Health and Sickness

Meet Matt Calcutt, Press & SlamBall WOD

by Ryan on January 25, 2012

A little over a year ago Matt Calcutt saw our sign out on Soscol Ave and happened by. Matt lives in Truckee with his wife Tina, and works at Squaw Valley as ski patrol. He has over 20 years on the job there, so he has the liberty to work when the snow is fresh to throw dynamite, rescue skiers in distress, and of course ski the powder. When not found at Squaw on snow days he is in the back country, living it up!

 

Turns out Matt and I are from the same tribe as he has spent plenty of time in boats on rivers,  so we hit it off on the whitewater front as well as the CrossFit arena. He used to paddle a C-1, like the picture below shows, which is where you sit on your knees and use a paddle with one blade. In order to keep the knees in working order he decided kayaks were the way to go. He graduated to a two bladed paddle and we can no longer say “half the paddle and twice the man!”

 

Matt’s other job is as a CHP officer. He is a medic, and flies around in a helicopter with Pilot Dave Power (of the 6AM class) and chases villains and saves lives. He is stationed down here in Napa, which is why we get to have him with us at Wine Country CrossFit.

 

Matt also works out at CrossFit Blizzard when at home in Truckee, and his gains are substantial. In a year he has gone from doing jumping pull-ups to kipping pull-ups. His overhead squat was 22#, and is now #125. He does most workouts as prescribed, his deadlift is up to #390, and his CrossFit total is 805.  His goal in starting CrossFit was to lose weight and get stronger as staying fit over 40 was proving harder than expected. The “forced” group workouts and continual PR’s keep him inspired, and he reports  the greatest inspiration is continuing to maintain and improve in sports and outdoor activities despite the aging process.

 

He participated in the last Paleo Challenge, and though he didn’t win (he was .1% body fat point behind winner Gary Awai), he was certainly the biggest loser in every other way. During the 45 day challenge his total cholesterol dropped from 265 to 223, his LDL from 203 to 166, his triglycerides from 92 to 79. A regular sufferer of gout, he had no attacks and reduced his waistline. He cut out the beer entirely, minimized the other alcohol by 50%, ate tons of meat, and never felt better!

 

Thanks for working out with us Matt. Your quiet presence and progress is an inspiration to all.

-Beth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Press – 3×5

21-15-9
Slam Ball (50/25)
Burpees
Wall Balls (20/14)

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Strength Day

by Ryan on January 24, 2012

A few thoughts from Coach Emilie!

 

Anyone else been getting the winter blues? I know – until just a few days ago we were having beautifully gorgeous sunny days, so what am I complaining about? But, if you’re at all like me, chances are you’ve been stuck inside at your desk, typing away at your computer. And with the sun rising so late and setting so early, it’s dark when I leave for work, and it’s dark when I get home! I get to a point where I despair and feel like I’ll never see the sun again! And it’s not just in my head – Seasonal Affective Disorder is a real condition that affects between 4 and 6 percent of Americans! But what I have come to find out is that if I take just a few minutes during the day to get outside and go for a walk, I get the hit of sunshine that I need to literally brighten my spirit. With the rain starting now, it may be a bit tricky to get out at the right time, but you don’t need hours of sunshine to get happy. I know that after only 5-10 minutes in the beautiful outdoors I start to feel much happier and healthier. Mark Sisson had a great “Dear Mark” post on the subject earlier this month. Check it out to get the down-low on SAD, and ways to counteract it and GET HAPPY!

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Front Squat – Find 1rm, reduce to 85% and complete 3 sets of 5.  On the third set, complete as many reps as possible.

Strict Pull Ups – 3x max reps

Ab work of your choice – 3 x sub maximal reps

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Good Calories – Bad Calories, Press & Kettlebell WOD

October 10, 2011

In April we posted a blog about the criminality of sugar, and whether it should have the same warning signs as alcohol and tobacco. We referenced an article by Gary Taubes from the NY Times, which is a very good read. Today we reference Mr. Taubes’ new book Good Calories Bad Calories. Read an except [...]

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No MORE Plastic! Floor Press & Sprints

August 23, 2011

A few months ago I wrote a blog that accompanied this picture. It said that we carried and sold these plastic bottles of water for people who forgot their water bottles at home, but we encourage you to bring or pick up here a metal bottle, put your name on it and hang it at [...]

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Self CPR, Deadlifts & Double Tabata

August 22, 2011

I always thought that CPR was something I did on someone else in need, until I saw this. Please forward to your friends. What  are you to do  if you have a  heart attack While  you are alone. If  you’ve already  seen this, It  means people  care about  you. The  Johnson City  Medical Center  staff [...]

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Miracle Mila & Deadlifts

July 13, 2011

Do you recognize this pretty purple picture? Bags that look like this sit on the shelf in the gym, next to the red cash box and T shirts. Bout time I told you about it:   Mila seed is a powerful plant based source of Omega 3′s and fiber. People give me stuff all the [...]

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Take Your Recovery To The Next Level, Get Some Sleep!

May 22, 2011

I’d like to think that everyone at the gym is pretty good about the subject of sleep, but then again I’m not peering in your windows at night to check and make sure you are asleep (most of you anyway).  I found this great little article from the NY Times that talks about the need [...]

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Get Outa Here! Go On, Get!

May 5, 2011

I don’t want to see you in the gym!  There, I said it.  I want you to get out of here!  I want you to go home, stretch, maybe walk or jog, but I don’t want you in the gym! I have a quick poll for everyone.  How long has it been since you have [...]

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New Fish Oil Guidelines

April 17, 2011

You guys know that we’re always right, right?  Down this virtuous path that your coaches lead you, we make no mistakes, and live life 100% by every rule that we preach…. okay, maybe not. There have been quite a few new studies that have come to light recently regarding the taking of high dosage fish [...]

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Take Care of Your Knees

January 19, 2011

ACL injuries on the rise, and the consequences of knee surgery are lifelong!  Be sure to take care of those knees! http://www.npr.org/2011/01/19/133025140/for-young-athletes-knee-surgery-opens-door-to-pain?sc=fb&cc=fp -Ryan

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