The 2011 Crossfit Games

This weekend kicks off the 2011 Crossfit Games - starting this weekend on July 29th - 31st.  The Games are held in Carson, CA at the Home Depot Center - the same place that they were held in 2010 when I was in attendance along with 5 other members of the Crossfit King of Prussia team.  Going to the Games last year to COMPETE was an amazing experience, one that for me was probably once in a life-time, so it's bittersweet that this year that Games are coming into a new level of legitimacy and this year I'm not a part of it.

What has elevated Crossfit to the next level - in a word Sponsorship.  Forbes magazine featured an article on Crossfit, CrossFit’s Relationship with Reebok Enhances Its Financial and Commercial Credibility by Patrick Rishe.  Reebok's sponsorship has gotten the Crossfit name out there, and the Games are now not something that is only on a Crossfitter's radar since Reebok is sponsoring the Games and offering the winner $250K with a total prize purse of $1 Million...yes, you read that correctly.  Last year the winners took home $25K...Kristan Clever and Graham Holmberg were the top woman and man from last year who are probably hoping to repeat that experience since they are both competitors for the 2011 Games and this year would be able to win ten times more money for the same title.  To date there hasn't been a repeat winner of the Games, but it is the Crossfit Games, where you are supposed to prepare the the unknown and the unknowable you never know what will happen at the Games.

Summer Heat Wave

Much of the country is currently in the midst of a summer heatwave, when the mercury rises on the thermometer (do they even make thermometers with mercury in them anymore?) you need to make sure you are keeping yourself cool.  It's important to stay hydrated and really listen to your body in the heat to avoid injury and to avoid heat related illness - you don't want to sideline your performance or your weekend plans because you didn't take care of yourself in the heat.

Its especially important to take care of yourself if you've decided that you're going to continue working out in the heat - especially to all of the people that are running outside and doing Crossfit it's important that you know what heat related illnesses can feel like so if you start to feel any of the warning signs you can dial back your training or your workout.  Just because it's hot doesn't mean stop training, but it does mean train smarter and make sure you're prepared by hydrating throughout the day and staying in tune with your body.

What can you do to prevent the heat related illnesses?  Here are a few tips, this is by no means a comprehensive list, but simply a few things to think about over the next few heat filled days.

1. Stay hydrated - drink lots of water and if you're exercising make sure you replace electrolytes that you're losing.  You can do this without Gatorade (gasp) through Coconut Water - I recommend VitaCoco which you can get at Wegmans and Whole Foods, and through Electrolyte enhanced water available with that name at Trader Joe's or Smart Water in the grocery store.

2. Avoid things that dehydrate you - primarily watch out for caffeine and alcohol - if you are drinking either of these make sure that you're increasing your water consumption as well.

3. Avoid the direct sun and being outside during the hottest time of day (11am - 4pm) - if you're outside, seek out shade and if you can find a cool place to be during the hottest hours of the day.  Go to the movies, grocery store, or shopping mall if you don't have air conditioning at home.  If you are outside wet a towel or bandanna with cold water and drape it across the back of your neck - it will provide a nice cool feeling even if you're out in the heat.

To avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke make sure you are dialing back when you see the following signs. Signs of heat exhaustion are a severe headache, nausea, vomiting, and a feeling of severe weakness - if you are feeling any of these symptoms make sure you take a break, get out of the heat, and rehydrate!

Heat stroke can be fatal, it occurs when the your body can no longer regulate its temperature relating in severely elevated body temperature causes an altered mental state, dizziness and ultimately can lead to a loss of consciousness and potentially kidney failure. 

What are you doing to stay cool?  And how are the increased temperatures impacting your training, planning, and performance?

Philly Olympic Tri

Last weekend on June 26th I participated in the Philadelphia Insurance Olympic Distance Triathlon here at home in Philadelphia PA.  It was my first tri of the season, which I would have preferred to be a sprint but since I'm gearing up for the Half Ironman this October, I signed up for the local Olympic Distance (.9m swim, 24.8m (40K) bike, 6.2m(10K) run). 

I was a little bit nervous for this tri since usually I'm doing something shorter to start and I hadn't gotten too much training in on the bike.  I had done one 17 mile ride, 1 20 mile ride, and then 2 brick training sessions at Valley Forge National Park: 15 mile bike followed by a 5 mile run, and the second a 10 mile bike followed by a 3 mile run.  The sprint tri was on Saturday and the Olympic on Sunday, for the Sprint they had great weather and the river was below 78 degrees so it was wetsuit legal for the swim. 

Healthy Living Principle #3 - Think Seasonally



Flickr: All rights reserved by fatboydon

To follow up Healthy Living Principles #1 and #2, #3 is Think Seasonally. What does "think seasonally" mean?  When you are choosing your fruits and vegetables, choose the majority of what you're eating based on those foods that are in season where you live.  Some foods are in season "year round" so feel free to enjoy them year round When you eat seasonal foods, they are more likely to be locally grown (since the food is in season where you are) and picked closer to their peak of ripeness verses picked early and ripened with gas or have color added so that the food looks more appetizing.  When you are eating foods that travel less distance, and that are picked closer to their peak you are getting a more nutritious product, and increasing the nutrients for your dollar.  Another great thing about eating seasonally is that it tends to be cheaper: blueberries are less expensive in July when they are in season and you can get them from New Jersey (for those of us on the East Coast) verses in January when you have to eat ones that are imported from a warmer climate where they can still be grown.  On that note, foods that are seasonal and local travel less, so in addition to generally being more nutritious and less expensive they are also better for the environment (less travel to get to you) and can help support your local farmers.



How do you know what foods are seasonal, the easiest way is to go to a farmer's market, find one local to you today here and see what they have.  Most farmer's markets source their products from LOCAL farmers, which means that you'll be getting seasonal produce.

Crossfit Level 1 Certified

This past weekend I attended the Crossfit Level 1 Cert course, which was conveniently (for me) hosted by my local Crossfit Gym, Crossfit KoP.  It was 2 full days of learning technique, set-up, points of performance, common faults, how to fix faults, and lots of practice with PVC pipe.  It was a really great experience, and one that I needed to complete to move on to the next part of my health journey to be a Crossfit Coach.  In addition to learning a ton, doing a many reps with a PVC pipe it also reinforced all of the things I already know.  It was awesome when one of the trainers at the end told me "you move really well" after going over the break down of how to teach a push jerk: Jump, Jump with arms, Jump and punch the arms, pick up the stick/PVC and do it.



Aimee, Chloe, Mel, Spealler, and Me



The coaching staff was awesome and they schedule mixed lecture and then practice of technique which was good since as Crossfitters we didn't like to sit still too long.  It was a really great experience and it really made me appreciate the quality of the coaching staff at Crossfit KoP - those that attend, know that you have some really great a solid coaches guiding you!  The highlight of the weekend was two-fold, passing the test and getting my actual certification AND having the opportunity to load a bar with 145# and have 3 world class trainers disect my deadlift.  For those that don't work out with me I am notorious for rounding my back during deadlifts with anything over 130#s - which as was reinforced over and over again this weekend is the major thing that you need to have in line to complete that lift safely.  The combination of Andrea, Chiss, and Chris Spealler (yes the Chris Spealler) working with helped me really dial in my set-up and with some good coaching cues got me to complete the lift multiple times with no back round - success!  It was awesome and terrifying at the same time to have so many great Crossfit minds watching me and trying to make me better, and let me tell you I have not been doing this lift properly before because now 3 days later I'm still feeling it in my hamstrings and glutes!



Thanks Chris Spealler and Chriss and Andrea!



Personal Training from Spealler



 Now I've got a lot of deadlift cues to work on and the key to getting better is training the movement and practicing implementing the cues I learned.  So starting next week I'm going to add it as a weekly goal as another thing to work on at the gym, along with that other elusive movement I'm chasing, the muscle up.  Why am I not starting today...well that's because I've got the Philly Olympic Tri on Sunday and I need to be able to move through my swim, bike, and run.