January 6, 2010 in Events, Nutrition, Real Food Challenge by Turbo

1st Annual CFW Real Food Challenge

Eat meats and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar.

It’s the first line of World Class Fitness in 100 Words.  It’s also the most underestimated in its role in our fitness and performance.

Every day at the gym, I look around and I’m filled with pride at the dedication, energy and intensity everyone brings to the workouts.  I see people pushing each other to get one more rep, yelling at the top of their lungs encouraging a fellow athlete to lift just 5 more pounds, or mustering up whatever is left in the tank to push that last sprint just a little harder.  Every week our PR board overflows with an array of colored dry erase markers.  Every time I look at that board I’m encouraged and motivated as a coach because I know that everyone is getting better all the time.  It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see this kind of commitment and excitement about what we do here.  The ultimate goal: to make people happy by making them healthy.

Now we’re going to challenge you to take it to the next level.  If you really want to start seeing results it’s time to start thinking more about what you put into your body.  You put the effort into your training, now I challenge you to put the same effort into your diet.  This week, we welcomed our On Ramp class.  As part of this introduction to CrossFit, we sent our On Rampers a Food and Shopping Guide, which you can download here.  It’s all about eating real food, so that’s exactly what we are going to call this event: The Real Food Challenge.

The details:

• 8 weeks of simple paleo “real food” nutrition.  This means no processed foods, no sugar, no grains.  Simply follow the motto: meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch no sugar, as described in our food and shopping guide.
• The challenge starts on January 18^th and ends on March 14^th and is open to all CrossFit Winnipeg members and On Ramp students.
• To register, you must submit 3 before photos: front, back and side views.  Men in shorts only and ladies in a shorts and a sports bra.  These photos must be taken between January 1^st, 2010 and January 15^th, 2010 and submitted to me via email by January 15^th.  We can take the picture at the gym if you like.  No one but the coaches will see these pictures unless you are in the final 6.
• You must log your food choices on our Real Food Challenge blog.  We’ll do separate posts for you to log your meals, and we’ll link to them in the Workout of the day post so you’ll know where to log.  Weeks 1 and 2 we will log Breakfast choices , weeks 3 and 4 we will log our lunches , weeks 5 and 6 will be dinner and weeks 7 and 8 will be snacks.  The blog will include some themed discussions on sleep, hydration, stress, inflammation, etc.
• To help you along, we will hold nutrition meeetings every two weeks during the challenge.  This will be an opportunity to meet with coaches and other participants to discuss your progress.  The first meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 from 7:00 to 8:00PM.
• Within 5 days of the end of the Challenge, you must submit 3 after photos and a short testimonial (a paragraph or two) explaining what this experience has done for you.  We must receive this via email by March 19th at the latest.
• All participants will then vote for the winner out of the top 6. The before and after pics for the top 6 will be viewed offline and we will not post anything on the website without your permission.

• The coaching staff will pick the final 3 men and 3 women based on the following:
  • Body Composition Changes from the before and after photos.
  • Performance improvements in the gym.
  • Participation in the “Real Food Challenge” Blog.

• The prize is 3 months of unlimited training at CrossFit Winnipeg and a free On Ramp for a friend.
• The runner up will receive some CFW gear.

Tips to get started:

• Read about the paleo/primal lifestyle on our Nutrition page.
• Scour the house and empty your cupboards of all the sugary processed stuff.
• Read labels!  If it comes in a box, and has funny names listed in the ingredients that you don’t recognize, you probably shouldn’t be eating it.
• Play with spices!
• Drink tons of water.
• Planning food for the week:
  • Cook a big batch of chicken or other protein and keep it refrigerated in containers to use throughout the week for meals or in your favorite dishes. The crockpot is a great tool for this.
  • Cook batches of veggies and keep them refrigerated in containers to use throughout the week for meals.   Always keep  a few bags of frozen veggies in the freezer for when you need a quick meal.
  • Whenever you make anything, whether it’s a stir-fry, a salad, an omelet, make 3 times as much as you need and separate it into smaller containers for lunch and snacks the next day.

January 1, 2010 in Team Workout by Turbo

Friday, January 1st, 2010

abs, abs, abs

Join us for a team workout at 1:00PM and bring a salad or some meat or some nuts or whatever other real food you might want to share with the group.

I’d like to wish everyone a happy new year, filled with hope, health, strength and peace!

I’ve been reading new year’s resolutions on the the internet all morning. Turns out that about 7 out of the top 10 new year’s resolutions for 2010 are health and fitness related. You are all commited to your health and fitness already, so rather than asking you to post a resolution, I’d like to see everyone post their top training goal for 2010. This is tough because you only get one. My list includes a 95lb snatch, a 200lbs back squat and a full ROM handstand push-up without kipping, double bodyweight deadlift, a sub 5 minute Fran, a sub 5 minute Grace and the list goes on and on.   However, the single most important goal for me is improvement in my mental game.  So that’s it, if I have to narrow it down to one, there you go.  Alright, your turn: post your single most important training goal for 2010…

–Coach T

December 29, 2009 in Events by Brendan Sonnichsen

CrossFit Competition Team Meeting

If you have any interest in trying a crossfit competition, then make your way to this meeting on Sunday, Jan 3 at 11 am. This will be a brief meeting, a q & a opportunity, etc. No commitment to competing is expected or necessary for you to attend this meeting.

December 20, 2009 in Events by Turbo

New Year’s Team WOD and Paleo Potluck Brunch

Start off 2010 right,  with a team workout followed by a paleo potluck brunch.  We usually have the team workouts at 9:00 but I think it’s wise to push this one back a little.  So we’ll have the team workout at 1:00pm, followed by a post workout brunch.  We’ll keep the workout very short and I want you all to bring your favourite recipes.

December 18, 2009 in Events by Turbo

On Ramp Session #2 Starts

On Ramp Session #2 starts January 18th: Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings, from 6:00AM to 7:00AM for 4 weeks.

Our On Ramp class as a precursor to the regular CrossFit regimen. This one-month, 12-class program is an “on-ramp” to the “highway” that is CrossFit. We will train you proper exercise mechanics and techniques at relatively light loads. You will become consistent with those mechanics under the watchful eye of our coaches. Finally, you will learn how to bring up the intensity to increase your work capacity. We will be showing you movements in the beginning that are relatively non-technical, then progressively become more technical. Clients are welcome to stay in this program as long as they feel necessary, and also return to this program at any future time to reinforce their fundamentals.

The cost is $150 for all 12 classes. Download the CFW On Ramp Registration Form Jan 2010 and return with payment to CrossFit Winnipeg via email, fax, or in person.

December 18, 2009 in Events by Turbo

On Ramp Session #1 Starts

On Ramp Session #1 starts January 4th: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday evenings, from 6:00pm to 7:00pm for 4 weeks.

Our On Ramp class as a precursor to the regular CrossFit regimen. This one-month, 12-class program is an “on-ramp” to the “highway” that is CrossFit. We will train you proper exercise mechanics and techniques at relatively light loads. You will become consistent with those mechanics under the watchful eye of our coaches. Finally, you will learn how to bring up the intensity to increase your work capacity. We will be showing you movements in the beginning that are relatively non-technical, then progressively become more technical. Clients are welcome to stay in this program as long as they feel necessary, and also return to this program at any future time to reinforce their fundamentals.

The cost is $150 for all 12 classes. Download the CFW On Ramp Registration Form Jan 2010 and return with payment to CrossFit Winnipeg via email, fax, or in person.