Nutrition, Diet, and Exercise: Notes, Goals, and Resources (these people just keep talking about crossfit)

[JayKay PE]

More daily jk fitness update:

Gym last night was dumbbell bench press. 2x8 followed by 6x4 with 3 second delay. I was dumb and didn't realize the 8 reps were part of the workout, not as a warmup, so I ended up doing 2x8 and 8x4. Did mostly 35lbs on the delay bench, but I did attempt/do 40lb dumbbells for the last round of negatives. I don't know what this means, exactly. Then we had to do 60 of each: bench push-ups, tricep pressdown (with band), bent over rows, and bicep curls. I did 3 rounds of 20 each. Pushups...were not fun. I am so bad at them. I did them on my knees, but it was still hard to get my chest to the bench. Conditioning was tabata (which I learned rhymes with ciabatta and not Tabatha) of :20/:10 x8 for each block: jump lunges/DB snatch & ring rows/burpees. I did like 3 jump lunges, my ankle got angry, and I switched to regular lunges. DB snatch was only 25lbs, but it was hard with the minimal rest in between. Ring rows...could have been more difficult, except the timing made me go a little shallow. Burpees...I just checked our app, burpees were actually supposed to be mountain climbers, but they were burpees and I feel betrayed. I did do 'real' burpees, around 3 per :20sec, but they included all the motions and I didn't stop, so obviously means I'm maybe getting better at them.

I'll take small victories!

 

[JayKay PE]

Forgot to update from last night:

Deficit deadlift. 6 rounds of 4. BAM. Did the same as I deadlifted on Saturday: 207lbs. There was no accessory, just a horrible conditioning. 4 rounds, 6 minutes non-stop each round, with a 2 minute break in-between each 6 minute block. 10 cal row/8 box jumps, 10 cal bike/1 lap heavy sled push, 10 ring rows/15 air squats, and 10 dumbbell lunges/2 running laps. I...wanted to die, but I made it through. I also used the roller a little on my back-HOMG. So painful. So tight! Super happy I have a massage scheduled for Friday afternoon.

I want to try and go a minimum of 4 times a week, to be serious about this workout thing. I am skipping tonight/Thursday because I have a crazy project that suddenly fell into my lap that has a lot of higher-level stakeholders involved (aka: jk needs to impress people so I can be left alone for the rest of my contract period), so I'm going OT tonight, Friday and Saturday. I'll go to the gym Friday morning (6am), which is what I usually do on my regular day off, and then I'll do Saturday class. Trying to keep a fitness routine is hard.

 

[JayKay PE]

Update from Friday:

Friday 6am workout = sumo deadlift, 5x5. Hit 205lbs. Prob could have gone more, but I want to keep my form if possible. Plus it feels weird to be starting my sets with 20kg plates when I used to start with 10kg. Accessory was 4 rounds of pull-ups (5-8), single leg squat to bench (using a 10lb plate, 7 each leg), and x-band walk (10 steps in each direction). Conditioning was 20-15-10-5 of wall balls, slam balls, and calories on the rower. We were aiming for 10minutes or under. So angry! I finished in 10minutes 12 seconds. I def paused the most on the wall balls, I'm so bad at them, but I am happy that my time was semi-comparable and that I wasn't super longer than the estimated time.

 

[squaretaper LIT AF PE]

Burpees are a special form of torture, IMO.

 

[csb]

Yeah, so your gym might not pay the affiliate fee, but you're definitely at a CrossFit gym.

This morning was a hang power snatch followed by a hang squat snatch. I PRd by 5 pounds, but boy, do I have to remember to lock in that core. After that was grunt work- 200m sled drag, 100m DB bear hug carry, 100m farmers carry, 2 rounds. I chose poorly- I went with the 103-pound sled, the 60-pound DB, and 35-lb on the KB. The farmers was the only thing that wasn't killing me- everything else was awful.

 

[JayKay PE]

@csb lol, I believe the trainer who does all the programming for the fitness classes used to be involved with a CrossFit gym? But our gym itself isn’t CrossFit (the fitness class is such a small part of the entire gym, which focuses on Olympic lifts). Idk. I just go to die.

Todays class: push press. Got up to 83lbs. Maybe could have gone up more, but it was 5 rounds of 6 and I wanted to end good. Especially since we had a ton of arm stuff for accessory and conditioning. Accessory was 5 rounds, every 2 minutes, 40 second plank, 5 chin-ups, 10 push-ups. Chin ups I did with a black band (got hard near the end). Push-ups I did on my knees since I’m focusing on keeping my elbows back. It was hard. The conditioning was miserable. 12 single arm dumbbell snatches (6 each side), 12 goblet squat, and 12 squat thrusts. I picked a higher weight than the other girls (surprisingly? 20lb snatch and blue kettlebell for squats). Everyone wanted to die. But I finished the five rounds, so I’ll count it as a win!!!

also, got my new ninja blender. I made a smoothie. The blender was super loud, but, damn, I had a smoothie in a minute. So. I’m impressed.

 

[Tiger15]

@csb lol, I believe the trainer who does all the programming for the fitness classes used to be involved with a CrossFit gym? But our gym itself isn’t CrossFit (the fitness class is such a small part of the entire gym, which focuses on Olympic lifts). Idk. I just go to die.

Olympic lifts (which are the snatch and the clean and jerk) are 2 of the primary movement of CrossFit. #ijs

Ultimately it doesn't matter. I'm not a CrossFit evangelist. What's important is that you found something that you enjoy and that's working for you.

 

[JayKay PE]

Olympic lifts (which are the snatch and the clean and jerk) are 2 of the primary movement of CrossFit. #ijs

Ultimately it doesn't matter. I'm not a CrossFit evangelist. What's important is that you found something that you enjoy and that's working for you.

So technically, going from that, every CrossFit gym is actually an Olympic lifting gym since they use two Olympic movements as their primary movements?

We do snatch/clean and jerk with dumbbells during the fitness class, not with a bar, so, again, not too sure how 'crossfit' that is. Let me just work out. The gym is an Olympic gym. Their fitness class is literally 2 hours out of their entire schedule.

 

[Supe]

I've had two heavier workouts since my training session with the gym owner, including a heavier deadlift session, with no low back flareups so far. I follow the warmup routines he's given me which often results in some lower back or hip discomfort, because you can tell the stuff that's not normally releasing has just been worked and is fatigued after very light effort. But, it has been enough to prevent the spasms and looks promising.

 

[JayKay PE]

I've been meaning to ask, @Supe, did you actually compete with weightlifting or were you more towards Oly? I'm super happy that your warmup routine is working and things are releasing! I'm trying to keep up with my fitness classes (4x a week), but I'm getting more and more interested in the Oly stuff since I see it so much and I'm trying to figure out if I want to attempt it or not...

 

[Supe]

I've been meaning to ask, @Supe, did you actually compete with weightlifting or were you more towards Oly? I'm super happy that your warmup routine is working and things are releasing! I'm trying to keep up with my fitness classes (4x a week), but I'm getting more and more interested in the Oly stuff since I see it so much and I'm trying to figure out if I want to attempt it or not...

I've only ever trained for strongman, never powerlifting or oly. Powerlifting never interested me, and I don't have the wrist or shoulder mobility for olympic movements.

 

[Tiger15]

So technically, going from that, every CrossFit gym is actually an Olympic lifting gym since they use two Olympic movements as their primary movements?

We do snatch/clean and jerk with dumbbells during the fitness class, not with a bar, so, again, not too sure how 'crossfit' that is. Let me just work out. The gym is an Olympic gym. Their fitness class is literally 2 hours out of their entire schedule.

I wouldn't say that. CrossFit is "cross-functional" by definition. It incorporates Olympic lifts (snatch/clean & jerk), some powerlifting (deadlifts & back squats, but not really bench press. Many people argue bench press strength isn't functional strength.), plyometrics (box jumps), calisthenics (muscle ups, handstand push up, burpees, etc), cardio (jump rope specifically double unders, rowing, etc), and all the progressions and accessory work related to this stuff. Lots of other stuff that I"m probably not thinking of, but I tried to hit the highlights. The idea is to be capable of doing anything without being specialized in any specific thing.

Many gyms use a similar philosophy of doing a little bit of everything even if they don't call it CrossFit, because it's very popular and effective for many people.

A true Olympic lift focused workout would be limited to Snatch and Clean&Jerk and the accessory and progressions for those specific exercises (deadlifts, front squats, shrugs, etc), but wouldn't touch on most of these other. I doubt you'd ever do bench press if you're only training for Olyimic lifts.

One thing that is specific to CrossFit (which I don't always agree with) is that in competition all workouts are done as quickly as possible. So not necessarily every workout that you do. But speed is always a goal to work towards. I love the high intensity of that (because I hate doing cardio), but some people and some coaches/trainers take it too far. That's where form can break down and things can get dangerous if people aren't careful, aren't coached correctly, or don't know what they are doing. I don't think any of those other disciplines focus on speed at all ... well, except for cardio.

 

[JayKay PE]

Dude. Just let me do my workout. I don't care about crossfit. I just want to do my fitness class and not be judged on where it 'fits'.

 

[Tiger15]

Dude. Just let me do my workout. I don't care about crossfit. I just want to do my fitness class and not be judged on where it 'fits'.

No judgement. See below

Ultimately it doesn't matter. I'm not a CrossFit evangelist. What's important is that you found something that you enjoy and that's working for you.

I was just responding to you asking about "every CrossFit gym is actually an Olympic lifting gym since they use two Olympic movements as their primary movements?"

 

[leggo PE]

Read the title of this thread.. Isn’t there another thread to talk about CrossFit? Contact @Road Guy with questions!

 

[Tiger15]

Read the title of this thread.. Isn’t there another thread to talk about CrossFit? Contact @Road Guy with questions!

This used to be the one thread for everything, crossfit and non-crossfit. At some point RG made a separate CrossFit thread and it hasn't gotten as much use.
https://engineerboards.com/threads/nutrition-diet-and-elite-fitness-notes-goals-and-resources.36049/(Technically this thread is "nutrition, diet, and exercise" and the other thread is "nutrition, diet, and elite fitness". I don't consider CrossFit more elite than other fitness disciplines, but whatevs.)

Then the crossfit world blew up and lots of gyms stopped licensing the name after the creater/CEO made some unpopular statements. Which leads me to the ultimate philosophical question:

What even is CrossFit? Is that only for the gyms that license the name? Is it any cross functional workout? Where do you draw the line. I claim to have done CrossFit for a couple years, but I workout at a corporate gym that doesn't license the name and calls it "cross functional training". JayKay does "crossfit-like" workouts at an Olympic gym. Is it like Justice Stewart said, "I know it when I see it"?

I guess related... the definition of "elite fitness" is????

Sorry. I'm being difficult, but I am legit trying to make a point
Labels are dumb. We're all in this together.

 

[Tiger15]

This is the moment where @leggo PE bans me.

 

[JayKay PE]

Gym yesterday was PR for sumo deadlift. Warmup + 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 of increasing weight. Got to 229lbs of sumo deadlift without switching my grip. Kinda angry, because I think I could have gone higher in weight, maybe another 10-20lbs, but this wasn't a 'increase to fail' it was just an 'increase to PR', as the trainer said. The week before I did sumo, as noted, and got to 205lb for a set of 5, so...idk what this exactly means.

Accessory was 15 lat pull downs (green band = 65lb resistance), 12 dumbbell step ups (used blue kettlebells), and 10 renegade rows (used 15lb dumbbells since I am not super comfortable with the movement yet). Conditioning was hard, mostly because I'm super bad at lunges. It was 5 rounds of 12 dumbbell clean and jerks (I think I'm slowly getting the split stance, started with 15lbs for 2 rounds, then went up to 20lbs for the rest of the rounds), 12 overhead plate walking lunges (I used 10lb plate...and I ended up hugging it for at least one round because I had to concentrate on my actual lunges), and 8 box jumps. I'm actually getting a lot more comfortable with box jumps, I mean, they're not crazy high, but I am no longer that scared about catching my shins and dying.

 

[JayKay PE]

I was super excited about hitting 100lb bench yesterday (we did 10, 9, 8, 7...1 progression) and then I checked my app and saw that I did do a bench of 113lb earlier in the month. *sigh* But the 101lb bench was fairly simple/easy, so I'm hoping this means improvement! Accessory was 4 rounds of inverted rows, DB alternating floor press, and KB windmill. Inverted rows, I used a barbell on the rack and not rings like everyone else (it felt harder, so I think I worked out more). Alternating floor press, I started with 20lbs and went up 5lbs each round; I felt most 'comfortable' with 30lbs, but I did complete a 35lb round even though it was tough. KB windmills suck ass and I hate doing them, but I did get deeper each round. Conditioning was timed, 9 rounds of :40/:20, thank god, and consisted of machine (row/bike/ski), plate or sled push, and kettlebell swings (I chose purple/the 44lb kettlebell this time and wanted to die, but did it).

Also, not workout related, but workout related? My scalp/hair has been super bad for last couple of months. I didn't know if it was my shampoo or the super hard water here, but I think it's because I was washing/shampooing my hair every time I worked out. This past week I haven't washed my hair after working out, just jump in the shower to rub my hair under the water, condition the ends, and body wash, and it isn't shiny...but it also isn't oily. Idk. I think I've been damaging my hair by overwashing and I need to realize that I can just scrub the sweat out and don't need to shampoo it so aggressively everyday.

 

[squaretaper LIT AF PE]

I guess related... the definition of "elite fitness" is????

This is where the entire fitness industry loses me. The hype and marketing is trying to pressure everyone to be "elite," "professional," "professional-grade," "maximum," "extreeeeeeme," "epic," "competitive," "optimized," "warrior," so it's discouraging for regular-ass normies to feel accepted just for wanting to stay semi-healthy while living normal life.

Edit: added the word "warrior," ohhh this word in marketing drives me crazy, just preying on peoples' insecurities. Really, we're warriors now?

Which leads me to the ultimate philosophical question

I would elevate the question even more: Are we really all needing the most extreme high-intensity fad workouts and the latest professional gear to find enjoyment (I'm looking at you, cyclists) in being comfortable in our bodies? Do we have to be preparing for races and competitions and sufferfests to make our time on the rack worth it?

What's important is that you found something that you enjoy and that's working for you.

100%.

All I's is sayin' is, sometimes going for a run is just going for a run. And sometimes you want to pick up a heavy thing because you can.