Workout of the Day

Max rounds in 15 minutes:

100m Sprint
10 Ring Dips (Sub bench or bar dips 2/1)
15 Squats

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Workout of the Day

Complete for time:

Run 200m
20 Double-unders
Run 400m
40 Double-unders
Run 600m
60 Double-unders

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"Would you get your dog up in the morning to coffee and a cigarette?" ~Jack LaLanne

Workout of the Day

Complete in the order shown for time:

100 pull-ups
100 push-ups
100 sit-ups
100 squats

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Rest Day

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."
~Mark Twain

Workout of the Day

4 rounds for time, 1:00 rest between rounds.

Burpee + Broad Jump 15m up and back
Same number of push-ups as burpees
Same number of Leg Lifts as burpees

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Workout of the Day

10 rounds for time:

10 Burpees
20 Jump-rope Double Unders (rope makes two passes per jump)

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Check out this video from CrossFit Portland and Rafe Kelley's Parkour workshop! Ramman has a lot of clips in here! We had so much fun learning the basics of Parkour.. and we were VERY sore the next day!

Parkour workshop 2009 from CrossFit Portland on Vimeo.

"Performance is directly correlated with intensity. Intensity is directly correlated with discomfort." ~Greg Glassman

Workout of the Day

10 rounds for time:

10 Burpees
20 Jump-rope Double Unders (rope makes two passes per jump)

Post results to comments.

Chelsea Putnam: Just won GOLD on the Ultimate Frisbee Team USA at the World Games in Tawain! Congratulations Chels!

Rest Day

GRAIN FED VS. GRASS FED/FINISHED MEAT

Alright, now that you are eating more meat, let's talk about quality. When it comes to beef it is much, much better to opt for meat that comes from grass fed, or even better, grass-finished than corn-fed cows. Good old American style corn-fed beef provides you with protein, yes, but also gives you loads of fat, the kind you don't want. By feeding the cows corn they fatten up at an unnatural pace and reach slaughter weight very quickly- like within a matter of months- where as on a natural diet of grass, clover and other grassy things, it takes years (as it should). The corn that they are fed comes from a strain of corn that is essentially inedible in it's "natural" form, called Number 2 corn. Sounds tasty. Number 2 corn is also used for the production of high fructose corn syrup and a myriad of other additives and preservatives, resulting in processed food being composed primarily of different "flavors" of corn. Yum. Not to mention the corn industry is wreaking havoc on our economy in that it is WAY over produced (mountains of corn are left scattered across the mid-West at the end of every harvest season) and this excessive amount of cultivating inedible food is HIGHLY subsidized by the government. While the amount of corn being produced continues to increase, the value is rapidly decreasing, thus leaving the farmers at the whim and mercy of the government who is pumping every form of corn they can think of into our food. Okay, that was a bit of a tangent from why eating corn-fed beef is not good for you.. Here's why:

We all have heard about Omega-3 fatty acids and how they help keep inflammation, and therefore, risk of disease down. We are encouraged over and over again to ensure that we are getting enough Omega-3. Salmon and other fish are a popular, and actually the most effective source. What we don't hear too much about are the other essential fatty acids, Omega-6 and Omega-9 (9 actually is not an essential fatty acid, since it can be produced by the body). The preferable ratio for Omega-6:Omega-3 (N6:N3) is 4:1 or lower. The modern Western diets that are prevalent today skew this ratio to an average of 10:1 and even upwards of 30:1. This excess of N6 promotes inflammation and disease and over shadows any benefits that could be offered by N3 as they compete for the same rate-limiting enzymes. Chronic elevated levels of N6 are associated with heart attacks, thrombotic stroke, arrhythmia, arthritis, osteoporosis, inflammation, mood disorders and cancer. Not to mention the extra bit of belly fat you can't seem to shake. Corn-fed beef is LOADED with N6.

Okay, so then grass-fed beef should be okay, right? Well, here is where the lines are made fuzzy by bureaucracy and marketing, on purpose. Just because a cow had been "grass-fed" does not mean it hasn't been fed corn, too. In reality, grass-fed cows could have been fed grass for one week after they were born and then quickly transferred over to the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to gain 400 pounds in 3 to 4 months. Any creature that gains this much weight, let alone in such a short amount of time, is bound to be plagued with disease. Unless, of course, it is pumped full of antibiotics and slaughtered before it dies from disease and placed in pretty packaging, with images of happy cows eating grass, on our deli shelves. (How's that for a run-on sentence, but you get my point). Although grass-fed is certainly a step up from corn-fed, grass-finished is the most preferable kind of beef you want to eat. Grass-finished means the lucky cows have eaten grass their whole lives, maturing naturally, and are not full of disease from an all corn/grain diet. They are healthy and lean cows, offering us much less N6 and higher quality protein.

I've been mainly talking about beef here, but the same (sort of) rules apply to all meat. You want to eat meat that came from animals who were fed what they would naturally eat and what they are equipped to digest. Chickens, for example, are better suited for eating seeds and grains like corn, although bugs and worms would be their first choice. So in this case you would want to seek out free-range chicken (which like grass-fed, could mean a number of things, but a little wandering outside the coop is better than nothing). Buffalo are usually fed grass, since they are not domesticated (yet), but still pay attention to where it comes from. Pork, I am not so sure about, since I don't eat much of it myself. With salmon, obviously wild is the best option, because guess what farmed salmon are fed? CORN. And ALWAYS steer clear of meat that comes from animals that were given antibiotics or raised in other inhumane ways.

"Many people walk in and out of your life, but only true friends leave footprints in your heart." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Workout of the Day

With a constantly running clock, perform 1 pull-up the first minute, 2 the second minute, 3 the third, and so on until you cannot perform the required number of pull-ups for the minute that you are on. If you come up short of 10 minutes, start back at one pull-up the minute following your failed set (so if you made it to only 4 pull-ups in the 5th minute, you'll do 1 on the sixth minute, 2 on the seventh, etc. until you reach your second failed set). You can break up the reps into as many sets as needed per minute.

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Workout of the Day

Tabata Squats:

For each of 8 rounds, perform squats at max-effort for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for a total of 4 minutes. Your score will be the lowest total squats of any one round.

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"It isn't what you do, but how you do it." ~John Wooden

Workout of the Day

3 rounds for time:

15 L-Pull-Ups
15 Handstand Push-Ups
15 Box Jumps

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Ramman doing some pull-overs with Scott at CrossFit Portland

Rest Day

Happy Rest Day! Check out this video that Ramman put together highlighting our first session of Ninja Boot Camp and the participants: Matt Melius, Lewis Childs, Nathan Sullivan, and Eli Green. If you like what you see, come join us!



"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race" ~Calvin Coolidge

Workout of the Day

4 rounds for time:

15 KB Thrusters
15 Pull-Ups
15 KB Swings

Post results to comments.

Workout of the Day

Tabata intervals: Perform each exercise for :20 seconds followed by :10 seconds rest. Repeat x 8 for each exercise for a total of 4:00 each. Move directly to the next exercise with minimal rest.

Squats
Push-ups
Sit-ups
Pull-ups

Keep track of total reps for each :20 second interval. Add together the lowest sets for each exercise for your total score.

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." ~Ghandi

Workout of the Day

Run 5k for time, the more hills the better.

Schwa workin' the pistols

Rest Day

"What you eat today, you'll wear tomorrow." ~Jack LaLanne

Okay, so now you've hopefully eliminated gluten from your diet even if you are not sure EXACTLY WHY it's bad for you. Last Sunday we gave you one pretty good reason to give the crap up. Today we will give you yet another.

Most of you have heard of insulin, if not before you got into training with us or some other CrossFit type of training, now you have heard us go on and on about keeping it in check. Click here to read all sorts of science-y stuff about insulin, if that's the way you roll. In short, insulin is a hormone that your body naturally produces (unless you have Diabetes Type I, in which case your body cannot produce it's own insulin) and you need it to survive. But, just like anything else, if you have too much insulin- you could get SICK and DIE. Seriously. When we eat carbohydrates our body responds by producing insulin to essentially carry the glucose from the carbohydrates to our liver and muscle tissue to store as energy, this energy is called glycogen. Once our liver is full and there is no more room in our muscle tissue to store this energy, our body turns it into fat and guess what, it's stored on our bodies as fat. Not only does this make you look less than desirable in a bathing suit, more importantly, it creates a snowball effect of insulin resistance. The more carbohydrates (sugar) you eat, the higher your insulin levels are- then they drop (you bonk) and you "need" more insulin. And on and on and on, until your body is no longer affected at all by the sugar and you are completely resistant to insulin = DIABETES. Along with diabetes, MOST people become obese, have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, increased risk of heart disease, and are generally inflamed- BUT, just because you are skinny, DOES NOT mean you are not susceptible to this. EVERYONE IS.

Food that is high in carbohydrate content is what causes this sort of metabolic derangement. And unfortunately, on a hormonal level (which is one of the few levels that really matter when it comes to your health) it doesn't matter if your carbs are "whole-grain" or Wonder bread. For real. If you're going to eat some granola, you might as well have a maple bar instead; your body is going to produce mass amounts of insulin either way. As Robb Wolf puts it, "Grains, both processed and unprocessed, are a major player in metabolic derangement in that they are almost entirely carbohydrate and they are typically consumed in large quantities."

The point is this: we don't NEED that many carbs to stay alive and function at an optimal level. We should avoid carbs that come from toxic "whole-grains" that are over produced and subsidized by the government to produce and are therefore at the base of the "Food Pyramid" and marketed as "heart healthy"... oops, I ALMOST went on a political tangent there.. phew! We should eat carbs that come from REAL FOOD, food that you can eat in it's natural form, food that is natural for humans to digest: VEGETABLES and FRUITS.

If you decide to take the plunge into this CRAZY, low-carb, weird, Paleo, diet thing, you might notice that you feel like CRAP for the first few days to one week. If you're super skeptical and impatient you might just stop doing it- 'This is supposed to make me feel better! I feel like ass!' -STICK WITH IT! You are likely going through withdrawals from having constantly elevated insulin levels from the way you were eating before. Sugar is like a drug; more specifically crack (refer to this article by Nicole Carroll, super CrossFit woman), and when you suddenly aren't eating very much of it, it takes a little while for your body to adjust. Be patient. You WILL feel better. Oh yeah, a bit of a side note here: gluten is also recognized as an opiate in our guts, so it actually REALLY is a drug.

Nutritional rant to be continued...

Workout of the day

4 rounds for time:

25 KB walking lunges
Run 400m

Post time to comments.

Ramman teaching the forward roll at Ninja Boot Camp

Workout of the day

Perform the following for time:

Lunge + Twist 50m, count total reps
Perform as many push-ups as Lunges

Burpee + Broad Jump 50m, count total reps
Perform as many Pull-Ups as burpees

Sprint 50m
25 Burpees
Sprint 50m
25 Dive-Bomber Push-Ups
Sprint 50m
25 Pull-Ups
Sprint 50m

Post time to comments.

"There is no such thing as 'firming and toning'. There is only stronger and weaker."
~Mark Rippetoe

Workout of the day

Complete for time:

100 Squats
75 Push-ups
50 Pull-ups

Post time to comments.

Rest Day

A couple of weeks ago we attended the CrossFit Nutrition Certification as presented by Robb Wolf at our friends' (Scott, Rochelle, and Xi Xia) place, CrossFit Portland. As most of you know, we are both big advocates of eating a lot of protein, a good amount of fat, and very few carbs. In fact, most of the carbs that we eat come from lots of fruits and vegetables. We don't eat a lot of grains and processed foods. Since we started eating this way, both of us have noticed positive changes in the way we feel day to day as well as nagging health symptoms such as gastrointestinal distress and allergies subsiding. Even before we went to this certification, we were encouraging everyone we work with (as well as some patient friends:)) to start phasing out harmful, processed foods, and shift more of their eating habits toward a Paleolithic diet. Now that we attended Robb Wolf's seminar, we have scientific facts that support the theory that this way of eating will not only prolong your life, but it will also make it a healthier, happier one.

Here's what the Paleo diet consists of: Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar- pretty simple. It's the way that our bodies are designed to eat. Human beings have been around for more than 3,000,000 years, the advent of agriculture was about 10,000 years ago. Since we as a species learned how harvest and process grains (such as corn and wheat), our health has been spiraling downhill. We have been struggling with inflammatory conditions and diseases (diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression just to name a few) since our diets became mostly comprised of carbohydrates. The human genome has changed less than 1% since Paleolithic times, yet our diet has done a complete 180. We have not had enough time to adapt to a high carb diet. No wonder we, as a species, are sick and unhappy. If you open your ears and eyes, and yes, your minds, you will start to see that the movement to adjust our eating habits to match those of a hunter-gatherer society, will benefit ALL human beings.

The hardest part about convincing someone to make this change in their lifestyle is if they don't have any symptoms. If someone has a stomach ache, feels bloated and tired all the time, and can't sleep, it's a little easier to convince them to play with their diet. But if someone feels "fine" and isn't trying to lose weight, they think that they can eat whatever and "get away with it". Well guess what folks, you are NOT "fine" on the inside. Here's what happens when EVERYONE eats gluten:

-GLUTEN is the protein found in wheat (and A LOT of other grains- such as, oats, barley, rye, etc.).
-The plant has a defense mechanism called a LECTIN.
-Lectin is a POISON that is meant to ward off predators so that the plant can stay alive.
-When we eat gluten, we are also eating the lectins.
-Our small intestine is lined with these little furry like things called MICROVILLI, which help us absorb and break down nutrients.
-Lectins and microvilli don't get along.
-In fact, lectins straight up DESTROY the microvilli, and eventually the lining of our small intestine.
-This creates tiny, and eventually very large, holes in our intestine (also known as "Leaky Gut").
-Through these holes food particles, bacteria, and toxins leak into our bloodstream.
-This is what causes auto-immune disorders.
-Auto-immune disorders are all non-communicable diseases in which your body is FIGHTING AGAINST ITSELF. And it is pretty much up to your body/genetics when and how this will manifest itself.
-All because of the holes that the lectins in the gluten have torn in your intestinal lining.

Now, we're not saying that you can NEVER AGAIN have a cupcake or a piece of pizza, what we are saying is that if you eat a Paleo diet MOST of the time, you will put not just YEARS on your life, but HEALTHY YEARS. Think of it this way: hopefully you eat 3-4 times a day, 7 days a week.. that's 21-28 meals a week.. if you eat meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds for 19-25 of those meals, you will be eating Paleo 90% of the time AND you will still get 2-3 "cheat" or "choice" meals a week. TRY IT. Seriously. Try it for 30 days. See how you feel. If you want to lose weight, this is a GUARANTEE. If you have weird ailments that the doctors can't seem to solve so they give you a prescription, this is the SOLUTION. If you want to be bigger, faster, stronger, THIS IS THE WAY TO DO IT. If you have chronic pain or an injury, this is the way to HEAL IT. Do it for 30 days, and then have a bunch of beer and pizza- and see how you feel. This could very well COMPLETELY change the way you feel and think about what you put into your body. Oh, and if you are a vegetarian- EAT MEAT.

Next rest day post we will be talking about the other main benefit to eating a Paleo diet: INSULIN LEVELS. Stay tuned...

Workout of the day

4 rounds for time:

7 Bar muscle-ups (Sub 4 pullups and dips for each muscle up if you are unable to do them)
Run 200m
14 Pistols, alternating legs (7 each leg)

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"One fails forward toward success." ~Charles F. Kettering

Workout of the day

Perform as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

5 L- Pullups
10 Divebomber Pushups
15 Jump Squats

Post rounds to comments.

Workout of the day

5 Rounds for time:
Run 200m
10 Divebombers
10 Pistols (5 each leg)

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"Progress comes from the intelligent use of experience."
~Elbert Hubbard

Rest Day

The next session of NINJA BOOT CAMP starts next Tuesday, July 14th!!!
Email us to sign up TODAY!

Workout of the day

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 rep rounds of the following for time:

Pull-Ups
Burpees
Handstand Push-Ups

Post time to comments.

Workout of the day

Sprint intervals:

4x400m 2:00 rest between sprints
5x200m 1:00 rest between intervals
6x100m :30 rest between intervals

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Workout of the day

4 rounds for time:

Run 400m
25 Box Jumps
25 Pullups
25 Pushups

Post time to comments.

Rest Day

GO TO A BBQ!



Laney and Ramman with Robb Wolf after the CrossFit Nutrition Certification. More to come about nutrition!

Workout of the day

10 rounds for time:

10 Push-Ups
20 Jump Rope Double-unders (Rope makes two passes for each jump)
10 Sit-Ups
20 Lunge-With-Twist (Alternating legs, 10 each side)
10 Arch-Ups

Post time to comments.

Workout of the day

5 rounds for time:

4 TGU's each side
10 KB Snatches each side
Run 200m

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Workout of the day

3 rounds of the following, 1:30 rest between circuits:

Handstand Push-Up x 5 immediately followed by Clap Push-Ups x 5

Pistol or weighted Pistol x 5 (each leg) immediately followed by Jump Squats x 10

L-Pull-Up or Weighted Pull-Up x 5 immediately followed by Clap Pull-Ups x 5 (kipping pull-up + clap)

After finishing 3 total rounds , finish with Front Plank and Side Plank x 2:00 each.