Wow, What a Week!!!

This has really been an incredibly full and busy week. 2012 has started out with a bang. I am not exactly sure why but apparently after 5 years off people have decided they need commercial real estate again so we are very busy. Trust me I am not complaining, I love it and will take all the deals we can get :) , but that is not what I am most excited about.

I have never been so excited about talking a serious look at my overall fitness, evaluate the good and the bad and as a result feel like I am on the way to substantial gains in my fitness and physical abilities.

I can't thank the coaches and friends at Canyon Crossfit enough for this. You guys know I love to go to the box and workout but this week it has really been exciting to be there and feel the buzz. I have loved reading everybody's blogs to see their excitement and those things they are struggling with. It is truly encouraging to be in this journey with so many other friends, watching everyone do their nutrition seminar with Andrew, complete their performance WOD, contemplate and set their goals for the challenge, taking their before pictures and measuring their body fat, and the best part has been everyone sharing their meals and recipes. You guys are all great!!!

So what have I learned after 5 days???

As I begin to study the nutrition program one of the first things that hit me was that I would no longer be able to take my pre and post work out protein supplement shakes nor drink the recovery drink that I drink during the WOD. Because of that I was going to need to plan ahead so that I would have that important nourishment before and after my workout. Before workouts I am eating a small portion of protein (hard boiled eggs, chicken or a little beef) and either half an avocado or have a handful or raw almonds. I have just had water for the workout and after the workout as I drive home I have half of a sweet potato that I cooked in the microwave before I left and another hard boiled egg.

Another thing that took extra focus for me this week is that I eat out a lot so there aren't many things on a typical menu that works but I have had some really good salads that I have enjoyed. You have to look very closely at all the ingredients and ask the server questions to make sure you don't get stuff on there that you don't want. I have enjoyed seared Ahi , Salmon and Chicken salad, holding back the cheese, crouton, strips, whatever add some avocado and dress it with Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar and sqeeze a little fresh lemon salt and pepper. It has worked well

For some reason a huge light bulb went on this week with the whole processed foods. Since I started Crossfit 2 years ago I have lost about 50 lbs. and did that mostly watching what I ate. I cut most of the alcohol, cut most breads and other processed foods, etc. I have always understood that those darn carbs that taste so good either are or turn to sugar in your body and then turn into fat and it made sense that if you limit those you will lose weight. This week my focus shifted to CLEAN eating, eliminating harmful foods and ingredients from my daily diet. So not only have I eliminated Sugars, Grains, Alcohol, etc I am reading labels for those hidden chemicals and sugars that pollute your body. For the first time in my life I went to the store today (Sprouts) and only bought Grass Fed Beef, Free Range Chicken, and 100% Organic Vegatables.

I bought stuff to cook dinner tonight for Sari and I and am excited about it. It is going to be delicious!!!!

I have been surprised I have really not had any cravings. I think it took me a couple of days to figure out how to get enough protein throughout the day but I think that is good now. I have had a headache for the past 3 days so I am hoping that the detox takes that away quickly.

OK enough for today I need to go look at some recipes for dinner :)

Performance WOD

I did the performance WOD this morning which was

Run 400 M
5 pull ups
10 Hand release push ups
15 air squats
21 Deadlift - 115lbs
Run 400 M
5 pull ups
10 Hand Release Push ups
15 Air Squats
15 Front Squats - 115 lbs
Run 400 M
5 pull ups
10 hand release push ups
15 Air Squats
9 Clean and Jerks - 115lbs

We had to be able to use the same weight for all 3 lifts. The max weight was 155lbs but since the front squat is one of my weaknesses I chose to do it 115 lbs. and I completed the WOD in 14:27

My goal for the 60 day challenge will be to complete the WOD at 135lbs and to shave a minute off the time

The Performance Nutrition Experience

Tonight I attended Coach Andrews orientation session at Canyon Crossfit for the 60 day challenge which they are calling the Performance Nutrition Experience. The challenge will have three components Athletic Performance, Body Composition and lastly and essay on how the 60 day experience impacted us. Besides the fact that there is a $500.00 prize to the winner and I like to win I am at point that I want to take my fitness to the next level.

I will be using this blog to share my experience of this challenge, to share about my crossfit fitness journey, and anything else that might be fun along the way.

Tomorrow the challenge begins. We will be using Whole 30 Food program, essentially clean eating. No Processed foods, no sugars, no alcohol, no grains, no dairy. Lots and lots of meats, veggies and fruits. For the Athletic Performance portion we have a Baseline WOD to perform and we will perform it again at the end of the 60 days to document our improvement. Additionally we will be tracking our PR's on our daily WOD's and I have set a goal to get my first muscle up so I will be doing extra work to make that happen

Lastly in the body composition category we will have the typical before and after pics so I will have to take my pictures tomorrow as well. Additionally they will be looking at body fat percentage. Today I took mine and it was 18.9%, my goal for this challenge is to get my body fat % down to 15% this will require me to lose about 12 pounds of fat, OUCH

I am very excited to begin this challenge, I am looking forward to seeing all my friends at Canyon Crossfit challenge themselves and encourage each other to reach their goals.