Posts during October 2009
How to Stay Paleo for Life
Interested in Paleo. Please contact alex by email at alex@crossfitcounterculture.com and set up a free consult to start you on your Paleo path today.
The biggest evils of weightloss: Sugars (Artifical Too) and Grains
The painful truth about sugars
Damn Dirty Grains
Poision to Humans, Good for Machines
Do you know the dangers behind Vegtable Oils?
Trans fat is double trouble for your heart health
Trans fat raises your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and lowers your "good" (HDL) cholesterol. Find out more about trans fat and how to avoid it.
When it comes to fat, trans fat is considered by some doctors to be the worst of them all because of its double-barreled impact on your cholesterol levels. Unlike other fats, trans fat — also called trans-fatty acids — both raises your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and lowers your "good" (HDL) cholesterol.
A high LDL cholesterol level in combination with a low HDL cholesterol level increases your risk of heart disease, the leading killer of men and women. Here's some information about trans fat and how to avoid it.
What is trans fat?
Trans fat comes from adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation. Trans fats are more solid than oil is, making them less likely to spoil. Using trans fats in the manufacturing of foods helps foods stay fresh longer, have a longer shelf life and have a less greasy feel.
Trans fat in your food
Commercial baked goods — such as crackers, cookies and cakes — and many fried foods, such as doughnuts and french fries — may contain trans fats. Shortenings and some margarines can be high in trans fat.
Trans fat used to be more common, but in recent years food manufacturers have used it less because of concerns over the health effects of trans fat. Food manufacturers in the United States and many other countries list the trans fat content on nutrition labels.
However, you should be aware of what nutritional labels really mean when it comes to trans fat. For example, in the United States if a food has less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, the food label can read 0 grams trans fat. Though that's a small amount of trans fat, if you eat multiple servings of foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat, you could exceed recommended limits.
Reading food labels
How do you know whether food contains trans fat? Look for the words "partially hydrogenated" vegetable oil. That's another term for trans fat. The word "shortening" also is a clue: Shortening contains some trans fat.
Some oils are better than others when applying heat to them when cooking. Those that don’t do well in a hot environment quickly turn rancid and turn into free-radicals, which damage our cells.
Keep these tips in mind when next cooking with oils:
High Heat/Frying/Browning
- Coconut oil
- Palm Oil
- Ghee (clarified butter)
- Lard
Medium Heat/Light Sauteing
- Olive Oil
- Sesame Seed Oil
- Hazelnut Nut Oil
- Pistachio Nut Oil
- Low Heat/Baking
- Pumpkin Oil
- Sunflower Oil
No Heat
- Fish Oil
- Flax Seed Oil
- Cod Liver Oil
- Hemp Seed Oil
- Oils Mentioned Above
Emergency Blog Post
Warning: lots of profanity, but really funny.
Paleo, continued...
The Paleo Diet is a way of eating in the modern age that best mimics the diets of our Paleolithic hunter-gatherer ancestors by combing a diet of lean meats, seafood, fruits, vegetables and healthy fats.
The perfect human diet is the one we have adapted to over the past 2 million years. This evolutionary based diet is supported by documented scientific evidence and by real-life improvements and people winning their battles to be healthy. If you are ready to be lean and healthy, then this is the way of life for you. Lower your risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, arthritis, acne, gastrointestinal disease and many autoimmune diseases.
With readily available modern foods, the Paleo Diet mimics the types of foods every single person on the planet ate prior to the Agricultural Revolution (a mere 500 generations ago). These foods (fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and seafood) are high in the beneficial nutrients (soluble fiber, antioxidant vitamins, phytochemicals, omega-3 and monounsaturated fats, and low-glycemic carbohydrates) that promote good health and are low in the foods and nutrients (refined sugars and grains, saturated and trans fats, salt, high-glycemic carbohydrates, and processed foods) that frequently may cause weight gain, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and numerous other health problems. The Paleo Diet encourages dieters to replace dairy and grain products with fresh fruits and vegetables—foods that are more nutritious than whole grains or dairy products.
Re-Evolve...with the perfect human diet.
From our friends at Paleo Brands.
Are you in control of your eating, or is your eating in control of you?
Our Saturday Morning 9:30 Introductory Workout Class
This week I hope to pass along information pertaining to how we should eat and the consequences of continuing to eat a diet full of sugars and processed foods. The Zone is well preached about in the CrossFit community and yes it does work amazingly. However I do believe it is not for everybody, in-fact I have probably seen about a 90% failure rate in adherence to this diet. And a diet is not the change I am looking for, I am Another Snap Shot of this Weekends 9:30 Class. This week I hope to pass along information pertaining to how we should eat and the consequences of continuing to eat a diet full of sugars and processed foods. The Zone is well preached about in the CrossFit community and yes it does work amazingly. However I do believe it is not for everybody, in-fact I have probably seen about a 90% failure rate in adherence to this diet. And a diet is not the change I am looking for, I am looking for a dietary lifestyle change that is willingly chosen based on facts about the foods you eat. Quality First.
The Paleolithic Diet (”Paleo” is a common abbreviation) is based on eating foods that our Paleolithic ancestors ate.
The “Paleolithic” refers to the Paleolithic Age, which is a formal time period on Geologic Time Charts from about 2,500,000 years ago to about 10,000 years ago. The premise is that during the Paleolithic, we evolved a specific genome that has only changed 0.01 per cent in these last 10,000 years. However, during this recent time span mass agriculture, grains/grain products, sugars/sugar products, dairy/dairy products, and a plethora of processed foods have all been introduced as a regular part of the human diet.
We are not eating the foods we are genetically and physiologically adapted to eat (99.9% of our genetic profile is still Paleolithic); and the discordance is an underlying cause for much of the “diseases of civilization”, “syndrome X”, obesity, and “diseases of old age” that are so epidemic in our society today. As Dr. Cordain and others’ scientific research reveal – the evolutionary, genetic, and clinical evidence point to a natural (i.e., unprocessed foods), omnivorous diet as the healthiest way to eat. Dr. Cordain’s research shows that 70% of the average caloric intake of Americans is from foods that did not even exist for our Paleolithic ancestors. This discordance is having tremendously negative health consequences for our society as a whole.
Our genes determine our optimum diet, and our genes evolved according to the environments in which our ancient ancestors lived, including the foods they ate.
We have a modern snap shot into the effects of the Paleo Diet with the last 84 tribes of Hunter Gatherers on earth. These Hunter Gatherer tribes have survived relatively untouched since the dawn of time; we know these groups are muscular, strong and healthy. They have perfect eyesight and straight teeth and are free from diabetes, obesity, cancer and other problems plaguing the modern world. Since we are genetically identical to our ancestors of 2 million years ago and for the last 7 million years we have been genetically coded to eat a certain way, a diet that is based on animal based proteins, fruits and vegetables and healthy fats is the key to health. A modern diet based on grains, processed foods and sugars has taken us down a path of sickness, illness and obesity.
From paleobrands.com
Today's Good Stuff:
Nutrition Part I, Robb Wolf ...
Nutrition Part II, Rob Wolf ...
If you want to learn more about CrossFit and how to be a better CrossFitter you should sign up for the CrossFit Journal. There are hundreds of articles and videos to watch.
Sunday CrossFit WOD in Encinitas
This is an amazing video. I wonder how well he would do if he lacked proficiency in his general fitness skillz.
Class will be held at 2pm tomorrow. Bring your flattest least cushioning running shoes possible. No Springs.
Big Saturday Turn Out in Encinitas at CrossFit Counter Culture
And to all my current members I hope to see you tomorrow for a great Bench Mark Running WOD. Eric you must rest you animal, 6 days in a row is a big accomplishment.
This week will be focusing on our nutrition. Expect to read some great articles about nutrition on our blog and Brian and I will personally be talking to everyone one of you about your eating habits and how they might be affecting your goals. You guys are all dedicated to training hard now it’s time to have that same dedication to your nutritional intake. Please feel free to us about all your training and nutritional concerns remember that your goals our or main concern and we only succeed when you do. If any of you would like to schedule a one -on- one nutrtional consult please email me and I will be happy to set aside some time to work with you and answer or find answers to all the questions you have.
See you all this week.
Alex
Fitness and Technique
Everyday Brian and I are pushing you improve your technique, to move faster and to produce more power. Better movement leads to faster times. Faster times lead to more intensity. More intensity leads to increased fitness. Increased fitness leads to.... (we want your opinion and we will give you are opinion tomorrow)
Technique, Part Ia ...
Technique, Part Ib ...
Technique, Part II..
Giant Leaps
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Quite a few people have taken some giant leaps forward in their performances and set some lofty benchmarks to build upon this week. Kristen destroyed her first unassisted pull-ups and made it through the first five rounds of Cindy without bands: 5 rounds = 25 unassisted pullups! HUGE!! Heather stepped up and dropkicked that b*tch Cindy in the face and went over ten rounds! HUGE!! Kathleen and John powered through 20+ minutes in the power clean ladder! HUGE!! We're closing in on week's end and hope to see everyone bring these efforts and more to our workout this Saturday morning and show some new friends what it's all about!
A demonstration of high functional tolerance
Functional Tolerance - an athlete's capacity to buffer deviation from best fit ideal without physical consequence.
Don't ever try this anywhere; the Diesel Weasel has a higher functional tolerance than you. And I wonder how much more he could lift if we put him in the ideal "Best Fit" position from which maximal force can be produced.
Today's Educational Videos:
Midline Stability, Kelly Starrett, Pt III
Hamstring Assessment with Kelly Starrett
Where does your head go?
What do you think about at the bottom?
I want it so bad, I stand up to the bar nervous but un afraid. I place myself under the bar in the rack position stand up and instantly I shift my focus to how heavy the load is. I want to fold over, I don't want to hold this anymore, I can't breathe well and this is not comfortable, yet seconds ago I wanted to squat this so bad.
STOP RIGHT NOW
Where did my head just go, could I really have lost focus that fast. Squat this #$%*ing weight. Pull it together, control my breath tighten up my midline and just start squatting. Where is my focus now? Is it still there wanting to succeed or am I second guessing myself under this load. If I waiver I fail, you can't come out of weakened system. I must remain focused and strong.
My question to everyone today is to reflect back on your 1Rep Max that you failed at and the one you succeeded at. Do you think you could have done your failed weight, was it really too heavy or did you stop believing you could do it. Or maybe your coach told you it was 135 and it was 155 and there was just no freaking chance. Not yet at least . Sorry Shannon!
Midline Stability, Kelly Starrett, Pt II.
Throwing Grace, San Francisco CrossFit ...
Work Capacity
She does not need to work on her hamstring flexibility.
Midline Stability, Kelly Starrett, Pt I
Stretching is Dead, Kelly Starrett
After attending a Saturday CrossFit flexability and mobility seminar, I had my eyes opened as we looked into how flexibility and mobility play a key role in all general fitness skills: Strength,Cardio-Respiratory Capacity, Stamina, Power, Speed, Coordination, Accuracy, Balancy, and Agility. Our ability to become more proficent at each general fitness skill, has a direct relation in our ability to reach a high level of Ready State.
As Kelly explains, "to reach the ready state, you have to address your weaknesses systematically, whether they include a lack of strength, poor endurance, chronic back pain or a severe knee injury. CrossFit is the perfect way to deal with any deficiency because it’s all about eliminating weaknesses. By forcing yourself to break down barriers to performance, CrossFit will move you closer to the ready state and the elite fitness that comes with it." We cannot reach abosulte peak fitness without addressing issues of improving joint, tissue and muscle flexibility.
Along with all of the barbell and gymnastic conditioning we do at CrossFit Counter Culutre, we will be paying a lot of attention to breathing and MId-Line Stabilizaton, our "capacity to maintian a neutral spine under task, load and duration demands," Kelly Starett.
This week we will be showing video clips of Kelly's lecutres and we hope all our CrossFitters will take the time to watch a quick video clip and educate themesleves on becoming more mobile.
Run Pull Swing... Repeat
"You don't know cardio until you have done Helen"-
Brian McKenzie
Founder, CrossFit Endurance
Sunday Class will be at 2:00pm.
Saturday Workouts at Crossfit Counter Culture
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Look how much fun Josh was having last Saturday.
Saturday Class will be held at 8am for Members and Open to the Public at 9:30am . The 8am class will be unique in that after the warm up, our crossfitters will have the opportunity to work on any barbell or gymnastic strength training they may have missed in the previous weeks programmed workout. Because of the highly anticipated Sat. workouts and large number of attending athletes our CrossFit training facility is able and happy to offer our crossfitters a choice for the Saturday WOD. This Sat. You may choose to do any bench mark WOD or the CrossFit Counter Culture Saturday WOD. That workout will be revealed sat am!!!
We hope to see you all tomorrow for our awesome Saturday CrossFit workout!!!
Membership Drive
A good way to see the true potential of our New Training Facility!
After a great grand opening and initial commitment of our Founders Club members, we are proud to offer a huge thank you membership drive to help fill up our community with your friends. We call it the POWER OF 5 and the details are as follows:
Bring in 5 people between now and the end of the calendar year that complete their Elements training and sign up for a membership and you will receive your membership for the entire year of 2010 for FREE.
The best way to introduce your friends to CrossFit Counter Culture is to bring them to our Saturday public classes at 9:30am. They will definitely walk away with a smile and a new respect for functional training. And don't forget if Saturday morning is no good, you can always have them contact us at (760) 635-5998 to set up a free one-on-one 45 minute Introductory session.
Brian and I hope everyone partakes in this membership drive and we would love to have the opportunity to reward your efforts in helping us grow the CrossFit Counter Culture community to full capacity.
When enough is enough. It's time to rest.
Lara is in serious need of a rest day!
At CrossFit Counter Culture rest day is quite often a very looked forward to day. But when should we rest and will it affect me if I miss a day that has a benchmark WOD or a particular Lift I have been looking forward to practicing?
The answer to your problem lies in the weekends. Our training facility will be opening on the weekends to facilitate the needs of our crossfitters to better themselves at the Olympic lifts, gymnastic skills or barbell lifts that they may have missed during the M-F schedule. Class starts at 8am on Saturdays goes until 9:30. During that time our members may work on any barbell, Olympic lifting or gymnastic strength goals that may have been missed during the week. For the last part of class you may choose to join the group in a Saturday WOD or do the benchmark WOD if you missed it this week.
The 9:30 am class will be for members and the public, with the emphasis on fun high met con WODS usually with partners.
Oh yes, and Sundays. We have two options here. First we want to be able to facilitate any athletic looking to do some Olympic lifting on the weekends and second we will always do a running WOD on Sunday. Class times will be determined by the majority vote. And you may do so by posting a comment here or at the gym.
Day 2
We are as confused as Cash when it come to having people sign into Mind Body Online. So for this week please continue to come to any of our classes offered. You may find our schedule by clicking on the left column button that says "Schedule and Class Times"
However, our Beyond the White Board gym page is up and running and we expect everyone to post their Max Effort attempts and WOD times. We are watching and a 50 Burpee penatly will be awarded to those whom fail to post. Seriously.
Day 1
The partner WOD in full effect. Ever try leap frogging after 300 squats and 75 burpees.
After a great opening games event on Saturday we will be kicking off the CrossFit Counter Culture program on Monday October 12th. Our schedule can be found by clicking on the Mind Body Online Button on the left column. Now here is where we will require something new for many people. At CrossFit Counter Culture everyone will pre sign in for class and you may do so for 2 weeks at a time. You may cancel yourself out of a class up to 2 hours before it starts and you may also sign into class up to 2 hours before it starts. We will not accept walk ins without signing in 2 hrs prior- or if you just can’t get online call us at 760-635-5998 and we will be happy sign you in.
The Blog is for informing and entertaining our community and workouts can be found by simply clicking on the "Beyond the Whiteboard" Button on the left column. This is also where you'll go to entering in your strength and WOD results.
Founder's Club
Check out this video of people pushing themselves to the limits of human flight.
A clarification on how to be eligible for the Founders Club and the rate of $125.00/month forever. You must have signed a waiver before our Grand Opening and commited to a monthly membership by the end of October. Special consideration will be given to unique circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
Don't forget about competing this weekend. We have workouts for all skill levels and there are some pretty nice $$$ prizes for the top male and female contestants in each workout.
Running Club Start Up
Hey guys-
The CrossFit Counter Culture running club will be starting up the first Saturday after our grand opening. Sign up at the gym and grab a info packet so that you may prepare yourself for some of the most effective training to get you ready for anything from a 1 mile time trail to a 100 mile ultra run. Go here: www.crossfitendurance.com and start reading some of the resources and FAQ. I hope to see everyone tomorrow for a great friday WOD.
Icetiger
And so it begins....
Alex Kurz and Brian Spangle are way beyond stoked to invite you to the CrossFit Counter Culture GRAND OPENING GAMES this Saturday, October 10, 2009!
The Games will showcase our new 3,000 square foot facility at 318-B N El Camino Real in Encinitas, California, and will feature some fun workout contests with tons of cool prizes and plenty of healthy refreshments. This event is completely free and open to anyone interested in learning how to improve their health and fitness. The schedule of events will be:
4:00pm - Check In / Hang Out
4:20pm - Workouts Revealed; Warm Up Commences
4:30pm - Grand Opening Games Begin!!!
6:30pm - Awards Ceremony
CrossFit Counter Culture is a CrossFit gym. It is not a GloboGym. It is also not the "going to the gym" or the "working out" that get casually dropped into everyday conversation. Here, there are no headphones. No televisions. No ellipticals. No weight machines. No treadmills. Not many places to sit. And definitely no mirrors. Add to this a bit of focused, committed effort on your part and measurable results are guaranteed. We demand our clients use their minds as well as their bodies to learn, to challenge themselves and to attempt new feats they never before thought possible. We don't pretend that CrossFit Counter Culture is anything more than a gym...but it is our gym. We set the rules. We set the programming. We hold you accountable to yourselves and to us. When you're here, we expect you to work.
Curious to learn more about CrossFit Counter Culture before Saturday? Visit our photostream on Flickr, follow the action on Twitter, or sign up to be our friend on Facebook!
Contact Us
email: crossfitcounterculture@gmail.com
phone: 760-635-5998
fax: 760-635-5999
address:
318 North El Camino Real, Suite B
Encinitas, CA 92024
