The phrase "mind your own business" has a negative connotation in today's lexicon, but when it comes to your fitness, minding your own business is some of the best advice I can give to you. Stop worrying about what others are doing or how they're doing it, and focus on doing the best you can for yourself. If you spend too much time and energy worrying about others, then don't be surprised if you don't have enough to what's right for you!

But minding your own business/fitness doesn't just mean stop looking at other people... it means to do everything you can to give yourself a clear picture of what you're doing at the moment, how you can improve upon it, and what things you have to do in order to reach those goals. In other words, log your nutrition and workouts, make the most out of your time in the gym, and use your coaches to help you set attainable goals & the plan to reach them. 

We're entering the second week of our challenge and I'm curious how your first week went... Sound off in the comments!

Today's Workout
3x5 Back Squats (add 5lbs. to last week's squats)
then...
3 rounds:
AMRAP 3 minutes-
3 Back Squats (75% of 5RM)
4 Handstand Push-ups
5 Box Jumps (30/24)
*rest 1 minute between rounds

Posted by Zareh.

As a strength and conditioning coach, I often come across athletes who have dietary restrictions due to ethical or moral beliefs. While I applaud people for sticking with their principles, I always try to understand why people hold specific beliefs regarding food. I recently came across a great blog post regarding the ethics of eating meat (it was in response to a request by the NYT to its readers for essays on the subject). I've linked it above and copied it below (thanks to Craig Fear):

"Very few in the modern world grow their own food anymore.  We’ve allowed the food industry to oversee food production for us.  For decades this seemed like a good bargain.  I don’t know about you, but I know few people who would trade their modern comforts for the manual labor of farm work.

But what we’re waking up to in recent decades is that this bargain has a cost.  There is a growing awareness of the horrors of the industrial model that prioritizes profit over health, that takes more from the earth than it gives back.  At the pinnacle of these horrors are the abuses of animals in factory farms.  Anyone with a pulse can see this model is destructive and unethical.

This kind of meat production lends weight to the argument that it is unethical to eat meat.

The other common argument is that the very nature of killing animals for food is wrong and that we can survive without animal products.

I’d like to address both arguments by asking a question.

If the world’s supply of fossil fuels were to run out tomorrow, what would you eat?

For starters, you wouldn’t eat anything in a supermarket.

Supermarkets are the realm of industrialized food and at the core of this system are the fossil fuels that power the machinery to allow us to farm on a large scale and transport food long distances.  We know fossil fuels are not sustainable.

Without fossil fuels, you would therefore eat what your local environment provided.   For the majority of people on this planet, that would include meat.  Plant-based diets are not natural to climates and landscapes that don’t support varied plant life.  Just ask the Eskimos.

Furthermore, many animals are efficient converters of scrubby vegetation to a usable form of protein for humans.   This has served countless cultures in areas of the globe without tillable soil.  Sometimes I think we forget this in soil-rich America.

And the other point is that when you look at the issue of growing food sustainably, animals are absolutely necessary.  For example, manure is nature’s fertilizer and promotes soil integrity.  Fossil-fuel based fertilizers promote soil erosion.  They have given us vast fields of corn, soybeans and wheat, much of which goes into the processed, nutrient-deficient, lifeless food that fills our supermarket shelves.

Joel Salatin says, “There’s no system in nature that does not have an animal component as a recycling agent.  Doesn’t exist.  Fruits and vegetables do best if there is some animal component with them – chickens or a side shed with rabbits. Manure is magic.”

Historically, this is why we don’t see any traditional cultures that ever voluntarily chose veganism.  Animals have evolved with humans.  Cows, chickens, sheep and pigs would not survive long in the wild.  We provide them life and they give life to us.  It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.

“Meat is murder” is the battle cry of many vegetarians.   But I see more murder in the plastic wrapped, genetically-modified, chemical-sprayed tofu burger than I do in my local grass-fed burger. How many animals had to die for that soybean field to be planted?  I could say the same in just about every plant-based food in supermarkets which destroys the diversity in ecosystems to grow crops unsustainably.

Nature thrives on diversity and that includes animals.  We need to honor the cycles of life and death in our food.  That means choosing foods that promote sustainability.

Eating meat from farms that promote sustainability promotes life in all forms, including ours. This is not only ethical, it is necessary."

Sound off on what you think about the ethics of eating meat in the comments!s

Today's Workout
3RM Power Clean
then...
5 rounds for time:
125m row
5 Power Clean (75% of 5RM)
3 Weighted Pull-ups (35/20)

Posted by Zareh.

There's a way of looking at movement which is called "the pipeline" or "the tunnel".  The idea behind this is that the first phase of a movement (usually the set up) defines how the rest of the movement will go.  If the set up is all messed up when you begin the movement, you've put in motion a specific series of events that will limit the possibilities of success.  Basically, if the successful completion of some movement is resultant on your body and its position in the split second before it and that moment is a result of the moment before it, then that pipeline will end at the very beginning of the movement.

Other than a very interesting way of looking at movement and purpose, the pipeline can be used to look at anything in your life.  Let's say you've set a goal for yourself.  It could be fitness oriented (400 pound deadlift) or career (be a Senior VP in 5 years) or personal (make it to all my kid's soccer games this season) or whatever.  These things are all possibilities in the strict sense that such a thing could just happen in the normal course of how your day to day life unfolds.  But what are you doing to up the odds?

If you set yourself up in the proper pipeline for that goal, you accomplish two things: 1) limit the probability of things derailing you, 2) increase the probability your goal becomes reality.  If you're in the wrong pipeline, the opposite happens (higher chance of unfavorable end results and lower chance of favorable ones).  The challenge is a great example of this: if you're not setting yourself up in the right pipeline, six weeks will pass by and you'll wonder where it all went and how you're not any closer to your goals.

Set yourself up in the right pipeline by getting rid of the bad food in your pantry and buying all new groceries.  Make clean eating and living a high priority for you or you'll fall on your face the first time you go out with friends.  Give yourself some time a couple times a week to cook yourself plenty of food.  Don't get caught unprepared and you can't fail.

The point is simple: your now can help define your later, so build your future into your present.

Today's workout

3x5 Back Squat (add 5 lbs. to Monday's best)

AMRAP 8 minutes of:
20 Overhead walking Lunges (45/25)
10 Plyo Push-ups

Posted by Armen.

A while back I posted about THE SELF CONFIDENCE FORMULA on my personal blog. Today's is in regards to Leadership. And why everyone isn't a leader. Being a leader requires you to continue to move forward regardless of the circumstances. 

The Ten Commandments of Leadership 

A poem hangs on the wall at Mother Teresa's orphanage in India. For all who are called to lead, it is a great reminder of what we should do:


1. People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered (including me). Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the littlest people with the littlest ideas. Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
9. People really need help, but may attack you if you do help them. Help them anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you will get kicked in the teeth. Give the best you have anyway.

Today's Workout:
3 Rounds for Time
800m run
50 Arch Rocks
50 Sit-Ups


Posted by Chris.

I found this really great blog on the 5 greatest and worst moments in My CrossFit World. Not only is this a really good exercise to see how much Crossfit impacts your life on a daily basis,  It is a great way to track your milestones i.e doing this when you first start Crossfit and revisiting maybe every 6 months and seeing how much it grows and changes.Ultimately leading you to see your fitness journey progress in many ways (sometimes good and bad).I thought I would lead by example and start us off...

So here are my Greatest Moments and some of my Hardest Moments in CrossFit:

Greatest (in no particular order):

1. Walking into CrossFit not being able to do a pullup, and telling the coach "I will never be able to do that" and then not only doing it but being able to eventually do 55 in a row.. Overcoming many movements that were not in my realm of thought that now are in my wods often!

2. Opening my own CrossFit Affiliate in 2009.

3. Getting to take my passion for CF and coach, inspire, empower, and change the lives of people day-in and day-out!

4. Going to regionals in 2009 with the CrossFit Sioux Falls team. It was so great to work so hard for a goal and push yourself to a level you didn't know you could get to.

5. Getting to do this with my Best Friend, My Partner for life, and My Coach each day; My husband! He makes me want to get better in all aspects as a coach, mentor, crossfitter, and leader and I truly thank him each day for introducing me to this wonderful sport of fitness!

Hardest Moments in CrossFit:

1. Saying goodbye to our members in Sioux Falls, closing one chapter and moving on to the next chapter was by far the hardest moment for me!

2. Having a nagging shoulder injury that has really made me have to modify, sub, and has become very frustrating; knowing I can do movements mentally that unfortunately my shoulder can just not take!

3. Having to leave your ego at the door, and be appreciative of the work that you do that day. Strive to improve, but also accepting where you are today!

4. Going from owning a CrossFit to having to work out by yourself each day with no one encouraging you, pushing you, and having only yourself to rely on, with no "community" support.

5. Knowing I have to pull back the reigns on my passion for CrossFit in order to obtain my ultimate passions in life.

So CrossFitters What Are your 5 greatest and hardest moments thus far in your Crossfit journey?

Answer in the comments below....

3...2...1...

Post!

Today's Workout
5RM Deadlift
then...
4 rounds for time of:
100m Farmer's Walk
7 Toes-to-Bar
11 Kettlebell Swings (70/53)

Posted by Annie.

Ten days ago, I posted a brief blog about "secret sauce" and how there's no such thing as secret sauce when it comes to your fitness. At CrossFit 818, we believe in teaching our members how to make fitness an everyday part of their lives, and one of the ways we do that is sitting down with each member to discuss their reasons for working out and the specific goals they want to reach.

For the next couple of weeks, we'll be introducing programming that includes a specific barbell element almost every day of the week. The goal will be to give you some insight into how different training programs prepare you for different outcomes, and the heavy lifting will go great with the first few weeks of our nutritional challenge! All you metcon junkies have nothing to worry about, as this is definitely not a permanent change to CrossFit 818's regular programming and each week will include at least one longer conditioning workout. 

For everyone who is participating in the CrossFit 818 Six Weeks to Summer Challenge, please make sure to review the details here and don't waste any time getting your pictures and your "Helen" baseline recorded!

Today's Workout
5RM Back Squat
then...
6 rounds of 1 minute on, 30 seconds off:
5 Burpees
Max Rep Dumbbell Thrusters

Posted by Zareh.

The CrossFit 818 Six Weeks to Summer Challenge officially starts today. Every class will be completing "Helen" and you'll have opportunities to take your before and after pictures, as well. If you can't make it into the gym today, you can make up both the pictures and the workout over the weekend. If you haven't signed up yet, what are you waiting for?! We already have over 40 participants and that means that there are about 90 of you who haven't signed up yet! You entrance fee gives not only puts some skin in the game, but also gets you an extra class a week for the duration of the challenge! It's not too late to get yourself in the challenge, just talk to one of your coaches today!

Also, we say goodbye to one of our current members who is moving to Utah today. Don't be a stranger, Daniel!

Today's Workout
CrossFit 818 Six Weeks to Summer Challenge Baseline
"Helen"

3 rounds for time of:
400m run
21 Kettlebell Swings (53/35)
12 Pull-ups

Posted by Zareh.

So the Six Weeks to Summer Challenge is gonna start up soon and there are a few very important details that you've gotta know in order to do the best you can over the course of the next 6 weeks.

Logging your nutrition

Remember that this challenge is both about your nutrition and performance, so logging your nutrition is going to be a key part of winning.  How key?  If you don't log your nutrition, you could be disqualified!  So what's involved?  It's very simple: you'll create a new gmail account, join the 818 Paleo Posse Group, and get access to the Six Weeks to Summer Challenge Food Log.

Here's how: 
Go to Gmail.com and click the red button in the top right corner that says "Create An Account."  Follow all the instructions on the site and fill out all the info it asks for.  When it asks you for your email you will use the following template: first initial, last name dot 818 paleo posse @ gmail dot com.  So if my name is John Doe, my new account is "jdoe.818paloeposse@gmail.com."  If you have any trouble with this, let us know and we'll help you getting this set up.  

This account is required for a couple reasons: 1) to participate in the online google groups forum, 2) to have access to the official food log.  Both of these are required for the challenge.  We can help if you have any issues with these, so no excuses.

Once you've got this email set up, email either aamirian.818paleoposse@gmail.com or cmello.818paleoposse@gmail.com and we'll share the food log document with you so you can get started!

If you participated in our last Paleo challenge, you can use the same email address you used last time.  Just be sure to get a hold of me or Chris so we can send you the food log for this challenge.

Attending the Paleo Posse meetings

You've also got a great opportunity to get even more out of this challenge by attending our weekly Paleo Posse nutrition meetings on Monday nights at 7:30 PM at the gym.  The meetings will run anywhere from 30 minutes to about an hour at most.  You'll have a chance to check in with everyone else, talk about the easiest/hardest parts of the challenge, and even learn some tips and tricks for success.

These meetings are not mandatory, but if you do attend, your chances of winning will significantly improve.  Last time we did a challenge like this, almost everyone who won a prize regularly attended the weekly meetings.

Using your extra class

The extra class that comes with the challenge is exactly that: an extra class every week for 6 weeks.  There are no strings attached, no specific time you need to show up, no tricks at all.  We want you to have everything you need to succeed and this challenge is about improving your physique and improving your fitness too, so you just get to take one more class each week.  You'll sign in for it just like usual and if any issues arise during that process, let one of the coaches know so we can take care of it on our end.

Taking your before pictures

Yes, yes: we will need to take both before and after pictures for this challenge.  How else will we know how much your physique has improved?!  So how will that work?  You can take your "before" picture at any time starting Friday April 20th.  On Friday, each class will be designed in order to have a little time in the beginning of class for pictures to be taken.  If you can't attend on Friday, don't sweat it: Saturday afternoon, during the Wreck Shop, will be a perfect time to come in to get your picture taken!  And if that doesn't work, let one of the coaches know and we'll gladly find a new time to make it happen.

Getting your prelim "Helen" score

You'll have to get a prelim score for your "Helen" in as soon as possible!  Luckily you'll get a chance to do "Helen" all day on Friday during class.  If you can't attend class on Friday, your best bet is to come in on Saturday afternoon to the Wreck Shop to make it up.  If you can't make it up then either, you should talk to one of the coaches so we can schedule a time for you to come in and get it done!

I know this is a lot of info, but I promise it's not that complicated.  If you have any questions, email me (armen@crossfit818.com), or ask one of the coaches and we'll help you out!  Good luck :)

Today's Workout

For time:

30 deadlifts (95/65)
30 hang power cleans
30 thrusters

EMOTM 5 burpees

Posted by Armen.

With the "Six Weeks to Summer Paleo Challenge" fast approaching. I got to thinking about all the crazy fad diets out there and then I laughed out loud (literally:-). 
Love it or Hate it Fad Diets are going to be around for a long time. The reason why…obesity will continue to be a problem far into the future. With the latest statistics showing more than one-third U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down any time soon.

Now that we all know the TRUTH (aka Paleo), tell us:

-How many fad diets have you tried in the past?
-What were they?
-Did they work? Why?
-Did they not work? Why?
-Give us your take on them now.
-What would you tell your family/friends/co-workers/neighbor or anyone you know if they came to you and asked you about a fad diet? What advice would you give them?

Here is a crazy diet out there…your favorite and mine…the Twinkie Diet

Post your thoughts to the comments. 

Today's Workout: 
Find 1 RM Press
Then...
3 rounds
8 Push Press (95/75)
16 Jumping Lunges
Rest 30 seconds
8 Toe to Bar
16 Mountain Climbers (2 count)
Rest 30 seconds

Post by Chris. 

This Friday marks the beginning of our CrossFit 818 Six Weeks To Summer Challenge! If you haven't signed up yet, what are you waiting for? The challenge has both a nutritional element and a benchmark CrossFit WoD element. You'll have all weekend to take your before pictures and set your "Helen" baseline. Our friends at Stronger Faster Healthier and Lululemon will be sponsoring the event and as part of your entrance fee you'll have access to an extra class a week for the duration of the six week challenge, as well as the weekly "Paleo Posse" support group meetings on Monday nights at 7:30pm. Oh and did I mention cash prizes and ridiculous results?!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask one of your coaches. I encourage EVERYONE to participate!

One of the perks of having my own blog is posting ridiculously cute videos/pics of my 9 month old son, Zach!

Today's Workout
AMRAP 8 Minutes of:
7 Squats (185/115)
7 Burpees

Rest 2 minutes

AMRAP 8 Minutes of:
7 Deadlifts (185/115)
7 Burpees

Posted by Zareh.