Nutrition Challenge: Day 3

Today is a rest day physically, but mentally it's been draining. I've spent the entire day prepping for tomorrow's neuroscience and neuroanatomy exams. Supposedly occasional food deprivation (aka intermittent fasting) is good for the  bod. Tonight we'll find out if intermittent sleep deprivation is equally as beneficial. Clearly, I know the answer but the amount of material intertwined with mounting aboulia is going to make for a long night.

For the sake of consistency (and a study break) I wanted to post an update regarding the nutrition which is turning out to be quite a coup. Today is the 3rd day in a row without eating out or succumbing to the temptation of fast food.  I can't say I haven't thought about it. But, I have stayed true to plan. One other added benefit is that aside from $1 coffee I have not spent any money on outside food.  

I don't want to get too excited to early. But, the "before" pics that CF Cville has and will post to the web inevitably will serve as motivation. That said, before departing this morning I packed up enough food in pre-pakaged portions to last me all-day. 

I wish I could detail the recipes. However, studying calls. I will post the details on the tumeric chicken and microwave sauteed broccoli on a another day.

Nutrition Challenge Day 2

Today is the 2nd day of the CF Cville nutrition challenge.  I've been logging my daily intake into my fitday journal. Though yesterday was only day 1, I was surprised how full I felt even though I only consumed about 1,900 calories. Granted, my macronutrient ratio was not zone which is supposed to be 40-30-30 (C-P-F). I ate 23-29-47. The trick will obviously be continuing on since I've started diets/lifestyles many times and never stuck with it.  Today was also the second of three mid-terms. With the most difficult and stress-inducing exam ahead (neuroscience and neuroanatomy), if I can go the whole week without stress eating, it will be a success. 

Today's WOD:

AMRAP in 20 minutes of:

• 5 Hand Stand Pushups (scaled to 24" box HSPUs)
• 10 Push Press (89#)
• 15 Box Jump (24#)

9 rounds, 5 BHSPUs, 7 PPs


This was a difficult WOD that went right at the core of my weakness: sustained high intensity movement over a time domain greater than 10 minutes. Additionally, it incorporated two weak movements: HSPU and box jumps. In hindsight, I should have went up a level of difficulty in the HSPUs scaling as they were never the limiting factor. Instead, box jumps were killer. About four rounds into the WOD, my lower back began to cramp again. Interestingly, the last time this happened was with explosive opening and closing of the hip with kettlebell swings. I'm not sure what the culprit could be, but poor core strength would be a good guess. The good news is that I was able force myself to do all PP sets unbroken.  There is always a silver lining.

Deadlifts & Annie

WOD:
Deadlift 1x5 @ 353#


"Annie"
50-40-30-20-10 
Double Unders
Sit-ups

7:12

CF Cville is experimenting with a starting strength cycle. This a programming methodology made famous by one of the crossfit coaching "deities", Mark Rippetoe (Although, apparently he has left CFHQ. I'm not sure if this departure has anything to do the the recent controversy regarding Rob Wolf and Greg Everett, two other former crossfit deities. But, I don't have time to research this.)  This program focuses on barbell lifts to (as the name suggests) start develop adequate baseline strength.  This explains the successive days of heavy lifts.

Interestingly, the cycle leads right up the the crossfit games sectionals scheduled for late March. That said, it is still a must that incorporate some additional metabolic conditioning in preparation. The squats, deadlifts and power clean will undoubtedly be good to improve my form and strength, however, the lack of attention to my weaknesses does give me pause.  

Regarding the deadlifts, I should have gone heavier because the last rep was not too much of a struggle.  However, I was able to push myself in Annie to reach a PR time of 7:12 (versus a previous time of 7:40 on 8/28/09).  I did the DU's barefoot so that the pain of the rope hitting my toes would be negative reinforcement to get me to jump higher. I only broke DU's twice and sit-ups once.  

Tomorrow will be a metcon day (reserved for Wednesdays and Saturdays at CF Cviille). It will be a nice break after my human behavior exam and before cracking down for the Friday's Neuroanatomy/Neuroscience exam.

Back Squat, Clapping Push-ups and KB Swings

WU:
5 min farmer's walk (40#/45#)
3 max time handstands

WOD:

Back Squat 5x5 w/ 60 secs rest between sets
309# (62% of max)


3 rounds of max rep clapping push-ups
30 45# KB swings


18/4/7
6:14


Cool-down
Alphabet Leg Raises
2 min plank hold
Stretch


Workout was humbling. It doesn't look intimidating on paper, but after a few laps of the farmer's walk my forearms were burning. Additionally, I didn't feel very strong in the handstand holds.


The back squats were too bad given that it's one of my two strongest movements (in addition to the dead lift) and we were were only lifting at 60% of max. I could definitely feel a twinge of pain in the posterior left knee (the surgically reconstructed one) in full squat depth. Thus, I concentrated on: 1) ensuring that I had good alignment of my knees in the plane above my toes and, 2) that I was not compensating my pushing more with my right leg. I also tried to get full-depth such that my hamstring touched my calves at the bottom of the squat.


The squats were followed by the push-up/KB swing WOD. I struggled with the KB swings after the first round as my back began to tighten up. The last round I could only do sets of 5 likely indicating that form needs to improve, core strength needs to improve or both.

Karen and Interval Rows

"Karen"
150 20# wall balls at 10" foot target

7:05

C2 Rower
40:20x5
40 seconds on, 20 seconds off for 5 rounds. All out Efforts.

941 meters

Today's prescribed WOD was short, but a good for gauging intensity. During Karen I tried to minimize any rest by counting 5 seconds aloud and then returning to work. I find this helpful because once one is in a hypoxic state, the brain tells you to rest until you can return to work comfortably. By counting aloud, it gives you a set rest and then forces you to return to work even in the midst of discomfort. Ideally, over time one will be able to lengthen the amount of time between these rest intervals. For today, I am pleased with my intensity.

I followed this workout with the prescribed crossfit endurance WOD. Again, it was short, but a good test of mental and physical endurance.

Superfit Games and New Priorities

3 Rounds:

50 double unders
20 32" box jumps
50 double unders
5 111# snatches

13:35

The winner at Saturday's Superfit games finished at 10:16, more than three minutes faster than my performance today. However, the good news is that guy who finished in 4th place finished this WOD in 14:14. Granted, Saturday times were after made after three WODs, but to know that I am in the range of other top performers is a well-timed confidence boost after DNFing the burpee-thruster-HSPU WOD on Saturday.

After being knocked out by default I had a lot of time on my hands which allowed me to determine the five priorities that I must work on during games prep:

Pull-ups
HSPUs
Running
Rowing
Body weight movements (i.e., burpees, K2Es).

While I am behind the 8-ball when it comes to preparation, a little work will put me in a better spot to compete once the sectionals arrive in late March.

Day 2 in the Zone

So I know it's probably too early to tout any gains, but today I've definitely more alert and vibrant. As for hunger, I felt full all-day with the exception of my post-WOD dinner.

Today's WOD was four rounds:

400m run
50 BW squats.

11:36 as rx'd

Nutrition (P/C/F)

Breakfast - Eggs/Bacon/Cherries/Whole Milk (4/4/13)

Lunch - Turkey/Cherries/Blueberries/Almonds (4/4/4)

Pre-WOD Snack - Egg/Milk/Protein Powder/Orange (2/2/2)

Dinner - Turkey/Cherries/Almonds/Almonds (4/4/4)

Snack - Whole Milk/Protein Powder (2.5/1/5)