You should all be familiar by now with the CrossFit Fitness Pyramid
As you can see, the foundation of the CrossFit Pyramid is Nutrition. Each level of this Fitness Pyramid is dependent on the foundation beneath it. If that foundation is not solid, then the above levels will certainly suffer. The bottom foundational level is therefore THE most important! CrossFit’s tried, tested and true nutritional recommendations are to simply “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruits, little starch, and no sugar.” The idea behind this is to keep your food consumption to levels that will support vigorous exercise such as CrossFit, but at the same time not increase body fat.
Coach Glassman has said that, “…Good nutrition is the foundation not only for general health, but also for high-performance fitness.” However, good nutrition is interpretive on a personal level. Not every eating plan agrees with everyone’s needs and preferences. While some may thrive on one prescription, others may swear by another.
According to Issue #21 of the CrossFit Journal, “CrossFit’s best performers are Zone eaters. When our second tier athletes commit to “strict” adherence to the Zone parameters they generally become top tier performers quickly. It seems that the Zone diet accelerates and amplifies the effects of the CrossFit regimen.” CrossFit recommends that their clients follow the “Zone” for the additional reasons that it has shown to help prevent the onset of diet-induced diseases, increase resistance to several strings of viruses and bacteria that we are exposed to daily, and optimize physical performance. CrossFit’s official stance on nutrition is the belief that Barry Sear’s “Zone Diet” yields optimum nutrition.
In addition to the “Zone”, it is the quality of the food you eat that makes your diet plan even more effective. Many CrossFitters eat a “Zone” favourable, or perhaps other clean and healthy diet, with predominantly antioxidant rich “Paleo” foods that have shown to aid in recovery from CrossFit’s intense WODs. The “Paleo” Diet is a way of eating in our modern age that best mimics diets of our hunter-gatherer ancestors: combinations of lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. As you can see, this “Paleo” ideal echoes the one recommended as the CrossFit prescription. By eating the foods that we are genetically adapted to eat, followers of the “Paleo” diet are naturally lean, have acne-free skin, improved athletic performance, and experience relief from numerous metabolic-related and autoimmune diseases.
In addition to nutrition, it is also important to sleep enough to recharge your body, take care of your muscles by stretching and listening to what your body is telling you, and avoiding excessive stress. These factors are also equally as important to one’s recovery after workouts. If you work hard on establishing that nutritional base of the Fitness Pyramid, you will see the results!
Reminder:
We are having a potluck party for T-Bops and Spidey at the gym, starting at 6:30pm. Please bring an appy for the table and join us in saying “see you later” before they depart the country!
Today’s Workout:
Buy In – 3 x 10 Shoulder dislocates, 10 burpees, 10 goblet squats, 10 jumping pullups, 10 box jumps
WOD – “CrossFit Total”
Back squat, 1 rep
Shoulder Press, 1 rep
Deadlift, 1 rep
* You have 3 attempts to reach your max weight. Add all 3 – 1RM together for your score.
Zone 1: If you are new to the lifts, focus on technique with 5 x 5 reps of each exercise. Ask the coaches recommendation about adding weight.
Cash Out – foam rolling, watch the video to see how to do it!
Running WOD
20 to 30 min tempo or hill run or rest day
Please post in the comments when and where you are doing your run if you would like people to join you!
100 Day Burpee Challenge:
Burpees today: 59
Buy-in: 1770