Category Archives: Nutrition

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Renaissance Periodization, First Few Weeks

Many athletes at our box have been on Renaissance Periodization (RP) and have had excellent results. I started it February 5th. I had purchased the templates late in 2017. I finished up what I was doing, The BodyBiz, in January and then wanted to do something different. Below are some tips that I found useful:

First, read the FAQ’s and the materials provided several times through. Don’t just skip and read the bolded fonts. Read everything. I did not, and was eating 9oz of cooked protein four times a day for the first week. Whoops. Read the FAQ’s and watch the video.

I strongly suggest you scrap the MyFitnessPal membership and tracking. I found that to complicate things. The templates are all you need, paired with the digital scale of wonder and amazement! This thing is awesome. Pick one and stick with it, meaning weighing your food cooked, or raw. I weight it cooked, going by the grams of carbs, proteins, and fats, and put my meals together for the week on Sunday. Makes it much easier. Also, stick with basic meals the first few weeks until you get comfortable and confident with the templates. There are a lot of options for meals and some people are truly gifted at culinary genius based on the posts I see in the RP pages in Facebook. Try not to follow suit right away.

The scale is mean and it has no heart. Do not trust it. Meaning, do not rely on this as your single point of validation if RP is successful for you. I had been eating whole foods, following a similar program when I started RP and did not see much success in my two week base period. I actually gained a few pounds. However, clothes that had been snug before, were no longer snug. Trust the way the your clothes fit, and take the before and after pictures for comparison.

Don’t let one bad meal turn into a bad day, or worse yet, a string of bad days. It happens. Let’s face it. Our body composition did not happen overnight, not does changing our composition happen quickly. It takes time and more importantly, consistency. Cheat meals will happen for just about everyone. Do your best to enjoy that infrequent meal and then put it behind you and focus on staying on track with the templates. Go for a run, or a long walk, or do yard work, or something outside if you feel bad about the meal or a day, or in my case one hell of a fun weekend, and then follow the templates.

Feel free to post any questions and have a great day. Go PR something. Fact: Deadlifts are better than running any day.

 

 

 

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First Thirty Days of Focused…ish…. Nutrition Plan

It is amazing how time flies. It is hard for me to believe we are already through the first week of August. Summer is just about over. Believe me, I am not wishing it away. Autumn is my favorite time of year. Fires, Cocktails, Football,  and hooded sweatshirts. Summer is my second favorite time. We have not gotten to the beach once and we do need to fix that, quickly. We have been on the water a few times in the kayaks and Berger took her maiden voyage. She did well. She was very focused on a paddle boarder behind her and Kylie…not sure why.

It has been seven months since I last posted. Way too long. Things have been going well this year, however I have not been focused on hitting my goals. Life gets in the way. Things happen. We all make choices and push what needs to be done at that time to the top. Sadly I think many of us put ourselves last. Then we find ourselves kind of pissed that we are not achieving the things that six months ago were important to us. And of course, there is also the reality of New Years’ resolutions…..that are the same year after year.

For those of you who know me, you know that I lost my Dad the end of April. Losing a parent seems to change the view of one’s own mortality. It is an assault on it actually. When I was little I thought he was the strongest guy in the world, able to do anything. I watched him age and his physical capabilities diminish. He was hard on his body and in the end his body just gave up. It was done.

So, in part because of that, and because it just beyond time, I spoke with a fellow CultFitter and he recommended a nutritionist he had worked with previously. So I contacted her and we were off. I had to get a Resting Metabolic Rate test and a VO2 max test. The first was not hard, just took twice as much time as it was supposed to. Based on those readings I burn about 2500 calories a day just living. The VO2 max test was a giant PITA. It was on a treadmill and everyone who reads this blog knows how much I looooooove running. So imagine me on a treadmill with basically a fighter pilot mask on, a heart rate monitor around my chest, and a clippy thing on my finger. Quite the sight. I hoped that i did not trip and take out the whole thing.

The numbers came back no differently than I expected. Average/Slightly above average for a person of my age and dimensions. I met with the nutritionist via phone and went over all pertinent information. She put together a meal plan and sent it to me. Using MyFitnessPal is a huge win. It was as one would expect. Reduced calorie, high protein, moderate fat, and low carb. I am at 130 grams per day, which is not bad. Just have to make each one count.

I have enjoyed it and as the title indicates, have been committed…mostly. There was one night that was just silly. I am down 21 pounds in a little over a month. It is a steady clip of 3-5 pounds per week. CrossFit five times per week, 2 runs a week, and yoga once. I do not always get both runs, in however I’ll make it longer if I only get one run in.  The big difference on this one is that I followed exactly what I told, and it is paying off much better. Funny how that works, huh? Kind of like that thing, when you finally do what your Coach told you to do, and shocker, it works.

The eating has been easy to follow. 5-6 meals per day. I like having a plan for the week as it makes it easier to prepare and not worry about it during the day. Sunday is meal prep day. I won’t bore you all with a picture of a counter covered with food and individual prepped meals. Do I miss eating pizza? Do I miss desert? Do I miss cocktailing? Absofreakinloutely! She suggested two drinks on Saturday night. I really don’t have that switch, so i cut it out for a few weeks. The stories aren’t quite as funny, however the mornings are much more fun.

It has been a very good experience thus far and am looking forward to it continuing. Drink a few for me folks. Have a great week. Lift something heavy even if it is not in the WOD.

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2017 Goals

goal-setting

First week of 2017 is done. Ate well with the exception of Friday night. No cocktailing either. Don’t worry, nobody kidnapped Rob, everything is fine.

Goals for 2017:

I set goals each year for personal, professional, physical, and financial. Below are the physical goals for 2017. I hit most of them in 2016 and plan on the same for 2017.

Lift/Movement Current Goal
Back Squat 455 500
Dead Lift 465 500
Strict Press 205 225
Push Press 235 265
Clean 210 235
Front Squat 325 350
Thruster 235 255
500 Meter Row 1:42 1:30
Pull Ups 0 10
Double Unders 0 10

So, how am I going to hit these goals? Darn good question. I’ll have to figure that one out

12-labours

  1. Following the 12 Labours Nutrition Plan courtesy of Emily and Erin. Great time logging everything in MyFitnessPal. Emily and Erin provide everything you need in terms of setting yourself up for success. It is worth the investment, so please take advantage of the service if you have not done so already.
  2. Keeping cocktailing to a minimum. Sadly and frustratingly i have tried for the past so many years to do both and I have come to the realization it just does not work. Either you want to cocktail and not do well in the gym, or you want to do well in the gym. So we will give it an honest shot.
  3. Focus on recovery. We spend a lot of time beating the hell out of ourselves and more than likely not enough time putting ourselves back together. Water, Sleep, good nutrition, supplements, deep tissues massage and yoga. I have been getting a deep tissues once a month for the past few months and the difference has been remarkable.

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  1. Stretching. By hitting the six am class most folks have to roll out quickly to get ready for work, kids to school, etc. I am focusing on taking five or ten minutes afterwards and rolling out and stretching to reduce soreness/stiffness etc.
  2. Rest. Getting up early means early to bed. I tend to do a lot better if I get 7 or 8 hours of sleep. Go a few days with six or few hours and see how you feel. Probably like junk. I know i do.
  3. Strength program. I finished the 12 Labours Barbell Strength Program last year and definitely noticed a difference. I added weight to squat and deadlift and wound up PR’ng CrossFit Total by about 100 pounds.

 

change

  1. Make opportunities for PR’s. Some boxes do the same WOD’s over and over again which enables members to set PR’s. Ours is a bit different where the WOD’s vary considerably. Two days a week I give myself opportunities to set PR’s. Whether it be a lift, like deadlift or squat, or a 500 meter row. Give yourself the opportunity to put a PR on the board and in Wodify!
  2. Fully warm up. I am sure if any of the coaches are reading this, the thought “he never does the warm up, like never.” is going through their mind. Sadly that is true. I do not do the warm up. In my mind, the first round is the warmup and that is not right and dangerous.
  3. More than just scheduled classes. This goes with number 7. Sticking around after class, taking advantage of open gym, and running/swimming etc. go a long way in helping accomplish your goals.
  4. Yoga. Once a week, every Sunday. Looking to get back into that cycle. Definitely noticed a difference when I was regularly attending.

Those should get me where I want to be.

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It’s Open Season….2015

Here we go Again!

Here we go Again!

It is that time of year again. $20.00 and a quick registration provides the opportunity to compete against 200,000 of your nearest and dearest friends. Each year, thousands of hopefuls sign up in order to prove their standing in the world wide cult!

So happy we are not kicking off this year with seven minutes of puketastic burpees. Instead it is:

CrossFit Games Open 15.1 (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)
9-Minute AMRAP of:
15 Toes To Bar
10 Dead lifts, 115#  / 75#
5 Snatches, 115# / 75#
CrossFit Games Open 15.1 Scaled (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)
9-Minute AMRAP of:
15 Hanging Knee Raises
10 Dead lifts, 85# / 55#
5 Ground to Overhead, 85# / 55#
CrossFit Games Open 15.1A (Weight)
6-Minutes to Establish:
1-RM Clean and Jerk
The addition of the scaled class is a welcome change. Beats having to enter a zero! I can do toes to bar all day, as long as it’s a barbell and it’s on the floor.
This will be an exciting one and can already envision my forearms getting fried. Lots of forearm and lacrosse ball action prior. Also, lot’s of hamstring work.  Definitely looking forward to catching the 12Labours crowd getting together at 10:00am in Annapolis District.
12Labours
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Eat to Perform

 

ETP Image 2

So i am trying Eat to Perform; http://www.eattoperform.com/ All I can say so far is that I can’t eat enough. It’s a ton of food. Also, three rest days a week. And rest means rest. Not my usual active rest bs, you know, where I don’t rest, just do other stuff. Mobility and Yoga is encouraged on rest days, however nothing strenuous. I am about two weeks in. No noticeable results at this point, however they do caution that it takes time and you have to commit to a full 90 days.

 


Advertised:

It focuses on Total Daily Energy Expenditures, or TDEE, gaining muscle size and strength, and eating strategically to provide fuel for workouts. Not centralized to CrossFit in any manner. Also stresses whole foods and carbs are a good thing, like rice and potatoes. I hope Paleo didn’t hear that…good God. Sustainable and flexible eatings plans, not short term dieting.

Lfits

Start the Process: http://www.eattoperform.com/start-here/

Weigh yourself. Have a glass of wine or a beer. It’s ok. Get a body fat assessment done. Have a bottle of wine or a six pack and finish it off with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Enter your information here: http://www.eattoperform.com/eat-to-perform-calculator/ Be sure to watch the video first. Enter the information again because you probably can’t believe you read the results right and obviously you entered something incorrectly. Nope, they are right.

ETP FUn

Purchase the E-Books and the Forum Membership?

A resounding YES. It’s $80.00 for a year. Not much money at all for having answers at your fingertips. Come on. We are CrossFitters. Usually higher than average disposable income and we are used to spending money for this stuff! A little caution however to do it only if you are really going to stick with it for three months. Just a thought.

Now What?

Head to the forum and enter your information. Explain you are a first timer and that you want some help understanding the TDEE calculations. A moderator, or which there are several, will review your numbers, answer questions, give you some pointers,etc. I have found they answer quickly and there are also people who aren’t moderators however they spend time on the boards and will offer advice.

ETP Image

 

MyFitnessPal:http: //www.myfitnesspal.com/

Definitely recommend a public profile on this page. It’s a pretty big database and will allow you to track your food intake. Make your profile public. That way the moderators from ETP can review your profile and make suggestions. 

It’s a bit early yet for me to give any real review of whether or not it works. I’ll give it another two and a half months and see where things land.

 

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Five Weeks In….

Sandwich Guy

 

We just finished our fifth week of Whole Life Challenge. We have only cheated a few times, and let’s face it, when Lobster Mac’n Cheese is on the menu, you order it, and then crush it as though you haven’t eaten in days. We had some dessert for Kylie’s birthday, because what’s a birthday without cake? Or in this case, two cinnamon brownies with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, shaved chocolate and caramel sauce. Yes, it was awesome.

SG

All in all my energy level has been pretty good. I had the usual paleo flu the first week, however nothing ridiculous. I do know that i have to eat some rice or something once in a while. A full day or two without any carbs isn’t pretty. Grumpypants. Hit a few PR’s so far. Took two minutes off my Grace time and hit 285 back squat for ten reps. Previous had been 275 for 10. I have been running, scratch that, jogging on the weekends and that has been better. Five miles yesterday and three today. Knee is a little pissed at me, but let’s face it, i haven’t been kind to it. Back to PT next week where I am sure they will tell me to quit CrossFit and I’ll smile and nod.

Has anyone else tried Progenex Cookies and Cream yet? Big win. Mix some with ice and water in the blender and it is the same as a milkshake! Not, but it’s always good to hope. Remember that if you believe it, it must be true. They make the best tasting protein on the market and I think I have tried just about all of them. Maybe it was hydrolyzed and now it’s not or whatever the rumor is however I notice faster recovery times and results when I hit the awesome-sauce. Bottoms up.

progenex

Progenex Force is also a very solid pre-workout supplement. I used to swear by No-Xplode and I like Force better. It makes your face tingle so you know it’s good. I think the Beta Alanine is what gives you the pin prick fresh face feeling. Lactic acid blocking little dickens. I notice I don’t have the crash I used to get from other versions. This tends to last longer. Works great for a quick ten minute AMRAP or a longer run/jog/trudge march. Progenex: http://progenexusa.com/

force-pkg-mockup

 

What other goodies? Xendurance, PurePharma Vitamin packs, and FitAid. So basically, it looks like i just replaced booze and junk food with supplements. Whatevs. We go through this stuff just for the toys, the gear, and the awesome-sauce.

FitAid is a more paleo friendly version of KillCliff. The pre-workout/recovery/whenever you want one drink. Similar packaging with the taller slender can. Thank you Red Bull. It has all the joint friendly additives lick glucosamine, turmeric, magnesium, potassium, B vitamins, green tea. You know, all of the good stuff that we never get enough of according to the supplement companies. Link: https://www.drinkfitaid.com/

fitaid

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Two Weeks In….

 

Whole-Life-Challenge-1

 

No beer. No ice cream. Did i say no beer??? Two weeks in for the latest round of Whole Life Challenge. It’s been very good so far. The Paleo flu has come and gone. Only six more weeks to go. Would I want to do it long term? Probably not, however it’s good to do it a few times a year for a tune up. I have set a few PR’s which is always good. Strength stuff which I’ll take any day of the week. Let’s not forget, why run when you can dead lift and CrossFit isn’t supposed to be track.

How do you know you are eating Paleo?

  • Dishwasher gets run twice a day, except on Sundays when it’s maybe three times
  • Two crockpots going at the same time is not strange
  • The lunchbox is significantly larger
  • paleOMG is your new favorite read
  • you’d kill for some sugar…..

One of the wonderful side effects of sober fridays and saturdays, is productive saturdays and sundays. Who else is up at five am on the weekends? This is probably my favorite time of year so it works out well because I am up and outside enjoying the fall while everyone else is in bed sleeping. It’s a beautiful world early in the morning.

What is Paleo? The chart below pretty much sums it up.

Paleo-Diet-Flowchart2-e1345400029955

 

 

This past Week’s WOD’s:

MON-FITNESS

  • Leader of the Pack WOD 1:
  • 10 Min AMRAP
  • Run 600m
  • 20 Hand Release Pushups
  • in time remaining get as far as you can in the following ladder:
  • 2 Power Cleans (115/75)
  • 20 Double Unders
  • 4 Power Cleans
  • 20 Double Unders or 60 singles
  • made it through eight cleans, i think i went up to 135 instead, or maybe 155.

TUES-FITNESS

  • Back Squat 10-10-10 ***last set should be 5-10 lbs heavier than Sept 8th
  • Worked up to 275 for 10 which was a 20 lb PR

WED-SPORT

  • 10 Rounds for time Partner WOD –
  • 3 Stone to Shoulder (145/95)
  • 6 Push Jerks (155/105)
  • 9 Pull ups
  • 12 Cals on Rower
  • Partner 1 goes through ENTIRE round, then tags off to partner 2. 10 Rounds total between the 2 people.
  • This was Kylie and I and we did well. Everything was Rx, except those stupid freakin’ pull ups

Thursday was running and wall balls, so it was a strategic rest day. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.

FRI-SPORT

  • 1RM Clean and Jerk ***take time to go over split jerk technique***
  • 15 lb PR, hit 205
  • Poor coach Rebs…to me a push jerk is a press, or a push press…..not ever a jerk

Saturday and Sunday are running days and running errands days. Work has been busy so this gives me two days to catch up on some stuff.

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Summer is Over…..

Goodbye Summer

 

Seems like the Summer flew by faster than usual. Actually, the past year has flown by faster than usual. Fall is here which means football, bonfires, pumpkins, and cooler weather. We just finished our summer vacation, which was a little later than normal, however it was a blast. There were several boxes close by, however we decided to take the whole week off and rest up. Definitely looking forward to getting back to the grind and getting back in a routine. For those who are interested, Charleston South Carolina is a great area to visit. The foodie scene blows Baltimore out of the water. Beach is 20 minutes away. Golf courses galore. And of course there is a plethora of historical stuff if you are into that as well. All of the Westbrook brews were excellent.

Charleston Food

Beer

 

August was a great month with four PR’s. Clean, Front Squat, Back Squat, and Dead Lift.  I’ll take those any day of the week. So what did I learn over the past few months? Still having issues doing the WOD’s Rx, and the reason is because of the inability to complete the BW exercises like Pull UPs, HSPU, DU’s, etc. Really thought my recent purchases of Nano 4.0’s, Junk headbands, and Progenex would have changed all that. I was wrong. Obviously, I’m joking. I don’t like those movements, I don’t practice those movements, and have gotten very good at scaling those movements. I can rip off 100 singles without missing a beat. Ring rows are no problem. I scaled and got great at scaling. Whoops. So how do we combat this issue? Easy, buy more gear. No, of course not.

Yep. Time for a detox. the past six to eight months have been filled with great food and craft brews. These do not match well with performing well however it is what it is and that’s that. We signed up for the Whole Life Challenge which is always a good way to recharge and get back on track. It’s also about personal accountability, planning, dedication, and not bargaining with yourself. So much easier to put in a blog than to actually practice. If it was easy there wouldn’t be a billion dollar quick fix weight loss industry. Write that down. Watching the Steelers now, and if they keep this up, sobriety will be a pipe dream.

Dead Lift

Practice makes perfect. Or in the world of CrossFit, bloody shins, whip marked legs, torn hands, and bruised egos. Remember, we pay good money for this stuff! You can’t dead lift your way out of a poor diet. Trust me, I’ve tried. Cardio is simply dead lifting faster so that is automatically ruled out. Just need to practice more, focus on the nutrition and mobility. Looking forward to a great September.

 

 

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Whole Life Challenge, Let the Fun Begin!

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We decided to sign up for WLC again. It is eight weeks of clean living which is pretty easy for people who normally practice clean living. We are not those people. We enjoy the weekend night life and are close personal friends with Ben and Jerry. We have done it twice before and have liked the results. The first week is just about over already. Time flies when you are having fun.

Purge:

If it is not WLC compliant, it gets tossed. Sugar, ice cream, pretty much anything processed. You know, stuff that tastes good! Considering we are 80% Paleo 100% of the time we didn’t have much to get rid of. Just ice cream and beer. Well, maybe we’ll keep the beer. Its not like it goes bad and it’s only eight weeks.

Meal Planning:

It is pretty simple. If you do not plan your meals you will fail miserably at WLC. Clean healthy food is not convenient. Plan your meals ahead of time. Take lunch to work. Have pre-made breakfast food ready to go so you can grab it and warm it up in the morning. A quick Google search will provide hundreds of recipes. Get on it. Sunday is now for cooking. Face it, you aren’t going to be partying on Saturday nights, so you’ll have plenty of time to kill on Sundays.

Snacks:

I noticed I get hungry earlier in the day. Eating lunch at 10:30am makes for a long day! Pack snacks. Nuts, fruit, smaller portions of lunch and dinner. Whatever it takes. Be sure to plan ahead. The vending machine at work doesn’t carry anything WLC friendly. Trust me.

Exercise and Mobility:

It’s all about doing some of each every day. A quick run, swim, burpees, quality time with the roller or lax ball. Every day. Pick a time during the day and do it every day so it becomes a habit. This is a great habit to carry through when WLC is over.

Just Say No:

It’s only eight weeks but don’t think about it that way. Think about it in smaller increments, one day at at a time or one week at a time. After the first few days you will feel better. More energy, sleeping better which all equal better performance. It still sucks to bail on happy hour Friday after work or turn down cupcakes or donuts however it is worth it.

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Be Prepared:

I am not sure why people think vegetarian is the only way to clean up your diet. Explaining WLC will get you some weird looks however it is your choice, be proud of it! It is a challenge and by being prepared and having the right attitude you will succeed.

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What Happened to August? What Happened to Summer?

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Hey, what happened to August? It was the first and then it was Labor Day in the blink of an eye! What gives? I haven’t written a post in over a month which is odd. Too busy sucking up the last drop of Summer…….Shandy. It was a great Summer and I am sorry to see it come to an end. Cookouts, pool party’s, trips to the beach. Mostly done for another year. The good news is Autumn is upon us. Football, brats, and cooler temps! Definitely my favorite season.

August was a good month. Definitely learned a lot and made some progress.

100 Day Burpee Challenge:
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What a wonderful challenge. Day one, one burpee. Day two, two burpees and on and on it goes. Miss a day? The next day you do those as well. Miss day 25? Good news is you have 51 to complete the following day. Kylie and I are on day 33. Doubtful I will make 100 days however I will go as far as I can. Definitely learned about pacing and foot placement. It’s better to have your feet under your hips when coming up. Wide feet equal a sore lower back.

I have had wrist issues so I have been taping my wrists. Some argue it is a little overboard. They are welcome to their opinion. I like tape and use plenty of it. I have noticed my wrists feel better so it’s working. I have also focused on putting my weight on my fingers instead of entirely on he heel of my hand.

CrossFit Total: I finished at 940 which is about ten to fifteen pounds less than last time. Squat was off because my knee was off. It feels better since I have been back in rehab and following the advice of well educated and trained medical professionals. Interesting how that happened. According to my Mom I am not stubborn, I am obstinate. I think I’m stubborn and don’t understand what she means. September will be dedicated to getting back to 100%.

Hotshots 19 WOD: https://hotshots19.crossfit.com/

CROSSFIT’S MEMORIAL WOD
Show your support by attending the memorial event in Prescott, or host the workout locally on August 31st and donate online.

AUG

31
“Hotshots 19”

Six rounds for time of:
30 Squats
135 pound Power clean, 19 reps
7 Strict Pull-ups
Run 400 meters

This is still fresh in my mind since we just completed it less than 48 hours ago. Quite possibly the toughest WOD I have attempted. Do not under estimate this beast. It may not look daunting on the white board…..you are wrong. Six rounds of “am i done yet?” Do not go towards the light. You won’t die, you’ll pass out first.

One of the trainers pointed out that I was bouncing the bar off my upper thigh during the clean, which I refer to as a reverse curl. This is not the first time she has told me this, nor is it the second or third time. We should consider it a recurring theme. So, instead of continuing to do it my way, incorrectly, I took her advice and shrugged more, and what do you know? Again, taking advice from a well trained professional paid off big dividends. Interesting how that happened. Refer to the previous paragraph referencing stubbornness.

You can get through anything and you should listen to your trainers. They know what they are doing. Unless they have 800 meter med ball runs in the warm up. Obviously they are delirious and require medical attention.

Whole Life Challenge: http://www.wholelifechallenge.com

We are getting ready for our third run. We are currently 100% Paleo 80% of the time so it won’t be a big change for us. It really only results in a reduction of weekend beverages which is fine. We are looking forward to it. We always find some great new recipes and always come out feeling better and performing better at the end. We’ll be on vacation for one of the weeks which means we’ll have to stockpile points!

Selected for Athletes of the Month: http://crossfitbwi.com/2013/08/30/augsept-athletes-of-the-month-robert-and-kylie-taylor/

This was a huge honor for Kylie and I. CrossFit has had a significant impact on our lives and we can’t imagine not being a part of it in the future. It is a team sport and we have a great team at CrossFit BWI and CrossFit Syndicate.

Heading out to the box shortly to have some quality time with Cindy. I hate Cindy. Just kidding, I love Cindy.

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