March 2009

A nice post-workout treat

More often than not, when and what you eat following your workout is as important as the workout itself. After some of these CF workouts, though, sitting down and eating lots of food can be a daunting task (for many reasons). That's why foods like Lance's Fuel2Go energy bars are so helpful. They're extremely nutrient-dense (in terms of macro- and micronutrients) and at the same time, don't leave you feeling like you just committed gluttony at a five-course meal at some Moroccan restaurant.

But with Lance's energy bars often disappearing quicker than a goldfish in a school of piranhas, it's nice to have a Plan B. And with that in mind, I offer up the following post-workout recipe, courtesy of a fellow student in my nutrition class.

Lara Balls

Ingredients

2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup figs
1 date
1-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice (preferably squeezed from an orange itself)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon anise (optional)
2 pinches of salt

Directions

Combine the walnuts, dates, salt, and figs in a food processor. Mix the orange juice, cinnamon, and anise together before adding into the food processor. Mix until dough-like consistency and roll into 15 small balls. Place in the refrigerator to harden for a half-hour before eating.

It's that simple.

And now that you know how to make these tasty treats, let's look under the hood, so to speak, so you can see how beneficial some of the ingredients are.

Figs

Figs are high in potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and manganese. They are often recommended to nourish and tone the intestines because they are a very good source of fiber. Also, because they're high in potassium, they are an important consideration in helping to control blood pressure.

Walnuts

A great source of antioxidants, vitamin E, and minerals such as manganese, copper, phosphorus, and magnesium. Walnuts are also one of the few non-fish sources of omega-3 fatty acids (they contain alpha-linolenic acid).

Dates

Dates contain a special type of soluble fiber called beta-D-glucan. Beta-D-glucan has been shown to have a modulating effect on blood sugar levels, due to its role in slowing the absorption of glucose into the small intestine.

Oranges

Oranges are an excellent source of vitamins C, B1, B2, and B6, as well as folic acid and pantothenic acid. Vitamin C is critical for immune system function.

Anise

Anise is known for its strong licorice taste and is a rich source coumarin compounds. Coumarin's benefits include cough relief and aiding digestion.

Cinnamon

Besides tasting delicious, cinnamon is a great way to enhance one's insulin sensitivity.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Lara Ball

Calories: 132.88 kcal
Fat: 10.28g
Carbs: 10.08g
Fiber: 2.17g
Protein: 2.76g

Post your favorite post-workout foods to comments.

Please note that K-star will giving a clinic on hip function this Wednesday, March 11th from 6:00. to 7:30. We will have two classes that evening: 5p.m. and 7:30p.m.. Bring your questions to the PT Master!

**********************************************************************************

Thank you for this video from T. Holmes--CrossFit Women Rock!

A quick reminder to everyone that we're holding a blood drive next Tuesday, March 17.

This will give you a chance to do a good deed before you get your St. Patrick's Day boozing on. The Red Cross will be parking its bloodmobile at CFO from 12pm to 7pm, so all you have to do to make a donation is show up at CFO.

We want to get 30 donations done. There's a sign-up sheet on the CFO whiteboard. Put your name on it!

Papa Brad

Beginning next Monday, March 16th, we will be offering Open Gym Hours everyday from 10a.m to 12p.m. and 3p.m. to 5p.m.! Feel free to drop in during those hours to work a skill, make up a WOD, or just play around with the equipment.

*******PLEASE NOTE ALL PRATHER RANCH PARTICIPANTS***********

Prather Ranch let us know today that the beef will not be delivered this Friday! We will have to wait until March 20th. Please let us know if this change in delivery date is a deal breaker. Sorry for the incovenience--the mysterious inner workings of the bovine industry are vastly complicated.

What were the highlights of Kelly's hip seminar this evening? Post to comments for those who could not make it.

The next team competition is going to happen this Saturday, March 14. beginning at 11am at Diablo CrossFit.

The workout will be a four-person team, with at least one female per team. For more on the event: Click Here.

You need to pre-register as a team if you're planning on competing, so post to comments if you'd like to take part in the team competition so that we can put everyone on a team.

Many people have hormonal issues that make their fat loss efforts difficult: poor insulin sensitivity, a sluggish thyroid, estrogen imbalances, low androgens.

Charles Poliquin is a strength coach who does a lot of research on where people store fat on their bodies and why. Most of this research is based on 30 plus years of working with top professional athletes and most recently, everyday folks like you and me. Biosignature Modulation is a system he developed in which he measured a client's skin folds and compared the results to what their bloodwork revealed about their hormonal status. According to Poliquin, a Biosignature practitioner can accurately determine what's going on hormonally inside a person's body by taking twelve specific skin folds. Using this data, a practitioner can address these imbalances through dietary recommendations, exercise and natural supplements. For example, a man who tends to store fat on his pectoral muscle will often times indicate an underproduction of testosterone. It's important to note that while this may seem to be all about body fat percentage, it is more focused on where you store fat and why.

For me, it was refreshing to hear him talk about the dietary protocols that he's experimented with over the years and has implemented with great success. Charles has extensive knowledge of nearly every vitamin, mineral and botanical out there and how to use them to treat hormonal imbalances. It reinforced much of what we already know about the components (sleep, whole food diet, low stress, physical activity) of a healthy lifestyle. He came across as part strength coach (Mark Rippetoe-ish), part scientist (Robb Wolf-ish) and part French-Canadian hippie (Daniel-ish)

Mike and I came away with a new-found appreciation for the nutritional value of the foods we eat and how it greatly affects our well-being. For the next few months we'll be experimenting on ourselves with the Biosignature protocols we each received. We'll keep you posted...

To read more on Biosignature Modulation check out Charles Poliquin's website and this brief article in Oxygen Magazine.

Just a quick reminder, we're having 15 forty-pound boxes of grass-fed beef delivered to CFO this Friday, March 20, by way of Prather Ranch.

The cost for each box is $231.60. Checks should be made payable to CrossFit Oakland. We need to have checks in hand by Thursday or as they say: no cash, no carry.

***Team Fran Double Elimination Tourney Coming Soon!***

Just a quick heads-up, we're going to be doing a Team Fran tourney this Sunday, March 22. Check out Thursday's post for details.

In light of the recent discussion on our blog regarding strength programming we thought it would be a fine time to highlight long-time CFO athlete, Tom Campitelli.

About a year ago, Tom was weighing in at 172 lbs, he was continuing to see progress in the WODs, but had stalled on strength. After attending Mark Rippetoe's Barbell Certification, Tom embarked on a year long strength program in which he focused primarily on strength gains. Here are the results:

Squat 205 (March 2008) 282.5 (March 2009)
Press 85 (March 2008) 124 (March 2009)
Bench 145 (March 2008) 205 (March 2009)
Deadlift 245 (March 2008) 355 (March 2009)
Power Clean 145 (March 2008) 203 (March 2009)

Where did all of this get him? Naturally, his metcon has been impacted, however, Tom is now able to do more CrossFit WODs as prescribed! Tom's approach is in perfect alignment with his goals which are to to get stronger and increase body weight. Over time, Tom will most likely come back to the WODs on a more regular basis to test his strength gains.

If CrossFit is your sport there will be natural ebbs and flows to the approach you take to address your weaknesses and achieve your goals. The moral of the story is that doing all CrossFit WODs as prescribed is an endpoint and there are many paths to that end.

Talk to us if you're interested in incorporating strength training into your current training schedule.

Post your experimentations with CF and strength to comments.

Due to some schedule conflicts this weekend, we're postponing the Team Fran competition until Saturday, March 28. The first heat will be running at 11am.

This is our version of March Madness. Here's how it will go down.

There will be two divisions: male and female.

The workout will be Fran:

21-15-9 Reps:

Thrusters @ 95#/65#
C2B Pull-Ups

We're looking for sixteen men and at least eight women, but will accept more if there are enough people interested. We'll then draw a pair of names randomly from a hat. This draw will determine a few things at once: the teams, which teams will be facing off against each other, and when they're going.

In order to be a part of the competition, we're asking that you be able to do Fran as prescribed. That means you should be able to do at least one thruster at 95# (65# for women) and one chest-to-bar pull-up (clavicle or lower comes into contact with the bar).

And here's the twist that makes it interesting: the competition is not time-based, but rather match-up-based. Two teams will be going head-to-head in each heat, and whoever finishes first advances to the next round (doesn't matter if it takes 2 minutes or 20 minutes, whoever comes out on top goes to the next round). Additionally, if a team loses in the first round, they are still in the competition. They move down to the losers' bracket, where they have a chance to move on and can still win the whole thing.

The competition will continue on, round by round, the winners of the previous round facing off against each other until there's just one team left standing.

Please note: there are no rules for how many reps someone has to do. You can divide up the reps however you see fit.

Who's in? Post to comments.

The 2009 National Junior Championships and Pan Am Team Qualifier will be held Fri. March 20 - Sun. March 22. at:

Crowne Plaza Hotel
1221 Chess Drive
Foster City, CA, 94404

http://www.usawjuniornationals.com/

Anyone interested in carpooling? Post to comments

Vickie after finishing a press

Vickie is the latest senior to start training at CFO every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We caught her on camera during a shoulder press last Friday. Besides being able to hoist weight overhead like it's nothing, Vickie is also an accomplished steel sculptor.

Anyone who's been under the Powell Street Undercrossing in Emeryville will already be familiar with her work. She's the one who created the steel statues that line the undercrossing.

You can see all of her work here: http://www.unrulyimages.com/index.html

(Check out the Public Art link; you'll see many familiar steel sculptures.)

Let's post a nice welcome to Vickie in comments.

The Glycemic Index has been well studied by health experts but has recently been popularized by diet gurus like Barry Sears as an integral tool for effective weight loss. Today, it's nearly impossible to find a diet-related book that doesn't give mention of the Glycemic Index. But what doesn't get nearly as much attention is the Glycemic Load of food. While it is equally as important as the Glycemic Index, becoming well acquinted with both is ideal.

What is the Glycemic Index?
The Glycemic Index is a ranking system for carbohydrates based on their effect on blood glucose levels. It was developed in 1982 by scientists to accurately describe how quickly a carbohydrate converts to sugar and is released into the blood stream. Food is rated on a scale of 0-100, with pure sugar topping the charts as the highest GI food.

How does it work?
ALL carbohydrates turn into some form of sugar (glucose) in your body. When you eat food containing carbohydrates, the carbohydrates are broken down into sugar (glucose) during digestion and then released into your bloodstream. As your blood glucose rises, your pancreas secretes insulin to help shuttle the glucose out of the blood and into the cells. This increase in insulin production and blood glucose is often described as a "sugar rush" or "spike". The speed at which your food increases your blood glucose level is referred to as the "glycemic response". Choosing food with a low Glycemic Index (<55) will produce a minor fluctuation of blood glucose levels. Often times after eating a high GI food (>70) you'll experience a short surge of energy followed by an equally powerful crash as your blood sugar plummets. This is a vicious cycle that can lead to weight gain because you'll often reach for more food when the "high" wears off.

Why should you care about Glycemic Index?
Adhering to foods with a low (<55) or medium (56-69) glycemic index will help stabilize blood sugar and keep you from riding the energy roller coaster. Typically, foods with a low GI, like fruit and vegetables, have more fiber which will help keep you full longer between meals. This is why low GI foods are commonly recommended for individuals that are trying to lose weight. More importantly, these foods are more nutritious than their sugary and refined counterparts. When it comes to weight loss, it's best to limit the amounts of the higher GI foods and load up on the low-to-medium GI ones.

What about Glycemic Load?
The glycemic index compares the potential of foods containing the same amount of carbohydrate to raise blood glucose. However, the amount of carbohydrate consumed also affects blood glucose levels and insulin responses. The Glycemic Load of a food is calculated by multiplying the glycemic index by the amount of carbohydrate in grams and dividing the total by 100. The Glycemic Load gives you a more complete picture as it takes into account the quality (glycemic index) as well as the portion size of a carbohydrate in a meal. This means that if eaten in smaller quantities, a high GI food can actually have a low GL and be pretty harmless.

Calculating Glycemic Load
White Potato:
GI is 85 (high)
GL= (34g x 85)/100
The Glycemic Load is 29

This illustrates how the ranking system for GL factors in the portion size as well as the GI to provide a more useful measure of a carbohydrates effect of blood glucose.

Glycemic Index of Vegetables (low-high):
Broccoli 10
Cabbage 10
Lettuce 10
Mushrooms 10
Onions 10
Red Peppers 10
Carrots 49
Green peas 48
Corn, fresh 60
Beets 64
Pumpkin 75
Parsnips 97

Glycemic Index of Fruit (low-high):
Cherries 22
Grapefruit 25
Prunes 29
Apple 38
Pear 38
Plum 39
Strawberries 40
Orange 42
Peach 42
Grapes 46
Papaya 56
Banana 52
Kiwi 58
Mango 51
Apricots 57
Figs, dried 61
Raisins 56
Cantaloupe 65
Pineapple 66
Watermelon 72
Dates 103

Have you experimented with the Glycemic Index? Share your thoughts in comments.

Please join us this Saturday, March 28th, from 9a.m. to 11a.m. to honor the lives of Sgt Mark Dunakin , Officer John Hege, Sgt Daniel Sakai, and Sgt Ervin Romans. We will be doing a Hero WOD we are calling it "OPD" and ask that every participant donate a minimum of $10 to help the families of the slain officers.

If you want to donate directly to the trust funds that have been established:

Three trust funds have been set up to help the families of three of the slain officers. Checks can be made out to Dunakin Children's Family Trust, Romans Children's Family Trust and Sakai Family Trust. The checks can be mailed to the Oakland Police Officers Association, Attn: Renee Hassna, 555 Fifth St,, Oakland CA 94607.

Wire transfers can be made directly to Merrill Lynch accounts for the three families: Dunakin Children's Family Trust, a/c #204-04065; Romans Children's Family Trust, a/c #204-04066; Sakai Family Trust, a/c #204-04064.

Post to comments if you plan on attending.