Crossfit update

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.