So I've been doing Crossfit for a little more than a month now, and I am hooked. No rhabdomyolysis yet* but you can always hope...
I've been pretty good about sticking to the workout of the day, at least as much of it as I can do. I haven't changed my diet by much, other than watching portion size and resisting empty calories (somewhat difficult to do during the Eating Season- seems like everybody at work had some form of calorie-dense goodie on their desk at some point this month.)
Results? Down 6-8 pounds, depending on how many carbs I've had recently and how much post-exercise water weight I'm carrying. I tend to bulk up a bit when I'm sore. I'm sore a lot these days. Waist is down by about an inch and a half.
Strength and endurance are up. Yesterday I shoveled the driveway- about 5-6 inches of heavy wet snow. I didn't need to stop nearly as often as I used to. Even though my back was telling me I'd worked it, I managed to finish in record time.
After that, I hauled Mugs off to the gym to do the WOD (Workout of the Day)- Deadlifts. She managed 90 pounds, which is really good considering she's starting out and is still working on her form. I managed 350 pounds, 25 pounds more than my last PR from 2 weeks ago, and 125 pounds more than I'd ever deadlifted before Crossfit. Progress in other areas has been fantastic as well. I'm so impressed with the program that I'm trying to find a way to set up my own gym... drop me a line if you're in the Eastern Metro of the Twin Cities and want to work something out. I can tell it will only be so long before the gym I belong to just won't cut it anymore.
*The New York Times published a poorly researched article by Stephanie Cooperman about Crossfit recently called "Getting Fit, Even if it Kills You." The article got many things right, but the author apparently didn't even go near the FAQ. She focused on the potential dangers of the workout, blatantly ignoring the warnings and advisories plainly stated in the "how to get started" section of the site. Such wilful ignorance may make for good hysteria/circulation boosting, but it's shoddy journalism. Still, any publicity is good publicity. The message boards are now full of "read the article, got interested in the workouts" postings. Drink up, people, there's plenty more Kool-Aid to go around.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
The rarest of things...
Calvin Woodward posts a wonderful story about riding his bicycle across the country. Bravo. For the first time in a long time, a major news outlet manages to post something that isn't cynical, controversial, mean-spirited, or disheartening. Bravo (again.) I wish it wasn't so notable. We have so much, we live in such wonderful times full of possibility and hope- Woodward manages to tap into this spirit... tells us that people are extraordinarily good and kind, that they have stories that need to be told and make sense when you see them in the correct light.
Bicycles do this sort of thing to people. They are nefarious instruments of reflection. By forcing you to slow down from 70+ miles per hour of "want want want to get there" to a more manageable pace of "how far can I get?" they make you experience what you're passing through.
I love many forms of transportation. Motorcycles are great because kinesthetically they make sense- they lean to the inside in a corner. They go like hell, and you can thunder along feeling your own little rebellious fantasies come and go as they will. Also, conversation is hard even if you're traveling with somebody, so you get to be alone with your thoughts for as long as the ride lasts. This time for reflection is increasingly hard to come by.
Running is good too. But you don't get very far very fast, and if you do, then you don't have the spare energy to notice what you're running through. My moments of appreciation when running happen when I stop, and notice that suddenly I'm in a glade of birch trees or on top of a hill with a fantastic view of Monterey Bay.
Air travel sucks. Especially that little "ding" noise they make to ensure that when you do drift off to sleep you don't get any good dreaming done. Sorry Shahv*. I'd enjoy it more if I was the one doing the flying, but as a passenger with an 8x10 view of the world, it doesn't rate.
Car travel just is. It's hard to say that it's good, given what it's done to the world in terms of urban sprawl, pollution, accidents, inactivity, and the like. But it's hard to say that it's all bad- I love cars, after all. College cross country booty call drives. Long roadtrips that clear the head and deliver you to your chosen destination feeling as though you've traveled through a wormhole populated by fading radio stations, gummi worms you know you shouldn't have eaten, and too much bad gas-station coffee.
Walking I'm not a big fan of. It just seems so... punitively slow. Take a dog out for a walk and he will run as much as he can. He will only walk when his legs are too tired to run, or when you make him. Life is more fun when seen at some speed greater than 4 miles an hour but less than 25. Walking is like listening to a presentation from somebody who insists on reading (usually in a monotone) every single word on every single overfilled 14-point Helvetica PowerPoint slide.
But bicycles. Bicycles are just right. Fast enough to see 50 miles of decent views in a day. Easy enough that you don't have to pay attention every.single.moment, and can absorb what you're riding through. As Woodward notes, you sense every hill, every undulation. You can feel wind, humidity, temperature. You can smell things that would be lost in a car.
It occurs to me that I have neglected my bicycle(s) for too long. At last count, I owned 5 or 6. What on the earth am I doing not riding them as much as I can?
Driving, running, and flying, that's what. I think that ratio needs to change a little.
*Shahv is a pilot friend of mine with a self-confessed jones to get above 10,000 feet at least once a week.
Bicycles do this sort of thing to people. They are nefarious instruments of reflection. By forcing you to slow down from 70+ miles per hour of "want want want to get there" to a more manageable pace of "how far can I get?" they make you experience what you're passing through.
I love many forms of transportation. Motorcycles are great because kinesthetically they make sense- they lean to the inside in a corner. They go like hell, and you can thunder along feeling your own little rebellious fantasies come and go as they will. Also, conversation is hard even if you're traveling with somebody, so you get to be alone with your thoughts for as long as the ride lasts. This time for reflection is increasingly hard to come by.
Running is good too. But you don't get very far very fast, and if you do, then you don't have the spare energy to notice what you're running through. My moments of appreciation when running happen when I stop, and notice that suddenly I'm in a glade of birch trees or on top of a hill with a fantastic view of Monterey Bay.
Air travel sucks. Especially that little "ding" noise they make to ensure that when you do drift off to sleep you don't get any good dreaming done. Sorry Shahv*. I'd enjoy it more if I was the one doing the flying, but as a passenger with an 8x10 view of the world, it doesn't rate.
Car travel just is. It's hard to say that it's good, given what it's done to the world in terms of urban sprawl, pollution, accidents, inactivity, and the like. But it's hard to say that it's all bad- I love cars, after all. College cross country booty call drives. Long roadtrips that clear the head and deliver you to your chosen destination feeling as though you've traveled through a wormhole populated by fading radio stations, gummi worms you know you shouldn't have eaten, and too much bad gas-station coffee.
Walking I'm not a big fan of. It just seems so... punitively slow. Take a dog out for a walk and he will run as much as he can. He will only walk when his legs are too tired to run, or when you make him. Life is more fun when seen at some speed greater than 4 miles an hour but less than 25. Walking is like listening to a presentation from somebody who insists on reading (usually in a monotone) every single word on every single overfilled 14-point Helvetica PowerPoint slide.
But bicycles. Bicycles are just right. Fast enough to see 50 miles of decent views in a day. Easy enough that you don't have to pay attention every.single.moment, and can absorb what you're riding through. As Woodward notes, you sense every hill, every undulation. You can feel wind, humidity, temperature. You can smell things that would be lost in a car.
It occurs to me that I have neglected my bicycle(s) for too long. At last count, I owned 5 or 6. What on the earth am I doing not riding them as much as I can?
Driving, running, and flying, that's what. I think that ratio needs to change a little.
*Shahv is a pilot friend of mine with a self-confessed jones to get above 10,000 feet at least once a week.
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