The Basics, part 2: Carbohydrate The scientific information available on the subject of carbohydrate in the diet is as voluminous and clear as nutritional information is ever likely to get. There just is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. Anytime serious science has been applied to low-to-zero carb diets, the results have shown numerous and far-reaching positive health impacts. Simply put, when one looks at the Standard American Diet, the complete and total elimination of all dietary carbohydrate would drastically increase the likelihood of a long and major-disease-free existence. So why are we always told by the “authorities” on... Continue reading

Well, we put Bill through Hell today. To start were Back Squats, 5-5-5, but with a twist. I only allowed him a minute of rest between sets. His numbers: 155#-175-175 Then this followed: for time: walking lunges, length of gym x2 21 12" step-ups 21 ab-mat sit-ups walking lunges, length of gym x2 18 12" step-ups 18 ab-mat sit-ups walking lunges, length of gym x2 15 12" step-ups 15 ab-mat sit-ups walking lunges, length of gym x2 12 12" step-ups 12 ab-mat sit-ups walking lunges, length of gym x2 9 12" step-ups 9 ab-mat sit-ups walking lunges, length of gym... Continue reading

I'm a little late with this post, my apologies. Wednesday wound up being primarily a skill day. Aileen, the in-house running expert, took Bill outside (such a nice day...well, for January) and put him through the basic running drills, then had him do some short runs, at 50m, 100m, and 150m. The neighbors looked at us a bit strangely. We timed him for comparison, but didn't record the times, since we were focusing on technique. After Bill was done, Aileen pressed (3 sets of 5, at 80#), while I set us up for Carlos Andrade's birthday workout. Yuck! Here is... Continue reading

Strength: Back Squat 10-10-10 Bill learned the low-bar version today. 145#-145-145 Met-con: 10-8-6-4-2 for time: front squat, 75# sit-ups Bill: 5:11 His met-con is already showing some real improvement. No workout for Pony or I today. Continue reading

We didn't have any clients this evening, which means that with nobody to torture except ourselves we decided to do the leg-thrashing workout which Aileen designed for her sister Sheelagh, to celebrate her birthday. She was born 1-16-75, and just turned 35 so: Sheelagh's Birthday Workout: 1 chin-up, dead hang 16 burpees 75 walking lunges 35 sit-ups, ab-mat 75 walking lunges 16 burpees 1 chin-up, dead hang I finished in 11:19. Pony humiliated me (as she will with any workout that hits the quads hard) with a time of 9:42. Honestly I thought the sit-ups were quite a welcome break... Continue reading

The Basics, part 1: Protein Here is what we at CrossFit Rising recommend for optimal health and fitness. Pretty much everyone agrees that protein is necessary for life. Not much controversy, there. But exactly how much and from what sources? That is a subject of much disagreement, especially since the protein requirements of hard-training people who don't eat the Standard American Diet has not been much studied. There has been some research which suggests that people who eat a lower-carbohydrate, lower-glycemic diet actually require less protein intake than someone who eats a lot of sugar and grains. I say “suggests”... Continue reading

Today was Front Squat 7-7-7-7 Bill did his first three sets 75#-85-95. He was setting up for his last set at 105, when Pony walked into the gym and announced that she had done 5 reps at 115# earlier in the week. After a few moments of silence bill asked for another ten pounds on the bar. He un-racked, and began squatting, and didn't stop until he had ten reps finished. Way to motivate, Pony-girl. Continue reading

Bill showed up again, his fourth day in a row. What a glutton for punishment! We started with some high-rep presses: Press 15-15-15-1565# - 65 - 65 - 65 Then on to the met-con: 4 rounds for time of 10 pull-ups (blue band) 10 sit-ups (ab-mat) 10 push-ups 10 squats I thought the guy was gonna quit on me after the third round but he hung in there and finished it off in 12:30. Today Pony rowed her first 5k, in a whopping 26:21. She maintained a faster pace on this than she did on the 1k (in "Jackie") which... Continue reading

Today for Bill was an all-strength day. Deadlift 10-15-20 165#-145-120 For me, it was an all-met-con day. Row 5k 24:14 For Pony, it was also a day to get stronger. Deadlift: 1 set of 8: 205# 1 set of 2: 225# Both were personal bests. -AND- Lynne: max reps 100# bench press pull-ups (blue band) B.P. 10+10+9+7+6=42 P.U. 8+6+9+9+10=42 Total: 84 Continue reading

Lately Bill has been suffering from what might be a "pinched nerve" in his back, so we have been modifying his workouts to avoid pulling with the arms and anything overhead. Bench Press 3x10: 150#-155-160 Followed by: 3 rounds for time 10 push-ups 15 squats 2:11 Earlier that day.... I did: Back Squat 3x5: 235# Press 3x5: 135#x3 - 130x5 - 125x5 Looks like I am back down to 2.5# jumps on the press. After Bill was finished he got to watch me do "Jackie" as prescribed. For time: row 1000m 50 thrusters, 45# 30 pull-ups 11:00 Now for Pony.... Continue reading

Okay, admittedly I was a little slow in posting this. But hey! I'm a busy guy! Once again it was just Bill. We'll get Tom in here if we have to drag him kicking and screaming, but it may take a while. Back Squat 10-10-10 145#-155-160 followed by Tabata squats, 4 minutes. 88 squats total. Quite an impressive effort for someone who is missing an ACL. This guy is tough. Continue reading

Since our little gym is officially closed on Sunday, and the workouts we do privately are just so hardcore you would think we were lying about them, I have decided to (read: Pony told me to) post a weekly rant about nutrition. I'm basically a contrarian, so the inaugural nutrition post will not be about nutrition. On the F.R.A.T. paleo challenge blog, there was some discussion of the "diet mentality". This is the idea that to accomplish a goal (lose weight, get healthy, etc.) we need to pick a diet, and stick to that diet religiously, that any deviation is... Continue reading

Once again, we attempted to do our own little version of the workout called "Joshie". Last time we did this, our little garage gym did not yet exist, except as an idea, so we went to the local globo. We were excited, because we had recently finished the kettlebell cert, so we changed to workout to this: Three rounds for time of: 21 k.b. snatches, right hand 15 pull-ups 21 k.b. snatches, left hand 15 pull-ups We completed the the workout and rather liked this little variation, but the fact that I double-hit the button on the timer at the... Continue reading

5 rounds for time: 20 kettlebell swings, 30# row 500m Post times and hate mail to comments. Continue reading

Another red-letter day here at CrossFit Rising. Not only did we have Bill working out in our little gym (his fourth day straight, what an animal), but we got a visit from Tom, an old friend of Aileen's. While I put Bill through his warm-up and a quick refresher on the power clean, she tried to woo Tom over to the dark side. Hopefully we will be putting him through his paces soon enough. After the cleans Bill did a modified "Lynne": 3 rounds, no time component bench press 135# ring rows, done from a horizontal position with his feet... Continue reading

3 Rounds For Time: 10 pull-ups 20 push-ups 30 sit-ups 40 squats Post times and hate mail to comments. Continue reading

We are back from vacation, and while the rest was much needed (one workout for her, none for me), it's time for the hurting to begin again. Strength: Press 5-5-5 Met-con: "Half Cindy" As many rounds as possible in ten minutes 5 pull-ups 10 push-ups 15 squats Post times and hate mail to comments. Continue reading

We are officially on vacation, visiting my parents in Michigan. In fact, we are so "on vacation" that it's been two days and I am finally getting around to posting this. Happy New Year, everyone. We will be back on Monday. Continue reading

Deadlift 3-3-1-1-1 Rest 5 minutes Do as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of: 5 pull-ups 10 box jumps 20”/12” box 15 ab-mat sit-ups Post times and hate mail to comments. -------------------------------------------------------------- Today was a big day for CrossFit Rising. Today we taught our first class! The class consisted of Bill. Bill is a fellow who Aileen and I know from the gym where she was a trainer for ten years. We called him up today, asked if he would like to see the place and do his workout there instead of at his usual gym. I assumed he... Continue reading

The title of the post says it all. As of today, we have successfully taken this: ...and turned it into a good, old-fashioned garage gym: Okay, I admit, we are still waiting for the whiteboard and the C2 rower to come in the mail (tomorrow and who-knows-when, respectively), and I need to hook up at least one more light source, but we have everything we need to start training our clients: Check it out: As we speak Pony is concocting a plan for a Grand Opening, which I think means I have to actually work out. I would say that... Continue reading