydrate mix!!!!!!!
• If you are trying to gain weight, find a post work out supplement that has at least 40 grams of protein, 30 grams of carbohydrates, and some good fats. Like milk. If you can't tolerate milk, find a synthetic mix that you compare and contrast. If you ask me what I take, I will tell you. 

The final point is this. The rules we reviewed yesterday apply for a 24 hour day. Your post-workout meal should then reflect a period of this 24 hour. If you are only focussing on the post wod meal and neglecting the rest of the day then your are failing miserably. If you are not hitting the gym, then hypertrophy and lipolysis are not in your favor. Eat well, go to the gym, drink lots of water and sleep plenty and I promise you will be ready for any challenge life throws your way!

 

Keep up the good work only 4 weeks left

Three weeks have passed us and many of you are looking real good. For those of you who are still looking to lose weight, here's a reminder. If you are not seeing any progress please e-mail me. 

-    As soon as you wake up, eat a breakfast that is high in good fats, (olive oils, avocados) and high in protein. This is the most important meal of the day so spare the excuses, in order to lose weight, you need to eat breakfast.

-    Eat every 3-4 hours - Even if you are not hungry, make sure you eat a high protein, high fat meal. Remember the way to lose fat is by eating fat.

-    Drink lots of water - Avoid dehydration,a side effect of a high protein diet. Drink at least two glasses of water with each meal and more before and after your work outs. Coffee and tea drinkers need to chase it down with the same amount consumed, if not more. Try to drink at least 3 liters a day.

-    Eat 12-14 Cal/lb. of body weight. I really am not too concerned with this rule. I know that many of you will feel, you are eating too much on a high protein diet.I will argue that claim however,by taking a look at your journal, and figuring an average total caloric intake for 3 day period. Using the formula above, I'll prove that many of you, while feeling you are eating too much food are actually falling way short of the actual amount of calories required. Eating protein and fats is hard, it's a very filling.

-    Eat less than 50 grams of carbohydrates a day - Remember that counting calories is a waste of time in most cases and is not what is important to us. What is important? Restricting your carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams per day By doing this, you will inhibit insulin secretion to a minimum and switch your fuel source to ketones. Ketones are a byproduct of fat breakdown and is what we are interested in. To measure your success you can purchase ketone strips at target or Walgreen's.

-    Eat 1-1.5 grams of protein per lb. - I weigh 185 lbs, therefore, I would need 185-270 grams of protein per day. We are a strength biased gym. Along with lifting heavy weights we also destroy you with intense met-cons. Protein is important in the recovery and repair process so eat your protein! Avoid bread, sugar, rice and pasta for the next 7 weeks! (stay away from fruit)

Those of you who want to see more weight loss, then decrease your carb intake to less than 30 grams a day. 

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Weight gainers------ keep eating! In case you all forgot here are the rules you all need to follow. 

1. Calorie consumption is important; so eat 18-20 cal/ pound of current body weight. A crossfit stud then would use 20 cal/lb. (For example I would use 185(20)= 3700 cal/day.
2. Eat protein 1.5 g/lb of body weight. (I then would need 185(1.5=278 g protein/day. We know that there are 4 cal in one gram of protein then eating 278(4) =1112 calories from protein/day. Thats 30% of your daily intake coming from protein, and if you read the protein debate I posted last week you'll remember that we are going to go into kidney failure according to the nonbelievers. 
3. Eat healthy omega 3 fats, and try to hit 40-45% of your daily caloric intake from fats. To obtain this figure use your daily caloric intake, ( I would use 3700 cal/day and multiply that times .45 =1665 calories) then simply divide that number by 9 (why 9, well there are 9 calories per gram of fat and in my case I would get 1665/9= 185 grams of fat per day.) 
4. Add daily caloric allowable intake from protein and the daily caloric allowable from fat and subtract that figure from your total daily caloric allowance to give you the carbohydrate daily caloric allowance. ( I would then use 1112 cal(protein/day)+1665 cal (fat/day)=2777 then 3700 cal (total daily calories)-2777= 923 calories from carbohydrates. 
5. Do not eat sugar, bread, rice, pasta as your carbohydrate source, instead choose vegetables, and fruits. Grilled veggies are good and yams are so amazing. 
6. Lift Heavy weights, Squat twice a week, Deadlift once, Pull and Press. If you aren't lifting heavy, don't come crying to me when the zombies attack and you can't defend yourself. Lift heavy please so we can maintain a friendship.
7. Avoid metabolic workouts or cardio that lasts longer than 8-12 minutes. Seriously!
8. Drink Milk if you can tolerate it, immediately after you are done working out, and use regular milk, because the combination of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates is crucial in repairing and regenerating.
9. Eat, every 3-4 hours even if you are not hungry because the chances of you ever being hungry are long gone, so eat and then eat again and if you throw up, eat what you threw up!
10. Olive oil is the quickest way of throwing calories into your skinny malnourished body, so get a shot glass and take two shots every meal. 
11. Drink lots of water, often! 

and I wanted to add a 12th rule.

    12. Pre-WOD meal should be consumed. It turns out I neglected a very important aspect in our weight training. Insulin spikes. By drinking a high carb drink just prior to the workout, one can expect to see a surge in insulin that will benefit the anabolic process. I tend to drink a gatorade which is broken down and hits the bloodstream quickly, it contains 50 grams of carbohydrates. 

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK

Caloric Restriction will not make you Fit as Fu*K

 

Calorie restriction vs Carbohydrate restriction.

•     Do you want to sit down each meal and count all the calories you put into your body, then figure out all the calories you burned in a day to see if you are negative or positive for that day?
•     Would you rather work out starving, or work out with enough energy to support the pain OneWorld is about to inflict.

read the conclusion

 

Lets's end this by asking the ladies, "Who would you rather look like?"

 


           

Camille, on the right is about to kill 7 rounds of three 135lb cleans and 4 handstand push ups. The girl who is in the right picture and positioned in the far left without a head, is the very beautiful Miranda Oldroyd, another savage meat eater who relies on the paleo for sustenance. Camille is cleaning 135 pounds, 21 times, something the girl on the left will never accomplish once. In fact, just holding herself up seems heavy for her legs. 

The girl on the left, definitely, relies on calorie counting, which, I imagine is minimal. If your goal is to look like her, than feel free to do so. I will laugh at you when the zombies attack and they use your weak, frail, body as an appetizer. The girl on the right is gorgeous, and so is the girl in the far back. In fact if you look in the stands, you will see hundreds of beautiful people who laugh at calorie counting and instead rely on the paleo or zone diet. I know because I was there to witness this breathtaking beauty called the 2010 Crossfit Games.

So what is your goal? 

That is the most important question to ask yourself. I understand you all don't want to compete in the Crossfit games next year, butI also know you step foot in our gym every chance you get because of the challenge it brings. Freddy always points out, how the craziest work outs always attract the biggest participants. You all want better times, better health, and better looking bodies. This feeling is shared amongst the newest of crossfitters to the heavy hitters. 

We avoid calorie counting because it has shown in research to fail, and it fails to produce what you are looking for. By increasing your protein intake, we are actually decreasing your appetite while increase your muscle regeneration after you give a hard effort at the gym. By increasing your good fat intake we are providing the energy that you think you get from "carbs" that will help get you through the OneWorld programming. By avoiding the "carbs" we are putting those who feel they need to lose weight in ketosis. 

Men who say they lost weight by eating fruit are not in our gym squatting 355 pounds and running 6 minute miles. Ladies that make these claims are not in our gym working on pull-ups and muscle ups, nor are they able to squat, press, and deadlift heavy ass weight on a caloric restricted diet. They are instead running on the treadmill or hitting the aerobic classes or the tricep extension rope with some fruit shake. I guess any form of activity is better than a sedentary lifestyle, but these are not our goals.

So please trust us our methodology and our rules in weight loss. Communicate with me. If you are not seeing any results, please contact me. DO NOT HESITATE to send me an e-mail and I will gladly meet you in the gym. All of the trainers want you to succeed, the only thing that will stop you is not implementing the plan. Fancy gyms will charge clients a lot of money for a diet plan, a personal trainer and a strength and conditioning program. You get us all for the same price, so take advantage of it.

Have a great weekend! Continue to make solid decisions this weekend, and take accountability. 

By the way! Fat does not weigh more than muscle! 5 pounds is 5 pounds. The reason 135 looks leaner is because it takes up less space, as you can see from above. Lean, strong women are hot, and I've been told that lean strong men are hot. Follow our rules on eating and we'll soon see what you look like.
 
 

You won't lose weight eating fruit!

healthcare worker: "You are saying that fruit is bad?"

Alex: No, I'm not saying that fruit is bad, but I am saying that if you want to lose weight you might want to avoid it.

healthcare worker :" I disagree, you need fruit in your diet, it's just unhealthy not to eat fruit." 

Alex: What was the last fruit you ate? 

healthcare worker : "ummmm...................I had an apple the other day but that's because I haven't had a chance to go to the farmers market." 

(this conversation really happened)

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It is the most deceiving enemy when it comes to weight loss. We have been raised to believe that fruit is the holiest of foods and avoiding it would bring sin to our body. 

I'm not telling you to avoid fruit the rest of your life, because fruit does posses some nutritional value. Obviously if I had to choose between an apple and a snickers bar who both have 34 grams of carbohydrates, I would choose the apple because it comes with micro-nutrition. (I actually would choose the snickers bar, but I wanted to sound healthy)  Fortunately, the same vitamins and minerals that people rave over when discussing the pros on fruits, are found in vegetables, which are lower in carbohydrates and higher in fiber.

There will be plenty of room to eat the apple and snickers bar when you reach your target weight. Until then.............

In order to lose weight on our plan, you must not eat more than 50 grams of carbohydrates in a day. In fact, I would be thrilled if you decreased that count to 30. One apple alone has 34 grams of carbohydrates, leaving little room to spare the remainder of the day.

Here is a nutritional fruit chart that will bring clarity to this topic. Check the carb count and compare it with a coke, candy bar, or fruit juice. 

fruit nutrition

So avoid the fruit while you are trying to lose weight. 

Disagree? I'd love to hear it, I'm single and have no one to argue with, send a comment or just e-mail me at xfitalex@gmail.com or alex@crossfitoneworld.com

 

PS. I would like to exclude the avocado from the fruit category, even though the botanist calls this a fruit, it acts and looks like a veggie, therefore it must be a veggie.