OH MY GOSH! Are we this bad??? I mean, I know we are passionate about what a difference Paleo makes in how we feel and perform, and that we all look better naked as a result of caveman nutrition, but have we fallen to this level? Please drag me back to reality if I come anywhere close!

-Beth

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Floor Press:  Find 1RM, after finding 1RM, lower weight to approx. 85% and complete minimum of 5 reps.

4 Rounds:
6 Hammer strikes /Hand
8 Toes to Bar
10 Kettlebell swings (70/44)
12 Box Jumps (30″)

Seems we just can’t get enough of all this Paleo stuff, and now they are even talking about it on CBS news. This is a great piece, and even your non-believer friends will raise an eyebrow. Click this link to view.

Please also remember that tonight (Wednesday) is our Paleo Potluck, and all are welcome. Come to the 6PM class, and stay for the Potluck. Dr Ryan Lazarus will give a short talk on Paleo, on what the BIA means, and how to carry it forward as a lifestyle instead of a 45 day challenge.

-Beth

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Back Squat 3×5

Floor Press find 3rm, repeat 2 more times (for a total of 3×3)

Bent rows: 8-8-8

Back extensions 8-8-8

We are in the final days of the Paleo Challenge, and this blog post is intended to inspire you to go all out for these last nine days. Below are before and after pics of Dave Parsons, whom I met in high school. This transformation took a year and a half, but he started out just like all of us, one day at a time. For his complete story click here.

Go BIG. Resist the sweets and cheats. See what difference you can make in your own life in the next nine days.

-Beth

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Deadlift: find 1 rep max, lower weight to 75% and complete 3 sets of as many reps as possible

Push Press: 3-3-3-3-3

as time allows:
Bent over rows 8-8-8
GHD Situps or toes to bar 3 x max reps

I’ve posted this before, but wanted to make sure everyone has seen it.  Paleo doesn’t get better described than this!

Enjoy!

-Ryan

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Thursday’s WOD:

Power clean work. Emphasis on moving from the floor.  Ideally, find 1RM

As many rounds as possible in 8 minutes:

3 Power Cleans @ 65% of 1 RM
6 Toes To Bar

Compare to 3/11/11

A big thanks to Suzanne Holliday who sent me recipes for a couple of “Paleo” cocktails.  Please note the quotations around the word Paleo.  Remember that these are still a treat, and despite mostly Paleo ingredients, the booze won’t hurry you to your goals.  That being said, if you’re looking for a great way to cool off this weekend, I can’t think of a much better way!

-Ryan

Spiked Watermelon Pops
Ingredients
•    1/2 (3 pounds) large watermelon, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

•    3/4 cup watermelon flavored 70 proof vodka (recommended: Smirnoff
Twist of Watermelon)* see Cook’s Note

•    1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

•    Special equipment: 16 (1/4 cup) ice pop molds, 16 wooden pop sticks or
wooden coffee stirrers at least 2-inches longer than the molds.
Directions
In a blender, combine the watermelon, and vodka. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Add the mint and pulse once to combine. Pour the mixture into the pop molds. Insert the wooden sticks all the way down the inside the molds. Freeze for at least 10 hours or preferably overnight.
To unfreeze the ice pops, insert the molds in hot water for 5 to 10 seconds. Serve immediately.
*Cook’s Note: For nonalcoholic Watermelon Pops, substitute 3/4 cup orange juice for the vodka.
NOT-A-COLADA

INGREDIENTS

*juice I lime

*1 tsp shredded coconut, toasted

*1 cup coconut water
*1/3cup light coconut milk
*1cup fresh pineapple chunks
*1/2 tsp pure cocnut extract
*1 cup crushed ice
*light rum
INSTRUCTIONS
Place lime juice and shredded coconut into 2 seperate shallow dishes. Dip rims of 2 8oz glasses in lime juice and then shredded coconut.
In a blender, mix any leftover lime juice from dish with coconut water, coconut milk, pineapple, coconut extract, rum and ice until well blended, about 45 seconds. Pour and serve.

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Friday’s WOD:

Overhead squat 3-3-3-3-3

400m Run
8 muscle Ups
8 snatches (135/95)
400m run
4 muscle ups
4 snatches
400m run
2 muscle ups
2 snatches

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 time to carry and promote in our gym. I always listen to what they say and try the product. Most times it is not in alignment with what we do here so you don’t hear about it. An acquaintance gave me some Mila last fall, and I accepted it with my usual skepticism. After months on my counter I tried it during a low energy period, and I actually noticed a difference. I had greater mental clarity and more energy. I took note. I now take it regularly, and it helps with my workout recovery, aches and pains, and energy. Mila is gluten-free, trans-fat free, sugar-free, high in fiber and protein, and can be deliciously combined with many foods. Loaded with omega-3s, fiber, antioxidants, protein and phytonutrients, Mila is great for your heart, bone, prostate, breast, and gastro-intestinal support. With its supreme biological properties, Mila is a plant based Omega 3 product for weight management, but it is also widely consumed for anti-aging, prenatal care, and mental health.

For more info about this great source of Omega 3′s click here. For personal test driving, pick up a bag in our gym.

For your health,

Beth

PS We will again be at the Chef’s Market tonight, so come on by and test yourself in our obstacle course. All ages welcome!

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Deadlift, find 5rm

AMRAP 10mins:
2 Deadlifts @ 80% of 5rm
10 Plyo Push Ups

Plyo Push Up – Perform a plyo push up by placing one hand on a 45 lbs plate and the other on the ground, perform an explosive push up that allows you to transition the hand on the ground to the hand on the plate and vice versa.

As a reminder, Wine Country CrossFit Will Be Closed Monday May 30th, in honor of Memorial Day.

It’s a Friday before a long weekend, who are you kidding?  You’re not getting any work done today.  So, you might as well spend some time checking out some great Paleo resources!

First off, you have a long weekend ahead, and probably need a project.  How about curing your own bacon?  How cool is that?

The Path To Culinary Bliss:  Home Cured Bacon

We all know man can’t live off of bacon alone (or can he?) so you’re going to need side dishes.  How about a smoked brisket or side of ribs?  This article from Lifehacker details how to turn your regular Weber grill into a smoker:

Turn a Charcoal Grill Into A Smoker

Of course, we can’t be choosing poorly raised grain fed meats to put in our smoker, so you’ll want to know what to look for on the packaging:

Choosy Meat Buyers Know Label Tricks

Of course, you’re going to need a recipe for the Grass fed beef that you want to BBQ, this one sounds divine, even if it does include some gluten from the beer:

Coffee Steaks Under the Influence

And while they are grilling up (or in the smoker) you’ll want some affirmation of the choices that you have made in making a lifelong change to your health through CrossFit and Paleo:

1 in 5 Young Adults Have High Blood Pressure

Confessions of a Corporate Wellness Coach

That ought to keep you busy for three days.  I hope you all have a happy and safe Memorial day weekend!

-Ryan

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Grass Fed Beef Update:

I found a new producer that I am emailing with out in the East Bay.  I hope to have good news about pricing and timing soon!

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Friday’s WOD:

Cleans (look for 1RM off the floor)

Every Minute on the minute for 12 minutes perform:
2 power cleans
10 Double unders

The goal is to go as heavy as possible through  the power cleans.  The weight is variable each set, but each set should feel as close to failure as possible.

On April 17th the New York Times published an article on the viciousness of sugar by Gary Taubes. It was in the magazine section, and I couldn’t put it down.  In fact I read it twice.  The question “is sugar a nutritional crime, like cigarettes and alcohol, that should have its own warning label” is posed at the beginning. The answer is revealed in this beautifully researched piece of journalism.

This is no sound bite reporting like US News & World Report, so sit back with your beverage and get ready to be blown away by the investigative nature of Mr. Taubes. Please also let me know if you see parallels here between the early studies on wheat and their subsequent discrediting by the FDA, and our history with sugar.

Enjoy the READ!

-Beth

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WOD

Deadlift 1×5 (Add 5lbs to last week)

9Deadlifts 315/225rx
9 Strict Pull Ups
1 Buddy Drag
6 Deadlifts
6 Strict Pull Ups
2 Buddy Drags
3 Deadlifts
3 Strict Pull Ups
3 Buddy Drags

1 buddy drag = to telephone pole (jog back to box)

Marina is back for some guest blogging goodness, I hope you enjoy!

Simple is Good

As a former Food Network junkie (we no longer have cable) I have been known to get ‘gourmet’ with my meals.  And coming from an Italian family where my grandfather made his own sausage and my mother and grandmother canned their home grown tomatoes each summer to use the rest of the year, I certainly appreciate getting crafty in the kitchen!

Now I will say there was a point in my childhood that I *wished* for the modern convenience crap that many grow up on.  My grandfather made his own fruit leather from the trees in his orchard…and it was probably the tastiest thing ever- but I couldn’t help but envy the processed and artificially died concoctions my friends brought in their lunches.  Likewise, as my mom made her homemade spaghetti sauce to go with the pasta we made by hand, I was equally in awe when I when to my friends’ for dinner and saw sauce being made from a packet for seasonings.  Then again, I was also a vegetarian for 5 years who ate things like FAKE BOLOGNA! To quote the decade I was born in ‘gag me with a spoon!’

Since going paleo I’ve enjoyed trying to re-craft old favorites to fit into my new lifestyle.  Most of the time it’s pretty easy (paleo lasagna anyone? The recipe should be in the glob archives from last year)…and sometimes you have to give major shout outs when someone is able to transform the simple paleo ingredients into quite a masterpiece (Paleo Chicken Enchilada Bake- Suzanne H? SOOOOO amazing!).  But the thing I love most about paleo is that at the heart of it all, it’s SO SIMPLE!  Like right now, for example I’m having some wild caught scallops (previously frozen and not outrageously expensive from Trader Joes) that I defrosted earlier and it took me all of 10 minutes to prepare—ON A HOT PLATE! A little salt, a little pepper, a little garlic + some pasture butter. For a side I sautéed up some asparagus- coconut oil, garlic pepper, a little salt and called it good.  Ryan grilled up a steak and in no time at all our entire house was smelling amazing, and we had a fabulous paleo dinner at our disposal.  And when we have a to-do list a mile long, an early alarm-clock calling our name, or simply we were stupid enough to squat heavy and then do ‘Karin’ because we missed it on Monday and now find standing up near impossible, it’s nice to have something quick, easy, and nutritious to fall back on…and leftovers for the next day.  AND—if a glass of wine finds it’s way into my hands, I don’t think I’ll complain…

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Friday’s WOD:

Kettlebell Work

3 Rounds:
5 KB Snatch / Hand (53/35)
15 Push Ups
15 Pull Ups
15 Sit Ups (GHD Rx)

Have a good Weekend!

-Ryan

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 oil over time.  Unfortunately, these studies don’t have a lot of good stuff to say.  In other words, we need to taper down the fish oil a bit.  There are new recommendations for dosages to both keep inflammation low, but also to avoid long term downfalls.  Chris Kresser (we like this guy) at the healthy skeptic has a good summary of it here.

You can find the new dosage guidelines here.

So there, I said it, we were wrong, don’t get used to it though!

-Ryan

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Make-Up WOD

There will be an open gym/make up WOD at 1pm Monday afternoon.  If you can’t make it in to a regularly scheduled class, come get yer swole on at 1!

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Monday’s WOD:

“Elizabeth”

21-15-9

Squat cleans (135/95# Rx)
Ring dips

Mandatory 17min cutoff.

Compare to
12/20/11