Break much needed!
Hopefully the last nine days have been a time for recuperation from your hard charging crossfit life. However, now is the time to rejoin us at L10XF as we Re-Opening with normal class schedule this Monday December 7th.
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Below is an excerpt from a Dan John article about the importance of rest.
I”ve been there. I hadn”t missed a workout in five years. I trained on Christmas day, heavy and hard. I worried over finding a gym on family vacations so I wouldn”t miss a single front squat or heavy clean. I swallowed gag-filled soy protein shakes that probably did more hormonal damage than good, and, when mixed with whole milk, turned slight acne into a burn unit case. I did “everything right.” No alcohol or marijuana passed these lips, and, sadly, few female lips, too.
And, then, I melted down. Fortunately, it was such an epic meltdown that when my wife first met her current boss, he mentioned being from Montana. My wife laughed and said, “The only thing I know about Montana is that my husband got hit in the head by a discus there.” Tiff”s boss stiffened, “Oh my God, that was your husband?”
If the above except describes you (minus the discus I hope) then read this article () from Dan John as posted on T-Nation
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“Perhaps the development of atherosclerosis is a part of being human.”
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1940212,00.html#ixzz0XKrNDViH
Turns out the mummies of ancient Egypt are giving us insight into their exceedingly high rates of obesity, heard disease, and diabetes. Guess we can (like the researcher who is quoted above) close up shop and concede that we are all destined to be sickly and fat!
Well, Dr. Eades from “Protein Power life Plan” shows that the Egyptian”s could have fit right in with out typical “low-fat-high-carb-low-protein-prescription-for-a-short-life” American diet!
Read more: http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/uncategorized/obesity-in-ancient-egypt/
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Vacation in Maui…L10XF style!!!
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Poke around the fitness industry and you will find endless debate as to what the single best exercise is. The debate usually start of like this, “So, your stranded on an Island with only a Wilson volleyball (here), and the equipment to perform one single single exercise to help pass the time. What movement are you going to choose?” In thinking over this grand exercise experiment I deveated from the norm and expanded our options slightly. I decided to put forth a full body and upper body movement. Now admittedly these movements are making their appearance because they have been absent from our training and are therefore requiring a specific adaptation to the demands imposed by the newly introduced exercise (specific adaptation to imposed demands). However, these movements are fun (relatively!) and challenging…So give them a shot and report back!
The Sled
The first time I tried this thing I wanted to hide it in my basement and not let anyone know about this spectacularly painful exercise. Seriously, it may be the single most taxing exercise this side of the high rep clean and jerk! However, its primitive nature makes it such a great exercise. It takes zero coordination (good for me!) which means you can get to work in about a second after showing the movement to someone. And because the sled can be pushed empty or with a ton of weight scaleability is exceptionally straight forward. So, if you”re board and got just a few minutes to shuttle all the blood in your body to your legs, get on the sled and cancel whatever you had planned for the rest of your day!
The ab wheel
I am not sure if there is an upper-body exercise that can so thoroughly destroy your shoulders, triceps, lats, chest…and oh yeah, your abs!
I vaguely remember seeing this exercise tool from the 70″s and 80″s next to my father”s old plastic barbell set when I was a kid. The thing collected dust, and now I know why…The movement is flipp”n hard! Few people do this exercise because few people can. Greg (pictured above) provided a great example of the range of motion required for a properly executed Ab wheel/roll out. Once fully laid-out try to “dig a ditch” with you arms so as to bring your chest, triceps, and abs into the movement. The biggest mistake people make with this movement is backing their hips out rather than pulling through with their hands. In this instance the arms will stay parallel with the upper body, essentially cheating the movement by taking the emphasis off the upper-body. 100 Ab wheel/rollouts in as few sets as possible is a fun little challenge that will leave a mark. If you looking for even more excitement try pausing at the bottom, or better yet slap on a weighted vest and see where that gets ya!
Oh, did I mention the thing costs about $6 and can be toted anywhere? Another reason this marvel from the infomercial world is worth a reunion.